Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday vowed to quell what he called an armed mutiny after rebel mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said he had seized control of a southern Russian town to overthrow the military leadership.
The dramatic turnaround, with many unclear details, appears to be the biggest domestic crisis Putin has faced since he ordered a fullscale invasion of Ukraine which he described as a “special military operation”.
In a televised address, Putin said “excessive ambition and selfinterest lead to betrayal” and called the uprising a “stab in the back”.
“It’s a blow to Russia, to our people. And our measures to defend the motherland against this threat will be tough.”
“All those who knowingly embarked on the path of treason, who prepared an armed uprising, who embarked on the path of blackmail and terrorist methods will face inevitable punishment and will answer to both the law and our people,” he said Putin.
“Difficult” situation in the city taken over by mercenaries
The Russian president admitted the situation was “difficult” in the southern city of RostovonDon, where the Wagner paramilitary group claims to control military installations, including an airfield.
“Decisive measures are being taken to stabilize the situation in Rostov, which is difficult,” Putin said in a message to the nation, saying that the city’s “organs of civil and military administration” are effectively functioning be blocked where it is. The Russian military headquarters of the offensive in Ukraine.
Prigozhin had demanded that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov, whom he wanted to sack for his alleged disastrous conduct in the war against Ukraine, should visit him in Rostov. onDon, a town near the Ukrainian border that he says he controlled.
He said he had 25,000 fighters who would “restore justice” and claimed without providing evidence that the military had killed large numbers of its private militia fighters in an airstrike, which the Defense Ministry denied.
Prigozhin’s Wagner militia led the capture of the Ukrainian town of Bakhmut last month, and for months he has openly accused Shoigu and Gerasimov of incompetence, accusing them of withholding ammunition and support from the Wagner group.
md (DPA, Portal)
The month of June in pictures
Check out some of the month’s most important events.
Photo: Colombian Armed Forces/Handout/Portal
Macron announces agreement to allocate $100 billion a year to climate change
French President Emmanuel Macron announced that developed nations have reached an agreement aimed at fulfilling their pledge to allocate $100 billion a year to tackling climate change in developing countries. The announcement came alongside President Lula during the summit meeting for a new global financial pact. (23.06.)
Photo: Stephanie Lecocq/Portal
Confirmed submarine implosion and deaths of passengers
The US Coast Guard has confirmed that debris found on the seabed by a remotecontrolled vehicle belongs to the Titan submersible, which went missing days earlier with five people on board. The small submarine that was carrying tourists to the Titanic wreck imploded near the sinking ship, leaving no survivors, US officials said. (22.06.)
Photo Credit: OceanGate/ZUMA Wire/IMAGO
Pope Francis and Lula meet at the Vatican
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met Pope Francis in the Vatican and discussed with him, among other things, the war in Ukraine and the political situation in Latin American countries. The Brazilian presented the Pope with an engraving by the artist from Pernambuco, JF Borges, and received a bronze basrelief with the inscription “Peace is also a fragile flower”. (21.06.)
Photo: Palacio Planalto/dpa/picture Alliance
Riot in Honduras prison kills more than 40
More than 40 inmates at a women’s prison in Honduras were killed in a riot following a fire that family members say may have been sparked by a clash between rival gangs. The incident happened at the Women’s Center for Social Adaptation, about 20 kilometers from Tegucigalpa. (20.06.)
Photo: Fredy Rodriguez/Portal
The submarine that took tourists to see Titanic’s wreckage has disappeared
A submersible that normally transports tourists to the wrecks of the Titanic has disappeared under the sea, sparking a rescue operation. At least five people were on the submarine. Some companies organize trips to the remains of Titanic, which lies at a depth of 3,800 meters and about 400 miles from the Canadian island of Newfoundland. (19.06.)
Photo: AP/Picture Alliance
China’s chief diplomat Qin Gang and US diplomat Antony Blinken met in Beijing, marking the first visit by a US secretary of state to the Asian country in five years. Blinken is also the highestranking US official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office in 2021. The war in Ukraine and the Taiwan issue are on the agenda of the visit. (18.06.)
Photo: LEAH MILLIS/Portal
Charles III leads the Trooping the Color parade
Charles III led the traditional annual parade celebrating the British Head of State’s official birthday for the first time. Although the birthday of Charles III. is November 14th, the third Sunday of June is reserved for this celebration to take advantage of the good weather in the British capital. It was the first time in almost four decades that a monarch had attended the parade on horseback. (17.06.)
Photo: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images
Vila narrowly avoids disappearing from the map
The small village of Brienz, Switzerland, narrowly escaped total obliteration from the map. A massive landslide and stones missed Brienz “by a hair’s breadth”, according to local authorities. Local authorities have been observing for weeks that the disaster is imminent. For this reason, the slightly more than 80 residents of the village had to leave their homes. (16.06.)
Photo: ARND WIEGMANN/AFP/Getty Images
According to the UN, the condition of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is serious but stable
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) DirectorGeneral Rafael Grossi visited the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and said the situation there was serious but stable. The rupture of the Kakhovka Dam sparked fears at the UN agency that a nuclear power plant occupied by Russian troops, which uses water from the dam for its cooling tanks, could face a meltdown. (15.06.)
Photo: Alexei Konovalov/dpa/picture Alliance
Louvre protects Ukrainian Byzantine icons
The Louvre Museum in Paris is displaying five rare Byzantine icons, part of a group of 16 pieces rescued from Ukraine during the Russian invasion and considered among the world’s most valuable works of art. They were in a Kiev museum and on May 10 were brought to France under military escort via Poland and Germany. Icons include “Saint Sergius and Saint Bacchus”. (14.06.)
Photo: Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko/Louvre/dpa/picture alliance
Trump is accused for the second time and pleads not guilty
Former US President Donald Trump on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to 37 charges related to diversion and concealment of confidential documents in federal court in Miami. The Republican is the first former US president to be criminally indicted by federal court. (13.06.)
Photo: Jane Rosenberg/Portal
Lula hosts Von der Leyen in Brasilia
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met in Brasília with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and reiterated Brazil’s opposition to the conclusion of the MercosurEU Free Trade Agreement. After the meeting, Von der Leyen announced a €20 million (about R$100 million) donation to the Amazon Fund. (06/12)
Photo: Fabio RodriguesPozzebom/Agência Brasil
Djokovic wins Roland Garros and reaches 23 Grand Slams
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic won Roland Garros for the third time and achieved his 23rd Grand Slam title, surpassing Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who was unable to play in Paris this season. Djokovic returned to world No. 1 by beating Norway’s Casper Ruud 3 sets to 0 in the final. At 36 years and 20 days old, he is the oldest tennis player to win Roland Garros (11/06).
Photo: LISI NIESNER/Portal
Children were found alive after 40 days in the Colombian jungle
Four indigenous children who have been missing for 40 days in a jungle region in Colombia have been found alive by soldiers. They survived the plane crash while traveling with three adults. The survivors are brothers Lesly Mukutuy (13), Soleiny Mukutuy (9), Tien Noriel Ronoque Mukutuy (4) and baby Cristin Neruman Ranoque (11 months). (06/10)
Photo: Colombia’s Armed Forces Press/AP/Picture Alliance
After Greta Thunberg graduates, she goes on the last school strike
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg joined her recent school strike for the climate on the same day as her high school graduation. She protested outside the Swedish Parliament, the same place where she first sat alone in 2018 to call for tougher action on climate change, sparking a wave of student demonstrations (09/06)
Photo: Marie Mannes/Portal
Children are injured in a knife attack in France
At least four children and two adults were injured in a knife attack in Annecy, southeastern France. According to the authorities, the children are between 22 months and 3 years old and two and one of the adults are in serious condition. French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said the suspect was a 31yearold Syrian who was granted asylum in Sweden ten years ago. (06/08)
Photo: picture Alliance/dpa/MAXPPP
Ukrainians save their belongings after dam collapse
Residents of the Ukrainian city of Kherson rescue their belongings after a dam collapsed in the region. Kiev holds Russian soldiers responsible and refers to “war crimes” with environmental and humanitarian damage. Moscow, which controls the area, has dropped the charges. Thousands of people had to be evacuated. (07/06)
Photo: picture Alliance/dpa/AP
Kiev accuses Moscow of having blown up the dam
Ukraine accused Russian forces of blowing up a large dam and hydroelectric power station in Kherson, the Moscowcontrolled region in southern Ukraine, threatening what Kiev called an “ecological disaster” due to possible massive flooding. Russian authorities replied that the dam had been damaged by Ukrainian attacks. Thousands of people were evacuated. (06.06.)
Photo: OLEG TUCHYNSKY/AFP
Lula pledges to end illegal logging in the Amazon by 2030
President Lula announced measures to protect the Amazon rainforest and fight climate change. Alongside Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, Finance Ministers Fernando Haddad, Environment Ministers Marina Silva and Indigenous People Sonia Guajajara, he assured that his government would do everything possible to reduce vegetation loss in the Amazon and eliminate illegal logging by 2030. (05/06)
Photo: Eraldo Peres/AP Photo/Image Alliance
Hundreds of thousands protest against the Polish government
Just months before parliamentary elections, half a million people took to the streets of Warsaw to protest against the country’s populist nationalist government. Demonstrators came from all over Poland waving flags in the colors of Poland and the European Union and followed the call of opposition leader Donald Tusk to protest against the ruling PiS party (04.06.)
Photo: Czarek Sokolowski/AP Photo/Image Alliance
Three Israelis and one Egyptian killed in border incident
Three Israeli soldiers were killed in an incident involving an Egyptian police officer who was later killed at the border between the two countries. Egypt reported that a member of its security forces passed through a checkpoint between the two countries and that “there was an exchange of fire with the Israeli security forces, resulting in three deaths on the Israeli side.” (03/06)
Photo: Tsafrir Abayov/AP Photo/Image Alliance
At least 280 people have died in a train crash in India
At least 280 people were killed and more than 850 injured in an accident involving two passenger trains and a freight train in eastern India near the city of Bahanaga. India has the fourth largest railway network in the world after the USA, Russia and China with around 68,000 kilometers, more than 21,000 trains and 7,349 stations, which transports 23 million passengers daily. (02/06)
Photo: Press Trust of India/dpa/picture Alliance
Lula confirms Zanin’s nomination for a post at STF
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva confirmed that he will nominate lawyer Cristiano Zanin to fill the vacancy as Minister of the Supreme Court (STF) following the resignation of Ricardo Lewandowski. Zanin defended the President in the Lava Jato trial, winning a victory that overturned the sentences imposed on the PT member by thenJudgeturnedSenator Sergio Moro. (01/06)
Photo: Antonio Cruz/Agência Brasil