The “anti-terror regime” established in Moscow and its region after the Wagner paramilitary group mutined remains in force despite the reversal of the uprising leader Yevgeny Prigoyine on Sunday.

• Also read: Wagner ends his uprising and withdraws from his positions in Russia

• Also read: “Anti-terrorist activities” are ongoing in Moscow.

• Also read: Moscow warns the West against wanting to “exploit” the situation

Large police patrols are still on duty along the main road leading out of Moscow to the south of the capital, an AFP journalist noted.

In the Moscow region, according to a statement by the Avtodor agency, traffic restrictions were also maintained on Sunday on the highway between Moscow and Rostov (southwest), where the Wagner rebellion took control of the military headquarters on Saturday and then withdrew from it, responsible for Highways in Russia.

The National Counter-Terrorism Committee (NAC) on Saturday ordered an “anti-terrorist operational regime” in Moscow, its region, as well as in the Voronezh region bordering Ukraine, after Yevgeny Prigozhin announced a march of his fighters in the Russian capital .

This regime gives the police expanded powers, particularly to conduct police operations.

Important sections of the Rostov-Moscow highway have been closed and identity and vehicle checks have been introduced on the roads.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin decreed that Monday was a day off due to the “difficult” situation.

On Saturday evening, after negotiations with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Evguéni Prigojine announced that his men were “returning” to their camps to avoid “a bloodbath”.

It was unclear on Sunday where Mr. Prigozhin was after his fighters withdrew from Rostov. The Kremlin said he had agreed to travel to Belarus and the charges against him were dropped.

Vladimir Putin was “mortally wounded” and his fight to stay in power had only just begun, it was said last night.

Western officials warned that his hold on Russia was crumbling as questions about his whereabouts mounted after the attempted coup.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinted that the tumultuous 24-hour mutiny led by the head of a breakaway Russian army, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has exposed “real cracks” in Putin’s grip on power.

Alicia Kearns, chair of the Special Committee on Foreign Affairs, warned that Putin could launch a desperate purge to survive.

The senior Tory MP raised the prospect that Russian intelligence could have hidden the impending coup from Putin when it emerged that both Britain and the US had information that the leader of the Wagner group had troops nearby for several days the Russian-Ukrainian border.

Western officials warned that his hold on Russia was crumbling as questions about his whereabouts mounted after the attempted coup

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinted that the tumultuous 24-hour mutiny led by the head of a breakaway Russian army, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has exposed “real cracks” in Putin’s grip on power

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has hinted that the turbulent 24-hour mutiny led by the head of a breakaway Russian army, Yevgeny Prigozhin (pictured), has exposed “real cracks” in Putin’s grip on power

The Russian President has not been seen since delivering an emergency message imploring Russians not to join Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed coup (pictured)

Taken by surprise, the Russian military had to scramble to defend Moscow when Prigozhin’s soldiers advanced unopposed into the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and within 120 miles of the capital.

Yesterday Ms Kearns said the UK Government had known for several days. Sources in the US claimed that congressional leaders were also briefed on the Wagner upgrade early last week, contradicting Prigozhin’s claim that his uprising was in response to a Russian military attack on his camps in Ukraine on Friday.

“I think our government knew something was coming for a few days,” she said. “That means the Russian secret service obviously should have had an inkling about it. Didn’t the Russian secret service think they were capable of taking action against Moscow, or did they lie to Putin because they were afraid of him?

On Saturday, Prigozhin, the ruthless leader of the 25,000-strong mercenary group, was hailed as a hero after sensationally cutting off his group’s march on Moscow in the 11th hour.

In a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin agreed to call off his push in exchange for having criminal charges against him and his supporters dropped, with the added incentive of a multimillion-dollar payout in exile.

Soldiers from the PMC Wagner Group were seen moving out of downtown Rostov-on-Don and returning to their bases on Saturday night

Soldiers from the PMC Wagner Group were seen moving out of downtown Rostov-on-Don and returning to their bases on Saturday night

But there are signs that Putin’s fight for survival is far from over. Ms Kearns said the gates were open for others to challenge the Russian leader: “It’s definitely not over yet,” she said. “This is not just a power struggle between Putin and Prigozhin. It has raised questions about the country’s overall stability.

“Nobody believes that Prigozhin will go to Belarus and live out his life there in peace.” Putin…is mortally wounded, but I don’t think anyone can say that Putin is finished. There’s nothing Putin hates more than a traitor.

Yevgeny Prigozhin was last seen cheered by Rostov-on-Don locals after his troops stormed the Russian military headquarters there

The reveal came after an electrifying day of drama:

Jets linked to Putin returned to Moscow yesterday after fleeing the city on Saturday.

In Ukraine, happy forces scored important battlefield victories as Putin faced the prospect of having to remove both his defense minister and chief of staff as the price of ending the coup.

Wagner forces claimed they shot down Russian helicopters and a military aircraft, reportedly killing 39 pilots and crew, causing the Luftwaffe’s worst daily loss in the war.

Prigozhin’s whereabouts were unknown last night and there were no signs that he arrived safely in Belarus. A spokesman for Prigozhin told Russian broadcaster RTVI that he was “out of touch”.

It came as Mr Blinken said he didn’t think “we saw the final act of the Wagner-Putin rebellion”. “Sixteen months ago, Russian forces stood on the doorstep of Kiev, Ukraine, thinking they would take the city in a matter of days and thinking they were going to wipe Ukraine off the map as an independent country,” he told CBS News.

He added, “Prigozhin himself throughout this incident raised profound questions about the very premises of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, saying that Ukraine or NATO posed no threat to Russia, which is part of Putin’s narrative.” And it was a direct challenge to Putin’s authority. So this raises deep questions, it shows real cracks.”

Western leaders have expressed concern over unrest in Russia, which has the world’s largest nuclear arsenal.

Daniel Hoffman, the former CIA chief in Moscow, suggested that a renegade Russian leader could steal a nuclear warhead if Putin’s claim to power weakened.

Putin has not been seen since delivering a pre-recorded speech on Saturday, in which he said he was “confident” that his forces would implement their plans related to the “special military operation” in Ukraine.

According to Flightradar24, two jets linked to the president left Moscow on Saturday but have since returned to the city. It is unclear if he was on board.

Key developments on June 25:

• Military reports are advancing on Bakhmut’s southern and northern flanks
• Russia reportedly killed two Ukrainian youths in the occupied part of Zaporizhia Oblast
• Germany provides Ukraine with 45 additional Gepard anti-aircraft guns
• Russia is reportedly moving troops out of Ukraine to protect Moscow
• Ukraine Air Force: Wagner group shoots down six Russian army helicopters and one plane in day-long insurgency.

Ukrainian forces advanced up to a kilometer on the flanks of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast, Eastern Command spokesman Serhii Cherevatyi reported on June 25.

The advance is reported on the southern and northern flanks.

Russia had “186 killed, 224 wounded and eight captured” soldiers as prisoners of war in that area last day, Cherevatyi said on TV.

However, Russia continues to reinforce airborne troops in Bakhmut. This “clearly shows” that Moscow is trying to hold the city, Cherevatyi said.

“We know their objectives, units, commanders and tactics,” Cherevatyi said, adding that “nothing will help” Russian forces.

Meanwhile, Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of the Tavria military sector, reported on June 25 that Ukrainian forces had attacked Russian positions over 1,000 times in the past day.

According to Tarnavskyi, about three platoons of Russian troops were killed or wounded in the same period and a total of 16 Russian military vehicles, including a tank, a multiple rocket launcher, a howitzer and five ammunition depots, were destroyed.

However, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russian forces attempted attacks in Bakhmut, Lyman and Marinka sectors in the east, where 20 battles erupted.

In the south, Russian forces made their best effort to stem Ukraine’s advance, the military said in its June 25 evening report.

According to the report, Russian forces also attacked 30 settlements in Kherson, Zaporizhia and Dnepropetrovsk oblasts in the past day.

The General Staff also reported on the failed attempt by a Russian saboteur group to invade northern Sumy Oblast.

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Russia reportedly killed two Ukrainian youths in the occupied part of Zaporizhia Oblast

Russian officials in Zaporizhia Oblast reported that Russian troops had killed two youths in the occupied port city of Berdyansk. Moscow suspected both children of having prepared the sabotage against the Russian military.

Vladimir Rogov, a Russian deputy, said on June 25 that Russian forces had killed “two pro-Ukrainian terrorists,” naming one of them – Tihran Ohannisian.

Later that day, Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said Russian troops had killed two teenagers and named the second victim Mykyta Khanhanov.

Both were 16 years old.

Lubinets included footage of Ohannisian’s assault rifle in hand, in which he says, “(The plan is to kill two (people) for sure.” That’s it, it’s death, folks. Goodbye! Glory be Of Ukraine!”

According to the Ombudsman’s office, Russian proxies have been following the two boys and their families for a long time.

In September 2022, Russian troops kidnapped Ohannisian for five days, beating and torturing him in order to extract from him a confession that he was preparing a railway sabotage to hinder Russian military logistics.

Procurators also suspected Khanhanov, but the teenager escaped extrajudicial arrest.

However, the Russian occupiers accused the two minors of planning sabotage at the end of May.

Following Russia’s sham trial, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on Russia to “end serious abuses against children affected by the armed conflict”.

“The whole world must understand that human rights are violated every day in the occupied territories,” Lubinets said. “And until Ukraine gives back its territories, it will go on and on!”

Olha Reshetylova, chair of the Media Initiative for Human Rights, said the boys’ relatives had not yet seen the bodies.

The human rights defender said Ukrainian law enforcement agencies have launched an investigation into the alleged murder of the children.

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Russia is reportedly redeploying its troops to protect Moscow

During a day-long armed insurgency by the Wagner group, Russia deployed two separate airborne units from Ukraine to protect Moscow, the National Resistance Center of the Ukrainian military reported June 25.

The Il-75 transport aircraft reportedly carried up to two companies of Russia’s 76th Airborne Division to Moscow, where they will remain for at least a week.

Not every plane made it through the Russian skies, however, as the Wagner Group’s columns marched toward Moscow.

Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat confirmed Russian reports that Wagner troops shot down two attack helicopters, four transport helicopters and one Russian army aircraft.

These include a Ka-52 attack helicopter, a Mi-35 attack helicopter, a Mi-8 transport helicopter, three Mi-8 electronic warfare helicopters and an Il-18 aircraft.

“Mi-8 transport helicopters are powerful hardware that really helps the Russian army in its war against Ukraine,” the center’s spokesman said on TV June 25.

On June 23, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin launched an uprising “to restore justice” after claiming that a Russian missile attack on the camps of his mercenary forces in Ukraine had caused significant casualties.

The largest armed uprising led by President Vladimir Putin was short-lived and appeared to be over by the end of June 24. Prigozhin said his forces would return to military camps.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on June 24 that the insurrection case against Prigozhin would be dropped and he would move to Belarus.

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Germany supplies Ukraine with air defense and anti-aircraft systems

Germany announced that it would supply Ukraine with more military equipment, including anti-aircraft and air defense systems, to protect the Ukrainian skies.

In an interview with Welt am Sonntag published on June 25, German Brigadier General Christian Freuding said that Berlin would supply Ukraine with 45 Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft systems by the end of the year. According to the official, 15 of them will be delivered in the coming weeks.

Berlin will also equip Kiev with two more IRIS-T air defense systems by the end of the year and another four in 2024, Freuding said.

Freuding also said Ukraine still needs more air defenses, even as its partners are “doing everything” to provide what they can.

According to Freuding, the cheetahs are to be provided in cooperation with the USA.

The Pentagon announced in a June 1 press release that the US would buy $118.3 million worth of cheetahs for Ukraine.

Germany has already delivered 34 cheetahs with around 6,000 rounds of ammunition to Ukraine since the start of the all-out war against Russia.

The cheetahs are helping Ukraine defend itself against Iranian-made Shahed ammunition, which Russia fires to attack civilian and critical infrastructure, the German embassy in Ukraine said last November.

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Wagner’s fighters left the Voronezh and Lipetsk regions south of Moscow.

A strategic retreat. Sunday 25 June was marked by the continued withdrawal of troops from the Wagne paramilitary group from Russia, ending the uprising launched by its leader Evguéni Prigojine that shook the Kremlin. A failed attempt, the consequences of which for the war in Ukraine are still difficult to assess. Here’s what to remember today.

The retreat of the Wagner fighters to Russia

According to local authorities, on Sunday, June 25, Wagner’s fighters left the Voronezh and Lipetsk regions south of Moscow, en route to the capital. The day before, they had left the military headquarters they were occupying in Rostov (south-west), the nerve center of operations in Ukraine, and began retreating so as not to spill “Russian blood,” as Yevgeny Prigozhin put it.

However, the “anti-terrorist regime”, which grants the police extended powers, remains in force in the Russian capital and in its region on Sunday.

France, US target Russian divisions…

French President Emmanuel Macron asserted that the Wagner uprising “shows the divisions that exist within the Russian camp, the fragility of both its armies and its auxiliaries”. The same analysis on the American side. This failed coup shows “real cracks” in President Vladimir Putin, said US diplomatic chief Antony Blinken.

… while China reiterates its support for Vladimir Putin

Weakened in the eyes of the West, Vladimir Putin’s regime could count on Beijing’s support on Sunday. “As a friendly neighbor and strategic partner, China supports Russia in its efforts to protect the country’s stability,” China’s foreign ministry said, calling the mutiny “an internal matter.”

The Russian army claims to have repelled the advance of Ukraine

Moscow has tried to dispel the notion that this crisis could have consequences for its offensive in Ukraine. The Russian army reiterated on Sunday that it had “successfully repelled” attacks by Kiev’s armed forces in four zones of the Ukrainian front, particularly in the Donetsk regions (east) but also in Zaporizhia (south). .