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). .