Crisis Abates in Russia but Punctures Some of Putin’s Authority

Russians woke up Sunday to a changed country. The strongest challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s rule was defused, but there were new questions about his authority and the country’s war in Ukraine.

In many ways, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner chief who led an armed uprising against the military’s leadership for nearly 24 hours, punctured Putin’s strongman authority and aura of infallibility. His blistering criticism and brazen actions called into question Russia’s justifications for its war in Ukraine and the competency of its military leadership.

Each hour Saturday brought news of Prigozhin’s private military company forces inching closer to Moscow, posing a threat to Putin and raising the specter of a civil war in the nuclear-armed state.

Instead, a close ally of Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, the leader of Belarus, stepped in and arranged to have Prigozhin go to Belarus and avoid criminal charges, while also absolving the Wagner fighters of repercussions.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the agreement was struck to “avoid bloodshed, to avoid an internal confrontation, to avoid clashes with unpredictable consequences.”

By nightfall, columns of Wagner fighters were seen streaming out of Rostov-on-Don, a military hub, to the sound of residents chanting the group’s name.

The impact of such a direct challenge to the Kremlin, which went unpunished, might not be felt for days or weeks but could have profound implications for the fate of Ukraine and for Russia’s global standing as partners like China reassess the strength of Putin’s regime.

Here is the latest:

— Both Putin’s and Prigozhin’s current locations remain unknown. Putin has not been heard from since making a brief national address Saturday in which he refrained from mentioning Prigozhin by name but condemned his actions as “treason.” Prigozhin was last heard from late Saturday when he posted an audio statement on Telegram saying he was turning his forces around to avoid bloodshed.

— Senior U.S. national security officials had indications as early as Wednesday that Prigozhin was preparing to take military action against senior Russian defense officials, according to officials briefed on the intelligence.

— The future of the Wagner group and Prigozhin’s continued role in it remains unclear. The mutiny is likely to have erased a logistical network. And after openly confronting Russia’s military leadership, it remains doubtful that Prigozhin can credibly lead his forces in Ukraine alongside regular Russian forces.

— Peskov gave no indication that the uprising would lead to any changes in the Russian military leadership, as Prigozhin had demanded, and said that Russia’s military operations in Ukraine would continue unchanged.

— In eastern Ukraine, residents saw the rebellion as a distraction for Russia that could help Ukraine’s forces. Russia continued its attacks on Ukraine, firing more than 20 missiles at Kyiv, the capital, in a predawn assault that left at least three people dead, the eighth attack on the Ukrainian capital this month.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/06/25/world/russia-wagner-prigozhin-news-ukraine">The New York Times</a>.