Global Courant
Russian ruble hits 15-month low
The Russian ruble fell to a nearly 15-month low against the US dollar on Monday morning following the failed Wagner mutiny.
At about 9:45 am London time, the ruble was trading just below 85 against the dollar, a level last seen in late March 2022, shortly after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
—Elliot Smith
Supporting Ukraine is more important than ever, says EU foreign affairs chief
European foreign ministers will meet in Luxembourg on Monday morning, with the latest events from Russia dominating their talks.
“It’s more important than ever to support Ukraine,” EU top diplomat Josep Borrell told the press.
“Because what happened this weekend shows that the war against Ukraine is cracking Russian power and its political system,” he said.
The Wagner Group, viewed in Russia as a private military organization, staged a coup on Saturday, complaining about the country’s defense minister and criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin. The uprising ended soon after, but it exposed Putin’s vulnerability in his own country. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “We haven’t seen the last company yet.”
“This is an internal affair of Russia,” Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said on his arrival for the meeting in Luxembourg.
“What happens in Russia (…) will have an impact on the security situation, but the most important thing right now is to assist Ukraine in its efforts to regain its territorial integrity.”
He added that overall, the short-lived insurgency in Russia showed that “it’s pretty clear that the war isn’t going the way Putin wanted it to.”
Russia’s attempt to invade Ukraine on a massive scale began on February 24, 2022.
—Silvia Amaro
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visits troops in Ukraine
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attends a meeting with graduates of higher military schools at the Moscow Kremlin on June 21, 2023.
Egor Aleev | AFP | Getty Images
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited his troops in Ukraine, the defense ministry said Monday, his first public appearance since the mutiny by Wagner mercenaries over the weekend.
In a message on Telegramthe Defense Ministry said Shoigu was briefed on progress by the commander of some troops in occupied Ukraine, according to a Google translation.
It indicates that Shoigu remains in charge despite the uprising, which Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin abruptly crushed less than 24 hours after it started.
Shoigu’s future has been thrown into question after the weekend’s events, but the Telegram post described him as “head of the Russian military department”.
— Audrey Wan
Moscow mayor lifts emergency counter-terrorism measures
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin on Monday announced the end of emergency counter-terrorism measures imposed in response to Wagner’s armed mutiny.
In a statement on Telegram, Sobyanin thanked the Muscovites for their “calmness and understanding”.
—Elliot Smith
Russian mercenary chief Prigozhin is a ‘dead man,’ says Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer
A video screen shot shows Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin giving a speech after the headquarters of the Southern Military District surrounded by fighters of the Wagner paramilitary group in Rostov-on-Don, Russia on June 24, 2023. (Photo by Wagner/ Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Wagner | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
According to Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group, Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is a “dead man walking” after leading a failed uprising against Vladimir Putin.
The weekend’s armed uprising by Prigozhin, a former Putin ally who founded the private militia group Wagner, is seen as a rare threat to the Russian president’s 23-year grip on power. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the episode exposed “cracks” in the Kremlin that had not been seen before.
Prigozhin is “sort of a dead man walking at this point,” Bremmer said on “Squawk Box Asia” on Monday. “I would be very surprised if he is still with us in a few months.”
The Prigozhin-led uprising was unprecedented, as Putin has – so far – been able to quickly quell occasional unarmed protests. Over the weekend, the Wagner mutineers reached less than 200 kilometers from the capital, Moscow, before their leader abruptly announced they were aborting the mission.
Read this story for more.
— Clement Tan
Uprising in Russia exposes ‘cracks’ in Putin’s regime, Blinken says
Secretary of State Antony Blinken addresses the opening session on the first day of the Ukraine Recovery Conference at InterContinental London O2 on June 21, 2023 in London, England.
Leah Millis | AFP | Getty Images
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that the violent uprising by one of President Putin’s old allies has exposed “cracks” in the regime that “were not there”.
“This is just an added chapter to a very, very bad book that Putin has written for Russia,” Blinken told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
He called the direct challenge of Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the Wagner Group, to Putin “extraordinary” and said Russia’s war in Ukraine has ultimately been a “devastating, strategic failure”.
Blinken expects the US to learn more about the intricacies of the deal between the Kremlin and Prigozhin, as well as the ultimate fate of the Wagner Group, in the coming weeks and months.
Read the full story here.
—Elliot Smith
Russian mercenary chief Prigozhin is a ‘dead man,’ says Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer
A video screen shot shows Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin giving a speech after the headquarters of the Southern Military District surrounded by fighters of the Wagner paramilitary group in Rostov-on-Don, Russia on June 24, 2023. (Photo by Wagner/ Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Wagner | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
According to Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group, Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is a “dead man walking” after leading a failed uprising against Vladimir Putin.
The weekend’s armed uprising by Prigozhin, a former Putin ally who founded the private militia group Wagner, is seen as a rare threat to the Russian president’s 23-year grip on power. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the episode exposed “cracks” in the Kremlin that had not been seen before.
Prigozhin is “sort of a dead man walking at this point,” Bremmer said on “Squawk Box Asia” on Monday. “I would be very surprised if he is still with us in a few months.”
The Prigozhin-led uprising was unprecedented, as Putin has – so far – been able to quickly quell occasional unarmed protests. Over the weekend, the Wagner mutineers reached less than 200 kilometers from the capital, Moscow, before their leader abruptly announced they were aborting the mission.
Read this story for more.
— Clement Tan
Sat 24 June 20234:31 p.m. EDT
No criminal charges against Prigozhin, but he is going to Belarus, state media say
The head of the Wagner group Yevgeny Prigozhin left the headquarters of the Southern Military District on June 24, 2023 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia.
Stringer | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
The charges against Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin will be dropped and he will go to Belarus, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday, according to Russian state media.
Russian authorities will not prosecute Wagner members who took part in the uprising, and the PMC fighters who refused to participate in Prigozhin’s “campaign” will sign contracts with the defense ministry, Peskov said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a video address on June 24, 2023 as Wagner fighters riot.
Gavril Grigorov | AFP | Getty Images
There will be no new televised address from Russian President Vladimir Putin, but Peskov said the leader continued to work at the Kremlin all day.
Peskov said the uprising will not affect the course of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in any way.
— Ashley Kapoot
