Russia-Ukraine war live: Putin says ‘special military operation’ is ‘top priority’ in interview aired after Wagner rebellion

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An adviser to the Ukrainian defence minister described the Wagner rebellion in Russia as “the most ridiculous attempt at mutiny” ever.

“This only makes Russia weaker and makes us stronger,” Yuriy Sak told BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend.

“What happened yesterday in Russia, it will probably go down in history as the most ridiculous attempt at mutiny that was ever attempted.

“It will have no bearing on our plans. We are on a mission to liberate our land and I just hope that our allies watching this ridiculous mutiny yesterday, they understand that the only way to end the war in Ukraine is to ensure that Ukraine defeats Russia militarily.

“There can be no hope for some kind of internal transformation in Russia. It’s only going to happen on the battlefield.”

The “big loser” of the armed rebellion was Russia’s long-serving Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, according to an analyst.

Shoigu has long been seen not just as a political ally of President Vladimir Putin but one of the Kremlin chief’s few friends within the Russian elite. They have sun-bathed bare-chested together in remote Siberia, shared fishing holidays and played on the same ice hockey team.

But their friendship and Shoigu’s decades-long political career now face their biggest test after the revolt led by Wagner mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who had lambasted the defence minister’s handling of the invasion of Ukraine.

Putin appears to have for now survived the revolt after a surprise mediation led by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, AFP reports. But Shoigu’s position remains deeply precarious due to the unprecedented severity of the attacks by Prigozhin against him and his ministry.

“The big winner of the night was Lukashenko,” said Arnaud Dubien, director of the Franco-Russian Observatory think tank. “The big loser was Shoigu.”

There’s a little more detail on the comments from Vladimir Putin which have been aired on Russian state television on Sunday. He did not mention Saturday’s revolt, in which Wagner mercenaries took a southern city before heading toward Moscow, during the short interview.

He said he was confident in his plans for Ukraine but the interview appeared to have been recorded before the aborted Wagner revolt.

“We feel confident, and, of course, we are in a position to implement all the plans and tasks ahead of us,” Putin said. “This also applies to the country’s defence, it applies to the special military operation, it applies to the economy as a whole and its individual areas.”

The comments in an interview with Kremlin correspondent Pavel Zarubin were broadcast by Rossiya state television. Zarubin said the interview was done after a meeting with military graduates, in an apparent reference to an event held on Wednesday.

In its daily briefing on Sunday the Defence Ministry also did not mention anything about the actions of Wagner and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Asked in the interview how much time he dedicates to what Russia calls its special military operation, Putin said: “Of course, this is paramount, every day starts and ends with this.”

Moscow’s Red Square remained closed on Sunday morning after security in the city was tightened following the Wagner rebellion on Saturday. Metal gates prevented people from entering the Russian landmark, while police guarded other entry points.

A “non-working day” order was imposed on Moscow for Monday in response to the perceived threat as Wagner mercenaries drove towards the capital on Saturday. The general order has not yet been rescinded by the city’s mayor but the stock exchange, banks and other financial institutions are expected to operate as usual on tomorrow, according to Russia’s central bank.

Russia’s foreign ministry says China has expressed its support for the leadership in Moscow as Vladimir Putin attempts to stabilise his country following the aborted mutiny by the Wagner group of mercenaries on Saturday.

As Reuters reports, Russia’s deputy foreign minister Andrei Rudenko held a meeting with China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, after flying to Beijing for talks on “international” issues.

The US and other western powers have urged China not to supply Russia with arms that could be used in the Ukraine conflict. China in May sent an envoy to Ukraine and Russia in an attempt to mediate talks to end the war.

It was notable that when Yevgeny Prigozhin left the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don late on Saturday, he was cheered by crowds of men gathering around his car. The Wagner leader appears to enjoy rapturous support in Russia despite Vladimir Putin branding him a “traitor” that he vowed to “liquidate”. Pjotr Sauer reports:

Some residents told the Guardian that they welcomed the arrival of the warlord.

“Finally, we can welcome them home,” said Evgeny, 36, a supporter of the war who has been among those crowdfunding and ferrying goods into occupied Ukraine.

“I hope he wins.”

In stark contrast, hours after the Wagner troops left the city, some locals appeared to be angrily greeting the police force that took their place, shouting “traitors” and “shame!” at them.

“Putin is afraid of Prigozhin, ordinary people are clearly not,” said Andrei Kolesnikov, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, based in Moscow.

Kolesnikov said the events in Rostov indicated that Prigozhin’s populist, anti-elite persona who speaks truth to power had clearly resonated with many Russians unhappy with the foundering invasion.

“There is a real interest in Prigozhin and his fighters,” the analyst said.

Kolesnikov added it was remarkable that some locals in Rostov-on-Don were openly showing their sympathies for Prigozhin, in a political climate where even the slightest forms of dissent can lead to long prison sentences.

The former Russian prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov has said the Wagner rebellion has marked the “beginning of the end” for Vladimir Putin.

Kasyanov, who was Russian PM from 2000-04, has become a vocal critic of Putin and says the Russian president is in “very big trouble right now”.

In comments to the BBC he said that he expected the Wagner leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, to go to Africa after travelling to Belarus and “be somewhere in the jungle”. “Mr Putin cannot forgive him for this,” he said, adding that Prigozhin’s life would be under a “big question” now.

Prigozhin is notorious for challenging authority and the reported agreement for him to go into exile in Belarus would place him in a country where such behaviour is even less acceptable than in Russia.

The Belarus president, Alexander Lukashenko, is renowned for his harsh repression of dissent and independent media. As AP reports, he is often called “Europe’s last dictator” and launched a brutal crackdown on 2020 protests against his rule.

President Putin is to take part in a regular Russian security council meeting next week, the nation’s state TV has said according to Reuters.

It follows the release of recorded remarks made by Putin before an armed rebellion by Wagner mercenaries.

Russia’s defence ministry on Sunday said it had repelled attempted attacks by Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, Russian news agencies reported.

The ministry said it had repelled 10 attacks in the Bakhmut area, agencies reported.

Reuters could not immediately verify the battlefield reports.

President Vladimir Putin has appeared on Russian state TV for the first time since the armed rebellion threatened to topple his regime, though the comments appear to have been recorded before the mutiny.

Putin renewed his commitment to the war in Ukraine, calling the “special military operation” his top priority.

According to Reuters, he said “I start and end my day with this”.

He also said he was in “constant contact” with defence ministry officials, Reuters reported.

According to Sky, Putin said he is “confident” in realising all his plans and “tasks” related to the “special military operation” in Ukraine.

The comments in an interview with Kremlin correspondent Pavel Zarubin were broadcast by Rossiya state television. The full interview is due to be broadcast later on Sunday.

Sky reports that the president’s comments were recorded before the Wagner mutiny.

There was little sign in Moscow on Sunday of the counterterrorism alert that was introduced after Yevgeny Prigozhin launched his revolt and nominally remained in place.

Crowds swarmed the downtown area of the Russian capital on a sunny day and street caf?s were packed with customers, according to AP. Traffic had returned to normal and roadblocks and checkpoints were removed.

The “counterterrorist regime” that authorites declared in Moscow and its surroundings allowed restrictions on freedoms and enhanced security.

Anchors on state-controlled television stations cast the deal ending the crisis as a show of President Vladimir Putin’s wisdom and aired footage of the Wagner Group’s troops retreating from Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia. People in Rostov-on-Don who were interviewed by Channel 1 television hailed Putin for defusing the crisis.

One detail noticed by the BBC’s Russia editor was a car with the words “WTF is going on?” emblazoned in white letters on its rear window. Steve Rosenberg commented: “Couldn’t have put it better myself”.