The U.S. government is monitoring fallout from the weekend coup-that-wasn’t in Russia amid belief the consequences could be profound for Vladimir Putin, Ukraine and Russian nuclear weapons, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday.
Blinken, making the rounds on Sunday morning talk shows, said the threatened insurrection by Russian mercenaries raises “profound questions” about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and revealed “real cracks” in Putin’s regime. The agreement that persuaded a popular mercenary leader to abandon a march to Moscow doesn’t end Putin’s leadership crisis, Blinken said.
“This is an unfolding story,” Blinken said on CBS’ “Face The Nation.” “We’re in the midst of a moving picture.”
Blinken said officials are still trying to learn the details of the agreement between Putin and Yevgeny Prigozhin. The secretary of state did not comment on the stability of Putin’s regime, or even whether he is still in Moscow. He did say the threat was a “direct challenge” to Putin. Asked about the security of Russia’s massive nuclear stockpile, Blinken told CNN’s “State of the Union” that is “something we’re looking at very, very carefully.”
He also said that “It’s too soon to tell where this is going to go.”
− David Jackson
Will Vladimir Putin keep his grip on power? Coup attempt dials up pressure over Ukraine war
Developments:
∙ Two more bodies were found under the rubble of a Kyiv apartment building a day after it was hit by missile debris during a Russian strike Saturday, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Sunday. The discovery raises the death toll to five.
∙ Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, apparently involved in negotiations that ended Prigozhin’s march on Russia, could take part in negotiations to end the war, Ukraine Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Alexei Danilov said on his Facebook page. “Lukashenko’s participation in this process is not excluded,” Danilov wrote.
What’s happening in Russia? Kremlin says Wagner chief to leave for Belarus after rebellion
Wagner mercenaries begin retreat from Russian territory
Wagner militants were leaving the southern Russia region of Voronezh, a day after the group abandoned its armed march toward Moscow, local governor Alexander Gusev said Sunday. “The movement of Wagner units through Voronezh Oblast is ending,” Gusev said in a Telegram post,adding that travel and social restrictions in the region will be lifted once “the situation is finally resolved.”
Wagner militants had reportedly seized all of the regional capital Voronezh’s military facilities after Prigozhin launched his rebellion “to restore justice” after alleging that a Russian missile strike on his mercenary forces’ camps in Ukraine caused substantial casualties.
