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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
China backs Putin’s handling of rebellion
China’s foreign ministry issues a statement Sunday expressing vague support of the deal struck by Putin and Prigozhin. Putin has been working for months to strengthen ties with China in the face of Russia’s hostile relations with the West.
“This is Russia’s internal affair,” the Chinese statement read. “As Russia’s friendly neighbor and comprehensive strategic partner of coordination for the new era, China supports Russia in maintaining national stability and achieving development and prosperity,”
Revolt leader ‘probably has got other arrows in the quiver’
An attempted coup against Russian President Vladimir Putin that was swiftly abandoned Saturday raised new questions about his grip on power and is expected to intensify pressure on him within Russia over the unpopular war in Ukraine. Putin had vowed a harsh penalty for Prigozhin, the head of the paramilitary force that has been fighting alongside Russia’s regular army in Ukraine. But after Prigozhin abruptly ended the rebellion, the Kremlin said he would not be prosecuted and would instead leave for Belarus.
Although Putin’s authority has not been challenged during his more than two decades as Russia’s president, a shadowy group known as the siloviki – Russia’s version of the so-called Deep State security power brokers – wields substantial power behind the scenes in Russia, said Steven Hall, a former Moscow chief of station and head of Russia operations for the CIA. If Putin loses their support, he could be forced out almost immediately, he said.
“Putin and the Kremlin haven’t played the last card yet,“ Hall said. “Neither have any of the other players here, including Prigozhin, who probably has got other arrows in the quiver.”
− Josh Meyer
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.
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