June 26, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine, Wagner rebellion news

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin broke his silence in a new audio message Monday — his first since ending a short-lived rebellion.

Troops from his private military group on Saturday seized control of a military base and moved in convoy towards Russia’s capital, a remarkable and unexpected challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The march was suddenly called off when a supposed deal was struck that would see Prigozhin move to Belarus. The leader remains under investigation following the rebellion, according to a source at Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office.

Here are the latest headlines on the rebellion and Russia's war in Ukraine:

CNN's Mariya Knight, Anna Chernova and Rob Picheta contributed reporting to this post.

British Foreign Minister James Cleverly said Monday that Russia’s Wagner Group rebellion, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, represented an “unprecedented challenge” to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking in the UK’s House of Commons, Cleverly went on to say that the British government considered the incident “an internal Russian affair.”

“And of course, the leadership of Russia is a matter exclusively for the Russian people. But everybody should note that one of Putin's proteges had publicly destroyed his case for the war in Ukraine,” he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday visited troops in the country's eastern Donetsk region, according to his office.

In a video released by the president's office, Zelensky is seen speaking with military officers and soldiers from units of the Khortytsia operational group, including "troops that distinguished themselves in fierce battles in the Bakhmut direction."

A separate video from the presidential office on Monday showed Zelensky greeting military personnel and gas station workers in Donetsk, thanking them for the work they are doing to support Ukraine. 

Zelensky "stopped at a gas station in Donetsk region and had coffee with the military who were there," according to the news release from his office. "The President wished the soldiers health and good luck in battles."

US President Joe Biden said that it's still too soon "to reach a definitive conclusion" on the impacts of the rebellion in Russia this weekend — but pledged to stay closely coordinated with allies and partners. 

Biden said it was key that the US stay closely aligned with allies and partners as it continues to monitor the situation.

"The ultimate outcome of all of this remains to be seen, but no matter what comes next I will keep making sure that our allies and our partners are closely aligned in how we are reading and responding to the situation. It's important we stay completely coordinated," he said.

President Joe Biden said the US and its Western allies had "nothing to do" with Saturday's events in Russia, where Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin allegedly incited an armed rebellion against the Kremlin.

In his first public comments since the weekend's event, Biden also said he directed the national security team to monitor the developments in Russia closely and report to him "hour by hour" and prepare for a range of scenarios.

He said he also spoke to the United States' key allies over the weekend to "make sure we are all on the same page."

"It's critical that we are in a coordinated in our response and coordinated in what we are to anticipate," he said, adding that all parties agreed that "we had to make sure we gave Putin no excuse to blame this on the West or to blame this on NATO."

The US president also said he spoke "in length" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and agreed to stay in contact with him.

"I told them that no matter what happened in Russia — let me say this again — no matter what happened in Russia, we, the United States, will continue to support Ukraine's defense and its sovereignty and its territorial integrity," he said.

Biden conferred with top national security aides Monday on Russia: The White House said later Monday that Biden spoke with top national security aides this morning “to discuss the developments and impacts that instability in Russia could have."

Biden, National Security adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin held a series of calls through the weekend and today with a number of their international counterparts, John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said.

The White House declined to speculate on the future of the Wagner group following this weekend’s events in Russia.

CNN's DJ Judd and Betsy Klein contributed reporting to this post.

The Russian Defense Ministry had planned for Wagner private military group to "cease to exist" starting on July 1, the group's founder Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed Monday in an audio message.

"No one agreed to sign a contract with the Defense Ministry, since everyone knows very well from the current situation and their experience during the special military operation that this will lead to a complete loss of combat capability," Prigozhin said in the audio message. 

But then he proceeded to say that some fighters did sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense, but claimed that it was only a minimal number.

"Those fighters who decided that they were ready to move to the Ministry of Defense did so. But this is the minimum number, estimated at 1-2%. All the arguments to keep PMC Wagner were presented, but none were implemented," he said. 

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin released new audio Monday explaining his decision to turn around his march on Moscow.

Prigozhin said he wanted to avoid Russian bloodshed and also said the march was a demonstration of protest and not intended to overturn power in the country. 

This is Prigozhin's first audio message since announcing on Saturday night that his column was turning back "to avoid bloodshed."

"Overnight, we have walked 780 kilometers (about 484 miles). Two hundred-something kilometers (about 125 miles) were left to Moscow," Prigozhin claimed in the latest audio message, despite no evidence the Wagner forces made it that close to the Russian capital. “Not a single soldier on the ground was killed."

“We regret that we were forced to strike on aircraft," he said. "...but these aircraft dropped bombs and launched missile strikes."

The Wagner boss also claimed in the audio message that about 30 of his fighters died in the Russian military's attack on the mercenary group on Friday. Prigozhin said the attack came days before Wagner was due to leave its positions on June 30 to hand over equipment to the Southern Military District in Rostov, Russia. 

The purpose of his forces' march toward Moscow, the Wagner boss said, was to prevent the "destruction" of the private military company, and "to bring to justice those who, through their unprofessional actions, made a huge number of mistakes during the special military operation."

Prigozhin said the march stopped when the detachment "made a reconnaissance of the area, and it was obvious that at that moment a lot of blood would be shed. We felt that demonstrating what we were going to do was sufficient."

"At this time, Alexander Lukashenko extended his hand and offered to find solutions for the further work of Wagner PMC in legal jurisdiction," he added. 

More background: Prigozhin had agreed to leave Russia for Belarus on Saturday following a deal apparently brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko which ended the armed rebellion.

According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Lukashenko had suggested the deal to Russian President Vladimir Putin to help resolve the brief mutiny, during a telephone conversation on Saturday morning in order to "avoid the great bloodshed that would inevitably occur if the rebel detachments continued to move toward Moscow. This proposal was supported by President Putin."

As Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s insurrection attempt played out over the weekend, US officials were publicly quiet, wary that any comments they made could be perceived by Russian President Vladimir Putin as the US escalating the crisis. But US diplomats were busy sending messages to Russian officials.

Diplomats, including the US ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy, conveyed two main messages: the US expects Russia to uphold their obligation to ensure safety and security of the US embassy and personnel, and the US was “not involved in this matter and would not involve ourselves,” a senior State Department official explained. 

Another message that was sent to Russian officials from US officials included a push for Russia not to use its nuclear arsenal, another US official explained.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov described these messages on Monday.

“When US Ambassador [Lynne] Tracy spoke with Russian representatives yesterday, she gave signals. These signals were primarily that the United States had nothing to do with it, that the United States very much hopes that nuclear weapons will be in order, that American diplomats will not suffer,” Lavrov said speaking on a state-controlled broadcaster.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave the orders to send these messages.

The White House said the US was not involved in the rebellion in Russia after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the country's special services are investigating whether Western intelligence services were engaged in the events that unfolded this weekend.

Earlier Monday, Lavrov told Russia Today that while his department was not involved in evidence gathering of illegal activities, Russian services were looking at possible foreign intervention. 

He was asked: “Do you have proof that neither Ukraine nor the West was involved in the mutiny?”

Lavrov answered: “I’m working in a department that is not engaged in gathering evidence of committed illegal actions. But we have such services and I assure you, they are already looking into that.”

He also said the US ambassador to Russia signaled the US had “nothing to do” with events this weekend.

CNN's Anna Chernova contributed reporting to this post.