The Pope's peace envoy will visit Moscow this week
From John Allen in Rome
Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi poses for photographers after he was elevated to cardinal by Pope Francis, at the Vatican, on October 5, 2019. Andrew Medichini/AP
Pope Francis' peace envoy will travel to Moscow on Wednesday and Thursday this week, according to a statement from the Vatican Press Office.
"Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna and President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, accompanied by an official of the Secretariat of State, will undertake a visit to Moscow, as the envoy of Pope Francis," the Vatican statement said.
"The principal scope of the initiative is to encourage gestures of humanity, which can contribute to favoring a solution to the current tragic situation and to finding paths to reach a just peace," it added.
3:28 p.m. ET, June 27, 2023
Putin to speak to law enforcement units who stopped attempted Wagner mutiny
From CNN's Anna Chernova
President Vladimir Putin will today address the security forces that participated in Moscow's defensive efforts against the Wagner group mutiny on Saturday.
The event with invited law enforcement squads will take place in Cathedral Square inside the Kremlin, according to government spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has appeared in the Kremlin ahead of the expected address.
3:28 p.m. ET, June 27, 2023
Putin confirms deaths of Russian pilots in Wagner clashes
From CNN's Katharina Krebs
President Vladimir Putin praised the "courage and self-sacrifice" shown by Russian army pilots who died while fighting against Wagner troops over the weekend, after paramilitary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin led a failed insurrection against the Kremlin.
"I thank all our military personnel, law enforcement officers, special services who stood in the way of the rebels, remained faithful to their duty, oath and their people," he said in a national address on Monday.
"The courage and self-sacrifice of the fallen heroes-pilots saved Russia from tragic devastating consequences," he added.
Prigozhin said earlier that "not a single solider on the ground was killed," during his march toward Moscow on Saturday.
“We regret that we were forced to strikes on aircraft,” he said on Monday, adding: “But these aircraft dropped bombs and launched missile strikes.”
CNN's Mariya Knight in Atlanta and Anna Chernova contributed reporting.
3:28 p.m. ET, June 27, 2023
Lukashenko addresses Belarus' involvement in stifling Wagner rebellion
From CNN’s Anna Chernova
In this handout photo taken from video Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military company, records his video addresses in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on June 24. Prigozhin Press Service/AP
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has highlighted his purported role in quelling the Wagner group's armed rebellion attempt against the Kremlin at the weekend, speaking about a deal between Moscow, Minsk and Wagner that has been shrouded in secrecy.
Lukashenko did not offer many details about the mediation, which led to paramilitary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin turning his fighters away from Moscow because he claimed he wanted to avoid spilling Russian blood.
“Given the role of Belarus in resolving this situation, I must say a few words here about what happened and explain our position and the decisions taken,” Lukashenko said, referring to the deal.
Lukashenko, who has a political track record of cracking down on dissent, claimed the Belarusian opposition was trying to make use of the situation.
"When the events in Russia took place, I gave all the orders to bring the army to full combat readiness,” he said.
“No one, not even in these snotty Telegram channels, blathered against it.
“All the [Belarusian] Armed Forces, including the police and special forces, were put on full alert,” he added.
“In no case should you make a hero out of me, neither of me, nor of [Vladimir] Putin, or of [Yevgeny] Prigozhin, because we missed the situation, and then we thought that it would resolve, but it did not resolve. And two people who fought at the front collided.
There are no heroes in this... My position is, if Russia collapses, we will remain under the rubble, we will all die.”
3:28 p.m. ET, June 27, 2023
Russia says it will drop charges against Wagner for armed insurrection attempt
From CNN's Maria Kostenko, Clare Sebastian and Lauren Kent
Armored vehicles and members of the Wagner group on the streets during tensions between the Kremlin and the Russian paramilitary group in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on June 24 Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Tuesday that it will drop the case against the Wagner paramilitary group, after its fighters staged an attempted rebellion on Saturday that threatened President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power.
"The case of the armed insurrection armed was dropped on June 27, the FSB said," state media RIA Novosti reported.
"During the investigation of the case of the rebellion, it was established that its participants stopped their actions directly aimed at committing a crime, the case was closed," the FSB press service said in a statement on Tuesday.
The statement did not mention Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin by name.
Wagner will also hand over its heavy military equipment to active units of the Russian military, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday, according to RIA Novosti.
On Monday, Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed that the mercenary group was due to leave its positions on June 30 and hand over equipment to the Southern Military District in Rostov, Russia.
However, he claimed Moscow's troops attacked Wagner forces on Friday, days before that handover was due to take place.
3:28 p.m. ET, June 27, 2023
Belarus president says it was "painful to watch the events that took place in the south of Russia"
From CNN's Anna Chernova
Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko speaks at the Independence Palace, Minsk, Belarus, on February 16. Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko declared it was "painful to watch" Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin's attempted insurrection over the weekend, in his first address since the most serious leadership challenge to ally Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I won’t hide it, it was painful to watch the events that took place in the south of Russia," he said during an epaulette-giving ceremony in Minsk.
"Not only for me. Many of our citizens took them close to heart. Because there is only one fatherland," he added, according to Belarusian state news agency, BelTA. The comments were not televised nor have yet appeared in video clips.
Lukashenko did not make any reference to Prigozhin by name or say anything about his whereabouts. The Wagner head has not been seen in public since he called off his uprising on Saturday.
The Belarus president also said he had made military preparations during the events of the weekend. “I gave all orders to bring the army to full combat readiness,” he said.
Some background: Lukashenko, often referred to as "Europe's last dictator" purportedly had a hand in quelling the threat of mutiny on Saturday.
Prigozhin abruptly halted Wagner's advance, claiming his fighters had reached within 200 kilometers (124 miles) of Moscow but were retreating to avoid Russian bloodshed.
Lukashenko apparently made a deal with Prigozhin that would see the Wagner chief leave for Belarus; a criminal case against the mercenary boss would be dropped; and Wagner fighters would be folded into formal military structures by signing contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The decision followed an unprecedented intervention by Lukashenko himself, according to the Belarusian presidential press service. However, Russian and Belarusian officials have remained tightlipped on the details of the supposed deal.
3:27 p.m. ET, June 27, 2023
Analysis: Biden turns the screw on Putin even as US denies role in Wagner rebellion
Analysis from CNN's Stephen Collinson
Joe Biden speaks during an event in Washington, DC. on June 26. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Russia’s short-lived insurrection has handed Joe Biden the most perilous version yet of a dilemma that has confounded the last five US presidents: how to handle Vladimir Putin.
Every US commander in chief since Bill Clinton has sought in some way to engage the former KGB officer, whose mission to restore Russian greatness was ignited by his humiliation at the fall of the former Soviet Union. Most have sought some kind of reset of US-Russia relations. But all failed to avert the plunge in ties between the two nuclear superpowers.
Biden, who came of age in Washington as a senator during some of the most embittered years of the US-Soviet standoff in the 1970s and 1980s, had fewer illusions about Putin than most. But even he tried to break the chill, by meeting his counterpart at a summit in Geneva in 2021.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, however, led him instead to reinvigorate the NATO alliance with an extraordinary pipeline of arms and ammunition designed to ensure the country’s survival. Western support has not only enabled Ukraine to fight back against invading forces, it has helped turn the war into a quagmire that spiked political pressure on Putin and created battlefield conditions that likely helped lead to mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s revolt over the weekend.
Putin appeared on camera on Monday, defiantly warning that he would have had no trouble suppressing the uprising had the Wagner Group leader not chosen to halt his march on Moscow in a deal that ostensibly will see him exiled to Belarus.
But there was widespread agreement outside Russia that the showdown represented the most serious challenge to Putin’s grip on power during his generation in control and could even be a crack that spells the beginning of the end of his authority.
So Biden, therefore, faces a possibility that none of the predecessors who wrestled with Putin had to contemplate — that he is dealing with the endgame of this modern czar, and the prospect of instability rocking a nuclear superpower that could have global implications.
He then offered them a choice: sign contracts with Russia's Defense Ministry or other law enforcement, return to their families, or: "Whoever wants to can go to Belarus," he said.
Wagner's march was called off over the weekend when a supposed deal was struck that would see its chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, move to Belarus.
Putin did not mention Prigozhin by name in his address Monday, but accused rebellion organizers of "betraying their country."
A source at Russia's Prosecutor General’s Office said Prigozhin remains under investigation. His whereabouts are unknown.
Here are the latest headlines on the rebellion and Russia's war in Ukraine:
Putin meets top officials: The Russian President held a meeting with the heads of security agencies including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, a Kremlin spokesperson said Monday, according to state media. Prigozhin had previously accused Shoigu and Russia’s top general of not giving his forces ammunition and was critical of their handling of the conflict in Ukraine. Putin also spoke with the UAE's President about the rebellion, the Kremlin said.
Wagner chief's reasoning: Earlier Monday, Prigozhin broke his silence in an audio message, saying he called off the march to prevent Russian bloodshed and the uprising was a protest — not an attempt to topple the government. He said the Russian Defense Ministry had planned for Wagner to "cease to exist" from July 1.
US response: As Russia faced rebellion, White House officials reached out to foreign and domestic oil producers about the situation unfolding in one of the world’s leading oil powers, a US official told CNN. On Monday, US President Joe Biden said he'd instructed members of his national security team to "prepare for a range of scenarios." Biden emphasized the US and its allies had "nothing to do" with Saturday's events in Russia.
Lukashenko to speak: Belarusian state media said President Alexander Lukashenko will answer questions from reporters on Tuesday, according to Russian state media. Prigozhin had agreed Saturday to leave Russia for Belarus, the Kremlin said, in a deal apparently brokered by Lukashenko, a close Putin ally.
US intel aware: US intelligence officials were gathered an extremely detailed and accurate picture of Prigozhin's plans leading up to his rebellion, including where and how Wagner was planning to advance, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. But the intelligence was so closely held that it was shared only with select allies, including senior British officials, and not at the broader NATO level, sources said.
State Duma says defenses in control: The Russian State Duma, or lower parliament, said the defense forces exercised total control during the rebellion, according to Russian state media. Andrey Kartapolov, the Duma's head of the Defense Committee, said, "no chaos arose in the Russian defense forces in the background of an attempted armed rebellion, combat control was not interrupted even for a minute."
China's foreign minister touts Beijing and Moscow as a force for "global peace"
From CNN's Hira Humayun
Qin Gang speaks at a news conference in Berlin, Germany on May 9. Michele Tantussi/Getty Images
Russia and China are "an important force in ensuring global peace and in promoting inclusive development," Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang claimed in a video address Tuesday, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
Speaking at a conference in Beijing held by the Russian International Affairs Council and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Qin reiterated Beijing's support for Moscow, saying it plans to work with Russia to oppose the "use of force and hegemony of individual states," TASS said.
Qin's remarks come after senior Chinese officials expressed support for Moscow during a meeting with Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko in Beijing on Sunday following the Wagner rebellion, according to a Russian Foreign Ministry statement.
On Sunday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson referred to the uprising as Russia's "internal affair" and added: "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."
Some context: China and Russia declared a friendship with “no limits” in February 2022, shortly before Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his war on Ukraine. Since then, Beijing has refused to condemn the invasion and instead provided much-needed diplomatic and economic support for Russia while attempting to portray itself as a peacemaker in the conflict — a position that has further soured its relations with Western nations.
