June 25, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

Russia is exporting as much oil now as it did before its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It's just selling to different buyers.

After the pandemic and war in Ukraine, and?the inflation shock?that followed, the?global economy is in a precarious state. The last thing it needs right now is another nasty surprise.

That’s what it nearly got this weekend as?disaffected Russian mercenaries marched toward Moscow, drawing a stark warning from President Vladimir Putin that the country was on the brink of a 1917-style “civil war.”

The?armed insurrection has been defused?— for now — but the most serious challenge to Putin’s authority in 23 years could still usher in?a period of turmoil and change.

Russia has dropped out of the ranks of the top 10 economies in the world, with a gross domestic product roughly the size of Australia’s, but it remains one of the biggest suppliers of energy to global markets — including China and India — despite Western sanctions imposed in the wake of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

On Saturday, a fellow global energy power, Qatar, expressed “great concern” about the situation in Russia.

“The escalation of the situation in Russia and Ukraine will have negative repercussions on international security and peace, as well as on food and energy supplies,” Qatar’s foreign ministry said in response to news of the rebellion.

Any meaningful loss of Russian energy would force China and India to compete with Western nations for supplies from other producers. If political chaos restricts exports of other commodities, such as grains or fertilizer, that could also send supply and demand out of whack. And that could push up prices for everyone.

Richard Bronze, head of geopolitics and co-founder at Energy Aspects, said markets would now need to figure out the extent to which prices should rise to reflect the greater risk to Russian supply, a view shared by other analysts.

Read the full analysis here.

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin pose for a photo during their meeting at the Kremlin on March 20.

China has voiced support for Russia after a?short-lived insurrection?posed the gravest challenge to the 23-year rule of Vladimir Putin, a close partner of Chinese leader Xi Jinping in his push for a new world order and strategic alignment against the US.

A day after Wagner mercenary fighters turned back from their march toward Moscow, ending a brief and chaotic uprising by warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin, Beijing released its first comment on what Putin had called an “armed rebellion.”

Beijing’s carefully crafted public comment came well after the brief mutiny had dissipated, with Prigozhin agreeing on Saturday to pull back his fighters in a deal with the Kremlin that would reportedly see him enter into exile in Belarus.

It also came after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko flew to Beijing to meet with Chinese officials on Sunday, where the two sides reaffirmed their close partnership and political trust.

China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Rudenko exchanged views on “Sino-Russian relations and international and regional issues of common concern,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a one-line statement posted on its website, with a photo showing the pair walking side by side while smiling.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Rudenko also held “scheduled consultations” with China’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu.

Editor’s Note:?A version of this post appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter, a three-times-a-week update exploring what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world.?Sign up here and read the full story here.

Joe Biden during an event in Washington, DC, on June 22.

As President Joe Biden was walking from the White House residence to a briefing on the?unfolding crisis in Russia, not much was certain.

It wasn’t obvious, for example, how a column of Wagner group mercenaries rapidly advancing toward Moscow might affect the war in Ukraine. Nor was it clear whether Russian troops under the command of President Vladimir Putin had the will to fight them.

One thing, however, did seem apparent: whatever was happening on the M-4 highway in southern Russia had the potential to change the course of what has become a presidency-defining conflict.

Never in the 16 months since?Russia invaded Ukraine?has Putin’s grip on power appeared as unsteady as it did this weekend. For Biden, the moment was a reminder of how unpredictable the crisis remains, even as American officials pore over intelligence for signs that Putin’s power is slipping.

A primary objective has been denying Putin a pretext for accusing the West of wanting him dead.

In a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Biden emphasized the imperative in not lending any credibility to expected claims from Putin of Western interference.

The message, according to people familiar with the call, was to keep the temperature low and allow whatever was happening on the ground in Russia to play out. As Biden has told his team for months, his goal is to prevent “World War III.”

A message was also sent to the Russian government from the administration reinforcing that the US would not get involved, according to people familiar with the matter.

Now, Biden and his team are working to make sense of the past days’ events and determine what is next. The abrupt agreement brokered by Belarus to end the crisis has hardly given American officials confidence that the situation is entirely defused. If anything, it could reinforce existing doubts inside Russia about Putin’s leadership, according to US officials.

Read more here.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that the?brief and chaotic insurrection?in Russia led by the Wagner paramilitary group shows “cracks” in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s role as a leader of the country.

The comments from the nation’s top diplomat underscore the short-lived intensity of a crisis that started when Yevegeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group, marched his fighters toward Moscow, taking control of Russian military facilities along the way.

Prigozhin on Friday openly accused Russia’s military of attacking a Wagner camp and killing a “huge amount” of his men. For months, he had railed against Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the country’s top general, Valery Gerasimov, whom he blames for Moscow’s faltering invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin responded to the show of force from the Wagner Group by deploying heavily armed troops to the streets of Moscow and warning residents to stay indoors.

By Saturday afternoon, the Kremlin?said a deal had been reached?to end the insurrection, with Prigozhin heading to neighboring Belarus and Wagner fighters turning back from their march.

US intelligence had painted a grim picture, with the expectation that Prigozhin’s march toward Moscow would encounter much more resistance and be “a lot more bloody than it was,” according to one US official.

Read more here.

Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin leaves Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on June 24.

The Russian State Duma, or lower house of parliament, is working on a law to regulate the Wagner Group,?according to?Andrey Kartapolov,?head of the Defense Committee.

There’s been considerable speculation about Wagner’s future since its chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, launched a rebellion this weekend.

Prigozhin was last seen leaving Rostov-on-Don late on Saturday in a black SUV after the Kremlin said a deal had been brokered by Belarusian President?Alexander Lukashenko in which Prigozhin had agreed to go to Belarus and end his rebellion.

Prigozhin himself has not confirmed the deal.

Meanwhile, the official Belarus news agency said Sunday that Lukashenko spoke on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin again on Sunday morning.

Belarusian officials tell CNN they have no details on what Prigozhin’s status will be in Belarus and could not confirm whether Prigozhin had already arrived in the country.

Here are the latest developments:

US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke Sunday following the short-lived insurrection by Yevgeny Prigozhin and his fighters from the Wagner private military company, the White House announced.

?Earlier on Sunday, Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about developments in Russia.

Biden is currently at Camp David and is expected to return to the White House on Sunday evening.

Desperately projecting that everything is as it was, the Kremlin is only emphasizing how?much has changed.

These were 36 hours?that provided a glimpse of the end of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule. Almost every action was improbable, at best a week ago – much was inconceivable, 17 months ago.

A loyal henchman, Yevgeny Prigozhin, slams the premise of the invasion of Ukraine, then claims an airstrike targeted his troops, before taking a major military town without clashes, and then marching to within a few hundred miles of Moscow. But suddenly he executes a baffling reversal, turning back to avoid bloodshed, as the Kremlin claims Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus whom Putin seems to treat with contempt, brokered a dramatic reprieve, in which the insurrectionist who has his armor bound for Moscow, now opts for exile in Minsk.

Even as the dust settles, it still makes little sense. It is important to remember we have yet to hear from Prigozhin that he has accepted exile in Belarus and see evidence his units have genuinely all stood down. He is an open proliferator of misinformation. We should be equally suspicious of the apparent bow with which Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov tried to tie this startling episode up with on Saturday night. Two hours earlier, Wagner’s forces were at the gates of the capital (almost), and then suddenly everything is forgiven.

There are large parts of this story missing. We may never learn what they are. Many emotions could have altered Prigozhin’s course. Was the advance north too easy? Did he accept entering the capital would leave his men vulnerable, even to a weak Russian military response? Was the regular military not joining him in large enough numbers? Did he believe a climbdown would only grow his support? While on the surface, Prigozhin’s climbdown makes him appear weak, even finished, he has been the decision-maker over the past 36 hours.

Putin has been left reacting. Silent initially, and then bombastically angry and confident, promising “inevitable punishment” for the “scum.” But hours later, this was all forgotten. Putin’s emotional state – were it known – is arguably less revealing than his actions. By letting Prigozhin go, and apparently sweeping the entire insurrection under the carpet, he’s appeared the weakest yet in 23 years.

Read more

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at a news conference at the European Political Community Summit in Bulboaca, Moldova, on June 1.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he has discussed the weekend’s events in Russia with several world leaders, including US President Joe Biden.

Zelensky said he also spoke Sunday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Polish President Andrzej Duda.?

Zelensky, who in an earlier Telegram post described his conversation with Biden as “positive and inspiring,” said his discussions also included the frontline situation and further strengthening of Ukrainian forces.?

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said he has spoken with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about events in Russia as well as Ukraine’s counteroffensive.

The wreckage of a Russian air force Ilyushin-22 in a rural area of southern Russia.

Social media video and images have emerged showing the wreckage of a military aircraft reportedly brought down by the Wagner Group in a rural area of southern Russia.

The plane’s markings showed that it was a Russian Air Force Ilyushin-22, an aircraft sometimes used as an airborne command and communications center.

The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on the loss of any Il-22 planes.

The cause of the crash is not clear, but footage that captured its plunge to Earth indicated it had been struck by a missile or rocket.

A Russian military blogger said Saturday that the Wagner forces had shot down an Il-22 aircraft carrying 10 people.

Irina Kuksenkova, a correspondent of Russian state Channel One, said the plane came down near Voronezh, and that Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had offered to compensate the dead crew’s relatives.

Prigozhin has not commented on the crash but claimed Saturday that a Russian combat helicopter was brought down. Video also emerged Sunday of the wreckage of a Ka-52 helicopter in the Talovsky district of the Voronezh region.

?A Russian military blogger claimed that the helicopter had been shot down by Wagner and said the crew had been killed.

A Ukrainian soldier rides a Swedish CV90 infantry fighting vehicle near Bakhmut on June 25.

Frontlines across Ukraine have seen heavy combat over the past two days, with more than 20 engagements occurring in areas in the Donetsk region –?chiefly Lyman, Marinka and Bakhmut, according to the Ukrainian military.

In its operational update, the General Staff said the Russians also carried out 25 air strikes over the past day.

There had been heavy Russian artillery and mortar fire in the Kupyansk area of Kharkiv, where the Russians have been trying to break through for over a month, the Ukrainians said.

The General Staff insisted all Russian efforts to take territory had been foiled. Across the Donetsk frontlines, the fighting was characterized by exchanges of indirect fire, but with little movement.

However, the Ukrainians say they are on the front foot around Bakhmut.

Nearly 200 Russian soldiers had been killed in the last day, and a variety of Russian equipment had been destroyed, according to Cherevatyi.

CNN cannot verify Ukrainian claims of battlefield gains, or casualties.

In the south, where Ukrainian forces have attempted to break through Russian lines, the General Staff said a Russian effort to regain lost positions in the area of Novodarivka had also failed.

Russian artillery continued to strike about 30 settlements along the frontlines in the Zaporizhzhia region, it said.

In Kherson, Nataliya Humenyuk, a spokesperson for Ukrainian forces in the south, said the Russians struggled to regain positions on the east bank of the river Dnipro, which was flooded by the recent damage to the dam at Nova Kakhovka.?

US President Joe Biden walks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a visit to Kyiv on February 20.

US President Joe Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Sunday, a White House official said.

They discussed Ukraine’s ongoing counter-offensive, and President Biden reaffirmed unwavering US support, including through continued security, economic and humanitarian aid. The leaders also discussed recent events in Russia.?

Zelensky also tweeted about the call earlier, saying the two leaders “discussed the course of hostilities and the processes taking place in Russia.”

“The world must put pressure on Russia until international order is restored,” Zelensky wrote.

See the full tweet:

UN Secretary-General António Guterres speaks during a news conference at the United Nation's offices in Nairobi on May 3.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday urged all parties involved “to act responsibly and with a view to avoid further tensions” in a statement released In response to recent events in Russia.

The Russian State Duma, or lower house of parliament, is working on a law to regulate the Wagner Group,?according to?Andrey Kartapolov,?head of the Defense Committee.

There’s been considerable speculation about Wagner’s future since its chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, launched a rebellion this weekend.

Kartapolov’s remarks echo those of Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who said Saturday that an agreement had been reached on “the return of PMC Wagner to their locations. Part of them, those who will wish to do so, will subsequently sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense — this concerns those who did not take part in the march” ordered by Prigozhin.

Members of Wagner group sit atop a tank in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on June 24.

As the picture became more clear to US intelligence analysts that Yevgeny Prigozhin was about to mobilize his Wagner troops inside Russia, the expectation was that his march toward Moscow would encounter much more resistance and be “a lot more bloody than it was.”?

There was surprise, a US official said, that Russia’s professional military didn’t do a better job of confronting Wagner troops as they moved into Rostov and up toward Moscow.

Compounding that surprise, a US official said, was the swiftness of the deal that was struck on Saturday, which the Kremlin said was brokered by Belarus.

In the end there was no fight for Moscow, where fierce resistance would have been expected. Prigozhin’s stated reason for ending Wagner’s march was a desire to avoid bloodshed, he said.?

What Prigozhin’s ultimate aim was in his short-lived campaign remains uncertain.

In the days leading up to Wagner’s march, US intelligence assessed that he was going to challenge Russian leadership, multiple sources said, but whether that was to Putin himself or the military leadership he had long railed against is unclear.

People stand near the closed Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on June 25.

A CNN team observed Moscow’s Red Square blocked off on Sunday, a day after Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin called off his short-lived insurrection.?

Metal partitions were seen blocking access to the city center and a few security officers were present. Pedestrians were walking on the streets next to the square.?

Red Square was also closed off on Saturday.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin leaves the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on June 24.

The press service of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Concord management company has responded to an email inquiry from CNN about the Wagner chief’s whereabouts.

CNN asked: “There have been no messages from Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin since yesterday evening. Could you clarify where he is now and whether he indeed accepted the conditions proposed by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko?”

The response read: “All your questions have been forwarded to Yevgeny Viktorovich [Prigozhin]. He sends his regards to everyone and will answer questions when he has proper communication.”

Prigozhin was last seen leaving Rostov-on-Don late on Saturday in a black SUV after the Kremlin said a deal had been brokered by Lukashenko in which Prigozhin had agreed to go to Belarus and end his rebellion.

Prigozhin himself has not confirmed the deal.

The official Belarus news agency said Sunday that Lukashenko spoke on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin again on Sunday morning.

Belarusian officials tell CNN they have no details on what Prigozhin’s status will be in Belarus and could not confirm whether Prigozhin had already arrived in the country.

A local official in Russia’s Voronezh region said 19 houses were damaged during clashes with the private military, Wagner Group, on Saturday.??

The group successfully took over military facilities in the southwestern Russian city on Saturday as part of an attempted armed rebellion.?

Yantsov committed to helping homeowners to repair the damage to their house and receive compensation, saying: “We will definitely help them.”?

He thanked residents of the region for their “resilience” in bearing with the restrictions put in place in the region following Saturday’s events.

US President Joe Biden attends a meeting in San Francisco, California, on June 20.

As US President Joe Biden was walking from the White House residence to a briefing on the?unfolding crisis in Russia, not much was certain.

It wasn’t obvious, for example, how a column of Wagner group mercenaries rapidly advancing toward Moscow might affect the war in Ukraine. Nor was it clear whether Russian troops under the command of President Vladimir Putin had the will to fight them.

One thing, however, did seem apparent: whatever was happening on the M-4 highway in southern Russia had the potential to change the course of what has become a presidency-defining conflict.

Never in the 16 months since?Russia invaded Ukraine?has Putin’s grip on power appeared as unsteady as it did this weekend. For Biden, the moment was a reminder of how unpredictable the crisis remains, even as American officials pore over intelligence for signs that Putin’s power is slipping.

A primary objective has been denying Putin a pretext for accusing the West of wanting him dead.

In a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Biden emphasized the imperative in not lending any credibility to expected claims from Putin of Western interference.

The message, according to people familiar with the call, was to keep the temperature low and allow whatever was happening on the ground in Russia to play out. As Biden has told his team for months, his goal is to prevent “World War III.”

A similar message went out from Washington to American embassies, who were told, if asked by their host governments, to convey “the United States has no intention of involving itself in this matter.”

Otherwise, the diplomatic outposts were instructed to “not pro-actively engage host government officials” on the matter, according to a person familiar with the message.

A message was also sent to the Russian government from the administration reinforcing that the US would not get involved, according to people familiar with the matter.

Now, Biden and his team are working to make sense of the past days’ events and determine what is next. The abrupt agreement brokered by Belarus to end the crisis has hardly given American officials confidence that the situation is entirely defused. If anything, it could reinforce existing doubts inside Russia about Putin’s leadership, according to US officials.

Read more.

Ukraine claimed Sunday it has improved its “tactical position” in its defense against Russia in the south and has achieved “partial success” in its counteroffensive in the Tavria area.??

In the past 24 hours, Russian troops shelled nine regions of Ukraine, with “various types of weapons — grenade launchers, mortars, tanks, artillery, MLRS, SAMs, and tactical aircraft — attacking 40 villages and hitting infrastructure, according to military leaders.”?

“In the Zaporizhzhia direction, the enemy continues to focus its main efforts on preventing the advance of our troops. They carried out air strikes in the areas of Orikhiv, Novodanylivka, Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia region. They shelled the settlements of Novodarivka, Levadne, Poltavka, Zaliznychne, Huliaipole, Huliaipilske, Charivne, Bilohirya, Orikhiv, Prymorske in Zaporizhzhia region with artillery.”??

There is ongoing fighting in the?Mariinka area of Donetsk on Sunday.

Yevgeny Prigozhin leaves the headquarters of the Southern Military District in the city of Rostov-on-Don on Saturday.

People woke Sunday to a calmer Russia after an armed rebellion led by the bombastic Wagner chief was dramatically stalled.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, in one of the strongest challenges to President Vladimir Putin, vowed to retaliate against the Kremlin on Friday after accusing Russia’s military of attacking a Wagner camp and killing a “huge amount” of his men. His fighters then took control of a key military facility in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, with some then advancing toward Moscow.

As this was happening, in a tense address to the nation on Saturday, Putin warned that those on a “path of treason” or armed rebellion would be punished.

But the insurrection ended almost as rapidly as it began, after an apparent deal brokered by the Belarusian government.

Prigozhin stood down on Saturday, saying he was turning his forces around.

What do we know about this deal?

Prigozhin has agreed to leave Russia for Belarus, according to the Kremlin, in a deal apparently brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. However, his current whereabouts remain unclear.

Criminal charges against Prigozhin will also be dropped, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

But many questions remain about the deal, its details, and why it was agreed to by two strongmen leaders not known for a willingness to compromise.

What now for Wagner’s fighters?

Kremlin spokesman Peskov said Wagner fighters will not face legal action for taking part in the march toward Moscow, saying the Kremlin has “always respected their heroic deeds” on the front lines in Ukraine.?

But experts say that, as with the deal, many questions remain facing the fate of Wagner’s fighters following their short-lived uprising.

Wagner fighters patrol a street in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on Saturday, June 24.

The short-lived Wagner mercenary group uprising against the Kremlin is the “first stage of dismantling” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime, Ukrainian officials declared Sunday.?

Armed anti-Putin rebels urged supporters on Saturday to rise up and take advantage of the Wagner situation to seize power.??

“A?group of discontented people has formed in Russia — security forces, officials as well as oligarchic capital — who consider Putin’s actions to be deadly for their interests and existence, a threat to Russia,” he said.?

Danilov added that he did not doubt that Wagner troops or other anti-Putin groups would eventually reach Red Square in the heart of Moscow.

He claimed that in order for Putin to save himself he must “purge” his security forces, eliminate Wagner altogether, punish Prigozhin — who has reportedly left for Belarus — introduce martial law in Russia and subsequently the “start of mass repression.”

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday issued a readout of a meeting in Beijing between Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrey Rudenko and China’s top diplomats.

The statement said Rudenko was received by Chinese?Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang and held “scheduled consultations” with Deputy Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China Ma Zhaoxu.

According to the statement, the discussion also included the upheaval in Russia during the Wagner mercenary group’s open mutiny.?

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks in London on June 21.

US?Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the developing situation in Russia “extraordinary” in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash Sunday, but said “it’s too soon to tell where this is going to go,”?after Russia stepped back from the brink of an apparent civil war with the mercenary Wagner group.??

CNN previously reported that?US intelligence officials believe that Prigozhin, chief of the private Wagner military group, had been planning?a major challenge to Russia’s military leadership?for quite some time, but it was unclear what the ultimate aim would be.?

Blinken, who has been making a round of calls to allies and partners over the weekend, refused to say Sunday whether the incident could be the unraveling of?Russian President Vladimir Putin’s leadership.??

“This is just an added chapter to a very, very bad book that Putin has written for Russia. But what’s so striking about it is it’s internal,” he said.?

Prigozhin had vowed Friday to retaliate against Russian military leadership over an alleged strike on a Wagner military camp and claimed control of military facilities in two Russian cities. Yet by Saturday afternoon, he published an audio recording claiming he was turning his forces around from a march toward Moscow, just hours after?launching an insurrection?that posed the greatest threat to Putin’s authority in decades.

Blinken said the US hasn’t seen any Russia military officials ousted, maintaining that that “remains to be seen.”?

“There’s no secret to the fact that?Prigozhin?was very much a critic of the military leadership, the Minister of Defense, the head of the armed forces. So how this now unfolds in terms of personnel? All of that remains to be seen,” he said.?

Blinken said that the situation could serve as an advantage to Ukraine as it executes a counteroffensive.

But any instability in Russia is also of concern to US officials as well, given its status as a nuclear power.

“Any time you have a major country, like Russia, that has signs of instability, that’s something of concern. That’s something that we’re very focused on. When it comes to their nuclear weapons, we’ve seen no change in their posture and we’ve made no change in our own posture,” Blinken said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the nation on Saturday, June 24.

Russian state TV posted a short behind-the-scenes clip of President Vladimir Putin’s address to the nation on Sunday.?

The clip goes on to show a cameraman setting up in the room where Putin made his address to the nation.

On Sunday, Russian state TV aired a four-day-old interview with Putin, where he talked about his working day and how he deals with the special military operation in Ukraine — which is how he refers to the invasion of Ukraine.

During the June 21 interview, Putin said he pays “paramount attention” to the course of the so-called special military operation: “The day begins with this and ends with this,” referring to Russia’s war in Ukraine.?

Walking along the corridors of the Kremlin, the Russian president went on to say that he is available at all times of the day and revealed that “recently, I’ve been going to bed quite late. But, naturally, I must always be in touch — so I am.”

The interview and clip appeared on a Russian state TV show “Moscow, the Kremlin, Putin.”?

The Russian president has not been seen publicly since appearing on Russian state TV Saturday morning for his address to the nation — where he vowed to punish the “armed rebellion” launched by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Some context: This comes after Prigozhin agreed to leave Russia for Belarus, the Kremlin said Saturday. The armed insurrection marked the gravest threat to Putin’s?authority in decades.

In a conference call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said an agreement was struck with Prigozhin.

The dramatic developments in Russia on Friday and Saturday had many around the world glued to their phones – nowhere more so than in Ukraine. Any internal power struggle in Russia could have dramatic implications for this country’s efforts to repel the invading military.

CNN asked some people in Kyiv what they made of the events. They gave only their first names, as is often the case in this country.

Daryna, left, and Mykyta.

Mykyta, 29, ?Т developer with his partner Daryna, 28, an administrator

Ina, 53

From left, Serhiy, Yegor and Maryna.

Serhiy, 40, with his wife Maryna, 30, and their four-year-old son Yegor

From left, Marya, Olena and Nadia.

Nadia, 63

Marya, 36

Olena, 61

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the?Wagner paramilitary group, led his forces in an insurrection Saturday and?took control of a key military facility in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.

By Saturday evening, Prigozhin announced his forces were?stopping their advance toward Moscow?after striking an apparent deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Here’s a look at what happened Saturday:

A Wagner fighter stands atop an armored vehicle as he guards an area near the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don on Saturday, June 24.

Members of the Wagner group stand on the balcony of a building in Rostov-on-Don on Saturday.

A military column of the Wagner private mercenary group drives along M-4 highway, which links the capital Moscow with Russia's southern cities, near Voronezh, Russia, on Saturday.

A worker removes an advertising banner promoting service in the Wagner private mercenary group on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, Russia, on Saturday.

A Russian Police officer guards the Red Square near the Kremlin in Moscow on Saturday.

Wagner fighters prepare to pull out from the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don to return to their base on Saturday.

Wagner private military company boss Yevgeny Prigozhin leaves Rostov-on-Don with other Wagner fighters on Saturday.

Wagner mercenaries have left the Russian region of Lipetsk after ending their rebellion against the Kremlin, according to the regional government.

“Units of PMC “Wagner,” which stopped the day before in the Lipetsk region, left the territory of the region,” it said on Telegram.?

It comes after the governor of the southern Russian region of Voronezh said Wagner units are continuing their withdrawal and forces are departing “steadily and without incident.”

Armed Wagner fighters left the southern region of Rostov earlier after halting their advance on Moscow under a deal purportedly brokered by Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko and the private army’s leader.?

Some context: Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the?Wagner paramilitary group, agreed to leave Russia for Belarus, the Kremlin said Saturday. The armed insurrection marked the gravest threat to Russian President?Vladimir Putin’s?authority in decades.

In a conference call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said an agreement was struck with Prigozhin.

“You will ask me what will happen to Prigozhin personally?” Peskov said. “The criminal case will be dropped against him. He himself will go to Belarus.”

The announcement defused a crisis that began when Wagner troops took control of a key military facility in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and some fighters advanced toward the capital.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting in Moscow, Russia, on May 25.

Nearly three years ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin stood by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in his hour of need, backing Europe’s longest-running dictator as he faced a wave of street protests.

Now Lukashenko appears to have come through for Putin, if we are to believe what the Kremlin and the Belarusian presidential press service tell us.

A quick recap: A major crisis shook the foundations of the Russian state Saturday, as forces loyal to Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin marched toward Moscow. Then, an abrupt reversal happened – Prigozhin called off their advance, claiming his mercenaries had come within 124 miles of the capital but were turning around to avoid spilling Russian blood.?

According to the Belarusian presidential press service, the decision followed an unexpected intervention by Lukashenko himself. The supposed deal struck with Prigozhin would see the Wagner boss 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.?

But those, it’s worth emphasizing, are only the bare outlines of the deal. Prigozhin –? whereabouts currently unknown – has not commented on the supposed agreement. And the Kremlin and Belarusian account of Lukashenko’s mediation appear to stretch credulity.

“You will probably ask me – why Lukashenko?” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Saturday. “The fact is that Alexander Grigoryevich (Lukashenko) has known Prigozhin personally for a long time, for about 20 years. And it was his personal proposal, which was agreed with President Putin. We are grateful to the President of Belarus for these efforts.”

Those efforts, Peskov claimed, “managed to resolve this situation without further losses, without increasing the level of tension.”

Still, Lukashenko’s apparent intercession raises more questions than it answers.

For starters, Lukashenko is clearly seen as the junior partner in the relationship with Putin. And Belarus depends on Russia for aid: At the height of Lukashenko’s confrontation with protesters, Putin came through with a loan of $1.5 billion. And Belarus has been a springboard for Russian military operations in Ukraine, something that has isolated Lukashenko further from the West and triggered new sanctions on the country’s economy.

So what’s to gain here for Lukashenko? It seems difficult to envision Prigozhin happily harvesting potatoes alongside the Belarusian leader, a former collective farm boss. And why was Putin — who until this weekend, was the reliable arbiter of elite disputes in Russia — unable to cut that deal himself? Delegating Lukashenko to resolve the crisis further damages Putin’s image as a decisive man of action.

The initial details we have, it seems, do not completely add up. And adding to that uncertainty are other questions: What will happen to the Wagner “brand?” Will Prigozhin’s foot soldiers be compliant and let themselves be absorbed into the Russian military? Will they still have loyalty to their boss? And what about Wagner forces operating elsewhere in the world, from Africa to the Middle East?

Prigozhin – if and when he surfaces – may give us some clues.

Wagner units are?continuing their withdrawal?and forces are departing “without incident” from the the southern Russian region of Voronezh, according to the area’s governor, after Russia stepped back from the brink of an apparent civil war with the private military group.

Elsewhere, Russian launched attacks on eastern and southern Ukraine on Saturday and overnight, Ukrainian officials said, killing two and injuring at least eight others.

Below are the latest updates:

Chechen special forces deployed to Rostov-on-Don and the Rostov region Saturday to aid Moscow in quelling a Wagner insurrection are withdrawing, according to Russian state media.

TASS cited Apty Alaudinov, commander of the “Akhmat” special forces, reporting that the unit is returning to the front lines of Ukraine where they are fighting alongside Russian troops.

The Akhmat special forces were dispatched to Rostov to help suppress the rebellion, Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, said in a Telegram post Sunday.

“In light of the recent events, Chechen units were sent to Rostov-on-Don in order to take the situation under control, if necessary,” Kadyrov said in a post.

“To solve this problem, the assistant to the head of the Chechen Republic, the commander of the special forces ‘AKHMAT,’ the deputy commander of the 2nd Army Corps of the RF Armed Forces Apty Alaudinov and the commander of the regiment ‘North-AKHMAT’ Zaindi Zingiev were involved,” he said.

On Saturday, Chechen State media Grozny reported that “3,000 fighters of elite units were sent from Chechnya, and they have been holding their positions since early morning ready to fulfill any order of Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

The armed rebellion ended with Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin withdrawing his private mercenary troops and turning back from his march to Moscow.

A view of an apartment building damaged during Russian missile strikes in?Kyiv on Saturday.

The death toll from an attack on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv early Saturday has risen to five, according to the city’s mayor.

Rescuers discovered two further bodies under the rubble of the 24-story apartment block in the city’s?Solomyanskyi?district, Vitali Klitschko said in a Telegram post Sunday,

In a previous post, Klitschko said that ”?fragments of a rocket hit the upper floors” of the building, filling them with smoke.

According to the mayor, rescuers are still working through the rubble of the multi-story building, which was damaged by falling missile debris.??

Wagner fighters pull out of the the city of Rostov-on-Don on Saturday.

Wagner units are continuing their withdrawal and forces are departing “without incident” from the the southern Russian region of Voronezh, according to the area’s governor.

Units of Wagner went through Voronezh on their advance toward Moscow, and authorities said Sunday a fuel tank fire at an oil refinery had been extinguished after Saturday’s dramatic events.?

The governor thanked Voronezh residents “for their endurance, steadfastness and reasonableness, and all the law enforcement agencies and involved departments for their well-coordinated work and professionalism.”

Some context: Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the?Wagner paramilitary group, agreed to leave Russia for Belarus, the Kremlin said Saturday, in a deal apparently brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The armed insurrection marked the gravest threat to Russian President?Vladimir Putin’s?authority in decades.

In a conference call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said an agreement was struck with Prigozhin.

“You will ask me what will happen to Prigozhin personally?” Peskov said. “The criminal case will be dropped against him. He himself will go to Belarus.”

The announcement defused a crisis that began when Wagner troops took control of a key military facility in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and some fighters advanced toward the capital.

International talks held in Copenhagen to discuss Kyiv’s 10-point peace plan to end Russia’s invasion were “constructive,” Ukrainian President Zelensky’s chief of staff said Sunday.

“I expressed my conviction that it (the plan) should be the basis for achieving a sustainable and just peace for Ukraine, as the war lingers in our territory,”?Andriy Yermak said in a series of tweets.?

Zelensky first presented Ukraine’s 10-point peace formula to world leaders at the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November.

The steps include a path to nuclear safety, food security, a special tribunal for alleged Russian war crimes and a final peace treaty with Moscow. He also urged G20 leaders to use all their power to “make Russia abandon nuclear threats” and implement a price cap on energy imported from Moscow.

Over the weekend,?representatives from G7 countries and multiple nations in the global south met in Copenhagen to discuss the peace plan.?The countries that joined the Ukrainian-led talks included India, Brazil,?Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States.

Yermak?called?the meeting of the advisers “a clear message of respect for Ukraine and our fair battle” and hailed the involvement of a number of global south countries as a sign of “significant positive changes” in relations.?

China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, held a meeting with Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Andrey Rudenko, in Beijing on Sunday, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

The two sides “exchanged views on China-Russia relations and international and regional issues of common concern,” a statement from the foreign ministry said, without providing any further details.?

The statement did not mention the Wagner insurrections in Russia nor Ukraine specifically. China has not publicly commented?on the insurrection.

Some context: Last month, Beijing’s special envoy for the war met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an attempt cast itself as a potential peace broker between the warring sides. China has faced criticism for not acting to help end the war started by Russia, who they have close ties with.

While Russia has been hit with Western sanctions since it invaded Ukraine, bilateral trade between Moscow and Beijing totaled more than $93.8 billion between January to May, a 40.7% increase when compared to the same period last year, according to China’s General Administration of Customs.

Ukrainian soldiers of the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade fire a grenade launcher at the front line near the town of Bakhmu on June 17.

Ever since?President?Vladimir Putin gave the order for?Russian?troops to?invade Ukraine, the international response has understandably focused on how best to end the land war. That has meant sending?conventional?military hardware?– tanks, missile systems, artillery –?and?training?Ukrainian soldiers.??

Not bad for an organization France’s President Emmanuel Macron warned in 2019?was facing “brain death.”

Russia’s aggression hasn’t been restricted to the battlefield. Even before the invasion, NATO officials noted a rise in non-conventional warfare aimed at Ukraine and other Western targets.

Since the start of the war, disinformation, energy restrictions and cyberattacks on infrastructure have all been weaponized by the Kremlin to justify and advance its war.??

But NATO’s unity has been one of the least expected and most welcome aspects of the West’s response to the war?in Ukraine.?And the relative stability of the politics within the alliance has created windows for NATO?to?try new things and get the money to do so.??

Read the full analysis here.

Two people have died and at least eight injured in Russian attacks on eastern and southern Ukraine on Saturday and overnight, Ukrainian officials said.

In the eastern Donetsk region, one resident in the front line town of?Vuhledar died and two others were wounded on Saturday,?Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the regional military administration, wrote on Telegram Sunday.?

In Kherson, a 44-year-old man was killed and a woman was trapped under the rubble of a five-story building after Russian shelling damaged homes and property,?Oleksandr Prokudin, head of Kherson region military administration, said.

Prokudin also said?Russia carried out 59 attacks, including 235 shells from mortars, artillery, Grad MLRS and aircraft, which struck residential areas.

In Kharkiv, a 7-year-old boy was injured and hospitalized in a blast in the village of?Pivdenne,?Oleh Syniehubov, head of the region’s military administration, said.?

“The enemy fired at frontline and border settlements in Kharkiv, Kupyansk and Chuhuiv districts of the region,”?Syniehubov said, adding a 49-year-old man in the Kruhliakivka village of Kupyansk was also injured.?

In the southern?Zaporizhzhia region, two people were injured -?an 85-year-old woman from Preobrazhenka and a 77-year-old woman from Novodanylivka - after Russia launched attacks with UAVs, MLRS and artillery strikes on frontline settlements,?Yurii Malashko, head of Zaporizhzhia region military administration, said. At least 15 residential buildings were damaged, he added.?

A 47-year-old man was also injured with multiple shrapnel wounds after enemy shelling in the southern Ukrainian district of Nikopol,?according to Serhii Lysak, head of Dnipropetrovsk region military administration. The city is?located in the Dnipropetrovsk region across the river from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Three private houses and a gas pipeline were damaged in Nikopol, he said, adding some settlements in the nearby?Marhanets community?had power outages after heavy artillery damaged a power line.

Japan’s National Security Secretariat, Takeo Akiba, held a 10-minute phone call with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Saturday to discuss the unfolding situation in Russia, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported.

“They discussed Wagner and broader Russian issues and agreed that the two nations will closely cooperate with each other and monitor the situation,” according to NHK.

Akiba is currently in Copenhagen for an international conference on the war in Ukraine, according to NHK.

Some context: Within?a remarkable day and a half,?Russia faced the very real?threat of?an armed insurrection, with President Vladimir Putin vowing to punish Wagner fighters marching toward Moscow and occupying cities along the way – before a sudden deal with Belarus seemed to defuse the crisis?as rapidly as it emerged.

But much remains uncertain, with experts warning?the rare uprising?isn’t likely to disappear so quickly without consequences down the line.

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with President Andrzej Duda of Poland on Saturday about the situation in Russia, the Elysée Palace said in a statement

Macron then got on a call with US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the Elysée said. ?

A fuel tank fire is seen close to the city of Voronezh, in southwestern Russia, on Saturday.

A fuel tank fire at an oil refinery close to the city of Voronezh in southwestern Russia has been extinguished, Russia’s state news agency TASS reported on Sunday, citing the Ministry of Emergency Situations for the region.?

Firefighters completely extinguished the fire, which destroyed a 5,000 ton tank of aviation kerosene, TASS reported.?

Voronezh Governor Alexander Gusev had reported that a fuel tank at an oil refinery close to the city was on fire.

He provided no explanation for the cause of the fire, but several social media videos showed at least one military helicopter in the vicinity. Fighters of the Wagner private military company had been in the area, geolocated video showed.

Traffic restrictions remain in place for a major highway, the M-4 “Don”, in Moscow and in the Tula region, Russia’s state highway company Avtodor said on Telegram Sunday.?

This comes hours after Russia’s?Federal Road Agency said all restrictions on highways?in Russia had been lifted, according to Russian?state media TASS.

On Saturday, Avtodor had advised drivers to avoid the M-4 as reports swirled that convoys of Wagner fighters were using the road.

Earlier in the day, TASS reported that car traffic had been blocked on the M-4 highway past Rostov-on-Don towards Aksay.

Russia’s government “struggled” to put together an “effective rapid response” to Wagner’s rebellion, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a statement Saturday, highlighting “internal security weaknesses likely due to surprise and the impact of heavy losses in Ukraine.”

The organization said “Wagner likely could have reached the outskirts of Moscow if Prigozhin chose to order them to do so.”

The “founding mission” of Rosgvardia, Russia’s National Guard, is “to protect internal threats to the security of the Russian government,” (ISW) said.

“It is notable that Rosgvardia failed to engage even as Wagner captured critical military assets in Rostov-on-Don and destroyed Russian military aircraft,” the statement said.

This weekend’s lightening rebellion and its subsequent deescalation has left even seasoned Russian watchers stunned, with many saying the uncertainty raises a lot of questions.

Hall added Prigozhin may have felt he had bitten off more than he could chew as his column of troops marched towards Moscow. But at the same time, Putin faced the very real prospect of having to defeat some 25,000 Wagner troops.

Sending Prigozhin to Belarus was a face saving move for both sides, Hall said. But added that Putin comes out ultimately worse off and weakened.

Wagner fighters pull out of the headquarters of the Southern Military District in the city of Rostov-on-Don on Saturday night.

After previously refusing to surrender, Wagner private military company chief Yevgeny Prigozhin announced his forces were turning around from a march toward Moscow – suddenly defusing a crisis that threatened Russia’s stability.

It followed an intervention by the Belarusian government, according to the Kremlin, who said a deal had been reached that would see the Wagner boss leave for Belarus.

Here’s what you need to know.

How did we get here? Prigozhin on Friday accused Russia’s military of attacking a Wagner camp and killing a “huge amount” of his men. He vowed to retaliate with force, insinuating that his forces would “destroy” any resistance, including roadblocks and aircraft. Wagner troops then took control of a key military facility in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and some fighters advanced toward Moscow. The insurrection ended with the deal apparently brokered by Belarus.

What’s happening now? Prigozhin said he was turning his forces around from a march toward Moscow shortly after the Belarusian government’s apparent deal to halt the advance. The Wagner boss said the move was in accordance with an unspecified plan and intended to avoid Russian bloodshed.

The Wagner boss has?agreed to leave Russia?for neighboring Belarus, a spokesperson for the Kremlin said. However, his current whereabouts remain unclear.

What’s next for Prigozhin? Criminal charges against Prigozhin will be dropped and Wagner’s fighters will face no legal action for their part in the insurrection, a Kremlin spokesperson said. But experts have warned that the danger isn’t over for the chief of the mercenary outfit.

What does this mean for Putin? The armed standoff was one of the most dramatic moments for Putin since his rise to power 23 years ago, and arguably one of the most volatile moments since his brutal onslaught in Ukraine began more than a year ago.

Experts say despite the apparent deescalation, the Russian leader’s strongman reputation has been compromised and many questions remain over what could happen next.

How has Ukraine responded? President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his nightly address,?claimed Putin is “very afraid,” saying that the Russian president is “probably hiding somewhere, not showing himself.” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo?Podolyak said Prigozhin’s escalation had?“almost nullified”?Putin and criticized Prigozhin for “suddenly”?turning his forces around.?

Russian President Vladimir Putin has suffered “a mortal blow,” according to a retired US general, despite the apparent deal that will see Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin leave for Belarus.

“There are two existential fights going on in this Russia-Ukraine war,” said retired US Army Brig. Gen. Peter Zwack.

“One is the viability of the survival, the existence, of a free-minded Ukrainian state. The other is inside the Kremlin and the viability of the Putin regime.”

He called the events that unfolded on the streets of Russia over the past 36 hours “extraordinary,” adding there is a “narrative getting out to the mainstream population that this invasion of Ukraine was wrong.”

Zwack said: “And I think in this aspect, the information is that Russia’s Putin’s bodyguard of lies is collapsing as we watch.”

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is seen in Moscow on May 24.

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will hold an emergency meeting of his Security Council on Sunday, his office has said, hours after he called for “law and order” in Russia.

The announcement comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin called?Tokayev to brief him on the situation in Russia.?

Tokayev noted the events are an “internal affair” of Russia and called for the resumption of law and order. ?

Major Mike Lyons speaks to CNN's Anderson Cooper on June 24.

A retired major in the the US Army said there are many questions to be asked about the future facing Wagner fighters after their short-lived uprising.

“They’re an independent fighting?company.?They were given better rations.?They dressed differently,” said Major Mike Lyons (Ret.) US Army.?

He added: “Maybe some will splinter off.?Maybe some will decide to defect?and provide information to?Ukraine.?Those people are loyal to the?man, Prigozhin, not to the?country, not to the mission. I think we’ve got a lot more questions that are not answered right now.”

Earlier Saturday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Wagner fighters will not face legal action for taking part in the march toward Moscow, saying that the Kremlin has “always respected their heroic deeds” on the front lines in Ukraine.?

The United States has not seen a change to Russia’s nuclear posture since Wagner chief?Yevgeny Prigozhin began his insurrection challenging the Kremlin’s leadership, two US officials told CNN.?

President Putin has repeatedly engaged in nuclear saber-rattling over the course of the Ukraine war. Putin?said earlier this month that the first tactical nuclear weapons to be stored in Belarus had arrived. US President Joe Biden called the move “absolutely irresponsible.”

The US has continued to monitor Russia’s nuclear posture throughout the Ukraine War despite Russia this year suspending participation in the single lasting nuclear arms control treaty between the US and Russia. This has meant that the two nations are no longer sharing?certain notifications with one another which were required under the treaty, including updates on the status or location of treaty-accountable items such as missiles and launchers.?

And as the US continues to monitor the situation in Russia the US diplomatic presence in the country has remain unchanged.?

“Our embassy in Moscow remains open, we are in regular communication with it, and its operating posture remains the same at this time,” the spokesperson said.?

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov,?an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin,?condemned the actions of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in a Telegram post on Saturday, saying,?“bloodshed could have happened.”?

Kadyrov added that “extreme measures” would have been needed to stop any Wagner rebellion requiring “harsh suppression and destruction of anyone who encroaches on the integrity of the Russian Federation.”

Condemning?Prigozhin?for his actions over the last 24 hours,?Kadyrov said: “The arrogance of one person could lead to such dangerous consequences and draw a large number of people into the conflict,” he added.?

Kadyrov blamed Prigozhin for “mixing business ambitions with matters of national importance.”?

Some context: Chechen State media Grozny reported earlier Saturday that “3,000 fighters of elite units were sent from Chechnya, and they have been holding their positions since early morning ready to fulfill any order of Russian President Vladimir Putin.”?

Former CNN Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty speaks to CNN's Anderson Cooper.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “doesn’t forgive traitors,” said former CNN Moscow bureau chief, Jill Dougherty.

Even though Putin has told Prigozhin to go to Belarus, according to the Kremlin, the Wagner chief remains a “traitor,” Dougherty told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Saturday.

Dougherty said the turmoil and chaos that transpired on the streets of Russia did not make Putin look like the strongman leader he has positioned himself to be.

“Why are average Russians on the street cheering people trying to carry out a coup? That means that maybe they?support them but they might?like them.?Whatever it is, it is really?bad news for Putin.”

Wagner private military company boss Yevgeny Prigozhin leaves the headquarters of the Southern Military District amid the group's pullout from the city of Rostov-on-Don on June 24.

Wagner private military company boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has left Russian military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don in southwestern Russia, new video shows.

The video, posted to Telegram, and geolocated and authenticated by CNN, shows Prigozhin sitting in the backseat of a vehicle.?Crowds cheer and the vehicle comes to a stop as an individual approaches it and shakes Prigozhin’s hand.?

He is heard saying “All the best” to the people gathered before the vehicle drives off.?

Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti quoted an unnamed eyewitness that said Prigozhin left the headquarters “with the fighters.”?

It’s the first time Prigozhin has been seen in public since he announced that his troops would “turn back” from Moscow and return to “field camps.” It is unclear where Prigozhin is currently en route to, but per the apparent deal, he is expected to be sent to Belarus and not face any criminal charges.

The video follows other clips posted to Telegram, also geolocated and authenticated by CNN, that show Wagner forces withdrawing from their positions at the military headquarters, crowds surrounding a Wagner vehicle convoy and people cheering the forces after it was announced they would turn back.

Before the Wagner forces were seen leaving, video from Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti showed a Russian military police vehicle arriving at the military headquarters.