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Last month’s mutiny against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime collapsed because Russian troops remained faithful to their oath and military duty, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday.
Shoigu, who was an apparent target of the insurgency, broke his silence on the issue with military commanders at a conference call Monday. Shoigu, in excerpts that were published by Russian state media, said military personnel fulfilled their assignments “courageously and selflessly” in the face of the Wagner Group’s aborted push toward Moscow. And Shoigu, who for months was lambasted on social media as incompetent by Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, credited Russia’s regular soldiers with staving off Ukrainian troops that he said had failed to make major gains on the battlefield since their offensive began last month.
Prigohzin has said he had not planned on taking over the government, but multiple media reports indicated he had planned to force Shoigu out.
“The professional actions of our troops help minimize civilian casualties and save hundreds of lives,” Shoigu said Monday. “I express my gratitude to the personnel for their faithful service.”
Developments:
∎ Ukrainian novelist-turned-war-crimes-researcher Victoria Amelina, whose works have been translated into English and at least eight languages, has died of injuries suffered in last month’s Russian missile strike on a Kramatorsk pizza restaurant, Ukraine authorities announced. The attack killed at least a dozen people and wounded scores more.
∎ The withdrawal of Wagner mercenaries from Ukraine poses no risks to Russia’s combat potential, the head of the State Duma Defense Committee told Tass on Monday. Andrey Kartapolov said Russian regular forces can replace them.
Zelenskyy says Putin power ‘crumbling’
Russia’s brief, armed rebellion last month demonstrated Putin’s weakness and his fading support among the Russian people, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says. Zelenskyy, in an interview with CNN recorded Sunday, also reiterated his position that the war won’t end until Ukraine has regained all territory seized by Russia − including Crimea, which Russia has occupied since 2014, years before Russia invaded Ukraine more than 16 months ago.
“We cannot imagine Ukraine without Crimea. And while Crimea is under the Russian occupation, it means only one thing − the war is not over yet,” he said.
Zelenskyy noted that Wagner Group mercenary leader Prigozhin’s rebellion was able to seize military installations in two Russian cities, showing “how easy it is to do.” Ukraine intelligence reports indicated that half the Russian people supported Prigozhin, he said.
“Putin doesn’t control the situation in the regions,” Zelenskyy said. “All that vertical of power he used to have is just crumbling down.”
Peace plans aplenty, but Ukraine draws line at conceding land
China has a 12-point plan. Brazil offered to lead a “peace club.” The Vatican dispatched a papal trouble shooter. Sixteen months after Russia invaded Ukraine, the number of peace plans, initiatives and offers of mediation from third parties is proliferating. What doesn’t appear to be expanding is Ukraine’s appetite to consider them. Zelenskyy and his closest advisers have repeatedly said that while Ukraine is open to input from others, it doesn’t need intermediaries for peace negotiations.
This is because Ukraine has ruled out compromises over its territory and sovereignty and Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no signs he’s prepared to abandon his goal of completely dominating Ukraine. (Read more)
− Kim Hjelmgaard
Nuke plant’s backup power line repaired, but safety ‘not sustainable’
Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant has been reconnected to its only available backup power line four months after it was lost, but the power situation at Europe’s largest nuclear plant remains extremely fragile and is “not sustainable,” the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Monday.
Rafael Mariano Grossi said work to reconnect the power line had been hampered by the “difficult security situation’ in Ukraine’s southern region. The ZNPP had been relying on a single main line for the external electricity it needs for reactor cooling and other essential nuclear safety and security functions. The plant, which has not generated electricity in months, had four such lines before the conflict began.
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