Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi shared the same stage on Tuesday, speaking at a virtual summit of a Shanghai-headquartered regional security organization in the wake of an aborted Wagner mutiny that had political implications for both nations. Both leaders spoke about the importance of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional power…

Commentary There’s no doubt that the brief, but significant armed mutiny by Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin damaged Vladimir Putin. Indeed the Moscow Times described Putin as being “seen as weakened.” Russia Today asked the question, “Was it a one-off or an ominous sign?” And the Russia Post headline identified “The Prigozhin Mutiny as a…

Russia’s media watchdog blacklisted at least five media outlets affiliated with Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and blocked their websites in Russia. The move came after Wagner fighters took control of a Russian military headquarters and advanced on Moscow in what appears to have been an attempted insurrection. As of Saturday, websites of the RIA…

Russian President Vladimir Putin planned to kill mutinous Wagner fighters marching on Moscow before being talked down, according to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. It is unclear how Putin planned to carry out his plan, but Lukashenko said during a June 27 meeting with military officials that the decision had been made to kill all the…

The White House urged China on Monday to stop supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine after the brief Wagner mutiny threw Russia’s domestic political balance into uncertainty. According to White House national security spokesperson John Kirby, the Biden administration is actively monitoring the situation but has not yet determined how the recent revolt of Wagner Group,…

The United States and its allies had nothing to do with the mutiny undertaken by Yevgeny Prigozhin and the private Russian army known as the Wagner Group that occurred in Russia on June 23 and June 24, according to U.S. President Joe Biden. The president commented on the short-lived insurrection during White House remarks on…

Russian President Vladimir Putin has broken his silence for the first time since the Wagner mutiny ended in an uncertain truce on Saturday, with the Russian leader pledging in a televised address that the leaders of the Wagner rebellion would be brought to justice. Putin’s remarks on Monday were his first since a fiery speech…

Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged in a televised address that the leaders of the Wagner rebellion would be brought to justice, in Putin’s first public comments since the mutiny by the mercenary group ended in an uncertain truce on June 24. Putin’s remarks on June 26 were his first since a fiery speech several days…

As a sudden uprising against the Russian state by the Wagner mercenary group ended abruptly, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “weakness” is “obvious now inside his own country.” Moreover, Christie said that supporting Ukraine to fight against the Russian military could help contain communist China’s hegemonic ambition. “I think that what this…

Commentary It has been amusing, in a grisly sort of way, to witness the adulation heaped upon Yevgeny Prigozhin, former violent felon, and founder of the paramilitary group PMC Wagner (“PMC” stands for “Private Military Company”). For many years, Prigozhin had been pals with the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The two both hail from St….