Russia bids to show return to order after Wagner mutiny

Moscow was striving Monday to portray a return to business as usual after a weekend mutiny by mercenary troops threatened Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin’s grip on power.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, one of the main targets of Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin’s revolt, appeared in pre-recorded footage on state television, apparently visiting troops in Ukraine.

Officials in Moscow and in the Voronezh region south of the capital lifted “anti-terrorist” emergency security measures imposed to protect the capital from rebel assault.

Putin himself has yet to appear in public since the revolt ended, and Prigozhin was last seen on Saturday leaving the southern city of Rostov-on-Don in an armed Wagner convoy.

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin proclaimed the situation in the city “stable”, and thanked Muscovites for their “calm and understanding” during the crisis.

On Saturday, with Wagner columns bearing down on the capital and clashing with regular forces in Voronezh, bordering Ukraine, a “counter-terrorist” regime had been ordered.

– ‘Moving forward’ –

Russia’s operation in Ukraine continued through the crisis, however, as Shoigu — whom Prigozhin had threatened to overthrow — was at pains to demonstrate.

On Monday, he appeared on state television visiting a Russian command bunker in Ukraine and flying in a helicopter to inspect troops battling an Ukrainian counteroffensive.

During the meeting, the minister highlighted “great efficiency in the detection and destruction” of Ukraine’s weapons systems and soldiers, the ministry of defence said.

It was not possible, however, to independently confirm whether the report had been filmed before or after the Wagner revolt.

Ukrainian military leaders, however, insisted they were making progress in a multi-direction offensive targeting Russian lines in the south and east of the country.

“We are knocking the enemy out of his positions on the flanks of the city of Bakhmut,” ground force commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said.

“Ukraine is regaining its territory. We are moving forward,” he said.

Deputy defence minister Ganna Malyar said Ukraine had recaptured 17 square kilometres of ground in the past week, bringing the total for June’s offensive to 130.

Ukrainian residents in the frontline town of Druzhkivka, near Bakhmut in the eastern region of Donetsk, told AFP that four explosions rocked a residential district overnight.

The blasts severed water and sewage pipes, shattered windows and threw up stones that hit yards and roofs, but municipal authorities said no-one was hurt.

“It was a ‘fun’ night, we haven’t had this for a long time, it’s been quiet for a month or so,” said 66-year-old Lyubov, showing off the new hole in her cement-shingled roof.