According to French President Emmanuel Macron, the uprising by the Wagner mercenary organization in Russia against President Vladimir Putin over the conflict in Ukraine has exposed rifts inside the Russian government.
According to Macron, the abandoned march on Moscow “shows the divisions that exist within the Russian camp, as well as the fragility of both its military and its auxillary forces.”
The situation was still changing, he said, and he was “following the events hour by hour.”
“All of this should make us very vigilant, and fully justifies the support that we are giving to the Ukrainians in their resistance,” he added.
Yevgeny Prigozhin’s private army was returning to its camp on Sunday after Putin let the leader to seek asylum in Belarus, but it is still unknown exactly where Prigozhin is.
His long-running dispute with the top brass of the Russian military about how the Russian invasion of Ukraine was handled culminated in the mutiny. According to a number of commentators, the scandal revealed weaknesses in Putin’s hold on authority.
Similar to Macron, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier on Sunday that the situation “raises profound questions, it shows real cracks” in the government.