Volodymyr Zelenskiy
Ukraine officials declared on Saturday that chaos in Russia works in Kyiv’s favor, but it remains to be seen whether President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his army can capitalize on the chaos generated this weekend as mercenaries marched into Moscow.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a founder of the Wagner army, announced late Saturday that he was calling off his march for justice on Moscow following a settlement that exonerated him and his mercenaries from criminal charges. Mr. Prigozhin was also exiled to Belarus as part of the agreement.
“Today, the world saw that Russia’s masters have no control over anything. Absolutely nothing. It’s just total chaos”, Mr. Zelenskiy said in his video message, asking Ukraine’s allies to take advantage of the situation and supply additional arms to Kyiv.
The Prigozhin uprising, Russia’s strongest domestic threat to President Vladimir Putin in 23 years, has fueled global security fears and a frenzy of requests for Washington and its allies to coordinate steps.
On Saturday, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, “Any chaos behind enemy lines works in our interests”.
Mr. Putin described Prigozhin’s actions as a ‘blow to Russia’, but there were no apparent signs that his reign was under threat. The defence ministry, led by Mr. Putin’s ally Sergei Shoigu, remained deafeningly silent throughout the weekend’s events.
Mr. Kuleba said it was too early to talk about Ukraine’s repercussions, but later in the day, he spoke with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the events and Kyiv’s counteroffensive operations.
In a subsequent statement, the US State Department stated that Washington will remain in close cooperation with Kyiv as the situation develops.
Ukraine’s military reported an offensive towards villages ringing Bakhmut, which Wagner forces took in May after months of combat.
Kyiv also claimed liberation of the Donetsk settlement of Krasnohorivka, but gains were incremental.
According to Mr. Zelenskiy, the counteroffensive has been slower than desired in general.
The secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, Oleksiy Danilov, stated on Saturday that there will be no immediate retreat of Russian forces from the frontline to Moscow.
“They… all remain in their places. They maintain their resistance”, Mr. Danilov was cited as saying by Ukrainian official media.
