26 Jun 2023

Moscow vs Wagner: What was behind the weekend rebellion?

From Nine To Noon, 9:10 am on 26 June 2023
This combination of photos shows Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) attending a meeting with a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, specialist in applied and fundamental endocrinology Ivan Dedov, at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 23, 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left and Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group. Photo: AFP / Sputnik

Special security measures remain in place in Moscow after the weekend's short-lived rebellion by the Wagner mercenary group. The measures were introduced when Wagner's leader Yevgeny Prigozhin instructed his troops to march on the capital after taking control of the southern city of Rostov-on Don.

Prigozhin yesterday withdrew after an amnesty deal allowing him to move to Belarus was agreed. But what's the long-term damage?

The US says the mutiny has exposed cracks in Vladimir Putin's leadership. Kathryn talks to Luke Harding, an award-winning Guardian journalist and former Moscow correspondent about the weekend's events and the longer-term implications. His latest book is called Invasion: Russia's Bloody War and Ukraine's Fight for Survival.