What to know about the situation in Russia
- Mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin ordered his forces to turn back from their march on Moscow, saying he was abandoning the armed rebellion to avoid bloodshed.
- The Kremlin said Prigozhin would leave Russia for neighbor and ally Belarus while avoiding criminal charges along with his fighters despite the revolt.
- Senior Biden administration officials were briefed on intelligence indicating that Prigozhin was considering a challenge on Wednesday, June 21, and that “alarm bells” started going off more intensely early in the day Friday, a U.S. official told NBC News.
- President Vladimir Putin had accused Prigozhin of "treason" and vowed to crush the growing armed rebellion. The stunning conclusion to the crisis will leave questions about the Russian leader's authority.
Gang of Eight briefed on the situation in Russia last week
The key congressional leaders known as the Gang of Eight were briefed last week on the situation in Russia, a source confirmed today.
The Gang of Eight are Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.; Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner, D-Va., and Vice Chair Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; and House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner, R-Ohio, and ranking member Jim Himes, D-Conn.
U.S. intelligence agencies collected information showing Prigozhin had been planning a challenge to Russia’s senior military leaders, a source familiar with the matter said.
U.S. spy agencies observed the Wagner Group amassing forces and weapons, and detected other indications that Prigozhin was poised to make a move, the source said, although the intelligence was not definitive.
Biden gave no public statement on armed rebellion over concerns with Putin, official says
Biden has not given a public statement in response to the armed rebellion, in the belief that Putin would point to any statement as proof that the White House was orchestrating the uprising in Russia, a White House official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to talk freely.
Zelenskyy says he had a 'positive' conversation with Biden about Russia
President Joe Biden has spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone about Russia, according to a White House official.
Zelenskyy tweeted that he had a "positive and inspiring conversation" with Biden in which they discussed the "course of hostilities and the processes taking place in Russia."
"We discussed further expansion of defense cooperation, with an emphasis on long-range weapons," he said, adding that the two also talked about the implementation of the Ukraine peace formula and preparations for the Global Peace Summit.
Biden also reaffirmed America's unwavering support for Ukraine on the call Sunday, including through continued security, economic and humanitarian aid, the White House said in a statement.
Ukrainian defense minister says he has spoken to Austin about Russia
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Sunday that he has spoken to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about the rebellion in Russia.
Reznikov tweeted that he and Austin agreed that Moscow authorities were "weak" and that Russia's pulling its troops from Ukraine would be "the best choice" for the Kremlin.
He said they also discussed Ukraine's "counteroffensive and the next steps in strengthening our defense forces."
"Things are moving in the right direction," Reznikov said. "Ukraine will win."
Schumer: 'No evidence of any more motion' by Wagner group
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said that he was briefed this morning on the situation in Russia and that “there is no evidence of any more motion” by the Wagner Group after it turned back from its march on Moscow.
“The Wagner Group has stopped, and they have signed an agreement,” he said at an event about electric bicycles with New York Mayor Eric Adams and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. “There is no evidence of any more motion. They were about 150 miles from Moscow when they stopped.”
The mercenaries “did not get much resistance” on the road to Moscow, he said.
“The head of the Wagner Group thought that he’d get a lot of support from Russian dissidents, Russian armed forces ... and may not have, but that remains just speculation,” he said. “We don’t know exactly what happened yet.”
John Sullivan: Deal between Russia and Wagner Group is 'evidence' of Putin's weakness
John Sullivan, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, said the deal Belarus helped broker between Prigozhin and Russia’s government is “evidence" of Putin's weakness.
“Belarus is part of a union state with Russia; they are conjoined. How dependent now is Putin on Lukashenko?" he said, referring to Aleksandr Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, in an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
"It’s evidence of the weakness that this reveals, what’s happened in the last three or four days, the weakness of Vladimir Putin,” he said. “It’s not just an appearance of weakness — it’s actual weakness.
House Intel chair: Conflict between Prigozhin and Putin was 'inevitable'
Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, the chair of the Intelligence Committee, said the panel was “very much aware” that the rebellion could occur after it was briefed by Biden administration officials in recent days.
Asked to describe the intelligence the U.S. had about the mercenary forces’ march on Moscow, Turner said in an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that the conflict between Prigozhin and Putin was “inevitable,” citing Prigozhin’s harsh criticisms of Russia's conventional forces
Turner also questioned Putin's grasp on his own military: “For any government to have stability, they have to control their military. Obviously, Prigozhin, in order to make it that distance, has to have accomplices.
“Where was the air force? Where was the Russian air force in preventing this?" he asked.
