Updated June 28, 2023 at 6:33 p.m. EDT|Published June 28, 2023 at 2:04 a.m. EDT
Rescuers searched for survivors after a pizza restaurant in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk was bombed on June 27. (Video: The Washington Post)
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he stopped Russian President Vladimir Putin from making a “harsh decision” against Yevgeniy Prigozhin, suggesting that Putin planned to kill the Wagner mercenary group chief for leading a rebellion, The Washington Post reported. Lukashenko’s version of events could not be verified.
In Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine, the death toll from a Russian missile strike that devastated a popular pizza restaurant has risen to 11, with at least 60 wounded, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The dead include three children, he said. The person who coordinated the attack has been detained by Ukraine’s Security Service and police special forces, he said Wednesday on Telegram.
Russian state media outlets on Wednesday evening shared images of crowds greeting Putin in the city of Derbent, in Russia’s southern Dagestan region, where he is visiting to discuss “tourism development” in the North Caucasus region, the Kremlin said. Putin, who has rarely been seen outside of his residences since the coronavirus pandemic, briefly interacted with the crowd in a cordoned-off area on one of the city’s main streets as he wrapped up a sightseeing tour. “Residents of Derbent enthusiastically greeted Putin,” Russian state media outlets reported of the appearance, an apparent effort to demonstrate public support.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
Key developments
Putin’s appearance in Derbent appeared to echo images from Prigozhin’s send-off in Rostov-on-Don following his failed mutiny over the weekend, with people cheering him on as he drove away in the night. The Kremlin has since sought to cement the narrative that Russians have rallied to Putin.Rescuers in Kramatorsk continued to search for survivors in the rubble Wednesday. Video from the scene showed buildings with blown-out walls and windows and bloodied people on the ground. The injured included an 8-month-old, Ukrainian officials said. The pizza restaurant was frequented by members of the military and foreign journalists. Ukrainian police said the restaurant was hit by an Iskander missile.On Wednesday, Russia’s Prosecutor General declared the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta Europe, based in Riga, Latvia, an “undesirable organization,” making it a crime for any Russian in the country or abroad to work for or cooperate with it.Russian forces shelled the eastern city of Chuhuiv on Wednesday morning, killing three people, Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Synyehubov said. In a Telegram message, Synyehubov said the three men died instantly in the explosion. Emergency services continue to work at the scene, he said.Ukraine has retaken 50 square miles in the country’s south from entrenched Russian forces, The Post reported. The pace of the counteroffensive is slower than desired, Zelensky has said, adding that an operation against an adversary with a deeper arsenal and a far larger force shouldn’t be expected to unfold at an action-movie pace. Ukrainian forces are facing extensive minefields that Kyiv says amount to more than 77,000 square miles.The Kreminna Forest in the Luhansk region is now one of the most dangerous spots on the front line, with the fighting driven by Russia — unlike the fronts where Ukraine is mounting its counteroffensive, The Post reported. Ukrainian fighters said the side that is attacking or defending can vary day-to-day or even hour by hour.Addressing Ukraine’s parliament on the nation’s Constitution Day — marking the day the nation’s constitution was adopted in 1996 — Zelensky appealed for Ukraine’s full acceptance into NATO. He said Ukraine is already a donor of moral strength. “Anyone who cooperates effectively with Ukraine becomes a co-defender of the international order and universal values,” he said. “Because Ukraine is a country of strength … NATO will guarantee security for Ukraine, and our Defense and Security Forces will guarantee security and protection for other NATO members.”Wagner rebellion aftermath
Moscow distanced itself from Wagner’s military activities in Africa, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Wednesday that Russia has “absolutely nothing to do with” them. He said Russia will continue to cooperate militarily with the Central African Republic, including through the deployment of “military advisers.” Since Wagner’s rebellion, there has been growing unease in Mali and the Central African Republic, where leaders rely on Wagner support to bolster their hold on power.Lukashenko claimed Tuesday that Prigozhin arrived in Belarus, the country’s state-run news agency reported. Flight data showed a Russian-registered jet linked to the Wagner leader flying into Minsk, the Belarusian capital.Lukashenko offered the Wagner Group an abandoned military base and said he welcomed the battlefield experience that its commanders could bring to Belarus. According to Belarusian state media, he said Wagner commanders could help Belarus by sharing their experience from Ukraine. “We will help in any way we can,” he said, “until they decide what to do.” After the mutiny, Putin said Wagner fighters could move to neighboring Belarus, return home or sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry to join the army.The Wagner Group received more than $1 billion over the past year from the Russian government, Russia’s state-owned Tass news agency reported Tuesday. Putin said the funds were for paying fighters’ salaries, incentives and insurance. He also said Wagner’s owner, the Concord company, received just under $1 billion to supply food to the army. The comments were a break from previous Kremlin efforts to disavow state links to Wagner and obscure the cost of the war in Ukraine.Global impact
Polish President Andrzej Duda and his Lithuanian counterpart, Gitanas Nauseda, traveled to Kyiv on Wednesday morning. They met with Zelensky to discuss next month’s NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital as well as the progress of Ukraine’s counteroffensive.Russia has arbitrarily detained hundreds of people in occupied Ukraine during its invasion, according to a report from the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. The office documented 864 individual cases — involving 763 men, 94 women and seven boys — “perpetrated by the Russian Federation” between Feb. 24, 2022, and May 23, 2023.The United States agreed to let Moscow send a plane to Washington to transport home Russian diplomats whose visas are expiring, amid a ban on commercial flights from Russia, according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. He called for reciprocal treatment for the United States in helping move American diplomats out of Russia.Analysis from our correspondents
Analysis: Prigozhin in Belarus is bad news for pretty much everybody: The Kremlin decided to move the Wagner Group chief to Belarus as part of a deal that spared him punishment in Russia. But Prigozhin’s arrival presents challenges for everyone, Emily Rauhala reports. NATO and Ukraine are on higher alert because of his presence. There’s no guarantee that Lukashenko, Belarus’s leader, can control a man who marched a column nearly to Moscow.
“The primary victim of this situation is the Belarusian people,” said Franak Viacorka, chief adviser to exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Prigozhin “will come in with criminals; he will bring the culture of violence,” he continued. “It will create instability in the country and at its borders, too.”
