What 26 June 2023 brought after the Wagner rebellion
A look back at the first working day after the short-lived Wagner mutiny, as Ukraine reported gains and Australia announced new aid.
What happened on the front and in allied capitals on 26 June 2023, the first day after the Wagner Group rebellion ended in Russia? Two developments stood out: a further Ukrainian advance in Donetsk Oblast and a new Australian aid pledge.
Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Ukrainian forces had recaptured the uninhabited village of Rivnopil in Donetsk Oblast. She described it as the ninth village retaken in the previous month.
On the same day, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a military aid package for Ukraine worth AU$110 million.
The rebellion that preceded the day
The two announcements followed a weekend of upheaval on the Russian side. On 24 June, Yevgeny Prigozhin warned that his troops would march on Moscow unless Russian military leadership met him for talks. Russian president Vladimir Putin addressed the nation and said a coup d'état attempt was under way.
The crisis ended the same day. The Wagner Group withdrew after Prigozhin, Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko negotiated a deal to end the rebellion.
Later accounts described the outcome in more detail: the criminal case against Prigozhin for armed mutiny was to be closed, Wagner fighters were to move to field camps, and Prigozhin himself was to go to Belarus. The main action, according to those accounts, began on the evening of 23 June and ended on the evening of 24 June, after Lukashenko held talks with Prigozhin.
A day of incremental news
Against that backdrop, the reports from 26 June were of steady, practical developments rather than dramatic ones. Ukraine continued to recover small settlements, and a partner state added to the military support it was providing.
