What happened on 26 June 2023, after the Wagner rebellion
A look back at a day when Ukrainian forces reported another recaptured village and Australia announced new military aid, two days after Russia's Wagner Group rebellion ended.
What was happening on the Ukrainian front and in allied capitals on 26 June 2023, in the wake of the short-lived Wagner Group rebellion in Russia?
Two days earlier, on 24 June 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin had 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 same day, the Wagner Group withdrew after Prigozhin, Putin and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko negotiated a deal to end the rebellion.
As described later, the confrontation pitted the Russian Defence Ministry, including the regular army, against Wagner. It ended on the evening of 24 June after Lukashenko held talks with Prigozhin. Under the terms that later became known, the criminal case against Prigozhin for armed rebellion would be closed, Wagner would move to field camps, and Prigozhin would go to Belarus.
Gains in Donetsk Oblast
On 26 June 2023, Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Ukrainian forces had recaptured the uninhabited village of Rivnopil in Donetsk Oblast. She said it was the ninth settlement retaken in the past month.
Aid from Australia
The same day, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a AU$110 million military aid package for Ukraine.
Taken together, the day's reports showed a continuing flow of both battlefield claims and foreign support for Ukraine, set against the aftermath of the rebellion across the border.
