Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has spoken to Western allies about the armed rebellion led by the Wagner group in Russia, before the growing crisis for Vladimir Putin appeared to be defused by the mercenaries halting their advance on Moscow.
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin told his forces to turn back to avoid “bloodshed” at the end of an extraordinary day during which he vowed to topple Russia’s military leadership, seized a southern Russian city and sent a convoy towards the capital.
