Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu was filmed visiting troops in Ukraine as Vladimir Putin sought to restore order to his crisis-hit regime.
The reported visit to a military operation centre in Ukraine was Shoigu’s first public appearance since the weekend mutiny by the Wagner paramilitary group.
The RIA's new agency report, which cited Russia's defence ministry, suggested Shoigu remained in charge, but provided no details on when and where he met the troops and commanders of the Western military district.
First sighting of Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu after he went dark for days during Yevgeny Prigozhin’s uprising against him. He’s supposedly visiting a command post for the war in Ukraine, though it’s not clear when or where this was filmed pic.twitter.com/vUQZc9GpIN
— max seddon (@maxseddon) June 26, 2023
Mutineers led by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin advanced on Moscow on Saturday to remove what they called Russia's corrupt and incompetent military leadership, before suddenly heading back to a Russia-held area of eastern Ukraine after a deal with the Kremlin brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
The deal reportedly included immunity for the mutineers in exchange for their return to camps, but it remains unclear whether Putin also agreed to reshuffle the top military leadership or make any other concessions.
Western allies were seeking to assess how Putin might try to reassert authority, how weakened he is by the revolt, and what it could mean for the war in Ukraine.
Ending their short-lived mutiny, Wagner fighters halted their rapid advance on Moscow, withdrew from the southern Russian city of Rostov and headed back to their bases late on Saturday under a deal that guaranteed their safety.
Their commander, Yevgeny Prigozhin, would reportedly move to Belarus under the deal mediated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Monday has been declared a non-working day in Moscow to allow time for things to settle, and there was little evidence of increased security in the Russian capital on Sunday evening.
Putin, who has held power for more than two decades, had still to comment publicly since the de-escalation of one of the biggest challenges to his rule.
Confusion over the weekend's extraordinary events has left governments, both friendly and hostile to Moscow, groping for answers to what could happen next in a country that has the world's largest nuclear arsenal.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested the turmoil could take months to play out.
"We've seen more cracks emerge in the Russian facade," Blinken told NBC's "Meet the Press" program on Sunday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the events in Russia in separate phone calls with US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Biden and Trudeau both expressed their ongoing support of Ukraine as it pursues a counter-offensive to recover territory seized by Russia, according to official statements.
"The world must put pressure on Russia until international order is restored," Mr Zelensky said on Twitter.
Ukraine has reclaimed some 130 square kilometres (50 square miles) from Russian forces along the southern front line since the start of the counter-offensive, Ukraine Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on Monday.
"The situation in the south has not undergone significant changes over the past week," she told the national broadcaster.
She added that along the eastern part of the front line, which includes the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Maryinka directions, about 250 combat clashes have taken place over the past week.
Under the deal, brokered late on Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a criminal case opened against Prigozhin for armed mutiny would be dropped, Prigozhin would move to Belarus, and Wagner fighters who rallied to his cause would face no action, in recognition of their previous service to Russia.
Prigozhin, 62, was seen leaving the district military headquarters in Rostov late on Saturday in a sport utility vehicle. His whereabouts since were not known.
A former Putin ally and ex-convict whose forces have fought the bloodiest battles of the 16-month war in Ukraine, Prigozhin said his decision to advance on Moscow was intended to remove corrupt and incompetent Russian commanders he blames for botching the war.
This month, Prigozhin defied orders to place his troops under Defence Ministry command. He launched the rebellion on Friday after alleging the military had killed some of his men in an air strike. The Defence Ministry denied this.
Wagner, whose men in Ukraine include thousands of ex-prisoners recruited from Russian jails, has grown into a sprawling international business with mining interests and fighters in Africa and the Middle East.
Serhiy Nayev, commander of Ukraine's Joint Forces responded to speculative reports that Wagner fighters could be moved to Belarus to attack Ukraine from the north.
"If this happens and the enemy tries to cross the state border, it will be nothing but a suicide for them,” Nayev said in a post on the military's Telegram account.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko held talks in Beijing on “international” issues on Sunday. It was unclear if his visit to his country’s strongest ally was precipitated by the Wagner mutiny.
China’s foreign ministry issued a statement vouching support for Russia’s efforts to maintain national stability and referring to the recent tensions in the country as Russia’s “internal affairs”.
