Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu seen for first time since attempted Wagner coup
Russia’s defence minister has been seen in public for the first time since Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin stood down his group of rebel mercenaries.
In the first piece of footage released since the aborted Wagner group mutiny over the weekend, Sergei Shoigu was seen visiting Russian troops involved in Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine.
It remains unclear when and where the footage released by state news agency RIA was taken.
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Wagner leader warned to ‘be careful around open windows’
Vladimir Putin and Yevgeny Prigozhin have not been seen in public since Wagner fighters halted their advance on Moscow, withdrew from the southern Russian city of Rostov and returned to their bases late under a deal that guaranteed their safety.
On Monday, Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin said he was cancelling an anti-terror regime that was enforced on the city during the armed mutiny after the country’s situation was deemed “stable” by a national committee.
Sergei Shoigu (right)
It comes as America’s top diplomat said that the attempted coup shows “cracks” in the “facade” of the Russian president’s government.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the events as “extraordinary”, recalling that 16 months ago Putin appeared poised to seize Kyiv, but was now forced to defend Moscow from forces led by his former protege.
“I think we’ve seen more cracks emerge in the Russian facade,” Mr Blinken said on NBC’s Meet the Press.
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‘Cracks’ in Russia’s ‘facade’
“It is too soon to tell exactly where they go and when they get there, but certainly we have all sorts of new questions that Putin is going to have to address in the weeks and months ahead.”
The Wagner Group boss has apparently vanished following the weekend’s unrest, although it is believed he has agreed to leave Russia for Belarus as part of a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
However, there are still no reports of Prigozhin arriving in Belarus.
Pic: AP
Many other questions remained unanswered, including whether he would be joined in exile by any of Wagner’s troops and what role, if any, he might have there.
The brief revolt, though, exposed vulnerabilities among Russian government forces, with Wagner Group soldiers under the command of Prigozhin able to move unimpeded into the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and advance hundreds of miles towards Moscow. The Russian military scrambled to defend Russia’s capital.
Prigozhin poses for selfies as he leaves Rostov Pic: AP
Under the deal announced by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, along with Prigozhin going to Belarus, which has supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, charges against him of mounting an armed rebellion will be dropped.
The government also said it would not prosecute Wagner fighters who took part, while those who did not join the insurrection were to be offered contracts by the defence ministry.
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Russia revolt: How it happened
“I honestly think that Wagner probably did more damage to Russian aerospace forces in the past day than the Ukrainian offensive has done in the past three weeks,” Michael Kofman, director of Russia studies at the CNA research group, said in a podcast.
Read more:
Prigozhin’s uprising was over too fast to change the course of the war
On streets of Moscow, people seem shaken up by Wagner Group rebellion
How the revolt led by ‘Putin’s Chef’ unfolded
Ukrainians hoped the Russian infighting could create opportunities for their army, which is in the early stages of a counteroffensive to take back territory seized by Russian forces.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he told US President Joe Biden in a phone call on Sunday that the aborted rebellion in Russia had “exposed the weakness of Putin’s regime”.
Lord Dannatt, former chief of the general staff of the British Armed Forces, said President Putin and the Russian military were “much diminished” and this would be “significant as far as Ukraine is concerned”.
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Wagner leader’s audio message calling off advance
He added: “Prigozhin has left the stage to go to Belarus, but is that the end of Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner Group?
“What we don’t know, but will discover in the next hours and days is, how many of his fighters have gone with him, because if he has gone to Belarus and kept an effective fighting force around him, then he… presents a threat again.”
NATO leaders concurred with the assessment that the uprising had left President Putin’s authority diminished, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying it had shown the Russian army to be “fragile”.
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Putin accuses Prigozhin of treason
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the brief mutiny had left the Russian leader “naked” but added a note of caution, saying he had increasing concerns about his own nation’s security.
It was decided during the meeting that the “threat of illegal activities on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border, including various provocations, is growing”.
The Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, will play host to this year’s NATO summit next month.
US president-elect Donald Trump has suggested Israel and Hamas could agree a Gaza ceasefire by the end of the week.
Talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives resumed in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday, after US President Joe Biden indicated a deal to stop the fighting was “on the brink” on Monday.
A draft agreement has been sent to both sides. It includes provisions for the release of hostages and a phased Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.
Qatar says Israel and Hamas are at their “closest point” yet to a ceasefire deal.
Two Hamas officials said the group has accepted the draft agreement, with Israel still considering the deal.
An Israeli official said a deal is close but “we are not there” yet.
More than 46,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its ground offensive in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Read more:
What’s in the proposed deal?
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on beachfront cafe in Deir al Balah. Pic: Reuters
Biden hails possibility of agreement
President Biden said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians, in his final foreign policy speech as president.
“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace,” he said.
“The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”
Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting.
Analysis:
Deal might be close, but there are many unanswered questions
Pic: Reuters
Trump: ‘We’re very close’
President-elect Donald Trump has also discussed a possible peace deal during a phone interview with the Newsmax channel.
“We’re very close to getting it done and they have to get it done,” he said.
“If they don’t get it done, there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble, like they have never seen before.
“And they will get it done. And I understand there’s been a handshake and they’re getting it finished and maybe by the end of the week. But it has to take place, it has to take place.”
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Pic: AP
Israeli official: Former Hamas leader held up deal
Speaking on Tuesday as negotiations resumed in Qatar, an anonymous Israeli official said that an agreement was “close, but we are not there”.
They accused Hamas of previously “dictating, not negotiating” but said this has changed in the last few weeks.
“Yahya Sinwar was the main obstacle for a deal,” they added.
Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind of the 7 October attacks, led Hamas following the assassination of his predecessor but was himself killed in October last year.
Under Sinwar, the Israeli official claimed, Hamas was “not in a rush” to bring a hostage deal but this has changed since his death and since the IDF “started to dismantle the Shia axis”.
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Biden: ‘Never, never, never, ever give up’
Iran ‘weaker than it’s been in decades’
Yesterday, President Biden also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024.
“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” the president said.
Mr Biden claimed America’s adversaries were weaker than when he took office four years ago and that the US was “winning the worldwide competition”.
“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are
weaker,” he said.
“We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
The US president is expected to give a farewell address on Wednesday.
A draft ceasefire deal on the table between Israel and Hamas would see 33 hostages set free and a phased withdrawal of IDF forces from parts of Gaza.
President Joe Biden said an agreement to stop the fighting was “on the brink” and high level negotiations between the two sides resumed in Qatar on Tuesday.
The deal would see a number of things happen in a first stage, with negotiations for the second stage beginning in the third week of the ceasefire.
It would also allow a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been devastated by more than a year of war.
Details of what the draft proposal entails have been emerging on Tuesday, reported by Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages hold photos of their loved ones during a protest on 8 January. Pic: AP
Hostages to be returned
In the first stage of the potential ceasefire, 33 hostages would be set free.
These include women (including female soldiers), children, men over the age of 50, wounded and sick.
Israel believes most of these hostages are alive but there has not been any official confirmation from Hamas.
In return for the release of the hostages, Israel would free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
People serving long sentences for deadly attacks would be included in this but Hamas fighters who took part in the 7 October attack would not be released.
An arrangement to prevent Palestinian “terrorists” from going back to the West Bank would be included in the deal, an anonymous Israeli official said.
Read more:
A timeline of events since the 7 October attacks
The hostages who still haven’t returned home
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in Beit Hanoun in Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
The agreement also includes a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, with IDF troops remaining in the border perimeter to defend Israeli border towns and villages.
Security arrangements would be implemented at the Philadelphi corridor – a narrow strip of land that runs along the border between Egypt and Gaza – with Israel withdrawing from parts of it after the first few days of the deal.
The Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza would start to work gradually to allow the crossing of people who are sick and other humanitarian cases out of Gaza for treatment.
Unarmed North Gaza residents would be allowed to return to their homes, with a mechanism introduced to ensure no weapons are moved there.
“We will not leave the Gaza Strip until all our hostages are back home,” the Israeli official said.
What will happen to Gaza in the future?
There is less detail about the future of Gaza – from how it will be governed, to any guarantees that this agreement will bring a permanent end to the war.
“The only thing that can answer for now is that we are ready for a ceasefire,” the Israeli official said.
“This is a long ceasefire and the deal that is being discussed right now is for a long one. There is a big price for releasing the hostages and we are ready to pay this price.”
The international community has said Gaza must be run by Palestinians, but there has not been a consensus about how this should be done – and the draft ceasefire agreement does not seem to address this either.
In the past, Israel has said it will not end the war leaving Hamas in power. It also previously rejected the possibility of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited governing powers in the West Bank, from taking over the administration of Gaza.
Since the beginning of its military campaign in Gaza, Israel has also said it would retain security control over the territory after the fighting ends.
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