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What the Wagner rebellion left behind by 26 June 2023
Summary
A look back at the weekend of revolt in Russia, the strikes on Kyiv and the aid and sanctions announced by Australia.
What had the Wagner Group's revolt changed by 26 June 2023? The events of the preceding weekend were brief but dramatic, and they unfolded alongside continued Russian strikes on Ukraine and new Australian measures.
A rebellion in a single day
On 24 June 2023, 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.
Wagner forces seized and occupied Rostov-on-Don and Voronezh, with clashes across both oblasts. They captured the Southern Military District headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, and Rostov Governor Vasily Golubev asked residents to stay indoors. In Lipetsk Oblast, authorities told residents to remain indoors and closed the M4 highway to traffic; Wagner forces later entered Lipetsk.
There was also fighting in the air. An Antonov An-26 transport plane was reportedly shot down over Voronezh Oblast. Russian Air Force Ka-50 helicopters struck an oil refinery and depot in Voronezh, causing a large explosion and fire. The Ka-50 is a Russian single-seat attack helicopter, adopted for service in 1995.
A deal brokered through Minsk
The revolt ended the same day. Prigozhin, Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko negotiated a deal, and the Wagner Group withdrew. As reported later, the terms were that the criminal case against Prigozhin for armed rebellion would be closed, Wagner would go to field camps, and Prigozhin himself would go to Belarus.
Kyiv under fire
The war itself did not pause. On 24 June, debris from a Russian cruise missile shot down overnight damaged a 25-storey building in Kyiv, killing three civilians and injuring eight. The Ukrainian military said its air defences destroyed 41 of the 51 cruise missiles Russia launched, plus two drones.
Support and sanctions from Australia
Australia, meanwhile, moved on two fronts. On 24 June, its government imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on former GRU officer Sergey Dubinsky, Russian Armed Forces colonel Sergey Muchkaev and Donbas separatist leader Leonid Kharchenko over their involvement in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, in which 38 Australians were killed.
On 26 June 2023, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a AU$110 million military aid package for Ukraine.
What the sequence showed
Within about a day, armed men had taken over a regional military headquarters, closed a major highway and drawn fire from Russian aircraft, before a negotiated settlement ended it. Over the same period, Russia's missile campaign against Kyiv continued, and a Western partner added both sanctions and military support. The rebellion and the strikes on Kyiv ran in parallel, and the Australian announcements of 24 and 26 June show international backing for Ukraine continuing through the same days.
