EU’s top diplomat: Wagner mutiny shows Ukraine invasion ‘cracking’ Russia

Wagner’s aborted mutiny shows that Moscow’s war in Ukraine is splintering the leadership in Russia, the EU’s top diplomat says, warning of the risk of instability in the nuclear-armed country.

“What has happened during this weekend shows that the war against Ukraine is cracking Russian power and affecting its political system,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says today, at a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers.

“We are certainly following closely what’s happening, but it’s now the moment to continue supporting Ukraine more than ever. That’s what we will do,” he says.

“Certainly, it’s not a good thing to see that a nuclear power like Russia can go into a phase of instability. It’s also something that has to be taken into account,” Borrell says.

“The most important conclusion is that the war against Ukraine launched by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, and the monster that Putin created with Wagner, the monster, is biting him.”

“The monster is acting against its creator, the political system is showing the fragilities, and the military power is cracking,” Borrell says.