A senior Russian defense official said Moscow’s fighting position in the Ukraine war would not be affected by the loss of troops from the Russian paramilitary group Wagner.
Wagner’s forces were a key part of Moscow’s push into Kiev before the group launched an attempted insurgency late last month that irreconcilably damaged relations with top Kremlin military officials.
The failed rebellion forced Wagnerian leader Yevgeny Prigozhin into exile in Belarus, and the militia said it had suspended recruitment for now while it relocated to the country.
Members of Wagner’s team watch from a military vehicle in Rostov-on-Don on the evening of June 24, 2023.
Roman Romerhoff | AFP | Getty Images
Elsewhere, a new aggression prosecution center in Ukraine opened on Monday, boosting the capacity of the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court, which has a limited mandate to pursue crimes of aggression.
The International Criminal Court has issued public arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and a top aide on charges of illegally deporting Ukrainian children. More than 700,000 Ukrainian minors have been taken across Russia’s borders in recent years, senior Russian officials said over the weekend, reiterating the Kremlin’s stance on granting the children asylum.
In further evidence of solidarity with Ukraine, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited Kiev on July 1, the first day of the country’s EU Council presidency.