Wagner mutiny lays bare cracks in Moscow’s military power -EU’s Borrell

BRUSSELS, June 26 (Reuters) – The aborted mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group in Russia shows cracks in Moscow’s military power caused by the war on Ukraine, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday.

“The political system is showing fragilities, and the military power is cracking,” he told reporters in Luxembourg ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

“It’s not a good thing to see that a nuclear power like Russia can go into a phase of political instability,” Borrell said, adding this was the moment for the EU to continue supporting Ukraine more than ever.

“The monster that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin created with Wagner, the monster is biting him now, the monster is acting against his creator.”

Wagner mutiny shows Moscow’s ‘big strategic mistake’ in attacking Kyiv – NATO

Similar reactions were expressed by NATO.

The aborted mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group in Russia demonstrates that Moscow committed a strategic mistake by waging war on Ukraine, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday.

“The events over the weekend are an internal Russian matter, and yet another demonstration of the big strategic mistake that President (Vladimir) Putin made with his illegal annexation of Crimea and the war against Ukraine,” he told reporters on a visit to Lithuania’s capital Vilnius.

“As Russia continues its assault, it is even more important to continue our support to Ukraine.”

We are seeing massive cracks in Russia’s “propaganda”, Germany’s Baerbock says

Recent events in Russia show “massive cracks” inside Russia’s political sphere, German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday, adding that Germany won’t get involved in what she called “internal political matters”.

“We are seeing massive cracks in the Russian propaganda”, Baerbock said before heading into an EU meeting, adding that Western allies will continue to support Ukraine in the war.

Destabilisation of Russia ‘absolutely dangerous’ for Europe – Luxembourg

A destabilisation of Russia would be very dangerous for Europe, Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn warned on Monday, referring to the around 6,000 nuclear war heads Moscow owns.

“It would be absolutely dangerous for Europe if the biggest country of the world with the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons was to be shattered,” he told reporters as he arrived for a meeting with his EU counterparts in Luxembourg.