British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly argued on Monday that the recent rebellion by Russia's mercenary Wagner Group brought significant challenges to the authority of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Prigozhin's rebellion is an unprecedented challenge to President Putin's authority, and it is clear cracks are emerging in Russian support for the war... The government, of course, considers this an internal Russian affair. And, of course, the leadership of Russia is a matter exclusively for the Russian people," Cleverly told the British parliament.
Armed Russian mercenaries were advancing towards Moscow over the weekend but withdrew from the southern Russian city of Rostov on Sunday as part of a ceasefire agreement. Explaining the mutiny, Wagner's leader Yevgeny Prigozhin insisted the goal of his march on Rostov wasn't to overthrow the Russian leadership.