The chaos in Russia benefits Kyiv, Ukrainian officials stated on Saturday, but it remains to be seen whether President Volodymyr Zelensky and his army can take advantage of the disorder caused this weekend by the march of mercenaries towards Moscow.
Late on Saturday, Yevgeny Prigozhin, one of the founders of the Wagner army, declared that he was halting his march for justice towards Moscow after an agreement that spared him and his mercenaries from facing criminal charges. The agreement also exiled Prigozhin to Belarus.
Prigozhin’s unrest, the biggest internal challenge to President Vladimir Putin as the supreme leader of Russia for 23 years, has heightened concerns for global security and triggered a frenzy of calls between Washington and its allies to coordinate actions.
“Any chaos behind enemy lines favors our interests,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated on Saturday to the state news agency Ukrinform.
Putin described Prigozhin’s actions as a blow to Russia, but there were no immediate signs that his government was under threat. The Ministry of Defense, led by Sergei Shoigu, a loyal ally of Putin, remained silent during the weekend’s events.
Kuleba said it was too early to talk about consequences for Ukraine, but later that same day, he had a call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss the events and Kyiv’s counteroffensive efforts.
The US State Department later stated in a press release that Washington would maintain close cooperation with Kyiv as the situation evolves.
On Saturday, the Ukrainian army reported an offensive near the villages surrounding Bakhmut, which was taken by Wagner forces in May after months of fighting. Kyiv also claimed the liberation of the village of Krasnohorivka in Donetsk, but the advances were gradual.
The counteroffensive has been generally slower than desired, Zelensky recently stated.
Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, stated on Saturday that there was no immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from the front line towards Moscow.
TYT Newsroom