Wagner Group

Day 491 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

Russia's crisis involving a mercenary group's aborted revolt against the Kremlin exposed "real cracks" in President Vladimir Putin's authority, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday.

Once a low-profile businessman who benefited from having President Vladimir Putin as a powerful patron, Yevgeny Prigozhin moved into the global spotlight with Russia's war in Ukraine.

The greatest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power fizzled out after the rebellious mercenary commander who ordered his troops to march on Moscow abruptly reached a deal with the Kremlin to go into exile and sounded the retreat.

Russia's advance seems to have stalled in Moscow's campaign to capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, a leading think tank said in an assessment of the longest ground battle of the war.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the "Wagner Group" paramilitary formation, which is fighting in Ukraine, claims that the entire eastern part of the city of Bakhmut is under Russian control.

The owner of Russia's Wagner Group military company claimed Wednesday that his troops have extended their gains in the key Ukrainian stronghold of Bakhmut as fierce fighting continues in the war's longest battle.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday his troops were withstanding "new and even tougher assaults" on Soledar, near the eastern city of Bakhmut that Moscow has been trying to capture for months.

Servicemen of the Armed Forces self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic (DPR) at a parade in Donetsk, Ukraine. Photo: EPA-EFE/ALEXANDER USENKO

On November 26, 2021, the European Parliament voted sanctions on the Wagner Group and its affiliates, and the three would-be-EU-member Western Balkan countries soon joined the restrictions.

The European Parliament on Thursday strongly condemned a notorious Russian paramilitary body, saying it "condemns in the strongest terms the heinous crimes committed by the Wagner Group and related private military entities".