Russia has continued a nearly 19-month-long invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Recently, though, the Ukrainians have gone on a counteroffensive, fighting to reclaim occupied territory.
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Jun 26, 2023, 12:52 PM EDT
Biden says US, NATO not involved in Wagner rebellion
President Joe Biden spoke out addressed the Wagner Group's actions over the weekend.
He said the U.S. and its allies convened on Friday when the rebellion began.
"They agreed with me that we had to make sure we gave Putin no excuse, let me emphasize, gave Putin no excuse to blame this on the West or to blame this on NATO," Biden said at a news conference at the White House.
The president added that the incident was "part of a struggle within the Russian system."
-ABC News' Alexandra Hutzler
Jun 26, 2023, 12:44 PM EDT
European leaders respond to Wagner attempted rebellion
The European Union Foreign Affairs Council met Monday and discussed the attempted rebellion by the Wagner paramilitary group over the weekend.
Josep Borrell, the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs, told reporters at a news conference after the meeting that "the situation remains complex and unpredictable" and 27 EU states are remaining vigilant.
U.K. Foreign Minister James Cleverly released a statement Monday claiming the "Russian government's lies have been exposed by one of President Putin's own henchmen."
"Prigozhin's rebellion is an unprecedented challenge to President Putin's authority, and it is clear that cracks are emerging in the Russian support for the war," he said.
-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman
Jun 26, 2023, 12:18 PM EDT
'We had no goal of overthrowing' the government: Prigozhin
Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin released an 11-minute recording Monday explaining why his troops reversed course on their campaign against Moscow over the weekend.
Prigozhin said the purpose of the "march" was to prevent losses of his troops "and to bring justice to all persons who, through their unprofessional actions, made a huge number of mistakes during" the war in Ukraine.
A military column of Wagner private mercenary group drives along M-4 highway, which links the capital Moscow with Russia's southern cities, near Voronezh, Russia, June 24, 2023.
Stringer/Reuters
"We had no goal of overthrowing the regime," he added, referring to Putin's government.
Prigozhin said that the march escalated after their convoy was hit by a missile attack from Russian forces.
Prigozhin said that the marched stopped when his troops approached "Moscow deployed artillery."
This still made from undated video footage released by the Russian Defence Ministry on June 26, 2023, show Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu gesturing between officers as they look at a map in an undisclosed location.
Russian Defence Ministry/AFP via Getty Images
"We did not want to shed Russian blood. We went to demonstrate our protest and not to overthrow the government in the country," he said.
He claimed that several of his troops were wounded and two were killed.
-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman, Natalia Shumskaia and Tanya Stukalova
Jun 26, 2023, 5:47 AM EDT
Ukrainian forces appear to cross river into occupied Kherson
The Ukrainian military has landed troops on the Russian-held eastern bank of the Dnipro River across from the city of Kherson, according to Russian reports.
Media posted online by pro-Russian accounts suggested small boatloads of Ukrainian soldiers have managed to establish a small beachhead at the foot of the destroyed Antonivskiy Road Bridge that spanned the river before Ukraine brought it down last year.
Destroyed Antonivskyi bridge is seen over the flooded Dnipro river after the Nova Kakhovka dam breached, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Kherson, Ukraine June 8, 2023.
Reuters
The size of the Ukrainian force on the bank is unclear, but Russian accounts suggested it was relatively small.
Some Russian accounts posted dramatic video showing fighting on the eastern bank, including what appears to be a Russian armored vehicle firing intensively at Ukrainian soldiers as it recovers Russian wounded.
The video was undated but Russian reports suggested around several dozen Ukrainian troops landed on June 24 and Russian airborne units have been trying to dislodge them since.
Another video shows a small boat carrying perhaps a dozen Ukrainian soldiers landing by the ruined bridge, coming under shell fire.
The Russian military blogger account, Two Majors, reported a small group of Ukrainian soldiers had succeeded in digging in around the bridge. It noted Russian forces had been forced to pull back to a distance from the bank because their positions had been flooded after the Kakhovka dam was blown up earlier this month.
Russian military bloggers said Russian aircraft and artillery were firing on the Ukrainians Monday.
If Ukraine is able to keep hold of its foothold, it will put further pressure on Russia’s forces in the south, already battling to hold back Ukraine’s counteroffensive on the Zaporizhzhia front.