CIA Director Bill Burns said Yevgeny Prigozhin's mutiny showed the "corrosive effect" of President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine during remarks in England on Saturday.

"It is striking that Prigozhin preceded his actions with a scathing indictment of the Kremlin’s mendacious rationale for its invasion of Ukraine, and of the Russian military leadership’s conduct of the war," Burns said during a lecture to Britain's Ditchley Foundation. "The impact of those words and those actions will play out for some time, a vivid reminder of the corrosive effect of Putin’s war on his own society and his own regime."

Burns, who served as U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2005 to 2008, also noted how Russian disaffection will gnaw away at the Kremlin and that the CIA is taking this opportunity to step up its recruitment efforts in Russia.

"Disaffection with the war will continue to gnaw away at the Russian leadership, beneath the steady diet of state propaganda and practiced repression," Burns said. "That disaffection creates a once-in-a generation opportunity for us at CIA, at our core a human intelligence service. We're not letting it go to waste."

-ABC News' Cindy Smith

Gen. Mark Milley, the U.S. military's top general, told reporters Friday that it's likely too early to tell the impact of the Wagner Group mutiny on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We want to know the answer to that question," Milley said when asked at the National Press Club if Yevgeny Prigozhin's mutiny had left Putin weakened. "I don't think we have evidence, conclusive evidence, either way, yet too early to tell."

Milley acknowledged that Ukraine's counteroffensive is making steady progress, but moving slowly -- something he said was not surprising given how tough of a fight it is.

"At the end of the day, Ukrainian soldiers are assaulting through minefields and in the trenches, and this is literally a fight for their life. So yes, sure, it goes a little slow, but that is part of the nature of war," Milley said.

He also noted that the U.S. is considering sending cluster munitions to Ukraine, though no decision has been made.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez

Russian Gen. Sergei Surovikin has apparently been detained, according to a U.S. official. Other details about his status are unclear.

The development follows reports from a senior U.S. official on Wednesday that Surovikin had engaged in discussions with Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin about his plans to mutiny.

Prigozhin is now exiled in Belarus.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez

Former Vice President Mike Pence made a surprise trip to Ukraine on Thursday, projecting solidarity against Russia in a way, so far, unmatched by his Republican competitors in the 2024 presidential campaign.

"As I made clear to President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy today, when I return home, whatever the future holds for me and my family, we're gonna stand for freedom," Pence told reporters. "And I'll do my part to make sure that America continues to stand for the courageous fighters here in Ukraine that are fighting to reclaim their freedom."

Pence visited the sites of atrocities in the early phase of the war, in Irpin and Bucha, among other stops, before meeting with Zelenskyy inside the presidential palace in the capital of Kyiv.

Read more about the trip here.

-ABC News' Libby Cathey and Guy Davies

The Kremlin on Wednesday acknowledged for the first time that a plane carrying Yevgeny Prigozhin, mercenary chief of the paramilitary Wagner Group, was possibly downed on purpose.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that investigators are looking into the possibility that the 62-year-old Prigozhin was assassinated.

"It is obvious that different versions are being considered, including the version -- you know what we are talking about -- let's say, a deliberate atrocity," Peskov said when asked about the investigation.

The plane carrying Prigozhin and nine others crashed in Russia's Tver region on Aug. 23, killing everyone aboard, according to the press service of Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency.

The crash came about a month after Prigozhin led a chaotic armed rebellion that threatened the longstanding leadership of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Friday, Peskov denied speculation that the Kremlin was involved in the plane crash, calling the allegation an "absolute lie."

The crash investigation is being conducted by the Russian Investigative Committee as a domestic incident and Peskov said that allowing in international investigators "is out of the question."

-ABC News' Will Gretsky