Russian Defense Minister Appears for First Time Since Wagner Mutiny 

In his photo taken and released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday, June 8, 2023, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspects the preparation of equipment and weapons for shipment to the zone of the special military operation at the arsenals and storage bases of the Western Military District at an undisclosed location in Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)
In his photo taken and released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday, June 8, 2023, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspects the preparation of equipment and weapons for shipment to the zone of the special military operation at the arsenals and storage bases of the Western Military District at an undisclosed location in Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)
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Russian Defense Minister Appears for First Time Since Wagner Mutiny 

In his photo taken and released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday, June 8, 2023, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspects the preparation of equipment and weapons for shipment to the zone of the special military operation at the arsenals and storage bases of the Western Military District at an undisclosed location in Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)
In his photo taken and released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday, June 8, 2023, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspects the preparation of equipment and weapons for shipment to the zone of the special military operation at the arsenals and storage bases of the Western Military District at an undisclosed location in Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu appeared for the first time since a deal was struck on Saturday to end what the authorities had called an armed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group aimed at ousting him. 

In a video released on Monday morning by the Russian Defense Ministry, Shoigu was shown flying in a plane with a colleague and hearing reports at a command post run by Russia's Zapad (West) military grouping. 

There was no sound on the video and it was not immediately clear where or when the visit had taken place. 

Russia's Zvezda Defense Ministry TV Channel said Shoigu, who looked physically unharmed and calm, had listened to a report by Colonel General Yevgeny Nikiforov, the group's commander, about the current situation on the frontlines in Ukraine. 

In his mutiny during which he seized control of Russia's military headquarters in southern Russia, renegade Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin had demanded that Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff, be handed over to him so that he could "restore justice." 

Prigozhin accused both men of gross incompetence and corruption and had long been agitating for their removal. 

Gerasimov has not been seen since in public, and there was no word from the Kremlin about any new personnel changes when it described the deal which had ended the mutiny. 

The Kremlin said the question of personnel changes was the sole prerogative of President Vladimir Putin and could hardly have been part of any deal. 

Zvezda said Shoigu on his visit had heard about the formation of new reserve forces for the "Zapad" military grouping and had noted what it called the Russian army's "high efficiency" at "detecting and destroying enemy military equipment and accumulations of personnel in tactical areas." 

He had tasked them with continuing active reconnaissance in order to reveal the enemy's plans to thwart Ukrainian forces' movements far behind the frontlines, it said. 

Zvezda said Shoigu had also paid particular attention to what it called "the organization of all-round support for the troops involved in the Special Military Operation and the creation of conditions for the safe housing of personnel." 

Mutineers led by Prigozhin on Saturday advanced towards Moscow to remove what they called Russia's corrupt and incompetent military leadership, before suddenly heading back to a Russia-held area of eastern Ukraine after a deal with the Kremlin brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. 

The deal, as publicly described by the Kremlin, saw criminal charges against the mutineers dropped in exchange for their return to camps. Prigozhin will relocate to Belarus under the agreement. 



Britain and France Accuse Russia's Putin of Delaying Ukraine Ceasefire Efforts

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy, left, and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot address the media during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy, left, and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot address the media during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
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Britain and France Accuse Russia's Putin of Delaying Ukraine Ceasefire Efforts

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy, left, and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot address the media during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy, left, and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot address the media during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Britain and France on Friday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in ceasefire talks aimed at halting his country's invasion of Ukraine and demanded a swift response from Moscow after weeks of US efforts to secure a truce.

Russia has effectively rejected a US proposal for a full and immediate 30-day halt in the fighting. A Kremlin official said Monday that Moscow views efforts to end its more than three-year war with Ukraine as "a drawn-out process."

"Our judgment is that Putin continues to obfuscate, continues to drag his feet," British Foreign Secretary David Lammy told reporters at NATO headquarters, standing alongside his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot in a symbolic show of unity.

A Kremlin envoy who visited Washington this week for talks with Trump administration officials said Friday that further meetings will be needed to resolve outstanding issues.

Kirill Dmitriev told Russian reporters that "the dialogue will take some time, but it´s proceeding positively and constructively."

He criticized what he called a "well-coordinated media campaign and attempts by various politicians to spoil Russia-US relations, distort what Russia says, and cast Russia and its leaders in a negative way."

Dmitriev, the head of Russia´s sovereign wealth fund, was sanctioned by the Biden administration after the invasion of Ukraine, and the US had to temporarily lift the restrictions to allow him to travel to Washington this week.

Meanwhile, the war of attrition continued to claim civilian lives. A Russian Shahed drone struck a residential area of Kharkiv late Thursday, killing five people and injuring 32, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov. Kharkiv is Ukraine's second-largest city.

Civilian areas in three other Ukrainian regions were also hit, officials said. The Ukrainian air force said Russia fired 78 strike and decoy drones overnight.

Russia´s Defense Ministry said air defenses destroyed 107 Ukrainian drones.

Russian forces are preparing to launch a fresh military offensive in the coming weeks to maximize pressure on Ukraine and strengthen the Kremlin´s negotiating position in the ceasefire talks, according to Ukrainian government and Western military analysts.

Russia is preparing a major, multi-pronged ground offensive along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line as muddy fields dry out and allow tanks, armored vehicles and other heavy equipment to roll into key positions across the countryside.

Britain and France are helping to lead a multinational effort known as the "coalition of the willing" to set up a force that might police any future peace agreement in Ukraine. A senior Ukrainian official said earlier this week that between 10 and 12 countries have said they are ready to join the coalition.

Lammy said that while Putin should be accepting a ceasefire, "he continues to bombard Ukraine. It´s civilian population. It´s energy supplies. We see you, Vladimir Putin. We know what you are doing."

Barrot said that Ukraine had accepted ceasefire terms three weeks ago, and that Russia now "owes an answer to the United States." US President Donald Trump has expressed frustration with Putin and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after he promised last year to bring the war to a swift conclusion.

"Russia has been flip-flopping, continuing its strikes on energy infrastructure, continuing its war crimes," Barrot said. "It has to be `yes.´ It has to be `no.´ It has to be a quick answer."

He said that Russia shows no intention of halting its military campaign, noting that Putin on Monday ordered a call-up intended to draft 160,000 conscripts for a one-year tour of compulsory military service.

The two foreign ministers pledged to continue helping to build up Ukraine´s armed forces - the country´s best security guarantee since the US took any prospect of NATO membership off the table.

Coalition army chiefs were due to meet in Kyiv on Friday. Defense ministers from the group will meet at NATO headquarters next Thursday.