EU foreign ministers said an unsuccessful mutiny in Russia during the weekend proved Moscow’s war in Ukraine was producing domestic instability and compromising its military capabilities, but they underlined their support for Kyiv.
Under renegade leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner mercenaries seized military headquarters in southern Russia and began moving toward Moscow on Saturday before returning to eastern Ukraine after a Kremlin accord.
“The political system is showing fragilities, and the military power is cracking,” EU foreign policy director Josep Borrell told reporters in Luxembourg before meeting with ministers from the 27-member bloc.
“It’s not a good thing to see that a nuclear power like Russia can go into a phase of political instability,” Borrell said, adding that the EU should support Ukraine even more.
Borrell said Putin was paying for creating a “monster” with Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenaries.
“The monster that Putin created with Wagner, the monster is biting him now, the monster is acting against his creator.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Putin’s “brutal war of aggression” in Ukraine harmed Russia.
“We are seeing massive cracks in the Russian propaganda,” she added. Baerbock said the EU would focus on helping Ukraine achieve peace and freedom.
The ministers insisted the mutiny was a Russian affair. They also stressed its global implications.
“It would be absolutely dangerous for Europe if the biggest country of the world with the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons was to be shattered,” Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said.
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg suggested Putin “turn around” like Prigozhin.
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen believed the weekend’s events demonstrated Putin’s hold on power was weaker than expected.
“Authoritarian nations often appear stable until everything collapses. “I expect the same for Russia,” she told reporters.
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