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MISSING IN ACTION
VLADIMIR Putin and Yevgeny Prigozhin have not been seen for 36 hours as Russia continues to reel from the seemingly botched Wagner Group rebellion.
Mystery surrounded the whereabouts of the two men who brought Russia to the brink of civil war and perhaps even total collapse after a day of carnage on Saturday.
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And meanwhile, Prigozhin's mercenaries shared a chilling "hush, hush" threat - sharing a picture of the warlord which could suggest their rebellion isn't over despite the "deal" between them and the Kremlin.
Late last night, the Wagner-linked Telegram channel Grey Zone posted an eerie photo of Prigozhin shushing the camera, captioned: "Plans love silence."
Ukraine initially posted a widespread campaign with the phrase "Plans love silence" prior to launching its much-anticipated counteroffensive.
It was also revealed last night that Russian intelligence services reportedly threatened families of Wagner soldiers before Prigozhin called off his advance.
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But the Wagner boss is still nowhere to be seen, with no indication he has even arrived in Belarus as per his secret deal with the Kremlin.
Prigozhin's press team said in a statement that he cannot be reached at the moment - but insisted he will answer all questions when he gets in touch.
The statement said: "He says 'hi' to everyone and will answer questions when he will get in touch normally."
Russian outlets Meduza and RTVI both reported his whereabouts are currently "unknown".
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Prigozhin's last message on social media was his instruction to his men to stand down to avoid bloodshed and end his fleeting rebellion.
Meanwhile, Putin is also missing - making no public appearances on Sunday beyond a pre-recorded TV interview on state media.
It was speculated he was hunkered down in his secret bunker and two of his presidential planes were seen airborne.
Putin's TV chat - filmed days ago - saw him boast he was "confident" of the war in Ukraine. The report made no mention of the rebellion.
It was revealed on Sunday that US intelligence agencies may have had knowledge about the insurrection weeks ago.
US officials told that in mid-June Wagner was planning an armed rebellion for revenge against military leaders Prigozhin blames for his soldier's deaths.
One official said: "There were enough signals to be able to tell the leadership … that something was up.
"I think they were ready for it."
Prigozhin's absence further fuels the intrigue around the bizarre 24 hours that saw Russia seemingly pushed to the brink of collapse - with US secretary of state Antony Blinken saying the regime as "real cracks".
What happened:
- Wagner Group forces entered open rebellion after an arrest warrant was issued for their leader Prigozhin on Friday
- Priogzhin claimed he wanted to remove Russia's military leaders
- Saturday morning saw 25,000 Wagner troops march towards Moscow and seize two cities in Russia
- Putin delivered an early morning TV address, raging: "This is treason"
- The West watched on - with Rishi Sunak holding an emergency Cobra meeting at No.10
- Fighting erupted between Wagner troops and the Russian Army along the road to the capital
- And then an eleventh-hour intervention seemingly saw Prigozhin agree to stand down his men
- Prigozhin is claimed to have made a 'deal' with the Kremlin
- He allegedly agreed to leave Russia for Belarus - last being seen in a car in Rostov-on-Don
- Ukraine celebrated the infighting in Russia - and today pushed on with 'major operations'
Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a retired British army officer - who correctly predicted the Wagner rebellion, told The Sun: "The whole thing is strange."
He went on: "These are just gangsters, It is gangster warfare, but at the strategic level."
"Prigozhin would very much be a target for the Russian Secret police," the expert added.
"And, he probably shouldn’t go near any balconies, I wouldn't be surprised if they try and take him out. But, we saw how inept they were trying to assassinate, like in Salisbury."
Russia expert Kier Giles, from the Chatham House think tank, said the so-called deal between Russia and the Wagner boss "makes no sense."
He told The Sun Online: "You should be baffled. I cannot tell you what is going on, it makes no sense
"The deal made was not in either side's interest."
He added: "[Prigozhin] is not safe, the situation has been diffused and he took the exit route to Belarus, but he broke the rules and he knows the consequences."
Prigonzhin's rebellion was branded "very bizarre, very weird," by Ukrainian Defence Ministry spokesperson Yuriy Sak.
Meduza has cited a source close to the Kremlin as saying negotiations with Prigozhin began the evening of June 23.
They also claim midday on June 24, Prigozhin attempted to call Putin, but the president "did not want to talk to him".
According to Meduza's sources close to the Kremlin and the Russian government, Prigozhin most likely realised that he had "overstepped" and that "the prospects for his convoys were vague".
Former US Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker told he "can't believe Putin would allow Prigozhin to go free".
He said: "I think there are more shoes to drop, and I think everyone is concluding this shows the cracks in the regime.
"Putin is no longer seen as an invincible leader, but really showing a great deal of weakness."
Prigozhin did not look anything like a man who had been defeated as he returned to his wannabe coup's base of operations in Rostov Saturday evening after ordering his men to stand down.
The blood-thirsty mercenary boss was ferried through the streets in the back of a 4x4 as he took selfies with locals.
Other residents posed for pictures with Wagner Group tanks emblazoned with red "Z" symbols as the military force loaded up - while some chanted "Wagner!"
Prigozhin staged the largest threat to Putin's rule in decades when he launched an open rebellion and sent his 25,000 men marching on Moscow.
A convoy of trucks and military gear got within 120 miles of the Kremlin - the biggest challenge in Putin's reign so far.
Priogzhin's rebellion started on Saturday morning after an arrest warrant was issued for the Wagner chief - a former close ally of Putin.
The billionaire - known as "Putin's chef" - had been involved in an increasingly bitter war of words with the Russian military over their lack of support for his mercenaries in Ukraine.
Wagner forces stormed across the border from Ukraine and seized to cities of Rostov and Voronezh - including the HQ of Russia's military operations.
His forces then headed north - shooting down six Russian military helicopters and a plane on the way as Vlad's forces hastily fortified Moscow.
And then as the convoy came within 120 miles of the capital - with Putin's regime looking like it had just hours left - they stopped.
Priogzhin then suddenly announced the rebellion was done via Telegram.
Russia insisted they had dropped all criminal charges against Prigozhin - and he and his men were free to leave, so long as the warlord left for Belarus.
The exact details of the "deal" remain unclear - and observers have warned this crisis is far from over.
Following Prigozhin's supposed leave towards Belarus, Poland has reinforced their eastern border with both Belarus and Russia.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said: "We are aware of these threats and respond to them by anticipating attack.
"Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin can act in a very strange way. Those actions are still the subject of various analyses and studies by us and our NATO allies.
Questions remain over what Priogzhin will do once he reaches Belarus, what will be the fate of the Wagner Group fighters, and what it means for the war in Ukraine.
The deal also raises questions about Putin's grip on power - going from blasting Priogzhin for "treason" to then letting him go in an astonishing show of weakness.
Former CNN Moscow bureau chief Jean Dougherty said the Russian leader will not forgive his former pal and added the Wagner boss might "be killed in Belarus."
She said: "Putin doesn’t forgive traitors.
"Even if Putin says, ‘Prigozhin, you go to Belarus,’ he is still a traitor and I think Putin will never forgive that."
But one thing is for sure - Prigozhin did not look like a man who had been beaten as he was shepherded out of Rostov by cheering crowds with an army at his back.
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Moscow was still under an "anti-terrorist" operation on Sunday as tensions remained high despite an eerie calm.
Prigozhin was once a close ally of Putin until they fell out over the war in Ukraine.
He rose to power through the ranks in the Kremlin - originally being a caterer who supplied food for the military and who served Putin and other world leaders at state banquets.
His favour with Vlad saw him essentially run "Putin's private army" - the Wagner Group.
But their relationship has soured in the last 17 months since the invasion of Ukraine.
Prigozhin had vowed to "punish" Russia after he blamed the Kremlin for a deadly missile attack on one of his training camps in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a deal was struck "avoiding bloodshed, internal confrontation, and clashes with unpredictable results was the highest goal".
He described the drama as “fairly difficult” and “full of tragic events”.
It is unclear if Prigozhin's demands were met after he asked for the defence minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov to be fired.
It could now prove to be a difficult few days for Putin as he desperately tries to cling to power and save his strong-man image.
Defence Select Committee chair Tobias Ellwood MP told The Sun on Sunday: “In his 23 years in power, Putin has never been challenged like this.
“When Kremlin politics turn it happens very quickly.”
Speaking about the Russian leader, President Zelensky said he was sure the tyrant was "no longer in Moscow."
He said: "The man from the Kremlin is obviously very afraid and probably hiding somewhere, not showing himself."
In the meantime, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko flew to Beijing for talks with China's Foreign Minister Qin Gangon on "international" issues.
It is unclear whether the visit to China, a key ally of Russia, was in response to the rebellion by mercenaries.
And meanwhile, former chief of the UK General Staff Lord Dannatt warned that if Wagner troops follow Prigozhin, it could mean a fresh attack on Kyiv from Belarus.
He told Sky News: "The fact that he's gone to Belarus is I think a matter of some concern.
"What we don't know, what we will discover in the next hours and days is... how many of his fighters have actually gone with him.
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"If he has gone to Belarus and has kept an effective fighting force around him, he then presents a threat again to the Ukrainian flank closest to Kyiv which is where all this began on February 24 last year.
"Although it would appear that this matter is closed I think it is far from closed and the aftershocks will reverberate for quite some time.
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