“Russia’s weakness is obvious. Complete weakness,” explained Zelenskyj in the online media. And the longer Russia leaves its troops on Ukrainian soil, “the more chaos, suffering and problems it will have later on.”

All developments on the Wagner uprising in the FOCUS online ticker.

Ukraine protects the rest of Europe from “the spread of Russian evil and chaos,” Zelenskyy added.

“The next 48 hours will decide Russia”

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoljak, meanwhile, keeps the fate of Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin open. “The next 48 hours will decide the new status of Russia,” Podoljak wrote on Twitter on Saturday. A “full-fledged civil war”, a “negotiated transfer of power” or even a “temporary respite before the next phase of the fall of the Putin regime” are possible.

Podoliak is one of the advisers to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He went on to write: “All potential actors are now deciding which side they are on.” In Russia there is currently a “deafening silence from the elite”. Russia has been waging a war of aggression against neighboring Ukraine for 16 months. The Wagner mercenaries have so far been among the most important troops.