Kazakhstan’s Tokayev on Wagner Group mutiny: Russia’s “internal affair”

In a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, Kazakhstani President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev referred to the unfolding rebellion by Wagner Group mercenaries, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, an internal matter of the Russian Federation.

This is reported by Ukrinform with reference to Kazakhstan’s presidential administration.

"President Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev spoke by phone with the President of Russia. Vladimir Putin briefed him on the situation in the country. Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev noted that the events taking place are an internal matter of Russia," the statement reads.

Tokayev added that constitutional order and rule of law are "an indispensable condition for maintaining law and order in the country."

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on the morning of June 24, tensions between Wagner Group and Russia’s defense ministry spilled into a full-on military confrontation. Wagner’s units have seized administrative and military headquarters in Rostov before moving to seize Voronezh on their declared path to reach Moscow.