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By Mayeni Jones & James Gregory
in Kyiv and London
Russian missiles have hit the centre of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, killing four people and injuring many more, Ukrainian officials say.
A restaurant and shopping area were hit in Tuesday's strike on the city, which is under Ukrainian control but close to Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.
People may be trapped under the rubble and a rescue operation is under way.
An eyewitness told the BBC he saw "dead people, people screaming, people crying, huge chaos".
A 17-year-old girl is reported to be among those who were killed in the attack, which happened at around 19:30 local time (16:30 GMT).
There were also apartment buildings at the epicentre of the explosion, officials said.
Social media and drone footage from the scene show significant damage to the buildings, some of which have been reduced to rubble.
Belgian freelance journalist Arnaud De Decker told BBC Newshour he was at the popular Ria Lounge restaurant just minutes before it was hit.
"There's still people underneath the rubble because it's a big restaurant," he said.
"Now I can hear people screaming underneath the rubble as rescuers are trying to save them."
He estimated up to 80 staff members and customers were on the restaurant premises at the time of the strike, so feared the casualty number could be "severe".
Officials say at least 40 people were injured, including an eight-month-old baby and three foreigners.
A rescue operation is currently under way in the city centre, with security agencies assisting emergency services at the scene and evacuating victims.
Local authorities say the area had a high concentration of civilians when the missiles hit.
"This is the city centre. These were public eating places crowded with civilians," regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukrainian television.
Mr De Decker described the restaurant as a local "gathering hub" that was also popular with soldiers, journalists and volunteers.
Russian forces also targeted a nearby village, Kramatorsk city council said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack proved to Ukraine and the world that Russia deserved "only defeat and a tribunal, just and lawful courts against all Russian murderers and terrorists".
The White House condemned Russia for its "brutal strikes" on Ukraine.
Kramatorsk has often been targeted by missiles since the start of the invasion in February 2022.
The city of 150,000 people is one of the largest still under Ukrainian control in the besieged east. It lies about 30km (18 miles) from the frontline.
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To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
By Mayeni Jones & James Gregory
in Kyiv and London
Russian missiles have hit the centre of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, killing four people and injuring many more, Ukrainian officials say.
A restaurant and shopping area were hit in Tuesday's strike on the city, which is under Ukrainian control but close to Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.
People may be trapped under the rubble and a rescue operation is under way.
An eyewitness told the BBC he saw "dead people, people screaming, people crying, huge chaos".
A 17-year-old girl is reported to be among those who were killed in the attack, which happened at around 19:30 local time (16:30 GMT).
There were also apartment buildings at the epicentre of the explosion, officials said.
Social media and drone footage from the scene show significant damage to the buildings, some of which have been reduced to rubble.
Belgian freelance journalist Arnaud De Decker told BBC Newshour he was at the popular Ria Lounge restaurant just minutes before it was hit.
"There's still people underneath the rubble because it's a big restaurant," he said.
"Now I can hear people screaming underneath the rubble as rescuers are trying to save them."
He estimated up to 80 staff members and customers were on the restaurant premises at the time of the strike, so feared the casualty number could be "severe".
Officials say at least 40 people were injured, including an eight-month-old baby and three foreigners.
A rescue operation is currently under way in the city centre, with security agencies assisting emergency services at the scene and evacuating victims.
Local authorities say the area had a high concentration of civilians when the missiles hit.
"This is the city centre. These were public eating places crowded with civilians," regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukrainian television.
Mr De Decker described the restaurant as a local "gathering hub" that was also popular with soldiers, journalists and volunteers.
Russian forces also targeted a nearby village, Kramatorsk city council said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack proved to Ukraine and the world that Russia deserved "only defeat and a tribunal, just and lawful courts against all Russian murderers and terrorists".
The White House condemned Russia for its "brutal strikes" on Ukraine.
Kramatorsk has often been targeted by missiles since the start of the invasion in February 2022.
The city of 150,000 people is one of the largest still under Ukrainian control in the besieged east. It lies about 30km (18 miles) from the frontline.
During your trial you will have complete digital access to FT.com with everything in both of our Standard Digital and Premium Digital packages.
Standard Digital includes access to a wealth of global news, analysis and expert opinion. Premium Digital includes access to our premier business column, Lex, as well as 15 curated newsletters covering key business themes with original, in-depth reporting. For a full comparison of Standard and Premium Digital, click here.
Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section.
What happens at the end of my trial?
If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month.
For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial.
You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here.
Any changes made can be done at any time and will become effective at the end of the trial period, allowing you to retain full access for 4 weeks, even if you downgrade or cancel.
When can I cancel?
You may change or cancel your subscription or trial at any time online. Simply log into Settings & Account and select "Cancel" on the right-hand side.
You can still enjoy your subscription until the end of your current billing period.
What forms of payment can I use?
We support credit card, debit card and PayPal payments.
An audio recording in which Donald Trump appears to acknowledge keeping a classified document after leaving the White House has been obtained by US media.
In the recording, the former president is heard riffling through papers and saying: "This is highly confidential".
It has not been independently verified by the BBC.
Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of mishandling sensitive files.
Prosecutors allege he showed classified documents to people without security clearance on two occasions, including a writer and two members of staff, in one instance in July 2021 at his golf club in New Jersey.
Mr Trump is facing 37 counts of illegally retaining classified documents and obstructing the government's efforts to get them back.
He has denied any wrongdoing and has said that all documents he took with him from the White House were declassified.
During the exchange, released by CNN and the Washington Post on Monday, Mr Trump is heard describing a document that he alleges is about possibly attacking Iran.
"He said that I wanted to attack Iran. Isn't it amazing?" Mr Trump says near the beginning of the clip.
"I have a big pile of papers, this thing just came up. Look," he says.
"See as president I could have declassified it," he says. "Now I can't, you know, but this is still a secret."
In an interview last week with Fox News, Mr Trump denied that he provided secret documents to people unauthorised to view them.
"There was no document. That was a massive amount of papers and everything else talking about Iran and other things," Mr Trump said.
BBC Russian has been tracking which Russian
aircraft were downed in the mutiny over the weekend.
Using open sourcing, it says that this includes
three Mi-8 MTPR Electronic Warfare helicopters, two attack helicopters – a
Ka-52 and Mi-35 – one military transport Mi-8, as well as one Il-22M command
plane.
It also says that, according to Conflict
Intelligence Team, an open source organisation with a focus on Russia, it’s
possible that another Mi-8 MTPR helicopter was shot down near Luhansk on June
23, although there are no further details of this incident.
It’s currently unclear how many crew members
died, BBC Russian says.
Of the aircraft lost, the most valuable is
the Il-22M, BBC Russian says, an airborne command post from which troops can be
controlled during combat operations.
In an address to the nation on June 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Wagner mercenary fighters who took part in the revolt over the weekend can either join the Russian Army or go to Belarus.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL's Live Briefinggives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensives, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.
"Today, you have the opportunity to continue serving Russia by entering into a contract with the Ministry of Defense or other law enforcement agencies, or to return to your family and friends. Whoever wants to can go to Belarus. The promise I made will be fulfilled," Putin said. "I repeat: The choice is yours."
Putin also thanked the Russian people for unity and thanked commanders and soldiers of the mercenary group for avoiding bloodshed in what is widely seen as the greatest challenge to Putin's 23 years of rule.
Putin made no mention of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in his short remarks but said the organizers of the revolt had betrayed the Russian people.
He warned that any attempt at blackmail or unrest in Russia would be “doomed to fail” and claimed the West wanted Russians to “kill each other.”
U.S. President Joe Biden and other Western leaders said the brief uprising was part of a struggle within the Russian system. Biden said neither the United States nor its allies was involved.
Biden's message was sent directly to the Russians through various diplomatic channels, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters. He did not characterize Russia's response.
Meanwhile, Prigozhin said earlier that the intent of his troops' march toward Moscow over the weekend was to highlight the incompetence of Russia's military leadership in its war against Ukraine and not to overthrow the Russian government in what is widely seen as the greatest challenge to Putin's 23 years of rule.
In his first public statement since abandoning the march just 200 kilometers from the Russian capital, Prigozhin continued to sound defiant in an 11-minute long audio clip on June 26, saying his progress was a "master class" on how Russia's army should have carried out its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, noting multiple holes in military security that allowed his group to easily take control of cities as it proceeded toward Moscow.
Prigozhin did not reveal his current whereabouts, nor did he mention any details of a reported agreement brokered by Belarusian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka that is said to have granted him asylum in Belarus.
PODCAST: Why did Yevgeny Prigozhin halt Wagner’s advance toward Moscow so abruptly? How badly weakened is Russian President Vladimir Putin, and what might the 24-hour rebellion mean for the course of the war in Ukraine?
"We started our march because of an injustice,” Prigozhin, once a close ally of Putin, said, referring to an alleged attack on his forces that he blames on the Russian military.
"We went to demonstrate our protest and not to overthrow power in the country," Prigozhin added, repeatedly denying that he and his forces planned to seize power.
He said the goal of what he referred to as "our march of justice" was to prevent the "liquidation of the Wagner private military campaign and to demonstrate how indeed the special military operation should have been conducted."
But then he added that as a "result of intrigue and wrong decisions," Wagner plans to cease existing on July 1 after its commanders spoke to the fighters "and nobody agreed to sign contracts with the Defense Ministry."
Prigozhin also noted in his lengthy commentary that his troops "did not kill a single Russian soldier on land" but shot down several Defense Ministry aircraft after the aircraft "bombed us and attacked us with missiles."
In Washington, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the United States used various diplomatic channels to send a message informing Russia that there was no U.S. involvement in the uprising. Kirby did not say how Moscow responded to what he said were "good, direct communications."
He could not confirm whether Prigozhin was in Belarus and said it is too soon to know what will become of the Wagner group.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that while Washington does not know what will happen to Wagner in Ukraine, the events over the weekend reinforce Washington's concerns about the instability Wagner brings when its forces join conflicts.
Wagner has fought in Libya, the Central African Republic, Mali, and Syria since being founded in 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea and started supporting pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.
The United States renews "the message that we have given to these countries publicly and privately in the past, which is that any time Wagner enters the country, death and destruction follow," Miller told reporters. "You see Wagner exploit local populations, we see them extract local wealth, we see them commit human rights abuses."
Prigozhin's recording was released as Russian authorities scrambled to present a return to normality by reversing counterterrorism measures in the capital and some regions after Prigozhin's short-lived mutiny.
In Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced that counterterrorism measures imposed in the Russian capital during Prigozhin's attempted mutiny have been canceled.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) separately announced the lifting of all temporary restrictions in Moscow region, while Voronezh regional Governor Aleksandr Gusev also said the counterterrorism regime had been rescinded in his region following the withdrawal of Prigozhin's fighters.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, whose dismissal was one of the main demands by Prigozhin, was seen in a video visiting troops.
Russia's Defense Ministry on June 26 published a soundless video purporting to show Shoigu flying in a plane with a colleague and hearing reports at a command post. It was not immediately clear where or when the footage had been recorded.
Earlier, the RIA Novosti news agency said Shoigu had visited Russian troops involved in the military operation in Ukraine. The information could not be independently confirmed.
As part of the deal brokered by Lukashenka and reported by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, criminal charges against the mutineers were to be dropped in exchange for their return to camps, while Prigozhin would move to Belarus.
But the Russian newspaper Kommersant and the TASS news agency, citing unidentified sources, reported on June 26 that Prigozhin remains under investigation by the FSB on suspicion of organizing an armed mutiny.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said during a visit to Lithuania on June 26 that Prigozhin's aborted mutiny shows that Moscow committed a strategic mistake by waging war on Ukraine.
"The events over the weekend are an internal Russian matter, and yet another demonstration of the big strategic mistake that President [Vladimir] Putin made with his illegal annexation of Crimea and the war against Ukraine," he told reporters in Vilnius. "As Russia continues its assault, it is even more important to continue our support to Ukraine."
European Union ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, said the failed revolt raised questions about Putin’s grip on power.
“We are analyzing this carefully,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters. “There are also risks involved, which we are still unable to assess at the moment. For us Europeans, the only thing that matters is to support Ukraine.”
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who chaired the meeting, said that the political system "is showing fragilities, and the military power is cracking” and now is the moment to support Ukraine more than ever.
Photo Gallery:
In Russia, Road Repairs And Eerie Calm After Wagner Uprising
Photos from Russia show a rush to erase all traces of the tumultuous events of June 24, and a swift return to apparent normality.
Addressing the ministers by video link, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the ministers to take advantage of the latest developments.
“Russia is getting weaker every day. It is critically important now to provide Ukraine with all the weapons it needs,” he said, including artillery and missiles, but also tougher sanctions.
Meanwhile, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said early on June 26 that Ukrainian forces have retaken 130 square kilometers in the south since the start of Kyiv's long-anticipated counteroffensive.
Malyar said on her Telegram channel that the Ukrainian military continued to make advances in the Melitopol and Berdyansk areas of the southern Zaporizhzhya region, despite fierce Russian resistance and "significant" human and material losses.
"In total, since the beginning of our [counter]offensive, the area liberated in the south amounts to 130 square kilometers," she said.
Separately, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in its daily report early on June 26 that Ukrainian forces successfully repelled intensified Russian attempts to advance in the eastern region of Donetsk, fighting off 36 assaults in the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka, and Maryinka areas over the past day.
The General Staff also reported that Ukrainian troops are continuing their operations in Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions, without giving more details.
