Questions remain following Wagner insurrection in Russia

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Monday 06.26.23

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By Harmeet Kaur

Wagner Group fighters prepare to depart Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on Saturday as crowds cheer.

Russia

Russia may have avoided an insurrection over the weekend, but there are still a lot of questions about what transpired. It's unclear what will happen to Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led the insurrection against Russian military leadership. It's also too soon to know how the uprising might affect the war in Ukraine, and there will likely be other implications as well. One key takeaway: Russian President Vladimir Putin looks weak as a result. "It feels like the beginning of the end for him," writes CNN's Nick Paton Walsh. Meanwhile, Ukraine claims it has made inroads against Russian forces around Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.

Extreme weather

Several cities in northern India are experiencing heavy rain after a sweltering heat wave that recently engulfed countries across Asia. But while the showers provide some respite from the high temperatures, one researcher said that the country will be "approaching the limits to survivability by mid-century." In the US, hundreds of thousands of people are without power across the Southeast and the Ohio Valley after tornado-spawning storms slammed the region. Separately, a new analysis shows that extreme floods are happening far more often than federal data suggests, which could seriously affect everything from the building of new roads and bridges to the rising cost of flood insurance.

Train derailment

Cleanup has begun after a train derailment in Montana over the weekend caused a bridge across the Yellowstone River to collapse and sent several train cars into the water below. No injuries were reported. Some of the train cars were carrying molten sulfur and asphalt, while two cars carrying sodium hydrogen sulfate did not land in the river, according to Montana Rail Link. The company said it's continuing to test public drinking water and will monitor the impact on the nearby area.

Immigration

The Supreme Court has revived Biden administration immigration guidelines that prioritize which noncitizens to detain and which to deport. Friday's 8-1 ruling dismisses a challenge from Republican state attorneys general in Texas and Louisiana, who had argued that the policies conflicted with immigration law. It also tightens the rules around when states can challenge federal policies with which they disagree — the second decision in a week to do so. The ruling is a major victory for President Joe Biden and the White House, who have consistently argued the need to prioritize who they detain and deport given limited resources. And with the Supreme Court beginning its final week, all eyes will be on the high court as the justices will release cases on issues such as affirmative action, student loan payments, election law and LGBTQ rights.

Greece

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has won another four-year term, while his center-right New Democracy party scored a resounding victory. Sunday's elections were dominated by financial stability and cost-of-living issues, and Mitsotakis had positioned himself as someone who could boost growth in difficult global circumstances. His government staged a stunning economic turnaround, with Greece now on the brink of returning to investment grade on the global market for the first time since it lost market access in 2010. The vote also came after a devastating migrant boat disaster, and although authorities were criticized for their response to the tragedy, it didn't hinder Mitsotakis' lead.

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