Cuba’s president expresses solidarity with Russia following Wagner insurrection

By Sinan Dogan

BOGOTA (AA) – Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel expressed solidarity with Russia on Sunday following an attempted armed rebellion against the Russian government by the Wagner paramilitary group.

“We are fully convinced that unity and constitutional order will prevail,” Diaz-Canel said on Twitter.

Wagner accused Russian forces of attacking its fighters on Friday and the group subsequently crossed from Ukraine into the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.

In response, Russia’s Federal Security Service opened a criminal case against Wagner for "armed mutiny." Russian President Vladimir Putin labeled Wagner's uprising as an act of treason.

Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin said his fighters would proceed to Moscow, prompting the Kremlin to enhance security measures across various regions of the country.

He later claimed his fighters decided to turn back to avoid bloodshed when they were 200 kilometers (124 miles) from Moscow, while Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he held talks with Prigozhin with Putin's approval and Prigozhin accepted a de-escalation deal.