It is too early to say where troops from the Wagner mercenary group will end up, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said.

"It's too early to make any final judgement about the consequences of the fact that Prigozhin has moved to Belarus, and that most likely some of his forces will also be located in Belarus."

Putin's war in Ukraine has deepened divisions in Russia, he added, but warned that allies still could not underestimate Russia and must keep supporting Ukraine, he is quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

He also said it was clear to Moscow and Minsk that Nato was ready to protect every ally and "every inch of Nato territory".

Listen to the latest Ukrainecast on BBC Sounds, in which the team answers your questions on the failed Wagner rebellion.

Victoria Derbyshire, Vitaliy Shevchenko and Frank Gardner discuss the future of Vladimir Putin and Yevgeny Prigozhin following a momentous few days.

Listen to the podcast here.

A reporter asks if the Pentagon can confirm whether Prigozhin is still alive, or whether we are "in a Weekend at Bernie's situation?"

The reference is to the 1989 comedy film, where the main characters pretend a very dead Bernie is still alive so they won't have to stop their holiday.

It gets a chuckle from Ryder, who says at first: "I don't get the reference", before going on to say: "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Gen X-er at the podium."

And while the joke lightened the mood in the briefing room, Ryder did not divulge any more information on the leader of the Wagner mercenaries.

"I’m not going to be able to provide a status update. I really can’t comment on his current status."

Gen Ryder is now taking questions from the press.

He is asked what will happen to the Wagner group's operations in Africa.

“In Africa where they operate, we will see. The key point being here is that Wagner has been a significantly dangerous actor for a while,” Ryder says.

He also says there is no indication that the failed mutiny in Russia over the weekend has made Russia willing to stop the fighting in Ukraine.

When asked about their assessment on Vladimir Putin’s hold to power, whether he has been destabilised, Ryder says: “The security situation inside Russia is really an internal Russian matter”, adding he won’t speculate on it.

“As it relates to Ukraine, the war there continues. We’re not going to lose sight of that fact. Regardless of the situation in Russia, we're focused on giving Ukraine what they need,” he adds.

When asked if this new package is related to what happened in Russia, or whether that caused any change in the amount, Ryder says: “There is no connection. The bottom line is no. We have a process that we have been employing for a while now.”

On the Wagner presence in Ukraine, he says they are aware of their presence in the country, but that he won't go into specifics.

Meanwhile in the US, Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder is speaking at a weekly press briefing.

He is revealing details of the new military package the US plans to give to Ukraine as announced by the White House earlier today.

According to Ryder, the money will be spent helping increase Ukraine's air defence capabilities.

The US is contributing up to $500m (£392m) in this aid package.

An eyewitness of the missile strike in Kramatorsk says it is "absolutely horrible" what is happening there.

Belgian freelance journalist Arnaud De Decker was at the popular Ria Lounge restaurant minutes before it was hit by a missile strike.

Speaking to the BBC World Service's Newshour programme, he said the scene there as chaotic, adding that there were still people under the rubble.

"I saw dead people, people screaming, people crying, huge chaos, so it's absolutely horrible what's happening here.

"And there's still people underneath the rubble because it's a big restaurant so you have maybe, let's say 20 people working there, and even more customers on the terrace and also inside... I would guess maybe 50-60 people.

"And so now I can hear people still screaming underneath the rubble as rescuers are trying to save them," he added.

As we've been reporting, Russian missiles have hit the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, and the latest figures from the police say that two people have died and 22 people have been injured in the attack.

Image source, Reuters

As we've just reported, Ukrainian officials say Russian missiles have hit a restaurant in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk.

Emergency services are at the scene helping the injured, the head of the region has told Ukrainian TV.

Mayeni Jones
Reporting from Kyiv

We have more on the attack in Kramatorsk which happened at around 19:30 (16:30 GMT).

A rescue operation is under way, security agencies are providing emergency services at the scene and evacuating victims.

The interior minister says two people died and 18 people were injured including a child.

People are still believed to be under the debris.

Local authorities say the area had a high concentration of civilians.

Two Russian missiles have struck the centre of the city of Kramatorsk in the eastern region of Donetsk, hitting a shopping centre and a restaurant, says the BBC's Mayeni Jones in Kyiv.

The Biden administration is unveiling a new security package for Ukraine to help defend the country against “Russia’s brutal invasion”, the White House’s Principal Deputy Press Secretary Olivia Dalton announced.

The US has pledged to send essential equipment to support Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces, and includes "key capabilities that will support Ukraine's counteroffensive operations such as mine clearing equipment, armoured vehicles, and artillery rounds", Dalton said.

It will also help shore up Ukraine’s air defence system against Russian missile attacks.

The package is part of a bipartisan deal that was approved last year, in which the United States pledged support for Ukraine in the fight against Russia.

What losses did Russia suffer in the Wagner revolt?published at 18:33 British Summer Time 27 June 2023

18:33 BST 27 June 2023

President Vladimir Putin says Russian pilots were killed during fighting with Wagner forces over the weekend.

Putin referred to "fallen hero pilots" in a statement on 26 June, external. However, he didn't go into detail about the number of casualties or aircraft lost.

BBC Verify has looked at dozens of videos taken during the fighting between Wagner troops and Russian forces.

It has been confirmed that a military plane was downed, external near the town of Kantemirovka, while BBC Russian says a total of six helicopters were also brought down, according to social media reports.

Read the full story here.

It’s been another complex day of developments between Russia and the Wagner group.

Here’s a breakdown of the key players, and their latest movements.

Prigozhin

The Wagner boss is in Belarus, according to the country’s leader Alexander Lukashenko. The BBC hasn't seen any photographs of him there, and the exiled mercenary boss has not made any new statements.

Wagner fighters

Lukashenko has offered them abandoned military bases in Belarus if they wanted to join their leader in exile.

It’s too early to know how many Wagner fighters have entered Belarus, or how many may plan to travel there.

Lukashenko

The Belarusian leader has been very vocal in the past few hours.

He spoke at an event at the Palace of Independence, where he described his version of the negotiations that ended the mutiny in Russia. The speech detailed his conversations with Putin and Prigozhin.

Putin

Earlier today, Vladimir Putin addressed the military, telling them they "stopped a civil war", following the aborted Wagner rebellion.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, the deal broker between Vladimir Putin and Yevgeny Prigozhin, has laid out how his role in negotiations between the two sides unfolded on Saturday.

"I suggested to Putin not to hurry. I said, let us talk to Prigozhin and his commanders," he said.

The Belarusian leader said this is how the conversation played out (in transcripts quoted by news agencies):

Putin: "Look Sasha [Alexander], it is useless, he won't even pick up the phone."

Lukashenko: "Where is he?"

Putin: "In Rostov(-on-Don)."

Lukashenko: "Ok... I will try to contact him."

As Lukashenko was telling the story to Belarusian officers and officials after an event at the Palace of Independence, he called Prigozhin a "heroic guy".

Lukashenko said at first, they talked "almost only [in] swear words".

"He says: 'Let them hand me over [Defence Minister Sergei] Shoigu and [General Chief of Staff Valery] Gerasimov! I also need to meet Putin'. I say: 'Zhenya (Yevgeny), no-one will ever hand over Shoigu, Gerasimov, or anyone else, for that matter.'

"He says: 'But we want justice! They want to strangle us! We will march on Moscow!'

"And I say: 'Halfway [to Moscow], they will squash you like a bug.' Even though, as Putin told me, the troops were busy on a certain front line."

Matt Murphy
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

The toxic cocktail of jealousy, rivalry and ambition that gave rise to the Wagner mutiny has been months, if not years, in the making.

Prigozhin is a creation of the Kremlin. Since he formed the Wagner mercenary group in 2014, he has become a key tool of Putin's desire to reimpose Russian influence across the globe.

Putin allowed him to build up his own power base, and he has reserved a particular hatred for the head of the military, Valery Gerasimov, and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu for years.

Vladimir Putin was content to let it continue. He has long permitted competing power centres to fight among each other for influence, believing that it would prevent one faction from gaining enough prominence to challenge him directly.

But in recent months, Putin's long-held strategy has appeared to fray.

Shoigu has had a plan he hoped would reduce his adversary's influence for good, announcing that "volunteer formations" would be asked to sign contracts directly with the ministry of defence.

The move will have set off alarm bells in Prigozhin's head. His troops soon escalated their campaign against the regular military.

Read more here.

Image source, Reuters

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says the Wagner mutiny over the weekend shows that "Putin is destroying his own country", as quoted by Reuters news agency earlier.

"The situation this past weekend again makes clear the point that I also made at the beginning of this war, which is that this illegal Russian war of aggression is not just an attack against Ukraine and our mutual European peaceful order, but that Russian President Putin is also destroying his own country with this war."

Wagner's Belarus move a worry for Nato neighbourspublished at 16:38 British Summer Time 27 June 2023

16:38 BST 27 June 2023

Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor

Image source, Reuters

It's too early to say how many Wagner mercenaries will now follow their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, to Belarus. But if they go in sufficient numbers, that will be of concern not just for Belarusian civilians, but for immediate neighbours Lithuania and Poland, perhaps Ukraine too.

Belarus's long-time authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, has already said today that if Wagner commanders offer help then Belarus's military will take it. And if they want a base, "everything is there. Put up tents: we will help in any way we can".

Lithuania's presidential adviser Kestutis Budrys, external has warned if Wagner forces are stationed close to its border with Belarus, then there's a risk of sabotage and infiltration operations. And Belarus will be held to account for sheltering "such a criminal element".

And Polish President Andrzej Duda has spoken of "very negative signals for us" that Warsaw will want to raise strongly with its allies.

Image source, Reuters

The fate of the Wagner mercenary group is not necessarily linked to that of its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to Columbia University political scientist Prof Kimberly Marten.

The Wagner groups is a massive organisation that is “serving Russian interests very well,” Marten tells the BBC, especially in places like Mali, Libya, and the Central African Republic.

Whether the organisation will exist in its current form or not, “the same members of that organisation will likely continue ... their service to the Russian state by helping prop up authoritarian regimes, give military training, provide weapons, and so forth.”

“Prigozhin is not Wagner,” she says, and the mercenary group should not be mistaken for Prigozhin’s private military company.

She also says that one should take the Wagner chief’s relative exoneration and exile with a pinch of salt. She mentions the case of former Russian military officer and double agent Sergei Skripal, who faced an assassination attempt by Russian agents in 2018 despite being pardoned by Moscow.

“Putin doesn’t tend to forget who he calls traitors,” she says.

How we're investigating claims of Wagner camps in Belaruspublished at 16:06 British Summer Time 27 June 2023

16:06 BST 27 June 2023

There's been speculation about the presence of Wagner mercenaries in Belarus where the group's leader has now relocated, according to the country's leader, Alexander Lukashenko.

BBC Verify has been looking into claims that new Wagner camps are being built in the southern town of Asipovichy, to house up to 8,000 fighters.

On social media, some people have been sharing a satellite image which they claim shows that a wooded area inside an existing military facility outside the town has been cleared and new buildings put up.

We analysed previous satellite images of this area and found that the cleared woodland and the buildings have been there for at least five years.

Take a look at the image below:

Image source, Planet Labs PBC

The Belarusian investigative website Belaruski Hayun has reported that it found no information regarding the construction of new camps in Asipovichy.

And now, Lukashenko has said Belarus is not building camps for Wagner fighters but will accommodate them if they want.