Belarus’ defence minister Viktor Khrennikov reportedly told leader Alexander Lukashenko that he would like to enlist Wagner forces in the Belarusian army, according to the news agency Reuters.

Following their brief mutiny, Wagner fighters were given the choice to either integrate into the Russian armed forces or follow their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, into exile in Belarus.

Lukashenko instructed Khrennikov to negotiate with Prigozhin on the possible integration, Reuters reports.

More now from Alexander Lukashenko, who has confirmed that Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is in Belarus.

Lukashenko is quoted by state media as saying that Belarus is not building any camps for the group, but will accommodate them if they want.

"We offered them one of the abandoned military bases. Please - we have a fence, we have everything - put up your tents," Lukashenko said, according to Reuters news agency.

Lukashenko was also quoted as saying there were no plans to open any Wagner recruitment centres in Belarus.

Russian authorities have stated that the Wagner group, who staged a mutiny over the weekend, will not be prosecuted. Cases against the mercenary group have been closed and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is said to have arrived in exile in Belarus.

This is in contrast to the treatment of ordinary Russian dissidents, who face years in jail for merely raising their voices against the government.

Matthew Sussex, a senior fellow at the Australian Defence College, has told the BBC this highlights a “terrible double standard” - that the Wagner group is free after staging what amounted to an armed insurrection, while "average Russians can simply hold up a piece of blank paper and be sent to prison, some for 10, some for 15 years".

This double standard however comes as no surprise to the Russian people, Sussex adds: “They're used to elites all the way back to the Soviet nomenclature being treated completely differently to rank-and-file, ordinary Russians.”

Belarusian state media have some further comments from leader Alexander Lukashenko regarding Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin's arrival in the country.

The Belarusian leader is quoted as saying that “security guarantees have been given”, just as promised by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I see Prigozhin’s been flying aboard this plane - yes, indeed he’s in Belarus today,” he's quoted as saying, adding that he would be staying in the country at Wagner’s expense.

On Saturday, after calling off an apparent mutiny in Russia, Prigozhin agreed a deal to move to Belarus.

Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko has been quoted as saying that Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozin is in Belarus, according to Belarusian state news agency Belta.

We'll bring you more information as we have it.

Image source, Reuters

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko says he wants to listen to the Wagner group's experience in war and learn from them.

Wagner commanders and fighters will be allowed to go into exile in Belarus with their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, under a deal with Moscow brokered by Lukashenko.

"If their commanders come to us and help us... tell us what's important right now... that's priceless. That's what we need to take from Wagner," Lukashenko said during a meeting with his defence minister, according to state media.

He adds he doesn't have any reason to be afraid of their presence and that the Belarusian authorities will "keep a close eye on them".

Sarah Rainsford
BBC Eastern Europe correspondent, in Warsaw

Image source, Reuters

Today we’ve seen a huge amount of reputation recovery work by Vladimir Putin, and some key figures around him.

His authority has been dealt a pretty big blow by the events of the last few days, and now he’s urgently trying to restate his authority, and to reassert himself as the strongman by scaring people in Russia with the idea that had this mutiny succeeded, there would’ve been civil war.

He’s saying he stepped in, and he and his security forces who remained loyal to him have essentially saved the day.

The subtext of it all seems to be: stick with me because otherwise things here could be a lot worse.

More now from President Vladimir Putin, who has said that the Wagner mercenary group was "fully funded" by the Russian state.

"I would like everyone to know that the whole of the Wagner group was funded by the state - by the defence ministry and the state budget. We fully funded this group," he said during a televised meeting with security officials.

"In May 2022 to May 2023 alone, the state paid the Wagner company 86.262bn roubles ($1bn) in payments and bonuses."

Putin added the authorities would investigate how the money paid to Wagner and its boss was spent, Reuters news agency reports.

Putin will try to restore image as Russia's strongmanpublished at 13:43 British Summer Time 27 June 2023

13:43 BST 27 June 2023

Jeremy Bowen
International Editor, in Kyiv

Ukraine is looking very strongly at what's going on in Russia because what was said by Prigozhin can't be unsaid.

They're conscious that Putin is going to somehow try to restore his image as Russia's strongman.

One way of doing that, which hasn't happened yet, might be trying to up the attacks on Kyiv or some of the other big cities.

And there's loads of speculation about whether or not Prigozhin had allies in the intelligence or security services inside Russia, who might be hoping for round two.

There's another big question, which is if Ukraine does break through on the battlefield, and they haven't done that at this point, how will that affect those tensions and challenges inside Russia?

Francis Scarr
BBC Monitoring

Many experts believe the weekend’s failed Wagner mutiny could have lasting consequences for the Kremlin, but Russian state TV appears keen to put the story to bed as quickly as possible.

Today, the country’s main channels - whose messaging is tightly controlled by the Kremlin - quote President Putin’s late-night address at length, highlighting that he thanked Russians for their “unity and patriotism”.

Channel One reassures its viewers that “the situation has now normalised and the consequences of what happened have been eliminated”.

Time Will Tell, one of the many political talk shows that dominate Russian TV’s wartime schedules, only features a brief segment on the rebellion at the very top of the programme, with the presenter commenting that the “main thing is that it failed to divide our country”.

After that, it’s straight back to the subject that’s been all over Russian screens for weeks - the Ukrainian counter-offensive - which Russian TV has consistently dismissed as a failure.

“In the West, they’re unhappy with how the counter-offensive is going and with Zelensky too,” the presenter declares.

A war correspondent speaking from behind Russian lines in Ukraine says Kyiv’s efforts to create a bridgehead on the left (east) bank of the Dnipro River have been unsuccessful.

How is the Ukraine offensive going?published at 13:13 British Summer Time 27 June 2023

13:13 BST 27 June 2023

We’ve been looking for evidence of recent Ukrainian successes.

There’ve been such reports from several places across the front line with Russian-occupied territory, but we’ve not found a wealth of video evidence from the past 48 hours.

One place where there is clear footage is the area around the destroyed Antonivsky bridge over the Dnipro River on the edge of Kherson in southern Ukraine. Ukrainian forces conducted a raid across the river into Russian-held territory.

One video claimed to show a captured Russian soldier. His account was consistent with another video of a Russian armoured vehicle being fired on by the ruined bridge. We used facial recognition tools to establish he was a Russian soldier.

Local news later reported that Ukrainian forces had knocked out Russian artillery that had heavily shelled Kherson throughout the war - and since had also targeted civilian evacuations after the Nova Kakhovka dam was destroyed.

Steve Rosenberg
BBC Russia editor

Going back for a minute to President Putin’s late-night TV address on Monday and there’d been feverish speculation on social media that this would be a speech that would “decide the fate of Russia".

It wasn’t. And it won’t.

With this five-minute address to the nation, Russia’s president tried to reassert his authority after the astonishing events of the weekend when armed mercenaries marched on Moscow.

“Dear friends…” he began. An attempt, perhaps, to portray himself as an ordinary bloke, a man of the people. He thanked Russians for their patriotism and support.

Without naming names, he distinguished between the organisers of the rebellion (“who had betrayed their country”) and regular Wagner fighters and commanders (“the vast majority of them are patriots”).

He claimed Wagner troops had been duped into taking part in the uprising.

President Putin’s list of scapegoats was long - he blamed Ukraine, the West, “national traitors” at home for stirring things up - claiming that “Russia’s enemies… wanted Russian soldiers to start killing each other”.

To the Wagner fighters he offered this choice: either continue military service by signing a contract with the defence ministry or other security agencies; go home to their families; or go to Belarus, where Yevgeny Prigozhin is heading.

Speech over. Job done? Authority reasserted?

It’s not that simple.

In his speech Vladimir Putin had failed to address a key question: the disconnect many here are talking about. If, as President Putin says, the leaders of the mutiny are “traitors” and “criminals” who “stabbed Russia in the back”, if Russian air force pilots were killed in the mutiny (as the president has said), then how come Yevgeny Prigozhin isn’t being prosecuted? On Saturday night the Kremlin indicated that criminal charges against him would be dropped in exchange for ending the mutiny. The FSB domestic security service has now confirmed that.

This is how one Russian newspaper, Nezavisimaya, reacted to the deal: “Compromises like that are normally made with political opponents. But never with criminals and terrorists.”

As for the presidential address that was going to “decide the fate of Russia”, today’s edition of the Kommersant newspaper joked that Muscovites “after the speech had hugged one another and even kissed. But only from a sense of relief, that this time round the president’s address had not decided Russia’s fate”.

In case you're just joining us, here's a recap of developments from this morning:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulates military personnel who he says have "stopped a civil war" and while addressing them, calls for a minute's silence for pilots killed in clashes during the Wagner rebellion
• Russia’s defence ministry says preparations are under way for Wagner to hand over its military hardware, implying that the Wagner group could be disbanded

• All three main Russian news agencies, quoting the FSB security service, say the criminal case against Wagner mutineers has been closed
• An aircraft linked to Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin lands in Belarus, where he is reported to have been exiled following the mutiny
• Belarus’ leader Alexander Lukashenko says it was “painful to watch” the Wagner group’s mutiny in Russia, and that he had ordered his troops to be “combat ready" during the rebellion
• Meanwhile, Ukraine’s counteroffensive continues as President Volodymyr Zelensky says his troops “have advanced in all directions” on the front

Steve Rosenberg
Russia editor

Image source, Reuters

The Wagner mutiny was an unprecedented challenge to Vladimir Putin’s authority.

Today the president tried to change the optics. And portray what had happened as his victory and a victory for Russia.

On the Kremlin’s Cathedral Square he addressed 2,500 soldiers and police officers, Russian guards and security officials – to say thanks for remaining loyal and for helping to put down the rebellion.

The Kremlin leader praised them for defending the constitutional order, the lives, security and freedom of Russians, they had in effect, said the president, stopped a civil war.

He made no mention of the deal the Kremlin had done with the Wagner mercenary group to end the mutiny – which had given Wagner fighters, and their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin immunity from prosecution – although under the agreement Prigozhin has to move to Belarus.

Vitaly Shevchenko
BBC Monitoring

There are a few important lessons from Putin's unexpected address to security services assembled in the Kremlin:

• It intended to demonstrate that he still has their support
• The focus on pilots killed during the apparent mutiny (he mentioned them yesterday, and now there was a minute of silence) shows their deaths and lack of subsequent retribution can cause discontent in the army
• Putin also usually speaks from inside his residence, or from Red Square during important occasions such as Victory Day – it’s extremely rare for him to make televised addresses to security forces assembled within the Kremlin walls

Putin also says that the Wagner forces never had the support of the army or the people.

However, it’s worth nothing that crowds cheered and applauded Wagner troops as they left Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia, over the weekend.

You can watch footage of this below.

In his speech at the Kremlin, Putin also says Russia was not forced to withdraw military units to take part in what he calls the "special military operation" in Ukraine in order to put down the mutiny.

President Putin has begun addressing military personnel gathered at the Kremlin.

“You’ve essentially stopped a civil war, you acted properly and in a coordinated manner,” he says.

He also calls for a minute’s silence to honour the pilots who fell in the aborted mutiny.

Image source, Reuters

The Kremlin refutes claims that Vladimir Putin's authority was eroded by the Wagner group's munity over the weekend.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists he doesn't agree that Putin is in a weakened position, and mocked the "ultra-emotional tantrums among political scientists and pseudo-political scientists" speculating on the stability of the Russian president's authority following the mutiny.

The Kremlin says it has no information on the whereabouts of Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Under the terms of the deal that ended the mutiny he led over the weekend, Prigozhin was to be allowed to move to Belarus, while his fighters were given the chance to join regular Russian armed forces or to also cross the border.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a news briefing that the deal was being implemented – and that President Putin always kept his word.

BBC Verify has established that a plane linked to Prigozhin has landed in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, but we can’t currently confirm whether or not he was on board.