i don t think vladimir putin is going to tell me about that at this point, yeah. when it gets to those cheers you just saw. this as the mercenaries were leaving. the residents not applauding the fact that the fighters were departing but the fact that they came in the first place. the wagner group led the most direct challenge to vladimir putin s power in his 23 three rule. prigozhin to leave for belarus that city is now quiet and so is russian president vladimir putin. he has not been seen publicly since delivering an emergency message on saturday where he urged his citizens not to support the wagner group s rebellion. secretary of state anthony blink says this shows cracks in putin s authority. listen. the rising storm of prigozhin inside of russia is something that many people have seen over months now. direct challenges to the military leadership. powerful criticism of russia s conduct of its aggression against ukraine. and now questioning the very premises of the war.
a good sunday evening to you. i m jim sciutto, and this is cnn s special live coverage of the extraordinary events this weekend out of russia. moscow s red square blocked off again today after the brief but stunning insurrection that s gripped the world, could perhaps weaken vladimir putin s grip on his country. we should note it s far too soon to know. so much we don t know about what led wagner mercenary group leader yevgeny prigozhin to launch a march on moscow and what convinced him to abruptly call it off. and then, it s said, go into exile. u.s. secretary of state tony blinken today called the whole series of events extraordinary, believes it indicates that cracks are emerging in putin s rule. the very latest now from cnn s sam kiley live from london. sam, we re watching russia closely, ukraine, also events in belarus. any developments to indicate to us what s actually happening right now? reporter: well, jim, i think the most stunning development so far is an absence
emphasizing the west had nothing to do with the russian revolt. matthew chance is inside russia tonight amid this seismic shift. he s there. reporter: this is the last time we saw the wagner leader, departing the russian city he had essentially taken over on the weekend, amid cheers from supporters. [ cheers and applause ]. reporter: now yevgeny prigozhin is speaking out for the first time since agreeing to call off the armed rebellion that shook the correkremlin to core n. an 1minute recording, prigozhin denies aiming to challenge the russian president. translator: the purpose of the march was to prevent the destruction of wagner and the prosecution of those who made a huge number of mistakes in the course of the special military operation due to their unprofessional actions. society demanded this, and all the soldiers who saw us supported us. reporter: on russian state television damage control is already in full swing after a weekend of mayhem. prigozhin s armed re
to boost foreign investments in the country as its own economic engine slows. for clues on what we can expect. mattie bekink of the economist intelligence unit spoke to us. i think one of the reasons that this meeting and the stream of executives and world leaders turning to china in the last few months since the very surprisingly exit from the zero covid and the reopening is because there has been a perception gap that has only widened in the three years that china was close. but i mean by thatis china was close. but i mean by that is the perception of china from outside even those who have businesses here and for whom china is a very important market and the lived reality on the ground. that is true anywhere in the world but i think some of the geopolitical tensions and confusion during the pandemic. particularly contributed to this perception 93p- contributed to this perception gap. so what they will find is, one, but they will discover is a chance to revisit their own tea
this has been one of the most confusing and dramatic moments and recent russian history. we are very much still finding out how this armed rebellion came together. what the u.s. knew about it, what the fallout will be for russia and ukraine. frankly, the rest of the globe. on friday, the standoff began when the leader of a russian private military group posted a series of recorded video and audio messages on telegram. messages that under mind jet ross is justification for the war in ukraine and called for our march for justice. against the russian military. the man who posted these messages, the name you have certainly heard a lot through the past few days, yevgeny prigozhin. he is the leader of the russian private mercenary army known as the wagner group. a group that has been on the frontlines of russia s war in ukraine. now the wagner mercenaries are known to be some of the most brutal forces fighting in ukraine. they have recruited fighters in russian prisons, they have s