prigozhin himself saying they did not pose a threat to ukraine. these create cracks in the facade. one person has died and several others injured following a roller—coaster accident at an amusement park in sweden. polls are closing in greece as voters elect a new parliament. the conservative frontrunners are hoping to secure a big majority. we'll have the latest. and the anticipation is building at the glastonbury festival ahead of eltonjohn�*s headline set in just a few hours�* time. hello, i'm lukwesa burak. emergency security measures remain in place in moscow a day after a short—lived rebellion posed

the greatest challenge yet to president putin's authority. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, said real cracks in mr putin's authority had been exposed. yevgeny prigozhin, the head of the wagner mercenary group — pictured here leaving the russian city of rostov—on—don — is reportedly going into exile in belarus after abandoning his advance on moscow. and with wagnerforces firing their guns into the sky and cheers from the watching public, his troops also departed the city just hours after they controlled a military building with further wagner troops moving towards moscow, travelling north on the m4 motorway, passing the city of vuronezh and were spotted as far north as lipetsk, which is around 300 miles south of moscow.

then, in the early evening, prigozhin announced that he had agreed to stop the advance. tensions had been building between mr prigozhin and russia's military leadership for some time over their approach to the war in ukraine. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, reports. leaving as heroes. the wagnerfighters pulling out of rostov last night. you'd think they'd just won a war. the leader of the mercenary group, yevgeny prigozhin, was off too. he'd just done a deal with the kremlin to end their mutiny. the rebellion started here then spread north. it was the biggest challenge to vladimir putin's authority since he came to power. vladimir vladimirovich putin. russia's commander in chief likes to project an image of strength. a mutiny on his watch

is embarrassing. but is it damaging? for vladimir putin, will there be political fallout ahead of next year's election? he definitely looks weaker. all elite groups will begin to think about the presidency 202a. should they rely, as they did even one week before, this military coup, on vladimir putin? or should they think about someone new? but there's no sign yet that someone new in the kremlin is mr putin's plan. vladimir putin is determined to show that he is in charge, in control in the kremlin, and he has the russian state media to help him paint that picture. the trouble is, the dramatic events of the last couple of days have raised questions about how in control the russian authorities are of the situation here.

instability — russians can feel it. the rebel wagnerfighters may not have made it to moscow, but people here were watching nervously and waiting. i'm a mother with three children, anna tells me. of course i'm terrified by what has happened. we were scared these events would spread to moscow, nastya says. there's nothing ordinary citizens can do to influence the situation. it's decided above our heads. many russians tell me that — they don't believe they have the power to change what is happening in their country, to make their voices heard, to turn things around.

look at the ease with which they secured the main military sites. i look at the contrast between what president putin said yesterday on what happened later, in that tv speech he basically labelled the wagner rebel fighters as traitors who stabbed russia in the back, and by the end of the day he was doing deals with them and agreed not to prosecute them, so we will now see attempts by president putin to try to reassert his authority. as for yevgeny prigozhin, this is someone who tried to topple the military leadership of russia, but he was not arrested for that, although he has apparently been sent to belarus, but what struck me were the cheers from the crowd as he was leaving rostov, the crowd as he was leaving rostov,

the kremlin would not have appreciated those. this morning we were out near bakhmut, the city that has been pulverised by the russians who now occupy the city, but the ukrainians launching fear —— fears counterattacks, we would back from the front lines with medics, everybody had heard the news from russia, everybody not directly involved in the fighting has been consuming, devouring the news of this chaos in their enemy camp, and many people delighted, but i would also say cautious. one young russian medic said if there is a revolution in moscow, i will get very drunk, but his boss then turned around and said, it's way too early for that, we need to be very cautious, yes,

this could help us, but the fact is, there is furious fighting going on, ukrainians taking heavy casualties, we saw two and herd of seven or more just in the hour or two we were there, russians also taking heavy casualties. this has happened at an opportune time for the ukrainians, theyjust opportune time for the ukrainians, they just started this opportune time for the ukrainians, theyjust started this big counteroffensive, but they haven't got anywhere close to top gear, and if the enemy is divided and demoralised by what is going on back in russia, that can only help the ukrainians, buti in russia, that can only help the ukrainians, but i also heard expressions of real concern from people who say, if the kremlin is cornered or divided, then who knows what could happen? perhaps they could try and trigger some kind of nuclear accident in ukrainian occupied territory, there is a power plant there and so on, so there's a sense that anything could happen, that same jittery feeling many russians are feeling right now as well.

as we've been hearing, america's most senior diplomat, anthony blinken, has been speaking following yesterday's events in russia, saying the revolt exposed real cracks in president putin's authority. i think we're in the midst of a moving picture. we haven't seen the last act. we're watching it very closely and carefully. but just step back for a second and put this in in context. 16 months ago, russian forces were on the doorstep of kyiv in ukraine, thinking they'd take the city in a matter of days, thinking they would erase ukraine from the map as an independent country. now, over this weekend, they've had to defend moscow, russia's capital, against mercenaries of putin's own making. prigozhin himself in this entire incident has raised profound questions about the very premises for russia's aggression against ukraine in the first place, saying that ukraine or nato did not pose a threat to russia, which is part of putin's narrative, and it was a direct challenge to putin's authority. so this raises profound questions. it shows real cracks. we can't speculate or know exactly where that's going to go.

we do know that putin has a lot more to answer for in the weeks and months ahead. our north america correspondent, david willis, has been telling me more about the us reaction to events in russia. antony blinken has been making the rounds of the sunday talk shows this morning, basically delivering the administration, the biden administration's first comments on the unfolding crisis in russia. and he made the point that there was a lot that the administration still didn't know — for example, the whereabouts of vladimir putin, the whereabouts of mr prigozhin, and also the future of those wagner fighters, whether they would be returning to ukraine. he said it was too early to speculate on the impact of the revolt or the crisis there, either on the kremlin or on the war in ukraine. he said being distracted by the revolt

created an additional advantage for ukraine. and he said, as you heard there, that he believed it had exposed real cracks in vladimir putin's leadership. and he also made the point that 16 months ago russian forces were threatening to take over the whole of ukraine, yet here they were now, having to defend moscow against mercenaries of its own making. but i think the point to take away from all this is that the united states is also very keen not to be seen to inflame the situation, to guard against accusations from the kremlin and its supporters that it is meddling in this crisis. hence, we heard the secretary of state choosing his words very carefully on those talk shows this morning. david, i was looking to some of the us media and there have been reports that the us had suspected that mr prigozhin was preparing to take

military action against russia. so you do think that, with that level of, i assume, deep intelligence, they also would have been on alert to bolster, to support ukraine, to take advantage of the ensuing chaos? i think what we can take away from all this is that the united states and its allies have been monitoring this extremely carefully. there was a meeting of the national security council yesterday before president biden left for the presidential retreat, camp david. that national security team involves the us defence secretary, involves the head of the cia, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. these are the top people in the administration. antony blinken, for his part, also briefed g7 allies and the eu on what was going on in russia. so it may well be that they know a lot more than they're

actually making plain, but they are, no question about this, monitoring events in russia, the unfolding events very carefully indeed. joining me live arejean de gliniasty, the former french ambassador to russia between 2009 and 2013, and samantha de bendern, associate fellow at the royal institute of international affairs at chatham house specialised in russia, ukraine and belarus. i wonder if i can start with you, samantha. are you surprised at how this so—called mutiny, attempted coup, has ended? this so-called mutiny, attempted coup, has ended?— this so-called mutiny, attempted coup, has ended? yes, i have been very surprised- _

coup, has ended? yes, i have been very surprised- i — coup, has ended? yes, i have been very surprised. i was _ coup, has ended? yes, i have been very surprised. i was not _ coup, has ended? yes, i have been very surprised. i was not surprised | very surprised. i was not surprised when the coup started when the rebellion started because i have been following prigozhin for quite some time and it seemed obvious that he was getting more and more frustrated, but i'm absolutely surprised at the way attended an even more surprised by prigozhin going to belarus. i think the only way to look at this is to look at it through the prism of two criminal gangs fighting each other, and they each have leveraging information over each other. and clearly it was more advantageous the boot in the prigozhin to live and die. and he is now being put in belarus, if he does go there, which is removed from russia but also close enough to be used again if he needs to be. but what this does reveal and what secretary blinken said is there are deep fractures within the russian leadership, prigozhin was probably counting on political support, otherwise he would not have done

this, he did not get it, so temporarily putin seems strengthened in that sense because people have proved loyal to him, but for him to consolidate this mini victory, we can expect severe repression in the coming days and weeks in russia, for him to get a grip back on the country. him to get a grip back on the count .�* , ., him to get a grip back on the count .�* ., , ., country. ambassador, why would president putin _ country. ambassador, why would president putin allow— country. ambassador, why would president putin allow a _ country. ambassador, why would president putin allow a man - country. ambassador, why would president putin allow a man who| country. ambassador, why would . president putin allow a man who has threatened his authority, the events have unfolded around the world, they have unfolded around the world, they have been following this very closely, and who essentially as he set himself has stabbed russia in the back, why would he allow him to live? �* u, , the back, why would he allow him to live? �* , .,, ., live? because he was a friend, of course. live? because he was a friend, of course- you _ live? because he was a friend, of course. you had _ live? because he was a friend, of course. you had the _ live? because he was a friend, of course. you had the coincident i live? because he was a friend, of| course. you had the coincident -- course. you had the coincident —— coincidence — course. you had the coincident —— coincidence of two feelings. putin was a _ coincidence of two feelings. putin was a friend, it was obvious when he .ave was a friend, it was obvious when he gave his _ was a friend, it was obvious when he

gave his last tv speech, and prigozhin _ gave his last tv speech, and prigozhin i think felt that he could not go _ prigozhin i think felt that he could not go further. it was a bit. —— bet _ not go further. it was a bit. —— bet he — not go further. it was a bit. —— bet. he needed to rally many soldiers — bet. he needed to rally many soldiers in the population to his attempt, — soldiers in the population to his attempt, but obviously he did not succeed. — attempt, but obviously he did not succeed, so it was a sort of stalemate, and then he made a deal. this deat— stalemate, and then he made a deal. this deal means the survival at least _ this deal means the survival at least for— this deal means the survival at least for a _ this deal means the survival at least for a while of prigozhin and of course — least for a while of prigozhin and of course means in the long run the weakening — of course means in the long run the weakening of putin.— weakening of putin. essentially, what mr prigozhin _ weakening of putin. essentially, what mr prigozhin has _ weakening of putin. essentially, what mr prigozhin has done - weakening of putin. essentially, what mr prigozhin has done has| what mr prigozhin has done has exposed president putin's achilles' heel exposed president putin's achilles' heel, what is it likely to have cost him? it heel, what is it likely to have cost him? , , . , him? it is definitely cost him his freedom to _ him? it is definitely cost him his freedom to continue _ him? it is definitely cost him his freedom to continue roaming i him? it is definitely cost him his - freedom to continue roaming around russia the way he does, it has cost him the leadership of the wagner group inside russia, so to put this

into perspective, a few weeks ago prigozhin was going around russia, holding press conferences in a number of russian cities, and also he had started a big recruitment drive for his private military company, as we were speaking today, wagner posts are being taken down all over russia, bogosian has been sent to exile in belarus, so it has cost him at least temporarily his potential for political influence inside russia. —— prigozhin. one can expect in return he has received something, that could be monetary compensation or a promise for instance to continue to run the wagner operations in africa, which are essential to russia's grip on africa. and then one can imagine all sorts of scenarios, what about prigozhin opening a new wagner group in belarus that would then allow him to recruit belarus young convicts and send them to ukraine, thus

allowing belarus ian meant to be sent to ukraine, which is what putin wants, but this would enable lukashenko to say, i'm not involved in this, it's a private military company, and it would give putin some of the men he wants to put on the northern border.— some of the men he wants to put on the northern border. ambassador, you have served — the northern border. ambassador, you have served terms _ the northern border. ambassador, you have served terms in _ the northern border. ambassador, you have served terms in or— the northern border. ambassador, you have served terms in or rather- the northern border. ambassador, you have served terms in or rather on - have served terms in or rather on the african continent, specifically senegal. there are many people in that region of the world who would not see the contextual relevance of africa in funding wagner. i wonder if you could just illustrate just how wide their activities are, how many nations they have, could i say in their pocket, and how likely is it that wagner will leave the continent?— it that wagner will leave the continent? ~ , ., continent? well, it is true that wanner continent? well, it is true that wagner had — continent? well, it is true that

wagner had success _ continent? well, it is true that wagner had success in - continent? well, it is true that wagner had success in africa, | continent? well, it is true that - wagner had success in africa, they have _ wagner had success in africa, they have suffered losses and they had to withdraw. _ have suffered losses and they had to withdraw, they were hired to guarantee the security of some oil ri-s guarantee the security of some oil rigs and _ guarantee the security of some oil rigs and so— guarantee the security of some oil rigs and so on, and they did not succeed — rigs and so on, and they did not succeed. they suffered failure in libya _ succeed. they suffered failure in libya. so. — succeed. they suffered failure in libya. so, their strongholds are mali. _ libya. so, their strongholds are mali, centralafrica. | libya. so, their strongholds are mali, centralafrica.— mali, centralafrica. i apologise for interrupting, _ mali, centralafrica. i apologise for interrupting, but _ mali, centralafrica. i apologise for interrupting, but the - mali, centralafrica. i apologise for interrupting, but the reasonj mali, centralafrica. i apologisel for interrupting, but the reason i wanted to interrupt here, is wagner about military success? this is a former hotdog trader, former hotdog seller, is it about military success? he has no military background, it'sjust his propensity for violence that has propelled him to where he is, isn't itjust about

money, africa is a mineral rich, they are being paid in mines, it's not about military wins? it is they are being paid in mines, it's not about military wins?- not about military wins? it is a ruestion not about military wins? it is a question of— not about military wins? it is a question of money, _ not about military wins? it is a question of money, but - not about military wins? it is a i question of money, but obviously wagner— question of money, but obviously wagner was an instrument for the russian _ wagner was an instrument for the russian foreign policy. so the true goals— russian foreign policy. so the true goals are — russian foreign policy. so the true goals are going together. bogosian will go _ goals are going together. bogosian will go back to africa. —— prigozhin _ will go back to africa. —— prigozhin. he is not doing any more with ukraine or russia. but africa remains _ with ukraine or russia. but africa remains his— with ukraine or russia. but africa remains his hunting field, if i can say so _ remains his hunting field, if i can sa so, ., ., remains his hunting field, if i can sa so. ., ., ., remains his hunting field, if i can sa so. ., ., ., ., say so. samantha, i would turn to ou, wh say so. samantha, i would turn to you. why were — say so. samantha, i would turn to you. why were on _ say so. samantha, i would turn to you, why were on earth _ say so. samantha, i would turn to you, why were on earth would - you, why were on earth would prigozhin be allowed back to africa? they have seen the abuses he has committed. is he likely to be welcomed back, isn't thatjust to

their exploitation, once again? we don't their exploitation, once again? - don't know what bogosian will be allowed to do, but his presence in africa, he is that the invitation of a number governments, he provides assistance to the african government, he is very influential in sudan and has been playing on both sides of the conflict in sudan, so he's not there at the invitation of the people, he is there at the invitation of governments who see in wagner and russia to partner with whom they can do deals, trade, security without having some annoying westerners, you have got to have democracy and human rights, it's nothing to do with what the people want and the violence they are suffering from, it is corrupt dictatorships who are using a very well trained force to maintain order and to train their own men. 0k.

well trained force to maintain order and to train their own men. ok. you are obviously _ and to train their own men. ok. you are obviously a _ and to train their own men. ok. you are obviously a specialist _ and to train their own men. ok. you are obviously a specialist in - are obviously a specialist in russia, ukraine and belarus, you will understand how mr putin governs, we have heard a lot about his top—down approach. is it or isn't it working? it his top-down approach. is it or isn't it working?— isn't it working? it has been fertilised. — isn't it working? it has been fertilised, there _ isn't it working? it has been fertilised, there are - isn't it working? it has been fertilised, there are a - isn't it working? it has been fertilised, there are a lot. isn't it working? it has been fertilised, there are a lot of| fertilised, there are a lot of questions over who actually are in negotiations with prigozhin yesterday, a lot of specialists will say lukashenko was just a front man but the real negotiators were behind the scenes, names coming up at the head of the security council and also a former bodyguard and governor where wagner actually stopped their march towards moscow. they are the people who were negotiating. and potentially even not keeping putin fully informed with what has been happening. so there is very clearly today a sense of a power fracture in russia. , ~ , ., �*

russia. sorry, ambassador, i'm runnina russia. sorry, ambassador, i'm running out _ russia. sorry, ambassador, i'm running out of _ russia. sorry, ambassador, i'm running out of time. _ russia. sorry, ambassador, i'm running out of time. i _ russia. sorry, ambassador, i'm running out of time. i don't - russia. sorry, ambassador, i'm l running out of time. i don't know, russia. sorry, ambassador, i'm . running out of time. i don't know, i get the sense there is a story we are not being told here, why on earth would mr putin let prigozhin get as far as he did? what was the real motive here, what did he want? well, putin always... the extreme right— well, putin always... the extreme right are _ well, putin always... the extreme right are surviving to appear himself— right are surviving to appear himself as centre. he could not criticise — himself as centre. he could not criticise the nationalists, so he let the — criticise the nationalists, so he let the more or less survived, and he let— let the more or less survived, and he let for— let the more or less survived, and he let for instance the nationalist networks — he let for instance the nationalist networks and so on, because it's interesting — networks and so on, because it's interesting to him, because he is the man— interesting to him, because he is the man of— interesting to him, because he is the man of wisdom at the centre of political— the man of wisdom at the centre of political society. but of course

prigozhin _ political society. but of course prigozhin went too far and, when he was a _ prigozhin went too far and, when he was a soldier, he was ok, but when he had _ was a soldier, he was ok, but when he had political ambitions, was a soldier, he was ok, but when he had politicalambitions, it started — he had politicalambitions, it started to infringe, the implicit law. _ started to infringe, the implicit law, which putin led. ambassador, the former — law, which putin led. ambassador, the former french _ law, which putin led. ambassador, the former french ambassador- law, which putin led. ambassador, the former french ambassador to i the former french ambassador to russia, and also senegal, and it's among the, associate fellow at the royal institute of international affairs at chatham house, thank you both very much indeed, thank you. greeks are voting for the second time in a month with conservative ex—prime minister kyriakos mitsotakis hoping to secure a big majority. mr mitsotakis is hoping to secure

a second term in office. more on this on bbc news. in the meantime, there is a bit of action taking place in england at the moment! sophie ellis—bextor has performed on the main pyramid stage following a sucession of big name stars like lizzo, lana del ray and american rock legends guns n' roses. colin paterson reports. i am right in front of the pyramid stage where eltonjohn will take the stage at 9:00 tonight. these are the front row fans getting ready for elton john. if you look over here, look, those are the confetti cannons elton has brought in this morning. up there, there's sound checking going on. that's actually for the chicks, the us country band, who are on. earlier on, i saw huge amounts of fireworks being brought in and placed behind the speakers, so expect some kind of really big finale to eltonjohn. what do we know about the show? he is going to open up with a song

he has not played for ten years. we've done the research, two that fall into that category. we've got are you ready for love and pinball wizard that could be in there. this is thomas, a fan, who is in the front row. what time did you get here to reserve your spot? oh, i got here at 10am, and now i have to stay till the end. now, viewers will be thinking — there's something he's going to have to not do. how are you going to manage that? oh, i'm going to stay hydrated just enough to not pass out, but not too much where i have to keep going to a toilet because i won't make it through this crowd. what is it about eltonjohn that makes you want to go through something like that? what's so special about him? i love the man. i think he's incredible. my family basically grew up on elton, so my parents love him, i love him, and ijust can't wait for it. four guest stars, we're hearing, what theories have been shared in the front row? ooh, so far, we've been talking about britney spears, possibly gaga. but wait and see. those are big names. big names. but elton can pull them.

stay with us here on bbc news. hello, in some parts of the country it is roasting and could be the hottest day of the year so far but it is changing in other areas and we are getting cooler, fresher air coming in from the atlantic into western parts of the uk. humid air towards the east and in between a weather front, that is going to bring rain. not much in the south but some heavier rain moving across northern areas, some thunderstorms, large hail and maybe some gusty winds as well. all squeezing the heat and humidity into eastern england, 30 degrees around lincolnshire, 32 or more in essex and around london, really humid as well. out towards the west things are beginning to cool down a bit and it will be less humid. the wetter weather we have got across those northern areas does

push away into the north sea, the showers become fewer and lighter and many places become dry overnight but with some clear skies. last night was really uncomfortable for sleeping, temperatures in scotland fell no lower than 20 degrees, in merseyside i9 celsius. tonight will be somewhat easier to sleep because temperatures are going to be lower, perhaps single figures in scotland and northern ireland. heading into tomorrow there will be some sunny spells, some cloud will develop, and that is going to lead to some showers. scotland, northern ireland and northern parts of england, any shower clouds will be suppressed further south. it will feel cooler and fresher everywhere, temperatures dropping some seven or 8 degrees in large parts of the uk, top temperatures 23, maybe 2a in the south—east. everything is coming in from the atlantic, a fresher westerly breeze around. these weather fronts will arrive on tuesday so we will see more cloud come our way. once again, looking dry toward south—eastern areas but there will be outbreaks of rain and drizzle as you head further north and more of a breeze as well. these are the temperatures we are looking at,

typically around 20—22 . could be warm overnight for south—eastern parts of the uk, heading into wednesday, we're in a sector between those two weather fronts. cooler air will be waiting to coming back from the atlantic from the north—west, following this band of rain that will be affecting scotland and northern ireland, pushing into england and wales once again. those temperatures dropping away in the north—west, we'll get some sunshine and showers. still dry and quite warm in the south—east, mid 20s.