Putin first to congratulate Orban

After talks in Kyiv, the African delegation has met Russian President Vladimir Putin to urge an end to the conflict. Meanwhile, Ukraine says its counteroffensive is advancing in the south.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke about the Wagner rebellion with US President Joe Biden.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said the Wagner mercenary group had "almost nullified" Russian President Vladimir Putin. Wagner fighters are said to have left Rostov-on-Don.

Condemnation, quickly followed by forgiveness: Putin's contradictory treatment of the warlord Prigozhin is confusing. State media are trying to limit the damage to the president's image, but the country is uneasy.

Russian former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov told DW he believed that Wagner and Yevgeny Prigozhin's mutiny had weakened President Vladimir Putin, and would have even left "the ruling elite" with tough questions.

Addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed that Russia is more united than ever. The event was Putin's first multilateral summit since a short-lived insurrection.

A study shows that only 17% of Western firms with local Russian units prior to the invasion of Ukraine have exited Russia. Those that remain are paying Moscow billions in taxes, indirectly bankrolling the Ukraine war.

The Wagner chief's uprising has been seen as the biggest challenge to Putin since the Russian president came power. Wagner commanders are said to have been offered "alternative options for employment."

Heavy rains brought destructive floods to northern India, triggering landslides and damaging houses. People are warned not to venture outside, as weather experts warned more rain is expected.

Speaking at the 25th anniversary ceremony of the International Criminal Court, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said "no one should be able to lead a war of aggression and get away with it in the 21st century."

International pressure on South Africa has eased now that the Russian leader will attend the BRICS summit via video link only. The decision leaves ties between the only African nation in the alliance and Russia intact.

The pledge comes after Moscow pulled out of a grain deal that had allowed the transport of millions of tons of Ukrainian food exports through the Black Sea.