RUssia Drops Charges Against Prigozhin and Others Who Took Part in Brief Rebellion; Zelensky: UKRainian Soldiers Make Advances All Along Front Lines; UKR Military Reports Advances of 1.5 km in Melitopol Direction; Ukraine Says It Retakes Another Village From Russian Forces, LIVE UPDATES and MORE

NY POST: Russia drops charges against Prigozhin and others who took part in brief rebellion:

Russian authorities said Tuesday that they have dropped criminal charges against mutinist Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin — as the rogue mercenary leader arrived in Belarus to start his exile.

The stunning decision not to charge was made shortly before President Vladimir Putin addressed some 2,500 security personnel in a red-carpeted Kremlin square — thanking them for having “stopped a civil war.”

“Pilots, our combat comrades, died while confronting the mutiny,” he said, with local media claiming at least a dozen airmen were killed as six helicopters and a military communications plane were shot down during the advance on Moscow.

It was Putin’s third speech in four days about the weekend mutiny, the biggest challenge to his rule that he’s faced in more than two decades in power.

A day earlier, a palpably angry Putin called Prigozhin’s mercenaries traitors, while warning that they “must understand that they will be brought to justice.”

The mercenaries had faced up to 20 years in prison on a charge of mounting an armed mutiny.

Many experts also predicted that Prigozhin, 62, was effectively a “dead man walking.”

However, Russian officials announced an extraordinary U-turn Tuesday, saying that a criminal investigation into the armed rebellion had already been closed — with no charges for any of the participants, including Prigozhin. —>READ MORE HERE

Zelensky says today is a ‘happy day’ as Ukrainian soldiers make advances all along front lines:

In his nightly address from June 26, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian forces had advanced in all areas along the front lines where the country is conducting offensive operations.

“Today, our soldiers have made progress in all areas, and this is a happy day. I wish them more such days,” Zelensky said.

In a trip to the front lines on June 26, Zelensky visited the Khortytsia Operational and Strategic Group on the eastern front lines in Donetsk Oblast, where he handed out military awards to several soldiers. The president also visited the Tavria command that covers that southern front line.

The president said on Telegram that during the trip he held meetings with Generals Vasyl Zubanych, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, Yurii Sodol and Oleksandr Syrsky to discuss operational solutions and the creation of a Marine Corps.

Ukrainian forces have also advanced on both the northern and southern flanks of Bakhmut and liberated the village of Rivnopil in Donetsk Oblast on June 26. —>READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:

+++++Russia-Ukraine News LATEST UPDATES: (REUTERS) (AP) (NY POST) and (WSJ)+++++

+++++Military reports advances of 1.5 km in Melitopol direction+++++

+++++Ukraine says it retakes another village from Russian forces+++++

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