FILE PHOTO: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers a speech at the opening session on the first day of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, Britain June 21, 2023.  Henry Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
United Kingdom

UK ready for Russia's unpredictable outcomes: Rishi Sunak

Britain is prepared for a range of scenarios in Russia, PM Rishi Sunak said, noting the potentially destabilising impact of the tensions between the Wagner Group and President Vladimir Putin.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is prepared for a range of scenarios in Russia, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday, noting the potentially destabilising impact of the tensions between the Wagner Group and President Vladimir Putin.

Putin faced an unprecedented challenge to his authority over the weekend from an abortive mutiny by heavily armed mercenary fighters from the Wagner Group.

The extraordinary events left governments, both friendly and hostile to Russia, groping for answers to what could happen next in the country with the world's largest nuclear arsenal.

Sunak said Britain was monitoring events carefully.

"It's too early to predict with certainty what the consequences of this might be, but of course we are prepared as we always would be for a range of scenarios," Sunak told reporters.

"It's a situation that we've been analysing and monitoring for some time because we're aware of the potentially destabilising impact of Russia's illegal war in Ukraine and indeed, the tensions between the Wagner Group and the Putin regime."

(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan, writing by Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Holton)

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