Wagner mutiny has weakened Putin, says Scholz, as Russian president makes rare public visit

German Chancellor says uprising shows cracks' in autocracy in Moscow, after Vladimir Putin greeted crowds of fans in unusual tour of southern city

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said the failed Wagner mutiny last weekend has weakened Vladimir Putin's authority, as the Russian president sought to repair the damage to his standing by meeting military staff at the Kremlin and greeting crowds on a rare public walkabout.

Speaking in a wide-ranging, hour-long interview with the ARD broadcaster, Scholz said: I do believe he is weakened as this shows that the autocratic power structures have cracks in them and he is not as firmly in the saddle as he always asserts."