Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made his first public appearance since a mercenary uprising demanded his ouster, inspecting troops in Ukraine Monday in a video released by his ministry.He's the first of three powerful Russian leaders whose diverging interests led to the Wagner Group occupying a Russian city and marching on the capital to be seen since the revolt ended Saturday. Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and General Staff chief Gen. Valery Gerasimov also have made no public statements since then. Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn't made any public appearances either.Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced an end to the "counter-terrorism regime" imposed on the capital Saturday, during which troops and armored vehicles set up checkpoints on the edges of the city and authorities tore up roads leading into the city.The Defense Ministry released a video showing Shoigu flying in a helicopter and then attending a meeting with military officers at a military headquarters in Ukraine, showing the minister for the first time since Prigozhin declared a "march of justice" to oust the defense minister and Gerasimov late Friday, during which the mercenaries captured the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and then marched on Moscow.The rebellion ended on Saturday when Prigozhin ordered his troops back. The Kremlin said it had made a deal that the mercenary chief will move to Belarus and receive an amnesty, along with his soldiers. The mutiny marked the biggest challenge to President Vladimir Putin in more than 20 years of rule.It was unclear what would ultimately happen to Prigozhin and his forces. Few details of the deal were released either by the Kremlin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who brokered it. Prigozhin's whereabouts have been unclear since he drove out of Rostov-on-Don in an SUV Saturday.Before starting the revolt, Prigozhin had blasted Shoigu and General Staff chief Gen. Valery Gerasimov with expletive-ridden insults for months, attacking them for failing to provide his troops with enough ammunition during the battle for Bakhmut, the war's longest and bloodiest battle.Putin stood back from the rift, and Shoigu and Gerasimov remained mum, possibly reflecting uncertainty about Putin's support. Observers said that by failing to end the feud Putin had encouraged Prigozhin to dramatically up the stakes.Asked by reporters Saturday whether Putin still trusts Shoigu, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded he wasn't aware of any changes in the president's attitude. Commenting on whether any changes in military leadership were discussed during negotiations with Prigozhin, Peskov responded that personnel changes were the exclusive prerogative of Putin as the commander-in-chief and so it wasn't a subject for discussion.Russian media and commentators speculated that Putin could replace Shoigu with Alexei Dyumin, the governor of the Tula region who had previously served as a a Putin bodyguard and then a deputy defense minister. They noted that Putin, who avoids making decisions under pressure, would likely wait before announcing a shakeup.The U.S. had intelligence that Prigozhin had been building up his forces near the border with Russia for some time. That conflicts with Prigozhin's claim that his rebellion was a response to an attack on his field camps in Ukraine on Friday by the Russian military, which he said killed a large number of his men. The Defense Ministry denied attacking the camps.U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said Prigozhin's march on Moscow appeared to have been planned in advance."This is something that would have had to have been planned for a significant amount of time to be executed in the manner in which it was," Turner said on CBS' "Face the Nation."U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the weekend's events as "extraordinary," recalling that 16 months ago Putin appeared poised to seize the capital of Ukraine and now he has had to defend Moscow from forces led by his onetime protege."I think we've seen more cracks emerge in the Russian façade," Blinken said on NBC's "Meet the Press.""It is too soon to tell exactly where they go and when they get there, but certainly we have all sorts of new questions that Putin is going to have to address in the weeks and months ahead."It was not yet clear what the fissures opened by the 24-hour rebellion would mean for the war in Ukraine. But it resulted in some of the best forces fighting for Russia being pulled from the battlefield: the Wagner troops, who had shown their effectiveness in scoring the Kremlin's only land victory in months, in Bakhmut, and Chechen soldiers sent to stop them on the approach to Moscow.The Wagner forces' largely unopposed, rapid advance also exposed vulnerabilities in Russia's security and military forces. The mercenary soldiers were reported to have downed several helicopters and a military communications plane. The Defense Ministry has not commented.EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, speaking to reporters before chairing a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, where they will discuss more support for Ukraine, said that the revolt showed that the war is "cracking Russia's political system.""The monster that Putin created with Wagner, the monster is biting him now," Borrel said. "The monster is acting against his creator. The political system is showing fragilities, and the military power is cracking."

Bob Herring wears his love of Kharkiv, Ukraine — Cincinnati's sister city — on his sleeve wherever he goes.It was on full display out in front of his home Monday. The blue and yellow Ukrainian flag flies there around the clock.When news of a surprise visit to Ukraine by President Joe Biden was announced Tuesday, he felt an even deeper resolve. "To take that risk, you know, to fly into the country, it's incredible," Herring said. "And very much appreciated."Herring chairs the Cincinnati/Kharkiv sister city partnership. He will address City Council on Wednesday and review the support generated within the local community during the past year.On Friday, Herring will join Mayor Aftab Pureval, Congressman Greg Landsman, and other dignitaries to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia's incursion.No further fundraising event is imminent as far as the partnership is concerned, at least not yet."We're waiting for the dust to settle, if you will, after the anticipated Russian assault in the Spring," Herring said. "What will conditions be like on the ground in Kharkiv when that assault is over? What will their needs be? And that's when we'll be in direct communication with the Kharkiv Red Cross. Tell us what you need and we'll do what we can to provide funding for that."Herring and others are cognizant about not going to the well too often. They do not want to unwittingly create donor fatigue.So, they are biding their time as the start of a second year of war in Ukraine approaches. But, it is not easy for Herring to wait while so much suffering is going on.He shared a number he received from the Kharkiv Red Cross right before Christmas. It is the type of number that war produces in a lasting manner."Seven hundred and fifty kids that they're working with, that they know, whose dads are dead or missing," Herring said.As he started to say more, his eyes started to fill with water."Seven...hundred and fifty," he said.As a grandfather of five, the enormity of the number seemed etched on his face."That's tough at the holidays. And the future for those kids," Herring said. He shared a picture of five high school kids he met when he was in Kharkiv in 2019."I don't know where they are," he said in a low tone. "I don't know if they're dead or alive."What he knows, what he carries deep within him, is a conviction that Vladimir Putin must not be permitted to prevail in the war on Ukraine. The war has interrupted daily life in Ukraine and even the technical bond between the two cities.The Memorandum of Understanding has been renewed every five years.The last signing was in May 2017 when then-Mayor John Cranley was joined at City Hall by Ihor Terekhov, then Vice Mayor, now Mayor of Kharkiv, and Irina Backumenko, President of the Partnership, currently in Great Britain.Now, it has expired.Getting the MOU re-signed will have to wait for a cessation of hostilities.Herring still considers local support for Ukraine to be strong, although he doesn't get as many questions about it as he used to.The week will conclude with a Friday night candlelight vigil at Wyoming Presbyterian Church.Herring's hoping Cincinnati will keep its support on full display in a second uncertain year of the war.