Ukrainians are 'running out of popcorn' as they watch the Wagner mutiny in Russia unfold, Ukrainian official jokes

Wagner fighters deployed in Rostov-on-Don REUTERS/Stringer

• Russia is in the midst of a "civil war," a Ukrainian defense advisor said in a BBC Interview.
• "We are little-by-little running out of popcorn," Yuriy Sak joked of the unfolding events in Russia.
• Wagner mercenaries appeared to advance toward Moscow in a rebellion against Putin's regime.

A "civil war" is happening in Russia, a Ukrainian defense advisor said in an interview, joking that "we are little-by-little running out of popcorn." 

Speaking to the BBC World Service on Saturday, Yuriy Sak, an advisor to Ukraine's defense minister, said he too had been watching the armed rebellion by the Wagner group in Russia develop at an "unprecedented speed."

Saks pointed out that before Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the world thought Russia had the 2nd-best army in the world. But since then, many circumstances have changed. 

"Yesterday everybody knew that Russia was the second most powerful army in Ukraine, and today we're seeing how the Russian army is becoming the second most powerful army in Russia," Sak told the BBC. 

—Mattia Nelles (@mattia_n) June 24, 2023

Because Russia has been dishonest "for such a long time about the losses of the Russian army," Sak believes that it was clear that the circumstances would "implode and lead to a civil war," he said. 

"What we're seeing now in Russia is a civil war," Sak added.

A tongue-in-cheek video circulating on social media appears to show a Ukrainian fighter watching the news of the Russian "civil war" unfolding on a screen as he eats from a large selection of popcorn. 

Putin is now fighting battles on two fronts, as the Russian mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin began an armed mutiny on Saturday, while the Ukrainian counteroffensive is also underway. 

The Wagner group — which is working its way north from the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don in the direction of Moscow — has had a fraught relationship with Russian military officials and Putin's regime over the mercenary fighters' role in the Ukraine war.