Sydney | Kyle Wilson, one of Australia’s foremost experts on Russian politics, says President Vladimir Putin has been badly damaged by the Wagner rebellion but may retain power with the support of leaders of the security services, military and industry he installed over the past two decades.

Mr Wilson, the senior Russia analyst at the Office of National Assessments from 2003 to 2013, said Wagner owner Yevgeny Prigozhin’s banishment to Belarus was an interim solution to the problem posed by the mercenary leader, who led a now-abandoned march on Moscow over the weekend.