Watch live: Karine Jean-Pierre and John Kirby hold White House briefing after Wagner rebellion

Watch live as Karine Jean-Pierre and John Kirby hold a White House briefing after the weekend abortive mutiny by heavily armed mercenary fighters from the Wagner group against Vladimir Putin.

Joe Biden has said that his administration worked in response to ensure that the US and its allies couldn’t be blamed.

The US president spoke briefly about the events of the past 72 hours in Russia at a White House event on high-speed internet.

Mr Biden said: “We made clear that we were not involved. We had nothing to do with it.

“We’re going to keep assessing the fallout of this weekend’s events and the implications for Russia and Ukraine. But it’s still too early to reach a definitive conclusion about where this is going.”

Wagner Group mercenaries seized a major hub of Russia’s defence sector before turning their columns towards the nation’s capital.