Vladimir Putin seems to be losing control of Russia with only a few months before the presidential elections. There has been a rebellion in one of the regions that produces oil.
Video shows a group of people throwing snowballs at police officers with shields and batons in a town called Baymak in Bashkortostan.
5,000 people came together to protest against a political leader who supports Putin. This happened because a rights activist was sentenced to four years in prison for extremism.
Fights started outside the court building in support of Fail Alsynov, who was accused of ‘encouraging hatred between different groups of people’.
Police used tear gas and hit the protesters with their batons.
Videos online show people yelling ‘Gas’ and running away during what many are saying is the biggest protest in Russia since the war in Ukraine began.
One video showed a row of police hitting people with batons. In another place, a woman was begging the police to stop hitting someone who was on the ground.
A lady was recorded shouting at a police officer, calling him a fascist and asking if he was going to fight with women. She also asked how he was not embarrassed.
Even though it was very cold at -17°C, a lot of people came to the area and shouted ‘Freedom’.
A lot of people were flying flags of Bashkiristan. Bashkirs are a group of people from Turkey who have fought against colonization for a long time.
In the town of Baymak, which has 17,000 people, there were some very unusual events. The government stopped the internet near the court because they were worried that more people would revolt.
The Kremlin is trying to stop any separatist or nationalist feelings among the Bashkirs in the oil-rich region by arresting and imprisoning Alsynov.
These types of protests almost never happen in the country because people can get arrested for gathering without permission from the authorities.
In the last two years, many people have been arrested for speaking out against the war in Ukraine.
The fighting in Bashkortostan happened a few months before Russians will vote for their new president.
Tag: Vladimir Putin
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Russians throw snowballs at police weeks before election
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Putin spends billions on war leaving Russians abandoned in -30°C
Vladimir Putin is using a lot of money for his war in Ukraine. This has caused people in Moscow to be very cold because they don’t have heating or hot water.
The temperature in the capital dropped to -30°C, and the old heating system is said to not be able to handle the cold weather.
This means that over 20,000 people were left freezing in their homes for several days because of the cold temperatures.
A husband and wife, along with their dog, died from breathing in carbon monoxide while trying to stay warm in the city of Kolomna, in the Moscow region.
A video on Telegram shows windows and doors covered in ice because of the cold weather. People were burning wood on the streets to stay warm.
At the same time, pipes broke in many buildings, making things even worse for people.
There are rumors about an incident at a big ammunition factory in Klimovsk. Some people think it’s related to the problems there.
Reports say that the boiler house at the local cartridge plant in Klimovsk is broken, and it is the only source of heat for the town.
Government officials learned about the problem from social media where many residents were complaining.
On January 5, people in the town protested on the main square because the temperature in their apartments dropped to -10°C.
Some signs saying ‘SOS – We are freezing – Punish the guilty’ were seen, but officials don’t know when heating will be fixed.
A video about a protest said: “They haven’t promised anything since yesterday. ” Grandmas are very cold in their house.
“Kids wearing coats are unwell and coughing. ” The hospitals and everywhere else feels very cold.
“We need to fix this problem. ” We still don’t know who is responsible, and all we hear are excuses.
Someone living here complained: “The police came fast to stop us. ” I hope they bring back the heat as quickly as they sent the police to break us up.
In Lytkarino, a town in Moscow region, a power station stopped working. People had to make fires outside in the cold to stay warm. -
Russians suffering greatly in order to flee war
Yaroslav is different from most 23-year-olds as he sits at the table and eats chicken soup. Yes, he seems young, but he’s also feeling anxious, like Vladimir Putin is still causing him stress.
Yaroslav used to live a quiet life with his mom and sister in the suburbs of Moscow, working at a store that sells old books. But now he had to start a new life in Georgia, and it hasn’t been easy.
In Russia, students are being pulled out of their classes and dorms, and raids are happening at vegetable warehouses, mosques, and on the streets where young men who are old enough for the military are being taken to sign up for service.
With Putin’s war in Ukraine going on for two winters now, many people like Yaroslav have left to avoid being drafted into the army. Georgia is an easy place for Russians to go because they don’t need a visa to enter or work there.
Many people decide to leave their country and go to another country by plane, train, bus, or car because they are afraid they might be forced to join Putin’s large army.
After eating soup at Shavi Lomi restaurant in Tbilisi, Yaroslav told the media about how he escaped from his home country.
How Yaroslav got away from Russia.
“Many people wanted to leave, so there were long lines at all the borders,” he remembers.
There were about 10 miles of cars waiting at the border with Kazakhstan where I was. The issue was that I couldn’t walk or ride a bike across, and I didn’t have a car.
I met a family from Uzbekistan who let me go with them after a while. I had to give them a lot of money – all of my pay. Around 60,000 Russian Rubles or 750 British Pounds. It took three days to get to the other side.
Yaroslav is half Ukrainian and has lived in Russia his whole life. He was lucky because his boss at the bookstore helped him escape.
He planned everything and he bought all the tickets. Due to the long wait at the border, I missed my plane to Tbilisi. When I finally crossed the border, I had to stay in Kazakhstan for about two weeks.
Yaroslav left Russia soon after they started calling people to join the army, in early October 2022.
He lived near the Kremlin and saw the unhappiness in the city when Putin said he was going to invade.
Talking to his Ukrainian dad, who fought in a long and bloody battle in Donetsk Oblast, helped him understand his political and moral beliefs.
Yaroslav was very mad at the Russian government, so he joined protests against war to show how he felt. But he was arrested right away.
A video showed police pulling him away by his arms and legs and it was shown on Russian state TV and online.
Yaroslav was scared of going to prison or being sent to the frontline, so he decided to leave his family in Moscow.
It took him a long time to stop worrying about Putin’s influence, but he finds it hard to talk about his feelings of leaving his old life and moving to Tbilisi.“We live close to the train station in Moscow, and I often see soldiers getting on the trains to go to Ukraine,” he says.
“It was really scary and crazy, and it happened during my last few months living in Russia. ”
“I knew they were going to the dangerous place where they could hurt my dad or my friends from Kyiv. ”
‘Maybe I could have put a bomb on the train tracks, but then I would definitely go to jail and the tracks would be fixed and the train would keep going. ‘
Yaroslav says, “Every day I lived in Russia after the invasion started, I wanted to scream. ” I kept my pain a secret. I couldn’t do or say anything in public or express my opinion in any way. It is crazy.
“Because people are scared, you shouldn’t criticize them. ” When I crossed the border, I felt free for the first time. This is when I realized how much stress I was feeling in my life.
I feel protected in Georgia. I’m not scared of the police here. In Russia, I was worried about getting arrested every day.
Living in Georgia.
For the past year, Yaroslav has been living in Tbilisi. He has been missing home and now even misses the winters in Moscow.
“He said it might sound strange because he always disliked the cold in Russia, but he now realized that he misses it. ” “It’s kind of funny what you end up missing. ”
He ran away when the border was easier to cross and the government was still trying to follow the Kremlin’s commands.
Go to the forest, a secret group made at the beginning of the mobilization, helps people like Yaroslav to avoid being forced to join the army, find safety in other countries, and not have to fight in the war in Ukraine.
“We want to help as many people as we can to not use guns,” said the NGO on their website. They also said that they have helped 21,594 people in the past 15 months.
Idite Lesom means “Go by the forest” but it’s used to mean “Go f**k yourself”. Those already sent to the front line are a top priority.
Darya Berg, who leads relief and evacuations, left Russia and now works in Tbilisi. She says, “We offer help to people in danger, but we don’t force them to do anything. ”
For instance, we talked to a man on the frontline who wants to leave but doesn’t know what to do or where to go.
We need to tell him about options, but it’s up to him to choose – like giving up to the Ukrainian military, or hurting himself so he can go to the hospital and go back to Russia.
We are showing him how to leave the area in case of an emergency and getting him a passport from another country because he doesn’t have one.
‘If caught, the punishment is severe – nearly 10 years in jail – and we make sure people know about it. ‘
Not many desertion cases go to court. Usually, men are just sent back to the battlefield.
Trying everything to get away from the war.
Darya says that many soldiers, who she calls “military slaves,” often hurt themselves so they can leave the battle.
“One of the first cases I remember was when an officer called me from a hospital and said that he asked his friend to shoot him,” she remembers.
“They both hurt each other’s legs by shooting. ” I was surprised at first, but now it happens a lot. He is in a secure place in the north part of Russia.
“Joining the military in Russia”
When Putin’s attack didn’t go as planned and he had to increase his army in September, the NGO got a lot of requests for help on their Telegram bot which is run by volunteers. -
Putin ceases bombardment of hospitals and schools – Report
Vladimir Putin said he is against the ‘terrorist’ attacks in Iran. But his own forces have been bombing homes, hospitals, and schools in Ukraine for days.
The Russian president said sorry to Iran’s leaders after two bombs exploded in the city of Kerman today.
At least 103 people have been confirmed to have died, and over 200 people were injured in the attacks. Iranian officials have called the attacks terrorism.
The explosions happened near a cemetery where many people were having a ceremony to honor Qassem Soleimani, a top commander who was killed by the U. S A flying robot used in 2020.
Today, the Kremlin issued a statement saying Putin strongly disapproves of terrorism and called the attack on innocent people very cruel and heartless.
He spoke after many Russian attacks on Ukraine that hurt and killed many innocent people.
After the first attack last week, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian ‘terrorists’ used almost all their weapons and targeted a hospital, school, and homes.
At least 39 people have died in Kyiv and other towns and cities in one of the worst attacks of the almost two-year war.
The day after, Ukraine attacked the Russian city of Belgorod with planes, and Russia said it killed 25 innocent people. -
Putin retaliates by launching additional drone strikes against Ukraine
Vladimir Putin shelled Ukraine’s largest cities in the hours before New Year’s Eve, after Russia accused Volodymyr Zelensky of bombing the Belgorod border region.
Dozens of people have been killed in both countries in the past 24 hours and more than 100 people have been injured. Most attacks in Ukraine have been focused on the south and east, but explosions were also reported in Kiev.
Russia said it was retaliation for Saturday’s attack on Belgorod, a town about 35 miles from the border, that killed at least 24 people.
Three children were among those killed in one of the deadliest attacks on Russia since Putin launched the invasion, the region’s governor said.
Hours later, air strike warnings sounded across Ukraine, urging people to take shelter. Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said today that at least six rockets hit Kharkov, injuring at least 28 people and striking residential buildings, hotels and medical facilities.
Earlier, Ukrainian officials said two boys aged 14 and 16 and a security adviser for a group of German journalists were among those injured in the city.
Around midnight, as part of a broader bombardment of Ukraine that also targeted Kiev, several waves of drones struck residential buildings in the center.
Mayor Ihor Terekhov said: “On New Year’s Eve, the Russians wanted to threaten our city, but we are not afraid, we are invincible. ” Images from Kharkiv showed several damaged buildings, including a hotel whose entire floor was destroyed.
The Ukrainian Air Force said the military shot down 21 of 49 drones launched by Russia overnight. In another attack, three people were killed when Russian forces shelled a village in the Kharkiv region, near the front line.
Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, reacted to the scenes of destruction in Kharkov: “Crazy Russian terrorists attacked a peaceful city.
“Apartments and private houses, hospitals, hotels, kindergartens – these are the buildings damaged after the attack. None of these buildings are military installations.
“Nor did the civilians affected by the attack. Meanwhile, Russia called Ukraine’s airstrikes on Belgorod “indiscriminate”, but a Ukrainian security source told the BBC that only military infrastructure was targeted.
But images from the city showed destroyed residential buildings and burned-out cars in the middle of the street.
Russia’s Kommersant newspaper cited a source close to the Russian Investigative Committee as saying that Ukraine conducted an attack with a multiple rocket launcher in the Kharkov area.
Both sides stepped up bombing in the final week of 2023, with Russia killing at least 31 civilians on Friday in its biggest airstrike in the 22-month war against Ukraine.
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Russia bars anti-war candidate from contesting against Putin
A former TV journalist who had declared her intention to challenge President Vladimir Putin in Russia‘s upcoming spring election has been disqualified from standing.
Independent politician Yekaterina Duntsova, aspiring to run on a platform aimed at concluding the conflict with Ukraine, has faced disqualification in Russia’s upcoming elections, casting a shadow over her bid for political participation.
But the electoral commission voted unanimously to reject her candidacy three days after her application, citing 100 “mistakes” on her form.
Ms Duntsova said she would appeal the decision at the Supreme Court.
The presidential election, which will be held in March 2024, is Russia’s first since President Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago.
The immediate slap-down of a Putin critic will be seen as evidence by some that no dissent will be tolerated in the campaign.
The head of Russia’s electoral commission, Ella Pamfilova, said Ms Duntsova would not be allowed to progress to the next stage of gathering thousands of supporters’ signatures.
“You are a young woman, you have everything ahead of you. Any minus can always be turned into a plus. Any experience is still an experience,” she told Ms Duntsova, 40, after the decision.
The former TV journalist had declared she would run for the presidency in November. At the time, she told the Reuters news agency: “Any sane person taking this step would be afraid – but fear must not win.”
Russia’s constitution was amended in 2020, increasing the presidential term from four to six years and giving Mr Putin a clean slate to run again by cancelling out his previous terms.
Moscow has sidelined opposition figures for years, and President Putin is expected to win in March; the Kremlin claims he enjoys genuine support among Russians.
Ms Duntsova had been vocal on her plans to run a campaign on ending the war in Ukraine and freeing political prisoners.
She was quick to respond after the commission’s decision. “We will appeal to the Supreme Court, since this decision is not based on the law,” a message on her Telegram channel said.
The commission said 29 people have so far filed to run for the presidency. But after today’s decision, Mr Putin remains the only candidate to be able to register as a candidate.
In November, a nationalist pro-war blogger who had fiercely criticised Russia’s military strategy in Ukraine, said he wanted to challenge Putin and disrupt the “sham” poll.
Igor Girkin, 52, was detained in July following a series of social media posts critical of the president. He is now in jail awaiting trial for extremism, which he denies.
Mr Putin recently showed a rare example of caving in to popular pressure – by cutting the cost of buying chicken and eggs. On a public phone-in, a caller berated the Russian president for the high price she was having to pay.
With just three months to go until the election, President Putin has now decided that eggs and chicken should be exempt from all import taxes.
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Close friend of Putin linked to missing Ukrainian youngster
A key political ally of Vladimir Putin has adopted a detained child from a Ukrainian orphanage, according to documents revealed by BBC Panorama.
Sergei Mironov, the 70-year-old leader of a Russian political party, is listed in the adoption records of a two-year-old girl kidnapped in 2022 by a woman he was married to.
Records show the girl’s identity was changed in Russia. Mr Mironov did not respond to a request for comment.
The child, initially named Margarita, was one of 48 people who went missing from a Kherson regional children’s home when Russian forces took control of the city.
They are among about 20,000 children the Ukrainian government says have been captured by Russian forces since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. Earlier this year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and his children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, for allegedly illegally deporting Ukrainian children to the region.
Territory controlled by Russia, with a view to permanent expulsion. Surname of their own country.
The Russian government said it did not deport Ukrainian children but evacuated them to protect them from war.
The BBC worked with Ukrainian human rights investigator Victoria Novikova to find out what happened to Margarita and the other children.
Ms Novikova prepared a new dossier of evidence for the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine to forward to the ICC.
The 10-month-old was receiving treatment for bronchitis at Kherson’s children’s hospital in August 2022 when a woman wearing a lilac dress appeared. This is when the mystery surrounding Margarita started.
Margarita was the youngest inhabitant of the nearby children’s home, which provided care for kids with health issues or whose parents had passed away or lost custody.
Margarita’s father was absent, and her mother had relinquished custody soon after the child was born.
Her paediatrician, Dr. Nataliya Lyutikova, described her as a happy baby who cherished person cuddles.
The woman in the lilac shirt introduced herself as “the person incharge of children’s affairs in Moscow,”Dr. Lyutikova recalled
Kherson – now back under Ukrainian control – was then in its sixth month of Russian occupation.
Immediately after the woman left, Dr. Lyutikova said she received several phone calls from a Russian-appointed official who had just been put in charge of the nursery. The manager asked to take Margarita home immediately.
Within a week, Margarita was discharged from the hospital. The next morning, nursery staff were asked to prepare the girl for the trip.“We are very scared, everyone is scared,” said Lyubov Sayko, a nurse at the home.
She described how Russian men – some wearing military-style camouflage pants, another wearing dark glasses and holding a briefcase – came to pick up the girl.
“It feels like it came out of a movie,” she said.Seven weeks later, Igor Kastyukevich, a Russian military deputy, arrived at the house and with other officials began organizing the deportation of the remaining children, including Margarita’s half-brother, Maxym.
“They took them away from us and executed them,” Ms. Sayko said The video – posted by Mr Kastyukevich on Telegram – shows children dressed in outdoor clothing being carried onto buses and ambulances, then driven away.
“The children will be safely taken to Crimea,” Mr. Kastyukevich said as the children were loaded into the car. Crimea was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014. Mr Kastyukevich described the event as a humanitarian mission.
Midnight train For five months, the BBC tried to find Margarita and 47 other children in collaboration with Victoria Novikova.
Finding lost children in a large country like Russia, a country with an area of more than 17 million square kilometers, is not an easy task. The first task is to identify the mysterious woman in a lilac shirt who visited Margarita in the hospital last August.
Victoria discovers a Russian document authorizing Margarita’s transfer to a Moscow hospital for medical examination. A woman is named in the document: Inna Varlamova.
A search on social media confirmed her as the mystery woman in the lilac suit. We then showed Ms. Varlamova’s photo to Dr. Lyutikova and she identified her as the woman who had visited Margarita in the children’s ward.
After further research, we discovered that Ms. Varlamova works in the Russian Parliament, although it is unclear what position, and that she owns a property in Podolsk, near Moscow.
We have solved part of the mystery. But there are still questions.
“Margarita did not need any special examination,” Dr. Lyutikova said of the night the child was taken away. “Why take a child so far. ”
Panorama looks into the fate of around 40 kids who were abducted by Russian authorities from a Kherson children’s home. Collaborating with Ukrainian journalists, the filmmakers unearth proof of a covert adoption, forged birth certificates, and a trail of evidence that reaches the Russian parliament.
With Inna Varlamova’s name in hand, Panorama then obtained train records from Russian sources. These programs show her arriving in occupied Ukraine on the same day witnesses say Margarita was taken from the nursery.
That evening, at 12:20, Ms. Varlamova took the train back to Moscow, bringing with her a return ticket. Margarita, according to evidence, was in high spirits on that midnight train.
A Russian source then provided another important piece of information: a document showing that Ms. Varlamova had recently married political party leader Sergei Mironov.
Mironov, a former paratrooper, is a member of the Russian opposition, leader of the Just Russia Party and a supporter of President Putin.
It has been endorsed by several Western countries, including the UK and the EU.
Then came the big reveal.
I obtained the birth certificate of a 14-month-old girl named “Marina” written last December. The boy’s parents were Inna Varlamova and Sergey Mironov.
The registration was irregular and there were no original documents to confirm the birth of the child.
“Marina’s” birthday is set for October 31, 2021, the day Margarita was born.
“I knew it was ‘Bingo’ when I saw that Marina’s birthday was the same as Margarita’s,” Victoria said.
Our team received information about Margarita’s adoption from anonymous Russian sources. Margarita Prokopenko was renamed Marina Mironova after her stepfather Sergei Mironov.
His birthplace is called Podolsk.
The Russian government said it was not aware of the Margarita case and could not comment.
Earlier this year, when the International Criminal Court indicted President Putin and his children’s commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, the court alleged that hundreds of Ukrainian children had been illegally deported from orphanages and orphanages.
This is beyond “target”.
Deport these children forever from their countries.
This happened after President Putin decided to issue a decree making it easier for Russians to adopt Ukrainian children.
Ms. Lvov-Belov said that Russia only places children in foster care or guardianship.
“We don’t adopt,” she said last month.
“This is a very important fact, because adoption means that the child is completely indigenous. You can change his surname, first name, patronymic [middle name], you can change his place of birth.”
However, in response to our inquiry, the Russian government said it was “wrong” to think that Russia was preventing the adoption of Ukrainian children from newly declared Russian territories. It says that much of Ukraine is now considered part of Russia and that people living there, including children, are Russian citizens.
child together
We have written to Sergey Mironov and Inna Varlamova and asked where Margarita is now, but they have not yet responded.
Almost all other children taken from their homes are believed to remain in Russian hands.
According to Russian authorities, at least 17 people are in Crimea.
Viktoriya Novikova said that everyone had relatives in Ukraine.
Ukraine said it had confirmed that 19,546 children had been taken to Russia.
Fewer than 400 people are reported to have returned.
Russia disputes these figures.
Moscow says it will help reunite children with family or friends if a legal claim is made and the children are recovered. But many parents do not know where their children are, and the process of finding and retrieving them is difficult and complicated.
As far as is known, only one child from the Kherson orphanage was brought to Ukraine.
Last month, three-year-old Viktor Puzik was taken from Crimea by his mother, Olha, while he was awaiting surgery due to his health condition.
She said it was painful to wait for him to be safe.
“I keep thinking where is he, how is he doing? Is he still alive or dead? Everything ran through my mind.”
Victoria hopes to find all the other missing children from the Kherson orphanage, but fears that they will soon be discovered.
“Time is not on our side,” she said.
“The problem is that (Russian authorities) are trying to erase children’s identities by issuing Russian birth certificates and even passports.”
At the same time, she did not give up hope of returning Margarita to Ukraine.
She has not found any relatives to take Margarita in with, so the Ukrainian government has appointed her as the little girl’s legal guardian and plans to petition the Russian authorities for deportation.
“The world needs to know that Margarita exists. They wanted to erase him. We have to bring her back.”
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Putin drops biggest hint yet about astounding number of Russians he has killed
Vladimir Putin has requested nearly 250,000 certificates for Russian soldiers who died in Ukraine.
Around 230,000 certificates have been created for the families of soldiers who have passed away, as stated by the Russian government through Verstka media outlet.
This provides the best estimate of how many Russian soldiers have died, because the government only admits to the deaths of 6,000 publicly.
The papers are given to women whose husbands died and to the kids of soldiers.
An additional 757,305 certificates were bought for soldiers who survived a war, making the total number of Russian soldiers involved close to one million.
Verstka said that the numbers could give us an idea of how many Russians were involved in the fights and how many were injured or killed, but not exactly.
Ukraine says that over 270,000 soldiers from Russia have died in the war.
At an event where people receive awards in August, Putin was seen with Angelina Ivanov. She is the wife of a Colonel named Denis Ivanov who was killed, and together they have two children.
The wife of the killed Guard Captain Roman Vorobyov was seen in a picture with Vladimir Putin during a state award ceremony on August 2, 2023.
He also saw the wife of the guard captain who was killed.
This week, Ukraine stated that over 270,000 Russian soldiers have died in a war caused by Putin’s wish to invade Ukraine, which is its neighboring country.
Two separate news sources investigated the conflict and discovered that approximately 50,000 men have died.
According to experts, Kremlin officials have been consistently attempting to hide the death count, but their efforts have not been successful.
Mediazona and Meduza partnered with a data scientist from Tubingen University in Germany to find a more accurate representation of the number of lives that have been lost. -
Numerous Russian drones attacked Kyiv overnight
Vladimir Putin sent a lot of drones that exploded like kamikaze pilots in Ukraine‘s capital city for about two hours. This was one of the biggest attacks in the last few months.
There were big explosions in Kyiv and the area around it last night right after the loud sirens told people to find a safe place to stay.
Ukraine’s air force announced that they successfully destroyed 26 out of 33 drones from Iran called Shahed, which were sent by Russia.
The video showed the sky at night brightened by explosions from Kyiv’s defenses shooting at the targets.
Ukraine stops a Russian drone attack on Kyiv.
Smoke was coming out from between the buildings.
Liudmyla, who lives here, heard the sound of drones flying before a loud blast shattered the windows in her building and broke the jars on her windowsill.
“It was really scary, words can’t even describe it,” she said.
The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, said that one person got hurt in the old Podil area and there was a fire close to a park in the city.
The military administration of the city said that pieces of drones that had crashed fell in the Darnytskyi, Solomianskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, Sviatoshynskyi, and Podil districts.
Serhiy Popko, the leader of the city’s military administration, said on Telegram that drones arrived in the capital in groups and from various directions.
The governor of the region, Ruslan Kravchenko, said on Facebook that during the overnight strikes, a certain infrastructure facility and eight houses were damaged.
Outside of Kyiv, Russia’s defense ministry announced that they have destroyed three speedboats, which were supplied by the US to Ukraine. The boats were heading towards Crimea. Additionally, they have also destroyed eight drones.
The ministry did not mention if there was any harm or injuries from either the events. -
Wildfires threatens Putin’s ‘£1billion Black Sea palace’
A wildfire in a Russian resort town might burn down Vladimir Putin‘s very expensive clifftop palace.
According to Russian news agency Interfax, there have been three large wildfires covering an area of about three hectares since yesterday morning.
The forests near the Black Sea have become very dry, making them easily catch on fire. The hot weather, strong winds, and flammable plants have made them like a box of tinder that can easily go up in flames. People think that someone intentionally started the fires.
Firefighters were summoned around 10am when smoke was spotted coming out of a forest near Dzhanhot farm.
At 6:45pm, the fire was controlled. However, two more fires started. The first fire was reported at 3:09pm on Rodnikova Street, and the third fire occurred in a forest near Mount Neksis Gelendzhik at 5:15pm.
The rich resort town is where the Russian president supposedly has a huge palace that measures 17,691 square meters, and it’s located on the Gelendzhik Bay.
The main building has a swimming pool, spa, and sauna as some of its facilities.
The complex also has a greenhouse, a place for helicopters to land, a palace made of ice, a church, a place for outdoor performances, a place to get gas for cars, a long bridge that is 80 meters long, and a special underground room inside the mountain where people can taste things.
A 40-year-old man has been arrested for setting a fire, but it is not clear why he did it.
The authorities have asked locals who have fire extinguishers to help fight the fire at Markotkh Ridge. 195 people have joined the firefighting efforts.
City administrators said on Telegram yesterday evening that if you have a backpack, fire extinguishers, and want to help firefighters in fighting a forest fire on the Markotkh Ridge, then you should join the firefighting efforts.
They said that an Be-200 amphibious aircraft from the Ministry of Emergency Situations has been sent, joining a firefighting plane and two Mi-8 helicopters already there.According to a local news source in Krasnodar, Kuban News, strong winds of about 30mph are making the fires worse. The wildfires have already burned about 50 hectares since this morning.
The emergency ministry said that the fire went up the mountain. Right now, settlements and infrastructure are not in any danger.
The effort to put out the fire never stops, not even for a moment.
Although not officially confirmed, many people who have inside information claim that the palace known as ‘Putin’s palace’ belongs to the president.
Whistleblower Sergei Kolesnikov first told the public about a fancy house that was made specifically for Putin to enjoy. Since then, media investigations have uncovered more information about this mansion.
According to an investigation by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s Anti Corruption Foundation (FBK), it cost around 100 billion rubles (£820,000) to build.
The Kremlin has been saying for a long time that it is not owned by identifiable rich people, but by anonymous elite businessmen.
General Gennady Lopyrev, who was 69 years old, passed away unexpectedly in jail. It is believed that he had confidential information about the palace.
He was sentenced to ten years in prison by a military court in 2017 for taking bribes and unlawfully having ammunition. -
Warmongers may keep Wagner Group alive despite its ‘decapitation’
In the event of Yevgeny Prigozhin‘s demise in a plane crash, the Wagner Group could potentially continue operating under a leadership team that is not clearly defined.
According to an intelligence analyst, other important people might join the efforts of the Kremlin to bring the formation under its control.
The large size of the group’s violent operations in the Middle East and Africa might make it hard to fully control or stop the group.
Vladimir Putin seems to have gotten back at Prigozhin after the leader’s personal plane crashed near the city of Tver, north of Moscow, on Wednesday night. Sadly, everyone on the plane died in the accident.
The leader of the hired soldiers seemed to have died two months after his private army, which the US considered a criminal group that operates across multiple countries, failed in a planned attack on the capital. The leader of Russia called the group’s disobedience a “rebellion” and a “betrayal”.
The situation leading up to the rebellion involved the Russian government’s efforts to bring private military contractors (PMCs) under the control of the regular military. This required the PMCs to transfer their authority, a process that is believed to be ongoing.
Alec Bertina, who works as an analyst at the Grey Dynamics private intelligence firm, believes that even though Wagner has lost some important leaders or influence, it still exists and operates in different regions like Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.“He said that there are other important leaders from the Wagner Group who are still alive, or at least their death has not been confirmed. ”
We are discussing senior commander Andrei Troshev and people with nicknames like Ratibor, Zombie, and Lotus.
I think that even though a big part of Wagner is gone, there are still enough things left to keep the organization running.
It is believed that Prigozhin’s company airplane, with two other people on board, exploded near Tver, which is halfway between Moscow and St Petersburg.
Other Russian private military companies (PMCs), similar to Wagner, who have been responsible for committing atrocities and potentially war crimes, may take advantage of Putin’s catastrophic full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
But older members of the Wagnernites group can still have an impact, and this includes skilled individuals like Lotus, who was a commander in the Russian army named Anton Yelizarov. Another person is Alexander Kuznetsov, also known as Ratibor, who used to be in a special military group and received honors for it. However, he was also sent to jail in the past for committing the crimes of kidnapping and robbery.‘Bertina said that in the future, there may be other groups without government backing who want to fight for a portion of Wagner’s resources. ’ However, none of them are as skilled as Wagner and it will take a long time for them to reach his level. It’s not only about giving money to other groups to help them grow. It’s also about having experience and knowledge, which takes time to acquire.
Right now, it looks like the Wagner circles are not getting too worked up and are waiting to hear what the commanders have to say.
‘They might say that they want to ensure that the Kremlin doesn’t escape punishment, or, more likely, that it’s a fight not worth engaging in. ‘
‘They had a good chance to remove Putin from power when they were about to go towards Moscow, and I think Putin was more prepared than some people thought. ’
The most recent picture of Prigozhin shows him by himself, carrying a type of gun used for attacking, in a dry and sandy place, possibly in Africa.
The group has made its presence known in Libya, Mali, Sudan, and the Central African Republic, as well as the Middle East and Europe.Ivan Aleksandrovitch Maslov, who is claimed to have presided over a slaughter in Mali, is among a number of relatively low-profile people who appear on a list of sanctioned Wagnerites that the UK published this month.
“The signing-over process of fighters to the MoD [Ministry of Defence] was already underway, but it was having problems transferring a sizable number of people,” said Bertina.
It has been challenging to recruit those folks because the majority of Wagner’s members left the MoD because they were dissatisfied with it.
Dmitry Valeryevich Utkin, the Wagner leader, is one of the facilitators of the organisation who has received UK sanctions.
While the Russian military intelligence, known as the GRU, started controlling Wagner’s activities in Syria, the group continued its operations in Africa even after the rebellion.
The Wagner mercenaries were saying that everything was happening normally.
There could be a possibility of things changing soon. There are two questions to consider. One is about how much they can work without help from the Ministry of Defense, and the other is about how much control the Ministry of Defense has over them.
Many people think Putin might have planned the crash. Some people believe that the plane was brought down by a bomb that was hidden in a box of wine.
The president of Russia said sorry yesterday to the families of the 10 people who died, including three crew members.
Bertina thinks that Prigozhin, who used to work for Putin and is now known as his former chef, was able to travel easily to other countries after behaving defiantly because the Kremlin’s powerful security system stayed hidden and waited for the right moment.“He said that the Russian government and security services might have spent two months preparing to remove the leaders of the Wagner group and fooled Prigozhin into feeling safe. ” This could mean handling the consequences of getting rid of him and making backup plans.
Bertina says that information from Prigozhin’s social media accounts might suggest that the Kremlin is behind the attack.
He said that the accounts created by Wagner’s troll factories have become useful for the Russian government since Prigozhin’s death, which means they may have been taken control of by someone else. ‘They are accusing the Western countries of being responsible for the murder. This accusation started right after Prigozhin died, implying that the murder might have been premeditated. ‘Emily Ferris, from the Royal United Services Institute, believes that Africa is an important place for the mercenaries group after Prigozhin’s supposed murder.
The Research Fellow said ‘If this is true, it is a setback for Wagner’s top leaders and has the biggest impact on its activities in Africa.
The Wagner soldiers are either working with the MoD or waiting in Belarus since the rebellion. They haven’t been active for two months. The Kremlin cares a lot about the Africa branch of Wagner because it helps them with their foreign policy. They will probably try to make changes to the group and keep it going.
Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said today that the claims that the Kremlin ordered Prigozhin’s death are completely untrue.
He said that many people were guessing about the crash and he didn’t believe the Western idea that Putin caused it.
The president of Russia has stated that a complete investigation will be conducted regarding the incident, and it will be pursued until the very end. -
Mercenaries must pledge loyalty to Russia – Putin
President Vladimir Putin is seeking allegiance from all members of Wagner and similar Russian private military organizations.
The rule covers people who are involved in military activities in Ukraine, helping the army and serving in territorial defense groups.
He made the decision official on Friday and it started right away.
It happens two days after the leaders of Wagner were believed to have died in a plane accident.
According to Natia Seskuria, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, Putin wants to have more control over Wagner so that he can prevent any future crises. This means that Putin is becoming more cautious and avoiding taking risks.
The order is given when Wagner hired soldiers don’t have a clear person in charge, because a plane that was believed to be carrying Yevgeny Prigozhin and other leaders crashed on Wednesday, causing the death of all 10 people on board.
The decree says that the oath is important to strengthen the values and beliefs that protect Russia. The oath includes a promise to follow the orders of leaders and commanders.
Petro Burkovskyi, who works for a think tank in Ukraine, told the BBC that the message hidden in the text is telling the military intelligence to locate and punish Wagner fighters.
And he also suggests that it is a clear signal to the fighters.
In the past, they promised to follow the rules, just like many other armies do. This is a message for Wagner fighters: either promise to be loyal and keep your weapons, or give up your weapons. “Do as you’re told, or you’ll be sent to jail. ”
A few weeks before Prigozhin’s uprising didn’t work in June, the Russian defense ministry told groups of hired soldiers they had until July 1st to agree and sign contracts to join the army.
Prigozhin didn’t want his Wagner Group to work for the ministry, so he didn’t sign.
Mr Putin supported the ministry’s contract plan , which was the first public setback for his long-time ally Prigozhin.
What will happen to the Wagner fighters if they don’t have a clear leader.Burkovskyi believes that because they have been trained and have a lot of experience in fighting, they are valuable resources for the Russian army.
Most of them are military professionals, and their main focus is their career rather than their beliefs or ideology.
“They selected Wagner because they received preferential treatment from Wagner, without dealing with the complex systems of the large Russian military force. ” If they receive special treatment because of Putin’s instructions, I don’t think they worry about where they will fight, who they will fight, and who they are fighting for.
Ms Seskuria thinks that people who support Prigozhin but refuse to take the oath could cause problems in the future.
“I believe the message is very straightforward: if you don’t obey the rules, you’ll face consequences like Prigozhin,” she states.
In that way, it will be effective for a short amount of time. But, Prigozhin had people who supported him in Wagner and this could cause issues for Putin in the future.
On Saturday morning, there were drone attacks in Moscow and Belgorod regions. The drones were successfully stopped by the air defense systems, as stated by Russian officials.
No one was hurt or injured, and nothing was broken or harmed. Flights at Moscow’s three main airports were temporarily stopped for a few hours.
In the area next to Ukraine called Belgorod, four people got hurt because of the attack, according to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
Moscow said Ukraine was responsible for the shooting and drone attacks. Kyiv has not said anything yet, as they rarely admit to being responsible for the attacks in Russia.
In Ukraine, two people died and one person got injured when Russia attacked a village close to the northeast town of Kupiansk. The governor of Kharkiv’s region said that a café was also hit during the attack. -
Putin finally speaks out about Wagner plane accident
The leader of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in a plane crash near Moscow, was mentioned by Vladimir Putin for the first time.
It took the Russian president a whole day to speak up about the incident where the person who led a rebellion against him was killed.
Officials have confirmed that all 10 individuals aboard the private jet perished when it crashed to the ground yesterday. Among the passengers were the leader and his closest associate Dmitry Utkin.
During a TV meeting at the Kremlin, Putin said he was informed about the crash only this morning.
The leader of the war expressed sadness for the families of the seven passengers and three crew members on the plane.
He praised the mercenary chief and called him a skilled businessman. He has known him since the 1990s.
Putin said that he had known Prigozhin for a long time, since the early 1990s. He was someone who had a difficult past.
He was very skilled and successful in business. He not only worked in our country and did well, but he also worked in other countries, especially in Africa.
Putin said that Prigozhin made a lot of mistakes in his life, but he still accomplished what was needed, possibly referring to the war in Ukraine and Wagner’s actions in Bakhmut.
‘The president said that he made big mistakes in his life and he achieved the expected outcomes, both for himself and for the common cause, when I asked him, in the past few months. ‘
He worked with oil, gas, valuable metals, and stones at that place. He came back from Africa just yesterday. He saw some important people here.
Russian state media did not talk much about the crash. Instead, they focused on what Putin said at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg through a video link, and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
At the moment, the police have blocked off the area where the airplane crashed in the village called Kuzhenkino. This village is about 185 miles northwest of the capital city. -
Putin declines to confirm Prigozhin’s alleged demise in an aircraft accident
Despite attending the BRICS summit, Vladimir Putin avoided discussing the plane crash and the alleged death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Wagner’s group, during his address to other global leaders.
Putin did not talk about the topic and instead praised the South African president for the news that six countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Argentina, are joining an economic alliance.
A video showed him saying hello to the people before he gave his talk, according to MirrorOnline.
When the accident occurred, Putin was seen having a good time at a concert that celebrated the anniversary of the Soviet troops’ win in the Battle of Kursk in World War II. -
Wagner fighters threaten Putin over ‘death’ of commander Prigozhin in a plane accident
Wagner soldiers have made a scary warning to Vladimir Putin soon after their boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was said to have died in a plane accident in Russia.
The Wagner leader who was 62 years old was in his own plane when it suddenly fell to the ground about 60 miles north of Moscow, according to officials from Russia.
According to Russia’s aviation authority, all 10 people who were on the plane are confirmed to have died. The names of the victims have been released.
Dmitry Ukin, the person who helped start the Wagner Group and worked closely with Prigozhin, was one of the people who died when the Embraer jet suddenly fell from the sky.
People have been wondering and guessing about whether or not the warlord was really on the plane that was going from Moscow to St Petersburg.
The accident near the village of Kuzhenkino in the Tver region caused suspicion because it occurred precisely two months after Prigozhin attempted to rebel against Vladimir Putin, but it didn’t last very long.
According to The Sun, Wagner fighters have threatened to launch a second protest in Moscow if their leader is not alive.
A message from a paramilitary group last night said: ‘There are rumors that the leader of Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has died. ‘
We think that Putin and other Kremlin officials tried to kill him.
If we find out for sure that Prigozhin has died, we will plan another protest in Moscow called the “March of Justice”. It would be better for him to be alive because it will benefit you.
More men with guns, who say they are part of the same team, mentioned in a video on the internet that there is a lot of conversation happening about what the Wagner Group will do. We want to share something with you.
‘We are about to begin, prepare yourselves for us. ‘
Neither the UK nor US governments have made an official statement, and the Kremlin has not officially identified Prigozhin as one of the casualties.
But, government-controlled media and social media accounts connected to Wagner have said that both Prigozhin and Utkin are no longer alive.
Other people on the plane who were identified by Russian officials include Sergey Propustin, Evgeniy Makaryan, Aleksandr Totomin, Valeriy Chekalov, and Nikolay Matuseev.
The three people working on the plane were pilot Aleksei Levshin, assistant pilot Rustam Karimov, and flight attendant Kristina Raspopova.
One well-known Wagner channel, Grey Zone, said that Prigozhin died and praised him as a hero and patriot who was killed by people who betrayed Russia.
His supporters are showing their respect and sadness by lighting up his office windows in St Petersburg with a big cross at night. They also left flowers and lit candles near the offices on Thursday.
Many ideas are being talked about regarding this situation. Some people who like him think Russia is to blame, while others think Ukraine is responsible.
The Kremlin’s propaganda machine has a history of spreading false information, so there could be a possibility that disinformation is being spread.
Putin was at a concert celebrating the Soviet troops’ win in the Battle of Kursk during World War II when the accident occurred.
Abbas Gallyamov, a person who used to write speeches for Putin and now criticizes him, suggested that Putin was responsible for the crash and used it to increase his power.
“He wrote on Telegram that the government now believes it cannot go against Putin. ” Putin is very powerful and able to get back at people who have wronged him.
Bill Browder is a businessman who knows a lot about Russia and he criticizes the Kremlin. He agrees with the statement that Putin does not forgive or forget.
He appeared embarrassed and powerless while Prigozhin acted without any worry in the world (after the rebellion). He wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that this will make his authority stronger.
The crash site of a business jet in Russia where the wreckage is found.During his trip to California, President Joe Biden informed the reporters that he was unaware of what had occurred.
“But I am not shocked,” Mr. Biden stated ‘Putin is responsible for most of what happens in Russia. ’
Shortly after the accident, another plane owned by Prigozhin that seemed to be going to St Petersburg also, based on flight tracking information, landed at Ostafyevo airport near Moscow.
The second plane has made people think that Prigozhin might still be alive and pretending to be dead, just like he did in 2019.
But Vladimir Rogov, a person chosen by Russia to work in the partially controlled Zaporizhzhia region in Ukraine, said he spoke to Wagner leaders who confirmed that Prigozhin was on board.
We have read the reports. “If it is proven to be true, nobody should be caught off guard,” expressed the US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson.
Keir Giles, an expert on Russia from a think-tank called Chatham House, has advised to be careful.
He said that many people have changed their name to Yevgeniy Prigozhin to make it difficult to know where he has been going.
Mr Giles said, “Don’t be surprised if he appears soon in a new video from Africa. ” -
Russian bombing kills seven individuals, including 3-weeks old baby and a family
Seven people—including a baby just 23 days old, her brother, 12, and parents—were murdered by Russian shells in southern Ukraine on Sunday.
According to Interior Minister Igor Klymenko, bombs were dropped on their home in the Kherson settlement of Shyroka Balka.
Another villager and two men from nearby Stanislav were also among the deceased.
“We must put an end to terrorists. Force must be used to stop them, according to Mr. Klymenko. “They have no other understanding.”
The minister revealed images of the attack’s aftermath in Shyroka Balka, including bodies of some of the dead that had been digitally covered and black columns of smoke rising from buildings.
Among the four Ukrainian districts that Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to have annexed last year, Kherson was one.
The western portion of the territory was retaken by Ukrainian forces in November of last year, but Russian forces have continued to shell the sector from the other side of the Dnipro River.
Russia had accused Ukraine of “terrorism” the day before for what it claimed was an attempt to launch a missile attack on the Kerch Bridge, which connects Russia’s mainland to the Crimean Peninsula.
Despite President Volodymr Zelensky’s assertion that the bridge is a lawful target because it serves as a military supply route, Ukraine has not confirmed the attack.
In a related development, Moscow claimed to have fired warning shots at a cargo ship travelling towards the Ukrainian port of Izmail in the southwest Black Sea.
Since pulling out of a historic grain deal mediated by the UN last month, this is the first time Russia has fired on merchant cargo outside of Ukraine.
In a statement, Russia claimed that its Vasily Bykov patrol ship had opened fire with automatic weapons on the Sukru Okan ship, which was flying the flag of Palau, after the captain of the latter failed to stop the ship for an inspection.
The Sukru Okan continued towards the port of Izmail after the inspection group finished its job on board, according to the defence ministry.
Meanwhile, a representative of the exiled Ukrainian mayor of Mariupol claimed that on Sunday, fighting among Russian soldiers resulted in the deaths of numerous Ukrainian residents.
According to Petro Andryshchenko’s message on Telegram, the victims of the “shoot-out” in the village of Urzuf were two adolescent girls, four young males, and a lady.
He claimed that a dispute between Chechen soldiers and staff from the local commandant’s office led to the gunfight.
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Putin loses second plane after Su-30 fighter jet destroyed
On Saturday in Kaliningrad, a Russian warplane crashed while on a training exercise, killing both of the pilots.
The Su-30 lost control, nosedived, exploded as it hit the ground in the Baltic Sea exclave, and spun out of control.
It took place near to the so-called Suwalki Corridor, which is a 60-mile region between Belarus and Kaliningrad that has been nicknamed the “weakest link” in NATO.
There are worries that the Wagner mercenary group’s soldiers could be used as a pretext in the strip, which provides the only land connection between Poland and Lithuania, two other members.
‘Technical malfunction’ was likely to blame for the catastrophe, according to officials.
“The Su-30 plane went down in a deserted area.” The flight was conducted without any weapons. Local military authorities reported that the crew had died.
The Su-30 has been heavily employed by Russia during its conflict in Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin has lost eight military aircraft so far this year, the most recent being the downed fighter plane.
Two Russian fighter planes crashed into the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Azov last month while conducting training flights.
Video of the collision shows witnesses exclaiming, “What a nightmare.” A plane went down.
It blew up. What a disaster, the pilots didn’t even eject.
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Husband of Russian defense minister’s daughter ‘driven’ out of marriage over his views on Ukraine
The daughter of the Russian defense minister and her ‘anti-war’ husband have separated, sparking rumors that Vladimir Putin was involved.
The daughter of defense minister Sergei Shoigu, Ksenia Shoigu, 32, has long seemed content in her marriage to fitness expert Alexey Stolyarov, 33.
However, the couple startled their hundreds of millions of fans by announcing their breakup to the Russian news channel 360° last Saturday.
“It’s been a while since we were a couple.” However, we are also extremely close friends and partners,’ Shoigu remarked.
Stolyarov continued, “We have been friends for a very long time,” adding that their relationship ended “several months ago.”
They are planning to spend more time with their daughter, he said. “We’re headed to her right away!” We still work as a team, and we also have sporting projects in the works,’ Stolyarov said.
They were conversing at the 2019 Race of Heroes obstacle course race in Alabino, a city near Moscow.
Before welcoming their daughter in 2021, Shoigu and Stolyarov spent years hiding their marriage.
The couple told 360° that over time, their competing and demanding work schedules drove a gap between them and caused their breakup.
Nevertheless, considering Stolyarov’s history of conflicts with Putin’s pro-war authorities and sympathizers, Russian social media users were unpersuaded.
‘Everyone in the Kremlin knew that Shoigu’s opponents took samples of Stolyarov’s [online posts] into Putin’s office multiple times,’ a Russian user of social media claimed.
The Russian president allegedly “twice asked” Shoigu to “shut [Stolyarov] up,” according to the Narrarivy Telegram channel.
According to the source, Ksenia recently discussed getting a divorce and decided to openly disavow Stolyarov.
Formerly the son-in-law of Putin’s devoted defence minister, Stolyarov declined to enlist in Russia’s conflict with Ukraine.
When he liked an anti-war Instagram post by Yuri Dud, a Russian journalist the government had labelled a “foreign agent” for his posts criticising Putin’s war machine, he came under fire in February.
According to the article, according to the Russian news outlet Meduza, “Putin and his entourage unleashed bloody and pointless war exactly a year ago.”
Stolyarov swiftly deleted the like while denying having ever expressed an interest in it.
Poligon.media claimed he had conducted interviews with two other Dud figures, including the film filmmaker Alexander Molochnikov, who had left Russia after criticising Putin.
Stolyarov did this while posting pictures of himself on the Russian social media site VK driving a luxurious car and vacationing in Dubai when other men his age were dying or being hurt in battle.
This did not impress his followers who questioned why he was not already on the “frontlines” and labelled him as “unpatriotic.”
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the short mutinous mercenary organisation Wagner, stoked the flames in February when he asked that Stolyarov be drafted.
Progozhin posted on Telegram that “it is necessary to catch Stolyarov and bring him to me,” even urging that Ukrainian military “rape” Stolyarov.
While Stolyarov’s opinions on the war are still hazy, his opinions of Shoigu have been a little bit more lucid.
He is the sweetest and most upbeat guy I know. In 2021, he declared to the online Russian entertainment programme Night Contact, “I have never met a person like this.”
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Russia bombs Black Sea port just after launching ‘peace talks’ with Turkey
In the coming weeks, Vladimir Putin will travel on a diplomatic mission to Turkey, his first trip to a nation that is a member of NATO since the conflict in Ukraine began.
Erdogan emphasised the significance of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which he called a “bridge for peace,” and told Putin that “no steps should be taken that will escalate tensions in the Russia-Ukraine war.” Erdogan also confirmed the visit.
But as Russia intensifies its use of force to stop Ukraine from exporting grain, it today assaulted Ukraine‘s biggest inland port, which is located across the Danube River from Romania. As a result, food prices around the world have increased.
As ships prepared to arrive at the port of Izmail to load up with Ukrainian grain in violation of a de facto blockade Russia reimposed in mid-July, the attacks destroyed buildings there and prevented them from doing so.
Oleksandr Kubrakov, the deputy prime minister of Ukraine, claimed that about 40,000 tonnes of grain that were bound for China, Israel, and nations in Africa were damaged by Russian drone assaults.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy posted on Telegram that “Russian terrorists have once again attacked ports, grain, and global food security.”
One of the major exporters of grains worldwide is Ukraine. After declining to renew a deal that had eased its wartime blockade of Ukrainian ports last year, Russia began attacking Ukraine’s agricultural and port infrastructure and has continued to do so for more than two weeks.
Since Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports in mid-July, the port, which is across the river from NATO member Romania, has served as the primary alternate route for grain exports out of Ukraine.
After speaking with Erdogan, the Kremlin reaffirmed Russia’s need for rejoining the grain agreement: the implementation of a parallel agreement that would improve the terms for its own food and fertiliser exports.
These shipments are now immune from sanctions, which the West claims Moscow is attempting to thwart by endangering the world’s food supply.
Putin and Erdogan, according to Erdogan’s staff, decided that he will visit Turkey soon.
Putin, who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, has made no official trips outside of the country this year and has only travelled outside of the former Soviet Union once since beginning his invasion, on a day trip to Tehran more than a year ago. Erdogan has long expressed the desire to welcome Putin and persuade him to resume the grain agreement.
Recent assaults on Ukraine’s grain infrastructure have been characterised by Moscow as reprisal for a Ukrainian attack on a Kerch Strait bridge to Crimea that was being used to supply Russian forces in southern Ukraine.
In a statement, American ambassador Bridget Brink denounced the strikes and listed recent Russian targets, including “Homes. Ports. cereal silos. historic structures. Men, women, and kids.
Round-the-clock and escalating Russian attacks on Kryvyi Rih, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Kherson once again demonstrate Russia’s lack of interest in peace, disregard for the safety of civilians, and disregard for people across the world who depend on Ukrainian food.
According to Kyiv, the purpose of the strikes is to convince shippers and their insurance firms that Ukrainian ports are hazardous to resume exports, hence reinstating Russia’s blockade.
Before Russia withdrew from the Black Sea agreement, grain was exported mostly via Ukraine’s Danube river ports like Izmail, which have subsequently become the principal exit point. Grain is loaded onto barges and transported to Romania’s Constanta Black Sea port for further shipment.
While Moscow claims it will treat ships bound for Ukrainian seaports as potential military targets, Kiev wants international ships to arrive right there and load up.
Russia’s decision to renege on the agreement, mediated by the U.N. and Turkey, has prompted a warning from the United Nations about a potential food catastrophe in the world’s poorest nations.
According to Ukrainian officials, in nine days of strikes following the termination of the grain agreement, Moscow has attacked 26 port facilities, five civilian vessels, and 180,000 tonnes of grain.
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Brits stuck in mud receive stern warning during military coup
This morning, a queue of foreign nationals with suitcases in hand formed outside an airport in the nation’s capital as they awaited a third flight of evacuation.
The West African nation has been thrown into a political crisis a week after a military coup deposed and imprisoned Mohamed Bazoum, the first democratically elected president.
Fears that their inhabitants would become stranded prompted France, Italy, and Spain to declare evacuations for their populace.
Despite violent protests erupting in the last 48 hours, the UK and the US are both behind schedule in making such announcements.
To protest the former colonial power, supporters of the coup even tried to invade the French embassy on Sunday and burn it on fire.
Thousands of people were observed marching through Niamey, the nation’s capital, while singing the name of Vladimir Putin and brandishing Russian flags.
It happened when the paramilitary Wagner organisation, which already has mercenaries in Mali, offered to back the coup.
Currently, there are no commercial airline choices to depart because Niger’s borders are also closed.
The situation in the country is still ‘volatile,’ and numerous states have declared states of emergency, therefore the Foreign Office (FCDO) has warned against all travel there.
The FCDO stated, “We have been closely monitoring the situation in Niamey since July 26.”
“Protests can be violent, and the mood can shift suddenly and unexpectedly.” British nationals are advised to stay inside.
Those who plan to depart are urged to register with the FCDO as soon as possible and to keep up with travel safety recommendations.
On two flights on Tuesday, French military in Niamey evacuated hundreds of people, the majority of whom were citizens of France.
Meanwhile, the Italian defence minister confirmed that an Italian military plane carrying 99 people, including 21 Americans and citizens of other nations, made an early morning landing in Rome.
After a third flight was cancelled the previous evening, hundreds of people gathered outside the terminal of the city’s airport before daylight in an attempt to depart.
While parents sought to protect their children from what was occurring, some people tried to sleep on the floor, while others played video games or spoke on the phone with relatives who were eager to hear updates.
A passenger who asked to remain anonymous for security concerns added, “I haven’t told them very much, just that they’re going home.”
In a statement on Sunday, the West African regional group (ECOWAS) announced travel and economic restrictions against Niger, warning that if the coup leaders do not restore Mr. Bazoum within a week, force may be used.
Burkina Faso and Mali emphasised on Monday that any military action against Niger would be regarded an act of war against them.
A joint statement declared, “All military intervention against Niger will be regarded as a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali.”
Before the violent coup, the nation was seen as one of the remaining democracies in the region and a cooperating partner with whom Western nations might fight the extremist bloodshed that has decimated the region.
Millions of dollars have been invested in the nation by the US, France, and other European nations as military aid and assistance.
The special representative for West Africa and the Sahel stated that initiatives other than the threat of force are being made to restore democracy during a virtual United Nations meeting on Tuesday night.
According to Leonardo Santos Simao, “One week can be more than enough if everyone talks in good faith and wants to prevent bloodshed.”
However, “different member states are preparing themselves to use force if necessary,” he continued.
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Zelensky claims to know just how Putin will pass away
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, has sworn that Vladimir Putin will pass away battered.
He mocked the notion that the struggle might last for decades like some of the Kremlin’s earlier wars, saying Russian forces know “deep down in their hearts” they cannot win in Ukraine.
Zelensky told Brazil’s TV Globo, “It can’t.” Putin won’t survive for that long. At the rate he is battling us, he did not fight in Syria. He will not last for 30 years because of this.
He will pass away and cease to exist. This is unquestionably absolute.
Putin “won’t survive even 10 years,” said Zelensky, adding, “He is not that figure.”
He claimed that Russia’s military operations demonstrate that they are “unable to completely occupy Ukraine and destroy us.”
The president said, “They were capable at the beginning of it.” “They believed they would.” And we took action both from within the state and from without, which allowed us to surpass them in strength.
He vowed to thwart any attempt by Russia to reorganise and conquer his nation, saying, “As long as we are alive, we will not let them become as strong as they were.”
During the time when Zelensky made his remarks, Russian missiles struck his community in central Ukraine once more, killing six people, including a 10-year-old girl and her mother.
The attack took place the day after the president of Ukraine issued a warning that war will soon return to Russia.
After a drone strike on Moscow, he claimed that attacks on “symbolic centres and military bases” were a “inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process.”
Last week, the current Ukrainian counteroffensive—which is using weapons provided by Western allies and aims to drive Russian forces out of occupied territory—got more intense.
At the same time, Kiev reportedly used drones to attack sites as far away as the Russian capital in an effort to extend the war into that country.
A few kilometres from the Kremlin, two office buildings were destroyed in the most recent strike on Sunday. The attack was not acknowledged by Ukrainian government.
Following that incident, Russia strengthened security, according to Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, who called the assault a “act of desperation.”
The counteroffensive is not going as anticipated, thus the Kyiv regime is in a very, very bad situation, Peskov added.
It is clear that the numerous billions of dollars in resources that NATO nations have given the Kyiv regime are being used inefficiently.
“This raises important questions in Western capitals and significant unease among Western taxpayers.”
According to analysts, Putin is banking that as the war drags on and costs rise, Western support for Ukraine will decline.
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Putin declares his openness to peace talks as Russia celebrates Navy Day
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has indicated that his nation would be amenable to peace talks.
Russia and Ukraine have both previously stated that certain requirements must be completed before peace negotiations can begin.
In spite of the potential for retaliation over a Ukrainian attack on a vital road bridge to Crimea, Putin has now stated that African and Chinese initiatives might serve as the foundation for peace in Ukraine.
Although he said he hadn’t ruled out negotiations about Ukraine, he added that it would be challenging to put a ceasefire into effect because Ukraine is presently on the offensive, according to DW.
The notion of a ceasefire has been rejected by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky because it would allow Russia to maintain authority over about one fifth of his nation’s land.
According to the Russian Defence Ministry, Ukraine attempted to assault Crimea with 25 drones over the course of one night, and nine of those drones crashed into the Black Sea.
2014 saw the annexation of Crimea by Russia; ever since, Ukraine has been waging war against Russia.
Attacks on the region have grown and become more frequent in recent weeks as Kiev attempts to retake Crimea.
According to Russian authorities, three Ukrainian drones were shot down above Moscow early on Sunday, destroying two office buildings.
Following the airstrike on Moscow, the Kremlin threatened to use nuclear weapons, with Putin loyalist and former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev stating that there is “simply no other way out.”
According to the MailOnline, he reportedly advised Kyiv to “pray to our warriors” so they won’t “allow the global nuclear fire to flare up.”
“Our Armed Forces protect the people of Russia and our land,” declared Medvedev in response to the enemy’s concerted counteroffensive.
“This is obvious to all moral individuals.” Beyond that, though, they also stop global war.
After all, under the terms of the directive issued by the Russian President on February 6, 2020, we would have to deploy nuclear weapons if we assumed that the [Ukrainians’] offensive, which had NATO‘s support, was successful and they had captured any of our territory.
Simply put, there is no other way out.
As a result, our adversaries must pray to our soldiers. They prevent a flare-up of the global nuclear fire.
The statement was made as Putin and other military leaders celebrated Russia’s Navy Day on Sunday with a parade off the coast and the addition of 30 new ships to the fleet.
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Wagner leader Prigozhin applauds Niger coup and offers his support
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, praised the recent military coup in Niger as wonderful news and offered the help of his men to restore order to the area.
A audio message purportedly sent by Prigozhin on Telegram channels connected to Wagner denied his involvement in the coup but hailed it as a long-overdue moment of independence from Western colonisers.
“What happened in Niger was nothing more than the struggle of the Niger people against their colonisers,” said one observer. The statement was uploaded on Thursday night. It said, “With colonisers who are trying to impose their way of life and conditions on them and keep them in the state that Africa was in hundreds of years ago.”
Today, they are acquiring freedom in this manner. ‘They have gotten rid of the colonisers,’ he continued. “The rest will undoubtedly depend on the people of Niger and how efficient administration will be.
The leader of Wagner, who attempted to overthrow Vladimir Putin last month but was unsuccessful, is still active today and is believed to be operating his organisation from exile in Belarus.
At this week’s Russia-Africa meeting in St. Petersburg, he was seen shaking hands with a representative from the Central African Republic (CAR), suggesting that he still has some formal ties to the Kremlin.
After claiming to have overthrown President Mohamed Bazoum in the sixth military coup in West and Central Africa in less than three years, coup leaders in Niger announced General Abdourahamane Tiani as the new head of state on Friday.
The nation, which is among the world’s poorest but has some of the largest uranium deposits, formally declared its independence from erstwhile colonial power France in 1960.
The Wagner organisation is still active in Africa, where they still hold security contracts in various nations, including Mali, Libya, Sudan, and the CAR. The most recent indication of this is Prigozhin’s voicemail.
For Western nations, including as France and the US, Wagner’s activities in Africa continue to be of concern. Although Prigozhin has asserted the group operates legally, Washington has accused it of perpetrating crimes and slapped sanctions on it.
In his voicemail, Prigozhin bragged about how effective Wagner was at stabilising and developing African countries, and in a video that was made public earlier this month, Prigozhin was heard ordering his soldiers in Belarus to prepare their energies for a “new journey to Africa.”
On Friday night, Prigozhin praised the success of the Africa summit in remarks made to the Cameroonian-based Afrique Media programme. He praised Putin for developing what he called trust-based one-on-one working ties with African leaders.
According to a transcript that was published on Wagner Telegram channels, he claimed that “Russia today offers both…economic relations and security exports, without which Africa today cannot exist.”
Mali, CAR, and Niger were mentioned as nations becoming “more and more independent” and he concluded, “The forum went well and we should see the results of it in the near future.”
The restoration of constitutional order in Niger, according to Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, was stated on Thursday.
The Prigozhin visits, according to analysts, showed that Wagner will continue to support the Kremlin’s foreign policy objectives in Africa and were intended to reassure African allies following the turmoil of the unsuccessful mercenary rebellion inside Russia.
Catrina Doxsee, a specialist at the American CSIS think tank, commented on messaging platform X, “Yes, it’s wild that Prigozhin is back in Russia, and apparently has been several times.”
But projecting normalcy and business as usual is also consistent with Wagner’s and Russia’s objectives.
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UK delivers sensitive emails to Russian-connected African country
Officials from the Ministry of Defence unintentionally transmitted emails to a nation that supports Russian President Vladimir Putin that contained confidential material.
The Times was the first to expose the error, which saw authorities email Mali in Africa rather than the US troops.
Staff typed “.ml,” the country code for the West African nation, instead of the military’s “.mil” domain while sending emails.
Officials have opened an investigation even though the’small number of emails’ didn’t contain any information that may endanger national security.
A representative for the MoD stated, “We have opened an investigation after a small number of emails were accidentally forwarded to an incorrect email domain.”
We are certain that they didn’t include any material that may jeopardise technical or operational security.
The email servers are secured and “designed to minimise the risk of misdirection,” the official insisted, adding that they are locked away.
The MoD “reviews its processes continuously and is currently working on a programme of work to enhance information management, data loss prevention, and the control of sensitive information,” they added.
The incorrect emailing of Mali by British defence personnel is not unique. Over a decade ago, the US military’s email account resulted in millions of communications reaching the country.
Last month, The Financial Times claimed that the ‘typo leak’ involved extremely private emails being sent to the ‘.ml’ email address, including passwords and trip itineraries, as well as diplomatic and medical records.
A Dutch internet entrepreneur named Johannes Zuurbier was hired to oversee Mali’s national domain, and he frequently brought up the matter in Washington.
Approximately 117,000 misdirected emails, many of which were sent by military recruits, travel agencies, US intelligence personnel, and others, were allegedly intercepted by him in January alone.
Six African nations, including Mali, will get free grain shipments for the next four months, according to a commitment made yesterday by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin said at the Russia-Africa meeting in St. Petersburg that Western hypocrisy, not Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, was to blame for problems with the food supply chain.
Nevertheless, just 17 heads of state were present when Putin spoke, which is fewer than the number of African leaders who attended the inaugural meeting in 2019.
It happened a few days after Moscow revoked the agreement that had allowed Ukraine to transport its grain by sea despite Russia’s naval blockade, which helps feed millions of people throughout the world.
Mali and Russia have a long history of friendly relations. According to a research by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Russia provided Mali with the most weapons from 2017 to 2021.
The secretive and momentarily mutinous mercenary organisation Wagner has also dug themselves deep into Mali.
According to independent experts consulted by the UN Human Rights Council in January, the UN has charged Wagner mercenaries with committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, many of which were committed against civilians.
The UN experts stated, “We are particularly alarmed by credible reports that over the course of several days in late March 2022, Malian armed forces together with military personnel thought to be members of the Wagner Group executed several hundred people, who had been rounded up in Moura, a village in central Mali.”
For a response, the Mali government has been approached.
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Russian airstrikes on Odesa result in one fatality, four injuries, and cathedral damage
Russian missiles poured down on southern Ukraine overnight, resulting in at least one death and 22 injuries.
Oleh Kiper, the regional governor, reported that 14 persons, including three children, were hospitalised as a result of the explosions in the Black Sea city of Odesa.
Since the Kremlin cancelled the UN-backed grain accord, Vladimir Putin‘s soldiers have continued to target the major grain export hub.
One missile hit the historic Transfiguration Cathedral, which was built in the 18th century, destroyed under Stalin and then rebuilt in the early 2000s.
Despite the damage, the building is still standing (Picture: AFP) 
A boy helps salvage items at the Transfiguration Cathedral (Picture: AP) Footage shared on Telegram shows the interior of the building partially destroyed, and a number of Orthodox shrines damaged.
The floors can be seen covered in rubble and chunks ripped off the ornate walls.
‘The destruction is enormous, half of the cathedral is now roofless,’ Archdeacon Andrii Palchuk said.
‘All the windows and stucco moulding were blown out. There was a fragmentary fire, the part where icons and candles are sold in the church caught fire. It was all on fire, burning.’
He said the damage was caused by a direct hit from a missile that penetrated the building down to the basement and caused significant damage.
Two people who were inside at the time of the strike were wounded.
It is Odesa’s largest church and it is located in the city centre, which is a UNESCO world heritage site.
‘The Kasperovska icon of the Mother of God, who is the patroness of Odesa, was retrieved from under the rubble,’ the administration said on its Telegram channel.
Rescuers search for people trapped under rubble (Picture: AFP) Emergency workers walk through the rubble of apartment buildings in Odesa (Picture: AP) Six residential buildings, including apartment buildings, were also destroyed in the attack.
In central Odesa, some people became trapped in their apartments as a result of the damage.
Rubble can be seen strewn in the street and partly blocking the road, and damage to power lines.
Svitlana Molcharova was rescued by emergency workers, but after receiving first aid, she refused to leave her destroyed apartment.
‘I will stay here,’ the 85-year-old told rescuers.
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack and vowed that the enemy will ‘feel the retaliation’.
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s security council, said in a statement on Facebook: ‘The main purpose of Russia’s missile attacks on Odesa and the region is an attempt to cut off Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea, and to use intimidation to prevent and neutralise international efforts to restore the functioning of the grain corridor.’
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Ukrainian doctor recalls living in ‘war on healthcare’ crosshairs of Russia
Volodymyr Ventsel initially experienced rage when coming under Russian fire while attempting to protect innocent lives.
The paramedic now sees being targeted by Russian forces as a regular occurrence in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine.
He is one of the first responders caught in the crossfire of Vladimir Putin‘s massive invasion as hospitals are repeatedly attacked.
The 27-year-old described how Moscow’s operators’ strategies include waiting until first responders approach to the area of a bombardment before attacking them.
The UK Ministry of Defence said this week that ‘a war on healthcare is raging in Ukraine’ and highlighted a figure showing there have been more than 1,000 attacks on the sector since February 24 last year.
Volodymyr’s experiences bear out the pattern of Russian attacks on medics in contravention of international law. He also told how international assistance is aiding Kharkiv’s Centre for Emergency Assistance and Medicine of Catastrophe, which has a fleet bolstered by 21 ‘Type C’ ambulances donated by the official Ukrainian fundraising platform United24.
‘From my experience, the Russian forces are intentionally targeting medics,’ Volodymyr said. ‘In Kharkiv they will even wait for about 15 minutes after a missile attack and then check with drones to see if the emergency services are arriving on the scene.
Volodymyr Ventsel (left), Oleksandra Rudkovska-Rubann and Serhiy Sushitski work in Kharkiv (Picture: United24) ‘Then they will carry out another attack in exactly the same place.
‘There was a situation when the ambulance was stationary in the city and an attack began, which damaged the truck and destroyed medical equipment. It happens quite often.
‘At first, I was angry, now I am used to the fact that these are people with no value for human life, that these types of attacks are just normal for them.
‘They do not care that it is forbidden to attack medical staff, especially when they are providing assistance to other people.’
The intervention of the team with modern equipment and vehicles is making the difference between life and death (Picture: United24) Ukraine’s second city has been in the eye of Russian fire over the 18 months of war to date, with the shelling, suicide drone and missile strikes continuing after Moscow’s troops were beaten back from the region.
The invaders have also dropped cluster munitions on residential areas of Kharkiv, according to Human Rights Watch.
In March 2023, Volodymyr’s team arrived at the scene of an ambulance which had been hit by artillery fire. Mobile phone footage shows the medics starting to work on one of the casualties close to the gutted remains of the vehicle, which had been clearly marked with a cross.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk from the city, Volodymyr said: ‘One night, my team was on the way to a call when we heard bombing.
‘We stopped and some people told us our assistance would be needed.
‘Five minutes later we found an ambulance that had been damaged by artillery fire and had crashed into some concrete blocks on the Kharkiv city highway as the driver tried to escape an area under attack.
‘We could smell the explosives and see some craters in the ground nearby.
‘The driver was injured, and some of the equipment in the truck was destroyed. Our team was in one of the ambulances provided by United24 and managed to help those who had been hurt.
‘There were 11 casualties, with four having very serious injuries while others escaped with grazes. The ambulance and excellent equipment from United24 helped to save people’s lives in this incident.’
The state-run centre has a fleet of around 100 ambulances covering Kharkiv, with approximately another 240 assigned to the wider oblast.
In the city, each of the clearly marked vehicles is assigned to a ‘brigade’ of three responders, with the teams working around the clock in shifts.
Ukraine’s lifesavers face dangers starkly illustrated by WHO reports showing there were 1,067 attacks on healthcare facilities between February 24 last year and yesterday. They resulted in 101 deaths and 139 injuries, according to the agency’s surveillance system.
The vast majority were caused by heavy weapons.
In a tweet on Tuesday, the UK Ministry of Defence said the ‘war on healthcare’ involved Russian forces ‘deliberately targeting hospitals, healthcare facilities & healthcare workers’.
Intentionally attacking medics and healthcare facilities is a war crime according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Volodymyr feels a ‘great responsibility’ to continue saving lives — even if it means placing himself in danger.
‘The main types of injuries we encounter are a result of Russian artillery and rocket fire, they include amputations and other traumas and injuries,’ he said. ‘We feel a great responsibility when we go out to use our specialist skills to save people’s lives.
‘As for the future, all we want is for the war to finish with Ukraine’s victory.’
Russian forces have targeted civilian objects throughout the war, as evidenced by the work of the Tribunal4Putin coalition who spoke to Metro.co.uk earlier this month.
Three successive nights of missile and drone strikes have been launched against port and grain infrastructure in southern Ukraine following the Kremlin’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain deal, the US Institute for the Study of War said this morning.
On the battlefield, Ukraine was continuing counter-offensive operations, with likely advances on three areas of the eastern front, according to an update from the UK Ministry of Defence yesterday.
Launched by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, United24 is contributing to the defence through a ‘process that brings Ukraine’s victory closer’, which involves work with organisations and high-profile ambassadors across the world.
Former Chelsea ace Andriy Shevchenko and Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko are supporting the platform through the Game4Ukraine due to take place Stamford Bridge on August 5.
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Russians urged to work as spies for UK – MI6 head
Russians who are’silently shocked’ by Vladimir Putin‘s conflict in Ukraine have been asked to join the British intelligence community as spies.
In a rare public address, Sir Richard Moore persuaded individuals who were unhappy with the invasion and their country’s way of life to divulge their information in order to stop the slaughter.
The head of MI6 revealed that’many’ had already made this decision in the previous 18 months.
In a speech in Prague, he said: ‘There are many Russians who are silently appalled by the sight of their armed forces pulverising Ukrainian cities, expelling innocent families from their homes and kidnapping thousands of children.
‘They are watching in horror as their soldiers ravage a kindred country.
‘They know in their hearts that Putin’s case for attacking a fellow Slavic nation is fraudulent, a miasma of lies and fantasy.’
Sir Richard stressed ‘many Russians are wrestling with the same dilemmas and the same tugs of conscience’ as their predecessors did in 1968 when the Soviet tanks crushed the Prague spring uprisings.
‘I invite them to do what others have already done this past 18 months and join hands with us. Our door is always open,’ the veteran intelligence officer said.
‘We will handle their offers of help with the discretion and professionalism for which my service is famed.
‘Their secrets will always be safe with us. And together we will work to bring the bloodshed to an end.’
His appeal comes just months after the US foreign intelligence service posted a recruitment video on Telegram, telling Russians how to get in touch with them anonymously and securely.
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Two killed and one injured after ‘attack’ on bridge connecting Crimea to Russia
In an incident that destroyed the main bridge connecting Crimea to Russia‘s mainland, the Ukrainian Security Service apparently claimed responsibility.
Early this morning, after what they called a “emergency,” officials shuttered the 12-mile (19-km) bridge.
At the eastern end of the Kerch Bridge in the Krasnodar area, the health ministry reported two fatalities on the bridge, along with a daughter who was also hurt.
Sources told BBC Russian and Ukrainian news site censor.net that the attack was carried out as a ‘special operation’ by Ukraine’s naval forces and Security Service.
Separately, the Russian-installed head of the Crimean parliament Vladimir Konstantinov also said Ukraine was responsible, blaming it on the ‘terrorist regime in Kyiv’.
The incident prompted immediate speculation on messaging app Telegram, with pro-Kremlin channel Readovka suggesting ‘a missile attack was carried out on the Crimean bridge, as a result of which the 145th support pillar collapsed’.
There has been no confirmation that any of the 600 pillars on the bridge have collapsed, and Russia’s transport ministry said only the road surface was affected.
A video believed to be filmed this morning shows a large gap between sections of road.
Governor Sergei Aksyonov said he expected rail traffic on the bridge to resume within a matter of hours, though no such assurances were given for road traffic.
A low-quality image reportedly captures a significant explosion on the bridge last night (Credits: Romanov92/e2w) On Telegram, he wrote: ‘An emergency occurred in the area of the 145th support from the [Russian side of the bridge].
‘Measures are being taken to restore the situation. I ask residents and guests of the peninsula to refrain from traveling through the Crimean bridge and, for security reasons, choose an alternative land route through new regions.’
The Kerch Bridge is a vital supply route for the war in Ukraine, providing rail and road links to the rest of Russia through the region it annexed in 2014.
Opened in 2018, it has been described as Vladimir Putin’s flagship infrastructure project and a major feat of engineering.
It was damaged in October by a truck bomb on its roadway, and only fully reopened in February.
Several question remain about who carried out last year’s attack and how, but it was celebrated by the Ukrainian government and the country’s postal service released a stamp to commemorate the event.
Oleksiy Danilov, who leads Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, posted a video of Marilyn Monroe singing ‘Happy Birthday, Mr President’ alongside a clip of the explosion, which happened the day after Putin turned 70.
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Crucial grain export agreement with Ukraine and Russia about to expire
Without Russia’s consent, a critical agreement authorising the sale of grain from Ukraine is likely to expire on Monday.
According to Reuters, the last ship to travel as part of the Black Sea Agreement departed the port of Odesa early on Sunday.
On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin informed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa over the phone that the deal had not achieved its goals.
According to a Kremlin readout of the conversation, “[Putin] stressed that the obligations set out in the pertinent Russia-UN memorandum to remove barriers to the export of Russian food and fertilisers still remain unfulfilled.”
“Moreover, the main goal of the deal, namely the supply of grain to countries in need, including those on the African continent, has not been realized,” it said.
Putin has previously complained about restrictions over its own exports but has agreed to previous extensions.
The deal, which was first brokered by Turkey and the United Nations following the outbreak of Russia’s war on Ukraine in July 2022, creates procedures to ensure the safe export of grain from Ukrainian ports.
Under the deal, grain ships are able to navigate through a safe corridor in the Black Sea under the direction of Ukrainian pilots, and then pass through the Bosphorus Strait – an important shipping corridor in north-west Turkey – in order to reach global markets.
It has proven vital for stabilizing global food prices and bringing relief to the developing countries who rely on Ukrainian exports.
The deal’s survival continues to rest in Russia’s hands, and Moscow has repeatedly threatened to quit the pact.
Prior to its third renewal in May, the Kremlin had remained elusive as to whether it would remain in the deal, before agreeing to a last-minute extension.
Russia also suspended its participation for a few days in late October and early November 2022, citing drone attacks on the city of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea.
Moscow later announced that it would reverse course and rejoin the agreement for a further 120 days, following mediation.
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Special forces of Ukraine promise to track down Russian war criminals ‘anywhere in the world’
A representative for the elite troops has stated that Ukraine’s special forces will be “heavily involved” in finding Russians responsible for atrocities.
After winning the conflict on the battlefield, the operators will work to hold individuals liable for war crimes and other cruel deeds, according to Lieutenant Colonel Oleksandr Kindratenko, who spoke to Metro.co.uk.
The representative of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SOF) claimed that the ‘warriors’ are prepared to work with Kyiv’s intelligence and security services to find the criminals anywhere in the globe.
Last week, Metro.co.uk told how the civilian-led Tribunal 4 Putin coalition is recording Russian war crimes on a daily basis, with the figure currently standing at more than 45,000 since the start of the full-scale invasion.
A war crimes warrant has been issued for Vladimir Putin by the International Crime Court and work involving a number of international civilian and government agencies and organisations is underway to document and record new cases on a daily basis.
Ukraine’s special forces have undertaken wide-ranging operations since the start of the full-scale invasion (Picture: Special Operations Forces of Ukraine) ‘The main motivation for Ukraine’s SOF warriors is to free our land and bring the victory,’ Lt Col Kindratenko said.
‘But after the victory our motivation will be to make sure all those responsible for crimes are held accountable and to do everything possible to stop Russia starting aggression against any other nation in the region.
‘We spill our blood and sweat for other countries not to know what it is like.’
An insight into how the Russian atrocities committed in places like Bucha and Mariupol has fed into the mindset of Ukrainian soldiers was given earlier this week when a SOF sniper told how he channelled his ‘cold rage’ into his work on the battlefield in the eastern Donbas region.
In some cases, the operators haven’t had to look far, with Moscow’s troops recording their acts of brutality and sharing them on social media.
One gruesome example came in April 2023 when a video emerged appearing to show Russian soldiers beheading a Ukrainian prisoner of war.
‘Regarding holding Russia accountable for all those horrific atrocities, for the Ukrainian SOF it is a matter of principle and honour,’ the senior officer said.
‘I am convinced that Ukrainian SOF, in concert with other Intelligence and Security agencies, will be heavily involved in a process of holding all those war criminals accountable. The SOF are ready to conduct any operations and missions which are directed by higher military and political command.
‘Moreover, we are looking closely at and tracing all those atrocities which the occupiers film and publish online. I am more than sure that all those criminals will be punished and the SOF will play their role in this process.
‘Regardless of where in the world they might be, we will definitely find them.
‘The aggressor’s accountability for the crimes must be inevitable.’
Lt Col Kindratenko’s stern warning raises the prospect of Russians and their proxies who carried out or facilitated war crimes being hunted down in covert, integrated operations far beyond Ukraine’s borders.
The SOF units currently active on the battlefield include the 8th Separate Regiment, which is active in the Donbas and the Navy Seals-style 73rd Naval Centre, which spearheaded the liberation of Snake Island.
The use of special forces in hunting targets responsible for mass murder was famously deployed by Israel against Nazi war criminals and members of the Palestinian terror group who murdered 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team. Parallels have already been drawn between the Mossad’s operations and the brief that might combine Kyiv’s SOF and intelligence services.
Ukraine’s ability to pinpoint Russian generals on occupied territory has already been demonstrated. On Tuesday, Lieutenant-General Oleg Tsokov, who knew Putin personally, was said by Ukrainian and Russian sources to have been killed in a strike with a UK-supplied Storm Shadow missile.
A series of mystery explosions and assassinations have also taken place on Russian soil since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, although no party has claimed responsible for these. On Monday, Russian army officer Stanislav Rzhitsky, said to have commanded a submarine responsible for deadly missile attacks on Ukraine, was gunned down while jogging in his home city of Krasnodar. Drone strikes have also taken the war to Moscow, including through the double attack on the Kremlin citadel in May.
Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for any of the incidents, although some have drawn wry and cryptic remarks from officials.
Lt Col Kindratenko also delivered an uncompromising message about restoring Ukraine’s lawful borders as they were as of 1991, when the nation gained independence from the former Soviet Union.
‘One more reason why we are fighting is that no one should be above the law, especially international law,’ he said. ‘Our Supreme Commander in Chief, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has stated many times that Ukrainian territorial integrity is not a matter for discussion.
‘And this includes the Crimean Peninsula and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and all territories which were illegally captured by Russia.
‘Our goal is to return our territories as of 1991 when Ukrainian independence was proclaimed. Of course, there are different developments and timeframes, but we will do everything possible to make that happen.’
On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces are reportedly making hard-fought advances on at least three fronts in the east of the country.
While the fighting has been intense and costly for both sides, Ukraine is developing its training for the elite operators.
Lessons learned on the battlefield have been integrated into the ‘Q’ or qualification course, with three held since the beginning of the full-scale invasion so far. A milestone was reached this week when the first woman, known only as ‘Number 68’, passed the gruelling selection.
Lt Col Kindratenko gave Metro.co.uk a rare insight into the work taking place to produce Ukraine’s next generation of special operators.
‘All of the instructors who are in the training have their own combat experience which they transfer to the candidates,’ he said.
‘This course is unique among all such courses within the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It comprises the experience we have gained from our Western partners, as well as our own experiences from the very beginning of the Russian aggression against our country.
‘We have enough service members from all branches and services of the Armed Forces who are willing to become a part of the SOF family.
‘In their units, in their positions, they have reached a certain level of mastery, but they feel the potential and ability to be better and perform tasks as part of the Special Operations Forces.’
Those graduating from the Q course include military personnel who are already battle-hardened and under no illusions about the dangers they face after 17 months of all-out war.
‘Given that candidates are making this decision during a full-scale war, they understand all the challenges and risks that SOF operators face while conducting special operations,’ Lt Col Kindratenko said.
‘Most of them see with their own eyes the work of the SOF in combat conditions, its effectiveness and efficiency, and understand its importance and want to join it themselves.
‘But disregarding the fact that we are currently fighting a war, the selection and training process is even harder than it was before.
‘Our motto says that “Quality Prevails Quantity” and we stick to it. Well-trained and equipped operators are a priority for us.’
Mykola Bielieskov, a research fellow at the National Institute for Strategic Studies, which advises Mr Zelenskyy, raised the prospect of a clandestine form of justice taking place in parallel to work by international courts aimed at bringing Putin and others in front of The Hague.
‘I hope that the covert operations will continue after Ukraine wins the victory, as the system of international justice is a slow and ineffective instrument,’ he said. ‘The issue of establishing justice to make war criminals accountable is very important so I hope it will be done.
‘Striking at war criminals and applying all the different types of measures available would be an important option to complement the work of the international courts, such as the International Criminal Court.’
On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces were said to have made gains ‘in some areas’ as they conducted counter-offensive areas in at least three sectors of the front, the US Institute for the Study of War said.
The main thrusts of attack were reported by the UK Ministry of Defence as being likely targeted at the area around Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region to the south and Vuhledar and Bakhmut further north.
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Putin ally’s daughter discovered dead in flat
The beautiful Russian daughter of a Putin ally was discovered dead in her flat after apparently complaining of feeling ill.
The concierge of Natalia Bochkareva’s building in Moscow’s Presnensky District sounded the alarm, leading to her discovery.
Before discovering her dead on Tuesday, police officers pounded on the door.
The 44-year-old had complained of feeling ill the day before, according to the concierge.
According to preliminary reports, there were no signs of a violent death.
Her death is the latest in a long line of high-profile Russian figures to suddenly die in mysterious circumstances.
Ms Bochkareva was the daughter of the late Vasily Bochkarev, who governed Penza Oblast from 1998 to 2015.
A year after leaving office, the 67-year-old, who belonged to Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, died from lung cancer.
Ms Bochkareva managed the family’s lumber-processing and bakery businesses after her father’s death.
Two years ago she hit headlines for falling for scam. It’s reported she sent a self-styled fortune teller 16 million rubles (£136,000) to remove a curse.
But after receiving the money, the fortune teller broke off all contact with Natalia and, according to Ms Bochkareva, failed to fulfil her part of the agreement.
The police ended up getting involved.
According to some reports, Natalia suffered from heart problems.
Other recent deaths of Russia’s elite include that of 28-year-old Kristina Baikova in June.
Ms Baikova, a vice-president at Loko-Bank, allegedly fell from her 11th floor apartment in Moscow.
In February Russian defence official Marina Yankina, 58, also fell from an apartment window and died.
As head of the financial support department of the Ministry of Defence, Ms Yankina was a key figure in the funding of the war.
Her death was reported as a suspected suicide – although this is common in Russia before any investigation is carried out or when facts are unclear.
In May meanwhile, Russia’s deputy science minister, Pyotr Kucherenko, thought to be a critic of the war, died suddenly after falling ill on a flight back to Moscow after a work trip in Cuba, the Mail Online reports.
In April, Igor Shkurko, the deputy general director of Russian energy company Yakutskenergo, was found dead in his prison cell
The 49-year-old was a member of the pro-Putin United Russia political party but his membership was suspended following the bribe accusation.
Two months earlier, Russian oil boss Viatcheslav Rovneiko, 59, was ‘found unconscious’ late at night at his home.
Doctors were unable to save him, a report in Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper claimed.
On December 26, Pavel Antonov – a wealthy sausage tycoon, local politician and a Putin critic – died in India after falling out of a hotel window.
His friend Vladimir Bidenov was found dead in the same hotel four days earlier.
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Women in Belarus ‘flee in terror’ after Wagner gang tents materialise
The Wagner Group‘s new base outside a village in Belarus has seen the light of day in its first images.
Near the village of Tsel, massive tents have been erected as barracks for the group that conducted a coup against Vladimir Putin’s government in late June.
Vladimir Putin dismissed charges against the Wagner soldiers and their commander Yevgeny Prigozhin after the failed uprising in order to stop “bloodshed.”
But Prigozhin was forced into exile in Belarus, where president Aleksandr Lukashenko also offered to station some of the mercenary fighters.
Their move to Belarus has forced ‘young women and girls’ living nearby in Mogilev region to flee, according to one report.
The group will leave Lukashenko ‘trembling with fear’ as they are ‘extremely undesirable and dangerous’ to his regime, according to Valery Sakhashchyk, defence and security spokesman for the exiled Belarusian government-in-waiting.
The former commander of the Belarusian 38th Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade, he told the i newspaper the overwhelming majority of the country’s forces were opposed to Wagner staying in the ex-Soviet state.
Wagner fighters comprise of hardened criminals released from Russian jails,including rapists and murderers.
They were freed by Putin to fight in their invasion of Ukraine.
Crimean Wind Telegram channel said: ‘Young women and girls living near the location of the PMC Wagner detachments in the Mogilev region began to travel to relatives in other regions of Belarus for fear of being subjected to violence by Prigozhin’s militants.’
The initial encampment holds up to 298 tents accommodating 30 people each, it was reported.
A report said: ‘The first group of Wagner mercenaries has already settled in Belarus and is practicing tank manoeuvres.
‘Another camp is going to be built near Baranovichi.’
Despite tents being seen, there is still some mystery over Prigozhin’s whereabouts, he said.
‘The Wagner leader apparently arrived in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, last week after two his private planes touched down at a military airfield – but the jets then returned to Russia,’ Mr Sakhashchyk said.
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Putin’s closest buddy criticises ‘completely crazy West’
One of Vladimir Putin‘s closest supporters has warned the ‘totally crazy West’ that its ongoing support for Ukraine puts Russia and the West at risk of going to war.
Former Russian President and current vice-chairman of the influential Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, declared that “World War Three is drawing near.”
A new “long-term” security plan for Kyiv is about to be unveiled by the G7 in an effort to “end the war and deter and respond to any future attack.”
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the biggest risk is Vladimir Putin winning the war, which he described as being ‘a tragedy for Ukraine’ but ‘a danger to us’.
Russia, which says NATO’s eastward expansion is an existential threat to its own security, swiftly lashed out at the proposals.
Writing on the Telegram messaging app, Mr Medvedev said: ‘The completely crazy West could not come up with anything else… In fact, it’s a dead end. World War Three is getting closer.
‘What does all this mean for us? Everything is obvious. The special military operation will continue with the same goals.’
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that security assurances for Ukraine would be a dangerous mistake that would expose Europe to greater risks for years ahead.
Commenting on the proposed security assurances, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said ‘We consider this to be badly mistaken and potentially very dangerous.
‘Because by providing any kind of security guarantees for Ukraine, these countries would be ignoring the international principle on the indivisibility of security.
‘By providing guarantees to Ukraine, they would be impinging on the security of the Russian Federation.’
It was impossible for Moscow to tolerate anything that threatened its own security, Mr Peskov added, saying he hoped that politicians in the West would realise the risks attached to providing Ukraine with such assurances, a move he said would carry ‘highly negative consequences’.
‘By taking such a decision, these countries will make Europe much more dangerous for many, many years to come. And, of course they will do a disservice to us, something we will take into account.’
Some pro-Kremlin figures gloated at the fact that NATO a day earlier had told Ukraine that it could join ‘when conditions are met’ while stopping short of naming a date or specifying the conditions.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it was a lesson for Kyiv which she said proved the West made up its own rules of the game to fit its agenda.
‘This is the “rules-based order” invented by Westerners,’ she wrote on Telegram.
‘Smarter people don’t take part in it, since there are no rules – they are invented on the go, and they change if the game doesn’t bring the desired result,’ she said.
Konstantin Kosachyov, deputy chairman of Russia’s upper house of parliament, said the outcome was a humiliation for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
He claimed NATO was exploiting Kyiv to wage war on Russia while keeping it out because of the risk of nuclear confrontation.
‘In the end, Kyiv was shown its place: to serve as expendable material, to destroy its soldiers for NATO without guarantees of membership in it, and in general to keep its distance from the alliance for now because Ukraine clearly “smells” of a nuclear war in which “real” Europeans will die,’ Kosachyov wrote on Telegram.
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Putin allegedly fires chief commander in charge of war against Ukraine – Report
It has been reported that Vladimir Putin has fired another top general in command of the conflict with Ukraine.
As a result of Wagner’s failed coup attempt last month, the Russian autocrat has kept the upper echelon under control.
It has been claimed that General Valery Gerasimov, 67, was fired from his position as war commander less than six months after his appointment.
He has been replaced by Colonel-General Mikhail Teplinskiy, according to Russian media.
Gerasimov has only been in the role for around six months (Picture: REUTERS) The move by Putin – which has not officially been confirmed – is the latest upheaval in the command of his almost 17-month invasion of Ukraine.
During the war, Putin has fired several leaders including Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, also known as ‘The Butcher of Mariupol’, as well as General Rustam Muradov who was behind the massacre in Vuhledar earlier this year.
Gerasimov will reportedly remain in charge of the Russian armed forces as chief of the general staff but overall responsibility for the war now goes to Teplinskiy.
He will become commander of the country’s airborne troops, according to The Moscow Times citing military-linked pro-war Z-channels.
It comes after Putin, desperately recovering from Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny last month, is furious by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky bringing key commanders of the Azov regiment home from Turkey.
The dictator claims he has been ‘deceived’ over an agreement at the end of the Siege of Mariupol that Azov commander Denys Prokopenko, 32, and his lieutenants would remain in Turkey until the end of the raging war.
Putin is also likely to be further enraged by Zelensky’s visit to the liberated Snake Island in the Black Sea to mark the 500th day of the war.
The reported move to fire Gerasimov comes just weeks after Wagner’s armed revolt against Putin’s regime which was instigated by the private mercenary group’s warlord leader Prigozhin, once a close Putin crony.
The reported removal of Gerasimov also coincides with a NATO summit in Lithuania this week which is expected to deepen Western support for Ukraine, and a decision by US president Joe Biden to sanction the supply of controversial cluster bombs to Kyiv.
Gerasimov has not been seen in public since the mutiny as Putin seeks to pin blame elsewhere for failings in the war.
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Belarus has ‘already determined’ to use nuclear weapons against the West – Lukashenko
The West has received a nuclear warning from Alexander Lukashenko weeks after his nation began receiving Russian tactical nuclear weapons.
Targets for strikes in the event of aggression have already been decided, according to the president of Belarus.
He declared: “We are not going to attack anyone with nuclear weapons” at a meeting with foreign reporters at his Minsk mansion.
You can forget about using nuclear weapons as long as you don’t hit us. However, the reaction will be immediate if you act aggressively. The goals have been selected.
His stark warning comes as Ukraine is still grappling with the ‘serious threat’ at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has called for ‘full and immediate’ access to the site to examine for ‘explosives’.
Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, also gave an update about the whereabouts of Yevgeny Prigozhin.
‘As for Prigozhin, he is in St Petersburg. He is not on the territory of Belarus,’ he said.
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Russia will hold illegal ‘elections’ in the occupied areas of Kherson Oblastin September, regional governer Yurii Sobolevskyi has confirmed.
The Ukrainian official cited the formation of a ‘Kherson Oblast election commission,’ set up by the Russian occupation authorities and urged locals not to take part in the process.
‘The occupiers set the dates of elections in the Kherson region — September 8, 9, 10. This was officially announced by the “head of the Kherson Region Election Commission” from the occupation authorities,’ he wrote on Telegram.
‘These actions have nothing to do with the election process and are absolutely illegal. Considering the way they already conducted the “referendum”, you can’t call it anything other than a circus and theater of the absurd.
‘I want to remind everyone that there will be responsibility for participating in the organization of this show. Each person will be held accountable.’
Russia’s central election commission also confirmed plans to hold illegal votes in the four partially-occupied Ukrainian oblasts of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk.
The sham vote, which is expected to take place on the same day as elections in Russian regions, shows the Kremlin’s desire to present the areas as integral parts of Russia, according to the U.K. Defense Ministry.
The UK government has named Martin Harris as its next ambassador to Ukraine, starting in September.
A longstanding diplomat, Harris previously served as the British ambassador to Romania between 2010-14 and has worked closely with HM goverment on diplomatic missions in both Moscow and Kyiv.
He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2010, and a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in 2023.
Outgoing ambassador to Kyiv, Melinda Simmons, who was appointed to the role in 2019, will take another diplomatic service appointment, the government said in a statement.
Ukraine plans to abandon conscription and move to a professional army after the war with Russia to bring Kyiv closer to NATO standards, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Thursday.
After a meeting with top defence and security officials at which reforms known as ‘the Ukrainian shield’ were discussed, Shmyhal said the government would also continue to focus on supporting a further increase in domestic weapons production.
‘The primary task is to complete the transition of the Security and Defence Forces of Ukraine to NATO standards. In all aspects: from equipment and weapons to planning and analysis,’ Shmyhal said on the Telegram messaging app.
‘After the end of the war, Ukraine will abandon the draft as it existed before the war. The foundation of our defence will be a professional army.’
The United States is expected to announce it will give cluster munitions to Ukraine for its fight against Russia’s invasion, the New York Times has reported, citing an unidentified senior Biden administration official.
Ukraine says it wants to use the explosives to clkear minefields andstrike at dug-in Russians, but Human Rights groups have criticised the move and say the unexploded bomblets are a threat to civilians.
Cluster munitions, banned by more than 120 countries, normally release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area, threatening civilians.
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Russia worries Wagner forces may blow up crucial bridge leading to Crimea
The Kerch bridge connecting the mainland to Crimea is under threat from dissatisfied Wagner fighters who have turned against Vladimir Putin, according to Russia.
Due to rigorous security checks, there were significant delays of up to seven hours for tourists seeking to pass the bridge to get to the Black Sea peninsula.
According to the citizen information agency InformNapalm, they went to great lengths, including sending kids to obtain x-rays and checking every component of the cars, even the glove compartments.
The 10-mile bridge, which was built at a cost of around £3 billion, links annexed Crimea to the Taman Peninsula of Krasnodar Krai on mainland Russia.
Delays also hit the nearby truck ferry service between the mainland and Crimea.
Concerns have been raised that angry Wagner fighters could be planning a violent bomb attack after Putin axed their army, according to a report.
The private army was central to one of the most dramatic days in recent Russian history last month, when Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin ordered it to march on Moscow as he raged about perceived mismanagement of the war in Ukraine.
Russians and governments around the world were preparing for the real possibility of a coup on June 23, before Prigozhin abruptly called off the march.
His soldiers left the southern military HQ at Rostov-on-Don, which they reportedly took over without much resistance, and he is believed to have left for Belarus under the terms of a deal brokered by Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko.
There are now worries Wagner mercenaries may attack the bridge, amid apparent anger that Putin may be reneging on the deal.
According to the Mirror, Telegram channel InformNapalm shared evidence for these fears.
The channel said: ‘Obviously, saboteurs are expected in Crimea.
‘It is possible that some attentive people passed information to the FSB that the Wagnerites are preparing to bring explosives and ammunition to Crimea, because the agreements on the part of the Kremlin have not been fully implemented.’
It is expected that some Wagner fighters will join Prigozhin in exile in Belarus while others will join the regular Russian army.
The delays over security checks for people crossing the Kerch bridge weren’t generally received well.
Nikolai Lukashenko, appointed by Putin to be in charge of transport in Crimea, said: ‘Staff numbers on the inspection lines have been increased and control over their work has been strengthened.
‘We apologise to citizens for the inconvenience.’
Many Russians are spending the summer in Crimea despite it being a possible target, because Western restrictions mean they can’t head to popular holiday destinations.
A bomb blast on a truck which was driving across the bridge in October last year also caused major damage to the Kerch Strait, and has been blamed on Ukraine.
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Putin to meet with other global leaders, including Xi Jinping
This week, Vladimir Putin will be the centre of attention as he is set to make his first public appearance since the Wagner rebellion put his iron grasp on power in jeopardy.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a broadly pro-Russian regional security organisation managed by Beijing and Moscow, will hold a virtual summit on Tuesday, and Putin is slated to participate.
While the assembled leaders have so far given Putin a favourable audience, Putin’s appearance – if remotely – could provide some insight into the level of their support following last weekend’s turmoil.
In the brief, chaotic insurrection, Wagner – a private mercenary group led by warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin – took control of key military facilities in two Russian cities. As thousands of fighters marched toward Moscow, where the Kremlin deployed heavily armed troops to the streets, it seemed as if civil war was on the verge of breaking out.
A secretive deal abruptly ended the rebellion, with Wagner fighters pulling back and Prigozhin sent to Belarus. But one week later, much remains unclear about the inner workings of the deal, the fate of Wagner, and what this means for Putin’s regime.
These questions will likely be on the minds of other leaders attending Tuesday’s virtual summit, including China’s Xi Jinping, and India’s Narendra Modi – whose country is hosting this year’s gathering – as well as representatives from Asian states including Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – many of whom, like Putin, are strongmen rulers.
Experts believe Putin will use the forum to project an image of power, and reassure Moscow’s partners – and by extension the world – that he remains firmly in control.
“It’s virtual, so they’re not going to be there in person, otherwise they would be standing alongside each other, fellow strongmen showing strength,” said Derek Grossman, a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation, a US-based think tank.
According to Grossman, many of the leaders assembled at the summit look to Russia and China almost as models for how they want to run their societies as authoritarian regimes.
“If Putin is kind of shaken by this (insurrection) visibly, then that would tell them something – that even even the strongest of strongmen is not necessarily immune to potential insurgencies within their countries,” Grossman said.
Founded in 2001 by China, Russia and several former Soviet states in Central Asia to combat terrorism and promote border security, the SCO has grown in size and reach in recent years, amid efforts by Xi and Putin to counter Western influence.
Iran is expected to become a full member this year, after signing a memorandum of obligations at last year’s summit; Belarus, a close Russian partner that helped launch the initial invasion of Ukraine, is also invited as an observer state, and could soon seek full membership, experts say.
Xi and Putin, long the world’s two most powerful autocrats, have established close ties in recent years, declaring a friendship with “no limits” in February 2022, shortly before Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine.
China has since refused to condemn the war and instead provided much-needed diplomatic and economic support for Russia, while blaming NATO for provoking the conflict and amplifying Kremlin misinformation.
But Putin’s faltering war has placed pressure on the China-Russia partnership.
“(Xi) doesn’t want to completely spoil China’s relationships in Europe over this, he doesn’t want China to become a bigger target of NATO than it already was before the war,” said Grossman, though he noted the larger benefits of the Russia-China relationship outweigh whatever doubts Xi may have about the faltering war and its impact on China’s global image.
On Tuesday, Xi will deliver a keynote speech to the summit via video link, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. For Putin, a clear demonstration of support from Xi would be of significant value.
Yasuhiro Matsuda, a professor at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia at the University of Tokyo, suggested that Beijing was in a difficult position because “Russia is losing, and it’s not something that China can control.”
After Putin invaded, the ideal outcome for China was a quick victory for Russia, in which Zelensky’s administration collapsed and Europe and the US were powerless to act, said Matsuda.
“That was the best scenario for China – and its gone already,” Matsuda said.
On Tuesday, “Xi Jinping also has to show his authority and power to the domestic audience. So he will behave as he behaved before,” he added.
The insurrection against Moscow could be the biggest test of Russia-China relations
Western powers and observers in democratic countries have widely cast the failed insurrection in Russia as a moment of weakness for Putin. But it may be viewed very differently by fellow authoritarian leaders attending the summit, who have previously faced their own power struggles, experts noted.
SCO member Kazakhstan saw deadly protests in 2022, fueled by widespread discontent with the government. The ensuing violence saw more than 160 people killed and thousands detained, with authorities requesting troops from Russia to help contain the unrest.
By contrast, Putin managed to end the Wagner insurrection before it reached the capital, without bloodshed. He sent his challenger, Prigozhin, into exile and may even gain control over any Wagner fighters who agree to sign contracts with the Russian military.
“In the eyes of the Chinese and other members of (the SCO), this is an amazing achievement, because not many statesmen can do that,” said Alexander Korolev, a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at the University of New South Wales in Australia.
That’s not to say the other members won’t have questions about what happened, Korolev said.
“(But) I think they understand that (the insurrection) is not the end of Putin’s regime,” he said. “In authoritarian regimes, leaders do get challenged from time to time, and he has demonstrated to the world and to his elites that he can handle enormous challenges.”
In a sea of authoritarian leaders, India’s Modi remains something of an odd man out.
Democratically elected Modi, who attends this year’s SCO summit fresh from his meeting with US President Joe Biden during a state visit to Washington, has become a key figure in Western efforts to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
“India stands apart from the rest in the SCO, but I don’t think they feel uncomfortable in the least because their foreign policy is really all about being friends to all, enemies to none. I don’t see them speaking up or anything like that,” said RAND’s Grossman.
This year’s summit, though virtual, is being hosted by India. The grouping’s defense and foreign ministers attended in-person meetings in the Indian state of Goa earlier this year.
India has strong ties with Russia, which remains India’s biggest arms supplier. New Delhi has not taken a definitive side on the Ukraine war, and its continued purchase of Russian oil has helped prop up Moscow’s economy – to the dismay of some Western partners.
Modi made headlines at last year’s in-person SCO summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, when he told Putin that now is not the time for war, appearing to directly rebuff the invasion. But India’s continued economic support of Russia has undermined that message of peace – and last year’s statement may be as far as Modi is willing to go, Grossman said.
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CIA director reportedly met Zelensky on a trip – US official
As reported by US official, CIA Director William Burns recently visited Ukraine where he met with the president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Ukrainian intelligence officers.
Since the start of Russia’s most current attack more than a year ago, director Burns has often visited Ukraine, the official told CNN. “Like on previous visits, the director met with his Ukrainian intelligence counterparts and President Zelensky, reiterating the US commitment to intelligence sharing to support Ukraine’s defence against Russian aggression.”
The official noted that Burns traveled to Kyiv before Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellion, which was not a topic of discussion.
Another official told CNN that Burns also spoke to his Russian counterpart, Sergey Naryshkin, after the rebellion and reiterated that the US had nothing to do with it. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the call.
The Washington Post first reported on Burns’ most recent trip to Ukraine.
“Disaffection with the war will continue to gnaw away at the Russian leadership, beneath the steady diet of state propaganda and practiced repression,” Burns said Saturday in remarks to the Ditchley Foundation in England, according to a transcript of his speech.
“That disaffection creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us at CIA, at our core a human intelligence service. We’re not letting it go to waste,” he said.
CNN previously reported that the CIA has launched a new effort to recruit Russian spies that includes a social media campaign to convince Russians disaffected by the war in Ukraine and life in Russia to share their secrets.
Burns also addressed the recent Wagner Group rebellion, saying that Prigozhin’s actions and speech prior to his group’s attempted march to Moscow illustrate how the war has undermined Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s power.
“It is striking that Prigozhin preceded his actions with a scathing indictment of the Kremlin’s mendacious rationale for its invasion of Ukraine, and of the Russian military leadership’s conduct of the war. The impact of those words and those actions will play out for some time, a vivid reminder of the corrosive effect of Putin’s war on his own society and his own regime,” Burns said.
The Post also reported that Burns had met earlier in June with Ukrainian officials, who revealed a strategy to retake Russian-occupied territory and open cease-fire negotiations with Moscow by the end of the year, according to officials familiar with the visit.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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New base of Wagner Group in Belarus visible on satellite pictures
A putative new headquarters for the exiled Wagner mercenary gang has been revealed by satellite photographs that seem to suggest rapid building at an abandoned military station in Belarus.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, its leader, crossed the border from Russia as part of an agreement to put a stop to the militia’s uprising, which shook the Kremlin.
The dictatorial president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, who is a devoted supporter of Vladimir Putin, offered the guns for hire asylum after they were spared from being tried for treason.
Lukashenko said he had offered the private military company an ‘abandoned military unit’ to set up camp and promised to ‘help with whatever we can’.
‘We’re looking at it pragmatically -– if their commanders come to us and help us, (we get their) experience,’ Lukashenko said.
Although the base’s location has not been made public, Russian media have reported that Wagner could set up at a vacant military facility near the town of Osipovichi, about 50 miles from Minsk.
Images captured by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel 2 satellites on June 27 show rows of long structures in the nearby village of Tsel, in a field which had appeared empty on June 14.
Residents of the city of 30,000 said they were worried by the developments.
Inga, a 43-year-old doctor in Osipovichi, said: ‘There’s military equipment in the streets and Belarusian servicemen — all residents are discussing the arrival of Wagnerites and, frankly speaking, we’re panicking and are not happy about being neighbours with them.
‘I have teenage daughters. … How will we live next to thugs, pardoned murderers and rapists?’
Belarusian opposition and guerrilla activists, who called Wagner fighters ‘a threat to the Belarusian people and (the country’s) independence’, promised action.
Aliaksandr Azarau, leader of the BYPOL guerrilla group of former military members, said: ‘We’re categorically against stationing Russian mercenaries in Belarus and are preparing a “warm” welcome to Wagnerites in Belarus.’
Neighboring Baltic countries also expressed concerns about how this would affect regional security.
In a joint statement Wednesday, parliament speakers in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania urged the European Union to label Wagner a terrorist organisation.
‘The emergence of the Wagner mercenary group in Belarus could make the security situation on the eastern borders of NATO and the EU even more precarious,’ it read.
Lukashenko has been Putin’s closest ally, allowing Russia to use Belarus to send troops and weapons into Ukraine.
He has welcomed a continued Russian military presence in the country and the deployment there of some of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons.
But he has stressed that Wagner fighters ‘will not be guarding any nuclear weapons’.
Prigozhin himself arrived in Belarus on Monday, Lukashenko said, but his exact whereabouts are unknown.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has played down concerns that Wagner would pose a threat from Belarus.
He said the mercenaries probably wouldn’t go there in significant numbers and added that Ukraine’s military believes security along their border will remain ‘unchanged and controllable’.
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Putin cannot just ‘liquidate’ leaders of Wagner rebellion
An authority on Russian private military contractors has suggested that Vladimir Putin cannot just “kill his way out” of his conflict with the rebellious Wagner group.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the militia’s head, recently abandoned an advance on Moscow, and the president is attempting to quell his disobedience.
Prigozhin has been expelled to Belarus, and his old ally has threatened retaliation against the Wagner officials who are to blame.
But Alec Bertina, an all-source analyst at the Grey Dynamics private intelligence firm, said that the financier and his commanders still exert significant influence.
Assassinations and mysterious deaths routinely befall high-profile Russians who fall out of favour with the Kremlin, but this option would cause more problems than it would solve for Putin, Bertina told Metro.co.uk.
Prigozhin’s forces captured the city of Rostov-on-Don, a key Russian military centre, before a Wagner convoy headed north in the biggest challenge to Putin in more than 20 years.
Yevgeny Prigozhin makes a speech af the HQ of Russia’s southern military district in Rostov-on-Don (Picture: Wagner/Anadolu Agency via Getty) ‘Vladimir Putin knows he cannot simply kill his way out of this situation by liquidating Prigozhin and the Wagner leadership,’ Bertina said.
‘There is a real mess for everyone in the Kremlin to clean up.
‘This was very well planned and the question remains about the people who masterminded this with Prigozhin.
‘They were seemingly able to come up with a significant operation involving the seizure of the southern military command of Rostov, an important command and control node.
‘For the MoD to kill its way out of the problem they would need to liquidate and reconstitute those Wagner units, which is resource-intensive at a time when they are short of capable officers.’
Speaking from the Kremlin in a pre-recorded televised address yesterday evening, Putin said that those involved in the ‘criminal activity’ would be brought to justice. He is now inviting the mercenaries to sign over to Russia’s Ministry of Defence, but it remains to be seen if the battle-hardened fighters are prepared to abandon Prigozhin, who is reportedly staying at a hotel in Minsk, the Belarusian capital.
‘A lot of the Wagner operators will be upset at Prigozhin for ending this, as almost every combat element that has served in Ukraine has some animosity towards the MoD,’ Bertina said.
‘There is a balance between ensuring loyalty in your forces and not taking cut-throat measures that will backfire and make Russia look worse and more incapable than it already is. Putin does not have unity of command; he is a wartime leader who can’t control his men and has been left informationally vulnerable with Ukraine compelling Russian soldiers to surrender rather than fight for a regime on its last legs. In Russia, the elites are panicked and the existing discontent among the oligarchs will only grow.’
Prigozhin had repeatedly launched blistering video attacks on Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu and army chief Valery Gerasimov for failing to provide his mercenaries with enough ammunition during the bloody fight for the Ukrainian town of Bakhmut.
On Friday, he accused the Russian Ministry of Defence of launching a missile attack on one of his camps, before seizing Rostov, headquarters of Russia’s southern military district, the following morning. His units then advanced within 125 miles (200km) of Moscow.
Putin said the ‘rebellion’ was a ‘stab in the back’ before his former chef stood his troops down and apparently agreed to go into exile under a deal brokered via Belarussian president Aleksandr Lukashenko.
Wagner, along with all Russian private military companies, now has until July 1 to sign a contract bringing the group under the auspices of the Russian Ministry of Defence.
In his speech, Putin tried to persuade the militia’s estimated 50,000 fighters and leaders in Ukraine to come under the ministry’s command. The other stated options were to retire and go home or to go to Belarus.
The military’s supreme commander also praised Wagner commanders, which was framed by the US Institute for the Study of War as ‘likely critical’ to retaining them and maintaining the group’s effectiveness.
The research organisation said: ‘‘The future of the Wagner Group is unclear, but it will likely not include Yevgeny Prigozhin and may not continue to exist as a distinct or unitary entity.’
Putin further spoke at a speech in a Kremlin square today, praising the country’s military and law enforcement, who he said had ‘essentially prevented a civil war’.
However Bertina, a researcher on Russian non-traditional security actors, is sceptical about the president’s attempts to shore up his power.
‘One of Russia’s most effective forces will now have to undergo some element of reconstitution and possible liquidation of its leadership, which will be expensive as you don’t build up an organisation like Wagner overnight,’ he said.
‘Putin can still say he’s in power but it’s not much to go on, with even people on the pro-war side viewing their president as pathetic and questioning if he can lead effectively.
‘While there is no longer any kinetic conflict, this is far from finished, there are still difficulties getting Wagnerites to subordinate to the Ministry of Defence, and there is a lot of uncertainty about what the actual deal struck between Prigozhin and the Kremlin was.
‘The external statements put out by the Kremlin cannot be taken as indicative of what the deals actually contain.’
The Kremlin has said that Wagner is handing over its heavy weapons to the conventional military, but questions remain over its lucrative sphere of operations in Africa and its fighters’ willingness to join regular units.
‘Some Wagner elements might, while other elements will find it very hard to do,’ Bertina said. ‘While another kinetic confrontation is hard to see, the Wagnerites going to the front will be meeting their force counterparts who will be viewing them with suspicion and there will be a tension and uneasy relationship that might have a significant impact on the battlefield.
‘They went to Wagner to get paid more and also because they were led by a command structure outside of the Ministry of Defence, and that’s been taken away from them.’
In an 11-minute audio address released yesterday, Prigozhin said no one had agreed to sign a contract with the defence ministry and his firm was due to cease existence on the contract deadline day.
He portrayed his decision to turn his heavily armed convoy around on the road to Moscow as a move to avoid ‘shedding Russian blood’, with his actions borne of anger directed at the defence ministry rather than being an attempt to overthrow the government.
Rory Stewart, an independent MP and former House of Commons Defence Committee chair, speculated that Prigozhin had acted first because his ‘back was against the wall’ after an apparent ‘bungled attempt’ by the FSB, the KGB’s successor, to abduct him.
Bertina said: ‘Prigozhin was quite willing to take risks, and they were dangerous risks, but I’m not sure he was as cornered as some would suggest. It’s difficult to be certain about, but who knows?’
On the battlefield, Ukrainian Airborne forces ‘highly likely’ recaptured one of the first areas of territory occupied by Russia since 2014, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. The ‘small advances’ were made eastwards from the village of Krasnohorivka in the Donetsk region, according to the intelligence update this morning.
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Putin’s firm hold on power might start to wane
In Russia under Vladimir Putin, this simply does not occur. particularly in public.
The greatest challenge to the Russian president‘s hold on power has ever existed throughout his 23 years in charge of the nuclear state. The final selling point of his dictatorship, the veneer of complete control he had upheld all these time, has now fallen apart, and it is astonishing to watch.
Inevitable and impractical at the same time. Unavoidable because only a system as tightly controlled and impervious to criticism as the Kremlin could survive such a horrific misadventure due to the poorly managed war. Furthermore, it’s difficult since Putin’s detractors either disappear, jump out of windows, or are brutally poisoned. Nevertheless, the fifth-largest army in the world is now halfway through a weekend during which fratricide—the use of firearms against one’s own soldiers—was momentarily the only thing that could prevent the collapse of the Moscow elite.
At the time of writing, 24 hours of extraordinary shark-jumping culminated with Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin agreeing to reverse his advance to within 120 miles (200 kilometers) of Moscow’s city limits and send his columns back to “field camps, according to the plan.” It is a last-minute reversal intended, he said, to avoid “bloodshed.” Shortly before this audio statement, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko apparently contacted Prigozhin, with the permission of Putin, to negotiate this remarkable climbdown, according to a statement from Belarusian officials and Russian state media reports.
Much of this sudden resolution is as curious and inexplicable as the crisis it solved. Prigozhin appears – thus far – to have had none of his demands heeded. The top brass of Russia’s defense ministry is still in place. He has done incalculable damage to Putin’s control over the Russian state, and shown how easy it is to take control of the key military city of Rostov-on-Don and then move fast towards the capital. And it took the intervention of Lukashenko, an ally whom Putin treats more as a subordinate than an equal, to engineer an end to this ghastly of weekends for the Kremlin.
More details of how this came to be will emerge. And the lasting damage done to Putin by this armed insurrection will be compounded by some key decisions the Kremlin head must now make. Will he pardon Prigozhin, and his fighters, or retract his statement about “inevitable punishment” for “blackmail and terrorist methods?” Does he make changes in the defense elite to placate Wagner’s head? What does all of this say to the Russian military, elite and people about who is really in charge of the country?
The rage and tension that has been building for months has not suddenly been assuaged. It has instead been accentuated.
So accustomed are we to viewing Putin as a master tactician, that the opening salvos of Prigozhin’s disobedience were at times assessed as a feint – a bid by Putin to keep his generals on edge with a loyal henchman as their outspoken critic. But what we have seen – with Putin forced to admit that Rostov-on-Don, his main military hub, is out of his control – puts paid to any idea that this was managed by the Kremlin.
It is likely however Wagner’s units planned some of this for a while. The justification for this rebellion appeared urgent and spontaneous – an apparent air strike on a Wagner camp in the forest, which the Russian Ministry of Defense has denied – appeared hours after a remarkable dissection of the rationale behind the war by Prigozhin.
He partially spoke the truth about the war’s disastrous beginnings: Russia was not under threat from NATO attack, and Russians were not being persecuted. The one deceit he maintained was to suggest Russia’s top brass was behind the invasion plan, and not Putin himself. Wagner’s forces have pulled themselves together very fast and moved quickly into Rostov. That’s hard to do spontaneously in one afternoon.
Perhaps Prigozhin dreamt he could push Putin into a change at the top of a ministry of defense the Wagner chief has publicly berated for months. But Putin’s address on Saturday morning has eradicated that prospect. This is now an existential choice for Russia’s elite – between the president’s faltering regime, and the dark, mercenary Frankenstein it created to do its dirty work, which has turned on its masters.
It is a moment of clarity for Russia’s military too. A few years ago, Prigozhin’s mild critiques would have led to elite special forces in balaclavas walking him away. But now he roams freely, with his sights openly on marching to Moscow. Where were the FSB’s special forces during this nightmare Saturday for the Kremlin? Decimated by the war, or not eager to take on their armed and experienced comrades in Wagner?
This is not the first time this spring we have seen Moscow look weak. The drone attack on the Kremlin in May must have caused the elite around Putin to question how on earth the capital’s defenses were so weak. Days later, elite country houses were targeted by yet more Ukrainian drones. Among the Russian rich, Friday’s events will remove any question about whether they should doubt Putin’s grip on power.
Ukraine will likely be celebrating the disastrous timing of this insurrection inside Russia’s ranks. It will likely alter the course of the war in Kyiv’s favor. But rebellions rarely end in Russia – or anywhere – with the results they set out to achieve. The 1917 removal of Tsar Nicholas II in Russia turned into the Bolshevik Revolution, Lenin and then the Soviet Empire.
Listen to Wagner chief vow revenge over deadly attack of his camp
As this rare Jacobean drama of Russian basic human frailty plays out, it is not inevitable that improvements will follow. Prigozhin may not prevail, and the foundations of the Kremlin’s control may not ultimately collapse. But a weakened Putin may do irrational things to prove his strength.
He may prove unable to accept the logic of defeat in the coming months on the frontlines in Ukraine. He may be unaware of the depth of discontent among his own armed forces, and lack proper control over their actions. Russia’s position as a responsible nuclear power rests on stability at the top.
A lot more can go wrong than it can go right. But it is impossible to imagine Putin’s regime will ever go back to its previous heights of control from this moment. And it is inevitable that further turmoil and change is ahead.
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“We would have destroyed armed coup in any case” – Putin’s speaks after Wagner coup attempt
On June 26, two days after the Wagner coup attempt had been put down, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech to the country.
The decision by Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin to stop his men from marching on to the capital Moscow after seizing the military headquarters in southern region of Rostov-on-don; came as a surprise because they faced zero resistance on the way to Moscow.
Prigozhin said the coup move was principally to torpedo a plan to dissolve the group and that had been achieved.
He subsequently flew to Belarus where he will live after accepting mediation from Belarusian president Alexander Lukachenko.
Putin, in his last address from Moscow before leaving for St. Petersburg, stressed that the coupists were traitors and would be defeated and that he remained in charge.
Here are some quotes and key points in his latest address:
– “We took all measures to neutralize danger”
– “We would have destroyed the armed coup in any case”
– “The organizers of the coup betrayed the homeland and the people”
– “Wagner fighters were also patriots and liberated land that belonged to the homeland and one of them tried to use them in a dark operation.”
– “Wagner operatives can sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense or go to Belarus”
– “There were extortions and attempts to arrange internal unrest, but they were doomed to failure”
– Putin thanked those Wagner soldiers who stopped at the last line and did not resort to bloodshed.
– Putin assured that the promise he made to Wagner mercenaries would be fulfilled.
– Vladimir Putin thanked Lukashenka for his contribution to settling the rebellion.
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Ukraine begins ‘major operations’ in east and south as Russia is in upheaval
Ukraine is launching a significant attack in the south and east by capitalising on the anarchy that has engulfed Vladimir Putin‘s government.
According to reports, Kiev generals were considering how they could gain an advantage on the front lines as the Wagner Group’s mercenaries marched towards Moscow.
In Ukraine, where there is ferocious fighting going on apart from the revolt, deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar wrote earlier today that “progress is being made in all directions.”
She claimed that the army had initiated an operation in a number of eastern sites, including Bakhmut, Yagidne, Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Bohdanivka, Klishchiivka, and Kurdyumivka, despite earlier cautions not to divulge Ukraine’s military preparations.
This is where Russian forces and allied Wagner soldiers had made major advances in recent months.
Ms Maliar also added: ‘The enemy tried to advance in the Kupyansk, Lymansk, and Marinsk directions, but they failed to advance.
‘They launched airstrikes and artillery fire in the Avdiyiv and Shakhtar directions.’
Russian forces said they had repelled multiple attacks in four areas in the east of the country.
In the south, Ms Maliar confirmed that heavy fighting continues in all directions of the offensive.
‘The enemy is on the defensive, making great effort to stop our offensive actions,’ she added.
‘At the same time, the enemy is suffering significant losses in personnel, weapons and equipment.’
The UK Ministry of Defence said Ukrainian soldiers have been undertaking major offensive operations on three main axes in the south and east.
An update on Twitter this morning read: ‘Forces are using the experiences from the first two weeks of the counter-offensive to refine tactics for assaulting the deep, well prepared Russian defences.
‘Ukrainian units are making gradual but steady tactical progress in key areas.
‘In Luhansk Oblast, Russian forces have made their own significant effort to launch an attack in the Serebryanka Forest near Kremina.’
The MoD said Russia has made some small gains, but added that Ukrainian forces have prevented a breakthrough.
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Putin is ‘afraid’ and ‘probably hiding’ – Zelensky
Following the uprising by mercenaries from the Wagner Group, the Ukrainian president claimed that Vladimir Putin is ‘very terrified’ and has left his residence in Moscow.
Yevgeny Prigozhin’s heavily armoured warriors were about 100 miles from the Russian capital when his’march’ to oust corrupt commanders he accuses of botching the war was called off.
After 24 hours of turmoil, neither he nor his soldiers would be punished, and despite the attack on the Russian army, which Putin referred to as “treason,” he was deported to Belarus.
There are a number of unanswered questions about the deal that Putin’s former ally struck to pull his for-hire troops, and about what happens next.
But one thing is clear – the Russian leader’s picture of authority is now weakened.
Volodymyr Zelensky said in his address last night: ‘The man from the Kremlin is obviously very afraid and probably hiding somewhere, not showing himself.
‘I am sure that he is no longer in Moscow. He knows what he is afraid of because he himself created this threat.’
He added: ‘The world can see that the masters of Russia control nothing.
‘That means nothing. Simply complete chaos. An absence of any predictability. It is happening on Russian territory, which is fully loaded with weapons.’
There was also little pushback from Russian armed forces, raising questions about Putin’s hold on power.
Zelensky’s comments came shortly before the Wagner boss announced the retreat of his fighters.
A convoy was later filmed leaving the southern city of Rostov, a Russian military post that they had taken control of.
The Ukrainian president stressed the march exposed weakness in the Kremlin and ‘showed all Russian bandits, mercenaries, oligarchs’ it is easy to capture Russian cities ‘and, probably, arsenals with weapons’.
He also warned the situation in Moscow will only become ‘more dangerous’ and that another similar advance from Putin’s enemies is likely to come.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that under a deal brokered by Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko, the criminal case opened against Prigozhin for armed mutiny would be dropped.
Prigozhin would move to Belarus, and Wagner fighters who joined his ‘march for justice’ would face no action, in recognition of their previous service to Russia.
Peskov, who called the events of the day ‘tragic’, said Lukashenko had offered to mediate, with Putin’s approval, because he had known Prigozhin personally for around 20 years.
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Putin speaks after the Wagner coup attempt
Vladimir Putin asserts that he is confident in his ability to carry out all of his preparations for the’special military operation’ following the Wagner uprising.
After yesterday’s unprecedented events in his country, the Putin spoke to the people today and declared that his terrible war in Ukraine continues to be his top priority.
Putin, 70, said: “We feel confident, and of course, we are in a position to implement all the plans and tasks ahead of us [in Ukraine]” while speaking on Russian state television.
This also holds true for the nation’s defence, the special military operation, the economy overall, and its various sectors.
A planned meeting of Russia’s Security Council will take place next week despite this weekend’s chaos.
But Putin previously claimed the attempted coup had put Russia’s very existence at threat.
Putin’s location is not currently known after reports of both his presidential planes fleeing Moscow yesterday.
Putin was said to be ‘very afraid’ and fled his residency in Moscow after the rebellion from Wagner Group mercenaries over the weekend, the Ukrainian president said earlier today.
Yevgeny Prigozhin’s heavily-armed fighters were some 100 miles from the Russian capital when his ‘march’ intended to remove corrupt commanders he blames for botching the war was called off.
After 24 hours of chaos, neither he nor his men will face punishment, and he was sent to Belarus despite the action against the Russian army, which Putin labelled as ‘treason’.
There are a number of unanswered questions about the deal that Putin’s former ally struck to pull his for-hire troops, and about what happens next.
Volodymyr Zelensky said in his address last night: ‘The man from the Kremlin is obviously very afraid and probably hiding somewhere, not showing himself.
‘I am sure that he is no longer in Moscow. He knows what he is afraid of because he himself created this threat.’
He added: ‘The world can see that the masters of Russia control nothing.
Ukraine was also said today to be making use of the chaos that has gripped Vladimir Putin’s regime to launch a major offensive in the south and east.
As Wagner Group mercenaries marched towards Moscow, Kyiv generals were said to be weighing up how they could take advantage on the frontline.
Away from the rebellion, fierce fighting continues in Ukraine and deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said in a post on Telegram earlier today ‘there is progress in all directions’.
Despite earlier warnings not to discuss Ukraine’s military plans, she said the army launched an offensive in several locations in the east including Bakhmut, Yagidne, Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Bohdanivka, Klishchiivka, and Kurdyumivka.
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Putin’s defence minister spotted for the ‘first time’ after Wagner coup attempt
Since the Wagner Group fighters‘ uprising, Russia’s military minister has finally emerged from hiding.
The president’s longtime political friend Sergei Shoigu made his first public appearance today since mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin demanded his removal due to shortcomings during the conflict.
Video made public by the Russian Defence Ministry appears to show the politician visiting Ukrainian war fighters.
Shoigu can be seen flying in a helicopter, being shown battle positions from the air.
Duration 0:47
He then met with military officers, though it remains unclear when or where it was filmed.
This comes as speculation continues to spread on Russian Telegram channels that he is being investigated, and under house arrest, pending his removal from the Kremlin over theft of military funds.
Vladimir Putin appears to have for survived the revolt after Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko stepped in to broker a deal, but Shoigu’s position is deeply precarious.
The minister was nowhere to be seen at the time as Wagner fighters approached Moscow over the weekend.
Further to this, there are rumours the Russian leader has lined up Alexei Dyumin, Tula governor and former deputy defence minister, to replace Shoigu.
A trusted ex-bodyguard of Putin, he once saved him from being attacked by a brown bear.
He is also thought to have played a role in the pact that stopped Wagner’s ‘march for justice’ into the capital on Saturday.
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Britain warned to ‘prepare for the fall of Putin’ after failed Wagner coup
Following a failed coup attempt to remove Vladimir Putin, senior government sources have advised Britain to “prepare for the fall of Vladimir Putin.”
When Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin halted his mercenary group’s planned march from Rostov to Moscow this weekend, an apparent coup was almost avoided.
Putin had made a statement on television threatening rebels with “brutal” reprisal if they persisted in their uprising.
However, as part of a deal that will see him banished in Belarus, Prigozhin was spared punishment.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the failed coup showed ‘real cracks’ in Putin’s regime. ‘This was a direct challenge to Putin’s authority,’ he told CBS News. ‘It raises profound questions.’
US intelligence agencies learnt of Wagner’s plans days before Prigozhin ordered his troops to seize control of cities Voronezh and Rostov-on-Don, according to The Washington Post.
But they decided not to publish the intelligence, as they had done in the weeks prior to the invasion of Ukraine. Instead they let events in Russia play out.
British officials have predicted political unrest in Russia since the beginning of the war, but were surprised at how quickly events unfolded over the weekend. Diplomats were forced to rapidly prepare for various possibilities.
‘From the very beginning of the invasion, one of the most obvious scenarios was that the war could lead to political unrest back home in Russia,’ a senior UK Government source told The Times.
‘We have to wait, watch and see what comes next. This could be chapter one of something new. Or it might be all over for Wagner. We must prepare for a whole range of different scenarios.’
Meanwhile, John Glen, the chief secretary to the Treasury, said Britain continues to support Ukraine but would not get involved in what was happening in Russia.
John Foreman, the former British defence attaché in Moscow, said Prigozhin ousting Putin was not something people should wish for.
‘Prigozhin is not some sort of liberal, peace-loving democrat. He’s a fascist,’ he added.
Lithuanian president, Gitanas Nauseda, who will host a Nato summit next month, said Europe’s eastern borders would need to be strengthened if Prigozhin and some of the Wagner group end up in Belarus ‘with unclear plans and unclear intensions’.
Lord Richards of Herstmonceux, a former UK chief of the defence staff, said Putin remained powerful and warned the west about underestimating Russia.
He told Times Radio that Ukraine’s struggling counter-offensive showed the ongoing strength of the Russian army.
He added: ‘Despite the weakened state, arguably of Putin, we’re in for a long haul here. And that actually is the worst of all worlds for the west.’
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Moscow inexplicably asserts US intends to dump mosquitoes on Russian troops
Russian soldiers would be exposed to malaria-carrying mosquitoes via drones, according to a top Kremlin general.
Lieutenant-general Igor Kirillov, commander of Vladimir Putin‘s Russian Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops, oddly claimed that the goal is to infect soldiers so they will grow ill or possibly die.
In the past, when Russia has made absurd assertions about the West or Ukraine, it has meant that they intend to carry out those specific actions themselves.
According to Lieutenant-General Kirillov, the situation could get more complicated as a result of the Kyiv regime’s planned flooding of the Kherson region, which could increase the risk of arbovirus infections.
‘After a drop in the water level, it is possible to form foci of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, primarily West Nile fever.
‘The high technical level of US preparedness for the use of infected vectors is evidenced by a patent for a drone designed to spread infected mosquitoes in the air.’
He didn’t go into any more details about the supposed patent, but added: ‘In accordance with the description, the drone must deliver a container with insects to a given area and release them.
‘When bitten, mosquitoes can infect military personnel with a dangerous infection, such as malaria.
‘The description of the patent emphasises that the infected soldier is not able to perform the combat missions assigned to him.’
The US Department of Defense has been contacted for a comment.
The claims come following reports two drunk Russian soldiers beat up and ‘castrated’ two Ukrainian prisoners of war with pocket knives inside a torture camp.
The Ukrainian survivors, aged 25 and 28, were allegedly dragged to and held at the camp for one and three months respectively.
Putin’s soldiers put the pair through an experience ‘worse than hell’ and only gave them freedom after a prisoner exchange.
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Russian opposition leader Navalny could spend decades behind prison as his trial begins
In a trial that might result in a decades-long jail sentence extension, opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who is now imprisoned, went before a Russian court on Monday to defend himself against new charges of extremism.
Navalny was charged in 2021 with the alleged “creation of an extremist community,” according to a report from Russian state agency TASS that year. At the time, Navalny was already serving terms totaling 11 and a half years in a high security institution.
His incarceration and arrest, according to him and his supporters, were politically driven efforts to stifle his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In comments posted to his Twitter account, Navalny said the “absurd” charges could lead to him serving a further 30 years behind bars.
Navalny, 47, dressed in black prison garb, appeared at his hearing in person in a court room at the IK-6 penal colony at Melekhovo, around 155 miles east of Moscow.
Journalists were not admitted to the court room, instead having to follow proceedings through a live stream with poor audio quality. Navalny’s communications team has complained about not being able to hear what is being discussed.
In comments posted on their Telegram account, Navalny’s team criticized the court for organizing a “live streaming with a monstrous sound, where the meaning of what is happening can be guessed only by isolated words, all the while calling the process open.”
Sitting at a long table with his lawyers Vadim Kobzev, Olga Mikhailova and Svetlana Davyodva, Navalny asked for his parents to be allowed into the hall. Judge Andrey Suvorov said he will consider the request later.
Navalny’s team challenged judge Andrey Suvorov, and asked him to recuse himself, according to the team’s Telegram posts. It was not immediately clear on what grounds they asked for the recusal. The judge refused the request.
His team also questioned the location of Navalny’s hearing.
“In a normal situation, a person convicted for the period of a new criminal trial is taken from the colony to a pre-trial detention center, and the hearings take place in the courtroom. But with Navalny, of course, it is more beneficial to hold a trial 250 kilometers from Moscow and 70 kilometers from the nearest large city – Vladimir,” the team said on Telegram.
Also present at the hearing is Daniel Kholodny, the former technical director of the Navalny Live YouTube channel, accused in the same extremism case.
Lilia Chanysheva, the former coordinator of Navalny’s headquarters in the western Russian city of Ufa, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison last week, after being found guilty of “organizing an extremist community.”
Throughout the trial, Chanysheva maintained her innocence.
“I am engaged in ordinary public political activities, to which I have every right under the Constitution,” she said following the announcement of the verdict. “What is illegal is this justice that is happening.”
Navalny has been incarcerated in Russia since his return to the country in January 2021, on charges of violating terms of probation related to a years-old fraud case, which he dismisses as politically motivated.
He had previously been taken from Russia to Germany in August 2020, after he was poisoned with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok. Navalny arrived comatose at a hospital in Berlin, following a medical evacuation flight from the Siberian city of Omsk.
A joint investigation by CNN and the group Bellingcat implicated the Russian Security Service (FSB) in Navalny’s poisoning, piecing together how an elite unit at the agency had followed Navalny’s team throughout a trip to Siberia, when he fell ill.
The investigation also found that this unit, which included chemical weapons experts, had followed Navalny on more than 30 trips to and from Moscow since 2017.
Russia denies involvement in Navalny’s poisoning. Putin himself said in December 2020 that if Russian security services had wanted to kill Navalny, they “would have finished” the job.
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Putin claims Ukraine dumped peace agreement after signing it
Vladimir Putin asserts that Ukraine signed a peace treaty soon after his invasion in February of last year, but that it was later consigned to history’s “rubbish heap.”
During a meeting with numerous African leaders yesterday, the Russian president brought up a piece of paper and claimed it was a document approved by the Kyiv negotiating team.
He said that the agreement was struck during negotiations held in Turkey in the month following Russia’s all-out offensive against its neighbour.
Kyiv has not commented on the claims.
Speaking to a delegation which included South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, Mr Putin accused Ukraine of reneging on the terms of the alleged agreement.
He said: ‘The project of this deal was initialled by the head of the negotiations group from Kyiv. He signed it. Here it is.
‘It exists. It is called “The Agreement on Permanent Neutrality and Safety Guarantees to Ukraine”.’
The president later said: ‘But after we, as promised, drew our troops away from Kyiv, the Kyiv authorities, just as their owners usually do, threw it all onto the rubbish heap of history.’
Vladimir Putin interrupted contributions from African leaders to brandish the document (Picture: Reuters) He added: ‘I’m putting it mildly, and trying to be polite. They turned it down. Where are the guarantees that they won’t give up any other agreements?’
Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine were held in Istanbul and hosted by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in March last year.
Ahead of the meeting, Mr Erdoğan had said Kyiv were prepared to agree certain demands such as the recognition of Russian as an official language in Ukraine and the renouncing of Nato membership.
No official deal was announced following the discussions, which came to an end on March 29, but Russia said it would be withdrawing its troops from the area around Kyiv.
At the time, a Kremlin spokesperson said the move was intended ‘to increase trust’ in talks between the two countries.
However, Ukraine said Russian forces were already being pushed back from the capital region when the retreat was confirmed, a claim backed up by the UK Ministry of Defence.
News agency Reuters previously reported that Mr Putin rejected a provisional peace deal struck by his chief envoy for Ukraine as the war was beginning.