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☆ As Russia tests for weak spots, Ukraine is banking on enemy mistakes
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Tim Lister | Victoria Butenko | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —It generated little attention: another Russian assault in eastern Ukraine, across barren, pock-marked fields, met by determined, nimble resistance. But these frequent mechanized ground attacks by the Russians are like sand-blasting – eroding Ukrainian defenses in multiple spots along the frontlines. Yusov told CNN that recruitment in Russia continues, for contract soldiers, prisoners and international mercenaries. The Ukrainians won’t acknowledge such attacks but Yusov told CNN cryptically that refineries are military targets and “damage there is quite natural. Matthew Schmidt told CNN: “Whatever NATO can get to Ukraine is enough to stabilize its position, not to change it meaningfully.

Persons: Kateryna Stepanenko, Russia’s, ”, Narciso Contreras, Andriy Yusov, Kurt Campbell, Yusov, Matthew Schmidt, Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine “, –, Nazar Volosyn, “, Roman Pilipey, Putin, Jens Stoltenberg, Trump, what’s, Dmytro Kuleba, ” Kuleba, Andriі Kovalenko, Petr Pavel, Stepanenko, ” Stepanenko Organizations: CNN, Institute for, Russian, Anadolu, Getty, “, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, UK’s Defense Ministry, National Security Department, New Haven University, NATO, Ukrainian, Congress, National Security and Defense Council, European Union Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Tonenke, Donetsk, Washington, Karlivka, Russia, North Korea, Ukrainian, Chasiv Yar, Kyiv, AFP, Rostov, Czech, Europe

☆ Why Ukraine hasn't been using its dozens of powerful US Abrams tanks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine has not used US-made Abrams tanks since they arrived in September, analysts said. AdvertisementThe US sent 31 advanced M1A2 Abrams tanks to Ukraine in September — but they've been notably absent from an actual fighting there. AdvertisementSince receiving its first batch of Abrams in September, Ukraine has likely mixed them with the US-made M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, Cancian told BI. Sergej Sumlenny, founder of the European Resilience Initiative Center in Germany, said the US missed its moment to send its Abrams tanks. Now, with Russia's defensive lines stretching over 1,000 kilometers, or 745 miles , he said the 31 US-provided Abrams tanks are too few to play a "decisive" role in the war.

Persons: Abrams, —, they've, Mark Cancian, Cancian, Bradleys, Bradley, Sinéad Baker, Kateryna, Sergej Sumlenny, Sumlenny, That's, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense didn't Organizations: Business, Service, US Marine, Center for Strategic, International, Bradley, Institute for, European Resilience Initiative, 47th Mechanized Brigade, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Zaporizhzhia

☆ How a Ukrainian salt town was laid to waste in Russia's desperate push for Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

The eastern Ukrainian city of Soledar fell to Russia in January after months of brutal battle. It would be another five months before the eastern Ukrainian city, located 10 miles northeast of Bakhmut, would fall to Russia as the new year dawned. The town of Soledar offered little strategic value to Russia's forces beyond a political win. They didn't care what would happen to Ukrainian forces, they didn't care what would happen to their own forces." "It felt like I had left at least a part of me in Soledar," Cherniavska said.

Persons: —, Tania Synia, Synia, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Soledar, Russia's, Putin, Serhii Ivanov, Ivanov, Kateryna, Tania Synia Wagner, — Prigozhin's, Prigozhin, Bakhmut, Stepanenko, wasn't, Nika Cherniavska, Nika Cherniavksa, Cherniavska, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, ANATOLII STEPANOV Organizations: Service, Wagner Group, Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Volunteers, Ukrainian, Institute, 46th Airmobile Brigade, 77th Airmobile Brigade, 93rd Mechanized Brigade, Russia, Getty, Russian Ministry of Defence Locations: Ukrainian, Soledar, Russia, Bakhmut, Ukraine, Russian, Cherniavska, AFP

☆ A deadly plane crash appears to have killed Wagner's top boss, but even without Prigozhin, the group likely isn't a 'chicken with its head cut off,' expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Chris Panella | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Wagner Group mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is believed to have died in a plane crash on August 23. Without Prigozhin, Wagner's key operations, finances, and future are unclear, experts told Insider. It's likely not "a chicken with its head cut off," Miles said because Wagner's local operations "are still in play." His mercenaries were given the choice to join the ranks of the Russian military, leave for civilian life, or join Prigozhin in Belarus. A mural depicting mercenaries of Russia's Wagner Group that reads: "Wagner Group - Russian knights."

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, it's, Simon Miles, Miles, Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Sergei Shoigu, Defense Valery Gerasimov, Alexander Lukashenko, Catrina Doxsee, Doxsee, There's, Kateryna Stepanenko, Prigozhin —, —, Russia's, Darko Vojinovic, Prigozhin's, ISW Organizations: Wagner Group, Service, Russian, Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy, Soviet Union, TASS, Staff, Russian Armed Forces, Defense, Kremlin, Prigozhin, Press, REUTERS, PMC, Transnational, Center for Strategic, Ministry of Defense, Russian Ministry of Defense Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Soviet, Russian, Tver, Moscow, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Rostov, Belarus, Belarusian, Africa, Concord, Latin America, Crimea, Syria, Libya, Mali

☆ 'Chaos' is fueling fights among Putin's top commanders. These are the players battling for power.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

More than three weeks after the historic challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin's authority, there's still internal power plays and high-level purges in motion. "We are seeing a lot of military formations and military figures that are pushing for their own objectives." For example, in Kadyrov's case, he may be pushing for control to shield his fighters from the battlefield in Ukraine and send conventional Russian forces instead. Consequences for disobedienceInsubordination against Moscow's military leadership, such as Teplinsky's criticisms or the Wagner's rebellion, has undermined Russian military leaders but has also come with consequences for members of the anti-Gerasimov camp. The instability increasingly endemic to the Russian military comes as the Ukrainians try to break through their defensive lines.

Persons: Wagner Group's, Vladimir Putin's, Wagner, Putin, doesn't, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Alexander Ermochenko, he's, Stepanenko, Valery Gerasimov, Sergei Shoigu, Ramzan Kadyrov, Kadyrov, there's, Gerasimov, Vladimir Putin, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Alexei Nikolsky, Gen, Mikhail Teplinsky, Russia's, Teplinsky, Sergei Surovikin, There's, Friedemann Kohler, hasn't, Russia's Aerospace Forces Sergei Surovikin, Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, Staff Sergei Rudskoi, Mikhail Metzel, Ivan Popov, Vladimir Seliverstov, Popov, vilely, Viktor Zolotov, it's, ISW, Vyacheslav Gladkov Organizations: Service, Institute for, Wagner Group, Kremlin, Southern Military, REUTERS, Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian Armed Forces, Russian Defense, Russian, Staff, AP, Russia's VDV Airborne Forces, Getty, Russia's Aerospace Forces, Armed Forces, Sputnik, Arms Army, 106th Guards Airborne, Russian MoD, National Guard, Russian National Guard Service, PMC Wagner Group Locations: Russian, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Moscow, Prigozhin, Belarus, Rostov, Don, Russia's Belgorod, Sputnik, Washington, Chechnya, Sochi, REUTERS Maj, Belgorod

☆ Russian military leaders can't seem to get Wagner and its boss, Prigozhin, to fall in line, and it's a mess that goes beyond dysfunction
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The Wagner Group is a wild card that has won victories in Ukraine but also created headaches for Russia's military command. The situation is increasingly messy, as Wagner and its founder and financier have repeatedly exacerbated the growing rift between the regular Russian military and the mercenary force. Its leader also appears to make battlefield decisions independently of the defense ministry. He said that Wagner's uneasy relationship with the Russian military has evolved from being awkward to being dysfunctional to what it is now, which is counterproductive. Prigozhin said recently that "Wagner will not sign any contracts with Shoigu," referring to the Russian defense minister.

Persons: Wagner, that's, —, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Mark Cancian, they're, Russia's Wagner, Stepanenko, ISW, Valery Gerasimov, Sergey Surovikin, milblogger, Cancian Organizations: Service, Ukraine, Wagner Group, Russian, International Security, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Concord Press Service, REUTERS, Institute for, Press, Russian Ministry of Defense, Shoigu Locations: Ukraine, Paraskoviivka, Russian, Russia, Ukrainian, Concord, Bakhmut

☆ Wagner boss Prigozhin is escalating his feud with the Russian military to stay relevant after Bakhmut, but he risks taking it too far, war experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Wagner founder and financier Yevgeny Prigozhin continues to escalate his feud with the Russian defense ministry. But some prominent voices in Russia's pro-war ultranationalist community are troubled by his antics, ISW observed. But in that same information space, Prigozhin also voiced repeated, profane, and blunt criticisms of the regular Russian military and its leadership. This aspect of his online activities appears to have become more pronounced as Wagner forces come off the line and reposition to rear areas. "Prigozhin is exposing a similar hatred for select individuals within the Russian military command," she said.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, ISW, —, Prigozhin, Russia's ultranationalist, Bakhmut, Stepanenko, Roman Venevitin, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Igor Girkin, Shoigu, Russian oligarch Organizations: Service, Wagner Group, Russia's, Kremlin, Institute for, Press, REUTERS, 72nd, Motorized Rifle Brigade, Wagner, Russian MoD, RIA, MoD, Washington DC Locations: Bakhmut, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Belgorod Oblast, Russia, Concord, Russian, Soledar

☆ Putin is still too reliant on Prigozhin's 'meat army' to punish the mercenary leader for his public defiance: reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The minor victory comes as Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin continues to publicly slam Russia's military. The Wagner-won victory in the strategically-unimportant city complicates Russian President Vladimir Putin's likely response to Prigozhin's exceedingly defiant and chaotic attitude. And yet Prigozhin continues to play an important role in the war, even after taking a veiled barb at the Russian president, himself, earlier this month. In a rare moment of recognition, Putin even directly congratulated the Wagner Group following their alleged seizure of Bakhmut. Prigozhin said Saturday he would pull his Wagner troops from Bakhmut come Thursday, where they would reorganize and undergo additional training.

☆ Wagner boss' reported efforts to sell out Russia's army are a serious threat to Putin's leadership, expert says. 'This was treason.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"Essentially this poses a real serious challenge to Putin's leadership in the sense that he has to act," Galeotti added. Galeotti said the alleged actions, which Prigozhin has denied, pose a threat to Putin's leadership. The report of Prigozhin's offer came after months of escalating feuds between the Wagner leader and Russia's military brass. "If he could have delivered Bakhmut while the Russian military was looking assailed elsewhere — in part precisely because of the information that he provided, but still — he would've looked particularly useful to the boss," he said. Despite rising tensions between Prigozhin's and Russia's traditional military leadership, Putin has yet to publicly intervene.

☆ Wagner boss Prigozhin is going off the rails in Ukraine, and Putin may not have much choice but to let him, war expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Though he strikes hardest at the defense ministry, he has seemingly aimed his frustrations at Putin as well. During the intense fighting in Bakhmut, where the mercenaries have suffered tremendous losses, simmering tensions between the Russian defense ministry and the Wagner boss have boiled over. With the replacement of Gen. Sergei Surovikin, an infamous Russian leader pushed by ultranationalists like Prigozhin, in January, the Russian defense ministry retook control. The situation got so bad for Wagner at one point that expert observers speculated that the Russian military was purposefully decimating the group. Prigozhin said he was threatened with treason over his assertions that Wagner forces would pull out of Bakhmut.

☆ Signals that Russia might abandon a crucial occupied city are likely a trap, Ukraine says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian sources suggested that its forces are about to retreat from the strategic city of Kherson. Western intelligence — and some statements from Russia — have noted moves suggesting that Russia may be about to abandon the city, a strategic and symbolic prize should Ukraine reclaim it. Russian soldiers guard an area as a group of foreign journalists visit in Kherson, Kherson region, south Ukraine, May 20, 2022. "While there's some commotion and movement going on, it's not decisive," Kateryna Stepanenko, an ISW Russia analyst, told The Hill. "It doesn't appear that Russians have at this moment entirely given up Kherson city."

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