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“In this kind of environment, that’s actually pretty quick,” said Kyle Nordfors, a volunteer search and rescue worker. He was operating one of the drones, made by the Chinese company DJI, which dominates sales to law enforcement agencies as well as the hobbyist market in the United States. But if DJI’s drones are the tool of choice for emergency responders around the country, they are widely seen in Washington as a national security threat. DJI is on a Defense Department list of Chinese military companies whose products the U.S. armed forces will be prohibited from purchasing in the future. As part of the defense budget that Congress passed for this year, other federal agencies and programs are likely to be prohibited from purchasing DJI drones as well.
Persons: , Kyle Nordfors Organizations: Defense Department Locations: Utah, United States, Washington
Can the Russian military can be reformed to better achieve Putin's revanchist aims? Yes, but the drastic changes will not be easy, an expert on Russia's military says. AdvertisementWhatever the outcome of the Ukraine war, one thing seems certain: the Russian military needs drastic changes. Indeed, Russia's tendency to seek top-down structural reforms matched with enduring characteristics of the Russian military suggest that a transformation of the Russian military will be difficult." Given that observers so misjudged Russian military capabilities prior to the Ukraine war, how can the West accurately determine whether reforms are occurring?
Persons: , Vladimir Putin, Katherine Kjellström Elgin, Putin, Elgin, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Center for Strategic, National Guard Service, Nazi, NATO, Elgin, Business, Russo, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Washington ,, Elgin, Moscow, Russia, Crimean, Soviet, Nazi German, Turkish, Forbes
Advocating for foreign clients is legal and U.S. law includes a public disclosure exemption for lawyers. The Paul, Weiss law firm declined to comment on the letter, and Lynch did not respond to Reuters emails. The U.S. Treasury and Commerce departments say DJI supported biometric surveillance and tracking of Muslim Uyghur minorities in China. "It is appalling that former senior U.S. officials use their connections to serve the interests of U.S. adversaries," Risch said. Others argue that stricter FARA rules on disclosure could give authoritarian countries like Russia and China cover for their own stifling of free speech.
Persons: Loretta Lynch, Obama, Lynch, Paul, Weiss, DJI, FARA, Jim Risch, Risch, Jonathan Turley, Turley Organizations: U.S, senior Defense Department, SZ DJI Technology Co, U.S . Department of Justice, Reuters, Department of Defense, China's Communist Party, U.S . Treasury, Commerce, The Defense Department, Pentagon, Justice, Republican, Senate Foreign Relations, American Civil Liberties Union, Justice Department, George Washington University Locations: FARA, U.S, China, WuXi, Russia
AdvertisementThe military formation has been actively recruiting former Wagner Group mercenaries and soldiers who fought in Ukraine for combat operations in Africa. The Kremlin is likely using the Africa Corps to take over many of the functions of the Wagner Group, Parens added. Last week, in a video obtained by the Kyiv Post, Ukrainian special forces were shown interrogating captured Wagner mercenaries in Sudan. "Ukrainian special services have acquired considerable experience of waging non-linear warfare against the Russian side and especially against the Wagner Group," he said. The fate of the Wagner Group, it seems, still hangs in the balance.
Persons: Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, he's, Wagner, Prigozhin, Sergey Sukhankin, Raphael Parens, Parens, Sukhankin, Russia Alessandro Arduino Organizations: Kremlin, Jamestown Foundation, Wagner, Volunteer Corps, Africa Corps, Wagner Group, Fighters, Foreign, Research, Eurasia Program, Military Companies, Africa, Kyiv Post, Russia, Ukraine Locations: Russia, Africa, Ukraine, Western, Ukrainian, Sudan, Russian
BANGKOK (AP) — A Nasdaq-listed Chinese technology company that makes parts for self-driving vehicles is threatening to sue the U.S. government after it was included in a list of companies the Pentagon says have links to the Chinese military. It was among 17 companies the U.S. Department of Defense recently added to its list of companies it considers “Chinese military companies.”The revised list also includes Megvii, a Beijing-based artificial intelligence company and IDG Capital, a major private equity investment company with holdings in many Chinese technology companies, and major Chinese energy, telecoms and aviation companies. In a statement issued last week, the company said its LiDARs were not designed to conform to military specifications. Under Biden, the U.S. has further limited China’s access to advanced U.S. technology, limited U.S. investments in strategically sensitive Chinese industries and expanded sanctions on leading Chinese companies like Huawei Technologies. The Defense Department periodically updates its list of now nearly four dozen Chinese military companies to counter links between Chinese military and companies and other entities that it says appear to be civilian.
Persons: Yifan “ David ” Li, Li, Joe Biden’s, Donald Trump, Biden, China’s Organizations: Pentagon, U.S . Department of Defense, IDG Capital, U.S . Department of Commerce, Beijing, Huawei Technologies, The Defense Department, Xiaomi Corp, Apple Inc, U.S ., China’s People’s Liberation Army Locations: BANGKOK, Beijing, U.S
Russian regional media reported this week that the Wagner Group is hiring again in two oblasts. The reports follow months of speculation that Pavel Prigozhin would lead Wagner under the Russian Guard. And the fighters are led by the young son of Prigozhin himself, Pavel Prigozhin, reported 59.RU, a regional news outlet based in Perm. A Telegram channel affiliated with Wagner, Prigozhin 2023, has also been touting Pavel Prigozhin as the organization's future leader. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Russian news site Military Review also reported on Sunday that Wagner would continue operations as a division of the Russian Guard.
Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Pavel, Pavel Prigozhin, , Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Russian Guard, Service, Group, Kremlin, Getty, Wagner, Telegram, Russian Defense Ministry, New York Times, The Defense Ministry, Institute for, RU, Russian National Guard, Defense Ministry Locations: Perm ., Perm . Novosibirsk, Perm, VKontakte, Russian, Ukraine, Moscow, AFP, Africa, US, Wagner Perm
Russian regional media reported this week that the Wagner Group is hiring again in two oblasts. The reports follow months of speculation that Pavel Prigozhin would lead Wagner under the Russian Guard. And the fighters are led by the young son of Prigozhin himself, Pavel Prigozhin, reported 59.RU, a regional news outlet based in Perm. A Telegram channel affiliated with Wagner, Prigozhin 2023, has also been touting Pavel Prigozhin as the organization's future leader. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Russian news site Military Review also reported on Sunday that Wagner would continue operations as a division of the Russian Guard.
Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Pavel, Pavel Prigozhin, , Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Russian Guard, Service, Group, Kremlin, Getty, Wagner, Telegram, Russian Defense Ministry, New York Times, The Defense Ministry, Institute for, RU, Russian National Guard, Defense Ministry Locations: Perm ., Perm . Novosibirsk, Perm, VKontakte, Russian, Ukraine, Moscow, AFP, Africa, US, Wagner Perm
The new head of Wagner is likely seen as a "traitor" by his men, per a UK intelligence assessment. AdvertisementAdvertisementRussian President Vladimir Putin has picked someone to lead the powerful Wagner paramilitary group who is likely viewed as a "traitor" by his own men, according to a British military intelligence assessment published Saturday. A Kremlin spokesperson later described Troshev, a veteran of Wagner operations in Syria, as an employee of Russia's defense ministry. As a result, "Many Wagner veterans likely consider him a traitor," stated the Sept. 30 assessment. And that future, it continued — in contrast with the Prigozhin days — will likely entail "greater oversight from the Kremlin."
Persons: Wagner, Andrei Troshev, Vladimir Putin, , Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, iva, ann Organizations: Service, Kremlin, Ministry of Defense, Ukraine –, Defence Locations: Ukraine, Syria, osh
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with senior former commander of the Wagner mercenary group Andrei Troshev and Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov in Moscow, Russia, September 28, 2023. Putin was shown on state television meeting at the Kremlin with Andrei Troshev, a former Wagner commander known by his nom de guerre "Sedoi" - or "grey hair". Russia's Kommersant newspaper has reported that just days after the Wagner mutiny Putin had suggested that Troshev take over from Prigozhin. The Putin meeting in the Kremlin appears to indicate that what remains of Wagner will now be overseen by Troshev and Yevkurov. After Bakhmut's fall, Wagner units withdrew from Ukraine.
Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Andrei Troshev, Yunus, Bek Yevkurov, Mikhail Metzel, Putin, Troshev, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Peskov, Prigozhin's, WAGNER'S, Yevkurov, of, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: Sputnik, REUTERS Acquire, Ukraine British, Kremlin, Deputy, Russia's Kommersant, Reuters, British, Russian Ministry of Defence, Islamic State, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, MOSCOW, Russian, Prigozhin, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, redeploy, Afghanistan, Chechnya, St Petersburg, of Russia, Palmyra, Syria
If so, the process of removing Prigozhin may have begun at a Kremlin meeting days after his uprising. On June 29, five days after the rebellion was called off, Putin gathered Prigozhin and his commanders in the Kremlin, according to a report in the Russian outlet Kommersant. "Reports of the meeting — and the lack of notable cases of dissension following Prigozhin's death — suggest that the meeting likely achieved its goals," Orr said. Chekalov, a senior deputy to Prigozhin, oversaw logistics, coordinating numerous Wagner activities and operations in Libya and Syria. ALEXEY DANICHEV/POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesUnder Prigozhin, Wagner amassed a business empire using lucrative concessions from governments and backers in the countries where it operated.
Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Alexei Troshev, nodded affirmatively, Matthew Orr, RANE, Orr, Dmitry Utkin, Valery Chekalov, Anton Mardasov, Mardasov, ALEXEY DANICHEV, Prigozhin's, Pavel Organizations: Service, Wagner Group, Kommersant, Reuters, French Army, Associated Press, Russia's Ministry of Defense, PMC Convoy, PMC Redut, Russian, Ministry of Defense, Getty, Belarusian Defence Ministry, Wagner PMC, SVR Locations: Wall, Silicon, Moscow, Russian, Tver, Eurasia, Prigozhin, Libya, Syria, Mali, Africa, East, Russia, Belarus, St . Petersburg, Saharan Africa, Ukraine, Osipovichi
Wall Street firms and retired generals will discuss a hypothetical Chinese invasion of Taiwan. The "tabletop exercise" will take place next week in New York, sources told the New York Times. It comes as the congressional China committee plans to meet with top Wall Street investors. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. It comes as the congressional China committee plans to go to New York, where lawmakers will meet with banks, hedge funds and venture capital firms, according to the New York Times.
Persons: Jay Clayton, Jim Chanos, Anne Stevenson, Yang, Mike Gallagher, Biden, BlackRock Organizations: New York Times, Wall, Service, Chinese Communist Party, Council, Foreign Relations, Communist, Financial, Securities and Exchange, Kynikos Associates, J Capital Research, Financial Times, Wall Street Locations: Taiwan, New York, China, Wall, Silicon, Wisconsin, MSCI, Xinjiang
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Persons: Dow Jones, wagner Locations: russia
The fate of the Wagner Group is in the hands of Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. The New York Times reported the Russian Defense Ministry was considering absorbing the group. AdvertisementAdvertisement"The Wagner Group will disappear rather soon," Boris Volodarsky, a former captain in Russia's Spetsnaz GRU special forces and a fellow with the Royal Historical Society in London, told Insider. As tensions mounted between Wagner and Putin this summer, the Kremlin mandated that Wagner recruits sign contracts with the Russian army — which Prigozhin resisted. In his tirade, Prigozhin said the ministry "must be stopped" and the people responsible for the death of Wagner fighters must be punished.
Persons: Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Wagner, Boris Volodarsky, Russia's, Putin, Dmitry Utkin, Valery Chekalov, Volodarsky, , Alexander Lukashenko Organizations: Wagner, Kremlin, The New York Times, Russian Defense Ministry, Service, Wagner Group, New York Times, Institute for, Royal Historical Society, Defense Ministry, Times, Central African, Associated Press, Russia's Defense Ministry, Belarusian Locations: Wall, Silicon, East, Africa, Russian, London, Tver, Moscow, Belarus, Bakhmut, Ukraine, Mali, Russia, Rostov
Yevgeny Prigozhin flew across African trying to salvage contracts there, the WSJ reported. Per the WSJ's investigation, Prigozhin was racing to stop the Kremlin dismantling his empire. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. AdvertisementAdvertisementPer the WSJ's account, the plane crash cut short an effort by Prigozhin to maintain his sprawling network of mercenary deals. Per The Journal, other sources of income for Prigozhin include gold from Sudan, and diamond and timber from the Central African Republic.
Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Wagner Organizations: Service, Wall Street, Wagner Group, Kremlin, Central African Republic, Russian, Wagner, Dossier, Central African Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Africa, Kremlin, Russian, St . Petersburg, Sudan, Mali, East, Central African Republic
War experts suspect Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane crash could be the Kremlin's "final step" in ridding Wagner's independence. Prigozhin was presumed dead Wednesday after a Wagner-affiliated plane plummeted to the ground outside Moscow. The Wagner Group founder recently staged a short-lived mutiny against Russia's military. Russian state media reported that all 10 people on board the plane — three pilots and seven passengers, including Prigozhin's right-hand man Dmitry Utkin — died in the crash. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe think tank referred to the plane crash as the "assassination of Wagner's top leadership" and said it was "likely the final step to eliminate Wagner as an independent organization."
Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Prigozhin, Wagner, Dmitry Utkin —, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Bill Burns, Putin, Burns Organizations: Wagner Group, Service, Russian, Prigozhin Press Service, Prigozhin Press, Associated Press, Kremlin, CIA Locations: Moscow, Wall, Silicon, Russia's Tver, Washington, DC, Rostov, Don, Russia, Russian, Africa, East, Aspen, States
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
Jade McGlyn Jade McGlynIt is the latest in more than 140 suspected Ukrainian drone attacks directed against Russia and its occupying forces on Ukrainian territory this year, according to the BBC. Does that mean the drone attacks are strategically pointless? Investigators work near a damaged roof following a reported Ukrainian drone shot down in Moscow, Russia, on Friday, August 18. Unlike in Russia, Ukraine’s population is not passive or depoliticised, as shown by its heroic fight for its sovereignty. The drone attacks probably won’t turn Russians against the war.
Persons: Jade McGlynn, , Read, McGlyn, Volodymyr Zelensky, arrogate, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin’s, Igor Girkin, Shamil Zhumatov, pacifying, Vladimir Kara Murza, , Putin, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov Organizations: Center for Strategic, International Studies, CNN, Russia, BBC, Malaysia Airlines Flight, Kremlin, of Defence, Armed Forces, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Putin’s Russia, Russia, Ukrainian, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian
Officials announcing the step repeatedly emphasized their goal was to limit US capital from aiding China’s military – not to damage China’s economy. “This is a national security action, not an economic one. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan described the measures as “tailored” in April. Since then, officials have worked to finalize the new investment rules, including narrowing them to focus squarely on national security technology. Still, Biden and his team have encouraged other countries to take similar steps to “de-risk” national security supply chains from China.
Persons: Joe Biden’s, , Janet Yellen, Gina Raimondo, Jake Sullivan, , Biden, don’t, Nikki Haley, Xi Jinping, Still, Xi Organizations: CNN, Officials, US, American, , technology, Republicans, South, Republican Locations: China, Beijing, Yellen, United States, Washington, South Carolina, Europe
Forthcoming restrictions should cover US participation in Chinese public markets, he said. "If American capital continues to flow to Chinese military companies, we are at risk of funding our own destruction." A "sizable portion" of that money goes directly to tech companies with ties to China's military and the Chinese Communist Party, he added. His comments follow earlier US efforts to curb Chinese access to critical technologies, such as semiconductors, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, foreign investors have been souring on China in recent months as the country's post-COVID economic rebound has disappointed.
Persons: Mike Gallagher, Biden, , Gallagher, BlackRock Organizations: Service, Financial Times, White, Chinese Communist Party, Communist, Government, Wall Street, BlackRock Locations: China, Wall, Silicon, Wisconsin, MSCI
Russian President Vladimir Putin is forming private militias across Russia. The plans for the private military companies, or "special enterprises," were noted in a new bill that raises the draft age for the Russian military. It comes weeks after the mutiny by Russia's Wagner mercenary group, which exposed gaps in Putin's defenses. According to the report, Putin's militias would be under the command of regional governors, operate at Putin's behest, and would be armed by the Russian Ministry of Defense. "They are a tool to enhance security [important given very active clandestine actions by Ukrainian military intelligence], and can, as necessary, help against any new mutiny," said Sokov.
Persons: Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Andrey Kartapolov, Russia's Wagner, Putin, Nikolai Sokov Organizations: Service, Daily Beast, Fighters, Kremlin, Russian Ministry of Defense, Barents Observer, Daily Locations: Russia, Russian, Wall, Silicon, Rostov, Moscow, Norwegian, Ukraine
Reuters analysis shows a massive jump in the assets of emerging market (EM) mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs) that exclude China as U.S. and European investors turn more wary of being exposed to the Asian giant. Other investors are simply moving to markets with better growth prospects, such as Brazil. The scale of change needed in global supply chains could drive such capital flows for the next decade, he said. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex-China ETF , the world's largest emerging market ex-China ETF whose biggest holdings are firms in Taiwan, South Korea and India, attracted a record $1 billion net inflow in the first half of 2023, the data showed. "China is the one major country that investors are most concerned about in EM," said John Lau, portfolio manager for Asia Pacific and emerging market equities at SEI.
Persons: Aly, Malcolm Dorson, John Lau, Goldman Sachs, Jeffrey Jaensubhakij, , Benjamin Low, Donald Trump, Joe Biden's, Biden, Wong Kok Hoi, Summer Zhen, Vidya Ranganathan Organizations: REUTERS, Global, China ETF, China, Asia Pacific, SEI, Stock Connect, Morningstar, China Opportunity Equity Fund, Fund, Boston, Cambridge Associates, CSI, Nikkei, Investors, Reuters Graphics, APS Asset Management, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, HONG KONG, U.S, Mexico, India, Vietnam, Brazil, New York, Taiwan, South Korea, Asia, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, Hong Kong, Canada, “ U.S
Other investors are simply moving to markets with better growth prospects, such as Brazil. The scale of change needed in global supply chains could drive such capital flows for the next decade, he said. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex-China ETF , the world's largest emerging market ex-China ETF whose biggest holdings are firms in Taiwan, South Korea and India, attracted a record $1 billion net inflow in the first half of 2023, the data showed. "China is the one major country that investors are most concerned about in EM," said John Lau, portfolio manager for Asia Pacific and emerging market equities at SEI. “U.S., Canadian, and some European investors are exiting China due to political pressure.
Persons: Aly, Malcolm Dorson, John Lau, Goldman Sachs, Jeffrey Jaensubhakij, , Benjamin Low, Donald Trump, Joe Biden's, Biden, Wong Kok Hoi, Summer Zhen, Vidya Ranganathan Organizations: REUTERS, Global, China ETF, China, Asia Pacific, SEI, Stock Connect, Morningstar, China Opportunity Equity Fund, Fund, Boston, Cambridge Associates, CSI, Nikkei, Investors, Reuters Graphics, APS Asset Management, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, HONG KONG, U.S, Mexico, India, Vietnam, Brazil, New York, Taiwan, South Korea, Asia, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, Hong Kong, Canada, “ U.S
Kremlin says Wagner's legal status needs reviewing
  + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +1 min
July 14 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Friday that the status of the private Wagner mercenary group needed to be "considered", a day after President Vladimir Putin said the group had no legal basis. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the status of companies such as Wagner was "rather complicated" and needed to be studied. Asked if new legislation was likely on the status of private military companies, he said: "This question will at least be under consideration." Under the terms of the agreement ending the June 23-24 mutiny, Prigozhin was meant to go into exile in Belarus, a close ally of Russia. Reporting by Reuters Writing by Mark Trevelyan Editing by Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Mark Trevelyan, Gareth Jones Organizations: Kommersant, Kremlin, Russia, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Belarus
The Russian warlord whose 24-hour mutiny provoked the worst crisis to roil the country in three decades has been packed off to an uncertain exile — along with the foul-mouthed critiques of the Russian military that won him legions of followers, especially within the ranks. Yet the problems identified by Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, did not disappear with him, military analysts say, and are likely to continue to fester, enraging troops and further lowering already sickly morale. The emergence of several other private military companies like Wagner promises to further complicate matters. “If Prigozhin is gone, the problems will not go with him,” said Dmitri Kuznets, a military analyst for Meduza, an independent Russian news website. “They are here to stay, this is a bigger problem than Prigozhin himself.”
Persons: , Yevgeny V, Wagner, , Dmitri Kuznets, Prigozhin Organizations: Meduza Locations: Russian, Ukraine
Lawmaker Leonid Slutsky, who early in the 16-month war took part in peace negotiations with Ukraine, said that Russia needs a contract army of at least seven million military and civilian personnel, on top of the current conscript army. He said Wagner fighters can continue fighting with Russian army, go home or go to Belarus. At the end of 2022, Putin backed beefing up the army to 1.5 million combat personnel - including 695,000 contract soldiers - from 1.15 million. Creating a contract army of seven million would require a huge budget allowance. The Russian economy, crippled by the war and subsequent Western sanctions contracted 2.2% percent last year and is expected to rebound only marginally this year.
Persons: Leonid Slutsky, Sergei Lavrov, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, Evgenia, weekend's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Lidia Kelly, Stephen Coates Organizations: Russia's, Russian, Qatari Deputy, Foreign, REUTERS, Liberal Democratic Party, Thomson Locations: Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al, Thani, Moscow, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, aborting, Belarus, Melbourne
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