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☆ Joe Biden has a decision to make about Julian Assange
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +26 min

A small group of lawyers and media executives gathered in a well-appointed back room to listen to Gabriel Shipton, Assange's half-brother. In the case of Vault 7, WikiLeaks' source turned out to be a disgruntled former C.I.A employee. AdvertisementAdvertisementIn New York, Gabriel Shipton, Assange's half-brother, declined to rule out the possibility of a plea deal. Every time the Australian government raises this issue, the Chinese government puts out a statement about Julian Assange. Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, right, was part of a delegation of Australian officials in the US to press for the release of Julian Assange.

Persons: Julian Assange, Assange, Gabriel Shipton, Tucker Carlson, Tucker, Shipton, he'd, Anthony Albanese, Joe Biden, Monique Ryan, Albanese, Mike Pompeo, Caroline Kennedy, Der Spiegel, El Pais, David Hicks, Julian, John Shipton, Assange's, John, Gabriel, Brett Assange, Peter Whish, Wilson, We've, Robert Carr, Chelsea Manning's, Obama, We're, Cheng Lei, —, Chelsea Manning, Manning, What's, Julian Assange's, John MacDougall, …, they'd, he's, John Young, Laura Poitras's, Mueller, Robert Mueller's, John Podesta's, Bernie Sanders, John Koeltl, They've, Donald, Trump, we've, James Comey, Hillary Clinton, He's, I'm, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner, I've, Putin, exfiltrate Assange, Julian wasn't, Dana Rohrabacher, Rohrabacher, Jennifer Robinson, Tracey Nearmy, we'd, Marjorie Taylor, Greene, Antony Blinken, Biden, Mattathias Schwartz Organizations: United Nations General Assembly, WikiLeaks, Washington Post, Washington, DOJ, The Washington, Australia's Labor Party, New, Biden, Senate Intelligence, Justice Department, New York Times, Guardian, Chelsea, Pentagon, Getty, Justice, The State Department, Laura Poitras's WikiLeaks, State Department, DNC, Democratic, Committee, Democratic National Convention, of, Russian Federation, Novaya Gazeta, Trump, CIA, The Justice Locations: New York, London, Assange's, Pacific, Ecuadorian, Washington, Russia, Australia, Shipton, Brig, Chelsea, Iraq, Australian, China, American, Moscow, Getty Shipton, … Shipton, Cryptome, There's, Southern, of New York, Russian, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Panama, schwartz79@protonmail.com

☆ Top Russian general not seen since mutiny is 'resting', lawmaker says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 12 (Reuters) - General Sergei Surovikin, a deputy commander of Russia's military operations in Ukraine who has not been seen in public since last month's armed mutiny by mercenary fighters, is "resting", a lawmaker from the ruling party said on Wednesday. Andrei Kartapolov, head of the State Duma Defence Committee, is heard saying in a video posted on social media: "Surovikin is currently resting. Surovikin, dubbed "General Armageddon" by the Russian press for his aggressive tactics in the Syria conflict, was last seen publicly when he issued a video appeal urging a halt to the June 23-24 mutiny by fighters of Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner mercenary group while it was still underway. A New York Times report based on a U.S. intelligence briefing said last month that Surovikin had advance knowledge of the mutiny and that Russian authorities were checking whether he was complicit. Reporting by Reuters, writing by Mark Trevelyan Editing by Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sergei Surovikin, Andrei Kartapolov, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner, Surovikin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Vladimir Putin, Mark Trevelyan, Gareth Jones Organizations: State Duma Defence Committee, Staff, New York Times, Kremlin, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Syria

☆ Wagner fighters preparing to move to Belarus, senior commander quoted as saying
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File PhotoJuly 8 (Reuters) - Mercenary fighters of Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner group are preparing to move to Belarus under the terms of a deal that defused their mutiny against Russia's military leadership, a senior commander of the group was quoted as saying. Since the June 23-24 mutiny, which saw Wagner fighters briefly seize a southern Russian city and march towards Moscow, the exact whereabouts of Prigozhin and his mercenaries have been unclear. He has not posted on his previously preferred Telegram channel - Yevgeny Prigozhin Press Service - since June 26, when he defended his fighters' mutinous actions. Yelizarov said there had been no attempt by Russia's security forces to "hit" Wagner fighters since the mutiny. The attempt would fail, he said, because Prigozhin himself had created and moulded the Wagner fighters "when the state did not need us".

Persons: Wagner, Alexander Ermochenko, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner, Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Anton Yelizarov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Yevgeny, Lukashenko, Yelizarov, King Arthur, Gareth Jones, Alison Williams Organizations: Southern Military District, REUTERS, Yevgeny Prigozhin Press Service, General Staff, Knights, Prigozhin's St, Thomson Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, Belarus, Russian, Moscow, Ukraine, Prigozhin's, Prigozhin's St Petersburg

☆ Wagner fighters preparing to move to Belarus, commander says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A view of a tent camp site that, according to Belarusian Defence Ministry officials, could be offered as one of the spots to house Wagner fighters, in the military settlement of Tsel in the Asipovichy District of the Mogilev Region in Belarus on July 7, 2023. Mercenary fighters of Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner Group are preparing to move to Belarus under the terms of a deal that defused their mutiny against Russia's military leadership, a senior commander of the group was quoted as saying. Since the June 23-24 mutiny, which saw Wagner fighters briefly seize a southern Russian city and march towards Moscow, the exact whereabouts of Prigozhin and his mercenaries have been unclear. However, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday that Prigozhin and thousands of his fighters were still in Russia, raising questions about the deal's implementation. He has not posted on his previously preferred Telegram channel — Yevgeny Prigozhin Press Service — since June 26, when he defended his fighters' mutinous actions.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner, Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Anton Yelizarov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Yevgeny Organizations: Belarusian Defence Ministry, Mercenary, Yevgeny Prigozhin Press Locations: Tsel, Asipovichy District, Mogilev Region, Belarus, Russian, Moscow, Ukraine, Russia

☆ Poland moves troops to eastern border amid Wagner fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Polish army troops stand guard, as part of the 12th and 17th Mechanized Brigades are starting to move to the east of the country, in Poland, July 8, 2023. "This is a demonstration of our readiness to respond to attempts at destabilisation near the border of our country." Last Sunday Poland said it would send 500 police to shore up security at its border with Belarus. Poland has seen an increase in the number of migrants trying to cross the Belarus border in recent weeks. A senior Wagner commander was quoted as saying on Saturday that mercenaries from the group were preparing to move to Belarus.

Persons: Wagner, Vladimir Putin's, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner, Mariusz Blaszczak, Alan Charlish, Ros Russell Organizations: 17th Mechanized, REUTERS, NATO, Wagner Group, Twitter, Border Guard, Thomson Locations: Polish, Poland, Handout, REUTERS WARSAW, Belarus, Russian, destabilisation, Morocco, India, Ethiopia, East, Africa

REUTERS/Stringer/File PhotoSummary Fears of civil war rose in world's biggest nuclear powerMercenaries posed biggest threat to Putin in 23-year rule'Anyone with anything to lose was extremely tense' -sourceThe elite wonder: What's next for Russia? One fear was that Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner mercenary group, if he entered Moscow, would try to take over the economy, triggering yet another redistribution of ownership in Russia, the world's biggest supplier of natural resources. The source spoke on condition of anonymity due to the danger of speaking publicly in contemporary Russia. Russians started to withdraw significant amounts of roubles and seek foreign currency in 15 regions across Russia. But within the elite, there is now a fear that Putin will seek to assert his position and remove those he felt did not profess their loyalty with enough ardour.

Persons: Wagner, Stringer, Putin, What's, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner, Prigozhin's, Mikhail Gorbachev, Andrei Belousov, Dmitry Gusev, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Russia's, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Viktor Zolotov, Guy Faulconbridge, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Southern Military District, REUTERS, Reuters, Kremlin, KGB, Bolshevik, Air, Jets, General Staff, National Guard, Thomson Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, MOSCOW, Moscow, Russian, Soviet, Ukraine, Belgrade, Istanbul, Dubai, Sochi, Belarus, Belarusian, Zolotov

MOSCOW, June 26 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin's former chief strategist on Monday urged an end to mercenary groups in Russia after a mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner militia, cautioning that they interfered with the chain of command. Vladislav Surkov, once known as the Kremlin’s ‘puppet master’ by friends and foes alike, said "private military companies" were an idea imported from the U.S., created to engage in proxy wars. This is not a proxy war, this is the SVO," Surkov said. As first deputy chief of the Kremlin administration from 1999 to 2011, Surkov helped Putin forge his tightly controlled political system. Prigozhin last month said his nickname "Putin's chef" was stupid as he could not cook, quipping that "Putin's butcher" might be more apt.

Persons: Vladimir Putin's, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner, Vladislav Surkov, Surkov, Alexei Chesnakov, Putin, Prigozhin, Wagner, Russia's, Guy Faulconbridge, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Kremlin, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, U.S, Ukraine, St Petersburg, Prigozhin

☆ Analysis: Mutiny lays bare prospect for Putin of 'forever war' in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

But current and former officials in Kyiv say the mutiny offered a startling glimpse into the strain the Russian political system is under. It revealed that Russian reserve forces were so thin they struggled to respond to the threat. A war stretching many more months and possibly years would inevitably mean more deaths and wounded on each side. U.S. officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said much remained unclear, including why Russian forces did not do more to halt Wagner's advance. A senior Central European diplomat said they saw "no immediate effect on the war" from Prigozhin's aborted mutiny.

Persons: Wagner, Stringer, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner, Andriy Zagorodniuk, Putin, Prigozhin's Wagner, Zagorodniuk, Prigozhin, Sergei Shoigu, Dmytro Kuleba, Mykhailo Podolyak, Voldomyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Pavel Polityuk, Andrew Gray, Phil Stewart, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Southern Military District, REUTERS, Reuters, Central, National Resistance Centre, Airborne Assault Division, Defence Ministry, Thomson Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, KYIV, Ukraine, Belarus, Kyiv, Moscow, Russia's, Russian, hurtling, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Brussels, Washington

☆ Putin confirms Russian pilots killed during aborted mutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 27 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin on Monday paid tribute to pilots who were killed during the failed weekend mutiny, confirming earlier reports by military bloggers that several planes were shot down by Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner militia. "The courage and self-sacrifice of the fallen heroes-pilots saved Russia from tragic devastating consequences," Putin said in his first public address about the mutiny since the weekend events. There has been no official information about how many pilots died or how many aircraft were shot down. Some Russian Telegram channels monitoring Russia's military activity, including the blog Rybar with more than a million subscribers, reported on Saturday that 13 Russian pilots were killed during the day-long mutiny. It was also not clear in what circumstances the aircraft were shot down and pilots killed.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner, Wagner, Putin, Rybar, Leonid Slutsky, Lidia Kelly, Lincoln Organizations: Telegram, Reuters, Defence Ministry, Thomson Locations: Rostov, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Belarus, Russian, Melbourne

☆ Chechnya's Kadyrov: one day I plan my own mercenary group
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's Chechnya region, said on Sunday that he one day planned to set up his own private military company in the style of Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner Group of mercenaries. The rise of Wagner and other mercenary groups outside the traditional Russian and Soviet-era military command structures has raised concerns among diplomats that such groups could one day pose a threat to stability in Russia. In a post on Telegram, Kadyrov said that Wagner, which has been fighting alongside Russian troops in Ukraine, had achieved "impressive results" and said private military companies were a necessity. "When my service to the state is completed, I seriously plan to compete with our dear brother Yevgeny Prigozhin and create a private military company. I think it will all work out," said Kadyrov, who has served as head of the Chechen Republic since 2007.

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