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☆ Russia's fighter jets have gone from harassing US aircraft to actually breaking them as Moscow flexes its muscles where it still can
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Russian fighter jets have harassed US military drones on numerous occasions throughout July. That incident is just one of several demonstrations of Russian aggression around US military drones this month. Russian military Su-34 and Su-35 aircraft employ flares in the flight path of a US MQ-9 aircraft on July 6, 2023 over Syria. A press officer who goes by callsign Damian looks at a destroyed Russian military vehicle in Novodarivka village, Zaporizhzhia Region, southeastern Ukraine. "These maneuvers, they are to some extent intended to demonstrate Russian military strength," which could appease the country's domestic audience.

Persons: Nicholas Lokker, Alexus Grynkewich, Sabrina Singh, Su, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Damian, Putin, Lokker, Assad, Äzzeddin Kasim, Paul Lushenko, Lushenko, Christopher Sommers, AFCENT Organizations: Kremlin, Service, Center, New, New American Security, Islamic, US Air Force, ISIS, US Air Forces Central Command, Pentagon, Donetsk Regions, US, Anadolu Agency, Getty, US Army, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Quds Force, 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, U.S . Central Command Locations: Wall, Silicon, Syria, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, New American, Moscow, Syria . Washington, Islamic State, Washington, CNAS, Belarus, Novodarivka, Zaporizhzhia Region, Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian, Iran, Idlib, United States, Western

☆ Niger response: 'Washington has to thread a very difficult needle'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —The United States and its Western allies are faced with a difficult conundrum as they navigate potential responses to the military takeover in Niger if democratic rule is not restored. Experts told CNN that punitive measures could push Niger toward Russian mercenary groups like Wagner and away from its partners in the West. US officials have said there are no indications that the organization was involved in the military takeover. We don’t really know who this new general is” who has seized power, she told CNN. Felbab-Brown told CNN that Prigozhin is trying to “personally” take advantage, given his “precarious” place following his failed revolt.

Persons: Biden, Vedant Patel, John Kirby, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, ”, Cameron Hudson, ‘, Antony Blinken, Vanda Felbab, Brown, Bob Menendez, Jim Risch, Kirby, Mohamed Bazoum, Gen, Abdourahamane Tiani, Bazoum, “, ” Hudson, Kamissa Camara, Camara, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, We’re, ” Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, “ It’s, Prigozhin, Putin, shouldn’t, ” Kirby, Blinken, United Nations Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Kamala Harris, Bola Tinubu, African Affairs Molly Phee, Hassoumi Massoudou, Mahamadou Issoufou “, Patel Organizations: CNN, US State Department, Nigerien, State Department, National Security Council, Experts, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Central African, West, Brookings, Senate Foreign Relations, Democratic, US Institute of Peace, Russian Foreign Ministry, African Union, Economic, West African States, United Nations, African Affairs, Nigerien Foreign, ” State Department Locations: United States, Niger, Russian, Africa, “ Washington, Sahel, Mali, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Niamey, “, Hudson, Russia, St . Petersburg, Moscow, Sudan, New Zealand, Nigeria

CNN —Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private military company, was spotted inside Russia on Thursday for the first time since he led an armed rebellion against the Russian military last month. Wagner has had a presence in the Central African Republic for several years, as previously reported by CNN. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko – a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir – claimed he convinced Putin not to “destroy” Wagner and Prigozhin during the rebellion. After Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Wagner forces were heavily involved in taking the Ukrainian cities of Soledar and Bakhmut. At times, Wagner forces seemed to be the only ones on the Russian side winning battles with the Ukrainians.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko –, Vladimir –, Putin, ” Wagner, ”, Sergei Shoigu, Gen, Valery Gerasimov, “ Organizations: CNN, Central African Republic, Central African, Kremlin, Russian Defense Locations: Russia, St . Petersburg, Russia Africa, Central African Republic, Trezzini, Belarus, Asipovichy, Ukraine, Russian, Sudan, Libya, Mozambique, Syria, Soledar

☆ Tesla’s secret team, what Africa wants from Russia - and Meloni woos Washington
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

The Wagner mercenary group and food supplies top the agenda as African leaders meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Joe Biden try to find common ground at the White House. Plus, a coup in Niger and the the world mourns Sinead O’Connor. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tesla, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Joe Biden, Sinead O’Connor Organizations: Apple, Google, Reuters, White House, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Niger

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his delegation, North Korean state media KCNA reported on July 26, 2023. Meanwhile, Moscow over the decades has been a staunch ally for North Korea, especially as the two share a joint animosity toward the West. US officials said last year that North Korea was selling millions of rockets and artillery shells to Russia for use on the battlefield in Ukraine. North Korea typically marks key moments in its history with displays of its newest weaponry. One such weapon that may be on display is the Hwasong-18 ICBM, a solid-fueled, nuclear-capable missile that North Korea claims could hit anywhere in the United States.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Sergei Shoigu –, Kang Sun Nam, Shoigu, Li Hongzhong, Kim Song Nam, North Korea “, ” Ankit Panda, Stanton, ” Panda, Blake Herzinger, “ It’s, ” Herzinger, Sergei Shoigu, Pyongyang’s, Camp Humphreys, Xi Jinping, Panda, Vladimir Putin, Xi, Putin, Wagner Organizations: South Korea CNN —, Russian, North Korean Defense, Korean Central News Agency, Korean People’s Army, North Korean, Nuclear, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, United States Studies Center, Russian Defense, United Nations Command, Beijing, Aid, UN Command, Army, US, Chinese Communist Party, UN Security Council, Foreign Ministry, US Navy Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Russia, China, North, Pyongyang, Ukraine, North Korea, Moscow, Australia, North Korean, United States, Aid Korea, Soviet Union, Pyeongtaek, Beijing, Soviet, Russian, Iran, Korea, Moscow’s, Japan

☆ Prigozhin was spotted at an international summit in Russia, hundreds of miles from where he was last seen in his underwear in a Belarus field tent
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has been spotted at an international summit in Russia. The images come after he was supposedly exiled following the mutiny he staged against Russian military brass. Prigozhin was last seen in his underwear inside a field tent at a military camp in Belarus. Prigozhin's whereabouts have largely been shrouded in mystery ever since he mobilized the Wagner mercenary group against Russian military brass. An image of Prigozhin in his underwear in a tent Belarus was recently circulated on social media.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Yevgeny Prigozhin schmoozing, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Freddy Mapouka, Faustin, Dmitry Syty Organizations: Service, Russian, Central African, Financial Times, Mister Locations: Russia, Belarus, Wall, Silicon, Africa, St . Petersburg, Central African Republic

☆ The mother of a Russian prisoner recruited to fight in Ukraine said she got a government letter saying her son died the day he left jail
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Russian mother spoke to CNN about her convict son's death on the frontlines in Ukraine. One such recruit, Andrei, went to prison when he was 20 years old on minor drug charges, his mother, Yulia, told CNN. It is horrible to say, but I already thought of him like he was dead," Yulia told CNN. Yulia told the outlet that she still hasn't received her son's body or any of his belongings. "The hardest part was that I was afraid, he would kill someone," Yulia told CNN.

Persons: Yulia, Andrei, Wagner, Andrei messaged, hasn't Organizations: CNN, Defense Ministry, Service, Wagner Group, Russian Defense Ministry, Ministry of Defense Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Russia

☆ Prigozhin turned back his rebellion because his men got 'cold feet' and that it 'wasn't what they had signed up for,' CIA chief Bill Burns says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

CIA director Williams Burns told Puck that some Wagner troops may have felt the revolt wasn't what they signed up for. Prigozhin was "making it up as he went along," Burns told Puck. "Some of his men started getting cold feet," Burns said. While speaking on a panel at the conference last week, Burns said Prigozhin was "making it up as he went along." Burns also noted Prigozhin had only 5,000 men with him — not nearly enough to actually take Moscow.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Williams Burns, Puck, Wagner, Prigozhin, Burns, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Puck's Julia Ioffe, Putin, — Organizations: CIA, Service, Aspen Security Locations: Wall, Silicon, Moscow, —

Chicago wheat futures , a benchmark of global prices, have risen around 20% since Russia ended the deal on July 17. It's absolutely an important national security issue for a lot of these African countries," he said. Putin says Russia is expecting a record harvest this year and is ready to fill the gap for African countries by supplying grain both commercially and for free. Dizolele said, noting that Russia backed African countries at the U.N., had defence and security agreements with some of them and gave scholarships to their students. But Putin's response, when Ramaphosa and other African leaders presented the proposal to him last month, was to repeat a familiar list of accusations against Ukraine and the West.

Persons: Anton Vaganov, Putin, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Mvemba Dizolele, Samuel Ramani, RUSI, Dizolele, WAGNER, Cyril Ramaphosa, Ramani, Mark Trevelyan, Joe Bavier, Carien du, Tom Balmforth, Michelle Nichols, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Saint, REUTERS, Putin, Kremlin, U.S, Africa, Washington -, Strategic, International Studies, International Criminal Court, Treasury, Central African, Ukraine, South, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Russia, Africa, Saint Isaac's, central Saint Petersburg, Black, Russian, St Petersburg, Ukraine, Chicago, Washington, Turkey, Qatar, Moscow, United States, Kenya, Somalia, Central African Republic, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, West, London, Johannesburg, Carien du Plessis

☆ North Korea to welcome China and Russia with military display after pandemic isolation
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

MILITARY DISPLAYSImages from Russia's defence ministry and North Korean media showed Shoigu being greeted by North Korean defence minister Kang Sun Nam and Russian ambassador Alexander Matsegora at the airport, and rows of North Korean and Russia troops. The only defence treaty China and North Korea have is with each other. Amid international sanctions over North Korea's missile and nuclear programmes - which both Moscow and Beijing voted to impose - China has become by far North Korea's largest trading partner. Russia and China have rebuffed recent attempts by the United States and some European countries to impose new sanctions on North Korea. "If North Korea also sends a high-level delegation to China for the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games, it means the resumption of high-level 'shuttle diplomacy' between North Korea and China since the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.

Persons: Sergei Shoigu, Li Hongzhong, Anthony Rinna, Travis King, Rinna, Shoigu, Kang Sun Nam, Alexander Matsegora, Wagner, Kim, Yang Moo, Dave Schmerler, James Martin, Schmerler, Kim Jong Un, KCNA, denuclearisation, Yang, Josh Smith, Michael Perry Organizations: Korean People's Army, North, Korean Central News Agency, KCNA, Russian, Communist Party, United Nations Security Council, Washington, U.S, Sino, NK, United, University of North Korean Studies, James, James Martin Center, Nonproliferation Studies, Reuters, Fatherland, Thomson Locations: Pyongyang, North Korea, China, U.S, SEOUL, United States, Russia, Beijing, Moscow, Korea, North Korean, Washington, Russian, Korean, Ukraine, Seoul, North, Hangzhou

London CNN —The United Kingdom government has been heavily criticized by Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee for underestimating the growth of Russia’s Wagner private mercenary group, despite it posing a major threat to the country’s interests. Wagner “essentially operate like a criminal mafia,” Kearns said in an interview with Sky News Wednesday. Barbara Debout/AFP/Getty Images/FILEIt also criticized the UK government for only beginning to seriously monitor the group after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. “It is deeply regrettable that it was not until early 2022 that the Government began to invest greater resource in understanding the Wagner Network, despite Wagner fighters having already conducted military operations in at least seven countries for almost a decade,” read the report. “The Government has not told us anything specific that it is doing to challenge the network’s influence and impunity outside of Ukraine,” the report said.

Persons: Russia’s Wagner, Wagner, ”, Alicia Kearns, Wagner “, ” Kearns, “, Barbara Debout Organizations: London CNN, United, Parliament’s Foreign, “, CNN, Sky News, Getty, Government, Wagner Network, European Union Locations: Africa, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Sudan, Syria, Central African Republic, Libya, Mozambique, Mali, Bangui, AFP, “, United States

☆ Internet Trolls Propelled Prigozhin’s Rise. Now Some Celebrate His Fall.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Ivan Nechepurenko | More About Ivan Nechepurenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When President Vladimir V. Putin said recently that the Wagner mercenary group legally “does not exist,” a collection of social media accounts that have historically been associated with Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the group’s founder, quickly endorsed the Russian leader’s statement. “Prigozhin was respected inside the country,” said a post on a Twitter account under the name Bogdan Goryunov. “But with his single act, he has forfeited all that respect,” he added, referring to the Wagner leader’s aborted mutiny last month. “What remains of Wagner is nothing now, just a memory.”A group of volunteers who monitor Twitter for trolls identified Mr. Goryunov as a likely one. His account had few followers or original posts, mainly posting replies to more popular accounts, and it sometimes contradicted itself.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny V, “ Prigozhin, ”, Bogdan Goryunov, Goryunov, Prigozhin Organizations: Mr, Trump Locations: Russian, Russia

☆ Russia's economy is being propped up by Wagner Group's gold-smuggling operations, UK government report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's economy is being sustained by the Wagner Group's gold smuggling operations, the UK government says. A report says the mercenary group has been sneaking "significant" amounts of gold out of Sudan. That gold is then used in trade that's boosting Russia's economy, it added, despite the nation being targeted by western sanctions amid Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine. "Wagner's gold-smuggling operations from Sudan are significant, with one calling them 'critical to Russia's ability to withstand significant sanctions deployed against it for its illegal invasion in Ukraine,'" the report said. And though Putin has downplayed the effect of sanctions, non-government statistics show that Russia's economy is spiraling and in a far worse state than it appears, two Yale researchers said.

Persons: Wagner, Brian Nelson, Putin Organizations: Service, US Treasury, United Arab, Wagner Group, Central African, Terrorism, Financial, Wagner Groups, EU, Yale Locations: Sudan, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Central African Republic, Russia, Mali, United States, Africa

☆ Xi Jinping’s foreign minister ousted after month-long unexplained absence from public view
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —China’s foreign minister Qin Gang was dramatically ousted on Tuesday after a prolonged absence from public view and replaced by his predecessor in a surprising and highly unusual shake-up of the country’s foreign policy leadership. Qin, 57, a career diplomat and trusted aide of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, had only been appointed foreign minister in December after serving as China’s ambassador to Washington. Wang, who was foreign minister from 2013 to 2022, now serves as director of the foreign affairs arm of the ruling Communist Party, a position which makes him China’s top diplomat. The appointment of a foreign minister through a vote during a China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee meeting is a deviation from past precedents. Qin’s disappearance from China’s foreign affairs schedule has not been fully explained by the ministry, which briefly cited “health reasons” when he missed a diplomatic gathering earlier this month.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, Qin Gang, Qin, Xi Jinping, Wang Yi, Wang, Andrey Rudenko, Wagner, Xi, ”, Deng Yuwen, Deng, they’ve Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Communist Party, Russian, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, Xi, CNN, Senior Locations: Hong Kong, Washington, China, Beijing, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Russia, Indonesia, South Africa, Johannesburg

CNN —One fighter was shot twice, sent from the hospital back to the front, where he drank melted snow to live. Forced to assault Ukrainian positions repeatedly, until a grenade blinded him. CNN also spoke to a rare survivor of the Storm-Z units, Sergei – who was first interviewed by phone in a military hospital months earlier and last week recounted the savage and deteriorating life in the Russian trenches. While the appalling fighting conditions are well known, much Russian testimony is from prisoners of war, and provided through Ukrainian facilitators. Sergei recalls the quotidian horrors of the Russian trenches.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Andrei, Sergei –, Sergei, CNN Sergei, amputees, ” Sergei, ”, “, Don’t, Yulia, ” Andrei, CNN Yulia, Andrei messaged, Putin, ‘, ‘ we’re, ’, ” Yulia sobbed Organizations: CNN, Nazis, Russian Ministry of Defense, Kremlin, Ministry of Defense Locations: Russian, Red Square, Ukraine, Russia

☆ Russia's war in Ukraine has apparently come home again, this time with drones striking skyscrapers in the capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The attack was reportedly carried out by Kyiv and came after unrelenting Russian attacks on southern Ukraine with drones and missiles increasingly targeting the country's grain infrastructure. Russia's Ministry of Defense said it "foiled" the early Monday morning attack on Moscow, which it blamed it on Ukraine. Photographs of the scene show damage to the roof of an unidentified building, which is located just a few hundred meters from the Russian defense ministry's headquarters in the capital. A view of a building after two Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) attack in Moscow, Russia on July 24, 2023. Ukraine's defense ministry said on Monday that Russian drones attacked grain infrastructure along the Danube River, injuring several people and destroying food storage facilities.

Persons: Vladimir Putin's, Sefa Karacan, Mykhailo Podolyak, Putin, ALEXANDER NEMENOV, Biden, Vedant Patel, Patel, EKATERINA ANISIMOVA, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Russia's Ministry of Defense, TASS, Windows, CNN, Kyiv, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Presidential, Twitter, Police, Wagner, White, US State Department Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Kyiv, Russian, Ukrainian, Russia's, Ukraine isn't, AFP, Crimean, Odesa

☆ Putin hosts Belarus leader, calls Ukraine's counteroffensive a failure
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko (R) at the Grand Kremlin Palace on May 25, 2023 in Moscow, Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine's counteroffensive "has failed" as he hosted Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, his close ally, for talks in St. Petersburg on Sunday. "There is no counteroffensive," Russian news agencies quoted Lukashenko as saying. Poland is moving extra troops toward the border with Belarus in response to the arrival of the Wagner forces who relocated there after staging a short-lived mutiny in Russia last month. Putin, in response, warned Poland on Friday that any aggression against Belarus would be considered an attack on Russia.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, Lukashenko, Putin, Mark Milley, Russia's Wagner, Wagner Organizations: U.S, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Telegram, NATO Locations: Moscow, Russia, Russian, St . Petersburg, Ukraine, Poland, Warsaw, Rzeszow, Belarusian, Polish, Belarus, Minsk

[1/2] Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko meet people outside the Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Kronstadt near Saint Petersburg, Russia July 23, 2023. Sputnik/Alexander Demyanchuk/Pool via REUTERSJuly 23 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine's counteroffensive "has failed" as he hosted Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, his close ally, for talks in St Petersburg on Sunday. "There is no counteroffensive," Russian news agencies quoted Lukashenko as saying. Ukraine began its long-anticipated counter-offensive last month but has so far made only small gains against well entrenched Russian forces who control more than a sixth of its territory after nearly 17 months of war. Putin, in response, warned Poland on Friday that any aggression against Belarus would be considered an attack on Russia.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, Nicholas, Alexander Demyanchuk, Lukashenko, Putin, Mark Milley, Russia's Wagner, Wagner, Mark Trevelyan, Felix Light, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Belarusian, Naval, Sputnik, REUTERS, U.S, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Telegram, NATO, Thomson Locations: St, Kronstadt, Saint Petersburg, Russia, St Petersburg, Russian, Ukraine, Poland, Warsaw, Rzeszow, Belarusian, Polish, Belarus, Moscow, Minsk, West

☆ The 'taboo' of criticizing Putin has been 'significantly weakened,' which is why an influential pro-war blogger trashed him, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A pro-war Russian ultra-nationalist was arrested for criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin. The UK MoD said he made the comments as the "taboo" around criticizing Putin is weakened. Ivor Girkin, a Russian ultra-nationalist, was arrested on extremism charges on Friday after he called Putin a "cowardly mediocrity." Girkin, like many other Russian war bloggers, has been critical of Russia's military performance in Ukraine. The UK MoD noted that Girkin had "long been a critic" of Russia's military performance but that, in recent days, his comments had turned to criticizing Putin himself.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Wagner, Ivor Girkin, Girkin's, Russian Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Igor Girkin, ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Insider's Erin Snodgrass, Girkin Organizations: MoD, Service, Wagner Group, Getty, MOD, Guardian Locations: Russian, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Ukrainian Donetsk

☆ Russian central bank surprises with sharper-than-expected rate hike to 8.5%
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Pro-inflationary risks have increased significantly over the medium-term horizon," the bank said in a statement. The central bank raised its year-end forecast for inflation - now just below 4% - to 5.0-6.5% from 4.5-6.5%, and said it was holding open the possibility of further hikes at future meetings. "The much larger-than-expected 100bp interest rate hike ... underscores policymakers’ concerns about inflation risks," said William Jackson, Chief Emerging Markets Economist at Capital Economics. Alfa Bank Chief Economist Natalia Orlova said the rate hike looked like a reaction to the situation on the currency market, given that the other inflation pressures mentioned had been evident at the previous central bank meeting on June 9. Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina will shed more light on the bank's forecasts and policy in a media briefing at 1200 GMT.

Persons: William Jackson, Natalia Orlova, Wagner, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Alexander Marrow, Andrew Osborn, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Reuters, Capital Economics, Alfa Bank, Central Bank Governor, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine MOSCOW, Ukraine, Moscow

☆ Pro-war Putin critic and nationalist Girkin detained in Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Girkin, also known as Igor Strelkov, helped Russia annex Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and then organise pro-Russian militias who took control of part of eastern Ukraine from Kyiv. Girkin's lawyer told the state news agency TASS that it was not clear why his client had been detained. RBC, citing two unnamed law enforcement sources, said Girkin's Moscow home was being searched and that he had been detained over a complaint against him made by a former Wagner employee. Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of the R.Politik analysis firm, said the men who run Russia's law enforcement and power ministries had long wanted to arrest Girkin. Stanovaya said Girkin's detention was a signal that any of the bitterest critics of Moscow's approach to the war could face prosecution.

Persons: Putin, Igor Girkin, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Igor Strelkov, Girkin, PUTIN, Miroslava Reginskaya, Girkin's, Tatiana Stanovaya, Stanovaya, Andrew Osborn, Kevin Liffey Organizations: RBC, Malaysia Airlines, Federal Security Service, of Angry Patriots, Kremlin, Telegram, Investigative, TASS, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, MOSCOW, Russian, Crimea, Kyiv, Girkin's Moscow

☆ Russian central bank hikes rates 100 basis points as Ukraine war sparks ruble crash and labor crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's central bank lifted its benchmark to 8.5% from 7.5%, the first hike in over a year. Rates are now going up 100 basis points to 8.5% from 7.5%, as policymakers cited inflationary pressure from the ruble's recent slide and worker shortages. "The increase in domestic demand surpasses the capacity to expand production, including due to the limited availability of labor resources," the central bank said. And despite Friday's rate hike, the ruble fell 1.6% against the greenback to 90.80. In addition, the Kremlin's military spending for the war has widened its budget deficit, adding even more inflationary pressure.

Persons: Vladimir Putin's, Wagner, group's Organizations: Service Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Moscow

☆ Putin tells Poland any aggression against Belarus is attack on Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, July 21 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused NATO member Poland of having territorial ambitions in the former Soviet Union, and said any aggression against Russia's neighbour and close ally Belarus would be considered an attack on Russia. Moscow would react to any aggression against Belarus, which forms a loose "Union State" with Russia, "with all the means at our disposal", Putin told a meeting of his Security Council in televised remarks. On Thursday, Belarus said Wagner mercenaries had started to train Belarusian special forces at a military range just a few miles from the border with Poland. "But as far as Belarus is concerned, it is part of the Union State (with Russia); unleashing aggression against Belarus will mean aggression against the Russian Federation," Putin said. Poland denies any territorial ambitions in Belarus.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Russian Wagner, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Kevin Liffey, Andrew Osborn Organizations: NATO, Soviet Union, Council, Warsaw's Security, Union State, Russian Federation, Reuters, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Poland, Belarus, Russia, Moscow, Russian, Ukraine, Africa, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Lithuanian

☆ Russia hits Ukraine's grain for fourth day, practises seizing ships
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Olena Harmash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Moscow has described the attacks as revenge for a Ukrainian strike on a Russian-built bridge to Crimea - the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014. Russia's defence ministry on Friday said its Black Sea fleet had practised firing rockets at "floating targets" and apprehending ships. The president of Turkey, which brokered the deal alongside the U.N. said, he hoped planned talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin could lead to the restoration of the initiative. Western leaders have accused Russia of seeking to loosen sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine, which already exempt exports of Russian food. Russian grain has moved freely through the Black Sea to market throughout the conflict and traders say Russia is pouring wheat onto the market.

Persons: Oleh Kiper, Vladimir Putin, Tayyip Erdogan, Putin, WAGNER, Russia's Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Yuriy Malashko, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Joe Biden's, Zelenskiy, Anna Pruchnicka, Philippa Fletcher, Peter Graff Organizations: Press Service, Operational Command, Ukrainian Armed Forces, NATO, Poland KYIV, UN, Washington, . Security, Ukraine, United, U.S, West, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Odesa region, Russia, Poland, Odesa, Moscow, Crimea, Ukrainian, Washington, Turkey, Gulf, Cyprus, POLAND, Polish, Belarus, People, Zaporizhzhia, Kostiantynivka, Donetsk, Iranian, United States, Russia's, Kyiv, KYIV

☆ Wagner boss Prigozhin was just winging it with his armed revolt and making things up as he went along, CIA director says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin shocked the world when he called on his Wagner Group fighters to invade Russia. CIA Director Bill Burns said this week that Prigozhin was likely improvising during the armed rebellion. Prigozhin was "making some of this up as he went along," Burns told the Aspen Security Forum. Head of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin left the Southern Military District headquarters on June 24, 2023 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Within hours, the Wagner Group had captured the southern city of Rostov-on-Don without meeting any resistance.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Bill Burns, Prigozhin, Burns, Wagner, Joe Biden, I'm, William Burns, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin, Stringer, he'd, Alexander Lukashenko, Reuters Prigozhin, he'll, Russia —, Vladimir Putin, they've, Putin's misjudgment, Russian Wagner, Mark Milley, Milley Organizations: Wagner Group, CIA, Aspen Security, Service, Russian Defense, Southern Military, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Kremlin, Reuters, Belarus —, Wagner, Belarusian Defence Ministry, REUTERS, Ukrainian, Joint Chiefs, Staff, NATO Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Moscow, Ukraine, Rostov, Don, Prigozhin, Russian, Voronezh, Belarus, Belarusian, Africa, Osipovichi, Kyiv

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