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☆ Putin meets Chechen leader Kadyrov after storm over prisoner beating comments
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sept 28 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin met Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on Thursday, a state television reporter said, three days after Kadyrov said he was proud of his 15-year-son for beating up a prisoner accused of burning the Koran. Putin said that there was a "positive dynamic" in Chechnya, largely thanks to Kadyrov and his team. The alleged Koran-burning did not take place in Chechnya but Russian investigators said they transferred Zhuravel to Chechen custody because Muslims there saw themselves as victims of the incident. The beating opened up Putin to accusations that he had handed over an ethnic Russian "to be devoured by the Chechens", former Kremlin speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov, now a harsh Putin critic, said this week. Kadyrov, 46, has been the subject of intense speculation over his health, with rumours swirling this month that he was dead or in a coma.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov, Kadyrov, Pavel Zarubin, Putin, Adam, Nikita Zhuravel, Zhuravel, Abbas Gallyamov, Mark Trevelyan, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Kremlin, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Chechnya, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian

☆ Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov released a video of his 15-year-old son beating up a prisoner, saying he's 'proud' of him for showing 'honor' and 'dignity'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Monday that he's "proud" of his son for beating a prisoner. He published a video of Adam Kadyrov, 15, punching, kicking, and slapping a cowering man. Kadyrov published a video of the beatdown on Telegram, writing that he was "proud" of his son's actions. "He beat him, and he did the right thing," Kadyrov wrote, per a translation by Reuters. In his commentary, Kadyrov said the attacker was his 15-year-old son, Adam Kadyrov, and that the teenager had attained "adult ideals of honor, dignity, and defense of his religion."

Persons: Ramzan Kadyrov, Adam Kadyrov, —, Islam, Kadyrov, Nikita Zhuravel, Zhuravel, Tatyana Moskalkova, Kadyrov's, Moskalkova, Adam Delimkhanov, Delimkhanov Organizations: Service, Reuters, Moscow Times, United States Commission, International, Human, Zhuravel, Chechen Locations: Volgograd, Chechen Republic, Chechnya, Ukraine, Russia

☆ Kremlin Won't Comment on Beating of Prisoner by Kadyrov's Teenage Son
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin's spokesman refused to comment on Tuesday on the beating of a prisoner by the teenaged son of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, an incident that drew condemnation even from some pro-Kremlin hardliners. Kadyrov said on Monday he was proud of his son Adam, 15, for the attack on Nikita Zhuravel, a Russian man accused of burning the Koran, and posted a video of the beating. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at the start of his daily briefing that he would not be commenting on the incident. "Without exaggeration, yes, I am proud of Adam's action," wrote Kadyrov, who styles himself as a ruthless Putin ally. But the beating of a defenceless ethnic Russian prisoner in custody by Kadyrov's own son - and the fact that Kadyrov saw it as a source of pride - are potentially embarrassing for the Kremlin.

Persons: Vladimir Putin's, Ramzan Kadyrov, Kadyrov, Adam, Nikita Zhuravel, Dmitry Peskov, Putin, Kadyrov's, Zhuravel, Abbas Gallyamov, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Kremlin Locations: Chechnya, Russia, Soviet Union, Moscow, Ukraine, Volgograd, Russian

Sept 25 (Reuters) - The leader of Russia's Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, said on Monday he was proud of his teenage son Adam for beating up a prisoner accused of burning the Koran. The Chechen leader, who styles himself as a ruthless ally of President Vladimir Putin, said he was releasing the video to settle any doubts about whether the incident, first reported last month, had really taken place. The prisoner, Nikita Zhuravel, had complained about the attack to Russia's human rights ombudswoman, who said last month she had referred the issue to her counterpart in Chechnya. The eldest, Akhmat, was pictured with Putin in the Kremlin in March, fuelling rumours he was being groomed as Kadyrov's successor. Kadyrov's health has been the subject of intense speculation, with rumours swirling this month that he was dead or in a coma.

Persons: Ramzan Kadyrov, Adam, Kadyrov, Vladimir Putin, Nikita Zhuravel, Akhmat, Putin, Mark Trevelyan, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Russia, Thomson Locations: Chechnya, Soviet Union, Ukraine, Kremlin, Moscow

☆ Chechen Leader's Telegram Channel Says He Is 'Alive and Well'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - The official social media channel of Ramzan Kadyrov, strongman leader of Russia's Chechen Republic and strong ally of President Vladimir Putin, on Wednesday showed a video of him and dismissed social media reports that he was in poor health. When asked about the reports, which alleged that the 46-year-old had been treated at a Moscow hospital, the Kremlin said this week that it had no information on the subject. But a video posted on Kadyrov's Telegram channel showed him sitting at the bedside of a man said to be "our dear UNCLE Magomed Abdulkhamidovich Kadyrov" and kissing him on the hand and head. "Praise be to the Almighty, I am alive and well and I don’t understand at all why there should be a fuss even in the case of my illness?" Spokespeople for the Chechen leader did not answer repeated phone calls earlier in the week seeking comment on the reports that he was ill.(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Kevin Liffey, Editing by William Maclean)

Persons: Ramzan Kadyrov, Vladimir Putin, Magomed Abdulkhamidovich Kadyrov, Kadyrov, Spokespeople, Kevin Liffey, William Maclean Organizations: Reuters Locations: Chechen Republic, Moscow

☆ Kremlin says it has no information on Chechen leader Kadyrov's health
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov attends a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Moscow, Russia April 27, 2023. Sputnik/Alexander Astafyev/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that it had no information on the health of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov when it was asked about social media reports that the 46-year-old was unwell. Spokespeople for Kadyrov did not answer repeated phone calls seeking comment on the reports, which said Kadyrov had been treated at a Moscow hospital. "We have no information on this," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "In any case, the presidential administration can hardly give out health certificates, so we have nothing to tell you here."

Persons: Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov, Mikhail Mishustin, Alexander Astafyev, Ramzan Kadyrov, Spokespeople, Kadyrov, Dmitry Peskov, Guy Faulconbridge, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Russian, Sputnik, Rights, Thomson Locations: Chechen Republic, Moscow, Russia

☆ Recent arrests suggest Putin is quietly trying to rein in some of his most effective promoters of the war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Putin regime has leaned heavily on propaganda to rally support for its war in Ukraine. In doing so, it has come to rely on military bloggers to spread its message and back its efforts. Milbloggers also have become an indispensable tool for Western governments, think tanks, and media to track the Russian war effort. But the relationship between Putin and milbloggers illustrates the complexities of social media in an authoritarian state. Many milbloggers are ultra-nationalists with deep ties to the Russian military and intelligence agencies.

Persons: Putin, Vladimir Putin's, —, Donald Jensen, Angel Howard, Milblogs, aren't, Milbloggers, DOMINIQUE FAGET, It's, Ramzan Kadyrov, milbloggers, Jensen, Howard, Igor Girkin, Girkin, Andrey Kurshin, Maxim Shemetov, Russia's, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Kyiv Independent, Getty, REUTERS, Putin's, Kremlin, Defense, Foreign Policy, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Kyiv, Russian, Makiivka, Donetsk, AFP, British, Ukrainian, Mariupol, Moscow, Russia, Forbes

Mr. Putin himself is under an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children, as is his commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova. The two entities placed under sanctions are a Russian-owned camp and an organization that has overseen Ukrainian children who were sent to a camp in the Chechen Republic. “Children are literally being ripped from their homes in the year 2023 by a country sitting in this very chamber,” Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said. Some are pressured into accepting Russian citizenship, and others have been adopted by Russian families, Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said. “You will hear Russian officials say that their transfers of children are part of humanitarian evacuations,” Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said on Thursday.

Persons: Ramzan Kadyrov, Aymani Nesievna, Kadyrova, reeducation, Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, Maria Lvova, Biden, ”, “ It’s, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Ms, Thomas, ARTEK, AKF, Galina Anatolevna Pyatykh, Irina Anatolyevna Ageeva, Irina Aleksandrovna Cherkasova, Mansur Mussaevich Soltaev, Magomedovich Khuchiev, Konstantin Albertovich Fedorenko, Alievich, Olena Oleksandrivna Shapurova, Vladimir Vladislavovich Kovalenko, Vladimir Dmitrievich Nechaev, “ Organizations: State Department, Kremlin, International, Court, Ukraine, Security, U.S ., Federal, Educational Institute International Children Center, Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation, The State Department, Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Youth Army Locations: Russia, Russian, United States, Ukraine, Chechen, Chechen Republic ., U.S, Crimea, Chechen Republic of Russia, Belgorod, Russia’s Kaluga, Russia’s Rostov, Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia, Sevastopol, Crimean

☆ Russia-Ukraine War U.S. Officials Say It Appears Likely Putin Ordered Prigozhin Killed
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Mr. Putin himself is under an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children, as is his commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova. Seven of the people targeted by the new sanctions are Russian officials, and the other four, including Ms. Kadyrova, have ties to the camps. “Children are literally being ripped from their homes in the year 2023 by a country sitting in this very chamber,” Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said. Some are pressured into accepting Russian citizenship, and others have been adopted by Russian families, Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said. “You will hear Russian officials say that their transfers of children are part of humanitarian evacuations,” Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said on Thursday.

Putin's comments, which suggested he harboured decidedly mixed feelings about Wagner's mercenary boss, were the most definitive yet on Prigozhin's fate. It remains to be seen too how Wagner fighters, some of whom have already spoken of betrayal and foul play, react. Pledging a thorough investigation which he said would take time, Putin said that "preliminary data" indicated that Prigozhin and other Wagner employees had been on the downed plane. A cameraman films a wreckage of the private jet linked to Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin near the crash site in the Tver region, Russia, August 24. The mutiny was ended by an apparent Kremlin deal which saw Prigozhin agree to relocate to neighbouring Belarus.

Persons: Putin, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Wagner, It's, Ramzan Kadyrov, Marina Lystseva, Kadyrov, Anatoly, Prigozhin's, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Andrew Osborn, Nick Macfie, Andrew Heavens, Stephen Coates Organizations: Reuters, U.S . Department of Defense, REUTERS, Marina, Embraer, SA, Telegram, Wagner Group, Wagner, General Staff, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Moscow, U.S, Washington, Ukraine, Africa, Kremlin, Donetsk, Tver, Russia, St . Petersburg, Kuzhenkino, Grey, Belarus

[1/2] The logo of Russian technology giant Yandex is on display at the company's headquarters in Moscow, Russia December 9, 2022. Maksut Shadaev, the head of Russia's ministry of digital affairs, told parliament in December that around 100,000 IT specialists had left Russia in 2022. It is not yet clear whether Volozh's comments may have any bearing on how Russia decides to proceed with the company. One of the sources said "hawks" in state companies believed nothing at all should be paid to foreigners. Two sources said VTB had never been a serious option as a buyer, given sanctions on the state lender.

Persons: Yandex, Maksut Shadaev, Ramzan Kadyrov, Arkady Volozh, Andrei Kostin, VTB, Alexei Kudrin, Alexander Marrow, Polina Devitt, Mike Collett, White, Susan Fenton Organizations: REUTERS, nationalising Nasdaq, Reuters, Yandex NV, Yandex, U.S, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, nationalising, Ukraine, Serbia, Yandex

According to a decree signed by Putin on Sunday, the Russian state had taken control of Danone's Russian subsidiary along with beer company Carlsberg's (CARLb.CO) stake in a brewer. Yakub Zakriev, 32, a deputy prime minister of Chechnya and the republic's agriculture minister, took the post of general director of Danone Russia on Tuesday, Interfax's SPARK database of company disclosure documents in Russia showed. "Choosing him as general director of Danone Russia shows that representatives of the team of Chechen President and Hero of Russia Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov are talented and successful managers," Dudayev said on his Telegram messaging app. Kadyrov, a close ally of Putin, has referred on social media to Zakriev as his "dear nephew". Danone sought alliances with big local players during the boom years, eventually gaining at least a fifth of Russia's dairy market.

Persons: Kadyrov, Danone Russia Kovalchuk, Carlsberg, Ramzan Kadyrov, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Yakub Zakriev, Akhmed Dudayev, of Russia Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov, Dudayev, Zakriev, Zulai, Akhmad Kadyrov, Kadyrov's, Danone, Yuri, Mikhail Kovalchuk, Bolloev, Guy Faulconbridge, Lidia Kelly, Shubhendu, Stephen Coates, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Danone Russia, Danone, Kremlin, Sunday, Chechen, Moscow State University, Cuban Missile, Soviet, Financial Times, Shubhendu Deshmukh, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Chechnya, Grozny, Paris, Red, Soviet Union, United States, China, Baltika, St Petersburg, Moscow, Melbourne, Bengaluru

☆ Putin ordered 2 Western corporate giants to be seized after Kremlin-friendly businessmen expressed an interest in them: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Putin ordered Danone and Carlsberg seized after Kremlin-friendly businessmen expressed interest, per the FT.A Chechen leader and a businessman close to Putin have taken over the companies' assets in Russia. Russia seizing the local operations of Danone and Carlsberg was not the first time the country took control of Western firms. Managers from Rosneft, a state energy company headed by Putin ally Igor Sechin, took over both energy companies. Independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported on Thursday, Russian businessmen bought the assets of 110 Western companies "that have fully or partially left Russia" at bargain-bin prices. Danone said in a Sunday statement it was "preparing to take all necessary measures to protect its rights as shareholder."

Persons: Putin, Vladimir Putin, Moscow, Yakub Zakriev, Ramzan Kadyrov —, Taimuraz, Igor Sechin, Ekaterina Kurbangaleeva, Kurbangaleeva, Hassan Malik, Loomis Sayles, Danone, Carlsberg Organizations: Danone, Carlsberg, Kremlin, Observers, Service, Financial Times, Vedomosti, Rosneft, Analysts, Russia's, Independent Russian, Novaya Gazeta, Carnegie Endowment, International, Boston Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Russian, Moscow, Ukraine

☆ '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

☆ How the Russian officer elite has been decimated in Ukraine — here are the generals and top commanders killed in action
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Alia Shoaib | Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Vitaly GerasimovMaj. Gen. Vitaly Gerasimov became the second senior Russian commander reported to be killed after Ukrainian military intelligence claimed he was shot dead in Kharkiv. Andrey KolesnikovUkraine's military said in a tweet that they killed Russian Maj. Gen. Andrey Kolesnikov. Ivan GrishinColonel Ivan Grishin, commander of Russia's 49th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, died in Ukraine, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Vyacheslav SavinovLieutenant Colonel Vyacheslav Savinov, who headed Russian artillery intelligence, was killed in Ukraine, a Russian artillery school confirmed. A damaged Russian military vehicle is seen after Russian Forces withdrawal as Russia-Ukraine war continues in Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine on September 14, 2022.

Persons: , Oleg Tsokov, Andrei Sukhovetsky Maj, Andrei Sukhovetsky, Sukhovetsky, Vitaly Gerasimov Maj, Vitaly Gerasimov, Alexander Nevsky, Andrey Kolesnikov Ukraine's, Andrey Kolesnikov, Oleg Mityaev Russia, Oleg Mityaev, Anton Gerashchenko, Andrei Mordvichev, Oleksiy Arestovych, Ramzan Kadyrov, Yakov Rezantsev, Illia Ponomarenko, Zelenskyy, Rezantsev, Dmitry Safronov Ukraine's, Dmitry Safronov, Denis Glebov, Glebov, Courage, Konstantin Zizevsky, Mikhail Vedernikov, Yuri Agarkov, Agarkov, Andrei Zakharov, Sergei Porokhnya, Gleb Garanich, Reuters Magomed, Magomed Tushaev, Putin, Vladimir Zhonga, Vladimir Zhoga, Sergei Sukharev, Sergei Krylov, Sukharev, Alexei, Alexei Sharov, Sharov, Sergey Bratchuk, Dmitry Dormidontov, Dmitry Pavlovich Dormidontov, Igor Zharov, Igor Igoshin, Zharov, Denis Kurilo, Kurilo, Anton Kuprin, Kuprin, Anton Gerashenko, Stringer, Denis Mezhuev, Vladimir Petrovich Frolov Maj, Gen, Vladimir Petrovich Frolov, Alexander Beglov, Fontanka, Miras, Miras Bashakov, Ivan Grishin, Vyacheslav Savinov, Savinov, Metin Aktas, Denis Kozlov, Kozlov, Andrei Simonov, Simonov, Roman Kutuzov Major, Roman Kutuzov, Alexander Sladkov, Tsargrad, Roman, Roman Berdnikov, Kutuzov, Volya, Kanamat, Botashev, Artem Nasbulin Maj, Artem Nasbulin, Serhiy Bratchuk, Tsokov, Михаил Ведерников Organizations: UK Defence Ministry, Service, British Defence Ministry, West, Storm, Russian, 7th Airborne Division, Combined Arms Army, Russian Federal Security Service, Arms Army, Interior Ministry, The New York Times, 8th General Army, Southern Military District of, Armed Forces, Twitter, Telegraph, Dmitry Safronov Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, Separate Marine Brigade, Russian Armed Forces, Ukraine's Defense Ministry, Airborne, 247th Guards Air Assault Regiment, Luhansk People's, 56th Air Assault Brigade, Guardian, 12th Engineer Brigade, Russian Armoured, Carrier, Reuters, The Daily Mail, Forces, Sparta Battalion, Donetsk People's, Daily Mail, 331st Guards Parachute, Ukraine, Ukraine's, Strategic Communication, Information Security, The Independent, 810th, Zhukov Brigade, Russian Marines, Evening, Local, 200th, Rifle Brigade, Black, Fleet, Russian Federation, Ukrainian, New York Times, 1st Guards, Banner, The Times, Kremlin, 8th Army, Aircraft Missile Brigade, Armed Forces of, Russian Missile Troops and Artillery, Russian Forces, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Separate Guards Engineers of Keningsbersko, Red Banner Brigade, Courage, Russian 2nd Army, Presidential, Russian Air Force, BBC, High Mobility Artillery, Southern Military District Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Russian, Kharkiv, Mariupol, Chornobayivka, Kherson Airport, London, Yakov Rezantsev Ukraine, Kyiv, Chornobaivka, Ukrainian, Chuhuiv, Donbas, Donetsk, Luhansk, Pskov Region, Andrei Zakharov Ukraine, Ufa, Nova Husarivka, Chechen, Hostomel, Russia's Chechnya, Donetsk People's Republic, Volnovakha, Kostroma, Tatarstan, Pechenga, Sevastopol, St, Petersburg, St . Petersburg, Armed Forces of Ukraine, Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, Izyum, Ukraine's Donbas, Severodonetsk, Kherson, Berdyansk

☆ Ukrainian forces advance in south, hold 'initiative,' says Zelenskiy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Russian accounts said heavy fighting gripped areas outside the eastern city of Bakhmut, captured by Russian mercenary Wagner forces in May after months of battles. Russian troops, she said, were defending Bakhmut, while Ukrainian forces had registered "a certain advance" on the city's southern flank. There were no changes in position to the north of Bakhmut, and Ukrainian forces remained engaged in heavy fighting west of Bakhmut and near Lyman, further north in Donetsk region. Zelenskiy acknowledged that advances were slower than what he and his generals wanted, but said Ukrainian forces held the initiative. Ukrainian military analyst Denys Popovych said Ukrainian forces had taken "important positions near Klishchiivka.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Wagner, Ramzan Kadyrov, Hanna Maliar, Zelenskiy, Kadyrov, Denys Popovych, Ron Popeski, Nick Starkov, Leslie Adler Organizations: ABC, NATO, Ukrainian, Reuters, Russia's Defence Ministry, Ukraine's NV, Thomson Locations: Russian, Bakhmut, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Lyman, Donetsk region, Lithuania, Klishchiivka

WASHINGTON, July 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. is "appalled" by a brutal attack in Chechnya on a prominent female Russian journalist and a lawyer, the State Department said in a statement on Thursday, and it urged Russia to conduct a transparent probe and ensure justice. Russia's Investigative Committee, the equivalent of the U.S. FBI, said in a statement on Wednesday that investigators in Chechnya had opened criminal cases. Milashina has spent years investigating purported human rights abuses in Chechnya. Novaya Gazeta was one of Russia's few independent news outlets until the government stripped it of its license last year. Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler and Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yelena Milashina, Alexander Nemov, Nemov, Ramzan Kadyrov, Vladimir Putin, Milashina, Kanishka Singh, Leslie Adler, Marguerita Choy Organizations: State Department, Novaya Gazeta, Wednesday, Kremlin, U.S . FBI, Thomson Locations: U.S, Chechnya, Russian, Russia, Moscow, Novaya, Washington

CNN —Elena Milashina, a prominent Russian journalist who uncovered the horrific crackdown on gay men in Chechnya, was severely beaten alongside a lawyer in an attack in the southern Russian republic, according to her employer Novaya Gazeta. Russia’s human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, “agreed to intervene in the situation on the request of the editorial office,” Novaya Gazeta said. Moskalkova also said she asked the Commissioner for Human Rights in Chechnya to ensure the safety of the journalist. Following her reporting on a crackdown on gay men in Chechnya in 2017, Muslim clerics in Chechnya called for “retribution” against her and other journalists. The country has a checkered record on gay rights, breaking up gay pride marches and passing anti-gay propaganda laws.

Persons: CNN — Elena Milashina, Alexander Nemov, Elena, Alexander, ” “ Elena Milashina, “, Nemov, Milashina, Musaeva, Ramzan Kadyrov, Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin, Tatyana Moskalkova, Moskalkova, ‘, Sergey Babinets, ”, Marie Struthers, Kadyrov Organizations: CNN, Novaya Gazeta, Milashina, Human, Novosti, Human Rights, Amnesty Locations: Russian, Chechnya, Grozny, Novaya, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Russia

☆ Prominent female Russian journalist and lawyer brutally attacked in Chechnya
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yelena Milashina, a well-known journalist for the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, was travelling to the Chechen capital Grozny from the local airport with Alexander Nemov, a lawyer, when they were attacked. There was no immediate comment from Ramzan Kadyrov, a close ally of Putin who rules Chechnya, a mainly Muslim southern region. But Soltayev, the Chechen rights official, was cited by the RIA news agency as calling the attack "a provocation" against the Chechen authorities. DEATH THREATSSome Russian lawmakers and officials in Moscow condemned the attack and demanded an investigation. Kadyrov denies rights abuses, saying such allegations are fabricated by ill-wishers trying to discredit Chechnya and its authorities.

Persons: Yelena Milashina, Alexander Nemov, Milashina, Mansur Soltayev, Nemov, Vladimir Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov, Putin, Mokhmad, Kadyrov, Zarema, Musayeva, Dmitry Muratov, Muratov, Andrew Osborn, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Novaya Gazeta, Kremlin, RIA, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Russian, Chechnya, Grozny, Moscow, Russia, Soviet, Milashina, Chechen

☆ Wagner merch soars in price after abortive mutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File PhotoMOSCOW, June 29 (Reuters) - Online prices for merchandise bearing the insignia of Russia's Wagner group - a human skull against a black and red backdrop - have shot up since its abortive armed mutiny, with buyers posting five-star reviews and support for the mercenaries. A deal brokered by the leader of Belarus abruptly halted the mutiny late on Saturday. E-commerce leader Wildberries' weekly price breakdowns showed how costs have risen. On a review of a Wagner flag on Wildberries, one buyer, Vladimir, said: "The Wagner Private Military Company is the best. Under Saturday's deal that ended the mutiny, fighters of the Wagner group were allowed to join their leader Prigozhin in exile in Belarus, to be integrated into Russia's regular armed forces or to return to their families.

Persons: Wagner, Evgenia, Russia's Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wildberries, Tatiana, Vladimir, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov, Alexey Navalny, Prigozhin, Alexander Marrow, Gareth Jones, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, Mercenary, Private Military Company, Don, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Yefremov, Tula region, Russia, MOSCOW, Moscow, Belarus, Ukraine, Rostov, Russian, St Petersburg

☆ Opinion: How Prigozhin’s mutiny will resonate in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Chris Good | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

Chris Good: You have spent a lot of time talking to Russians and developing a deep understanding of Russian public opinion. How will Prigozhin’s rebellion resonate in the Russian public consciousness, in your view? But especially now that it’s all sort of failed in the dust, there’s certainly opinion that it’s very good that it ended. Good: In the book, you talk about public opinion in Russia as involving a set of contradictions. Do you think of Russia as having public opinion, per se, and how you would characterize that public opinion, or the state of mind of Russians, throughout this war?

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Ukraine —, Jade McGlynn Jade McGlynn, Jade McGlynn, ”, Vladimir Putin, Chris Good, there’s, Yulia Morozova, Reuters I’ve, ’, Prigozhin, McGlynn, Prigozhin’s Wagner, It’s, Putin, they’re, Putin —, ‘, Gennady, Zyuganov, ‘ Yeltsin, it’s, Stringer, Russia —, jockeying, they’ve, dismissible, Alexei Levinson, Masha Gessen, I’m, Masha, you’re, We’re, ’ Wagner, Roman Romokhov, he’s, Ramzan Kadyrov, —, you’ve, Russia wouldn’t, Bill Gates Organizations: CNN, War Studies Department, King’s College London, Reuters, Communist, Southern Military District, Getty, Telegram, Soviet Union —, Twitter, Facebook, Sputnik Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Russia, Russian, Rostov, British, Don, Putin Russia, That’s, aggrievement, Chechnya, AFP, Kyiv, Soviet Union, It’s

But now, as Mr. Putin seeks to project an image of restored stability and control, he has been putting his defense minister on display, even if Mr. Shoigu has not addressed the public or even been heard speaking. Mr. Shoigu was also present on Monday as Mr. Putin convened a meeting of his top security chiefs. On Tuesday, as Mr. Putin praised his security forces in a grandly choreographed speech, Mr. Shoigu was again present, wearing his military uniform. Mr. Shoigu, who was a very popular minister of emergency situations before becoming defense minister in 2012, has had a long and friendly relationship with Mr. Putin. Mr. Putin may have kept both men in charge as part of his decades-long efforts to place the sprawling Russian military more under his control.

Persons: Vladimir V, Sergei K, Shoigu, Valery V, Putin, Yevgeny V, Wagner, ” Mr, Gerasimov, Mr, Prigozhin, Ramzan Kadyrov, —, ”, ” Andrei Guryulov, Aleksandr Dugin, Aleksandr G, Lukashenko, Dugin, Long, General Gerasimov, It’s, Andrei Soldatov, Putin “, ” Oleg Matsnev Organizations: Putin, Cuban, National Defense Control Center of Russia, Russian military’s Zvezda, United, Defense Ministry, General Staff Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, United States, Cuba, Russian, Ukrainian, Lyman, Chechnya, United Russia, Belarus

☆ Opinion | Prigozhin’s Mutiny Against Putin’s Reign of Lies
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Bret Stephens | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

But something went wrong in Putin’s approach, and it wasn’t just the incompetence of his military, the bravery of Ukrainians or the intercession by the West. In a nutshell, the problem is this: A monopoly on truth can be sustained only through a monopoly on violence. Big Brother can tell the Big Lie only if he has the Big — and only — Gun. But it creates risks, including the risk that someone from one of those centers of power will be willing to tell an inconvenient truth. And it may be why he appeared to have been treated as a hero, almost a liberator, in Rostov-on-Don.

Persons: what’s, Putin, Prigozhin’s Wagner, Ramzan Kadyrov, Prigozhin, ” —, ” Organizations: Newsweek, Ministry of Defense, NATO Locations: Ukraine, Rostov, Moscow

☆ Analysis: Vladimir Putin's humiliation will require the West to reexamine its balancing act to save Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —The world just got a hint of a tantalizing but possibly even more dangerous future without Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Western stakes in the Ukraine war rose significantly as a result. There’s now no doubt that the war Putin unleashed to wipe Ukraine off the map poses an existential threat to his political survival. This would be good news for the West, which has bankrolled and armed the country’s fight for its life. After this weekend, this new reality will require the West to once again examine its balancing act to save Ukraine.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin flagrantly, Prigozhin’s Wagner, –, Putin, There’s, Oz, Ukraine John Herbst, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, “ Putin, Prigozhin’s, Moscow’s, Prigozhin –, Africa –, Prigozhin, he’s, CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Biden, ”, David Petraeus, Petraeus, “, Ramzan Kadyrov, Wagner, Robert English, Alexei Navalny, Alexander Lukashenko, “ It’s, Antony Blinken, placated –, Blinken, Will Hurd, ” Hurd, Hurd –, Donald Trump –, Trump Organizations: CNN, White, Kremlin, NATO, Western, Russian Federation, Union, CIA, Internet Research Agency, School of International Relations, University of Southern, Belarusian, ”, Republican, GOP, Moscow Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Europe, Belarus, Russian, Russia, Syria, Africa, France, Britain, Germany, Washington, “ State, University of Southern California, NATO, Crimea, Texas

☆ Analysis: Why Prigozhin's short-lived Russian rebellion failed
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Nic Robertson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

When he packed up his tanks and pulled out of the Russian military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don on Saturday, well-wishers rushed up to say thank you. For weeks, months even, he’d been arguing Russia’s war in Ukraine was being badly and unnecessary fought by an elite who couldn’t care less how many Russian lives were lost. Prigozhin claimed his troops were being starved of ammunition by another of Putin’s trusted inner circle, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu. What the Russian public was hearing from Prigozhin, about how badly the war was going, was dangerous for Putin. Prigozhin's actions followed months of feuding with Russia's military top brass.

Persons: CNN — Wagner, Yevegeny Prigozhin, he’d, Putin, Prigozhin, Sergey Shoigu, Wagner, Shoigu, boss’s, Mikhail Mizintsev, Sergey Surovkin, ” Prigozhin, Alexander Ermochenko, Reuters Wagner, Don, Roman Romokhov, Ramzan Kadyrov, “, ” Kadyrov, Kadyrov, ”, kingmakers, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko Organizations: CNN, Moscow, Don, Russia’s, Kremlin, Army, Reuters, Getty, Wagner PMC, Shoigu, Ministry of Defense Locations: Rostov, Ukraine, Africa, Russian, Kremlin, Moscow, AFP, Belarus, Russia, Mali, Central African Republic, Sudan, Libya

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