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☆ Analysis: The 'mayfly' mutiny evaporates, but Russia is a changed place
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —The weekend’s events in Russia seem an almost surreal interruption to the long slog of conflict unfolding in neighboring Ukraine. Yevgeny Prigozhin’s challenge to the Russian state erupted and receded in the space of 24 hours, but the consequences of his short-lived mutiny may reverberate for much longer. Prigozhin’s Wagner forces, for all his boasting, were never going to be a match for the Russian security forces. And yet, the saga was humiliating to the Russian military and at least embarrassing to the Kremlin. One Ukrainian military officer was provocatively shown on social media eating popcorn as he watched events in Russia unfold.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin’s, Prigozhin’s Wagner, Prigozhin’s bluster, Sergei Shoigu, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Gorbachev –, Putin, Mikhailo Podolyak, It’s, ”, Pavel Zarubin, Russia “, Thomas Graham, Prigozhin’s, Wagner, ” Putin, Staff Valery Gerasimov, CFR’s Graham, Antony Blinken, ” Graham, Russia’s, Phillips O’Brien, “, Hanna Notte, ” Notte, there’s, STRINGER, “ Prigozhin, Stalin, Stephen Kotkin, Kremlin “, Kotkin Organizations: CNN, Southern Military, Kyiv, Council, Foreign Relations, Defense Ministry, Staff, ’, Moscow –, University of St, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Twitter, Getty Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Prigozhin, Rostov, Russian, Voronezh, Ukrainian, Africa, Syria, Bakhmut, St, Petersburg, Andrews, Scotland, West, AFP, Kremlin

☆ Russian mercenary boss Prigozhin to move to Belarus under Wagner deal, Kremlin says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin leaves the headquarters of the Southern Military District amid the group's pullout from the city of Rostov-on-Don, Russia, June 24, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander ErmochenkoMOSCOW, June 24 (Reuters) - Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin will move to Belarus under a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to end an armed mutiny that Prigozhin had led against Russia's military leadership, the Kremlin said on Saturday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Lukashenko had offered to mediate, with Russian President Vladimir Putin's agreement, because he had known Prigozhin personally for around 20 years. Although Putin had earlier vowed to punish those who participated in the mutiny, Peskov said the agreement had had the "higher goal" of avoiding confrontation and bloodshed. Prigozhin had earlier demanded that Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov be handed over to him.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexander Ermochenko MOSCOW, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Dmitry Peskov, Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin's, Peskov, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Kevin Liffey, Andrew Osborn Organizations: Southern Military, REUTERS, Belarusian, Russia's, Kremlin, Fighters, Defence Ministry, Staff, Russian Defence Ministry, Russian Federation, Thomson Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, Belarus

☆ Who is Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

June 24 (Reuters) - Mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday he had taken control of the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don as part of an attempt to oust the military leadership, in what the authorities said was an armed mutiny. Following are some facts about the businessman and founder of the Wagner Group. * Prigozhin, 62, has for decades been known as "Putin's chef" due to his company's Kremlin catering contracts. * Prigozhin admitted last September that he had founded the private military group in 2014, the year Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. The Wagner Group has fought in Libya, Syria, the Central African Republic and Mali, among other countries.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Shoigu, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Wagner, Kremlin, Concord, Central African, Staff, United, European Union, Internet Research Agency, Washington, Thomson Locations: Russian, Rostov, St Petersburg, Russia, Crimea, Ukraine, Libya, Syria, Central African Republic, Mali, Donbas, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, United States

☆ Russians are reminding troops the enemy is Ukraine amid fears of a Wagner coup attempt against the defense ministry
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has prompted fears of an impending coup in Russia. Russian civilians and officials are imploring troops to keep their focus on Ukraine amid the panic. "Everyone who holds a weapon at the line of contact, remember: your enemy is across from you," a message shared repeatedly states. Founder of Wagner private mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin. Press service of "Concord"/Handout via REUTERSThe Russian defense ministry, meanwhile, also attempted to refocus attention on the fight in Ukraine in a Friday Telegram post.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, —, Russia's, Putin, Prigozhin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Samuel Bendett, Simon Miles, Miles, Sergey Surovikin, Bendett Organizations: Service, Ukraine —, Russian, Staff, Federal Security Service, Center for Naval Analyses, Press, Armed Forces, Russian Federation, [ Armed Forces, Duke University's Sanford School of Public, Soviet Union Locations: Russia, Russian, Ukraine, Moscow, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, gunpoint, Concord, Soviet

☆ Ukraine’s counteroffensive is now underway. Here’s what’s happened so far
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces has not yet gained the momentum that some overly optimistic observers anticipated. Still it is a formidable task: in the south especially, Ukrainian forces must conduct a frontal assault against deeply prepared defensive positions, and critically they lack air superiority. It’s worth noting that Russian units in one heavily-contested area – belonging to the 58th Combined Arms Army – are among the most effective in the military. Ukrainian units in the area have had to adapt, often breaking down into smaller groups that are less easily detected. Dmytro Kuleba, Ukrainian Foreign Minister, has said that if the offensive succeeds in expelling Russian forces from Ukrainian land, “It will be the last.

Persons: CNN —, pare, Volodymyr Zelensky’s, Mykhailo Podolyak, ”, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Yan Dobronosov, Matthew Schmidt, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Mick Ryan, don’t, Gerasimov, Valentyna, Alexander Ermochenko, Olga Maltseva, Schmidt, “, Richard Haas, Charles Kupchan, Dmytro Kuleba Organizations: CNN, CNN — Ukraine’s, Russian, Ukrainian Land Forces, University of New, Staff, Army, Air Force, Reuters, Separate Territorial Defense Brigade, “ Aviation, Getty, Kremlin Locations: Ukraine, Crimea, Donetsk, Russian, Bakhmut, Ukrainian, Kharkiv, “ Ukraine, University of New Haven, Washington, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Zaporizhzhia, AFP

☆ Putin appeared to literally turn his back on his loyal defense minister on Russian state TV
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Paul Squire | Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

President Vladimir Putin literally turned his back on his defense minister during a publicity stunt. In the clip from Russian state TV, Putin appears to avoid facing Sergei Shoigu, his loyal minister of defense. During a visit to a Moscow military hospital to give Russian soldiers medals, Putin appeared to turn away from Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (R) and chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov attend a meeting with Russian President in Moscow on February 27, 2022. It is, however, unclear whether there is a rift between Putin and his defense minister or, if there is, whether or not recent events are the cause of any potential tension between them.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Shoigu, —, Volodymyr Omelyan, Valery Gerasimov, ALEXEY NIKOLSKY, Putin's, Yevgeny Prigozhin Organizations: Service, TV, Russian, Russian Defence, SPUTNIK, Getty, Wagner Group Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Shoigu, Ukrainian, Russia

"Wagner will not sign any contracts with Shoigu," Prigozhin said in response to a request for comment on the matter. The defence ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. The defence ministry said that in the interests of increasing the effectiveness of "volunteer detachments", all such units - or their men - would have to sign a contract with the defence ministry by July 1. It did not mention Wagner by name but it routinely refers to Wagner as "volunteer assault detachments". "These measures will increase the combat capabilities and effectiveness of the armed forces and their volunteer detachments," Deputy Defence Minister Nikolai Pankov said.

Persons: Prigozhin, Wagner, Shoigu, Sergei Shoigu, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Staff Valery Gerasimov, WAGNER Prigozhin, Sergei Surovikin, Nikolai Pankov, Guy Faulconbridge, Jason Neely Organizations: MOSCOW, Defence, Staff, Shoigu, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, May, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, United States, Africa, Washington, Russia, Russian

☆ Russia says it thwarts big attack in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Asked to comment, a Ukrainian military spokesperson said: "We do not have such information and we do not comment on any kind of fake." Further north, near the long-contested city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian forces were reported to have been "moving forward" by the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi. Russia has launched hundreds of drones and missiles on Ukraine since early May, chiefly on Kyiv, with Ukraine saying it was targeting military facilities but also hitting residential areas. Russia now controls at least 18% of what is internationally recognised to be Ukrainian territory, and has claimed four regions of Ukraine as Russian territory. Ukraine vows to eject every last Russian soldier from its territory and casts the invasion as an imperial-style land grab by Russia.

Persons: Oleksiy Danilov, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Bakhmut, Oleksii Reznikov, Semyon Pegov, Gonzo, Staff Valery Gerasimov, William Burns, Vladimir Putin's, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, UKRAINE Putin, Guy Faulconbridge, Lidia Kelly, David Ljunggren, Philippa Fletcher, Nick Macfie Organizations: Ukraine's Security, Defence Council, Reuters, Ukraine's General Staff, Strategic Communications, Ukrainian Defence, Twitter, Staff, Russian, CIA, Wall Street, UKRAINE, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, KYIV, Moscow, Ukraine's Donetsk, Bakhmut, Donetsk, South Donetsk, Ukrainian, Berkhivka, Luhansk, Russia's Belgorod, Velyka, Vuhledar, Russian, Kyiv

☆ Russia says it thwarted major Ukrainian offensive, killed hundreds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Russia: thwarted a major Ukrainian offensiveUkraine silent on Russian statementRussia says killed more than 250 UkrainiansRussia says has destroyed tanksMOSCOW, June 5 (Reuters) - Russian forces have thwarted a major Ukrainian offensive in the southern Ukrainian region of Donetsk and killed hundreds of pro-Kyiv troops, the defence ministry in Moscow said on Monday. In a statement, the ministry said Ukraine had launched the attack on Sunday using six mechanised and two tank battalions. The ministry also released video of what it said showed several Ukrainian armoured vehicles in a field blowing up after being hit. Russian forces killed 250 Ukrainian troops as well as destroying 16 tanks, the infantry fighting vehicles and 21 armoured combat vehicles, the ministry said. Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, who is in charge of Moscow's military operation in Ukraine, was in the area of the Ukrainian attack, the ministry said.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Gerasimov, Sergei Shoigu, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Lidia Kelly, David Ljunggren, Guy Faulconbridge, Diane Craft Organizations: Kyiv, Reuters, Staff, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, MOSCOW, Ukrainian, Donetsk, Moscow, South Donetsk, Russian, Russia's Belgorod, Kyiv, Bakhmut

[1/2] Founder of Wagner private mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin speaks with servicemen during withdrawal of his forces from Bakhmut, 2023. Press service of "Concord"/Handout via REUTERSSummary Prigozhin: conflict with Chechens settledPrigozhin: Kremlin factions endanger the stateSays defence ministry is in chaosWagner may go to Belgorod region - PrigozhinMOSCOW, June 3 (Reuters) - Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday that Kremlin factions were destroying the state by trying to sow discord between him and Chechen fighters. Prigozhin said a dispute between him and Chechen forces who are also fighting alongside the Russian army in Ukraine had been resolved. But he laid the blame for the discord on unidentified Kremlin factions - which he calls "Kremlin towers". "Dangerous games have become commonplace in the Kremlin towers...they are simply destroying the Russian state."

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Prigozhin, Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov's Akhmat, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Niether, Guy Faulconbridge, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Press, Staff, Thomson Locations: Bakhmut, Concord, Belgorod, MOSCOW, Russian, Ukraine, Kremlin, Soviet Union

☆ Russian mercenary boss slams army 'clowns' as he marks birthday at training camp
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Celebrating his 62nd birthday on Thursday at a training camp, Prigozhin also confirmed that his men would finally leave the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut on June 5 after handing it to the Russian army. The Wagner mercenaries captured the devastated city in late May after months of grinding warfare. He then engaged in a detailed description of the prosthetic legs which his wounded men have received, including those who continued to fight. Prigozhin said his men wanted to rest at camps in Russian-controlled Ukraine for around a month and then things would become clearer. Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge Editing by Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Read, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones Organizations: Staff, Thomson Locations: Bakhmut, Russia, Ukraine, MOSCOW, Russian, Ukrainian

MOSCOW, May 31 (Reuters) - Russia's most powerful mercenary, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on Wednesday that he had asked prosecutors to investigate whether senior Russian defence officials had committed any "crime" before or during the war in Ukraine. Prigozhin's request is his most blatant public challenge to date against President Vladimir Putin's top military brass, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov. The 61-year-old restaurateur-turned-mercenary has spent months insulting both Shoigu and Gerasimov, who are leading Russia's war effort, for alleged treachery. He says loyalty to Putin is part of his political stance, which he summed up as: "I love my motherland, I serve Putin, Shoigu should be judged and we will fight on." Prigozhin is not directly challenging Putin but rather playing a jester role and acting with the approval of those dismayed by the military's conduct of the war, officials, diplomats and analysts have told Reuters.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Prigozhin, PUTIN'S, Wagner, Putin, Russia's, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones Organizations: Staff, Investigative Committee, Russian Federation, Defence Ministry, Reuters, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Ukraine, Bakhmut

Prigozhin made the claim in a video in which he appeared in combat fatigues in front of a line of fighters holding Russian flags and Wagner banners. "Today, at 12 noon, Bakhmut was completely taken," Prigozhin said. Our units are fighting in Bakhmut." Bakhmut has been the focus of the longest and bloodiest battle of Russia's war in Ukraine, which is nearly at the end of its 15th month. His victory claim followed fierce fighting around the city in the past week in which Ukraine said it pushed back some Russian forces.

☆ Russia's Wagner claims Bakhmut; Kyiv says situation critical
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But meanwhile, to the north and south, they have made their most rapid gains for six months in the surrounding area, seizing swathes of territory from Russian troops. "Wagner troops climbed into Bakhmut like rats into a mousetrap," Oleksander Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, told troops at the Bakhmut front this week. The battle for Bakhmut has revealed a deepening split between Wagner, a mercenary force that has recruited thousands of convicts from Russian prisons, and the regular Russian military. For two weeks, Prigozhin has been issuing daily video and audio messages denouncing Russia's military leadership, often in expletive-laden rants. Moscow has long claimed that capturing Bakhmut would be a stepping stone towards advancing deeper into the Donbas region it claims to have annexed from Ukraine.

☆ Russian forces in retreat near Bakhmut, Ukraine and Wagner say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Ukrainian troops near the front line said Russia was bombarding access roads to slow the Ukrainian assault, which has shifted momentum after months of slow Russian gains in Europe's deadliest ground combat since World War Two. Ukraine's gains have been accompanied by a deepening public split within Russia's forces between Wagner, which has led the Bakhmut campaign, and the regular Russian military. The Russian defence ministry has acknowledged some withdrawals from positions near Bakhmut over the past week but denies Prigozhin's assertions that flanks are crumbling, or that it has withheld ammunition from Wagner. "Using the principle of active defence, we resort to counteroffensive actions in some directions near Bakhmut. Russia has also been experiencing attacks and explosions both in Ukrainian territory it controls and in Russian territory near the border.

☆ Surrounded by corpses, Wagner's Prigozhin blasts Russian defence minister in expletive-laden video
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 5 (Reuters) - Standing in a field of corpses, Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin on Friday published an expletive-ridden video personally blaming top defence chiefs for losses suffered by his Wagner Group fighters in Ukraine. Prigozhin appeared next to dozens of bloodied corpses that he said were those of Wagner fighters. His expletives were bleeped out in the video published by his press service. Those responsible would go to hell, Prigozhin shouted, before saying that Wagner's losses would be five times smaller if it was adequately supplied. In recently weeks, Prigozhin had refrained from public attacks on Shoigu, even as he continued to suggest that deliberate ammunition shortages had exacerbated Wagner casualty figures.

☆ Ukraine says Moscow deploying Wagner fighters to Bakhmut from elsewhere
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, May 5 (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Friday Russia was bringing Wagner mercenary fighters from other parts of the front line to fight in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, and that Moscow wanted to capture the city in time for Victory Day celebrations next week. Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said his mercenary forces would pull out of Bakhmut on May 10 because of heavy losses and inadequate ammunition supplies. "We are now seeing them pulling (fighters) from the entire offensive line where the Wagner fighters were, they are pulling (them) to the Bakhmut direction," Maliar said in televised comments. Prigozhin's Wagner mercenaries have spearheaded Russia's months-long assault on Bakhmut in the industrial Donbas region. He has regularly accused Russia's military top brass of incompetence.

"If, because of your petty jealousy, you do not want to give the Russian people the victory of taking Bakhmut, that's your problem," Prigozhin added in the video. A senior Ukrainian official said Russia was bringing Wagner mercenary fighters from along the front line to Bakhmut to capture it by Victory Day. In another sign of disarray on the Russian side, former Russian deputy defence minister Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev joined Wagner as a deputy commander, Russian pro-war social media channels reported. Earlier, Prigozhin was pictured surrounded by corpses he said were his men, shouting abuse at Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. Moscow accused Ukraine of firing drones at the Kremlin in the early hours of Wednesday in an attempt to kill Putin.

"I'm pulling Wagner units out of Bakhmut because in the absence of ammunition they're doomed to perish senselessly." But Ukrainian defenders have held out, and Prigozhin has vented increasing anger at what he describes as lack of support from the Russian defence establishment. "My lads will not suffer useless and unjustified losses in Bakhmut without ammunition," Prigozhin added in the video. "If, because of your petty jealousy, you do not want to give the Russian people the victory of taking Bakhmut, that's your problem." The statement also asked Russia's Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov to replace Wagner forces in Bakhmut with Russian troops.

It also highlights Russian frustration at failing to complete the capture of Bakhmut after more than nine months of costly, intense battle. ANGRY TIRADEWhat looked real, however, was Prigozhin's fury at Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. "If Putin wants him to be in combat, he'll force him in one way or another to do so." Marten said its involvement in the battle for Bakhmut, including fighters recruited from Russian prisons, had allowed Putin to avoid declaring a full-scale mobilization. Whatever its immediate intentions around Bakhmut, Wagner is likely to remain a significant player in the war, given Prigozhin's personal ambitions and determination to stay in the limelight.

Kyiv and the West accuse Russian forces of committing war crimes in occupied Ukrainian territory, which Moscow denies. Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk are the four regions that Putin proclaimed annexed last September following what Ukraine said were sham referendums. Russian forces only partly control the four regions. HEAVY ARTILLERYFighting has raged in and around Bakhmut in Donetsk region for months, with Ukrainian forces holding out despite regular claims by Russia to have taken the city. "Any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by Russia would be met with severe consequences," they said.

☆ Russia conducts surprise inspection of Pacific Fleet
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 14 (Reuters) - Russia will conduct missile launches and torpedo tests as part of a surprise inspection of its Pacific naval fleet, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday. "The main objective of this inspection is to increase the ability of the Armed Forces to repel the aggression of a probable enemy from the direction of ocean and sea," Shoigu said on state television. "This is a common practice, it has been constantly carried out in recent years and it continues. This is about maintaining the necessary level of combat readiness of our armed forces," Peskov told a daily news briefing. In other recent military activity in the area, Russia's navy fired supersonic anti-ship missiles at a mock target in the Sea of Japan on March 28.

☆ Putin makes surprise trip to Mariupol, first to occupied Donbas in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Lidia Kelly | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 19 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to Mariupol, Russian state media reported on Sunday, in what would be the Kremlin leader's first trip to the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine's Donbas region since the start of the war. Putin flew by helicopter to Mariupol, Russian new agencies reported citing the Kremlin. The Organization for Security and Cooperation and Europe (OSCE) said Russia's early bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol was a war crime. In the Nevsky district of Mariupol, a new residential neighbourhood built by Russian military, Putin visited a family in their home, Russian media reported. Mariupol is in the Donetsk region, one of the four regions Putin moved in September to annex.

☆ Putin visits Mariupol as part of surprise tour of occupied Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Lidia Kelly | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Putin flew by helicopter to Mariupol for "a working trip", Russian news agencies reported citing the Kremlin. 'BEAUTIFUL DOWNTOWN'In the Nevsky district of Mariupol, Putin visited a family in their home, Russian media reported. Russian media broadcast videos showing the Russian leader driving a car at night through a built-up area as well as walking into what media said was the philharmonic, restored in just three months. Mariupol is in the Donetsk region, one of the four regions Putin moved in September to annex. Russian media reported on Sunday that Putin also met with the top commander of his military operation in Ukraine, including Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov who is in charge of Moscow's war in Ukraine.

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - In a rare move, the Pentagon on Thursday released a de-classified video showing Russia's intercept of a U.S. military surveillance drone downed over the Black Sea two days ago. It was the first direct U.S.-Russian incident since the Ukraine war began, worsening already tense relations between Washington and Moscow. It also shows the loss of the video feed after another close Russian maneuver, which the Pentagon says resulted from the Russian jet's collision with the drone. It ends with images of the drone's damaged propeller, which the Pentagon says resulted from the collision, making the aircraft inoperable. [1/4] A Russian Su-27 aircraft dumps fuel while flying upon a U.S. Air Force intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance unmanned MQ-9 aircraft over the Black Sea, March 14, 2023 in this still image taken from a handout video.

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