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☆ The Russian culture ministry is blaming a pirated version of the Barbie movie for weakening nationwide values
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Sebastian Cahill | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A pirated version of the "Barbie" movie made its way to Russia, and officials there aren't happy. The Russian Culture Ministry wants to shift from Western values towards "traditional" Russian ones. AdvertisementAdvertisementAs Russian citizens struggle to maintain morale during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Culture Ministry is taking a shot at the "Barbie" movie as a representation of hated Western ideologies. Multiple offices and politicians are criticizing the "Barbie" movie for not promoting "traditional Russian values" — a vague phrase that seems to refer to patriotism and general conservatism — per the BBC. But what comprises appropriate, patriotic entertainment, then, free of Western values?

Persons: —, Barbie, Steve Rosenberg, Maria Butina, Butina, Rosenberg, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Russian Culture Ministry, Service, BBC Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russian

Armenian officials said that 84,770 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh by Friday morning out of a total population of around 120,000. In the 1990s, the Azerbaijani population was itself expelled from Nagorno-Karabakh and hundreds of thousands of people were displaced within Azerbaijan. Some of those who fled the regional capital, Stepanakert, said they had no hope for the future. After six years of separatist fighting ended in 1994 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, backed by Armenia. In December, Azerbaijan blockaded the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, accusing the Armenian government or using it for illicit weapons shipments to the region’s separatist forces.

Persons: Anahit Avanesyan, Nikol Pashinyan, ”, ” Laurence Broers, ” Broers, Samvel Shakhramanyan, “, Ani Abaghyan, Narine Karamyan, Ghazaryan, Ruben Vardanyan, David Babayan, ___ Emma Burrows Organizations: Armenian Health, Armenian, Ministry, Analysts, Associated Press, “, Emergency Service Locations: YEREVAN, Armenia, Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Caucasus, London, Baku, Stepanakert, Soviet Union, Armenian, Goris, Aghdam, Russia

☆ Nagorno-Karabakh: Nearly half of the population has fled. What happens next?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Nearly half of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population has fled to Armenia, with many thousands more still scrambling to evacuate, a week after the breakaway region surrendered following a lightning Azerbaijani offensive. No Armenian will be left here within maybe two weeks,” a Karabakh resident told CNN. Nonna Poghosyan, the American University of Armenia’s program coordinator in Stepanakert, told CNN that her family realized this weekend that it was safer to leave than to stay. Residents told CNN before the latest offensive began that they would have to wait in line for hours to get their daily share of bread. Analysts told CNN before the evacuations began that they feared Azerbaijan might prevent certain members of the population from leaving.

Persons: –, Vasily Krestyaninov, Stepanakert, ”, Russia –, Olesya, “, Ilham Aliyev, Siranush Sargsyan, rakli Gedenidze, Farid Shafiyev, ” –, ” Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Poghosyan, ’ ” Poghosyan, Poghosyan's, Nonna, Pashinyan, Samantha Power, Power, ” Vartanyan, Ruben Vardanyan, Vardanyan Organizations: CNN, Wednesday, Karabakh, Soviet Union, Russia, Refugees, International Relations, Armenia’s, American University of, United States Agency for International Development, USAID, Residents, US State Department, Crisis, ICRC Locations: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan’s, Baku, ”, Soviet Union, Soviet, Turkey, Russian, South Caucasus, Stepanakert, Kornidzor, Baku –, Artsakh, Republic of Armenia, Goris

In short, Russia’s children are being prepared for war. Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov said recently that there are now about 10,000 so-called “military-patriotic” clubs in Russian schools and colleges, and a quarter-of-a-million people take part in their work. There are mandatory classes on military-patriotic values; updated history books accentuate Russian military triumphs. President Putin has personally led the campaign to inject patriotism into Russia’s schools. That message - hammered home by the president and state media - is now being taken into Russia’s schools.

Persons: Sergei Kravtsov, Vladimir Putin, ’, ”, ” Putin, Ukraine “, Putin, “, Vyacheslav Gladkov, Uliana Shumelova, schooler, Sergei Shoigu, Shoigu, Daria, Vladimir, Ukraine –, Buryatia, She’d, It’s Organizations: CNN, Education, Security, Defense, Education Ministry, Novosti, RIA Novosti, Russia, Kremlin, Educational, Ministry of Defense, Air Defense, United, ”, Northern Military District, Military Sports Games, Defense Ministry, Armed Forces Russian Federation Locations: Pacific, Ukraine, Moscow, Russian, Russia, Crimea, Ukrainian, stoke, Belgorod, Krasnodar, Vologda, Sakhalin, Russia’s Far, Yeysk, Azov, Astrakhan, United Russia, Vladivostok, Voronezh, Ussuriysk, Buryatia, Chita trumpeted, Orenburg, Polish, Perm, State

Karabakh Armenian authorities accused Azerbaijan of violating a ceasefire agreed on Wednesday after a lightning Azerbaijani offensive forced the separatists to agree to disarm. When asked about giving up weapons, Babayan said his people could not be left to die, so would security guarantees first. Talks took place on Thursday in the Azerbaijani city of Yevlakh between Azerbaijan and representatives of the Republic of Artsakh, as the Karabakh Armenians call themselves. He said the region's ethnic Armenians would enjoy full educational, cultural and religious rights. An aide to Aliyev said Baku had given Yerevan a new draft peace agreement, Russia's RIA news agency reported.

Persons: Pashinyan, GORIS, David Babayan, Samvel Shahramanyan, Babayan, Ilham Aliyev, Melkumyan, Stringer, Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Khankendi, Gayane Sargsyan, Felix Light, Guy Faulconbridge, Nailia Bagirova, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Azerbaijan reclaims, Protesters, Reuters, National Assembly of, REUTERS, Karabakh, Authorities, Thomson Locations: Azerbaijan, Karabakh, Armenia, Nagorno, Karabakh's, Azerbaijani, Yevlakh, Republic of Artsakh, Artsakh, Soviet Union, AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA, Caucasus, Baku, Yerevan, Russia, Moscow, Stepanakert, Goris

☆ Putin taught a lesson for Russia's new school curriculum, which includes instructions on how to handle a Kalashnikov
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Putin held a Q&A with hand-picked Russian students at the start of the new school semester. The session didn't mention the Ukraine war, but included several pupils from the occupied territories. It comes as Russia overhauls its curriculum to include rifle training and the history of the conflict. The showcase lesson appears to be part of another effort to naturalize Russia's claims to Ukrainian territories, and the war more broadly, to Russians. AdvertisementAdvertisementRussia has placed an effective ban on maps that mark the occupied territories as Ukrainian and launched a brand new school curriculum.

Persons: Putin, Vladimir Putin, naturalize Russia's Organizations: Service, Russian, Kremlin, UN Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Russia's, Crimea, Russian, Luhansk, Melitopol, Donetsk, Kherson, Ukrainian, Kyiv

Terry Gou, Foxconn founder announces his bid for the Taiwan presidency during a press event in Taipei, Taiwan August 28, 2023. Before he announced his bid to run as an independent on Monday, Gou had sought the KMT ticket for the presidency but failed. But his direct language, along with his business acumen, has drawn crowds in pseudo-campaign events across Taiwan that Gou held in the run-up to his announcement. He showed me how to use the touch screen on the spot," Gou said in 2011 about his relationship with Jobs. Gou told Trump he wanted to be a peacemaker between Taiwan, China and the U.S. as Taiwan's president.

Persons: Terry Gou, Ann Wang, Taiwan's Terry Gou, Democratic Progressive Party's, Gou, Sung Wen, APPLE Gou, Foxconn, Steve Jobs, Jobs, reverentially, Xi Jinping, Donald Trump, Trump, Ben Blanchard, Yimou Lee, Sarah Wu, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Apple Inc, Foxconn, Democratic Progressive, DPP, Kuomintang, KMT, Taiwan People's Party, National University's Taiwan Studies, APPLE, Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, Chicago, Atari, Dell, Apple, Sony Corp, Nintendo Co, Microsoft Corp, Communists, Communist Party's, Thomson Locations: Taiwan, Taipei, Rights TAIPEI, China, Beijing, Shanxi, Guangdong, People's Republic of China

☆ Latest news: Wagner Group chief Prigozhin plane crash, Russia's war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

As reports of the plane crash poured in on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin was in the southwestern Kursk region leading a ceremony honoring both the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Kursk and Russian forces currently fighting in Ukraine. ET), while state media reported that the crash had occurred around 6 p.m. local time. There were 10 people on board, including three crew members, and all were killed, Russian state media said. While in Kursk, Putin also met with residents, video on Russia 24 showed. Residents shook hands with Putin and some even gave him a hug, in the Russia 24 clip.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, ” Organizations: Soviet Union, Embraer, West Locations: Kursk, Russian, Ukraine, Nazi Germany, Ponyri, Russia, Tver region, Kuzhenkino, Moscow, St . Petersburg, Ukrainian, Johannesburg

☆ Wagner fighters are furious and vowing vengeance after their leader Prigozhin's presumed death in a plane crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It came after the apparent death of their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash. One said: "There's a lot of talk right now about what the Wagner Group will do in this situation. An unnamed former senior Kremlin official told The Financial Times that the plane was shot down by Russian air defense batteries. AdvertisementAdvertisement"Obviously this was an order," another unnamed source close to the Russian defense ministry told the outlet. Before Wednesday's plane crash, Prigozhin was last seen in a clip in an unspecified African country, where he said the Wagner group was conducting reconnaissance and search operations.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, of, Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin, Mozhem Obysanit, Sergei Shoigu, Prigozhin, they've, Alex Kokcharov, Dr Matthew Ford, Kokcharov Organizations: Service, Grey, Wagner Group, Defense, Kremlin, Financial Times, P Global Market Intelligence, West, Swedish Defence University Locations: Wall, Silicon, Russia, of Russia, St, Petersburg, Washington ,, Ukraine, Belarus, Africa

☆ What now for Putin? Kremlin critic says Prigozhin’s apparent death will ‘cement his authority’
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Gavriil Grigorov | Afp | Getty ImagesProminent Kremlin critic Bill Browder believes the presumed death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin will shore up President Vladimir Putin's shaken authority, saying the Russian leader "never forgives and never forgets." His comments come shortly after Russian aviation officials said Wednesday that Prigozhin was believed to have been killed in a plane crash. A view of site after a private jet, allegedly carrying Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin and other passengers crashed in Russia's northwestern Tver region, Russia on August 23, 2023. This will cement his authority and is standard Putin operating procedure," Browder said. The Wagner boss had struck an apparent deal with the Kremlin in the aftermath of the June rebellion.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Gavriil Grigorov, Bill Browder, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Utkin, of, Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin, Putin, Browder, Ian Bremmer, Prigozhin's, Bremmer, Wagner chief's, he's, CNBC's Organizations: Sputnik, Afp, Getty, NBC, Telegram, Wagner Group, Grey, Anadolu Agency, Federal Agency for Air Transport, Russian Embassy, Kremlin, Eurasia Group Locations: Kursk, Nazi Germany, Soviet Union, Moscow, Tver, Ukraine, Syria, Libya, Africa, of Russia, Russia, Russia's, Russian, London, Belarus

☆ Russian mercenary chief Prigozhin dead, channel affiliated with Wagner says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of Russian private mercenary group Wagner, gives an address in camouflage and with a weapon in his hands in a desert area at an unknown location, in this still image taken from video possibly shot in Africa and published August 21, 2023. Courtesy PMC Wagner via Telegram via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is dead, a Telegram channel affiliated with his Wagner mercenary group reported on Wednesday. "The head of the Wagner Group, a Hero of Russia, a true patriot of his Motherland – Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin died as a result of the actions of traitors to Russia," a post in the Grey Zone channel said. Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on a private jet which crashed on Wednesday evening north of Moscow with no survivors, the Russian authorities said. Writing by Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Mark TrevelyanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, – Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin, Maxim Rodionov, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Wagner, Telegram, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Africa, Russia, Hell, Moscow

Humble beginningsPutin and Prigozhin share relatively humble beginnings, and the Wagner chief grew up in the tougher neighborhoods of St. Petersburg, which is also the president’s hometown. Prigozhin founded Wagner that year as a mercenary outfit that fought both in Ukraine and, increasingly, for Russian-backed causes around the world. In recent months, Prigozhin has created a dilemma for Putin by becoming an outspoken critic of Russia’s military leaders. The Wagner mutiny began when Prigozhin unleashed a fresh tirade against the Russian military and then marched his troops into the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. Prigozhin responded on Telegram saying that Putin was “deeply mistaken.”“We are patriots of our Motherland, we fought and are fighting,” the Wagner chief said.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, Putin, ”, Humble, George Bush, Jacques Chirac of France, ” Prigozhin, Defense Yunus, Bek Yevkurov, Wagner –, –, Mark Hertling, Misha Japaridze, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, “, Don Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Russian, Moscow Times, Defense, Reuters CNN, Central African, Internet Research Agency, US Treasury Department, United, Russian Defense Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Belarus, St . Petersburg, Africa, Central African Republic, Sudan, Libya, Mozambique, Mali, Syria, Soledar, Prigozhin's, Russia, Bakhmut, Rostov

☆ Russia has lost more than 2,200 tanks in Ukraine, and it may be reaching the limit of its ability to 'rebuild' older ones
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( David Hambling | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Russia has lost more than 2,200 main battle tanks since invading Ukraine in February last year. Russian storage depots are deep, but they don't have an unlimited supply of armor to throw into a new fight. In fact, Russia is rebuilding tanks rather than building them, and their capacity to do so may be reaching its limit. Russia has vast stockpiles of old tanks, from T-90s barely 20 years old to rusting T-62s from the 1960s. More importantly, Russia's supply of old tanks for rebuilding is showing signs of running down.

Persons: Alexander Zemlianichenko, Stalin, UVZ, Sergio Miller, Abrams, ANATOLII STEPANOV, Shoigu, Putin's, Dmitry Medvedev, OLGA MALTSEVA, Jakub Janovsky, Medvedev, Nobody, Putin, David Hambling Organizations: Service, Russia, Victory Day, AP, Stalin Ural Tank, British Army, Sierra Army, Omsk Transport Machine Factory, —, Getty, Defence, Moscow Times, Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant, Aviation, Forbes, The, New, Popular Mechanics, WIRED Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, AP Russia, Nizhny Tagil, Moscow, Stalin Ural, Doyle , California, Omsk, St Petersburg, Siberia, Venezuela, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Russian, Rostov, Izyum, AFP, OmskTransMash, Laos, St . Petersburg, Buryatia, Mongolia, Urals, USSR, Germany, Kremlin, London

MOSCOW, Aug 10 (Reuters) - In Vladimir Putin's Russia, the Kremlin even writes the history textbooks. Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky has published four history textbooks for 16- to 18-year-old schoolchildren giving a completely revised interpretation of the fall of the Soviet Union, the Putin era and the causes of the Ukraine war. The final chapter of the 447-page "History of Russia 1945 - the start of 21st Century" focuses on the causes of the biggest land war in Europe since World War Two - the Ukraine war that has left several hundred thousand soldiers injured or dead. "This is propaganda - it’s not a textbook," Mikhail Kopitsa, a Russian history teacher who left Russia after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, told Reuters of the book. It ends with small biographies of some of the Russians who have fallen in the Ukraine war - which it does not call a war.

Persons: Vladimir Putin's, Vladimir Medinsky, Putin, Josef Stalin, Mikhail Kopitsa, Anatoly Torkunov, Napoleon Bonaparte, Guy Faulconbridge, Nick Macfie Organizations: KGB, Reuters, Kremlin, NATO, West, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Continental, Britain, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Vladimir Putin's Russia, Soviet Union, Ukraine, Soviet, Russia, Europe, United States, Russian, Moscow, The, Georgia, Montenegro, Ukrainian, Ukraine's, Crimea

Critics say the move is a part of a sustained effort to indoctrinate school children and stifle any independent thinking. Russian President Vladimir Putin has always maintained that Moscow’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine is an effort to liberate the country from a “Nazi regime” and Western influence. No critical thinking allowedMany countries introduce school children to patriotic ideas and civic values. According to independent human rights monitor OVD-Info, there have been almost 20,000 people detained for protesting against the war in Russia. This complete crackdown on freedom of speech means there isn’t a force in Russia that can counteract school propaganda.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Sergey Kravtsov, ” Kravtsov, Katerina Tertytchnaya, “ There’s, ”, Putin, Yuri Kadobnov, Sergey Lavrov, Kirill, ” Ian Garner, ” Tertytchnaya, ” Garner, Garner Organizations: CNN, country’s Ministry of Education, Nazi, Russian, Russian Federation, RIA Novosti, University College London, Ministry of Education, Schools, Getty, Kremlin, University of Chicago’s, Political, Students Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Crimea, Moscow, AFP, Russian, France, Russians, China

☆ Ukraine replaces Soviet symbols on Kyiv's iconic Motherland monument
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

From coping with dangerously swollen rivers to helping residents trapped in waterlogged cities, China's disaster-response systems are being put to the test after one of the strongest storms in years brought record rainfall that could take weeks to recede.

☆ Ukraine Replaces Soviet Emblem on Kyiv’s Motherland Monument
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | Sarah Eckinger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Ukraine has replaced the Soviet emblem on one of Kyiv’s most prominent monuments with its own coat of arms, part of a broader push since the full-scale invasion to stamp out tributes to Russian power. The Motherland Monument — a 335-foot-tall stainless steel behemoth towering over Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital — was designed to assert Soviet invincibility. Unveiled in 1981, the monument is a figure of a woman raising a sword in her right hand and a shield in her left. The shield was emblazoned with the Soviet hammer and sickle.

Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine’s, —, Soviet

☆ Ukraine removes Soviet symbols from Motherland Monument in Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Kate Sammer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailUkraine removes Soviet symbols from Motherland Monument in KyivOn the largest monument in Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv, a Soviet-era hammer and sickle has been replaced with a Ukrainian coat of arms.

Organizations: Ukraine Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine's, Soviet, Ukrainian

Kyiv last week replaced the Soviet hammer and sickle symbol with a trident – the Ukrainian coat of arms – on the shield of the Motherland Monument, which dominates the capital’s skyline. Its construction began in 1979, and it depicted a woman holding a sword and a shield emblazoned with the Soviet hammer and sickle symbol. Workers remove the Soviet-era emblem from the motherland monument in Kyiv on August 1, 2023. And they don’t know how.”Putin’s desire to undermine Ukrainian national identity and autonomy has remained a key motivation for the conflict. Kudrya, meanwhile, was a Soviet spy and a leader of a sabotage group in Kyiv during World War II.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Valentyn Ogirenko, Pilipey, ” “, ’, Maria Zakharova, Putin, Andrei Ivanov, Andriy Ivanov, Ivan Kudrya, John McCain, Andreyi, “, McCain, Kudrya, ” “ McCain, Ukraine …, Pobigay Organizations: CNN, Getty, Russian Foreign, Kremlin, UNESCO, ” Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Soviet, Ukrainian, Kyiv's, AFP, Kiev, Russian Kiev, Moscow, Latvian, Pavlenko, Russia

☆ Ukraine gets rid of Soviet symbols on Motherland monument in Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Workers mount a Ukrainian national emblem to the shield of the 'Motherland' monument replacing the Soviet one, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a compound of the World War II museum in Kyiv, Ukraine August 6, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn OgirenkoKYIV, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Workers installed Ukraine's national trident on an iconic monument depicting the Motherland in Kyiv on Sunday, replacing old Soviet symbols in one of the most visible examples of breaking away from the past and Moscow's influence. Originally, the shield bore the Soviet Union's coat of arms - a crossed hammer and sickle surrounded by ears of wheat. Kyiv says the invasion appears to be an imperial mission to recreate the Soviet Union. Ukraine outlawed Soviet symbols in 2015, the year after Russia annexed Crimea and backed separatist proxies in the country’s east.

Persons: decommunize, Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Lenin, John McCain, Olena Harmash, Yurii, Pavel Polityuk, Frances Kerry Organizations: Workers, REUTERS, KYIV, Soviet Union, European Union, Soviet, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Soviet, Ukraine, Kyiv, Valentyn, Dnipro, Russian, Soviet Union, Russia, Crimea, U.S

☆ In pictures: Soviet emblem cut off Ukraine's Motherland Monument
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

July 2023 is set to upend previous heat benchmarks, U.N. Secretary-general António Guterres said on Thursday after scientists said it was on track to be the world's hottest month on record.

Persons: António Guterres

☆ Russia's Prigozhin says Wagner is not recruiting now, may do so in future
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 31 (Reuters) - Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a voice message published on Monday that his Wagner group was not currently recruiting fighters but was likely to do so in future. After the June mutiny, the Kremlin said Wagner fighters who had not taken part would transfer to the regular army, signing contracts with the Defence Ministry. Apparently alluding to this, Prigozhin said in the voice message that "unfortunately" some of his fighters had moved to other "power structures", but he said they were looking to return. Since the mutiny, some Wagner fighters have moved to Belarus and started training its army. In comments published last week, Prigozhin also said Wagner was ready to further increase its presence in Africa.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Putin, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin's, Mark Trevelyan, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Kremlin, Grey, Telegram, Defence Ministry, Central African, United, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Belarus, St Petersburg, Russia, Africa, Mali, Central, Central African Republic, United States, Niger

☆ Ukraine's Zelenskiy calls for spending restraint, minister offers to resign
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, July 21 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged his government on Thursday to keep a tight rein on spending in wartime, in a call that resulted in his culture minister, a proponent of several high-profile and costly projects, offering his resignation. And he asked Shmyhal to "consider replacing" Culture and Information Policy Minister Olexander Tkachenko. "Private and state funding for culture in wartime is no less important than for drones. Tkachenko had also promoted films and television programmes linked to the war against Russia. Reporting by Ron Popeski in Winnipeg and Nick Starkov in Kyiv; Editing by Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Denys Shmyhal, Shmyhal, Olexander Tkachenko, Tkachenko, Josef Stalin's collectivisation, Ron Popeski, Nick Starkov, Jamie Freed Organizations: Russia, Thomson Locations: Cobblestones, Soviet, Winnipeg, Kyiv

Summary Prigozhin welcomes mercenaries to BelarusPrigozhin says the front is 'a disgrace'Mercenaries should prepare for AfricaIt's only just begun, top Wagner commander says'Welcome to hell!' The footage, reposted by his press service on Telegram, is the first video evidence of Prigozhin's whereabouts since the night of the mutiny. In the video, the authenticity of which Reuters could not immediately verify, a man whose voice and Russian sounded like Prigozhin's, is heard welcoming his men. It is also unclear what Wagner, which Prigozhin said had 25,000 men, would do next. The video posted on Wednesday showed Prigozhin receiving a Wagner black flag, decorated with the motto "Blood, honour, Motherland, Courage", from their camp in southern Russia.

Persons: Belarus Prigozhin, Wagner, Utkin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner's, Vladimir Putin's, Prigozhin, honourably, Putin, Dmitry Utkin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn, Jon Boyle Organizations: West, Kremlin, Reuters, Islamic, Central African, Putin, Staff, Thomson Locations: Belarus, Africa, MOSCOW, Ukraine, Russian, Belarusian, Russia, Rostov, Dagestan, Minsk, Syria, Libya, Mali, Crimea, Central African Republic, Ukrainian, Bakhmut

This is how Komsomolskaya School Number 1 is marking the opening of a new school desk, a so-called “hero desk” emblazoned with the face and biography of one of Russia’s war dead, once a pupil at this very school. The desks are part of a pan-Russian initiative called the “New School Project” and are funded by “United Russia,” a staunchly pro-Putin party. As of early May, United Russia said there were more than 14,000 desks in 9,000 schools across the country. Local news reports suggest some schools use the desks to reward good behavior or good grades. The desks across the country are standardized: green, with military photographs, a biography, medals awarded (often posthumously) and the soldier’s date of death.

Persons: It’s, ”, Gennady Alexandrovich Pavlov, Chuvashia, Gennady Pavlov, Russia’s, Daniil Ken, ” Ken, Sergei Shoigu, Ken, Alena Arshinova, Olga, Sergey Kravtsov, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, there’s, “, ‘, Tatyana Chervenko, Chervenko, Mikhail Stepanov, ’, Stepanov, Wagner, “ Artyomovsk Organizations: CNN, New, “ United, Putin, Teachers ’ Alliance, Russian Ministry of Defense, State Duma, United, Kyiv, Russian, Russia’s Security, Novosti, Ministry Locations: Russian, Chuvashia, Russia, “ United Russia, United Russia, Ukraine, Hostomel, Kyiv, United States, State, St . Petersburg, Simferopol, Crimea, “, Leningrad, ”, Moscow, Virginia, Khabarovsk, Russia’s, Ukrainian, Bakhmut

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