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Mr. Putin invited 35 people to the three-hour meeting on June 29, including Mr. Prigozhin and all of Wagner’s top commanders, the Kremlin spokesman said. “The only thing we can say is that the president gave his assessment of the company’s actions” during both the war in Ukraine and the uprising, Mr. Peskov said. Mr. Putin promised the harshest punishment for those who had “consciously chosen the path of betrayal.”But the harsh punishments didn’t come. The following week, on July 6, Mr. Peskov said the Kremlin had neither the “ability nor the desire” to track Mr. Prigozhin’s movements. The Kremlin spokesman added, “The details of it are unknown.”

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Vladimir V, Putin, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Dmitri S, Peskov, Prigozhin hasn’t, “ Putin, Mr, “, —, Roman, Sergei K, Shoigu, Staff Valery V, Aleksandr G, Lukashenko, Libération, ” Organizations: Kremlin, Mr, Defense Ministry, Agence France, Defense, Staff Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Bakhmut, Moscow, Belarusian, Belarus

☆ A former Wagner fighter described Prigozhin as a 'cocky idiot' who pitted soldiers against each other for personal gain
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Some Wagner fighters have condemned Yevgeny Prigozhin for leading the armed revolt against Russia. One fighter, identified only as Roman, told the Moscow Times that Prigozhin is a "cocky idiot." He blamed the mercenary leader for pitting soldiers against each other for personal reasons. "My comrades and I fought for the country, not for some cocky idiot and his personal ambitions," Roman told the Moscow Times, referring to the infighting between Prigozhin and Russian military leaders that preceded the attempted rebellion. Another former Wagner fighter, identified only as Vlad, told the Moscow Times that he signed up for Wagner to "defend his country" and not "out of sympathy for Prigozhin."

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Roman, Vlad, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov Organizations: Russia, Moscow Times, Service, Wagner PMC, Prigozhin, Russian Defence, Russian, Staff Locations: Wall, Silicon, Moscow, Rostov, Belarus, Prigozhin, Bakhmut, Russian, Russia, Ukraine, St . Petersburg

☆ Why Wagner chief Prigozhin's absence is so damaging to Putin
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Instead, the Kremlin on Monday tried to provide some clarity, after French newspaper Liberation reported a meeting between Putin and Prigozhin on June 29. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, confirmed in a conference call with journalists the meeting had taken place. I can’t tell you more.”It is important to pause and conjure just how surreal the meeting Peskov is describing sounds. But this is in keeping with the Kremlin’s bid to contain the fallout from Putin’s most dangerous weekend yet. If Prigozhin has been forgiven – as the Kremlin meeting might suggest - then why is there no public acknowledgement of that, a bid to at the least file down the fangs of stray Wagner fighters?

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin’s, Alexander Lukashenko’s, Putin, Prigozhin, Dmitry Peskov, ” Peskov, –, Wagner, Lukashenko, Mikhail Khodorkovsky –, Sergey Surovikin, Valery Gerasimov Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Russia’s, French, Liberation, Defense Ministry Locations: Russia’s Rostov, Belarusian, St . Petersburg, Belarus, Russian, Derbent, Kremlin, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Exclusive: Wagner fighters neared Russian nuclear base during revolt
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +20 min

Reuters GraphicsOnce the Wagner fighters reach more rural regions, the surveillance trail goes cold – about 100 km from the nuclear base, Voronezh-45. But in an exclusive interview, Ukraine's head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said that the Wagner fighters went far further. The only barrier between the Wagner fighters and nuclear weapons, Budanov said, were the doors to the nuclear storage facility. It is one of Russia's 12 "national-level storage facilities" for nuclear weapons, according to a report by U.N. scientists. Another female resident also said Wagner had widespread support in the town, and that many Wagner fighters are from Boguchar.

Persons: Wagner, Ukraine's, Kyrylo Budanov, Budanov, Alexander Lukashenko, Adam Hodge, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Matt Korda, Vladimir Putin's, Hans Kristensen, David Jonas, Amy Woolf, Jonas, Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Shoigu, Oleksiy Danilov, Don, Anna Sandrakova, Maxim Yantsov, Mikhail Vedernikov, Talovaya, Alexei Yablokov, Kristensen, Alexsandr Lukashenko, Dmitry Peskov, Lukashenko, he's, Mari Saito, Tom Balmforth, John Shiffman, Phil Stewart, Polina, Maria Tsvetkova, Anton Zverev, Christian Lowe, David Gauthier, Stephen Grey, Reade Levinson, Eleanor Whalley, Milan Pavicic, Daria Shamonova, Janet McBride Organizations: Reuters, Kremlin, Belarusian, U.S, White, National Security, Nuclear, Federation of American, Federation of American Scientists, U.S . National Nuclear Security Administration, Library, Congress, Wagner, State, Staff, Russian, Defence Ministry, Defence Council, Main, Russian Defence, U.S . Congress, Telegram, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russian, Voronezh, United States, Ukraine, Russia, Rostov, Talovaya, Soviet, Washington, dabble, Syria, Libya, Mali, ., Pavlovsk, Elizavetovka, Vorontsovka, Buturlinovka, Talovaya district, Pskov, Soviet Union, Belarus, Minsk, he's, St Petersburg, Kyiv, London, New York, Paris, Villars, Istanbul, Gdansk

MOSCOW, July 10 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin has held Kremlin talks with Wagner mercenary group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and his commanders to discuss the armed mutiny Wagner attempted to mount against the army's top brass, Putin's spokesman said on Monday. The meeting was first reported by French newspaper Liberation, which said Prigozhin had met Putin and the head of the National Guard, Viktor Zolotov, and SVR Foreign Intelligence boss Sergei Naryshkin. Peskov told reporters that Putin had invited 35 people to the meeting, including Prigozhin and Wagner unit commanders, and that the meeting had lasted three hours. The brief mutiny led by Prigozhin, in which Wagner fighters took control of the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and a military headquarters building, was defused in a deal brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. Prigozhin was meant to leave for Belarus under the terms of the deal that ended the mutiny.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Putin, Viktor Zolotov, Sergei Naryshkin, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Alexander Lukashenko, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Lukashenko, Andrew Osborn, Mark Trevelyan, Caleb Davis Organizations: French, Liberation, National Guard, SVR Foreign Intelligence, Staff, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Ukraine, Rostov, Russia, Belarus, Moscow, London, Gdansk

☆ Pardoned Wagner convicts are once again committing crimes, and Russian authorities are trying to cover it up, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Former prisoners pardoned after fighting with the Wagner Group in Ukraine have returned to Russia. Some, including those convicted of murder, are committing violent crimes again, per Russia's Verstka. And Russian authorities are trying to hide the cases, including in court documents, it reported. Independent Russian outlet Verstka said it discovered recent cases against former Wagner fighters when it looked at court documents. UK intelligence said in March that half of all Russian prisoners recruited to fight in Ukraine had likely been killed or wounded.

Persons: Russia's Wagner, Wagner, Verstka, Yevgeny Prigozhin Organizations: Wagner Group, Service, Independent, Internal Affairs, CBS News, UK Ministry of Defence Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Independent Russian, Russian, Moscow, Belarus

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

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

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

☆ Russian defence minister Shoigu shown inspecting troops
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, July 8 (Reuters) - Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has inspected troops and overseen training of newly formed units made up of contracted servicemen, his ministry said on Saturday. The ministry released video footage on its Telegram channel showing Shoigu in khaki military fatigues inspecting soldiers at a shooting range, in his first public appearance with troops since last month's aborted mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group. The ministry did not say when the video was filmed or when the inspection took place. Shoigu said on Monday that the mutiny did not affect Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine. "The Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation personally checked the training of contract servicemen in combat operations in various conditions, including urban combat," the defence ministry said on Saturday.

Persons: Sergei Shoigu, Wagner, Shoigu, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Valery Gerasimov, Alexander Lukashenko, Vladimir Soldatkin, Alexander Smith Organizations: Russian Defence, Moscow, Kremlin, Defence, Russian Federation, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Ukraine, Russian, Rostov

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

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

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

"Given the events, their relationship with the Syrian defence ministry is now over." Mali authorities did not respond to a request for comment on the flights and whether any Wagner fighters had been redeployed from Syria to Mali. Wagner fighters secured Syrian oilfields and Western officials say Wagner is linked to Evro Polis, a company that profits from those assets. Reuters was unable to determine the fate of those commercial interests in the wake of the Russian defence ministry's moves against Wagner in Syria and Russia. In the wake of the Wagner uprising, Syria's leadership quickly restated publicly the importance of its military alliance with Russia.

Persons: Wagner, Nawar Shaban, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Bashar al, Assad, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin, Russian Wagner, Evro Polis, Asmaa al, Laila Bassam, Tom Perry, Ed McAllister, Joanna Plucinska, Mike Collett, White, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Omran Center, Strategic Studies, Syrian Republican Guard, Republican Guard, Reuters, Russian Reconciliation Center, Moscow State University, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Moscow, Syria, Russian, Russia, Istanbul, Damascus, Ukraine, Belarus, Syrian, Syria's, Homs, Hmeimim, Latakia, Bamako, West African, Mali, Evro Polis, Libya, elswhere, Africa, Western, U.S, Deir, Beirut, London

☆ US official says 'exiled' Wagner boss Prigozhin may not have gone to Belarus at all — and may have used a body double to make it appear as though he fled Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was exiled to Belarus last month after staging an armed rebellion. But the former Putin ally apparently reappeared in St. Petersburg this week, sparking confusion. A Pentagon official told The New York Times it appears Prigozhin has mostly been in Russia. An unnamed Pentagon official told The New York Times that Prigozhin has actually been in Russia — Moscow or St. Petersburg — for most of the time since the mutiny. The official also said it was unclear if Prigozhin ever went to Belarus, noting he is believed to employ body doubles.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, Prigozhin, —, he'd, Alexander Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko, Insider's Sonam Sheth, Putin —, Petersburg Organizations: Pentagon, New York Times, Service, Wagner Group, CIA, Putin Locations: Belarus, St . Petersburg, Russia, Moscow, St, Ukraine, Chechnya

Mr. Lukashenko said last week that Wagner might use an old Belarusian military base, but despite the speculation spurred by the new tents, it was not clear that he meant this one, in the village of Tsel’. He also said that Mr. Prigozhin was in Belarus, though there was no confirmation of that. On Thursday, in a rare session with foreign journalists, Mr. Lukahsenko said Mr. Prigozhin was in Russia, a free man. On Friday, a Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military intelligence, said Mr. Prigozhin was believed to be in Moscow, with no apparent restrictions on his movements. He said it would be used for a military training exercise in September, and insisted that the tents and bunks were erected so quickly as part of an exercise in rapid field camp construction.

Persons: Lukashenko, Wagner, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Lukahsenko, General Kasinsky Organizations: Pentagon Locations: Belarus, Ukraine, Tsel, Russia, Moscow

☆ Analysis: Prigozhin's fate remains unclear and it signals more trouble in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Jill Dougherty | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The bizarre tale of Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s former pal-turned-mutineer, just got a whole lot weirder. His men had three choices: follow Prigozhin to Belarus, join the regular Russian military, or stop fighting and go home. He was a tough guy strutting about in camouflage, whose fighters could win battles in Ukraine that the regular Russian military couldn’t handle. Prigozhin’s ultimate fate is still unclear, but he is only one of Putin’s problems. And that portends more repression, more “settling scores,” and more fighting behind the scenes in Putin’s Russia.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin’s, Wagner, –, ”, Alexander Lukashenko, Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Putin, Vlad Karkov, “ Organizations: CNN, Putin’s, ” Locations: Russian, Belarusian, Russia, Belarus, St . Petersburg, Moscow, Prigozhin’s St, Petersburg, Ukraine, Rostov, Vesti

Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is not even in Belarus, Lukashenko told CNN – he is in Russia, Lukashenko claimed. Available satellite imagery has also not shown any signs of the kind of preparations and security that would be standard at a Russian nuclear facility. Russia has the world’s largest arsenal of nuclear weapons, with 4,477 deployed and reserve nuclear warheads, including around 1,900 tactical nuclear weapons, according to the Federation of American Scientists. “Putin does not need tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus to use those weapons,” Bergmann added. “But it is concerning to the US that tactical nuclear weapons could potentially be co-located in Belarus with Wagner fighters.

Persons: Wagner, Alexander Lukashenko, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Lukashenko, CNN –, Alexander Zemlianichenko, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ”, Max Bergmann, “ Putin, ” Bergmann, Lukashenko’s, Alexander Nemenov, Angela, Prigozhin, Leonid Kasinsky, ” Lukashenko Organizations: CNN, Wagner Group, Wagner PMC, Federation of American Scientists, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Directorate of, Ministry of Defense, Soviet Union, Experts, NATO, European Union, Lithuanian President’s Communication, Georgetown University, Kremlin, Wagner, Russian Ministry of Defense Locations: Russia, Europe, Belarus, Russian, Minsk, Belarusian, Tsel, Soviet, Vilnius, Lithuania, AFP, Poland, Belarus US, St . Petersburg

☆ Lukashenko Says Prigozhin Is in Russia, Not Belarus
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Matthew Mpoke Bigg | Juston Jones | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

MINSK, Belarus — The mercenary leader Yevgeny V. Prigozhin is in Russia, the leader of Belarus said on Thursday, adding to the questions swirling around Mr. Prigozhin’s fate nearly two weeks after he called off his stunning armed rebellion against Moscow’s military leadership. None of Mr. Lukashenko’s claims could be verified, and Mr. Prigozhin has not been seen in public since the rebellion nearly two weeks ago. Mr. Prigozhin was “not on the territory of Belarus,” Mr. Lukashenko said, and nor were Wagner troops, who he said remained in their “permanent camps,” believed to be in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine. Mr. Lukashenko also signaled that at least some of Wagner’s fighting force — which was instrumental in Russia’s capture of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut this spring — could stay intact. But on Thursday, Mr. Lukashenko appeared less definitive about the possible presence of Wagner troops in Belarus.

Persons: Yevgeny V, Aleksandr G, Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Wagner, Lukashenko’s, ” Mr, ”, Vladimir V, “, Dmitri S, Mr, Putin, ’, Putin’s, Anatoly Kurmanaev, Ivan Nechepurenko Organizations: Independence, Kremlin, Russia, The New York Times, West, Mr Locations: MINSK, Belarus, Russia, Russian, St, Petersburg, Luhansk, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Belarusian, Minsk, Moscow

Prigozhin had reportedly traveled to Belarus as part of a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin following the failed uprising, but Lukashenko told CNN’s Matthew Chance that the Wagner leader is now in Russia. Prigozhin has not been seen in public since June 24 when he left Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia. “I don’t think that Wagner will rise up somewhere and turn its guns against the Belarusian authorities and the Belarusian state,” Lukashenko said. Until recently, Russian state television lionized Wagner’s operations in Ukraine, but the outlets now appear to be vilifying the founder of the private military company following the failed uprising. Russian state television often airs dramatic footage of what are described as raids by security services and foiled terrorist plots.

Persons: Belarus CNN — Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko, CNN’s Matthew Chance, Wagner, ” Lukashenko, ”, Prigozhin’s, Were Wagner Organizations: Belarus CNN, CNN, Weapons, “, Kremlin Locations: Minsk, Belarus, Belarusian, Russia, Rostov, Vesti, St . Petersburg, Moscow, Ukraine

☆ Belarus' dictator says he told Prigozhin he was ready to send special forces to defend Moscow against the Wagner rebellion and hoped he wouldn't be offended
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Belarus' Lukashenko said he was ready to help defend Moscow from the Wagner Group's mutiny. The dictator told Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin he hoped he wouldn't be offended by the decision. A special forces brigade from Belarus' military was ready to deploy to Moscow immediately after Prigozhin and Wagner launched their short-lived mutiny against Russia's military leadership, Lukashenko told foreign and domestic reporters in Minsk. The dictator just hoped Prigozhin wouldn't mind that he was preparing to have his forces act against him. We will defend Moscow together with Putin," Lukashenko recalled, according to a translation of his remarks by state-run news agency BelTA.

Persons: Lukashenko, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, —, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny, Putin, BelTA, Russia's, Pat Ryder Organizations: Service, Privacy, Belarusian, Army, Sputnik, Kremlin, Institute for, Putin, Pentagon Press, Air Force Locations: Belarus, Moscow, Minsk, Rostov, Russia, Russian, Sochi, Kremlin, Belarusian, Washington, Ukraine

☆ Belarus leader Lukashenko says Prigozhin is back in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MINSK, July 6 (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who last month brokered a deal to end an armed mutiny in Russia, said on Thursday that Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was no longer in Belarus. Lukashenko said on June 27 that Prigozhin had arrived in Belarus as part of the deal. He is not on the territory of Belarus." Lukashenko said an offer for Wagner to station some of its fighters in Belarus - a prospect that has alarmed neighbouring NATO countries - still stands. He said he did not see it as a risk to Belarus and did not believe Wagner fighters would ever take up arms against his country.

Persons: Alexander Lukashenko, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Wagner Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: MINSK, Russia, Belarus, he's, St Petersburg, NATO

☆ Prigozhin Is Said to Be in Russia, as Wagner Mystery Deepens
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Valerie Hopkins | More About Valerie Hopkins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a rare news conference with local and foreign journalists at the marbled presidential palace in Minsk, Mr. Lukashenko, always eager to be seen as an international statesman, clearly enjoyed the limelight cast on him by the most dramatic challenge to Mr. Putin’s authority in his 23 years in power. But days after offering a haven to Wagner fighters and their leader in his country, Mr. Lukashenko gave no clarity about where they would go or what role they would play. He added that he had spoken to Mr. Prigozhin on Wednesday, and that Wagner would continue to “fulfill its duties to Russia for as long as it can,” though he did not elaborate. Mr. Putin has long sought to pull Belarus deeper into the Russian political, economic and military orbits. For years, Mr. Lukashenko, whose power depends heavily on managing that relationship, did well enough to maintain some independence and even tried to build trade ties to the West.

Persons: Lukashenko, Wagner, Putin, ”, Prigozhin Organizations: Mr, Russia Locations: Minsk, Russia, Belarus

☆ Putin’s Options for Dealing With the Wagner Group Aren’t Great - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Colin P. Clarke | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

(Those who did participate could join Mr. Prigozhin in Belarusian exile.) Even if Wagner fighters do decide to join Russian military units en masse, it won’t be easy for Moscow to integrate them. Another option would be for Mr. Putin to leave Wagner’s overseas operations as is, and install a new leader to replace Mr. Prigozhin. Mr. Prigozhin was revered by Wagner fighters, many of whom may chafe at the prospect of new leadership or a drastic change in organizational culture. Corporation is another Russian private military company, founded by Russian nationalist Igor Mangushev, with some experience abroad, but is much less influential and experienced than Wagner.

Persons: Putin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Sergei Shoigu, —, Prigozhin’s, Sergei Lavrov, ”, Wagner’s, Igor Mangushev Organizations: Russian, Ministry of Defense, Russian Ministry of Defense, Central African, Corporation, Gazprom Locations: Russia, Russian, Moscow, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Africa, Mali, Central African Republic . Russia, Syria, Burundi, Central African Republic, Gabon, Yemen

☆ Putin reassures Asian allies of Russia's stability after mutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a summit of leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) via a video conference call at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, July 4, 2023. Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Kremlin via REUTERSMOSCOW, July 4 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin reassured Asian leaders of Russia's stability and unity on Tuesday in his first appearance at an international forum since the country was rocked by a brief armed mutiny last month. "The Russian people are consolidated as never before," Putin told a virtual meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a group that also includes China and India. Putin told the group there was a growing risk of a new global economic and financial crisis fuelled by developed countries' debts and worsening food and environmental security. Reporting by Reuters, writing by Mark Trevelyan Editing by Andrew Osborn and Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Alexander Kazakov, Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Mark Trevelyan, Andrew Osborn, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Kremlin, Sputnik, REUTERS, Fatherland, Moscow, Belarus, SCO, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Kremlin, REUTERS MOSCOW, China, India, Russian, Ukraine, Iran, United States

Odesa, Ukraine CNN —Vladimir Putin’s response to the armed Wagner rebellion was “weak” and the Russian President is losing control of his own people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN in an exclusive interview. It’s weak,” Zelensky told CNN’s Erin Burnett in Odesa, in an interview taped on Sunday. Zelensky told CNN he was “surprised” to see his meeting with Burns reported in the media. Speaking at a news conference in Kyiv Saturday, Zelensky said Prigozhin’s rebellion had “greatly affected Russian power on the battlefield” and could be beneficial to Ukraine’s counteroffensive. Asked whether there was any scenario under which there could be peace without Crimea, Zelensky said: “It will not be victory then.”

Persons: Erin Burnett’s, Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine CNN — Vladimir Putin’s, Wagner, Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, ” Zelensky, CNN’s Erin Burnett, Prigozhin, ’, Zelensky, Prigozhin’s, Bill Burns, ”, Burns, “, ” Burns, Burnett Organizations: Ukraine CNN —, CNN, US Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, Kyiv Locations: Odesa, Ukraine, Russian, Ukrainian, Moscow, Russia, Rostov, Kyiv, Crimea

☆ Putin expected to meet Xi and Modi at SCO Summit following Wagner insurrection
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —All eyes will be on Vladimir Putin this week, with the Russian president expected to make his first appearance on the world stage since the Wagner insurrection threatened his steel grip on power. In the brief, chaotic insurrection, Wagner – a private mercenary group led by warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin – took control of key military facilities in two Russian cities. Participants of the 22nd meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) leaders' summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 16, 2022. By contrast, Putin managed to end the Wagner insurrection before it reached the capital, without bloodshed. Modi made headlines at last year’s in-person SCO summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, when he told Putin that now is not the time for war, appearing to directly rebuff the invasion.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Putin, Wagner –, Yevgeny Prigozhin –, Prigozhin, Xi, India’s Narendra Modi –, –, they’re, ”, Derek Grossman, Grossman, ” Grossman, Murat Kula, “, Yasuhiro Matsuda, Matsuda, ” Matsuda, “ Xi Jinping, Alexander Korolev, That’s, won’t, Korolev, India’s Modi, Modi, Joe Biden, RAND’s Grossman, India’s Organizations: CNN, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, SCO, Kremlin, RAND Corporation, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Russia, NATO, Chinese Foreign Ministry, Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Tokyo, “ Russia, China –, Kazakhstan, University of New Locations: Russian, Beijing, Moscow, Belarus, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, US, Russia, China, Samarkand, Central Asia, Iran, Ukraine, Europe, Asia, University of New South Wales, Australia, India, Washington, Indian, Goa, Delhi

☆ After Wagner's mutiny, Russia's military is now fighting with war bloggers because they won't celebrate its few wins the way they want
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russia's claims of a small battlefield victory have drawn criticism from military bloggers. The milbloggers won't celebrate with Moscow, causing the defense ministry to clash with the writers. Russian military bloggers, or milbloggers, have disputed some of the defense ministry's claims, according to a Sunday assessment by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank. The milbloggers, said Ukrainian forces had managed to establish positions and that fighting was ongoing. Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, continue to make use of their huge inventory of heavy Western armor — including advanced tanks and infantry fighting vehicles from the US and its NATO allies — to liberate territory in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Persons: Russia's, Putin, —, Wagner Group's, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Sergei Shoigu, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Pat Ryder, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Institute for, Russian MoD, Russia's Defence Ministry, Military District, Russian Defence Ministry, REUTERS Wagner Group, Kremlin, Pentagon Press, Air Force, NATO, The General Staff of, Armed Forces, Facebook, Twitter Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Dnipro, Kherson, Russian, Washington, Russia, Rostov, Belarus, Ukrainian, —

☆ Putin's comment on funding Wagner shows link to Ukraine -prosecutor
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Anthony Deutsch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Putin said last week that Wagner and its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, had received almost $2 billion from Russia in the past year. Among more than 93,000 incidents of potential war crimes Kostin's office was investigating were many atrocities Wagner forces committed, Kostin said. They are "among the most severe crimes against our civilians and our prisoners of war," Kostin said. Kostin appealed to allies, including the U.S. and Britain, to classify Wagner as a terrorist organisation so it can be prosecuted and its assets frozen. "Prigozhin is already a suspect in criminal proceedings in Ukraine, but the main thing is to stop the activity of such groups," he said.

Persons: Vladimir Putin's, Wagner, Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Andriy Kostin, Kostin, Putin's, Anthony Deutsch, Josie Kao Organizations: HAGUE, International Centre, U.S, Thomson Locations: Russia, The Hague, Geneva, Ukraine, Latin America, Africa, Britain

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