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☆ Mali’s PM fired after criticizing prolonged junta rule, state TV says
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-20 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

BAMAKO, Mali Reuters —Mali’s Prime Minister Choguel Maiga has been fired, state television ORTM said on Wednesday of the civilian who criticized the ruling junta’s failure to organize elections within a promised 24-month transition back to democracy. “It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Maiga told reporters on Saturday. His comments sparked tensions with the junta, forcing it to postpone a ministerial council meeting planned for Wednesday, a source close to Maiga told Reuters. Maiga had fervently defended Mali’s junta as West African neighbors and international allies criticized its military cooperation with Russian mercenaries and repeated election delays. Before being named prime minister in 2021, Maiga served as Mali’s commerce minister under former President Amadou Toumani Toure and as digital economy minister under former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

Persons: Choguel Maiga, ORTM, Maiga, ” Maiga, Assimi Goïta, Amadou Toumani Toure, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Keita Organizations: Mali Reuters — Mali’s, Reuters, Russian Locations: BAMAKO, Mali, West

I’m tripping over their bodies,” said Sydney Seiler, the U.S. national intelligence officer for North Korea from 2020 to 2023. “Kim Jong Un is selling North Korean soldiers as cannon fodder mercenaries,” South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said last month. It’s an entirely new environment for the North Korean soldiers, who live in one of the most isolated and repressive countries in the world. The Russian military is teaching the North Korean soldiers about 100 key military terms, but “North Koreans are having a difficult time learning Russian,” South Korean lawmakers Lee Sung-kwon and Park Sun-won said last month. North Korean soldiers’ inexperience could be another point of friction and a major factor in how they are deployed.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ”, Sydney Seiler, Seiler, Gavriil, Joe Biden, Yoon Suk Yeol, Shigeru Ishiba, Kim, “ Kim Jong, Kim Yong, hyun, John Hardie, Lee Sung, Bruce Bennett, ” Hardie, Bennett, ” Bennett, Edward Howell, “, ” Howell, Stella Kim Organizations: Ukraine, North, NBC News, U.S, The State Department, Korea’s National Intelligence Service, NBC, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Getty Images, Economic Cooperation, South Korean Defense, Pentagon, Politico, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, North Korean, South Korean National Intelligence Service, AFP, Getty, Korean, Battalion, Russian Ministry of Defense, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, South, Sun, Rand Corp . Communication, Chatham House Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, U.S, North Korea, Russian, Kursk, Korean, Korea, Washington, Pyongyang, Getty Images North Korea, South, Asia, Lima , Peru, The U.S, California, Ukrainian, London, Seoul, Hong Kong

☆ The West is trying to starve the wrong part of Russia's war machine, defense experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-20 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Russian artillery depends on a complex supply chain vulnerable to sanctions, defense experts say. Each company has its own supply chain of subcontractors, such as factories that make special steel. Current Western sanctions tend to be too broad and sporadic to cripple Russian defense production. A better approach would be a mixture of economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure focused on Russia's artillery supply chain, concluded the report. AdvertisementNonetheless, sanctions might ultimately prove to be a more effective approach than trying to destroy Russian artillery in combat.

Persons: —, Charly TRIBALLEAU, RUSI, NIMI Bakhirev, Reich, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Royal United Services Institute, Scranton Army, Plant, Getty, Burevestnik Research, NATO, Allied, Germany, Central, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Donetsk, British, Soviet, Scranton, Pennsylvania, AFP, China, Germany, South Korea, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, Yekaterinburg, Volgograd, Perm, Nizhny Novgorod, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kazakh, Turkey, Forbes

CNN —Up to 600 people were shot dead in a matter of hours by al Qaeda-linked militants in an August attack on a town in Burkina Faso, according to a French government security assessment that nearly doubles the death toll cited in earlier reports. A series of coups across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger led to the departure of French and American forces. The Russian mercenaries summoned by the juntas to bolster their grip have instead left a vacuum in which jihadists have thrived, says the assessment, given to CNN by a French security official. A view of the town of Barsalogho, Burkina Faso, where up to 600 people were killed by al Qaeda-linked militants in an August attack, according to a French government security assessment. CNN has reviewed videos of the alleged cannibalism that seem to show Burkina Faso soldiers dismembering and holding up body parts of apparent dead jihadists.

Persons: al, Nusrat al, JNIM, ”, jihadists, “, I’m, Fear, Ibrahim Traore, Zero ”, Burkina Faso’s, Traore, –, Wagner, group’s, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Donat Sorokin, ‘ Organizations: CNN, Getty, United Nations, Reuters, “, Burkina Faso’s, Civil Service, Labs Inc, Rapid Locations: al Qaeda, Burkina Faso, Barsalogho, Africa, Islam, Mali, Sahel, West Africa, United States, jihadists, Niger, Tawori, Bamako, Burkina, France, Moscow, Ukraine, Ouagadougou, Russian, Russia, Saint Petersburg, BIR, Togo, Kompienga, Togolese, Qaeda

☆ Arrowheads shed light on who fought in Europe’s oldest known battle
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-23 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Inselmann collected literature, data and examples of more than 4,700 Bronze Age arrowheads from Central Europe and mapped out where they came from to compare them with the Tollense Valley arrowheads. Otherwise, they would expect to find evidence of arrowheads within ceremonial burials in the region that were practiced during the Bronze Age. “This new information has considerably changed the image of the Bronze Age, which was not as peaceful as believed before,” Terberger said. I consider the conflict as a sign that this major transformation process of Bronze Age society was accompanied by violent conflicts. Ute BrinkerThe scale of conflictThe large scale of battle has researchers rethinking what social organization and warfare were like during the Bronze Age.

Persons: ’ ”, Leif Inselmann, “, Inselmann, ” Inselmann, Thomas Terberger, haven’t, Barry Molloy, Molloy, ” Molloy, ” Terberger, ”, Ute Brinker, —, ’ Organizations: CNN, Berlin Graduate School of Ancient Studies, Free University of Berlin, Germany’s University of Göttingen, University College Dublin, ” Locations: Germany, Europe, Central Europe, Mecklenburg, Pomerania, Bavaria, Moravia, Tollense

☆ Russia is after more Iranian and North Korean missiles to help it tip the balance in Ukraine, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The visit came just days after Shoigu traveled to North Korea for talks with leader Kim Jong Un, and after he met Monday with Syrian leader Bashar Assad. This would mark an escalation in Iran's support for Russia, with the Islamic Republic previously sending aerial drones used by Russia to attack Ukrainian towns and infrastructure. AdvertisementIn recent months, North Korea has reportedly sent millions of shells to Russia, as well as ballistic missiles. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said last week that the delivery of Iranian missiles to Russia had changed the debate about Ukraine using Western long-range missiles to strike targets deep inside Russia. Russia is currently making incremental but important advances in its campaign to seize more territory in eastern Ukraine, while Ukraine has occupied parts of Russia's Kursk province, after a surprise attack last month.

Persons: —, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, Masoud Pezeshkian, Pezeshkian, Shoigu, Kim Jong Un, Bashar Assad, State Anthony Blinken, Kyrylo Budanov, David Lammy, Keir Starmer, Joe Biden Organizations: Service, Iran's Supreme National Security, Business, Institute for, State, Russia, Islamic Locations: Iran, Ukraine, North Korea, Russia, US, China, Syria, Islamic Republic, Russia's Kursk

KYIV, Ukraine — The shots fired by the Secret Service near former President Donald Trump at a Florida golf course Sunday are ringing out 5,000 miles away — in the Russia-Ukraine war. After what officials called the second assassination attempt on Trump in three months, a man named Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was taken into custody and charged. Routh had already been extensively profiled in the Western media as an ardent supporter of Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s ongoing invasion. Ukraine sought Monday to distance itself from Routh, with the country’s international legion — the military unit that includes foreign volunteers — saying it had nothing to do with him. “We would like to clarify that Ryan Wesley Routh has never been part of, associated with, or linked to the International Legion in any capacity.

Persons: Donald Trump, Ryan Wesley Routh, Routh, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, ” Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s, Dmitry Peskov, ”, Kathleen Shaffer, “, Trump, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Tulsi Gabbard, Biden “, Putin, Kim Jong Un, Banner, Daryna Mayer, Alex Smith, Caroline Radnofsky Organizations: Service, Trump, NBC, Kyiv, Democratic, GOP, Nazi, Security, U.S, ”, International Volunteer Center, Facebook, Moscow, AFP, Getty, Ukraine’s International, NBC News, International Legion, Armed Forces, Russia Locations: KYIV, Ukraine, Florida, Russia, United States, Kyiv, U.S, Moscow, Kiev, Ukrainian, Hawaii, Kyiv’s Maidan, London

☆ Ukraine’s Kursk offensive was seen as a success but it had a cost
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-13 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | Kostya Gak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Kyiv launched its surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region last month, taking Moscow by surprise and quickly advancing some 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border. A group of Ukrainian soldiers rest in a village near the Russian border after taking part in Ukraine’s operation in Kursk. Ivana Kottasova/CNNUkrainian officials said Moscow has sent some 30,000 troops into the Kursk region. But they are finding the service doesn’t work at all in certain parts of the Kursk region. (AP Photo) Efrem Lukatsky/APA group of Ukrainian soldiers rests after completing a long mission in Russia's Kursk region.

Persons: Ukraine CNN — Vasyl, Vasyl –, –, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, ” Vasyl, Ivana Kottasova, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Ramzan Kadyrov, Akhmat, Ukraine's “ Nightingale, Vasyl, Don’t, ” Dmytro, Ukrainian –, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Zelensky, Bill Burns, ” Burns, Fin, Chasiv Yar, “, sapper, Efrem, Kholod, ” Kholod, ’ ” Vasyl, “ I’m Organizations: Ukraine CNN, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine’s, Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian, Wagner, Military Company, Chechen, Ukrainian Nightingale, Institute for, Kremlin, Western, CIA, APC, Ukrainian Defense Ministry Locations: Sumy, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russia’s Kursk, Moscow, Russia, ”, Kursk, Russian, West Africa, US, Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk, Crimea, London, Sudzha, Russia's Kursk, Pokrovsk

☆ Ukraine’s Russia gambit punctures Putin’s veneer of invincibility once again
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-13 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —It is another coin-flip in a conflict punctuated with at least annual reminders of how frail Vladimir Putin’s Russia truly is. It is purposefully unclear exactly where Ukraine’s forces are. It is also unclear where Ukrainian forces are digging in and where they are just racing through. This time it is Putin’s own FSB, who couldn’t keep control of the borders, in Putin’s war of choice. Residents of an apartment building damaged after shelling by the Ukrainian side stand near the building in Kursk, Russia, on Sunday.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Kyiv’s, Wagner, Oleksandr Syrskyi, “, ”, Lindsey Graham, Richard Blumenthal, Yevgeny Prigozhin’s, Putin, Andrew Kravchenko, Alexei Smirnov, it’s, he’s, Valery Gerasimov, Joseph Stalin, insurgencies, Putin’s, egotistically, Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia’s Putin, –, Zelensky, Ukraine’s Organizations: CNN, Kyiv, Kremlin, Armed Forces of, Bloomberg, Getty, Manpower, Residents, AP Locations: Vladimir Putin’s Russia, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Russia, Ukraine, Kursk, Rostov, Moscow, Lgov, Armed Forces of Ukraine, Donbas, Pokrovsk, Ukrainian

☆ Ukraine's audacious invasion of Russian territory is a massive blow to Putin's power
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-09 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But as the scale of the attack became clearer, with thousands of Ukrainian troops advancing up to 6 miles into Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin hurried to contain the fallout. Ukraine's attack catches Russia off guardA Russian military video showing a Ukrainian tank during an attack on the Kursk region in Russia in August. It's led to fierce criticism of the Kremlin from ultranationalist bloggers, who've questioned why the Russian military was so unprepared and criticized chaotic attempts to evacuate civilians. Putin has so far been able to avoid major domestic unrest from the two-year war — despite the vast casualties it's inflicted on the Russian military. But the 2023 rebellion by the Russian mercenary group Wagner exposed Putin's vulnerability to blowback from events in Ukraine.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, Alexei Smirnov, Putin, Vladimir Putin's, It's, who've, Bryden Spurling, Callum Fraser, Russia aren't, Wagner, Russia's, Fraser, Spurling, STRINGER, Ukraine's, Maxim Alyukov, it'll, Alyukov Organizations: Service, Kremlin, Business, Anadolu, Russian MOD, RAND Corp, Royal United Services Institute, Wagner, Don, Getty, King's College London Locations: Ukraine, Russia's Kursk, Russia, Russian, Kursk, US, Kharkiv, London, Rostov, Moscow

☆ Archaeologists uncover ancient pot of gold
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-08 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Researchers discovered the stash in Notion, an 80-acre fortified city that was occupied from about the sixth century BC to the first century AD. “No one ever buries a hoard of coins, especially precious metal coins, without intending to retrieve it. One gold coin would have been the equivalent of a month’s salary for a mercenary soldier, according to the University of Michigan. Those were known as Persian silver sigloi, 20 of which would equate to one gold coin. Because of the gold coin’s high value, “it was far more efficient to store wealth in gold coins than in silver,” he added.

Persons: ”, Christopher Ratté, “, Alexander the, Persian King Darius, Peter van Alfen, ” van Alfen, Ratté, van Alfen, Herodotus Organizations: CNN, University of Michigan, American Numismatic Society, Spartan Locations: Turkey, Persian, Persia

☆ Putin's Wagner Group mercenaries got thrashed in the African desert — and Ukraine says it helped
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewUkraine's defense intelligence claimed a role in a recent battle in Africa — where separatist rebels destroyed a detachment of Russian Wagner Group mercenaries fighting overseas. The paper published a photograph of Malian separatist forces holding up a Ukrainian flag, an apparent expression of solidarity with the country. The battle killed Wagner Group commander Sergei Shevchenko, Razguzra Vagnera said. The separatist group that claimed responsibility for the attack is the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development, or CSP-PSD, the BBC reported. The CSP-PSD opposes Mali's junta, which has been propped up by the Wagner Group for several years.

Persons: —, Andriy Yusov, Razgruzka, Wagners, Wagner, Sergei Shevchenko, Razguzra Vagnera, Nikita Fedyanin, Nusrat al, Muslimin, Assimi Goïta, Goïta, ACSS, Yevgeny Prigozhin Organizations: Service, Russian Wagner Group, Main Intelligence, Kyiv Post, Business, Wagner, Malian, BBC, Russian Telegram, Astra, BI, Telegram, Wagner Group, Peace, Security, PSD, Mali's, Pentagon, Africa Center, Strategic Studies, Group Locations: Africa —, Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia, Tinzaouaten, Mali, Russian, Islam, Africa

A Tuareg militant group spokesman said some Malian troops and Russian fighters had also been captured during the battle. According to some unofficial Russian Telegram channels, as many as 80 Russians were killed. The commander – call-sign Rusich – said on Telegram he was trying to convey a message to the Russian Defense Ministry. And in Syria five years ago, a disastrous attack by Russian mercenaries on an oil refinery led to dozens of casualties. One of them was an IED attack on a Russian vehicle in the same region of Mali as the latest devastating assault.

Persons: Nusrat al, JNIM, ”, Andriy Yusov, Yusov, Wagner, Wagner “, –, Sergei Shevchenko, Nikita Fedyanin, “, Korotkov, Africa Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Yunus, Bek, Yevkurov, al Organizations: CNN, Russian, Russian Telegram, Kremlin, Kyiv, Ukraine’s Security, Russian Defense Ministry, Corps, Grey, Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian Federation, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Central African, Wagner PMC, Deputy, SITE Intelligence Group Locations: Mali, Algerian, Islam, Africa, Malian, Russian, London, Syria, Central African Republic, Mozambique, Bakhmut, Ukraine, Niger, Burkina Faso, Moscow, Togo

☆ 'House of the Dragon' Blood actor breaks down how the 'horrific' first episode was filmed. He says his character almost met an even grislier end.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Eammon Jacobs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewThe actor who played Blood in "House of the Dragon" season two broke down how the gruesome first episode was filmed in an interview with Business Insider. The child actors on the "House of the Dragon" set weren't involved in the killingMark Stobbart as Cheese and Sam C. Wilson as Blood in "House of the Dragon" season two. AdvertisementDon't worry, they didn't actually kick the dogBobby the dog in "House of the Dragon." HBOWilson and Stobbart were somewhat upstaged by the cute canine costar who accompanies Blood and Cheese on their mission. AdvertisementBlood's death in episode two was nearly much more gruesomeSam C. Wilson as Blood in "House of the Dragon."

Persons: —, Daemon Targaryen, Matt Smith, Sam C, Wilson, Stobbart, Prince Aemond Targaryen, Ewan Mitchell, Helaena, Phia Saban, Mark Stobbart, Ollie Upton, It's, Bobby, HBO Wilson, Cheese, didn't, Tom Glynn, Carney, I'd, Kit Harington, Richard Madden, Emilia Clarke, Bella Ramsey, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean, Paddy Considine, There's Organizations: Service, Business, HBO, King Aegon, Aegon

☆ 'House of the Dragon' Blood actor says he was 'totally up for' his character experiencing 'epic amounts of torture' like in the book
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Eammon Jacobs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Sam C. Wilson played Blood in "House of the Dragon" season two. He told Business Insider he was "totally up for" Blood experiencing "epic amounts of torture" like in the book. Advertisement"House of the Dragon" actor Sam C. Wilson told Business Insider that he was "totally up for" his character Blood experiencing "epic amounts of torture" like he does in the book the show is based on. The final sequence of the episode sees two mercenaries, Blood (Wilson) and Cheese (Mark Stobbart) sneak into the Red Keep in King's Landing and brutally murder a Targaryen child. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Sam C, Wilson, Cheese, —, what's, Stobbart Organizations: Service, Business

☆ Year After Failed Mutiny, Russia Tightens Grip on Wagner Units in Africa
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Elian Peltier | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For years, Russia covertly propped up authoritarian leaders, exploited natural resources and fought extremists in a number of African countries. Russia worked through the Wagner group, a shadowy web of political advisers, entrepreneurs and mercenaries. Wagner was led by Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, a ruthless tycoon who was once a close ally of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. But after Mr. Prigozhin led a short-lived mutiny against Mr. Putin in June last year, Mr. Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash. The Russian Ministry of Defense has taken control of Wagner’s mercenary arm in Africa and placed it under a bigger umbrella group, Africa Corps.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny V, Vladimir V, Putin, Prigozhin Organizations: Mr, Russian Ministry of Defense, Africa Corps Locations: Russia, Western, Ukraine, Africa

☆ 'House of the Dragon' fans complained that a child-murder scene wasn't gory like the books. A showrunner explained the difference.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Eammon Jacobs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Some compared it unfavorably to the gory "Red Wedding" episode in "Game of Thrones" season three, which saw the slaughter of several main characters, including the pregnant Talisa Stark. #HouseoftheDragon — mimi (@in_boredom_hell) June 17, 2024The Blood-and-Cheese scene is even more extreme in the book — Blood kills a guard while Cheese sexually assaults the surviving sister. AdvertisementIn the book ‘Fire and Blood,’ which #HouseOfTheDragon is based on, Blood Cheese demands Haelena choose between two sons. Their second son, Maelor Targaryen, is not present in the show. So working from that place, we just wanted to try to make Blood and Cheese a visceral television sequence," Condal said.

Persons: —, Daemon Targaryen, Matt Smith, Aemond, Helaena Targaryen, Talisa Stark, — Rahul Mishra, mimi, @in_boredom_hell, Helaena, Blood, Haelena, Maelor, Ryan Condal, Condal Organizations: Service, Business, Hollywood

☆ Russia will increase the number of military instructors in Burkina Faso, foreign minister says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Anneclaire Stapleton | Sebastian Shukla | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Russia will increase the number of military instructors in Burkina Faso, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday during a trip to the West African nation. “Here, Russian instructors are working; their number will increase.”Russia furthermore intends to supply Burkina Faso with military products to strengthen the country’s defense capability, he said. Burkina Faso is currently under military rule after a junta staged a coup d’état in July 2022. Engulfed in violence, Burkina Faso has been named the world’s most neglected displacement crisis for the second year, by the NRC. Burkina Faso was the first country to do this quickly and effectively,” he said.

Persons: Sergey Lavrov, ” Lavrov, Lavrov, Ibrahim Traoré, Yevkurov, Traoré, Thomas Waldhauser, ” Organizations: CNN, Russian, Russian Federation, Russian Deputy Defense, Norwegian Refugee Council, NRC, US Africa Command, Africa Command Locations: Russia, Burkina Faso, West African, Russian, Ouagadougou, “, China, Africa, Ukraine, ”

☆ A War on the Nile Pushes Sudan Toward the Abyss
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Declan Walsh | Ivor Prickett | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The national film archive was blown open in battle, its treasures now yellowing in the sun. Artillery shells soar over the Nile, smashing into hospitals and houses. Khartoum, the capital of Sudan and one of the largest cities in Africa, has been reduced to a charred battleground. Another nine million have been forced from their homes, making Sudan home to the largest displacement crisis on earth, the United Nations says. Fueling the chaos, Sudan has become a playground for foreign players like the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Russia and its Wagner mercenaries, and even a few Ukrainian special forces.

Persons: Wagner Organizations: Nations, United Arab Locations: Khartoum, Sudan, Africa, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Russia

☆ French military instructors in Ukraine would be a 'legitimate target' and may already be active, says Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Russia's foreign minister said French military instructors in Ukraine would be "legitimate targets." Sergey Lavrov said he had reasons to think some were already active in Ukraine. Russia has threatened nuclear strikes on countries that are considering sending troops to Ukraine. AdvertisementFrench military instructors operating in Ukraine would be a "legitimate target" for Russia, Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said on Tuesday. Lavrov was speaking at a press conference in the Republic of the Congo when he was asked about reports that French instructors would shortly be sent to Ukraine.

Persons: Sergey Lavrov, —, Lavrov Organizations: Service, French Army, Russian Armed Forces, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Business Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Republic of, Congo

☆ Ukraine sent special forces to Syria to attack Russians there, revealing a new front to the war: report
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine has deployed special forces to Syria to fight Russian mercenaries there, per the Kyiv Post. They are backing Syrian rebels in fighting the Assad regime in the southwest, per the outlet. Ukraine is also fighting Wagner mercenaries in Sudan, the outlet previously reported. AdvertisementUkraine has deployed special forces units to Syria to combat Russians there, according to the Kyiv Post. Ukrainian special forces are fighting side by side with Syrian rebels against Russian mercenaries and Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime in the Middle Eastern country, the outlet reported.

Persons: Assad, Wagner, —, Bashar Assad's Organizations: Kyiv Post, Service, Russian, Ukrainian, Directorate of Intelligence, Business Locations: Ukraine, Syria, Kyiv, Sudan, Ukrainian

☆ Russia's pulling combat forces from another continent to fuel its latest offensive push in Ukraine, Western intel says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewRussia has moved some combat forces from Africa to help support its latest offensive efforts in northeastern Ukraine, according to a new Western intelligence assessment. The Russian defense ministry created the Africa Corps last year as a way to expand its footprint on the continent and also in the Middle East. Photo by Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty ImagesRussia's defense ministry "almost certainly redeployed detachments from the Africa Corps to the Ukrainian border during April 2024 in preparation for this offensive," the defense ministry said. Other Africa Corps detachments are believed to have deployed to Syria, Libya, Burkina Faso, and Niger, the UK said. French Army via APThe recent deployment of certain Africa Corps units to the Kharkiv region appears to underscore Russia's commitment to its new offensive.

Persons: —, Wagner, Kostiantyn Liberov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Africa Corps, Business, Nazi, French Army, AP, Libkos, Staff of, Armed Forces, Facebook Locations: Russia, Africa, Ukraine, Moscow, Vovchansk, Ukraine's Kharkiv, Kharkiv, Ukrainian, Syria, Libya, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali

☆ How $65 billion Marshall Wace is turning into the hedge funds it's criticized
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Bradley Saacks | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

There's a split internally at $65 billion Marshall Wace. The 27-year-old London-based hedge fund, founded by Paul Marshall and Ian Wace, has prided itself on its collaborative culture. Multi-strategy mightThe culture shift at Marshall Wace is just the latest ripple effect to come from the vast expansion of power, assets, and clout of the largest multi-strategy hedge funds. For Marshall Wace, that looks like a charge that can be up to 0.75% of the $22.4 billion Eureka fund's value — more than $150 million — on top of the set management fees and variable performance fees the firm already charges. A person close to the firm said that certain people still have access to aggregated positions, but the restriction helps Marshall Wace manage "complexity and confidentiality" as the manager continues to grow.

Persons: Marshall Wace, Paul Marshall, Ian Wace, Marshall, George Soros, It's, Marshall Wace's, You've, Dan Schatz, Ruchit, Jaime Brandwood, Derek Rosenthal, Marshall's Organizations: Business, BNP, Eureka, Citadel, Ruchit Puri Locations: London, Citadel, New York, Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Eureka

CNN —Vladimir Putin has formally begun his fifth term as Russia’s president in a carefully choreographed inauguration ceremony, in a country he has shaped in his image after first taking office nearly a quarter of a century ago. Putin won Russia’s stage-managed election by an overwhelming majority in March, securing for himself another six-year term that could see him rule until at least his 77th birthday. Attendees wait in the Kremlin as Putin arrives for his inauguration ceremony. Putin waves during his inauguration ceremony. To ensure it has enough drones and missiles to bombard Ukraine, Russia has also entered into deeper partnerships with Iran and North Korea.

Persons: CNN — Vladimir Putin, Putin, – Putin, “, Matthew Miller, Putin’s, Maxim Shemetov, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Alexey Navalny, Navalny, ”, ” Putin Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, US State Department, Reuters, US Embassy, Presidential Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United States, Kremlin, Moscow, Russian, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Iran, North Korea

☆ Ukraine isn't the only country Russia is trying to topple
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Even as Russian bombs pound Ukraine, Moscow's mercenaries and spies are busy trying to set much of the rest of the world afire. To Russia, the conventional warfare waged in Ukraine, and unconventional "gray zone" warfare waged around the world, are two sides of the same coin. Human intelligence operations are used to attempt elite capture through the offer of assistance to politicians who support Russian interests. "As the war in Ukraine protracts, Russia has an interest in creating crises further afield," said RUSI. "As a lot of Russia's unconventional operations are self-defeating, countering Russian unconventional warfare must be premised on careful, selective, and intelligence- driven targeting," the study emphasized.

Persons: —, RUSI, Vladimir Putin, Jack Watling, Oleksandr Danylyuk, Nick Reynolds, Britain —, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov, Kadyrov, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Britain's Royal United Services Institute, Business, Kremlin, Soviet Union, NATO, Directorate, Staff of, Armed Forces, Getty, Russian, Central African, Wagner, GRU Expeditionary Corps, Convoy, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Europe, Africa, Central Asia, Soviet, Montenegro, Moscow, Moldova, Russian, Britain, Ukraine protracts, Balkans, Russia's, Libya, Mali, Sudan, Central African Republic, Chechnya, Forbes

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