DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Russia fines Google more than the world's entire GDP
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-31 | by ( David Hodari | David Hodari Is A London-Based Editor. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The court that imposed the fine might be in for a long wait for Google to pay up, however. “This should be a reason for the Google leadership to pay attention to this and improve the situation.”The amount the court says Google owes is growing, too. The court ordered Google to restore the accounts within nine months, with a fine of 100,000 rubles (around $1,000) levied for each day after that period. Some of those Russian media outlets have also appealed to courts in Turkey, Hungary, Spain and South Africa to enforce court decisions made against Google in Russia. In the section of its third quarter earnings release titled 'Legal Matters,' Alphabet said: “We have ongoing legal matters relating to Russia.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, it’s, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Dmitry Peskov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Konstantin Malofeev Organizations: Google, Kremlin, NBC, RBC, YouTube, International Monetary Fund, NBC News, Wagner Group Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Turkey, Hungary, Spain, South Africa, Russia, South Africa’s

CNN has reached out to Terada for comment on the R-FBI’s role in Russian disinformation efforts, and ties to the state. Storm-1516 and R-FBI network members have spread at least 54 different disinformation narratives online since August 2023, according to Clemson and CNN’s analysis. “Does anyone believe that an American would be the spearhead of what some call the biggest Russian Disinformation operation since the cold war? TelegramAnother prominent figure in propagating Russian disinformation is American Tara Reade, a former Senate staffer who in 2020 accused then-presidential candidate Joe Biden of sexual harassment. The links between Terada’s group and other Russian disinformation efforts are at best opaque, which is likely no accident.

Persons: –, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Mira Terada, Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, Harris, Walz, Morgan Finkelstein, “ Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Trump, ”, Win McNamee, ” Darren Linvill, Patrick Warren, “, Biden, Warren, Kamala, Influencers, John Mark Dougan, Dougan, he’s, Andrew Harnik, MAGA, IMbaMm8YVF, Darren Linvill, Linvill, ” Clemson, Maxim Shugaley, Terada, Vladimir Putin’s “, ” Prigozhin, Konstantin Pridybaylo, Ruslan Ostashko, Colin Gerard, Gerard, Alexander Dugin, picturing, Tara Reade, Joe Biden, Reade, ” Chay Bowes, Simeon Boikov, podcaster, Bowes, ” Warren, Sean Lyngaas, influencers Organizations: CNN, Clemson University’s, Russian Foundation, FBI, Storm, Democratic, Minnesota Gov, Clemson, Getty, NBC, Wired, Prigozhin’s, Internet Research Agency, Miami Chronicle, Boston Times, DC, IRA, Russian, Gov, National Intelligence, US State Department, Minnesota, Apple, Trump, Infrastructure Security Agency, ’, Federal Bureau, Investigation, Kremlin, Wagner Group, US Justice Department, ANO Dialog, BRICS Journalists Association, Washington Post, Center, Forensics Locations: Russian, Ukraine, West, San Francisco, Zambia, Savannah , Georgia, ”, “, American, Zambian, St . Petersburg, Florida, Moscow, Russia, Kazakhstan, Minnesota, Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, Bucks County , Pennsylvania, Bucks County ,, French, Irish, Sydney, European

☆ US offers $10 million for intel on Russian military media outlet Rybar amid election interference allegations
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-20 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US government is offering up to $10 million for information on Rybar, a Russian media outlet. It comes as part of a wider US crackdown on alleged Russian election interference. AdvertisementThe US government is offering up to $10 million for information on the Russian media outlet Rybar and its employees. "Anyone with information on Rybar LLC, these individuals, their malign activities, or associated persons or entities should contact Rewards for Justice," it said. The new reward offer comes as part of a wider US crackdown on alleged Russian election interference.

Persons: —, Mikhail Zvinchuk, Rybar, Zvinchuk, Yevgeny Prigozhin —, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin Organizations: Service, Department, Justice, intel, Rybar, Rostec, Wagner Group, US Treasury Department, RT Locations: Russian, Russia, Ukraine, Texas

☆ Whelan says he fed information to Western officials that he received from fellow prisoners fighting in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-20 | by ( Sam Fossum | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Paul Whelan, the American who spent five and a half years wrongfully detained in Russia, revealed Sunday that he had passed to Western officials information he received from fellow prisoners who were fighting for Russia on the frontlines in Ukraine. “The prisoners from the camp that went to the frontline, they had communication. Whelan added that he and others were able to communicate with former prisoners through “burner” phones that they could acquire even while at the Russian labor camp in Mordovia. “Yeah, we had burner phones.”Whelan added that the guards “looked the other way” in exchange for goods such as cigarettes. His camp was primarily made up of young men from central Asian countries such as Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, Whelan said.

Persons: CNN — Paul Whelan, “, ” Whelan, Whelan, ”, Putin, CNN’s Jennifer Hansler Organizations: CNN, CBS, Wagner Group Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Mordovia, “, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, United States, Germany

☆ A Russian murder convict joined Wagner, went home, killed again, then got out a 2nd time by joining the army: rights group
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-28 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Court records show Rossomakhin committed this first murder in Kirov in October 2019, when he was drunk and killed a woman with whom he quarreled. AdvertisementDuring his first prison sentence, Rossomakhin was recruited by the Wagner mercenary group, which was accepting convicts into its ranks, in September 2022, per Travmpunkt. The legal rights group said that after spending time on the front, Rossomakhin returned home to Kirov. AdvertisementThe group added that Rossomakhin had served less than six months of his 23-year sentence before being shipped off again to Ukraine. AdvertisementRussia initially recruited thousands of prisoners to fight in Ukraine through the Wagner Group, but the practice soon slowed because convicts feared they would be treated poorly on the frontline.

Persons: —, Ivan Rossomakhin, Rossomakhin, Wagner, Travmpunkt, Anna Pekareva, Yulia Byuskikh, Pekareva Organizations: Service, Business, Russian Defense Ministry, BBC, Press, Kremlin, Russian Ministry of Defense, Wagner Locations: Ukraine, Kirov, Russia, Moscow

☆ Putin appointed his former bodyguard to take over Russia's military response to the Kursk invasion, local lawmaker says
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-14 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Kursk State Duma deputy Nikolai Ivanov told Russian broadcaster RTVI on Tuesday that Putin had met personally with Alexei Dyumin, who was made secretary of the State Council in May. Ivanov said Putin told Dyumin to supervise military operations in Kursk, with the primary goal of ousting Ukrainian forces that invaded the Russian border region last week. Dyumin, seated second from Putin's right, attended a leading of Russia's top brass about the Kursk invasion. Related storiesWhen the now-deceased head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, staged a rebellion against Putin, Dyumin was rumored to have been instrumental in orchestrating negotiations. wrote state media military correspondent Alexander Sladkov on Tuesday.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, Nikolai Ivanov, Putin, Alexei Dyumin, Aleksey Gennadyevich Dyumin, Ivanov, RTVI, Dyumin, Valery Gerasimov, Alexander Bortnikov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, It's, Rybar, Alexander Sladkov Organizations: Service, Duma, RTVI, State Council, Business, Ukrainian, Bloomberg, Federal Security Services, Russian Presidential, Putin, Wagner Group Locations: Kursk, Russian, Crimea, Tula, Washington, Ukraine, Kyiv

☆ 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

☆ Mali severs diplomatic relations with Ukraine for providing intelligence to rebels
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-04 | by ( Anneclaire Stapleton | Mitch Mccluskey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Mali has severed diplomatic ties with Ukraine after the country supplied intelligence to Malian rebels involved in an ambush against Wagner Group forces in July. Known for ad hoc cooperation, they appear to have collaborated to trap the Russian convoy. 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. Previous reporting contributed by CNN’s Tim Lister, Avery Schmitz and Darya Tarasova.

Persons: Abdoulaye Maiga, Andriy Yusov, Nusrat al, JNIM, ”, CNN’s Tim Lister, Avery Schmitz, Darya Organizations: CNN —, Wagner Group, Russian Federation and, Ukraine’s Security, Russian, Russian Telegram, Kremlin Locations: CNN — Mali, Ukraine, Republic of Mali, Mali, Russian Federation and Ukraine, Islam, Africa

☆ 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

☆ Russia is using Chechen 'TikTok soldiers' on the front lines and to train its troops, highlighting the 'desperation' in its military: UK intel
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-27 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Pro-Russian Chechens are back on Ukraine's front lines, the UK's Ministry of Defence has said. Chechen units, once mocked as "TikTok" troops, are now filling gaps left by the Wagner Group. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementPro-Russian Chechens, famed for their social media appearances, have been "pressed back into frontline service" in Ukraine, the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said. The MoD estimated in May that there were around 9,000 troops fighting in pro-Russian Chechen units in Ukraine.

Persons: —, Ramzan Kadyrov Organizations: UK's Ministry of Defence, Wagner Group, Service, MoD, Business Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Crimea, Chechen Republic

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ Genius or madness? Why Putin wants an economist to be Russia's new defense minister at a key point in the war
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

But Putin's replacement of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was unexpected — and his choice of successor, civilian economist Andrei Belousov, was even more of a surprise. Russia's incoming Defense Minister Andrey Belousov. "Belousov's main goal is to secure [Russia's] military needs in terms of arms. The Kremlin announced on Sunday that Shoigu, Russia's defense minister since 2012, had been relieved of his post and would become secretary of Russia's influential Security Council. Prigozhin died last August in a plane crash after a short-lived and ill-fated rebellion against Russia's military leadership.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Miguel Diaz, Maxim Shemetov, Sergei Shoigu, Andrei Belousov, Belousov, Putin, Andrey Belousov, Shoigu, Belousov's, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Uralvagonzavod, Ramil Sitdikov, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Tatiana Stanovaya, Stanovaya, Nikolai Patrushev, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Ukraine —, Prigozhin, Valery Gerasimov, Mikhail Klimentyev Organizations: Cuban, Canel, Reuters, NATO, Institute for, Anadolu, Getty, Kremlin, Russian MoD, Defense Ministry, Sputnik, Afp, Staff, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, CNBC, Nazi, Security, Wagner Group, Russian Armed Forces, Russian Defence, Defence Ministry Board, National Defence Control Centre Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Washington, Kharkiv, Russian, Urals, Nizhny Tagil, Nazi Germany, Kremlin

☆ Putin replaces longtime defense minister in surprise move; Russia claims gains as fighting rages in northeast Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. Russian President Vladimir Putin has moved his longtime ally Sergei Shoigu from the defense ministry to Russia's powerful Security Council amid a government reshuffle. Russian economist Andrei Belousov will be Russia's new defense minister, while Shoigu will replace Nikolai Patrushev, another long-standing Putin ally, as the secretary of the powerful Security Council. Shoigu had headed the defense ministry since 2012, going in to the role with no military experience, and oversaw Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In other news, Russia's Defense Ministry on Sunday claimed more advances in the Kharkiv area of Ukraine after Russian forces launched a new offensive in the northeastern region.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Staff Sergei Rudskoi, Andrei Belousov, Shoigu, Nikolai Patrushev, Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Belousov Organizations: Staff, Armed Forces, Sputnik, Security Council, Wagner Group, Kremlin, Russia's Defense Ministry, Sunday Locations: Ukraine, Rostov, Don, Russia, Kremlin, Russian, Kharkiv

☆ Russian soldiers were convicted of over 100 murders when they returned home last year, a report says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewRussian military personnel were convicted of 116 murders in 2023, Mediazona, a local news website, reported. Advertisement"The high number of homicides by serving and veteran Russian soldiers are likely in part due to enduring war-related chronic poor mental health issues," it wrote. "It is a story about invisible violence," said Kirill Titaev, a Russian sociologist and criminology expert at Yale, told the Times. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the risk of pardoned convicts re-offending upon their release "inevitable," per the Times.

Persons: —, Olga Romanova, Storm Z, Wagner, ROMAN ROMOKHOV, Kirov, Viktor Savvinov, Kirill Titaev, Vladimir Putin, Putin Organizations: Service, UK Ministry of Defence, Judicial Department, Business, The New York Times, Wagner Group, Storm, Getty, New York Times, Yale, Times Locations: Mediazona, Ukraine, Russia, Russian, Rostov, AFP

☆ Russia recruiting female convicts into the military report says, as the role of women in the Ukraine war expands
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewRussia is recruiting female convicts to bolster its war effort in Ukraine, the Kyiv Post reported, citing a Ukrainian intelligence spokesperson. The role of women in the war has expanded rapidly since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The practice of offering convicts freedom in exchange for military service in Ukraine began under Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late founder of the mercenary Wagner Group. Business Insider contacted the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment. Elena Tita/Global Images Ukraine via Getty ImagesUkrainian women have been joining the military in significant numbers since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

Persons: —, Andriy Yusov, Yusov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Vladimir Osechkin, Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin, Elena Tita Organizations: Service, Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Business, Newsweek, UK Ministry of Defence, Russian Ministry of Defense, Getty Images, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, BBC, CNBC Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Russian, Zaporizhzhia Oblast

☆ 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

The intensifying military cooperation between Russia and Niger is central to the dispute between the US and the Nigerien junta, officials said. Russia and Niger agreed to strengthen their military ties in January, Russia’s Defense Ministry said at the time. If the US were forced to withdraw, counterterrorism efforts across the region could take a hit, officials said. In return, Russia is profiting off the region’s natural resources, another official said, including the gold mines in Niger. Several European countries shared this goal, offering a measure of support to the junta, the official noted.

Persons: Michael Langley, Celeste Wallander, Col, Maj, Amadou Abdramane, Langley, Matthew Miller, ” Miller, what’s, Nusrat al, “ Organizations: CNN, US Africa Command, Air Base, American, Nigerien, Russia’s Defense, EU, Pentagon, Kremlin, West, Russian Federation, National Council, Wagner, US Locations: Africa, Russia, Africa . Niger, Niger, United States, America, Nigerien, Sahel, stoking, China, Russian, Central Africa, ”, Niamey, US, Agadez, Mali, Burkina Faso, Abdramane, Western Africa, Northwest Africa

☆ Russia offering African governments 'regime survival package' in exchange for resources, research says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso - Jan. 20, 2023: A banner of Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen during a protest to support the Burkina Faso President Captain Ibrahim Traore and to demand the departure of France's ambassador and military forces. Russia's military intelligence service is offering African governments a "regime survival package" that provides military and diplomatic support in exchange for access to strategically important natural resources, according to a new report. Russia's Defense Ministry was not available to comment on the report's findings when contacted by CNBC. Wagner has for many years been a key component of the Kremlin's efforts to grow its influence in politically unstable countries across central Africa and the Sahel, including the Central African Republic, Mali, Burkina Faso and Sudan. The report's authors Jack Watling, Oleksandr V Danylyuk and Nick Reynolds explained that the GRU chose to divide Wagner's activities in two.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Captain Ibrahim Traore, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Jack Watling, Oleksandr V Danylyuk, Nick Reynolds Organizations: Royal United Services Institute, Wagner Group, Russia's Defense, CNBC, Central African, Volunteer Corps, Russian Military of Defense Locations: OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso, Africa, Central African Republic, Mali, Sudan, Ukraine

☆ Alexander Lukashenko: Belarus’ president to stand for re-election in 2025
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( Sophie Tanno | Robbert Iddiols | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says he will run for another term in elections set to be held in 2025, a move likely to extend the long rule of a key ally of Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Lukashenko, while speaking to journalists at a polling station after voting in parliamentary and local council elections, was asked whether he planned to stand in the next contest. Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994, will be confident of winning again, with votes in Belarus widely seen as neither free nor fair. The last presidential vote, in 2020, triggered riots when preliminary results showed Lukashenko had won in a landside victory. Tihkhanovskaya demanded a recount after the country’s Central Election Commission announced Lukashenko had won with 80.23% of the vote, while Tikhanovskaya stood at 9.9%.

Persons: Alexander Lukashenko, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko, “, ”, BelTA, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, “ Lukashenka, Putin, –, “ Europe’s, ” Lukashenko, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin’s Wagner, Tihkhanovskaya, Tikhanovskaya Organizations: CNN, Belarusian, Belarus –, Russian, Observers, Commission Locations: Belarusian, Belarus, Ukraine, Soviet, Kyiv, Moscow

☆ Putin is tightening his grip over what's left of the Wagner Group
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AdvertisementThe military formation has been actively recruiting former Wagner Group mercenaries and soldiers who fought in Ukraine for combat operations in Africa. The Kremlin is likely using the Africa Corps to take over many of the functions of the Wagner Group, Parens added. Last week, in a video obtained by the Kyiv Post, Ukrainian special forces were shown interrogating captured Wagner mercenaries in Sudan. "Ukrainian special services have acquired considerable experience of waging non-linear warfare against the Russian side and especially against the Wagner Group," he said. The fate of the Wagner Group, it seems, still hangs in the balance.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, he's, Wagner, Prigozhin, Sergey Sukhankin, Raphael Parens, Parens, Sukhankin, Russia Alessandro Arduino Organizations: Kremlin, Jamestown Foundation, Wagner, Volunteer Corps, Africa Corps, Wagner Group, Fighters, Foreign, Research, Eurasia Program, Military Companies, Africa, Kyiv Post, Russia, Ukraine Locations: Russia, Africa, Ukraine, Western, Ukrainian, Sudan, Russian

☆ Opinion: In Navalny’s death, echoes of Stalin
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —We don’t yet know the exact details of jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny’s death, reported Friday by the Russian prison service — and we may never find the precise truth. When the Wall fell, Putin was a KGB officer in Dresden in what was then East Germany. And the most dangerous thing a Russian leader can do is lose a war as the Romanovs did in World War I, which helped spark the Russian revolution in 1917. By contrast with Gorbachev, Stalin ruled with an iron fist and was critical to the Allies winning World War II. How will news of Navalny’s death be received in Russia?

Persons: Peter Bergen, ”, Alexey Navalny’s, Kamala Harris, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, Navalny, Andrei Sakharov, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Mikhail Gorbachev, ” Gorbachev, quagmire, Alexis de Tocqueville, Gorbachev’s, Gorbachev, Stalin, Tucker Carlson’s, Boris Nadezhdin Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, Trump Administration, CNN, Munich Security, Human Rights, Soviet Union, Soviet, Kremlin, Great, Literature Locations: New America, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Soviet, Eastern Europe, Dresden, East Germany, Afghanistan, Russian

☆ Russia's Wagner Group expands into Africa's Sahel with a new brand
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Natalia Kolesnikova | Afp | Getty ImagesWagner Group has been replaced by a new entity known as Russia's Africa Corps across its key strongholds in the continent, its new leader has confirmed. The new entity has been subsuming operations in Mali and Libya for several months, and negotiations to establish a Russian military base in the CAR are reportedly underway. watch now"The Africa Corps consists of mercenaries and volunteers, and does not form part of the Russian Armed Forces. It began recruiting in December 2023, and has also included job offers for former Wagner Group mercenaries; it may also recruit local residents," they explained. Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov oversaw the creation of the Africa Corps, which is expected to be fully completed by this summer.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Natalia Kolesnikova, Dmitry Utkin, Anton Yelizarov, Ibrahim Traoré, Piotr Żochowski, Miłosz Bartosiewicz, Yunus, bek Yevkurov, Yevkurov Organizations: Afp, Getty, Wagner, Africa Corps, Central African, Russian National Guard, Russian Federation, Telegram, Centre, Eastern Studies, CAR, Africa, Russian Armed Forces, Wagner Group, CES Locations: MOSCOW, Moscow, Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Belarus, Russia, Cossack, Sahel, Russian, Warsaw, Algeria, Africa, Ouagadougou

☆ Coup juntas threaten to quit West Africa bloc: Here’s what it means for the region — and Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

ACCRA, Ghana - ECOWAS flag with member flags at the second extraordinary summit on the political situation in Burkina Faso, in Accra, Ghana, on February 3, 2022. OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso - Jan. 20, 2023: A banner of Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen during a protest to support the Burkina Faso President Captain Ibrahim Traore and to demand the departure of France's ambassador and military forces. Mali has ruled out leaving WAEMU, while Burkina Faso is considering it. "Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger will likely draw on the extractive sector to improve their weak economies. A recent UN Development Programme report surveyed 5,000 people who had directly experienced a recent coup or unconstitutional change of government, including citizens of Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, Mali and Sudan.

Persons: NIPAH DENNIS, Bola Tinubu, Vladimir Putin, Captain Ibrahim Traore, Alex Vines, there'd, Tinubu, Ouattara, —, Vines, Mucahid Durmaz, Verisk Maplecroft, Durmaz, Balima Boureima, insurgencies, Wagner, Niger, specter, Mohamed Bazoum, Rey Byhre Organizations: Getty, Economic, West African States, ECOWAS, Nigerian, Africa, Chatham House, CNBC, Algeria —, West, Cote D'Ivoire, Anadolu Agency, Getty Images, Wagner Group, West African Economic, Monetary Union, CFA, National Council for, UN Locations: ACCRA, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Accra, AFP, Mali, Niger, Sahel, Mauritania, OUAGADOUGOU, Chatham, France, Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Algeria, Malian, Russia, Bamako, Mucahid, West Africa, Togo, Benin, Cote, NIAMEY, NIGER, Niamey, West, U.S, Moscow, WAEMU, Seme, Chad, Guinea, Sudan, The Gambia, Tanzania, Kati

Search resuls for: "Wagner Group"

25 mentions found