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☆ Opinion: Putin faces a challenging task that threatens his power
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The Russian president needs to restore his image of a man in full command of his country to audiences at home and abroad. Speaking at the summit, Putin tried to reinforce the message he had delivered to the Russian people, the claim that all Russians had stood with him. It wasn’t just his use of “alternative facts” that undermined Putin’s effort to leverage the SCO summit into a place to restore his standing as Russia’s czar for the foreseeable future. In fact, in the aftermath of the Prigozhin uprising, Putin has echoed the traditional strongman’s playbook of buying loyalty. Putin now faces a triple task: reclaiming the mantle of invincibility in Russia, rebuilding that image abroad and winning his calamitous war in Ukraine.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin —, —, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Putin, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, ”, “, Modi, Ebrahim Raisi, Xi, Dmitry Peskov, India’s Modi, Antony Blinken, Janet Yellen Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, SCO, Frida Ghitis CNN, Wagner Group, Belarussian, Indian, Biological Safety, Twitter, Financial Times, Russian Locations: Russia, China, India, Russian, Moscow, St . Petersburg, Belarus, Ukraine, Iran, Rostov, New Delhi, Iranian, Republic, Dagestan, Kremlin, Asia, Washington, Beijing

☆ Exclusive: Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's secret calendar reveals a decade of deep Kremlin ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

A copy of Prigozhin's calendar obtained by Die Welt and shared with Insider shows just how deeply enmeshed he was with the Putin regime. Putin's name appears in Prigozhin's calendar only twice, and neither entry records a one-on-one meeting. Wagner employees typically identify themselves and sign documents using three or four-digit employee numbers, and most Prigozhin's meetings with Wagner Group employees are presented this way. These rows of data extracted from Yevgeny Prigozhin's private calendar show Wagner Group personnel identified solely by their employee numbers. In the end, his demands for a slot on Putin's calendar went unanswered.

Persons: Putin, Prigozhin, Aleksey Dyumin, Putin's, —, Vladimir Putin, It's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner — Sergei Surovikin, Ukraine —, Wagner, Dmitry Peskov, Sergei Shoigu, Ruslan Tsalikov, Anton Vaino, Valery Gerasimov, Shoigu, Sergei Surovikin, Matveev, Dmitry Medvedev, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Walt Hickey, Mattathias Schwartz Organizations: Die Welt, Service, Russian Federation, Wagner Group, Insider, Putin, Politico, Defense, Prigozhin, Anadolu Agency, Getty, CNN, Welt, Kremlin Locations: Tula, Moscow, Ukraine, West, Africa, St . Petersburg, New, Dyumin, Russia, Belarus, Prigozhin, Russian, Rostov, Germany, Korea

☆ US to send Ukraine cluster munitions, NATO makes membership pledge
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The cluster munitions "will deliver in a time frame that is relevant for the counteroffensive," a Pentagon official told reporters. Cluster munitions are prohibited by more than 100 countries.Russia, Ukraine and the United States have not signed on to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans production, stockpiling, use and transfer of the weapons. BOTH SIDES SHOULD STOP USING CLUSTER BOMBS -HRWHuman Rights Watch has accused Russian and Ukrainian forces of using cluster munitions, which have killed civilians. Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said after meeting Zelenskiy that Ukraine deserved NATO membership and that Ankara would continue working on a negotiated end to the war. "Our summit will send a clear message: NATO stands united, and Russia's aggression will not pay," Stoltenberg said at a news conference in Brussels.

Persons: Washington's, Vladimir Putin, Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden, Anatoly Antonov, Antonov, Igor Ovcharruck, Clodagh, It's, Colin Kahl, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Tayyip Erdogan, Zelenskiy, Jens Stoltenberg, Stoltenberg, Biden, Putin, Martin Griffiths, Griffiths, Robert Muller, Jason Hovet, Pavel Polityuk, Mike Stone, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Michelle Nichols, Grant McCool, Diane Craft, David Gregorio Our Organizations: NATO, United States, Rights, United Nations, Pentagon, Cluster Munitions, White House, Watch, U.S, Washington, TASS, REUTERS, Treaty Organization, CNN, UN, Initiative, U.N, United, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russian, U.S, United States, Ukrainian, Kharkiv, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Zelenskiy, Ankara, Prague, Sofia, Brussels, Vilnius, Lithuanian, RUSSIA, Moscow, Odesa, United Nations, Kyiv, Washington

☆ 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

☆ Xi personally warned Putin against launching a nuclear strike in Ukraine, report says, drawing a red line for Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

China's Xi Jinping warned Vladimir Putin against using nuclear weapons, The Financial Times reported. If Putin ignored Xi and acted on his nuclear threats to Ukraine, it'd humiliate the Chinese leader, an analyst said. He has provided the Russian president with crucial economic and diplomatic support amid sanctions and international isolation. This gives him leverage over the Russian president in seeking to deter him from a potentially catastrophic escalation of the conflict. Putin has previously shown a willingness to defy China, declaring he'd position nuclear weapons in Belarus in an apparent snub to Xi in March.

Persons: China's Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Xi, Putin, it'd, —, Vladimir Putin of, Putin's, Dmitry Peskov, Sumantra Maitra, China Xi, Ali Wyne, Xi Jinping, Wagner Organizations: Financial Times, Service, Ukraine, Putin, Wednesday, European Union, Eurasia Group, Russian Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Vladimir Putin of Russia, China, Russian, Russia, Beijing, Belarus, West

☆ 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

Last month, a rebellion inside Russia left lingering questions about what really happened and about what the ramifications would be for President Vladimir V. Putin. Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The Times, discusses what Mr. Putin has done since the mutiny and looks at how those actions might reveal how vulnerable the president is.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Anton Troianovski, Mr Organizations: The Times Locations: Russia, Moscow

☆ Russian state TV attacks mutiny leader Prigozhin, says investigation still live
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

July 5 (Reuters) - Russian state TV on Wednesday launched a fierce attack on Yevgeny Prigozhin, the exiled mercenary leader of an aborted armed mutiny last month, and said an investigation into what had happened was still being vigorously pursued. Under the agreement which ended the mutiny, Prigozhin, whose aim had been to topple the defence minister and chief of the General Staff for what he cast as their incompetent prosecution of the war, was meant to relocate to neighbouring Belarus. Images of armed Russian law enforcement agents entering Prigozhin's office were shown. "I consider that the creation of Yevgeny Prigozhin's image as a people's hero was all done by media fed by Yevgeny Prigozhin," said Petrov, referring to media outlets financed by Prigozhin. The programme showed what it said were multiple passports which Prigozhin had used and which carried different names.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Popov, Eduard Petrov, Petrov, Yevgeny, Putin, Andrew Osborn, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Wednesday, Kremlin, General Staff, Prigozhin, Thomson Locations: Russian, Rostov, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Belarus, St Petersburg

☆ In his new spotlight, the Belarusian leader could gain leverage.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Matthew Mpoke Bigg | More About Matthew Mpoke Bigg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A stray remark by President Alexander G. Lukashenko of Belarus neatly encapsulated the imbalance in his relationship with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in recent years. As the cameras rolled, Mr. Putin thanked him in February for traveling to Moscow for a meeting. But the brief mutiny in Russia last month led by the mercenary leader Yevgeny V. Prigozhin has also given Mr. Lukashenko — at least temporarily — an opening to upend the relationship. In the aftermath, the Belarusian leader has positioned himself as the mediator, stepping into help bring an end to the armed rebellion. He again gloried in the spotlight on Thursday, as the purveyor of information about the whereabouts of Mr. Prigozhin.

Persons: Alexander G, Lukashenko, Vladimir V, Putin, ”, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Lukashenko —, gloried Locations: Belarus, Russia, Moscow, Belarusian

☆ Xi Jinping’s Bad Bet on Vladimir Putin - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Ryan Hass | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Xi Jinping ascended to the pinnacle of Chinese power a decade ago, he saw Vladimir Putin as a strong leader who shared his hostility to the Western-dominated international system. Mr. Xi referred to Mr. Putin as his “best, most intimate friend.”In the wake of the Wagner affair, Mr. Xi’s big bet on the Russian leader isn’t looking so safe. Mr. Xi cannot afford to abandon Mr. Putin altogether. If Mr. Xi is to achieve his strategic goal of surpassing U.S. strength around the world, he will need to rebalance his foreign policy to account for Mr. Putin’s vulnerabilities. That may mean stronger Chinese support for ending a war that has backfired so severely on the Russian leader and a potentially less confrontational Chinese approach toward the United States and Taiwan.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Xi, Mr, Putin, ”, Wagner, Xi’s, isn’t, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin’s Locations: Putin’s Russia, China’s, Russia, China, West, United States, Taiwan

For months, NATO leaders had hoped that when they convened for their annual summit next week, they could use the occasion to welcome Sweden as the alliance’s newest member. Now, that outcome appears all but impossible, as stalling by Hungary and continued objections by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey have drawn out the process, raising questions about when Sweden might be able to join and what sort of breakthrough would be necessary. All 31 member states must agree to admit new members, and the split over Sweden risks denting the alliance’s ability to project a united front against President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as his forces seek to beat back a Ukrainian counteroffensive. NATO officials say the hope is to get all the alliance’s leaders to agree at the two-day summit set to begin on Tuesday in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, to let Sweden join. Then, the thinking goes, Mr. Erdogan and Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary can push the approval through their respective parliaments.

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir V, Putin, Russia, Erdogan, Viktor Orban Organizations: NATO Locations: Sweden, Hungary, Turkey, Ukrainian, Vilnius, Lithuanian

On Tuesday, Mr. Putin called for a “multipolar world” in an apparent reference to the role of these countries as a bulwark against Washington. China has made a long-term bet on Mr. Putin as a partner in challenging a global order that is dominated by the United States. India is also a member of a security-focused coalition with the United States called the Quad, which also includes Australia and Japan. For Mr. Modi, the summit was a forum to balance out India’s ties with the United States and other Western allies as it exercises a policy of nonalignment. Mr. Xi and Mr. Modi are bound by an economic interest as Mr. Modi looks to Beijing for answers on the question of how to advance India’s economy.

Persons: Here’s, Vladimir V, Putin, Xi Jinping, Xi, Narendra Modi, Modi Organizations: Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Mr, NATO Locations: Ukraine, China, India, Russia, Moscow, Washington . China, Beijing, United States, Europe, Washington, Australia, Japan, Kyiv . India

☆ Rabbi’s Brush With Danger in Ukraine Went Viral
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

His role as chief rabbi has particular resonance in a war that President Vladimir V. Putin has falsely claimed is about “denazifying” Ukraine, a country whose current president is Jewish and whose Jewish community has historically suffered persecution. Born in Leningrad, the rabbi emigrated to Israel in the 1980s to escape the former Soviet Union. After marrying a Ukrainian woman, he came to Ukraine in the early 1990s to help children affected by the Chernobyl disaster and later led the rehabilitation of Kyiv’s main synagogue. When Russian-backed fighters launched a war in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Rabbi Azman helped evacuate civilians from the fighting. Photographs of him shaking hands with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain and other notable people cover a wall in his office.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Rabbi Azman, Anatevka, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Boris Johnson Organizations: denazifying, Soviet Union Locations: Ukraine, Leningrad, Israel, Ukrainian, Kyiv’s, Russian, Kyiv, Britain

“They all have incentives to play things down and make it all look normal,” said Ian Chong, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore. While Mr. Putin was able to defuse the crisis by agreeing to allow mercenary leader, Yegveny V. Prigozhin, to leave for Belarus, the brief insurrection raised questions about his authority and future. Speaking at his first international forum since the mutiny, Mr. Putin thanked the member states for their backing after the uprising, which he claimed had no popular support in Russia. “United by the deep responsibility for the fate of the motherland, Russian political circles and all of society showed a united front against the attempted armed mutiny,” Mr. Putin said. He also sought to cast the summit as a sign of international support for his invasion of Ukraine.

Persons: ”, Ian Chong, Putin, Wagner, Yegveny, Mr Organizations: National University of Singapore, “, U.S Locations: Belarus, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Moscow’s Mayor Says Drones Targeted Russian Capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

A news conference to announce the launch of the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression in The Hague on Monday. “It’s the only crime that goes to the top table,” said Philippe Sands, a prominent international lawyer who first floated the idea of an aggression tribunal. Aggression is distinct from the offenses of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, for which the I.C.C. And unlike in many war crimes cases, there would be no need to link an official to specific crimes on the ground, which is often a cumbersome process. Overwhelmed courts in Ukraine have already tried and convicted some Russian soldiers for war crimes, but have tens of thousands of cases waiting.

Persons: —, “, ”, Philippe Sands, Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: International Center, Criminal, European Union, United Nations, Russian, Kremlin Locations: The Hague, Ukraine, Russia, United States, I.C.C, Eastern Europe, Eurojust, Britain

☆ After Armed Rebellion, Putin Tries to Reinforce His Defenses
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Anton Troianovski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is said to work out of identically constructed offices at multiple residences so that photographs don’t reveal his location. His assistants undergo such a rigorous selection process that a former bodyguard once called them “a caste of chosen people.”And more than three years after the pandemic’s beginning, the Kremlin has continued to enforce a “clean zone” around the president, requiring many who come near him to quarantine for days. For decades, people who know him say, Mr. Putin has been remarkably focused on his personal security and on preventing rivals from using the powers of government against him. Now, in the aftermath of last month’s short-lived rebellion led by Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner private mercenary group that fought for Russia in Ukraine, Mr. Putin appears to be scrambling to coup-proof his system once more.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Wagner Organizations: Kremlin Locations: Russia, Ukraine

☆ 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

☆ Why did Russia invade Ukraine? Experts break down Putin's motivations and excuses for launching his war.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.Insider spoke to three experts about why it happened, and the motives behind President Putin's move. AP Photo/Evgeniy MaloletkaPutin blamed the WestTaylor said the invasion of Ukraine reflects Putin's "grievances that have been brewing for a long time." For Putin, "Russia has a right to rule Ukraine. At the start of the invasion, Putin blamed NATO's expansion into eastern Europe for forcing his hand, echoing a criticism he has made for years. Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with war correspondents in Moscow, June 13, 2023.

Persons: Putin's, —, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Felipe Dana, it's, George W, Bush, Stephen Hall, Hall, Alexander Ermochenko, Brian Taylor, Thomas Graham, Graham, Evgeniy Maloletka Putin, West Taylor, Taylor, Lithuania — Taylor, NATO didn't, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Omar Marques, They've, Russia's, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Stalin, Zelenskyy, Viktor Medvedchuk, Donald Trump, Trump, Joe Biden, GAVRIIL Organizations: Service, AP, University of Bath, Kyiv, REUTERS, Slavic, of, West, Syracuse University, Yale, NATO, NATO doesn't, Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Getty, Nazis, Nazism, Putin, SPUTNIK Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Bucha, Kyiv, Russian Ukraine, Soviet Union, USSR, Russian, Moscow, Luhansk, Belarus, Asia, of Russia, East, Avdiivka, Europe, Ryazan, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Zelenskyy, Afghanistan, Germany

☆ 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

☆ Weaker China offers opportunities to US and allies
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

It is also a setback for his most important ally, Chinese President Xi Jinping. So the United States and its allies can’t let their guard down. In 2021 the United States chaotically pulled out of Afghanistan and its alliance of rich democracies was in disarray. It seemed only a matter of time before China would overtake the United States as the world’s largest economy. At some point, the Chinese president may conclude that the Russian president is such a loser that he should do just that.

Persons: Vladimir Putin hasn’t, Xi Jinping, can’t, United States chaotically, Xi’s, Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Narendra Modi, Joe Biden, George Magnus, Antony Blinken, Biden can’t, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, PUTIN, Russia, U.S, Shanghai Stock, Reuters Graphics, Thomson Locations: Russian, China, Taiwan, United States, Afghanistan, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Pacific, India, America, U.S, Kyiv

☆ Russia’s Embassy in Washington Becomes a Different Kind of Battle Zone
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Michael Crowley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On a warm June night, Benjamin Wittes was seated at a card table across the street from the Russian Embassy in Washington, kicking off his light show. Assembled around him was a sprawl of wires and equipment, including a laptop and two powerful light projectors. One of them was beaming a giant blue and yellow Ukrainian flag onto the embassy’s white facade. “We’ve got a little essay we’re going to project, line by line, in three languages,” said Mr. Wittes, a prominent national security law expert. Mr. Wittes and his friends have been lighting up the embassy once every few weeks since the war in Ukraine began last year.

Persons: Benjamin Wittes, “ We’ve, ”, Wittes, “, Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: Russian Embassy Locations: Russian, Washington, Russia, Ukraine

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

☆ Here's what could happen to the Wagner Group after the armed rebellion against Russia failed
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Wagner paramilitary group attempted an armed rebellion in Russia but failed. Around 1,000 Wagner fighters have already decided to go to Belarus, the independent Russian media outlet Meduza reported, citing a source in Russia's Ministry of Defense. Putin admitted earlier this week that from May last year to May 2023, the Russian state paid more than 86 billion rubles ($940 million) to the Wagner Group. De Deus Pereira told Insider that this is where many fighters will return. Lukashenko told reporters earlier this week that he convinced Putin not to "wipe out" the Wagner chief after the failed rebellion, though some experts have disagreed.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, —, group's, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, Putin, Joana de Deus Pereira, Belarussian, Mikhail Svetlov, De Deus Pereira, Julia Stanyard, Lukashenko Organizations: Service, The Times, Prighozin, Russia's Ministry of Defense, Guardian, Prigozhin, Press, REUTERS Russia's Ministry of Defense, Marshall Fund, Wagner, Royal United Services Institute, Ministry of Defense, Russian, Central African, Global Initiative, Transnational, BBC Locations: Russia, Belarus, Moscow, Eastern Europe, Africa, Prigozhin, British, Russian, Luhansk, Donbas, Krasnodar, North Caucasus, Concord, Europe, Sochi, Libya, Syria, Central African Republic, Mali

☆ Mutiny Provided Glimpse of a Post-Putin Russia. Is the Window Still Open?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Paul Sonne | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For a millisecond, it seemed possible. Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the Russian caterer turned warlord — armed with tanks and a private army— showed Russia and the world what an alternative to President Vladimir V. Putin might look like. It was only the second time in Mr. Putin’s 23 years in power that a rebelling leader with populist appeal had flashed a vision of a conceivable Russia after Mr. Putin. The other occasion was in 2011, when Aleksei A. Navalny led a pro-democracy uprising on the streets of the capital. Mr. Prigozhin, whose mercenaries have been accused of indiscriminate killings and other crimes, made clear that those forces could be equally if not more grim.

Persons: Yevgeny V, Russian caterer, —, Vladimir V, Putin, Putin’s, Aleksei A, Navalny, Prigozhin Locations: Russian, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine

☆ Wagner Uprising Highlights China’s Risks With Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( David Pierson | Olivia Wang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Just three months ago, China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, was in Moscow clinking glasses with Vladimir V. Putin and expressing his confidence in the “firm support” the Russian president enjoyed among his people. That confidence is now in question, after the Wagner private military group waged an insurrection in Russia that has shaken Mr. Putin’s image of invulnerability. Mr. Xi’s long-term bet will work only if Mr. Putin remains in control to help uphold the shared interests of both countries. But the revolt has raised questions about Mr. Putin’s authority: Wagner soldiers faced little to no resistance from regular Russian forces as they advanced on Moscow. And Mr. Putin’s decision to grant sanctuary in Belarus to Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the leader of the uprising, smacked of a compromise rather than the act of a strongman with consolidated power.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Vladimir V, Putin, Wagner, —, Xi’s, Yevgeny V Locations: Moscow, Russia, China, Beijing, United States, Ukraine, Belarus

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