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☆ Kremlin says Prigozhin plane may have been downed on purpose
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A view shows a framed photo of Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin at his grave at the Porokhovskoye cemetery in Saint Petersburg, Russia, August 30, 2023. "It is obvious that different versions are being considered, including the version - you know what we are talking about – let's say, a deliberate atrocity," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about the investigation. The Kremlin has rejected as an "absolute lie" the suggestion by some Western politicians and commentators - for which they have not provided evidence - that Putin ordered Prigozhin to be killed in revenge. Followers of Prigozhin laid flowers, messages and poetry at his grave on Wednesday, hailing him as a fearless warrior. In life, Prigozhin liked to brag that he was one of the world's most feared mercenaries with the best fighting force.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Stringer, –, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Prigozhin, Wagner, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Joe Biden, Guy Faulconbridge, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: REUTERS, International Civil Aviation Organization, Embraer, St, Reuters, EMBR3, United State, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, MOSCOW, St Petersburg, Moscow, Rostov, Vladimir Putin's Russia, SA, Russian, Ukraine

☆ Russia's Prigozhin buried privately in St Petersburg
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/4] A view shows the grave of Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed in a plane crash last week, at the Porokhovskoye cemetery in Saint Petersburg, Russia August 29, 2023. Those who wish to say goodbye may visit Porokhovskoye cemetery," his press service said in a short post on Telegram. In recent days admirers had heaped flowers on makeshift shrines to Prigozhin in Moscow, St Petersburg and elsewhere. Two other top Wagner figures, four Prigozhin bodyguards and three crew members were also killed when his Embraer Legacy 600 private jet crashed north of Moscow. Earlier on Tuesday, Valery Chekalov, the head of Wagner logistics, was buried at another St Petersburg cemetery.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Stringer, Putin, Prigozhin, Yevgeny Viktorovich, Wagner, Vladimir Putin's, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Chekalov, Mark Trevelyan, Jon Boyle, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, Embraer, Reuters, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, PETERSBURG, St Petersburg, Porokhovskoye, Ukraine, Prigozhin, Moscow, Rostov, Russian

☆ Wagner Group may be absorbed by the Russian Defense Ministry, which Prigozhin rallied against before his death. The mercenary group's current arrangement could 'disappear rather soon,' former GRU capt
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The fate of the Wagner Group is in the hands of Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. The New York Times reported the Russian Defense Ministry was considering absorbing the group. AdvertisementAdvertisement"The Wagner Group will disappear rather soon," Boris Volodarsky, a former captain in Russia's Spetsnaz GRU special forces and a fellow with the Royal Historical Society in London, told Insider. As tensions mounted between Wagner and Putin this summer, the Kremlin mandated that Wagner recruits sign contracts with the Russian army — which Prigozhin resisted. In his tirade, Prigozhin said the ministry "must be stopped" and the people responsible for the death of Wagner fighters must be punished.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Wagner, Boris Volodarsky, Russia's, Putin, Dmitry Utkin, Valery Chekalov, Volodarsky, —, Alexander Lukashenko Organizations: Wagner, Kremlin, The New York Times, Russian Defense Ministry, Service, Wagner Group, New York Times, Institute for, Royal Historical Society, Defense Ministry, Times, Central African, Associated Press, Russia's Defense Ministry, Belarusian Locations: Wall, Silicon, East, Africa, Russian, London, Tver, Moscow, Belarus, Bakhmut, Ukraine, Mali, Russia, Rostov

☆ Russia says genetic tests confirm Prigozhin died in plane crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Courtesy PMC Wagner via Telegram via REUTERS/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Russian investigators said on Sunday that genetic tests had confirmed that Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the Wagner mercenary group, was among the 10 people killed in a plane crash last week. They included Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, his right-hand man who helped found the Wagner group. "As part of the investigation of the plane crash in the Tver region, molecular-genetic examinations have been completed," Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the June 23-24 mutiny as a treacherous "stab in the back", but later met with Prigozhin in the Kremlin. He sent his condolences on Thursday to the families of those believed to have died in the crash.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Vladimir Soldatkin, Gareth Jones, Nick Macfie Organizations: Wagner, Telegram, REUTERS, Rights, Wednesday, Authorities, Russian, Thomson Locations: Africa, Tver, Moscow, Rostov, Kremlin, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Belarus

CNN —Yevgeny Prigozhin turned the Wagner Group from a shadowy band of mercenaries into a feared military powerhouse operating across multiple countries on three continents. The kind of clear chain of command that is common in traditional military does not exist in Wagner, which makes Prigozhin’s demise a potentially existential problem for the group. Members of Wagner group sit atop of a tank in a street in the city of Rostov-on-Don, on June 24, 2023. A Russian military delegation went to the Libyan city of Benghazi this week to meet with Haftar, who has been supported by Wagner for several years. He said the cracks in the foundations of West African and Central African countries that have leaned on the Wagner Group for support could begin to emerge now.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, ”, Natasha Lindstaedt, “ It’s, ” Lindstaedt, – Wagner, Dmitriy Utkin, Valeriy Chekalov –, “ Wagner, Russia ” Wagner, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, “, ” Wagner, Huseyn Aliyev, –, ” Aliyev, Aliyev, Lindstaedt, Putin, Stringer, Yevgeny Progozhin, Khalifa, Haftar, Yevkurov, ” Oluwole, there’s, ” Prigozhin, Christopher O, Ogunmodede, couldn’t, Sergey Lavrov Organizations: CNN, Wagner, University of Essex, Russia, University of Glasgow, Kremlin, Ministry of Defense, Prigozhin's Press Service, Russian Ministry of Defense, Kommersant, UK Ministry of Defense, Getty Images Security, Russian, Central African, Forces, Reuters, Libyan, Central Africa, Institute for Security Studies, Central, Wagner Group, Politics, Russia’s Locations: Moscow, Russia, Russia’s, Russian, United States, Ukraine, Africa, Middle, Bakhmut, Rostov, AFP, Syria, St . Petersburg, Mali, Crimea, Central African Republic, Mozambique, Libya, Libyan, Benghazi, West African, “, Mali …

Mr. Putin himself is under an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children, as is his commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova. The two entities placed under sanctions are a Russian-owned camp and an organization that has overseen Ukrainian children who were sent to a camp in the Chechen Republic. “Children are literally being ripped from their homes in the year 2023 by a country sitting in this very chamber,” Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said. Some are pressured into accepting Russian citizenship, and others have been adopted by Russian families, Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said. “You will hear Russian officials say that their transfers of children are part of humanitarian evacuations,” Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said on Thursday.

Persons: Ramzan Kadyrov, Aymani Nesievna, Kadyrova, reeducation, Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, Maria Lvova, Biden, ”, “ It’s, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Ms, Thomas, ARTEK, AKF, Galina Anatolevna Pyatykh, Irina Anatolyevna Ageeva, Irina Aleksandrovna Cherkasova, Mansur Mussaevich Soltaev, Magomedovich Khuchiev, Konstantin Albertovich Fedorenko, Alievich, Olena Oleksandrivna Shapurova, Vladimir Vladislavovich Kovalenko, Vladimir Dmitrievich Nechaev, “ Organizations: State Department, Kremlin, International, Court, Ukraine, Security, U.S ., Federal, Educational Institute International Children Center, Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation, The State Department, Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Youth Army Locations: Russia, Russian, United States, Ukraine, Chechen, Chechen Republic ., U.S, Crimea, Chechen Republic of Russia, Belgorod, Russia’s Kaluga, Russia’s Rostov, Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia, Sevastopol, Crimean

☆ Russia-Ukraine War U.S. Officials Say It Appears Likely Putin Ordered Prigozhin Killed
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Mr. Putin himself is under an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children, as is his commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova. Seven of the people targeted by the new sanctions are Russian officials, and the other four, including Ms. Kadyrova, have ties to the camps. “Children are literally being ripped from their homes in the year 2023 by a country sitting in this very chamber,” Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said. Some are pressured into accepting Russian citizenship, and others have been adopted by Russian families, Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said. “You will hear Russian officials say that their transfers of children are part of humanitarian evacuations,” Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said on Thursday.

☆ Pro-Kyiv Russians urge Wagner Group to revenge Prigozhin's death
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aug 25 (Reuters) - A group of Russian militants who fight on the Ukrainian side called on the Wagner Group of mercenaries to switch sides and join their ranks to revenge the deaths of Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and their commander Dmitry Utkin. Russian air authorities have said Prigozhin, Utkin and eight other people were on a private plane that crashed with no survivors north of Moscow on Wednesday. "To take revenge you need to switch to Ukraine's side," the commander said. RVC commander Kapustin, a far-right Russian national, founded the armed group a year ago. RVC fights on the Ukrainian side and has said it was behind several military attacks on Russian border regions.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Denis Kapustin, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Kapustin, Maria Tsvetkova, Michael Perry Organizations: Wagner Group, Russian Volunteer Corps, Russian, Pentagon, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Rostov, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, New York

☆ A video claiming to show Prigozhin's jet plummeting from the sky and the plane's fiery wreckage could be starting points for an investigation into the crash — if a fair investigation is possible, avia
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

On Wednesday, Russian officials said Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a plane crash. Photos on social media have also surfaced showing a fiery wreckage at the crash site. AdvertisementAdvertisementRussia's Federal Air Transport Agency claimed on Wednesday that the bodies of the 10 deceased passengers were retrieved from the crash site, signaling a moving investigation. "In early stages, the most important thing is to get on scene and secure the wreckage, so that it can't be tampered with," Brickhouse told Insider. Brickhouse added that the crash site, engulfed in flames, could point to a plane that went down with a full gas tank.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, That's, Prigozhin's, Prigozhin, Anthony Brickhouse, Brickhouse, It's, Putin, Russia's, Alexander Lukashenko Organizations: Service, Novosti, Street, National Transportation Safety Board, Embry, Riddle Aeronautical University, CNN, Air Transport Agency, Belarusian Locations: Wall, Silicon, Tver, Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Rostov, Belarus, Africa

In one extraordinary video, he shouted and cursed at Shoigu and Gerasimov, demanding ammunition so his men could keep fighting as he stood in a field littered with the corpses of Wagner fighters. Prigozhin performed a U-turn and Wagner fought on, eventually capturing the city in late May. But a turning point came weeks later when he rejected an order for Wagner fighters to sign contracts placing them under the control of the defence ministry. Two weeks later, a video appeared to show Prigozhin welcoming his fighters to Belarus. Taking advantage of his political connections, Prigozhin was awarded major state contracts, becoming known as "Putin's chef" after catering for Kremlin events.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Marina Lystseva, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Prigozhin, Putin, Christo Grozev, Bellingcat, Donald Trump, Stanislav Belkovsky, Mark Trevelyan, Cynthia Osterman, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Marina, Defence, Staff, Kremlin, Financial Times, St, Thomson Locations: wreckages, Tver, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Rostov, Belarus, St Petersburg, Africa, St Petersburg's, U.S, Niger, Prigozhin

☆ War experts suspect Prigozhin's plane crash could be the Kremlin's 'final step' in eliminating Wagner's independence
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

War experts suspect Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane crash could be the Kremlin's "final step" in ridding Wagner's independence. Prigozhin was presumed dead Wednesday after a Wagner-affiliated plane plummeted to the ground outside Moscow. The Wagner Group founder recently staged a short-lived mutiny against Russia's military. Russian state media reported that all 10 people on board the plane — three pilots and seven passengers, including Prigozhin's right-hand man Dmitry Utkin — died in the crash. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe think tank referred to the plane crash as the "assassination of Wagner's top leadership" and said it was "likely the final step to eliminate Wagner as an independent organization."

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Prigozhin, Wagner, Dmitry Utkin —, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Bill Burns, Putin, Burns Organizations: Wagner Group, Service, Russian, Prigozhin Press Service, Prigozhin Press, Associated Press, Kremlin, CIA Locations: Moscow, Wall, Silicon, Russia's Tver, Washington, DC, Rostov, Don, Russia, Russian, Africa, East, Aspen, States

☆ Prigozhin's plane may have been brought down by a 'device' on board: former MI6 boss
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Former MI6 chief John Sawers suggested a bomb could have been on board Prigozhin's plane. Several theories exist as to how the plane crashed, killing all those on board. "I would have thought there was some device on board," Sawers told the BBC. AdvertisementAdvertisementSpeaking about it on BBC radio's "Today," former MI6 chief John Sawers suggested a device on-board could have been the culprit. In video released by Prigozhin Press Service, Yevgeny Prigozhin is seen in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023.

Persons: John Sawers, Sawers, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Vladimir Putin, Anthony Brickhouse, Insider's Azmi Haroun, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Associated Press Sawers, Putin, Dmitry Utkin, Wagner Organizations: BBC, Service, Wagner, Embraer, Kremlin, Reuters, Prigozhin Press Service, Prigozhin Press, Associated Press Locations: Wall, Silicon, Moscow, Rostov, Don, Russia

☆ A deadly plane crash appears to have killed Wagner's top boss, but even without Prigozhin, the group likely isn't a 'chicken with its head cut off,' expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Chris Panella | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Wagner Group mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is believed to have died in a plane crash on August 23. Without Prigozhin, Wagner's key operations, finances, and future are unclear, experts told Insider. It's likely not "a chicken with its head cut off," Miles said because Wagner's local operations "are still in play." His mercenaries were given the choice to join the ranks of the Russian military, leave for civilian life, or join Prigozhin in Belarus. A mural depicting mercenaries of Russia's Wagner Group that reads: "Wagner Group - Russian knights."

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, it's, Simon Miles, Miles, Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Sergei Shoigu, Defense Valery Gerasimov, Alexander Lukashenko, Catrina Doxsee, Doxsee, There's, Kateryna Stepanenko, Prigozhin —, —, Russia's, Darko Vojinovic, Prigozhin's, ISW Organizations: Wagner Group, Service, Russian, Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy, Soviet Union, TASS, Staff, Russian Armed Forces, Defense, Kremlin, Prigozhin, Press, REUTERS, PMC, Transnational, Center for Strategic, Ministry of Defense, Russian Ministry of Defense Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Soviet, Russian, Tver, Moscow, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Rostov, Belarus, Belarusian, Africa, Concord, Latin America, Crimea, Syria, Libya, Mali

☆ 'Final nail in the coffin' for Russia's Wagner Group as leader Prigozhin presumed dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Head of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin left the Southern Military District headquarters on June 24, 2023 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Stringer | Anadolu Agency | Getty ImagesRussian mercenary force Wagner Group may have suffered a "final nail in the coffin" with the presumed death of leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash, analysts suggest. Yet the group also appeared to call for peace, with the Wagner Group Telegram channel on Thursday calling for its members and supporters not to "take any measures" within Russian territory. A member of private mercenary group Wagner pays tribute to Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin following their apparent deaths in a plane crash on Aug. 23, 2023. Members of the Wagner Group prepare to depart from the Southern Military District's headquarters and return to their base on June 24, 2023 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia.

Persons: Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin, Jason Bush, They've, Bush, it's, Alexander Lukashenko, Vladimir Nikolayev, Putin, disbursing Wagner, who'd, reimagining Wagner, Doxsee, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, —, Prigozhin's Organizations: Wagner Group, Southern Military, Stringer, Anadolu Agency, Getty, NBC News, Grey Zone, Central African, Russian Defense Ministry, Russian Armed Forces, Kremlin, Redut PMC, Mercenaries, Defense Ministry, Eurasia Group, CNBC, Afp, Russian Embassy, Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Transnational, Center for Strategic & International Studies, Russian Aerospace Forces, PMC Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, Moscow, Tver, Hell, Russia's, Ukraine, Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, Sudan, Syria, Belarus, Africa, Russian, London

REUTERS/Yulia Morozova/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 23 (Reuters) - Here are some key facts about Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia's Wagner Group mercenary force, who Russia's civil aviation authority said was on the passenger list of a plane that crashed north of Moscow on Thursday. Prigozhin used social media to trumpet Wagner's successes and wage a feud with the military establishment, accusing it of incompetence and even treason. But in late July, Prigozhin was photographed in St Petersburg while a Russia-Africa summit was taking place in the city. - Born in St Petersburg on June 1, 1961, Prigozhin spent nine years in Soviet prisons for crimes including robbery and fraud. - In 2014, Prigozhin founded Wagner, a private military company whose fighters have deployed in support of Moscow's allies in countries including Syria, Libya and the Central African Republic.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Maxim Fomin, Vladlen Tatarsky, Yulia Morozova, Russia's Wagner, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Mark Trevelyan, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: REUTERS, Russia's Wagner Group, Kremlin, St, Central African, United, Internet Research Agency, Thomson Locations: St Petersburg, Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Rostov, Belarus, Africa, St Petersburg's, Syria, Libya, Central African Republic, United States, Washington

☆ Wagner boss and failed coup leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on a plane that crashed in Russia, killing everyone on board, state media reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russian media reports say Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on a plane that crashed. It's unclear if the Wagner Group leader was on the plane that went down near Moscow, but he is believed to have been killed. It's not immediately clear if the mercenary boss was on board, but he was on the passenger list. AdvertisementAdvertisementBefore it became a disgraced organization in the wake of Prigozhin's failed coup, the Wagner Group fought in Ukraine alongside the regular Russian army. Some Western officials suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin might opt to deal with the betrayal at a later date.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, It's, Prigozhin, Adrienne Watson, Prigozhin's, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Bill Burns Organizations: Wagner Group, Service, Group, TASS, Embraer, Federal Agency for Air Transport, National, US State Department, Kremlin, CIA Locations: Moscow, Wall, Silicon, Tver, St, Petersburg, Tver Region, Russia, Africa, Belarus, Ukraine, Rostov, Belarusian

CNN —Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of Russian mercenary group Wagner, was on the passenger list of a plane that crashed northwest of Moscow, killing all 10 on board, according to Russian state media. The bodies of eight people have been found at the crash site, state media outlet Russia 24 reported. Earlier, TASS reported the plane “burned up” on impact after being in the air for about half an hour. One of two Wagner planesVideo published by Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti showed a plane falling out of the sky with one wing missing. A separate video, also released by RIA Novosti, purports to show plane engine debris at the crash site.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, “, Vladimir Putin’s, Reuters Wagner, ”, Volodymyr Zelensky, Joe Biden, Putin, ” Biden, I’m, FlightRadar24, Don –, Biden, Bill Burns, Antony Blinken, Burns, ” Burns, ” Blinken Organizations: CNN, Embraer, Federal Air Transport Agency, Russian Ministry of Emergency Services, TASS, Russian Investigative Committee, Wagner, Ostorozhno, Reuters, Nazi, Novosti, RIA Novosti, Wagner Group, Biden, Kremlin, CIA, NATO Locations: Moscow, Tver, Kuzhenkino, Russia, Belarus, Russia's Tver, Ostorozhno Novosti, Soledar, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Kursk, Soviet, Nazi Germany, Rostov, –, St, Petersburg, United States

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

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

There was no immediate official confirmation that Prigozhin, Russia's most powerful mercenary and a self-declared enemy of the Russian Defence Ministry, was physically on board. Reuters could not confirm that he was on the aircraft though a Telegram channel linked to Wagner pronounced him dead. Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin leaves the headquarters of the Southern Military District amid the group's pullout from the city of Rostov-on-Don, Russia, June 24, 2023. Unconfirmed Russian media reports said that Dmitry Utkin, Prigozhin's right-hand man, had also been on board and that Prigozhin and his associates had attended a meeting with officials from the Russian Defence Ministry. An unverified video clip posted to social media showed a plane resembling a private jet falling out of the sky towards the earth.

Persons: Wagner, Prigozhin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Joe Biden, Alexander Ermochenko, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Dmitry Utkin, Andrew Osborn, Max Rodionov, Mark Trevelyan, Grant McCool Organizations: Russian Defence Ministry, Reuters, Wagner Group, Kremlin, Defence Ministry, Embraer, TASS, Southern Military, REUTERS, Russia's, General Staff, Thomson Locations: Moscow, MOSCOW, Russia, Africa, Tver, St . Petersburg, Kuzhenkino, Tver Region, Rostov, Don, St Petersburg, Ukraine, Belarus

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

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

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

☆ Russia says Ukrainian drones attack three regions
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Russia said Ukrainian drones had struck three separate regions on Sunday, injuring five people and forcing two of Moscow's airports to briefly divert flights. Russia's Kursk and Rostov regions, both of which border Ukraine, reported drone strikes while Russia's defence ministry said it had jammed a Ukrainian drone in the Moscow region, forcing it to crash in an unpopulated area. Kursk region's governor said that 5 people had been injured and a fire broke out when a drone hit a railway station. Ukrainian drone strikes both on border regions and on the Russian capital have become increasingly common in recent months, with repeated strikes on Moscow's financial district. Russia said in May that two Ukrainian drones tried to attack the Kremlin.

Persons: Kursk region's, Felix Light, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: Russia's, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Ukrainian, Russia's Kursk, Rostov, Ukraine, Moscow, Kursk

☆ Putin meets top generals in charge of Russia's war efforts in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses participants of the international military-technical forum Army-2023 via a video link in Moscow, Russia, in this picture released August 14, 2023. "Vladimir Putin held a meeting at the headquarters of the special military operation group in Rostov-on-Don," the Kremlin said in a statement. Russia, which launched its invasion in Ukraine in February 2022, calls its actions a special military operation. The Kremlin added that Putin, Russia's supreme commander-in-chief, listened to reports from Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff of the Army in charge of Moscow's operations in Ukraine, and other top military commanders and officers. Gerasimov, who has been seen rarely in public in recent months, had been the target of savage criticism from Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and some Russian military bloggers over Russia's failings in the war.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Klimentyev, Putin, Russia's, Valery Gerasimov, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Maria Tsvetkova, Mrinmay Dey, Lidia Kelly, William Mallard, Kim Coghill Organizations: Sputnik, REUTERS, Kremlin, Staff, Army, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Kremlin, Ukraine, Rostov, Ukraine's, Russian, Urozhaine, Donetsk, Azov, Crimea

CNN —At least seven people died including a six-year-old girl and 90 others were injured after a Russian missile strike hit a central square in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, Ukrainian officials said. Saturday’s strike – in a city close to the Russian border and far from the frontlines – hit a theater and a university. An emergency service worker stands at the site of a Russian missile strike in Chernihiv. Vladyslav Savenok/ReutersThe aftermath of a Russian missile strike. Vladyslav Savenok/ReutersUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack turned “an ordinary Saturday… into a day of pain and loss.”“A Russian missile hit right in the center of the city, in our Chernihiv.

Persons: Ihor Klymenko, “, Klymenko, Vladyslav Savenok, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, Oleksandr Lomako, Putin, Vladimir Putin, Valery Gerasimov, Wagner, Zelensky, Ulf Kristersson, King Carl XVI, Queen Silvia, Kristersson, ” Zelensky Organizations: CNN, Internal, Reuters, Kremlin, Staff, Russian Armed Forces, Swedish, Gripen, “ Locations: Russian, Ukrainian, Chernihiv, Vladyslav, Reuters Ukrainian, Russia, Ukraine, Rostov, Sweden, Zelensky, ”

☆ Russian missile attack kills 7 in northern Ukrainian city as Zelenskyy visits NATO candidate Sweden
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A view shows a site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Chernihiv, Ukraine, on Aug. 19, 2023. Sweden abandoned its longstanding policy of military nonalignment to support Ukraine with weapons and other aid in the war against Russia. As Zelenskyy arrived in Sweden, a Russian missile strike killed seven people and wounded 90 others in the city center of Chernihiv, the regional capital of the northern Ukrainian province of the same name, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. A Russian missile hit right in the center of the city, in our Chernihiv," he wrote on Telegram. In Russia, President Vladimir Putin visited top military officials in the city of Rostov-on-Don near the Ukrainian border.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy, Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Ihor Klymenko, Vladimir Putin, Don, Putin, Valery Gerasimov, Wagner, group's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Gerasimov, Sergei Shoigu, Prigozhin, Alexander Khodakovsky, Tiurin, Vitalii Bunechko Organizations: Russia, Archer, NATO, Russia's Southern Military District, Russian, Ukraine Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Chernihiv, Sweden, Harpsund, Stockholm, Ukrainian, Russia, Rostov, Urozhaine, Ukraine's, Donetsk, Zhytomyr

☆ Ukraine says it can shoot down Ka-52 attack helicopters but Russia needs to be stopped from making new ones
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine has found recent success in shooting down formidable Russian Ka-52 attack helicopters. His comments come as Ukraine appears to be finding ways to defeat the Ka-52 helicopters, which would mark a notable achievement for Kyiv's forces that have struggled against these assets. A Russian Ka-52 military attack helicopter during practice flights at Chernigovka air base in Russia. But Ukrainian forces have seen recent success in shooting downing the aircraft, indicating an improved air-defense capability among front-line forces. Meanwhile, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed in a Thursday Facebook update that it "intercepted" the two helicopters Yermak referred to in his Telegram commentary.

Persons: Andriy Yermak, Yermak, Sergey Pivovarov, Ukraine's Organizations: Russian, Service, NATO, CNN, REUTERS, Kyiv, Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine's, Staff of, Armed Forces, Facebook Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Ukrainian, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Donetsk, Asia, Russia’s Rostov, Moscow, North Korea, Iran, France, Bakhmut

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