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

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

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

☆ Wagner Group leader and ex-convict Prigozhin has lost the respect of Russian prisoners who now think he's a 'traitor,' activist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian prisoners have now turned on the Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, an activist said. Prigozhin, an ex-convict, was once popular among prisoners and recruited thousands to fight in Ukraine. SOme prisoners rioted in support of his short-lived mutiny and were disappointed he called it off. Olga Romanova, the head of the Russia Behind Bars prisoners' rights group, said that prisoners feel "depressed" and "apathetic" and view Yevgeny Prigozhin as a traitor. The Wagner Group recruited thousands of prisoners to fight in Ukraine in exchange for freedom after completing their service.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Olga Romanova, Romanova, Wagner, mutinying Wagner Organizations: Wagner Group, Service, Russian, Reuters, Russian Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Defense Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Moscow, Belarus, Rostov, Leningrad

☆ Video appears to show Wagner Group troops preparing to leave Africa, suggesting a purge by Moscow, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A video appears to show dozens of Wagner Group soldiers preparing to leave Africa. The video follows a report by Jeune Afrique that said 500 to 600 mercenaries had left Bangui on Thursday. But Wagner's relationship with the Kremlin has fractured in recent weeks after the group's leader Yevgeny Prigozhin ordered his soldiers to march on Moscow in June. Wagner mercenaries have been accused of committing atrocitiesIn this handout photo taken from video released by Prigozhin Press Service, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military company, records his video addresses in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. Wagner mercenaries have been accused of committing atrocities in CAR, according to reports.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Putin, Alia Brahimi, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Aleksander Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin, Faustin, Fidele Gouandjika Organizations: Wagner Group, Jeune Afrique, Service, Wagner, NBC News, Central African Republic, Council, Foreign Relations, Prigozhin Press Service, Prigozhin Press, Associated Press, Central African, NBC, Sky News, CAR's Department of Defense, Sky Locations: Africa, Wall, Silicon, Moscow, Bangui, CAR, Libya, Mali, Sudan, Belarus, Rostov, Don, Russia, CAR's, Washington

☆ Grenada's passport-selling boom offering rich Russians a Caribbean shortcut to US visas could be over
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Grenada runs a "Citizenship by Investment" program, offering a "golden passport" from $150,000. Demand for the program surged following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russians called up as part of the partial mobilization go through military training in Rostov on October 21, 2022. But Grenada has flip-flopped on its decision to allow Russians to take part in the program. The office for the Grenada Citizenship by Investment program did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

Persons: Richard Hallam, —, Arkady Budnitsky, Irina Batrakova Organizations: Investment, Service, Privacy, Transformation Fund, Bloomberg, Grenada's Ministry of Finance, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Batrakova, Grenada Citizenship Locations: Grenada, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Russians, Rostov

☆ Russia says it shoots down missiles over Crimea, Rostov region
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 9 (Reuters) - Russian air defence systems shot down two missiles on Sunday, Russian officials said, one over the annexed Crimean peninsula and another over Russia's southern Rostov region that also borders Ukraine. A cruise missile was shot down near the city of Kerch on the Crimean peninsula, without inflicting any damage or casualties, Russia-installed Governor Sergei Aksyonov wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Crimea was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, but is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine. Local officials said traffic movement on the Crimean Bridge that links the peninsula to the Russian mainland was restored after an apparent suspension. In another incident, air defence shot down a Ukrainian missile in Russia's Rostov region, Governor Vasily Golubev said on Telegram.

Persons: Sergei Aksyonov, Vasily Golubev, Golubev, Alexander Marrow, William Maclean Organizations: Kyiv, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Crimean, Rostov, Ukraine, Kerch, Russia, Crimea, Russian, Ukrainian, Russia's Rostov, Moscow

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

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

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

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

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

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

☆ 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

☆ 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

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

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

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

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

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

Lukashenko put a gulf of distance between himself and Prigozhin the Wagner boss when he said that neither Prigozhin nor his mercenaries were in Belarus, and it was unclear if they would ever move here. One of the final straws for Prigozhin’s longstanding tensions with the Russian Defense Ministry was the insistence that Wagner mercenaries sign contracts with the Russian government; Prigozhin refused. But on Thursday, Lukashenko insisted that were Wagner to come to Belarus, its mercenaries would have to sign documents with Belarus’ government. Just as we were learning that Prigozhin was in Russia, not Belarus, Russian state media released images from a reported police raid on Prigozhin’s office and residence in St. Petersburg. Yevgeny Prigozhin was last seen in public leaving Russian military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don on June 24.

Persons: Alexander Lukashenko, it’s, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Lukashenko, Prigozhin, ” Lukashenko, ”, Prigozhin’s, Dmitry Peskov, Putin, Vladimir Putin, “ Organizations: Belarus CNN, CNN, Russian Defense Ministry, Belarus ’, Anadolu Agency, Getty Locations: Minsk, Belarus, St Petersburg, Moscow, Russia, Russian, St . Petersburg, Rostov

☆ Wagner's Prigozhin is in Russia, Belarus leader says, despite Putin deal to end mutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A screen grab captured from a video shows Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin making a speech after Headquarters of the Southern Military District surrounded by fighters of the paramilitary Wagner group in Rostov-on-Don, Russia on June 24, 2023. (Photo by Wagner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Wagner Group mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin is currently in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko told reporters Thursday, despite supposedly being exiled to Belarus. On June 27, Lukashenko apparently confirmed that Prigozhin had arrived in Belarus per the terms of a deal with the Kremlin that saw him avoid prosecution for leading Wagner in an aborted mutiny. Lukashenko did not confirm whether Prigozhin had actually been in Belarus since the coup, and his whereabouts have been somewhat of a mystery. The deal reportedly granted him exile in Belarus and immunity from prosecution.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Chris Weafer Organizations: Southern Military, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Wagner Group, Kremlin, CNBC Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, Russian, St . Petersburg, Belarusian, Belarus, Moscow, Ukraine

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

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

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

☆ 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

☆ Putin is beefing up his security services because he's fearful there could be another armed rebellion, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia has moved to strengthen its national guard after the Wagner rebellion. Wagner mercenaries launched a mutiny against Russian military leaders in June. The Rosgvardiya answers directly to Putin, and was created in 2016 to combat internal security threats. The planned reassignment, the report said, came after Putin met with police and security chiefs in the wake of the armed uprising by the Wagner mercenary group on June 23. "The alleged restructuring of Russia's internal security forces suggests that the Kremlin is working to build an effective anti-rebellion force following Wagner's armed rebellion," the ISW said.

Persons: Wagner, —, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Rosgvardiya, Don, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Sergei Surovikin, Vedemosti Organizations: Russian, Service, The Institute, Russian Federal Drug Control Service, Center, Strategicand International Studies Locations: Russia, Russian, Rostov, Moscow, Ukraine, Belarus

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

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

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

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

Atlanta/Hong Kong CNN —Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has invited Wagner Group mercenaries to his country to train its military. The Wagner leader was last spotted leaving the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don last Saturday, after abruptly calling off his troops’ march on Moscow. Media group shut downLukashenko’s speech came as a Russian media group associated with Prigozhin shut down its operations. Russian state media TASS reported Friday that the Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor has restricted access to media sites belonging to Patriot. Prigozhin, the founder of the private military company Wagner, had recently held the position of deputy head of the Patriot’s supervisory board.

Persons: Aleksandr Lukashenko, Wagner, Lukashenko, ” Lukashenko, defusing, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, ”, Putin, Prigozhin, Don, Yevgeny Zubarev, Zubarev Organizations: Hong Kong CNN —, Wagner Group, Belarus ’, European Union, Media, Prigozhin’s Patriot, Federal News Agency, People’s, Economy, Politics, TASS Locations: Atlanta, Hong Kong, Belarus, Belarusian, Moscow, Russian, United States, Poland, “, Russia, Ukraine, Rostov, Minsk, Nevskiye Novosti

☆ Surovikin: Russian general was secret VIP member of Wagner, documents show
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Matthew Chance | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Moscow CNN —Documents shared exclusively with CNN suggest that Russian Gen. Sergey Surovikin was a secret VIP member of the Wagner private military company. The documents, obtained by the Russian investigative Dossier Center, showed that Surovikin had a personal registration number with Wagner. Surovikin is listed along with at least 30 other senior Russian military and intelligence officials, who the Dossier Center said are also VIP Wagner members. Surovikin was known to have links with the mercenary group, but the documents raise questions about the closeness of senior members of the Russian military and Wagner. During Prigozhin’s short-lived rebellion, Wagner fighters were able to take over the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, facing virtually no resistance from the Russian army.

Persons: Sergey Surovikin, Wagner, Surovikin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, “, ” Organizations: Moscow CNN, CNN, Russian Air Force Locations: Moscow, Russian, Syria, Rostov

☆ The Wagner revolt made everyday Russians start to question Putin's mission in Ukraine, Russian blogger says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ordinary Russians are starting to question the war in Ukraine, a Russian blogger told Insider. For the majority of typical Russian citizens, the Wagner uprising came as a "huge shock," Konstantinova told Insider. "You say we go to denazify Ukraine; you say they are our enemies," she said of Russia's leaders. On the surface, life has changed very little for most Russians since their country went to war, Konstantinova said. Konstantinova traveled to Mariupol with several other Russian citizens in December of last year, delivering electric heaters to Ukrainian citizens still living in the decimated and frozen city.

Persons: Wagner, Natalia Konstantinova, —, Vladimir Putin, Konstantinova, Chaos, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Putin, she's, festering, aren't, Natasha, it's Organizations: Service, Kyiv, Group, Kremlin Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Moscow, Belarus, Ukrainian, Mariupol, Rostov

☆ What next for Wagner? Russia’s Putin battles to regain control after short-lived revolt
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Members of Wagner group looks from a military vehicle in Rostov-on-Don late on June 24, 2023. It marked what many regard as the greatest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin's authority in his more than two decades in power. Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with servicemen at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 27, 2023. At best, Granville said the Wagner Group was likely to be "a shadow of its former self" in Ukraine following the revolt. Russia's political crisisRussian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday dismissed questions about a political crisis.

Persons: Wagner, Roman Romokhov, Vladimir Putin's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Tereshchenko, nationalize Wagner, Putin, Wagner Group's Prigiozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, that's, Pat Ryder, Faustin, BARBARA DEBOUT, Ryder, It's, Christopher Granville, Granville, Sergey Lavrov, Lavrov, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin Organizations: AFP, Getty, Wagner Group, Kremlin, Russian Ministry of Defense's, Wagner, Russian Armed Forces, Belarusian, Analysts, CNBC, Pentagon, Central African, TS Lombard, Reuters, Associated Press Locations: Rostov, Ukraine, Moscow, Europe, U.S, Russia, Asipovichy, Belarus, Belarusian, Africa, Syria, BANGUI, Central African Republic, Bangui, France, AFP, Russian

Colonel General Sergei Surovikin attends a briefing in the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia, on June 9, 2017. Rumors about his whereabouts — and his potential role in the short-lived insurrection — have been swirling in recent days. CNN has reached out to the Kremlin and Russian Ministry of Defense for comment on Surovikin’s whereabouts. Surovikin first served in Afghanistan in the 1980s before commanding a unit in the Second Chechen War in 2004. He was the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces during Russia’s operations in Syria, which saw Russian combat aircraft causing widespread devastation in rebel-held areas.

Persons: Sergei Surovikin, Pavel Golovkin, Sergey Surovikin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, —, Surovikin, “, Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin, Peskov, Putin, “ Surovikin, Alexey Venediktov –, –, Sergey Markov, ”, Surovikin “, Yevgeny Prigozhin’s, Mikhail Gorbachev, Organizations: Russian Defense Ministry, Moscow Times, CNN, Kremlin, Russian Ministry of Defense, General Staff, Defense, Ministry, Echo, New York Times, Russian Aerospace Forces, Washington DC, Jamestown Foundation, Human Rights Watch Locations: Moscow, Russia, Russian, Surovikin, Echo Moscow, Rostov, Afghanistan, Syria, Idlib

☆ There's blood in the water after Prigozhin's revolt shattered the façade of Putin's invincibility
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Jason Corcoran | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

It represented the most significant affront to President Vladimir Putin's 23-year reign. It has also fed paranoia and put a spotlight on Aleksey Dyumin, Putin's ex-bodyguard turned governor. A brief and ultimately aborted attempt at a coup d'état by Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin represented the most significant affront to President Vladimir Putin's 23-year reign. President Vladimir Putin (L) and Aleksey Dyumin, the governor of Tula and Putin's former personal bodyguard, in Moscow in 2016. Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Tula Governor Aleksey Dyumin visit Russian writer Lev Tolstoy's former home in 2016.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Aleksey Dyumin, Putin's, —, Vladimir Putin —, Prigozhin, Vladimir Fesenko, trundling, Sergey Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, There's Prigozhin, Wagner, Putin, Belarus —, defenestration, Dyumin, Shoigu, Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Svetlov, Igor Girkin, Alexander Lukashenko —, Dyumin's, Dmitry Peskov, Boris Yeltsin, Viktor Yanukoyvch, Girkin, Andrei Gurulyov, Russia's, Lev Tolstoy's, Tatiana Stanovaya, Alexandra Prokopenko, Prokopenko, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Viktor Zolotov, Zolotov, Alexander Lukashenko, Chris Weafer Organizations: Service, Kremlin, Kommersant, Angry Patriots, Russia's First Channel, Prigozhin, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Central Bank, Washington Post, New York Times, Defense Ministry, Moscow Times, National Guard, Ministry, Macro Locations: Russian, Russia, Rostov, Ukraine, Moscow, Voronezh, Lipetsk, St, Petersburg, Minsk, Belarus, Russia's Tula, Kremlin, Tula, Dyumin's Tula, St Petersburg, Prigozhin, Crimea, Berlin, Novosibirsk, Osipovichi, Africa, Syria

The 56-year-old officer, nicknamed “General Armageddon” by the Russian media because of his reputation for ruthlessness, has not been seen publicly since early Saturday. Fighters from Mr. Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenary group were on the ground in Syria at the time, and reports indicate that both Wagner and General Surovikin used the civil war for financial gain. Besides leading Russian forces in Syria, General Surovikin was in Chechnya in the early 2000s, according to state news media and his biography on the Russian Defense Ministry’s website. Human Rights Watch said in 2020 that he was among military leaders who might bear “command responsibility” for human rights violations in Syria. He was placed on a European Union sanctions list on Feb. 23, 2022, a day before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Persons: Sergei Surovikin, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Surovikin, Bashar al, Assad, Prigozhin’s Wagner, Wagner, General Surovikin, General Surovikin’s, Aleksei Navalny, Russia’s, Valery Gerasimov, Prigozhin’s, ” Samuel Ramani, “, ”, Ramani, Mikhail Gorbachev Organizations: New York Times, Fighters, Islamic State militants, Russian Army, Russian Defense Ministry, Royal United Services Institute, Russian Defense, Human Rights Watch, Jamestown Foundation, Union Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Syria, Russia, Ukrainian, Kherson, British, Rostov, Chechnya, Washington

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