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☆ Niger's tailors rush to make Russian flags after coup
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The flags have been in demand since President Mohamed Bazoum was toppled late last month in a military takeover, leading to some Russian support among crowds that celebrated the coup. It echoes similar outpourings of pro-Russian sentiments after recent military takeovers in other West African countries, worrying Western powers who see their influence slipping in some old regional allies. He said the flags of neighboring Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali, where military takeovers have also occurred since 2020, were also popular. Citizens in Burkina Faso also waved Russian flags during violent anti-France demonstrations that followed a coup in September 2022, the second in the country that year. "Before the coup d'etat I didn't know the Russian flag," he added.

Persons: Yahaya, Mohamed Bazoum, Oumarou, Okacha Abdoul, Aziz, Boureima Balima, Abdel, Kader Mazou, Sofia Christensen, Sandra Maler Organizations: Citizens, Thomson Locations: NIAMEY, Niamey, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Russia, West Africa, France, Sahel, Russian

Ukraine’s National Resistance Center — an official body — claimed Tuesday that the construction of another camp to host Wagner Group fighters has begun in the Zyabrovka Air Base in Belarus. “On the border with Ukraine, in the village of Zyabrovka in the Republic of Belarus, a new camp for 'Wagner' PMC mercenaries is being built,” the center said on its website. Zyabrovka is located near Gomel in southeastern Belarus, about 40 kilometers from the border with Ukraine's Chernihiv region. The camp can house around 1,000 personnel, the center said, and it looks like a tent city. Moscow used Belarusian territory to facilitate its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, strengthening ties between President Vladimir Putin and Lukashenko.

Persons: —, Wagner, Alexander Lukashenko, Wagner’s, Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko, ” Organizations: Resistance Center, Wagner Group, Zyabrovka, Base, PMC, “, CNN, Ukraine, NATO Locations: Belarus, “, Ukraine, Zyabrovka, Republic of Belarus, Chernihiv, Gomel, Ukraine's Chernihiv, Russia, Moscow, Poland, Europe, Warsaw, Belarusian

“I write this as a hostage,” Bazoum wrote in the Washington Post. Bazoum also cautioned that foreign aid makes up 40% of the national budget – and it would not be delivered if the coup succeeds. ‘Determined, optimistic’CNN has not been able to independently confirm the conditions under which Bazoum is being detained in his residence. Bazoum also warned of growing Russian influence in the Sahel region. “With an open invitation from the coup plotters and their regional allies, the entire central Sahel region could fall to Russian influence via the Wagner Group,” Bazoum wrote.

Persons: CNN —, Mohamed Bazoum, ” Bazoum, ”, –, Bazoum, “, ‘, Idrissa Waziri, he’s, ” Waziri, Waziri, Abdourahamane Tiani, Tiani, he’d, Wagner, Russia’s Wagner, Salifou Mody, Joe Biden, Patrick Ryder, evacuates Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Burkina, junta, Nigerien, Wagner, Pentagon, US Defense Department Locations: Washington, Niamey, United States, West, “ Niger, Niger, Europe, France, Mali, Burkina Faso, Sahel

☆ Russia is playing risky games with its exploding drones, attacking Ukrainian ports only a couple hundred meters from NATO territory
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russian forces have been routinely attacking Ukraine's southern cities and ports in recent weeks. Western intelligence says Russia has "evolved its risk appetite for conducting strikes near" NATO. But these attacks have also crept toward NATO territory, something Western officials have warned of since the 17-month-long war began. It added that the Iranian-made drones have landed as close as 650 feet from the Romania border, "suggesting that Russia has evolved its risk appetite for conducting strikes near NATO territory." Meanwhile, the bombardment near Romania comes as some NATO countries worry that Russian allies are encroaching on NATO territory to the northwest of Ukraine.

Persons: Nina Liashenko, Reni, Ukraine Bridget Brink, Wagner, John Kirby, We're Organizations: NATO, Service, Russian, Twitter, AS, REUTERS, White, National Security Locations: Romania, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine's, Moscow, Ukraine, Romanian, Izmail, China, Israel, russia, Russian, Odesa, Belarus, Minsk, Poland, Lithuania

☆ Ukraine says Russia planning 'false flag' attack at Belarus refinery
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Joint stock company "Mozyr oil refinery" is seen near the town of Mozyr, Belarus January 4, 2020. REUTERS/Vasily FedosenkoKYIV, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The Security Service of Ukraine accused Russia on Friday of preparing to stage a "false flag" attack at the Mozyr oil refinery in Belarus in order to blame Ukrainian saboteurs as part of an effort to draw Minsk into the war in Ukraine. Fighters from Wagner, a Russian mercenary group, launched a mutiny against the Russian defence establishment in June and some of its fighters have since moved to Belarus under a deal. There was no immediate comment on the Ukrainian statement from Russia or Belarus. Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Olena Harmash; Editing by Toby Chopra and Nick MacfieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Vasily Fedosenko KYIV, Wagner, Tom Balmforth, Toby Chopra, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Security Service, Russia, Minsk, Thomson Locations: Mozyr, Belarus, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Russian, Kyiv

☆ Saudi’s MBS wants more than peace at his Ukraine summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Nic Robertson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“Our goal in Saudi Arabia is to develop a unified vision of the formula and to work out the possibilities of holding the future Global Peace Summit,” they said, referring to Ukraine’s peace plan. That summit produced no major headlines, nor a discernable drift to Ukraine’s prerequisite for peace that Russian troops exit Ukraine. Like the roads that led to Rome in its day, Saudi Arabia is increasingly at the confluence of competing global interests. In spring this year, Saudi Arabia and China announced a confidence-building peace plan with Iran to repair their hostile relationship. All of this of course is way outside the scope of the Jeddah peace summit and Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine.

Persons: Prince Mohammed bin Salman, ”, “, Jake Sullivan, Biden, Xi, Putin, It’s, Volodymyr Zelensky’s Organizations: CNN, Saudi, MBS, Peace, National, CNN US State Department, Danes, NATO, African Union Locations: Jeddah, stewing, Ukraine, Russia ”, India, Saudi Arabia, Moscow, ”, Kyiv, Denmark, Rome, Yemen, China, Iran, Russia, Washington, Saudi, Gulf, Israel, Europe, Africa, St Petersburg, Ukrainian

[1/3] A general view of a grain terminal at the port of Odesa, Ukraine, April 10, 2023. Drone attacks wrecked buildings in the port of Izmail and prevented ships on the Danube River from loading grain for export. WHAT DOES INTERNATIONAL LAW SAY? The Geneva Conventions and additional protocols say that parties involved in military conflict must distinguish between “civilian objects and military objectives”, and that attacks on civilian objects are forbidden. This prohibition is also codified in the Rome Statute of the ICC, which opened an investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine soon after the invasion.

Persons: Ritzau Scanpix, Bo Amstrup, Russia's, Yousuf Syed Khan, RIA, Katharine Fortin, Michael Schmitt, Marko Milanovic, Anthony Deutsch, Stephanie van den Berg, Kevin Liffey Organizations: REUTERS, Criminal, Global Rights, ICC, Utrecht University, Lieber, U.S, West, International, University of Reading, Nova, Thomson Locations: Odesa, Ukraine, Izmail, The Hague, Kherson, Geneva, Rome, Russian, Nova, Russia

☆ Ukraine investigating attacks on grain ports as potential war crimes
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

View of the damage at a grain port facility after a reported attack by Russian military drones in the Odesa region, Ukraine August 2, 2023. Prosecutor General's Office via Telegram/Handout via REUTERSAMSTERDAM, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Ukraine's prosecutor general is investigating Russian attacks on its agriculture infrastructure since July as potential war crimes, the office told Reuters on Thursday. "Ukraine is investigating these acts as potential war crimes," it said. Ukrainian authorities are already reviewing more than 97,000 reports of suspected war crimes and have filed charges against 220 suspects in domestic courts. It has described recent attacks on Ukraine's grain infrastructure as retaliation for a Ukrainian strike on a bridge across the Kerch Strait to Crimea used to supply its troops in southern Ukraine.

Persons: general's, RIA, Anthony Deutsch, Alex Richardson, Alison Williams Organizations: General's, REUTERS, Grain Initiative, International Criminal, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Odesa, Ukraine, REUTERS AMSTERDAM, Russia, The Hague, Kherson, Moscow, Kerch, Crimea, Izmail

☆ Niger coup leaders blamed insecurity; conflict data paints a different picture
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Edward Mcallister | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

In Burkina Faso, where there were two coups last year, deaths rose 80% to more than 4,000 in 2022. Military spokespeople in Mali and Burkina Faso did not respond to requests for comment. Military leaders in Mali and Burkina Faso kicked out French forces after their coups. Niger army operations could falter, he said. "You saw it in Burkina Faso after the second coup.

Persons: Abdourahmane Tiani, Balima, Mohamed Bazoum, Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, Wagner, Leonardo Santos Simao, Tiani, Simao, Bazoum, Ulf Laessing, Konrad Adenauer, Edward McAllister, Michelle Nichols, Alexandra Zavis, Giles Elgood Organizations: REUTERS, Security, Islamic, Crisis, Wagner Group, Reuters, spokespeople, United Nations, Economic, West, Sunday, Local, Military, Burkina Faso, European Union, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Thomson Locations: Niger, Niamey, DAKAR, U.S, Mali, Burkina Faso, al Qaeda, Islamic State, West Africa's, Brussels, Boko, Nigeria, West Africa, West African States, Burkina, French, France, New York

☆ Niger: Africa's latest coup is a headache for the West and an opportunity for Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Stephanie Busari | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

An important Western allyThe coup in Niger has deprived Western nations, particularly France and the United States, of a key ally in a troubled region. The largest country in West Africa, Niger had been touted as a democratic success story on the continent and Bazoum was seen as a crucial partner in the fight against Islamist jihadists in the region. Carley Petesch/AP/FileThe French military also maintains two permanent bases in the Sahel region, one of which is in Niamey. “The former colonizers are trying to keep the people of African countries in check. Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and President of the Republic of South Africa Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa shake hands on the sideline of the Russia Africa Summit.

Persons: Mohamed Bazoum, Putin, France ”, Emmanuel Macron, “, Bazoum, Joe Biden, Washington “, Stringer, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, jihadists, Carley Petesch, ” Maman Sani, Oluwole Ojewale, …, ” Ojewale, ” Françafrique, Remi Adekoya, ” Adekoya, ” Wagner, Prigozhin, ” Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Republic of South Africa Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa, Mikhail Metzel, Ibrahim Traore, ”, ” Traore, Ojewale Organizations: CNN, West, Kremlin, ISIS, Africa Center, Strategic Studies, European Union, World Nuclear Association ., Institute for Security Studies, Central African, CFA, Banque de France, UK’s York University, Russia Africa Summit, ISS Locations: Niger, Niamey, France, Paris, United States, Western, Africa, Russia, Moscow, Russian, Mali, West Africa, Nigerien, al Qaeda, US, Agadez, Sahel, Burkina Faso, West, Central Africa, China, Ukraine, Sudan, Central African Republic, Mozambique, Libya, St . Petersburg, Somalia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Republic of South Africa

☆ Exiled Wagner mercenaries are training Belarusian troops in what may signal Putin's puppet next door is cutting some of the strings
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Jake Epstein | Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Wagner Group mercenaries cast into exile in Belarus have been training the country's soldiers. The increased military training suggests that Putin's influential grip on Belarus may be waning. "The Wagner Group's new role in Belarusian company-level training is notable," the ISW analysis said. Shortly after that, Wagner troops began training internal troops, the Belarusian Deputy Commander of the Internal Troops confirmed on July 25. Lukashenko, meanwhile, has praised the Wagner fighters and welcomed the military training with open arms.

Persons: Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, Lukashenko, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Eager, Russian Wagner, ISW, George Barros, Wagner's, Barros, Putin, Belta, John Kirby, We're, Kirby Organizations: Service, Kremlin, Wagner Group, Belarusian Defence Ministry, REUTERS, Russian, Institute for, Belarusian, Sputnik, Internal Troops, Belarus ' Defense Ministry, Special Operations Forces, AP, Moscow, Ukrainian, Minsk, White, National Security, NATO Locations: Belarus, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Belarusian, Asipovichy, Minsk, Russian, Brest, Washington, DC, wean, Moscow, Ukraine, Sochi, Kremlin, Africa, Poland, Lithuania

☆ Russia strikes Ukraine's Danube port, driving up global grain prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Kubrakov, writing on Facebook, said the Danube ports' infrastructure had been "devastated". "Ukrainian grain is indispensable for the world and cannot be replaced by any other country in the coming years," he wrote. "The port of Izmail suffered the most damage, including the terminal and infrastructure of the Danube Shipping Company." Russian state news agency RIA said the port and grain infrastructure hit was housing foreign mercenaries and military hardware. Seaport authority head Yuriy Lytvyn said on Facebook that repair work had already begun and the port infrastructure continued to operate.

Persons: Oleksandr Kubrakov, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, RIA, Oleh Kiper, Yuriy Lytvyn, Nina, PUTIN, Vladimir Putin, Tayyip Erdogan, West, Putin, Erdogan, Ukraine Bridget Brink, Russia's, Farhan Haq, Pavel Polityuk, Peter Graff, Hugh Lawson, Daniel Wallis, Michelle Nichols, Simon Cameron, Moore, Philippa Fletcher, Giles Elgood, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: NATO, Romania Kyiv, Ukraine's, Russia reimposed, Facebook, Danube Shipping Company, Reuters, REUTERS, United Nations, Kremlin, International, Court, TASS, U.S, Rih, Thomson Locations: Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Izmail, Africa, China, Israel, Moscow, NATO, Russian, Odesa, Turkey, Soviet, Tehran, Kerch, Crimea, Ports, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Kherson, Constanta

☆ Poland-Belarus: Tensions high on NATO's border with Belarus after Wagner troops move closer
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Sana Noor Haq Josh Pennington Niamh Kennedy Darya Tarasova Jessie Gretener Yulia Kesaieva | Sana Noor Haq | Josh Pennington | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Belarusian soldiers and Wagner troops attend joint training exercises near the border city of Brest, in Belarus on July 20, 2023 amid increased border tensions between Warsaw and Minsk. Belarus' Defense Ministry/Handout/AP/FileMinsk had informed Warsaw about the exercise, but a border crossing took place in the eastern Bialowieza region at a “very low altitude, making detection by radar systems difficult,” the Polish defense ministry said in a statement. Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak subsequently ordered that more troops and combat helicopters be deployed along the border, the ministry added. “By deploying troops from both the west (Kaliningrad) and the east (Belarus), Russia would be able to effectively cut off the Baltic States from its NATO allies in central and western Europe. Five EU countries, four of whom border Ukraine – Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria – lifted sanctions on the import of Ukrainian grain, which they had installed to protect their own agricultural industries.

Persons: Wagner, Alexander Lukashenko, Wagner’s, Mariusz Blaszczak, Mateusz Morawiecki, Paweł Jabłoński, Barbara Yoxon, Putin, “, ” Yoxon, ”, Yoxon, Bulgaria –, Marcin Przydacz, Poland Organizations: CNN, NATO, EU, Belarus ' Defense Ministry, Polish, Belarusian Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Lancaster University, “, Presidential, International, Ukraine, ” Locations: Poland, Belarus, Minsk, Europe, Warsaw, Belarusian, Lithuania, Russian, Moscow, Brest, Polish, EU, Russia, Kaliningrad, Baltic, Grodno, England, Ukraine, Baltic States, Latvia, Estonia, Western, Ukrainian, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Kyiv, Republic of Poland

☆ The Sea Captain Who Ran From Abraham Lincoln
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Dorothy Wickenden | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

SHIPWRECKED: A True Civil War Story of Mutinies, Jailbreaks, Blockade-Running, and the Slave Trade, by Jonathan W. WhiteWho was Appleton Oaksmith? One contemporary described him as a “good seaman, & a bold & daring officer.” His enemies, President Abraham Lincoln among them, judged him a scoundrel and a traitor. As a young seafaring adventurer in the 1850s, Oaksmith armed mercenaries in Nicaragua and joined the liberation movement in Cuba. After Lincoln took office, in 1861, Oaksmith became a shipping agent, outfitting old whaling ships. Whaling was in decline, so, it was assumed, the people who bought and fitted whalers were likely slavers.

Persons: Jonathan W, White, Appleton, ”, Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln, Oaksmith Organizations: Slave, Tammany Hall Democrat, Whaling Locations: Jailbreaks, Nicaragua, Cuba, North

☆ Lukashenko taunts Poland again over Wagner troops near border
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg, Russia July 23, 2023. Sputnik/Alexei Danichev/Kremlin via REUTERS/File Photo License this content on Reuters ConnectAug 1 (Reuters) - Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday taunted Poland over the presence of Russian Wagner mercenaries near the NATO country's border, saying Warsaw should thank him for keeping them in check. State news agency Belta quoted him on Tuesday as saying that the Poles "should pray that we're holding onto (the Wagner fighters) and providing for them. Rzeszow is a city in southeast Poland near the Ukrainian border. On Saturday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said a group of 100 Wagner fighters had moved closer to the Belarusian city of Grodno near the Polish border, describing the situation as "increasingly dangerous".

Persons: Alexander Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin, Alexei Danichev, Russian Wagner, Wagner, Belta, Mateusz Morawiecki, Lukashenko, Putin, Mark Trevelyan, Gareth Jones Organizations: Sputnik, REUTERS, Reuters, Tuesday, NATO, Polish, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, Kremlin, Poland, Warsaw, Belarus, Lukashenko, Rzeszow, State, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Grodno, Brest, Ukraine

☆ Poland's prime minister fears over 100 Wagner mercs approaching his country's borders will try to pose as migrants and sneak into NATO territory
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Wagner troops are poised to infiltrate NATO territory. Over 100 mercenaries have gathered near Poland's border with Belarus, he said on Saturday. Morawiecki warned that the fighters could pose as migrants or border guards to try and sneak in. The Russian fighters are near Grodno, a Belarusian city 10 miles from the Polish border, Morawiecki said at a press conference in Gliwice. Polish officials have for years accused Belarus of attempting to overwhelm Poland's border forces by sending migrants west — a charge Minsk has denied.

Persons: Mateusz Morawiecki, Wagner, Morawiecki, Arnoldas Abramavičius, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Jarosław Kaczyński Organizations: Polish, Service, European Union, BBC, Kremlin, Poland, Agence France Presse Locations: Poland's, Belarus, Wall, Silicon, Grodno, Belarusian, Polish, Gliwice, Minsk, Lithuanian, Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Moscow

Thousands of Wagner troops are reportedly in Belarus following a failed military uprising in Russia. What exactly Wagner troops are doing in Grodno is unclear, as Wagner has not commented on the reports. It is not clear exacttly how many Wagner troops are in Belarus. They were invited to the country as part of a deal negotiated by the Belarus president to end the mercenary group’s armed insurrection against the Kremlin last month. The two plan to hold joint military exercises near the border with Poland, a move likely to further raise tensions.

Persons: Wagner, Mateusz Morawiecki, Morawiecki, ”, “, Alexander Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko, Putin Organizations: CNN, Poland ”, EU, NATO, Analysts, Kremlin Locations: Russian, Poland, Lithuania, Polish, Grodno, Belarus, Russia, Belarusian, EU, Kaliningrad, Baltic, Ukraine, Russia’s, “, ” Poland

☆ Belarus-EU borders may be closed if Wagner group incidents happen, Poland says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WARSAW, July 27 (Reuters) - Poland, Lithuania and Latvia could jointly decide to shut their borders with close Russian ally Belarus if there are serious incidents involving the Wagner group along their frontiers with the country, Poland's Interior Minister said on Thursday. NATO member Poland on July 19 decided to move military units to its east after Wagner mercenaries began training Belarusian special forces a few miles from its border. Two days later President Vladimir Putin accused Poland of having territorial ambitions in the former Soviet Union, and said any aggression against Belarus would be considered an attack on Russia. "Undoubtedly, should there be serious incidents involving the Wagner group on the borders of NATO and EU countries, such as Poland, Lithuania or Latvia, we will undoubtedly take an action together," the minister, Mariusz Kaminski, said. Road traffic between Poland and Belarus has been curbed since February amid deteriorating relations between the two countries.

Persons: Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Mariusz Kaminski, Alexander Lukashenko, Kyiv's staunchest, Marek Strzelecki, William Maclean Organizations: WARSAW, NATO, Soviet Union, EU, Belarus, Thomson Locations: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus, Belarusian, Russia, Warsaw, Ukraine, East, Africa

Here are answers to questions about U.S.-Niger ties:WHY IS NIGER IMPORTANT TO THE UNITED STATES? The country, located in the semi-arid Sahel region, plays an outsized role in the United States' Africa strategy. The State Department in March said Niger had "taken important steps to consolidate and strengthen its democracy." The State Department in March said the United States had plans to provide $101 million in bilateral assistance to Niger in fiscal year 2022, including assistance for food security, democracy and governance, and security. It is unclear how much the United States has given in security assistance specifically.

Persons: Mohamed Bazoum, Washington's, Biden, Bazoum's, Vedant Patel, Niger, Bazoum, Wagner, Patel, Antony Blinken, Chris Coons, Mario Diaz, Balart, Daphne Psaledakis, Simon Lewis, Patricia Zengerle, Moira Warburton, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Don Durfee, Daniel Wallis Organizations: UNITED STATES, Islamic, State Department, ., West, The State Department, U.S, State, Embassy, Pentagon, AID, Republican, Thomson Locations: Niger, U.S, Washington, NIGER, United States, Africa, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Chad, al Qaeda, Russia, Niamey

CNN —A summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and African leaders began in St. Petersburg on Thursday, with a far lower turnout than previous years. Just 17 heads of African states are attending this year, the Kremlin has confirmed, less than half of the 43 heads of state that attended the 2019 conference. And some African politicians – further than simply not attending the summit – have expressed grave concerns about Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine. Putin makes free grain pledgeThe African states being represented at the St. Petersburg summit will be keen to sway Russia into rejoining the grain deal, and Putin has courted African leaders for years in a deliberate effort to broaden Moscow’s global influence. Russia’s Wagner mercenaries have also been deployed in some African states.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, William Ruto, –, “, ”, Raila Odinga, ” Odinga, Putin, Russia’s Wagner, ” Putin, Sergei Lavrov, Cyril Ramaphosa’s, Maria Lvova Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Kenyan, Putin, Russian, ”, Criminal Court, ICC Locations: St . Petersburg, United States, Moscow, Africa, Russia, Ukraine, St, Petersburg, Russian, Johannesburg, South Africa, Rome, Hague

☆ Drunken Wagner fighters are 'boozing to their heart's content' at train stations in Moscow instead of going home, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Some Wagner fighters stationed in Belarus have been told to go on leave, Mozhem Obyasnit reported. One relative wrote online that the fighters are "boozing to their heart's content," it said. But many have not made it home and are choosing to get drunk instead, the outlet reported, citing public chat groups between the supposed relatives of Wagner fighters. Several Wagner fighters are ex-convicts who were released on the grounds they fight with the group in Ukraine. In line with an agreement struck by Prigozhin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko after the rebellion, the Wagner Group leader was sent to Belarus.

Persons: Wagner, Mozhem Obyasnit, Yevgeny Prigozhin, haven't, they're, Vladimir Putin's, Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko Organizations: Service, Group, BBC, Daily Locations: Belarus, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Syria, Africa, Ukraine, Russian

"We will be ready to provide Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic and Eritrea with 25-50,000 tonnes of free grain each in the next 3-4 months," Putin told the summit, whose participants applauded. Last year, Russia exported a total of 60 million tonnes of grain, of which 48 million tonnes was wheat, Putin said. He said Western sanctions, imposed in response to Russia's war in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation", had even prevented Russia from supplying free fertiliser to poor nations. On the one hand, Western countries are obstructing supplies of our grain and fertilisers, while on the other they hypocritically blame us for the current crisis situation on the world food market," said Putin. Visiting dignitaries were also invited to visit Russia's imperial palaces or watch a gala match between Russian and African "football legends".

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Russia's, U.N, Antonio Guterres, PUTIN, Azali Assoumani, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Thursday, WEST Putin, European Union, Union, Kremlin, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Africa, Moscow, MOSCOW, St Petersburg, Russian, Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Ukraine, Sudan, United States, France, African

CNN —Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private military company, was spotted inside Russia on Thursday for the first time since he led an armed rebellion against the Russian military last month. Wagner has had a presence in the Central African Republic for several years, as previously reported by CNN. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko – a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir – claimed he convinced Putin not to “destroy” Wagner and Prigozhin during the rebellion. After Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Wagner forces were heavily involved in taking the Ukrainian cities of Soledar and Bakhmut. At times, Wagner forces seemed to be the only ones on the Russian side winning battles with the Ukrainians.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko –, Vladimir –, Putin, ” Wagner, ”, Sergei Shoigu, Gen, Valery Gerasimov, “ Organizations: CNN, Central African Republic, Central African, Kremlin, Russian Defense Locations: Russia, St . Petersburg, Russia Africa, Central African Republic, Trezzini, Belarus, Asipovichy, Ukraine, Russian, Sudan, Libya, Mozambique, Syria, Soledar

Chicago wheat futures , a benchmark of global prices, have risen around 20% since Russia ended the deal on July 17. It's absolutely an important national security issue for a lot of these African countries," he said. Putin says Russia is expecting a record harvest this year and is ready to fill the gap for African countries by supplying grain both commercially and for free. Dizolele said, noting that Russia backed African countries at the U.N., had defence and security agreements with some of them and gave scholarships to their students. But Putin's response, when Ramaphosa and other African leaders presented the proposal to him last month, was to repeat a familiar list of accusations against Ukraine and the West.

Persons: Anton Vaganov, Putin, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Mvemba Dizolele, Samuel Ramani, RUSI, Dizolele, WAGNER, Cyril Ramaphosa, Ramani, Mark Trevelyan, Joe Bavier, Carien du, Tom Balmforth, Michelle Nichols, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Saint, REUTERS, Putin, Kremlin, U.S, Africa, Washington -, Strategic, International Studies, International Criminal Court, Treasury, Central African, Ukraine, South, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Russia, Africa, Saint Isaac's, central Saint Petersburg, Black, Russian, St Petersburg, Ukraine, Chicago, Washington, Turkey, Qatar, Moscow, United States, Kenya, Somalia, Central African Republic, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, West, London, Johannesburg, Carien du Plessis

☆ Putin 'just hid' during Wagner's mutiny, proving he can't guarantee 'security' for Russia, a former Russian colonel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Putin "just hid" during Wagner's mutiny, a former Russian colonel told The Washington Post. Chaos in Russian leadership left local authorities without direction during Prigozhin's rebellion. Gudkov told the Post that Putin's inaction during Yevgeny Prigozhin's 24-hour rebellion severely damaged his reputation with top Russian officials. That's left Putin appearing weak. One senior Moscow financier connected to Russian intel told the Post: "Russia is a country of mafia rules.

Persons: Putin, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Gennady Gudkov, Gudkov, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Prigozhin, Sergei Shoigu, Alexander Lukashenko, standdown, unsparingly, Prigozhin —, That's Organizations: Washington Post, Service, Russian Defense, Ukraine, Kremlin, Russian intel Locations: Russian, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Prigozhin, Belarus, Moscow, Russia

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