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And they clearly had little interest in helping Mr. Putin avoid a major, embarrassing fracturing of his support. While it is not clear exactly when the United States first learned of the plot, intelligence officials conducted briefings on Wednesday with administration and defense officials. Still, American officials concluded that Mr. Prigozhin’s public statements were not controlled by Mr. Putin. But it was only in recent days that intelligence officials got the initial warnings that Mr. Prigozhin might take action. President Biden, speaking in October, talked of the dangers that Mr. Putin would pose if he felt cornered and said the United States was looking for “off ramps” for Mr. Putin.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, Prigozhin’s, “, ”, Sergei K, Valery Gerasimov, Wagner ., Tatiana Stanovaya, Shoigu, Stanovaya, Gerasimov, Biden, Donald J, Trump Organizations: Wagner Group, United, CNN, United States, Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Associated Press, Intelligence, Russian, Ukrainian, Mr, Ministry of Defense, Defense Ministry, Carnegie Endowment, International Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, United States, Ukraine, St . Petersburg, Moscow, Belarus, United, U.S, Russian, Bakhmut, Wagner . Russia

In the war-torn Chechnya region, Mr. Kadyrov built up a private fiefdom while professing loyalty to no official but Mr. Putin himself. A judo sparring partner from Mr. Putin’s youth became a construction billionaire and built Mr. Putin’s landmark bridge to Crimea. And then there was Mr. Prigozhin, who has said that he met Mr. Putin in 2000 as a St. Petersburg restaurateur. In Ukraine, as Mr. Prigozhin tells it, Wagner troops were only called in after Mr. Putin’s initial invasion plan failed. But Mr. Putin seemed to vacillate on his own support for Mr. Prigozhin.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Putin’s, “, ”, —, “ Putin, Tatiana Stanovaya, ” Mr, Ramzan Kadyrov, Aleksandr G, Lukashenko, Mr, Wagner, tycoons, Boris N, Yeltsin, Kadyrov, Prigozhin’s, K.G.B, Donald J, Trump, Weeks, ’, Putin “, Andrei Soldatov, Prigozhin “, ” Mark Galeotti, ” Neil MacFarquhar, Valerie Hopkins Organizations: Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, ., Reuters, Federal Security Service, Kremlin, Television, Defense, Defense Ministry, Center for Locations: Russia, Moscow, Russian, Rostov, Chechnya, Belarus, Russia’s, Don, Ukraine, Putin’s, Crimea, St, Petersburg, United States, Syria, Africa, Ukrainian, Bakhmut

☆ Ukraine’s Western-Trained Brigades Begin to Enter the Fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Helene Cooper | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

They are fighting more effectively at night than their Russian counterparts, U.S. officials say. They are using American-made Bradley fighting vehicles to destroy Russian armor with anti-tank missiles. And they are deploying combined arms tactics — synchronized attacks by infantry, armor and artillery forces — that they learned from American and other Western troops. It is, finally, showtime for the 36,000 Ukrainian soldiers — nine brigades — that have been armed, equipped and trained outside of Ukraine over the past several months by the United States and its NATO allies. How these Western-trained troops perform over the next few months, military experts say, will help determine the success of Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive to push Russian forces out of occupied territory.

Persons: Bradley, Biden, — Organizations: showtime, NATO Locations: Ukraine, United States, Russian

☆ Secret Navy sensors detected a possible implosion around the time the Titan’s communications failed.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The U.S. Navy, using data from a secret network of underwater sensors designed to track hostile submarines, detected “an anomaly consistent with an implosion or explosion” in the vicinity of the Titan submersible at the time communications with the vessel were lost on Sunday, two senior Navy officials said on Thursday. But with no other indications of a catastrophe, one of the officials said, the search was continued. The data from the sensors was combined with information from airborne Navy P-8 surveillance planes and sonar buoys on the surface to triangulate the approximate location of the Titan, one of the officials said. The analysis of undersea acoustic data and information about the location of the noise were then passed on to the Coast Guard official in charge of the search, Rear Adm. John Mauger. Both of the Navy officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational details.

Persons: John Mauger, ” Organizations: U.S . Navy, Titan, Coast Guard

Here's what some Republican lawmakers are saying today about Trump:Sen. Lindsey Graham acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations of mishandling of classified documents laid out in the federal indictment of Donald Trump. Graham also invoked classified documents investigations into President Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Graham said he would continue to support Trump, but would not clarify if he'd keep supporting Trump should the former president be convicted. "I intend to support the president," Graham, adding he doesn't think the case will go to trial before the election. Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Republican from Missouri, attacked the Biden administration ahead of the arraignment of Trump this afternoon.

Persons: Steve Scalise, Francis Chung, Donald Trump, Sen, Lindsey Graham, Graham, Biden, Hillary Clinton, CNN's Manu Raju, Trump, Thom Tillis, “, ”, Tillis, Donald J, Chuck Grassley, ” Scalise, Scalise, Joe Biden's, Eric Schmitt, ” Trump, Schmitt, ” Schmitt Organizations: Republican, Trump, Presidential Records, Presidential, ”, United, Biden Locations: United States, Missouri, Trump

☆ Battles Rage as Ukraine Tries to Retake Russian-Occupied Territory
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Andrew E. Kramer | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Intense fighting raged across a wide swath of southeastern Ukraine for a second day on Friday, as Ukrainian forces attacked occupying Russian troops in multiple locations, while military analysts and U.S. officials cautioned that it was far too early to gauge the success of Kyiv’s offensive. Both sides were grappling with severe flooding caused by the destruction of a major dam on the Dnipro River, but east of there, the fierce combat indicated that Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive against the Russian invasion was underway, according to analysts and Western and Russian officials. Two senior U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, confirmed that Ukrainian troops had, as expected, suffered casualties and equipment losses in the early fighting, but said that classified assessments quantifying the losses were still being developed. There was no information available on Russian losses, but attackers typically suffer heavier initial casualties than dug-in defenders, and analysts warned that breaking through the Russian lines would be difficult and come at a high price.

Locations: Ukraine, Dnipro

☆ Ukraine Mounts Multiple Attacks on Russian Occupiers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Eric Schmitt | Andrew E. Kramer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Three senior U.S. officials, as well as military analysts, said that a long-awaited major Ukrainian counteroffensive appeared to be underway, after months spent mobilizing and training new units, and arming them with advanced Western weapons. A strong indication, they said, was the Ukrainians’ use in combat on Thursday of German Leopard tanks and American Bradley fighting vehicles. “Ukrainian forces have made some tactical gains and sustained losses.”The United States and other Ukrainian allies trained and equipped the nine brigades that were designed to lead Ukraine’s counteroffensive to recapture Russian-occupied land. Ukraine is widely expected to mount a multipronged assault along a front that arcs for hundreds of miles, focusing on a swath of the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions. Ukraine’s plans target specific areas to try to break through Russian lines, but can adjust to concentrate on those thrusts that prove most successful, U.S. officials said.

Persons: American Bradley, ”, Rob Lee Organizations: Kyiv, U.S, German Leopard, Foreign Policy Research Institute Locations: Zaporizhzhia, American, Ukraine, United States, Russian, Donetsk, U.S

A critical dam on the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine broke overnight on Tuesday, endangering tens of thousands of people who live downstream. Russia said that Ukrainian forces had carried out sabotage. Located near the front line of the war in the southern Kherson region, the dam and nearby infrastructure have been damaged by shelling throughout the war. The area including the dam and the adjacent hydroelectric plant has been occupied by Russian forces since last year. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine blamed “Russian terrorists,” while the Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, blamed Ukrainian forces, describing what happened as sabotage.

Persons: António Guterres, Nova Kakhovka, Volodymyr Zelensky, “, Dmitri S, Peskov, ” Natalia Humeniuk, Radio Svoboda, Sergei K, John F, Kirby, Ihor Syrota Organizations: The New York Times, Engineering, Radio, Kyiv, National Security Council, Russian, of Locations: Dnipro, Ukraine, Russia, Kherson, Nova, Ukrainian, Donetsk, United States, Russian, Antonivka, Zaporizhzhia, Crimea, Kakhovka, of Culture

During the first year of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Biden administration fretted constantly that if Kyiv hit back inside Russian borders, President Vladimir V. Putin would retaliate against not only Ukraine, but also possibly NATO and the West. As Ukraine’s counteroffensive edges closer, a series of bold attacks in Russia, from a swarm of drone attacks in Moscow to the shelling of towns in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine and an incursion into the country using American-made armored vehicles, have been greeted by the Biden administration with the diplomatic equivalent of a shrug. On Monday, fighters attacked at least 10 villages in the Belgorod region with heavy shelling, its governor said. Behind closed doors, senior administration officials have seemed even less fazed. “Look, it’s a war,” one senior Pentagon official said last Thursday.

Persons: Biden, Vladimir V, Putin, “ It’s, John F, Kirby, ” Organizations: Kyiv, NATO, National Security Council, Pentagon Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Belgorod, Ukrainian

Ukrainian forces have stepped up artillery strikes and ground assaults in a flurry of military activity that American officials suggested on Monday could signal that Kyiv’s long-planned counteroffensive against Russia had begun. The fighting, which began on Sunday, was raging along several points on the front line, but farther to the east of where many analysts had expected Ukraine’s counteroffensive to launch. The Russian Ministry of Defense said on Monday that a major Ukrainian operation had begun at five locations in the eastern Donetsk region and that it had repelled the assaults and inflicted casualties on Ukrainian forces. Ukraine’s deputy minister of defense, Hanna Malyar, said on the Telegram messaging app that Kyiv’s forces in some areas were “moving to offensive actions” in the war that began when Russia invaded its neighbor 15 months ago. But she stopped short of saying it was a decisive new phase in the war.

Persons: Hanna Malyar Organizations: Russian Ministry of Defense Locations: Russia, Azov, Crimea, Donetsk

☆ Ukraine’s Top Commander Signals Counteroffensive Could Be Imminent
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Marc Santora | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine’s top military commander signaled on Saturday morning that the nation’s forces were ready to launch their long-anticipated counteroffensive following months of preparations, including recently stepped-up attacks on logistical targets as well as feints and disinformation intended to keep Russian forces on edge. “It’s time to get back what’s ours,” Ukraine’s supreme military commander, Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, wrote in a statement. But General Zaluzhnyi offered no indication of where and when Ukrainian forces might try to break Russia’s hold on occupied territory. Other senior Ukrainian officials also suggested that the counteroffensive was imminent. Oleksiy Danilov, the head of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, told the BBC in an interview released on Saturday that Kyiv’s forces were “ready” and that a large-scale assault could come “tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week.”

President Biden told U.S. allies on Friday that he would allow Ukrainian pilots to be trained on American-made F-16 fighter jets, several U.S. officials said, adding that the president is prepared to let other countries give F-16s to Ukraine — a major upgrade of the Ukrainian military and a sharp reversal. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine 15 months ago, officials in Kyiv have pleaded for advanced warplanes to overcome Russian air superiority. But Mr. Biden has resisted, concerned that the jets could be used to hit targets deep inside Russia, and prompt the Kremlin to escalate the conflict. But several European countries that belong to the NATO alliance and have F-16s in their arsenals have called for an international effort to provide the training and transfer of their jets to Ukraine. Mr. Biden told other leaders of the Group of 7 nations, the world’s wealthiest democracies, of his decision on pilot training, opening a path to supplying Ukraine with fighter jets, at their summit meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, according to several officials who requested anonymity to speak candidly about sensitive deliberations.

The Biden administration has highlighted the program as one of its signature achievements in helping Ukraine battle Russian forces. Congress approved $14.5 billion in drawdown authority to last through the fiscal year, which ends on September 30. As of Wednesday, according to congressional aides, only $2.7 billion of that was left. The Biden administration has resisted the idea of approaching Congress to augment those authorities before the end of the fiscal year, according to lawmakers and congressional aides. Mr. Biden and his top aides have said they would support Ukraine until it won the war.

☆ The Latest Rift Among Ukraine’s Allies Is Whether to Send F-16s
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Lara Jakes | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A fresh push by Britain and the Netherlands to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter planes has exposed the latest fault line among Western allies who have wrangled repeatedly over sending powerful weapons of war, once again pitting a reluctant United States against some of its closest European partners. Several European allies are prepared to give their F-16s to Ukraine. But the Biden administration, which must approve any transfers of the American-made planes, remains unconvinced that Ukraine needs the expensive jets, which are a staple of many modern military arsenals. So deep is Washington’s skepticism that Kyiv’s pilots are currently not even allowed to train on the F-16s that are owned by European states, according to a senior Ukrainian official who spoke on condition of anonymity to frankly discuss the sensitive diplomatic issue. American reluctance to allow training would severely limit a proposed new European coalition to help Ukraine obtain and fly F-16s — whether in the current conflict or to protect against any future aggressions by Moscow after the West turns its focus from the 15-month war.

☆ Ukraine Says It Shot Down Hypersonic Russian Missiles Over Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Victoria Kim | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine’s air defense shot down six of the most sophisticated conventional weapons in Russia’s arsenal, hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, according to Ukrainian and American officials, during a barrage of missiles and drones aimed at Kyiv, the capital, on Tuesday. Russia’s Defense Ministry said at least one Kinzhal had hit an American-made Patriot system, the most advanced U.S. ground-based air-defense system, which Washington had delivered to Ukraine after its urgent requests to help defend against an onslaught of Russian missile and drone attacks. A statement from Ukraine’s Air Force did not specify whether the Patriot system had, in fact, been involved in shooting down Russian missiles in one of the largest aerial assaults by Moscow since early March. But two U.S. officials confirmed that a Patriot had been damaged, not destroyed, in the attack overnight Tuesday, an assessment initially reported by CNN. And one of the Americans confirmed that Ukraine had downed six Kinzhal missiles.

☆ Rules for Pentagon Use of Proxy Forces Shed Light on a Shadowy War Power
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Charlie Savage | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Pentagon also will not disclose a comprehensive list of partner forces and the countries in which they are operating. The documents obtained by The Times include directives for two programs that are named for the laws that authorize them. The Section 127e program, commonly called “127 Echo,” can spend up to $100 million a year on counterterrorism proxies. The Section 1202 program is authorized to spend up to $15 million a year on surrogates for irregular warfare. The rules lay out the process by which special operators propose developing a new partner force, which is ultimately up to the secretary of defense.

☆ Ted Cruz accused JD Vance of empowering 'the radical Green Movement' by aligning with Democrats on a bill to prevent rail disasters like the East Palestine crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Ethan Dodd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

JD Vance, a Republican senator from Ohio, proposed the Rail Safety Act in March. "All of us were moved by the testimony of the witnesses" from East Palestine, Cruz said. "We cannot undo the psychological, economic, and physical toll of the derailment in East Palestine," Vance noted, but "there will be another East Palestine in this country if we do not pass the Railway Safety Act." "I earnestly hoped that we would reach a bipartisan consensus," Cruz said, but "this bill is overly and needlessly prescriptive." Nonetheless, Cruz doubted the bill would pass the Senate with 60 votes, let alone the House.

☆ Taliban Kill Head of ISIS Cell That Bombed Kabul Airport
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — The Taliban have killed the leader of the Islamic State cell responsible for the suicide bombing at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, in August 2021 that killed 13 U.S. troops and as many as 170 civilians, four senior American officials said on Tuesday. The administration on Monday began calling relatives of the American troops who died in the attack to tell them that the leader of the terrorist cell had been killed by Taliban security forces in recent weeks. The American officials said that U.S. intelligence analysts became aware in early April that the mastermind of the attack, whom they declined to identify, had died in a Taliban operation in Afghanistan. It was unclear whether the Taliban were specifically targeting the insurgent or he was killed in one of the increasing number of attacks between Taliban and Islamic State fighters, the officials said. But the officials offered no evidence to support that conclusion or other details about his purported death.

NAIROBI, Kenya — It began with a helicopter evacuation of American diplomats from Sudan’s besieged capital city just after midnight Sunday, then turned into a full-fledged exodus of foreign officials and citizens of other nations as the battle raged around them. At the United States Embassy in Khartoum, an elite team of Navy SEALs ushered up to 90 people onto aircraft before taking off for Djibouti, 800 miles away. Hours later, a United Nations convoy began snaking its way out of the city, starting a 525-mile drive to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, while British and French diplomats were escorted to an airfield outside the city where military cargo planes were waiting. Other groups headed for Qadarif, a small town near the border with Ethiopia, and a boat chartered by Saudi Arabia carried its fleeing diplomats across the Red Sea. After days of fruitless diplomatic efforts to get two warring Sudanese generals to lay down their weapons, foreign governments took another tack this weekend: fleeing a country, long viewed as strategically important, that has been in the grip of intense fighting for over a week.

PinnedThe United States military airlifted embassy officials out of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, amid continuing violence as rival military leaders battled for control of Africa’s third-largest country, President Biden said late on Saturday. (Mr. Godfrey — the first U.S. ambassador to Sudan in a quarter-century — arrived in the country about eight months ago.) They had lived in the same apartment buildings as some American diplomatic staff and arrived together at the embassy, he said. “I am proud of the extraordinary commitment of our embassy staff, who performed their duties with courage and professionalism and embodied America’s friendship and connection with the people of Sudan,” Mr. Biden said. Credit... Ebrahim Hamid/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesU.S. officials have said that about 16,000 American citizens were living in Sudan, many of them dual nationals.

☆ End of an era: Netflix DVD subscribers mourn the service’s imminent demise
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Samantha Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But in 2007, Netflix began streaming content online, and gradually shifted the focus away from its original DVD business. Colin McEvoy is one of the holdouts still using Netflix's DVD service despite the mainstream adoption of streaming services. But I didn’t want it to end if I could help it.”Other DVD subscribers are hoping there may still be a happy ending. For now, at least, some DVD subscribers plan to focus on watching as many DVDs as they can before the service goes away. “I absolutely would not have been able to find all of those movies if not for the Netflix DVD service,” he said.

☆ Here are all of the Republican elected officials backing Trump's 2024 campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Bryan Metzger | Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Michael Burgess — the Texas congressman endorsed Trump in March after being named to the former president's campaign's Texas leadership team. Eli Crane — the Arizona freshman tweeted his support for Trump's 2024 bid the night of his announcement. Barry Moore — the Alabama congressman endorsed Trump in a radio interview in December, citing the former president's "experience level." 3 House Republican endorsed Trump days before his widely expected 2024 announcement in November. Roger Williams — the Texas congressman endorsed Trump in March after being named to the former president's campaign's Texas leadership team.

☆ We asked the GOP senators who've endorsed Trump for 2024 if an indictment might change their mind. They said it wouldn't.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Oma Seddiq | Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Trump may soon face an indictment in New York over a "hush-money" payment to Stormy Daniels. Insider asked all five GOP senators who back Trump in 2024 whether him being charged would alter their support. And Republican senators who have already endorsed his third White House bid appear to be sticking with him regardless. Schmitt, for his part, abruptly declined to comment when asked about the possibility of an indictment of Trump. Trump also recently suggested that an indictment could be politically beneficial for him — a notion that Tuberville agreed with on Thursday.

☆ Big tech was a major target at CPAC, but conservatives building alternatives are facing challenges
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Ben Goggin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., targeted big tech and the legal immunity companies enjoy under Section 230, which is currently being considered by the Supreme Court. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Co., said in her speech Saturday: "I have called for 230 protections to be removed from these big tech companies who are hiding behind section 230, and they are acting like editors rather than publishers." "The key was, could we build something that big tech couldn't tear down and couldn't stop?" But not all Big Tech was a target. LibsofTikTok creator Chaya Raichik criticized how big tech has treated her accounts while also boasting about her follower count on those platforms and promoting her book sold on Amazon.

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