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☆ Putin has an invitation to visit Cuba, says Russian ambassador
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, July 3 (Reuters) - Russia's ambassador to Cuba said President Vladimir Putin had an invitation to visit the Communist-run island but that it was too early to talk about preparations for such a trip, the state RIA news agency said. "Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin) has an invitation, but I don't know how his plans will be lined up," Ambassador Viktor Koronelli told RIA. "The president of Cuba was in Moscow not long ago, in November of last year, so no real time has passed." Cuba had welcomed 66,000 tourists from Russia so far this year and Aeroflot's resumption of regular flights would probably mean a total of 100,000 Russian tourists visit the islands in 2023, Koronelli said. "I would like to say again that Russia can always rely on Cuba, all our aspirations and will," he told Putin, according to a Kremlin transcript.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich, Putin, Viktor Koronelli, Koronelli, Miguel Diaz, Canel, Raul Castro, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn Organizations: Communist, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Cuba, Moscow, Russia, Cuban

☆ Russia's Medvedev says standoff with West to last decades, Ukraine conflict 'permanent'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Medvedev, once seen in the West as a liberal moderniser, has emerged as one of Russia's most outspoken hawks since Moscow launched what it called a "special military operation" in Ukraine last year. A nuclear war was "quite probable" but was unlikely to have any winners, said Medvedev, who has repeatedly said Western support for Ukraine increases the chances of nuclear conflict. Medvedev said Moscow was still committed to stopping Ukraine join NATO. Given NATO's rule about not admitting countries entangled in territorial conflicts, he said the conflict with Ukraine could become "permanent" given its existential nature for Moscow. The only way to de-escalate tensions between Russia and the West was to enter into tough negotiations, he said.

Persons: Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's, Medvedev, Andrew Osborn, Guy Faulconbridge, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: NATO, LONDON, West, Security Council, Gazeta, Thomson Locations: Russia, Cuban, Moscow, Ukraine, Kyiv, United States

☆ Russia says it thwarted Ukrainian plot to kill Moscow-backed head of Crimea
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 3 (Reuters) - Russia's FSB security service said on Monday it had thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to assassinate Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-backed head of Crimea, arresting an agent before he could blow up Aksyonov's car. Russian media have reported that security has been stepped up in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and that additional checks are being made on crossings from Russia's southern Krasnodar region into Crimea. Footage broadcast on state TV showed masked FSB operatives detaining a man in a tracksuit as he walked into a wooded area. The FSB did not name the man, who it said was in his mid-30s and had entered Crimea in June. Aksyonov thanked the FSB and said he was sure the individuals who ordered the assassination would be found and punished.

Persons: Sergei Aksyonov, Ukraine's, Aksyonov, Andrew Osborn, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Crimea, Ukraine, Russia, Russia's, Krasnodar, Ukrainian, Simferopol

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov referred questions about Surovikin to the defence ministry, which has so far made no statement about him. Asked by reporters if the Kremlin could clarify the situation with Surovikin, Peskov said: "No, unfortunately not. "So I recommend that you contact the defence ministry; this is its prerogative." Questions about "structural units within the ministry," Peskov said, should be addressed to the defence ministry. The Kremlin said Putin also chaired a meeting about the development of tourism in the region.

Persons: Wagner, Prigozhin, Sergei Surovikin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Surovikin, Dmitry, Peskov, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Mikhail Gorbachev, Russia's, PUTIN, Alexander Lukashenko, Andrei Kartapolov, Kartapolov, Guy Faulconbridge, Alexander Marrow, Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: General Staff, Kremlin, Reuters, Thomson Locations: St Petersburg MOSCOW, Ukraine, Russian, Soviet, Kala, Moscow, St Petersburg, Russia, Belarus, Concord

☆ Analysis: Where are Russia's top generals? Rumours swirl after mercenary mutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Valery Gerasimov, Russia's top general, has not appeared in public or on state TV since the aborted mutiny on Saturday when mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin demanded Gerasimov be handed over. Gerasimov, 67, is the commander of Russia's war in Ukraine, and the holder of one of Russia's three "nuclear briefcases," according to some Western military analysts. Rybar, an influential channel on the Telegram messaging application run by a former Russian defence ministry press officer, said a purge was underway. Surovikin, Gerasimov's deputy, was last seen on Saturday when he appeared in a video appealing to Prigozhin to halt his mutiny. He had been spoken of by Russian war correspondents as a potential future defence minister.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, Mikhail Kuravlev, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Gerasimov, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Rybar, Wagner, Prigozhin, Michael Kofman, Viktor Zolotov, Shoigu, Alexei Venediktov, vilifying Shoigu, Andrew Osborn, Mike Collett, White, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Staff of Russian Armed Forces, Defence Ministry Board, Sputnik, REUTERS, LONDON, New York Times, Wednesday, Moscow Times, Reuters, Russian Armed Forces, Carnegie Endowment, Twitter, National Guard, Moscow, Tuesday, Western, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Kremlin, Ukraine, Russian, Ukrainian, Moscow's, Chechnya, Syria

MOSCOW, June 28 (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he persuaded Russian President Vladimir Putin not to "wipe out" mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, in response to what the Kremlin cast as a mutiny that pushed Russia towards civil war. While describing his Saturday conversation with Putin, Lukashenko used the Russian criminal slang phrase for killing someone, equivalent to the English phrase to "wipe out". "I also understood: a brutal decision had been made (and it was the undertone of Putin's address) to wipe out" the mutineers, Lukashenko told a meeting of his army officials and journalists on Tuesday, according to Belarusian state media. Later Lukashenko told his military that "people fail to understand that we are approaching this in a pragmatic way ... Prigozhin halted what he called was "march of justice" on Moscow from the southern city of Rostov-on-Don within 200 kilometres of the capital after Lukashenko's intervention.

Persons: Alexander Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, Prigozhin, Lukashenko, Sasha, Wagner, They've, Guy Faulconbridge, Lidia Kelly, Nick Starkov, Andrew Osborn, Peter Graff Organizations: Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russian, Russia, Belarus, Kremlin, Belarusian, Moscow, Rostov, Melbourne

☆ Where are Russian generals Gerasimov and Surovikin after Wagner rebellion?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Absent from view too is General Sergei Surovikin, nicknamed "General Armageddon" by the Russian press for his aggressive tactics in the Syrian conflict, who is deputy commander of Russian forces in Ukraine. Rybar, an influential channel on the Telegram messaging application run by a former Russian defence ministry press officer, said a purge was underway. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov attend an annual meeting of the Defence Ministry Board in Moscow, Russia, December 21, 2022. Dara Massicot, an expert in the Russian military at the RAND Corporation think-tank, said that something looked odd about the video, in which Surovikin has an automatic weapon on his lap. "Surovikin (is) a brute but also one of the more capable Russian commanders," Freedman said on Twitter.

Persons: Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Vladimir Putin, Valery Gerasimov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Gerasimov, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Dmitry Peskov, Wagner, Rybar, Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, Mikhail Kuravlev, Prigozhin, Michael Kofman, Viktor Zolotov, Shoigu, Dara Massicot, He’s, he’s, Alexei Venediktov, vilifying Shoigu, Lawrence Freedman, Freedman, Andrew Osborn, Mike Collett, White, Lisa Shumaker, Angus MacSwan, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: New York Times, Wednesday, Staff, Reuters, Moscow Times, Staff of Russian Armed Forces, Defence Ministry Board, Sputnik, REUTERS, Carnegie Endowment, Twitter, National Guard, Moscow, Tuesday, RAND Corporation, Western, King's College London, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Surovikin, Russia, Russian, Moscow, Ukrainian, Kremlin, Moscow's, Lefortovo, Chechnya, Syria

☆ Analysis: Belarus leader, long the supplicant, feted in Russia after mutiny role
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speak during a meeting at the Bocharov Ruchei residence in Sochi, Russia June 9, 2023. It was Lukashenko, according to his own narrative and Putin, who played a major role in ending a mutiny that threatened to destabilise the world's largest nuclear power. "Without Putin's support, the Lukashenko regime will not be able to survive," exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said on Twitter. High-profile Russian state TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov said Lukashenko deserved to be made a Hero of Russia and Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, on Tuesday lavished praise on the Belarusian leader. Independent Belarusian media outlet Zerkalo (the Mirror), which monitored Belarusian state TV coverage of Lukashenko's role, cited presenter Yevgeny Pustovoi as saying that Minsk was becoming "the peacemaker of Slavic civilisation".

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, Russia's Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Lukashenko, Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, you'll, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Vladimir Solovyov, Russia, Dmitry Peskov, Yevgeny Pustovoi, Zerkalo, Andrew Osborn, Mike Collett, White, Alex Richardson Organizations: Belarusian, Sputnik, REUTERS LONDON, Twitter, Russia's, Duma, NATO, Independent, Thomson Locations: Sochi, Russia, Kremlin, defusing, Belarusian, Moscow, Soviet, Belarus, Independent Belarusian, Minsk

☆ New Tours Mean No More FOMO for Plus-Size Travelers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Carla Sosenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

“But you can count on me inserting myself between the group and the gaze. In addition to body inclusion, the Stellavision trip to southern Italy (July 15 to 29, $5,650) focuses on hyperlocal tourism, as well as woman-owned businesses. For Sara Courson, who traveled with the 2022 group, that was the main draw — but the size-inclusive aspect was the clincher. On the Stellavision trip — which will run again in the summer of 2024, as will a new size-inclusive Italy trip with a route and an itinerary to be determined — there is no specifically body-focused programming. “There were therapy-adjacent-type tools,” said Ms. Courson, “but we’re not sitting around talking every meal about what it’s like in our lives.”

Persons: ” Zoe Shapiro, NAAFA, ”, Tigress Osborn, Jeff Jenkins, Jenkins, Sara Courson, “, she’d, Courson, we’re Organizations: Stellavision, Geographic Locations: Italy, ”

☆ Russia's Putin thanks those Wagner fighters who helped avoid bloodshed
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MOSCOW, June 26 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday made a statement to the nation about Saturday's aborted armed mutiny in which he thanked Wagner mercenary fighters and commanders who had stood down to avoid bloodshed. Putin said he would honour his promise to allow Wagner fighters to relocate to Belarus if they wanted, or to sign a contract with the Defence Ministry or simply return to their families. He made no mention of mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led the mutiny. Reporting by Reuters Writing by Andrew Osborn Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Andrew Osborn, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Monday, Defence Ministry, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Belarus

June 26 (Reuters) - Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu appeared for the first time since a deal was struck on Saturday to end what the authorities had called an armed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group aimed at ousting him. In a video released on Monday morning by the Russian Defence Ministry, Shoigu was shown flying in a plane with a colleague and hearing reports at a command post run by Russia's Zapad (West) military grouping. There was no sound on the video and it was not immediately clear where or when the visit had taken place. [1/5]Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visits the advanced control post of Russian troops involved in Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unknown location, in this picture released June 26, 2023. Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERSGerasimov has not been seen since in public, and there was no word from the Kremlin about any new personnel changes when it described the deal which had ended the mutiny.

Persons: Sergei Shoigu, Wagner, Shoigu, Russia's Zapad, General Yevgeny Nikiforov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Valery Gerasimov, Prigozhin, REUTERS Gerasimov, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, Andrew Osborn, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: Russian Defence, Russian Defence Ministry, Russia's Zvezda Defence Ministry TV Channel, General Staff, REUTERS, Kremlin, Zvezda, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Belarus

☆ Kremlin releases first video statement by Putin since Wagner mutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Russian President Vladimir Putin gives an emergency televised address in Moscow, Russia, June 24, 2023. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin via REUTERS/File photoMOSCOW, June 26 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday issued via the Kremlin website his first statement since an armed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group, congratulating participants of an industrial forum. It was not immediately clear when or where Putin's statement was recorded. Putin made a national address to the Russian people on Saturday condemning the mutiny by Wagner mercenaries as a "stab in the back" and vowing to crush it. Reporting by Reuters Editing by Andrew Osborn and Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones Organizations: Sputnik, REUTERS, Kremlin, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Kremlin, MOSCOW, Belarus

"Those who destroyed our lads, who destroyed the lives of many tens of thousands of Russian soldiers, will be punished. He later said his men had been involved with clashes with regular army soldiers and had shot down a helicopter. The video showed him telling the generals: "We have arrived here, we want to receive the chief of the general staff and Shoigu. Army Lieutenant-General Vladimir Alekseyev - who was later to appear with Prigozhin in the video from Rostov-on-Don - issued a video appeal asking Prigozhin to reconsider his actions. An unverified video on a Telegram channel close to Wagner showed the purported scene of an air strike against Wagner forces.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Yulia Morozova, Moscow, Prigozhin, Putin, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Reuters Wagner, Shoigu, Dmitry Peskov, Sergei Sobyanin, Joe Biden, Putin's, Vladimir Alekseyev, Sergei Surovikin, Andrew Osborn, Kevin Liffey, Daniel Wallis, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, Russian Defence, General Staff, Reuters, Don, Southern Military District, Prigozhin, Wagner, Moscow, Russian Federation, PMC, Private Military Company, Russian Ministry of Defence, Defence Ministry, Thomson Locations: Russian, St Petersburg, Moscow, Russia, Rostov, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Voronezh, Bakhmut, Washington , U.S, European Russia

☆ Prigozhin says he and his men won't turn themselves in
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MOSCOW, June 24 (Reuters) - Mutinous Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday that he and his men would not turn themselves in on the orders of President Vladimir Putin. "The president makes a deep mistake when he talks about treason. We are patriots of our motherland, we fought and are fighting for it," Prigozhin said in an audio message. "Nobody is going to turn themselves in and confess at the order of the president, the FSB (security service) or anyone else. Reporting by Reuters Editing by Andrew OsbornOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Prigozhin, Andrew Osborn Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russian

☆ Chechen leader offers to help put down Wagner mutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, June 24 (Reuters) - Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Saturday his forces were ready to help put down a mutiny by Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and to use harsh methods if necessary. Kadyrov in a statement posted on Telegram called Prigozhin's behaviour "a knife in the back" and called on Russian soldiers not to give in to any "provocations." He said that Chechen units were moving towards the "zones of tension" and would act to "preserve Russia's units and defend its statehood". Kadyrov, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin who commands extensive military forces in Chechnya, had previously been seen as a Prigozhin ally, sharing some of the Wagner boss's criticisms of the Russian military hierarchy. In recent weeks, however, Chechen commanders aligned with Kadyrov had begun criticising Prigozhin's regular outbursts against the defence ministry.

Persons: Ramzan Kadyrov, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Kadyrov, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin's, Andrew Osborn Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Chechnya

☆ Mutinous Russian mercenary boss turn his fighters back from Moscow to avoid bloodshed
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, June 24 (Reuters) - Mutinous Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday he had ordered his fighters advancing on Moscow in convoy to turn around and return to their bases to avoid bloodshed. Prigozhin had earlier said that he wanted to oust the army's top brass and "restore justice". In an audio message released by his press service, Prigozhin said:"They wanted to disband the Wagner military company. In this time we did not spill a single drop of our fighters' blood. Understanding responsibility [for the chance] that Russian blood will be spilled on one side, we are turning our columns around and going back to field camps as planned."

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, Wagner, Andrew Osborn, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Wagner, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russian, Moscow

☆ Russian mercenary boss Prigozhin to move to Belarus under Wagner deal, Kremlin says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] 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. REUTERS/Alexander ErmochenkoMOSCOW, June 24 (Reuters) - Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin will move to Belarus under a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to end an armed mutiny that Prigozhin had led against Russia's military leadership, the Kremlin said on Saturday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Lukashenko had offered to mediate, with Russian President Vladimir Putin's agreement, because he had known Prigozhin personally for around 20 years. Although Putin had earlier vowed to punish those who participated in the mutiny, Peskov said the agreement had had the "higher goal" of avoiding confrontation and bloodshed. Prigozhin had earlier demanded that Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov be handed over to him.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexander Ermochenko MOSCOW, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Dmitry Peskov, Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin's, Peskov, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Kevin Liffey, Andrew Osborn Organizations: Southern Military, REUTERS, Belarusian, Russia's, Kremlin, Fighters, Defence Ministry, Staff, Russian Defence Ministry, Russian Federation, Thomson Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, Belarus

☆ Belarus says Russian mercenary boss Prigozhin has agreed to de-escalate situation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, June 24 (Reuters) - The office of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Saturday that he had brokered a deal with mutinous Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin who had agreed to de-escalate the situation. The announcement, carried on the official Telegram channel of the Belarusian presidency, said Prigozhin had agreed to halt the further movement of Wagner fighters across Russia. The Kremlin later confirmed a deal had been struck and that Prigozhin would have all charges against him dropped and move to Belarus. As a result, they came to an agreement on the inadmissibility of unleashing a bloodbath on the territory of Russia. Yevgeny Prigozhin accepted the offer of President Alexander Lukashenko to stop the movement of Wagner's armed men on Russian territory and to take further steps to de-escalate tensions."

Persons: Alexander Lukashenko, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Wagner, Andrew Osborn Organizations: Kremlin, Wagner PMC, Reuters, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russian, Russia, Moscow, Belarus, Belarusian

☆ Rebel Russian mercenaries halt advance on Moscow, Kremlin says fighters to face no action
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

On Saturday night, they began withdrawing from the Rostov military headquarters they had seized, a Reuters witness said. EX-CONVICTS IN WAGNER RANKSThe fighters led by Prigozhin, a former convict, include thousands of ex-prisoners recruited from Russian jails. Residents of the city had milled about calmly, filming on mobile phones as Wagner fighters in armoured vehicles and battle tanks took up positions. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said an offensive was launched near a group of villages ringing Bakhmut, which was taken by Wagner forces in May after months of fighting. Tarnavskiy said the area had been under Russian control since separatist forces backed by Moscow seized it in 2014.

Persons: Prigozhin, Belarus Wagner, Vladimir Putin's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, Wagner, Dmitry Peskov, Alexander Lukashenko, Peskov, Lukashenko, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Mark Milley, Hanna Maliar, Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, Tarnavskiy, Andrew Osborn, Kevin Liffey, Peter Graff, Frank Jack Daniel, Giles Elgood, Frances Kerry, Alexander Smith, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Kremlin, Reuters, Belarus, Defence Ministry, Russia's Southern Military District, Residents, Deputy, Thomson Locations: Belarus, Rostov, ROSTOV, VORONEZH, Russia, Russian, Moscow, Ukraine, Bakhmut, France, Germany, Britain, East, UKRAINE, Krasnohorivka, Donetsk

☆ Some Muscovites fearful or shocked as city braced for mutinous mercenaries
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin had said he wanted to oust the army's top brass and "restore justice", while Putin had promised to crush the mutiny. One Moscow resident who gave his name as Nikolai - declining like others to give his surname - watched the military take up positions to protect the city. It's really tough news, really unexpected. I've just done my last exam - and the news was really unexpected as I was prepping (for the exam) last night," said Vladimir, a student. I have an event going on now, so I could lose out because of this," he said.

Persons: Sergei Sobyanin, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, I've, Vladimir, Galina, Andrew Osborn, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Moscow, Reuters, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Moscow

☆ Wagner mercenary chief says Russia's war in Ukraine based on lies
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"The war was needed ... so that Shoigu could become a marshal ... so that he could get a second 'Hero' [of Russia] medal. The war wasn't needed to demilitarise or denazify Ukraine." There was no immediate response from the Defence Ministry, which has ignored previous complaints from Prigozhin, in public at least. Putin has, however, backed a Defence Ministry order, which Prigozhin opposes, that mercenary groups like Wagner must sign contracts putting themselves under ministry control by July 1. Portraying the top brass as vodka- and cognac-swilling fools who lunch on caviar, he alleged the Russian war effort was being hobbled by corruption.

Persons: Putin, oligarchic, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Prigozhin, PUTIN Wagner, Russia's, Vladimir Putin, Volodymr Zelenskiy, Andrew Osborn, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Defence Ministry, NATO, Kyiv, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Ukraine's, Moscow, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Prigozhin

It called on the Wagner private military company forces to ignore his orders and arrest him. Wagner fighters had entered the southern Russian city of Rostov, Prigozhin said in an audio recording posted on Telegram. Prigozhin earlier said, without providing evidence, that Russia's military leadership had killed a huge number of his troops in an air strike and vowed to punish them. 'OBEY PRESIDENT,' GENERAL SAYSThe deputy commander of Russia's Ukraine campaign, General Sergei Surovikin, told Wagner fighters to obey Putin, accept Moscow's commanders and return to their bases. Tarnavskyi said Russian forces had lost hundreds of men and 51 military vehicles in the past 24 hours, including three tanks and 14 armoured personnel carriers.

Persons: Wagner, Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner fighters, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Hanna Maliar, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Russia's, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Vladimir Alekseyev, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, Tarnavskyi, Cynthia Osterman, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Kremlin, TASS, White, GENERAL, Friday, Guardian, British, Defence Forces, Reuters, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, KYIV, Russian, Russia, Ukraine, Prigozhin, Rostov, Moscow, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, UKRAINE, Kherson, Tavria

[1/3] A view shows the damaged Chonhar bridge connecting Russian-held parts of Ukraine's Kherson region to the Crimean peninsula, following what Russian-appointed officials say was a Ukrainian missile attack, in this picture released June 22, 2023. Russian-installed leader of the Kherson region... Read moreJune 22 (Reuters) - Ukrainian missiles struck the Chonhar road bridge connecting Crimea with Russian-held parts of the southern Kherson region overnight, forcing traffic to be diverted to a different route, Russian-appointed officials said on Thursday. The so-called "gate to Crimea", known by Russians with a different spelling as the Chongar Bridge, is one of a handful of links between Crimea - which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014 - and mainland Ukraine. It is on a route used by the Russian military to move between Crimea and other parts of Ukraine under its control. A link between the Kherson region and Crimea continues to operate - a reserve route has been temporarily organised for vehicular traffic."

Persons: Read, Vladimir Saldo, Saldo, Sergey Aksyonov, Tom Hogue, Simon Cameron, Moore, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Russian, Moscow, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine's Kherson, Ukrainian, Kherson, Crimea, Moscow, Ukraine, Kyiv

☆ Russian mercenary boss accuses top brass of Ukraine battlefield cover-up
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary Mercenary chief escalates feud with Defence MinistryPrigozhin accuses ministry of lying to PutinDefence Ministry ignores the broadsideJune 22 (Reuters) - Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin added fuel to his feud with the top brass on Thursday, accusing them of lying to President Vladimir Putin and the Russian people about the scale of Russian losses and setbacks in Ukraine. Prigozhin, whose Wagner private militia spearheaded the Russian capture of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut last month, is resisting an order for mercenary groups like his to sign contracts with the Defence Ministry before July 1. Prigozhin portrays Wagner as Russia's most effective fighting force, and has enjoyed unusual freedom to publicly criticise Moscow - albeit not Putin, on whose support he and Wagner ultimately depend. There was no immediate response from the Defence Ministry, which has ignored previous complaints, in public at least. Ukraine for its part has reported modest advances, which President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says have been "slower than desired".

Persons: Defence Ministry Prigozhin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin, Wagner, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Andrew Osborn, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Defence Ministry, Putin Defence Ministry, General Staff, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Moscow, Russia, Crimea

☆ Russia says it downed three Ukrainian drones in Moscow region
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 21 (Reuters) - Russian air defences downed three drones in the Moscow region on Wednesday, the Defence Ministry said, in what it called an attempted Ukrainian attack. The ministry said Russian defences had used electronic jamming to cause the drones to lose control and crash, without causing any casualties or damage. Reuters could not independently verify details of the incident or determine who had launched the drones. Moscow regional governor Andrei Vorobyov said two of the drones in Wednesday's incident were intercepted as they approached military warehouses. Self-styled partisan groups have reported frequent attacks on Russian rail infrastructure, sometimes resulting in derailments, during the 16 months since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Persons: Andrei Vorobyov, Sergei Aksyonov, Lidia Kelly, Felix Light, Mark Trevelyan, Andrew Osborn, Peter Graff Organizations: Defence Ministry, TASS, Taman Division, Russia's, Forces, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Kalininets, Russian, Crimea, Feodosia, derailments, Russia

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