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

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

☆ Prigozhin May Have Been Aboard a Crashed Plane
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Matthew Cullen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner private military company who staged a brief mutiny this summer against Russia’s military leadership, was listed as a passenger on a private jet that crashed today. The Russian state media agency posted a video showing a plane tumbling from the sky. The paint and a partial registration number visible on the aircraft aligned with a jet Prigozhin is known to use. Grey Zone, a Telegram account associated with the Wagner group, said that Prigozhin had been killed. U.S. officials said they also could not confirm whether Prigozhin had been killed in the crash or why the jet went down.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin Locations: Moscow, St, Petersburg, Russian, U.S

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

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

☆ White House says 'no one should be surprised' if Prigozhin actually died in a plane crash in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russian media said Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on a plane that crashed Wednesday. All 10 people on the business jet died, but it's unclear if the Wagner Group leader was actually on board. US officials said that if the reports of his death are confirmed, "no one should be surprised." If confirmed, no one should be surprised," White House National Security Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement shared with Insider. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe plane crash happened exactly two months after Prigozhin incited a short-lived mutiny against Russia's military leadership, setting off a series of high-level purges and internal power shifts.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, it's, Adrienne Watson, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Wagner Group, Service, National, US State Department Locations: Wall, Silicon, Moscow, St, Petersburg, Tver, Ukraine

☆ Russian mercenary chief Prigozhin dead, channel affiliated with Wagner says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of Russian private mercenary group Wagner, gives an address in camouflage and with a weapon in his hands in a desert area at an unknown location, in this still image taken from video possibly shot in Africa and published August 21, 2023. Courtesy PMC Wagner via Telegram via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is dead, a Telegram channel affiliated with his Wagner mercenary group reported on Wednesday. "The head of the Wagner Group, a Hero of Russia, a true patriot of his Motherland – Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin died as a result of the actions of traitors to Russia," a post in the Grey Zone channel said. Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on a private jet which crashed on Wednesday evening north of Moscow with no survivors, the Russian authorities said. Writing by Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Mark TrevelyanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, – Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin, Maxim Rodionov, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Wagner, Telegram, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Africa, Russia, Hell, Moscow

The study found more than 110 pro-Wagner accounts operating in more than a dozen languages across Meta’s platforms. Even if the accounts are not directly affiliated with the Wagner group, ISD said, the content they created still likely violates Meta’s terms. The ISD report, meanwhile, highlights how there may be additional violating content that Meta has not detected and removed. Of these pages, ISD wrote, “the most viewed post, a video with over 712,000 views, shows Wagner mercenary forces testing tank traps set up at a defensive line in Ukraine. These pages were also found to be luring Facebook users to Telegram with links to graphic content showing dead bodies.”

Persons: Russia’s Wagner, Meta, Wagner, Biden, ISD, Yevgeny Prigozhin —, —, “, Prigozhin, dehumanizing, ” Wagner, ” Organizations: CNN, Facebook, Strategic, ISD, Internet Research Agency, Washington, Meta, Meta’s Locations: London, Ukraine

☆ Lukashenko says Zelenskiy halted direct contacts between Ukraine and Belarus
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Aug 17 (Reuters) - There have been direct contacts between Ukraine and Belarus but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy put a halt to them, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said during an online interview broadcast on Thursday. loadingThe last such contact occurred a few months ago, he said during in the interview with Diana Panchenko, a pro-Russian Ukrainian journalist. According to Lukashenko the topics discussed included a potential Belarus involvement in the war on Russian side, potential use of nuclear weapons and Wagner Group mercenaries, now stationed in Belarus. But we had these contacts, we talked. Writing by Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Alexander Lukashenko, Diana Panchenko, Lukashenko, Maxim Rodionov, Sandra Maler Organizations: Wagner Group, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Belarus, Russian Ukrainian

[1/3] ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defense staff meet on the deployment of its standby force in the Republic of Niger, in Accra, Ghana. Niger military officers deposed President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 and have defied calls from the United Nations, ECOWAS and Western powers to reinstate him, prompting West African heads of state to order the standby force to be assembled. "Let no one be in doubt that if everything else fails, the valiant forces of West Africa...are ready to answer to the call of duty," ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Abdel-Fatau Musah said. Musah accused the Niger coup leaders of "playing cat-and-mouse" with ECOWAS by refusing to meet with its envoys and seeking justifications for their takeover of power. He said most of the bloc's 15 member states were prepared to participate in the standby force that could intervene in Niger.

Persons: Francis Kokoroko, Mohamed Bazoum, Security Abdel, Fatau Musah, Russia's Wagner, I'm, Omar Yaye, Musah, Bazoum, Anait Miridzhanian, Edward McAllister, Estelle Shirbon, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Chiefs, Defense, REUTERS, West, ECOWAS, United Nations, Political Affairs, Peace, Security, European Union, Media, Thomson Locations: Republic of Niger, Accra, Ghana, Niger, Niamey, ACCRA, NIAMEY, West Africa, Gambia, Liberia, Sahel, Mali, Niger's, France, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Cape Verde

☆ Niger says 17 of its soldiers killed in ambush near Burkina Faso border
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Moussa Aksar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"The swift reaction of the soldiers and the air-land response at the scene of the skirmish enabled the enemy to be dealt with," the ministry said. Niger hosts U.S., French, German and Italian troops as part of international efforts to combat the insurgency, under agreements with the now deposed civilian government. Insecurity remains a major problem across the southwest, near the border with Mali and Burkina Faso, both of which also have army governments that took control through coups. On the Malian side, the departure of French troops last year left a security vacuum that the Islamists have exploited. Mali's junta brought in mercenaries from Russia's Wagner group, who have been accused of executing civilians and committing other grave human rights abuses.

Persons: General Abdourahmane Tiani, Mohamed Bazoum, Tiani, Bazoum, Russia's Wagner, Wagner, Nellie Peyton, Anait Miridzhanian, Edward McAllister, Estelle Shirbon, Conor Humphries, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: West African States, ECOWAS, Islamic, United Nations, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: NIAMEY, Niamey, Burkina Faso, Niger, West Africa's, al Qaeda, Islamic State, U.S, Mali, Malian, France, Paris

☆ Lithuania closes two Belarus border crossings
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The government did not spell out the circumstances nor threats in its reasoning for closing from Friday the two rural crossing points, which were not used by commercial vehicles. Over the previous few weeks Lithuanian officials have discouraged its citizens from travelling to Belarus, a close Russian ally, setting up signs at the borders saying: "Do not risk your safety – do not travel to Belarus. Neighbouring Poland has closed all but one border crossing point with Belarus this year following the imprisonment of a journalist of Polish origin and expulsions of Polish diplomats. Poland announced plans last week to move 10,000 additional troops to the Belarus border to support existing guards. In 2021, Latvia, Poland and Lithuania faced an immigration crisis when thousands of people, mostly from the Middle East and Africa, began crossing from Belarus.

Persons: Andrius Sytas, Terje Solsvik, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Russian Wagner Group, Thomson Locations: VILNIUS, Lithuanian, Belarus, Russian, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, East, Africa

☆ Ukrainian POWs said Russians gave them electric shocks and starved them, often extracting false confessions to make it stop
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Former Ukrainian prisoners of war said they were beaten, shocked, and not given enough food by Russia. They told the BBC that many Ukrainians gave false confessions because of the beatings. A Ukrainian human-rights group told the BBC that Russia used apparent false confessions by Ukrainians against them in court. Other former prisoners of war who were at Taganrog told the BBC that prisoners of war there gave false confessions after they were threatened and intimidated. They also told the BBC they were not given enough food, inspected daily, beaten, given electric shocks, and interrogated.

Persons: Artem Seredniak, We'll, Seredniak, Serhii Rotchuk, Dmytro Lubinets Organizations: BBC, Service, Azov Regiment, United Nations, UN, Wagner Group, Washington Post Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Mariupol, Ukraine, Russia's, Taganrog, Russian, Ukrainian

☆ Wagner, infamous for brutality in Ukraine and a failed mutiny in Russia, is registered as an 'educational organization' in its new home
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Wagner Group has reportedly registered as an "educational organization" in Belarus. The embattled organization has been training soldiers in the Belarusian military for several weeks. Now, the mercenary group is registered as an "educational organization" in Belarus — its new home — as it trains the country's military. Information published by Belarus' Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs shows that Wagner registered as a company earlier this month, with the sole purpose of educational activities, according to multiple reports on Wednesday. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters at a briefing earlier this month, adding that "when it comes to Wagner Group, I think we all keep a close eye all of the time."

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russian Wagner, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Pat Ryder, Agnė Bilotaitė Organizations: Wagner, Service, Belarus ' Unified State, Entrepreneurs, Wagner Group, Russian, Belarusian Defence Ministry, REUTERS, Officials, Belarus ' Defense Ministry, Special Operations Forces, AP, Pentagon Press, Air Force, NATO, Belarus — Locations: Belarus, Belarusian, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Asipovichy, Russian, Brest, Africa, Officials Poland, Lithuania, Warsaw, Minsk, Poland

☆ Niger junta says open to talks as Putin, US stress peace
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Souleymane Ag Anara/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 15 (Reuters) - Niger's junta on Tuesday said that it was open to talks to resolve a regional crisis caused by last month's military coup, while Russia and the United States called for a peaceful resolution. Singh declined to call the takeover a coup but said it "certainly looks like an attempted coup." Military leaders in Mali and Burkina Faso have kicked out troops from former colonial power France and strengthened ties with Moscow. Putin has called for a return to constitutional order in Niger, while Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin welcomed the army takeover and offered his services. Support for Russia has appeared to surge in Niger since the coup, with junta supporters waving Russian flags at rallies and calling for France to disengage.

Persons: Mohamed Bazoum, Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine, Mahamat Deby, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Assimi Goita, Sabrina Singh, Joe Biden's, Singh, Bola Tinubu, Russia's Wagner, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Felix Onuah, Mahamat Ramadane, Idrees Ali, Nellie Peyton, John Stonestreet, Estelle Shirbon, Alexandra Hudson, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, West, Economic, West African States, ECOWAS, Islamic, Twitter, Military, Thomson Locations: Nigerien, Niamey, Niger, Russia, United States, Ghana, al Qaeda, Islamic State, West, Central Africa, Russian, West Africa's, Central Africa's, West Africa, Mali, Burkina Faso, France, Moscow, Bazoum, Western, U.S, Germany, Italy, Paris, Abuja, Chad, Washington

☆ Russian officers refused to collect the bodies of dead troops so the military wouldn't have to pay their families, convict soldier says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An ex-convict Russian soldier said officers in Putin's army refused to collect the dead bodies of fallen troops. The soldier told The New York Times that it let the Russian military dodge paying their families compensation. In an interview, the soldier who served in one of the Russian Ministry of Defense's convict units — who was identified as "Aleksandr" — told the Times he was ordered not to collect the bodies of his fellow troops. He told the Times that officers could register the men as "missing in action," meaning their families couldn't collect compensation for them being killed in battle. And last week, researchers with the BBC said they've identified more than 30,000 dead Russian soldiers by name, including 1,300 in the last two weeks alone.

Persons: Aleksandr, —, they've Organizations: New York Times, Service, The New York Times, Russian Ministry, Times, Western intel, BBC, Wagner Group, Russian Ministry of Defense Locations: Russian, Russia, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Western

☆ Opinion | The Deluge Facing Africa’s Leaders Is Going to Get Worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Alex De Waal | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

An uninterrupted swath of African countries from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea is now under military rule. Some of the putschists deposed elected leaders, like Niger’s president, Mohamed Bazoum. Others forestalled elections or even overthrew the leaders they had installed. Throughout much of Africa, citizens also overwhelmingly want democracy, but they get frustrated when elected leaders don’t deliver. When people do welcome a coup, it’s often because they see it as the path to a better elected government.

Persons: Mohamed Bazoum, Russia’s Wagner, can’t, don’t, it’s Organizations: African, Russia’s Wagner Group Locations: Mali, Guinea, Chad, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Niger, Washington, Brussels, London, Addis Ababa, African Union, Moscow, Africa

☆ Poland detains two Russians for distributing Wagner Group propaganda
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WARSAW, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Two Russians accused of disseminating propaganda on behalf of the Wagner mercenary group in two Polish cities have been arrested and charged with espionage, Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said on Monday. They fly-posted around 300 leaflets in Krakow and Warsaw, which were among around 3,000 pro-Wagner items of propaganda in their possession, the press office of the minister responsible for coordinating special services said in a statement. "Both were charged with espionage, among other things," Kaminski wrote on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Mercenaries of the Wagner Group have served as shock troops in Ukraine and are expanding their presence in West Africa. ($1 = 101.3925 roubles)Reporting by Pawel Florkiewicz; Editing by Toby Chopra and John StonestreetOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Wagner, Mariusz Kaminski, Kaminski, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Pawel Florkiewicz, Toby Chopra, John Stonestreet Organizations: WARSAW, Wagner Group, Prosecutors, Thomson Locations: Krakow, Warsaw, Ukraine, West Africa, Russian, Belarus, Poland

☆ A Ukrainian soldier captured by Russian forces says they played with him 'the way a cat plays with a mouse,' torturing him for fun instead of for information
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Ukrainian soldier captured by Wagner says they tortured him "the way a cat plays with a mouse." The soldier told The Washington Post about being a prisoner of war during the battle of Bakhmut. While captive, Mykhalchuk told The Post he noticed he wasn't being interrogated for battlefield information or intelligence like higher-ranking prisoners — instead, he was being tortured psychologically. "They tried to make us believe that we couldn't trust each other, and that it was a kill-or-be-killed situation," Mykhalchuk told The Post. "They were just playing with us, the way a cat plays with a mouse — when he catches it before he kills it."

Persons: Wagner, Wagner sloppily, —, Ilia Mykhalchuk, Mykhalchuk, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Washington Post, Service, 67th Mechanized Brigade, Wagner, Russian, Russian Federation Locations: Ukrainian, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine

☆ UK defence ministry: Kremlin may no longer fund Wagner Group
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A staff removes a logo on a window of the "PMC Wagner Centre", associated with the founder of the Wagner Group, in Saint Petersburg, Russia July 1, 2023. REUTERS/Anton VaganovAug 13 (Reuters) - Britain's defence ministry said on Sunday there was a realistic possibility that Russia no longer funds the activities of the mercenary Wagner Group. loadingThe defence ministry said in a daily bulletin the Russian state has acted against some other business interests of Wagner owner Yevgeny Prigozhin after he led a failed mutiny against the Russian army's top brass in June. "If the Russian state no longer pays Wagner, the second most plausible paymasters are the Belarusian authorities," it said, adding that this would be a drain on Belarus' resources. The ministry said the Wagner Group was moving towards downsizing and reconfiguring to save on staff salary expenses at a time of financial pressure.

Persons: Anton Vaganov, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Gokul, William Mallard Organizations: PMC, Wagner, REUTERS, Wagner Group, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, Russian, Belarusian, Belarus, Bengaluru

☆ Yevgeny Prigozhin: Where in the world is the Wagner warlord?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Nathan Hodge | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

It was a stark contrast to the fate of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner. Back in June, Prigozhin led the abortive mutiny that presented the biggest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin in over two decades of rule. Speaking after Wagner fighters relocated to Belarus, Prigozhin suggested he remained focused on this core African market. In a recent Telegram message, Prigozhin hinted that Wagner might be ready to offer its services there. “And this is the (the reason for the) love for PMC Wagner, this is the high efficiency of PMC Wagner.

Persons: Alexey Navalny, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ”, Prigozhin hasn’t, –, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Andrei Kelin, Kelin, “, ” Kelin, Vladimir, Kara, Murza, … Prigozhin, CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Candace Rondeaux, Rondeaux, it’s, ” Rondeaux, Mateusz Morawiecki, Morawiecki, ” Prigozhin, Sudan –, PMC Wagner, Mohamed Bazoum, Tatiana Stanovaya Organizations: CNN, Central African Republic, Kremlin, Amanpour, Putin’s, NATO, Polish, Wagner Group, PMC Wagner, PMC, Russian Foreign Ministry, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Putin Locations: Russian, Moscow, Russia, Africa, St . Petersburg, Orchestra_W, United Kingdom, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, America, Prigozhin, Putin’s Russia, Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Sudan, Libya, Niger, Putin Russia

☆ Opinion: Russia capitalizes on Niger coup while US stands idly by
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( David A. Andelman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Two weeks ago, a military junta suddenly deposed Niger’s pro-American, democratically elected president. Already at least one leader of the Niger junta has met with Wagner representatives in neighboring Mali, where Wagner has developed a firm presence. Given the stakes, the initial responses by those who support Niger’s ousted president have been ill-considered and anemic. But the Wagner-supported ruling juntas in two of Niger’s neighbors immediately pledged to join with Niger’s military in fending off any such invasion, calling it a “declaration of war” against them. All have been grounded since Niger’s junta declared the entire country a no-fly zone.

Persons: David A, Niger’s, David Andelman, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Mohamed Bazoum, Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, ECOWAS’s, didn’t, Bazoum, Germany —, Putin, Antony Blinken’s, Victoria Nuland Organizations: CNN, French Legion of, The New York Times, CBS News, American, David Andelman CNN, Central African, West African States, ECOWAS, Wall Street, US, African Union, NATO, Russian, Wagner Group, Faustin, Twitter, Niger’s Locations: United States, Africa, Russia, Niger, Mali, Central African Republic, Sudan, Burkina Faso, African, Niamey, Sahel, South Asia, Afghanistan, East, North Africa, France, Italy, Germany

☆ Prigozhin, Russia's Wagner Group leader, will be killed by Putin or lead another coup within 6 months, journalist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An investigative journalist predicted that the Wagner Group boss would either be killed or lead another coup. After an aborted mutiny, Yevgeny Prigozhin and many Wagner troops agreed to move to Belarus. A think tank said that Wagner troops were planning to return to Russia, suggesting the deal was collapsing. In six months, Prigozhin will either be dead, or there will be a second coup. The think tank said that Putin has "failed to decisively resolve" issues brought up by Prigozhin and Wagner following the rebellion.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Christo Grozev, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Prigozhin, Vladimir, Putin, Grozev, Alexander Lukashenko, ISW, Lukashenko Organizations: Wagner Group, Service, Financial Times, Bellingcat, for Locations: Belarus, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Moscow, Ukraine, Belarusian

☆ West African regional group weighs next steps on Niger
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Niger's junta supporters take part in a demonstration in front of a French army base in Niamey, Niger, August 11, 2023. REUTERS/Mahamadou HamidouDAKAR, Aug 12 (Reuters) - West African leaders were weighing their next moves on Saturday as they seek to overturn a military coup in Niger that has rocked the region but also triggered a groundswell of support in the country. The rally began at a French military base in the capital Niamey, then protesters with signs and flags spread onto surrounding streets. "Down with France.... Down with ECOWAS," referring to the Economic Community of West African States. It was not yet clear how long the ECOWAS force would take to assemble, how big it would be and if it would actually invade.

Persons: Mohamed Bazoum, Russia's, Human Rights Volker Turk, Edward McAllister, Ingrid Melander, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, ECOWAS, al, Islamic, Economic, West, Regional, African Union, European Union, United Nations, Human Rights, Thomson Locations: Niamey, Niger, DAKAR, West Africa, West, Central Africa, U.S, al Qaeda, Islamic State, Russia, France, Down, West African States, United States

☆ WSJ Opinion: The Musk vs. Zuckerberg Cage Fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Wsj Opinion | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WSJ Opinion: Donald Trump, Hunter Biden and the Rule of Law Wonder Land: At the center of the legal problems now engulfing Donald Trump and Hunter Biden is the refrain that no one is above the law. Wagner Group's Yevgeny Prigozhin offers the alternative: No rules. Images: AP/AFP/Getty Images Composite: Mark Kelly

Persons: Donald Trump, Hunter Biden, Wagner Group's Yevgeny Prigozhin, Mark Kelly Organizations: Getty

☆ Opinion | The Wagner Group Is Always Ready for a Coup
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Colin P. Clarke | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

But the nation’s successive elected governments were at least willing to cooperate with Washington, allowing the U.S. military to conduct regional counterterrorism activities. Washington has stopped short of calling the crisis a coup — a move that would require the United States to halt security and economic assistance. Wagner will be ready. Their operations have frequently resulted in the deaths of civilians, with credible accusations of sexual violence, torture and extrajudicial killings. Within days of Wagner’s aborted advance on Moscow, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said that Wagner’s African footprint would remain.

Persons: Jama’at Nusrat al, Barkhane, jihadists, Wagner, —, Al Qaeda, Bazoum, Prigozhin’s, Wagner’s, Sergei Lavrov, Prigozhin, Putin Organizations: U.S, United, Nigerien, Islamic, West, Central African, Kremlin Locations: Sahel, Africa, Islamic State, Greater Sahara, Haram, Islam, Niger, Washington, United States, America, Mali, Libya, Central African Republic, Sudan, Moscow, St . Petersburg

"Our drone base in Niger is extremely important in countering terrorism in the region," one of the U.S. officials said. FOREIGN ASSISTANCEThe Biden administration has not formally labeled the military takeover in Niger a coup, a designation that would limit what security assistance Washington can provide the country. The U.S. drone base has grown in importance due to a lack of Western security partners in the region. The drone base, known as airbase 201, was built near Agadez in central Niger at a cost of more than $100 million. Wagner's chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has welcomed the coup in Niger and said his forces were available to restore order.

Persons: Abdourahmane Tiani, Balima, Mohamed Bazoum, Russia's Wagner, Biden, Antony Blinken, Nusrat al, Cameron Hudson, Hudson, Terence McCulley, WAGNER, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Idrees Ali, Daphne Psaledakis, Simon Lewis, Michelle Nichols, Don Durfee, Deepa Babington Organizations: REUTERS, Nigerien, Islamic State, Al, West African, Center for Strategic, International Studies, United States Institute of Peace, Wagner Group, ., U.S, Thomson Locations: Niger, Niamey, United States, Sahel, Al Qaeda, France, Africa, insurgencies, Russia, China, Washington, U.S, Mali, Burkina Faso, Agadez, State, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Niger's, Nigerien

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