Wagner caper fallout continues in Russia on several elevels politically and militarily …..
Ukraine works on bomb shelters readiness ….
US to rush more combat vehicle’s to replace those lost in the current offense…..
Belarus now has a exciled Russian milita boss and his thousands of troops inside it’s borders…..
Hmmmmm?
And?
It’s reported that Russia paid the Wagner Group over a Billion Dollars last year…..
What will they get THIS year?
Putin pays a visit outside Moscow…..
The Ukraine makes slow gains in the South Russian occupied area’s….
Addressing a New York Times report that a senior Russian general had advance knowledge of the mutiny, raising the possibility of support for the uprising inside the top ranks of the military, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, described it as “speculations” and “gossip.” But Mr. Peskov’s curt response did not deny The Times’s reporting or include an expression of the Kremlin’s confidence in the general.
U.S. officials are still trying to learn whether the general, Sergei Surovikin, a former top commander of Moscow’s forces in Ukraine who holds significant support in the Russian military, helped plan the mutiny led by Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the Wagner mercenary group’s leader. If General Surovikin is determined to have been involved, it will pose serious questions for Mr. Putin about how to respond.
Here are other developments:
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Rescuers combed through rubble in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on Wednesday as the death toll from a Russian missile strike on a popular restaurant climbed to 11, the Ukrainian police said. Dozens of people were injured in the latest major strike on the city, which has suffered several deadly attacks by Russian forces during the war.
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Three days after calling off his Wagner forces’ advance on Moscow, Mr. Prigozhin reportedly arrived in neighboring Belaruson Tuesday as part of an agreement that secured his amnesty in exchange for exile. President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus said that Mr. Putin had entertained the possibility of killing Mr. Prigozhin. But the Belarusian leader, a loyal Putin ally, said he had talked Mr. Putin out of doing so, while also warning Mr. Prigozhin that Mr. Putin could “squash him like a bug.”
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The Pentagon said it was sending an additional $500 million in weapons to Ukraine, including 55 Bradley and Stryker armored vehicles, and equipment for clearing minefields.
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The authorities in Kyiv announced a new, high-tech bomb shelter system, including automatic doors and digital keypads, as officials in the Ukrainian capital sought to address criticism after three people were killed this month by a missile at the doorway of a locked shelter…..
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Russian state media outlets on Wednesday evening shared images of crowds greeting Putin in the city of Derbent, in Russia’s southern Dagestan region, where he is visiting to discuss “tourism development” in the North Caucasus region, the Kremlin said. Putin, who has rarely been seen outside of his residences since the coronavirus pandemic, briefly interacted with the crowd in a cordoned-off area on one of the city’s main streets as he wrapped up a sightseeing tour. “Residents of Derbent enthusiastically greeted Putin,” Russian state media outlets reported of the appearance, an apparent effort to demonstrate public support.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
- Putin’s appearance in Derbent appeared to echo images from Prigozhin’s send-off in Rostov-on-Don following his failed mutiny over the weekend, with people cheering him on as he drove away in the night. The Kremlin has since sought to cement the narrative that Russians have rallied to Putin.
- Rescuers in Kramatorsk continued to search for survivors in the rubble Wednesday. Video from the scene showed buildings with blown-out walls and windows and bloodied people on the ground. The injured included an 8-month-old, Ukrainian officials said. The pizza restaurant was frequented by members of the military and foreign journalists. Ukrainian police said the restaurant was hit by an Iskander missile.
- On Wednesday, Russia’s Prosecutor General declared the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta Europe, based in Riga, Latvia, an “undesirable organization,” making it a crime for any Russian in the country or abroad to work for or cooperate with it.
- Russian forces shelled the eastern city of Chuhuiv on Wednesday morning, killing three people, Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Synyehubov said. In a Telegram message, Synyehubov said the three men died instantly in the explosion. Emergency services continue to work at the scene, he said.
- Ukraine has retaken 50 square miles in the country’s south from entrenched Russian forces, The Post reported. The pace of the counteroffensive is slower than desired, Zelensky has said, adding that an operation against an adversary with a deeper arsenal and a far larger force shouldn’t be expected to unfold at an action-movie pace. Ukrainian forces are facing extensive minefields that Kyiv says amount to more than 77,000 square miles.
- The Kreminna Forest in the Luhansk region is now one of the most dangerous spots on the front line, with the fighting driven by Russia — unlike the fronts where Ukraine is mounting its counteroffensive, The Post reported. Ukrainian fighters said the side that is attacking or defending can vary day-to-day or even hour by hour.
- Addressing Ukraine’s parliament on the nation’s Constitution Day — marking the day the nation’s constitution was adopted in 1996 — Zelensky appealed for Ukraine’s full acceptance into NATO. He said Ukraine is already a donor of moral strength. “Anyone who cooperates effectively with Ukraine becomes a co-defender of the international order and universal values,” he said. “Because Ukraine is a country of strength … NATO will guarantee security for Ukraine, and our Defense and Security Forces will guarantee security and protection for other NATO members.”
- Moscow distanced itself from Wagner’s military activities in Africa, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Wednesday that Russia has “absolutely nothing to do with” them. He said Russia will continue to cooperate militarily with the Central African Republic, including through the deployment of “military advisers.” Since Wagner’s rebellion, there has been growing unease in Mali and the Central African Republic, where leaders rely on Wagner support to bolster their hold on power.
- Lukashenko claimed Tuesday that Prigozhin arrived in Belarus, the country’s state-run news agency reported. Flight data showed a Russian-registered jet linked to the Wagner leader flying into Minsk, the Belarusian capital.
- Lukashenko offered the Wagner Group an abandoned military base and said he welcomed the battlefield experience that its commanders could bring to Belarus.According to Belarusian state media, he said Wagner commanders could help Belarus by sharing their experience from Ukraine. “We will help in any way we can,” he said, “until they decide what to do.” After the mutiny, Putin said Wagner fighters could move to neighboring Belarus, return home or sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry to join the army.
- The Wagner Group received more than $1 billion over the past year from the Russian government, Russia’s state-owned Tass news agency reported Tuesday. Putin said the funds were for paying fighters’ salaries, incentives and insurance. He also said Wagner’s owner, the Concord company, received just under $1 billion to supply food to the army. The comments were a break from previous Kremlin efforts to disavow state links to Wagner and obscure the cost of the war in Ukraine.
- Polish President Andrzej Duda and his Lithuanian counterpart, Gitanas Nauseda, traveled to Kyiv onWednesday morning. They met with Zelensky to discuss next month’s NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital as well as the progress of Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
- Russia has arbitrarily detained hundreds of people in occupied Ukraine during its invasion, according to a reportfrom the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. The office documented 864 individual cases — involving 763 men, 94 women and seven boys — “perpetrated by the Russian Federation” between Feb. 24, 2022, and May 23, 2023.
- The United States agreed to let Moscow send a plane to Washington to transport home Russian diplomats whose visas are expiring, amid a ban on commercial flights from Russia, according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. He called for reciprocal treatment for the United States in helping move American diplomats out of Russia….