Russia

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Wagner boss Prigozhin is in Russia, Belarus ruler Lukashenko says

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin - who led a short-lived rebellion in Russia last month - is in Russia and not Belarus, the leader of Belarus says.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66118007?

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Russian mercenary leader Prigozhin’s commanders met Putin after short-lived mutiny, pledged loyalty

Just five days after staging a short-lived rebellion, mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin ‘s commanders met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and pledged loyalty to the government, a senior government spokesman said Monday, the latest twist in a baffling episode that has raised questions about the power and influence both men wield.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-school-crime-6e6e5eee6e9166fb755eafea64246222?

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Russia’s Defense Ministry says Wagner mercenaries are surrendering their weapons to the military

MOSCOW (AP) — Mercenaries of the Wagner Group are completing the handover of their weapons to the Russian military, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday, a move that follows the private army’s brief rebellion last month that challenged the Kremlin’s authority.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-wagner-mercenaries-putin-prigozhin-surovikin-04cc2f78919360bd16ff6514c4be5625?

Inside Russia’s penal colonies: A look at life for political prisoners caught in Putin’s crackdowns

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — When Alexei Navalny turns 47 on Sunday, he’ll wake up in a bare concrete cell with hardly any natural light.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-crackdown-prison-opposition-putin-navalny-70485fee4b872c453334af37d1ea335a?

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Ukraine war: Wagner-linked senior general Sergei Surovikin 'resting'

A former Russian commander who has not been seen in public since the Wagner mutiny in June is "resting", according to a senior MP in Moscow's parliament.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66183656?

Russian General Reportedly Killed in Ukraine

A Russian general was reportedly killed in occupied southeastern Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian officials said Tuesday.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/07/12/russian-general-reportedly-killed-in-ukrained-in-ukraine-a81809

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Top general’s dismissal reveals new crack in Russian military leadership

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian general in charge of forces fighting in southern Ukraine has been relieved of his duties after speaking out about problems faced by his troops, a move that reflected new fissures in the military command following a brief rebellion by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.

https://apnews.com/article/russian-general-dismissed-wagner-prigozhin-8320113aa0a4d1a71ed290a766aa8244?

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US ambassador accuses South Africa of providing weapons, ammo to Russia

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The U. S. ambassador to South Africa accused the country Thursday of providing weapons and ammunition to Russia for its war in Ukraine via a cargo ship linked to a sanctioned company that docked secretly at a naval base near the city of Cape Town in December.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-weapons-arms-south-africa-e89bac38997f240655ddf5d892e44f85?

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Video appears to show Russian mercenary chief Prigozhin for first time since short-lived mutiny

MOSCOW (AP) — A video released Wednesday appears to show Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin for the first time since he led a short-lived rebellion last month, and he is seen telling his troops they will spend some time in Belarus training its military before deploying to Africa.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-belarus-wagner-prigozhin-a9bae924a9cf411e71c104f48ea27f5b?

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Russia arrests a hard-line nationalist who accused Putin of weakness in Ukraine

MOSCOW (AP) — A prominent hard-line nationalist who accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of weakness and indecision in Ukraine was arrested Friday on charges of extremism, a signal the Kremlin has toughened its approach with hawkish critics after last month’s abortive rebellion by the Wagner mercenary company.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-strelkov-prigozhin-wagner-mutiny-df38b765407e5d054275140d67bfdf6f

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Kremlin critic Navalny convicted of extremism and sentenced to 19 years in prison

MELEKHOVO, Russia (AP) — A Russian court convicted imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny on charges of extremism and sentenced him to 19 years in prison on Friday. Navalny is already serving a nine-year term on a variety of charges that he says were politically motivated.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-navalny-opposition-crackdown-prison-term-b42769d2ba1beb99954279fbb93815d4?

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German official accused of spying for Russia

A government official has been arrested in Germany, accused of passing secret information to Russia.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66458090?

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Russian convicts released to fight with Wagner accused of new crimes

A prisoner believed to have been released early to fight with Wagner mercenaries in Ukraine has been accused of committing a double murder in Russia after returning home from the war.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66364272?

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Russian central bank jacks up interest rates to 12% at emergency meeting after ruble plunge

Russia’s central bank on Tuesday hiked interest rates by 350 basis points to 12% at an emergency meeting, as Moscow looks to halt a rapid depreciation of the country’s ruble currency.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/15/russian-central-bank-jacks-up-interest-rates-to-12percent-at-emergency-meeting-after-ruble-plunge.html

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Breaking: Putin foe's plane crashes

Two months after leading a brazen mutiny, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on a private jet that crashed today northwest of Moscow, according to Russian state media.

• Officials didn't immediately confirm Prigozhin died in the crash, which killed all 10 aboard, Axios' Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath and Jacob Knutson report.

The big picture: The mercenary chief's short-lived rebellion in June was seen as the biggest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin's rule since he came to power more than two decades ago.

• White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the administration has "seen the reports about the plane crash in Russia. If confirmed, no one should be surprised."

Plane wreckage in the Tver region of Russia. Photo: Ostorozhno Novosti via Eyepress

Zoom in: Russian state media reported that the private jet was traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg.

• The plane didn't experience any loss in altitude before it lost signal, according to Flightradar24, a live air traffic website.

Go deeper: Get the latest ... What to know about Prigozhin.

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Mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is presumed dead in a plane crash outside Moscow

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led a brief armed rebellion against the Russian military earlier this year, was presumed dead Wednesday after a plane crash north of Moscow that killed all 10 people on board.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-wagner-prigozhin-jet-crash-a7859e4e57f2efa2547dfbe5bdbaa1b2?

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Plane crash believed to have killed Russian mercenary chief seen as Kremlin’s revenge Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and top officers of his private military were presumed dead in a plane crash on Wednesday that was widely seen as an assassination, two months after they staged a mutiny that dented Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority. Read more.

Why this matters: U.S. and other Western officials had expected Putin to go after Prigozhin, despite promising to drop charges in a deal that ended the June 23-24 mutiny.   Prigozhin’s death is unlikely to have an effect on Russia’s war in Ukraine. His forces fought some of the fiercest battles over the last 18 months, but pulled back from the frontline after capturing the eastern city of Bakhmut in late May.

Related coverage ➤ Russia and Ukraine trade drone attacks as Kyiv claims it took out a key S-400 missile defense system Wagner mercenary leader, Russian mutineer, ‘Putin’s chef': The many sides of Yevgeny Prigozhin A top Russian general linked to the head of a rebellious mercenary group is reportedly dismissed

[Rahab]

We all know what happened 

[phkrause]

2 hours ago, Rahab said:

We all know what happened 

Exactly!!

[phkrause]

Biden points finger at Putin as Prigozhin’s reported death seen as a warning to ‘elites’

Joe Biden ‘not surprised’ by apparent death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner founder, in plane crash, while Kremlin and Russian president stay silent

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/24/wagner-boss-yevgeny-prigozhin-reported-killed-death-russia-biden-suggests-putin?

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'Get ready for us': Wagner fighters send chilling revenge message to Putin after jet carrying Yevgeny Prigozhin crashes

The Wagner Group will take revenge for the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, masked men have declared in a chilling new video.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/wagner-mercenaries-vow-revenge-putin/

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US intelligence says an intentional explosion brought down Wagner chief Prigozhin’s plane

WASHINGTON (AP) — A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that an intentional explosion caused the plane crash presumed to have killed a mercenary leader who was eulogized Thursday by Vladimir Putin, even as suspicions grew that the Russian president was the architect of the assassination.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-wagner-prigozhin-jet-crash-382515214f691e47daa2e3635d64e612?

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Kremlin denies role in plane crash believed to have killed Russian mercenary leader Prigozhin

The Kremlin on Friday rejected allegations it was behind a plane crash that is presumed to have killed mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who conducted a brief but shocking mutiny in Russia two months ago.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-wagner-prigozhin-jet-crash-1237eb57870538e52938839bcaa6675f?

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Putin’s Night of the Long Knives

The Russian president’s role in Wednesday’s fatal plane crash is not entirely clear, but the day’s events were reminiscent of Hitler’s 1934 purge.

https://theintercept.com/2023/08/24/yevgeny-prigozhin-death-nazis/?

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Russia earns less from oil and spends more on war. So far, sanctions are working like a slow poison

The Russian ruble’s wobble in value has exposed a crack in President Vladimir Putin’s fortress economy, a vulnerability quickly plastered over by the Kremlin’s economic team in a move that allowed the currency to regain its footing, at least for now.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-economy-ukraine-war-ac83e7a74d9e426cb18c5168c5929d38?

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Kremlin’s New Plan: Blame Anyone But Putin for Prigozhin’s Death

The Kremlin says Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plane crash was no accident—and is already hinting that it may seek to place blame on the West.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/kremlins-new-plan-blame-anyone-but-putin-for-prigozhins-death?

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Hacked Documents Reveal Russia’s Contracts for Cuban Mercenaries in Ukraine

A military officer’s hacked email account reveals the apparent recruitment of at least 100 Cubans, some of whom posted on Facebook about their journey to Russia.

https://theintercept.com/2023/09/06/cuban-mercenaries-russia-ukraine-war/?