Belarus claims Wagner mercenary forces are training its troops
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Ukraine is on the brink of a major breakthrough in its counteroffensive against Russia after destroying Kremlin command posts and making gains near Bakhmut, an Estonian intelligence chief has said.
“All this shows that Ukrainians are close to greater success,” Margo Grosberg, of the Estonian Defence Forces, told local broadcaster ERR.
Elsewhere, a top Russian commander appears to have been sacked for voicing concerns about the Kremlin’s war strategy in a sign of growing divisions between officers on the front line and the country’s military leadership.
The 58th Combined Arms Army’s general-major Ivan Popov was dismissed after a leaked video showed him delivering a blistering attack on the Russian military leadership, whom he accused of “hitting us from the rear, viciously beheading the Army at the most difficult and intense moment”.
Britain’s Ministry of Defence said the “comments draw attention to serious disaffection many officers likely harbour towards the senior military leadership.”
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Ukraine on bring of major breakthrough – Estonia
Ukraine is on the brink of a major breakthrough in its counteroffensive against Russia after destroying Kremlin command posts and making gains near Bakhmut, an Estonian intelligence chief has said.
“All this shows that Ukrainians are close to greater success,” Margo Grosberg, of the Estonian Defence Forces, told local broadcaster ERR.
He added that the Ukrainian army is close enough to fire its artillery on Bakhmut and wrest balc control the roads leading in and out of the eastern city.
Matt Mathers15 July 2023 15:41
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ICYMI: Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin ‘dead or in prison’ after Putin meeting, former US commander claims
Russia’s top mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin has probably been murdered after leading a failed rebellion against the Kremlin regime, a former senior US military leader has suggested.
Prigozhin, the Wagner Group chief, ordered his soldiers to march on Moscow last month amid an ongoing feud with Russia’s top military brass about its strategy in the Ukraine war.
“I personally don’t think he is, and if he is, he’s in a prison somewhere,” Robert Abrams, a retired general, told ABC News when asked if he thought the warlord was alive.
Matt Mathers15 July 2023 18:41
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Zelensky ‘doesn’t understand’ Ben Wallace’s complaints about Ukraine’s ‘gratitude’
Speaking at the Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, the Ukrainian president said that Kyiv has always been “grateful” to the United Kingdom, its prime ministers and the British public.
“The people in the United Kingdom have always supported Ukraine, we are grateful for this,” Mr Zelensky said.
“I don’t know how else we should be grateful… how else should I express my words of gratitude?”
Mr Zelensky also said that the UK and Ukraine have “wonderful relations”. Oliver Browning reports:
Zelensky ‘doesn’t understand’ Wallace’s complaints about Ukraine’s lack of gratitude
Volodymyr Zelensky has responded to Ben Wallace after he said Ukraine should show more “gratitude” for Western support. Speaking at the Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, the Ukrainian president said that Kyiv has always been “grateful” to the United Kingdom, its prime ministers and the British public. “The people in the United Kingdom have always supported Ukraine, we are grateful for this,” Mr Zelensky said. “I don’t know how else we should be grateful… how else should I express my words of gratitude?” Mr Zelensky also said that the UK and Ukraine have “wonderful relations”.
Matt Mathers15 July 2023 17:41
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UK defence secretary ‘considers stepping down’
Ben Wallace believes his time as defence secretary is coming to an end and is mulling whether to quit the government in the autumn, it has been reported.
Mr Wallace has been in post since July 2019 but is said to be considering his future as Rishi Sunak plans a cabinet reshuffle following the summer recess.
Matt Mathers15 July 2023 16:41
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Man who lead Putin mutiny pictured in pants in tent during exile
Less than a month after leaving the Kremlin quaking as his Wagner mercenaries marched on Moscow, leaked photographs of Yevgeny Prigozhin in his underwear in a tent have been leaked online amid an ongoing campaign to discredit the exiled mutineer.
As Vladimir Putin – whose grip on power is perceived by many to have been severely weakened by the popular mercenary boss’s armed rebellion – sought to insist that Wagner had never actually existed, images showing a dishevelled-looking Mr Prigozhin in a state of semi-nudity appeared on Telegram.
Matt Mathers15 July 2023 15:13
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Putin discusses grain deal, BRICs summit with South Africa’s Ramaphosa
Russian president Vladimir Putin held a phone call with South African president Cyril Ramaphosa in which they discussed the Black Sea grain deal, due to expire on Monday, and a summit in South Africa next month, the Kremlin said on Saturday.
Putin’s possible attendance at the BRICS summit is delicate for both countries because of an arrest warrant issued against him in March by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which accused him of the war crime of deporting Ukrainian children to Russia.
The warrant means member states of the ICC – of which South Africa is one – are obliged to arrest him if he sets foot on their territory. Russia said at the time that the warrant was “outrageous” and legally void because Russia is not an ICC member.
The Kremlin has yet to say publicly if Putin intends to attend the summit. In Saturday’s statement it said Ramaphosa had briefed Putin about preparations for the event, but did not give details of their exchange.
(AP)
Matt Mathers15 July 2023 14:38
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Russia’s FSB thwarts attempts to kill two prominent journalists – Ifax
Russia’s FSB security service said on Saturday it had thwarted alleged Ukrainian-backed plots to kill two prominent Russian journalists, Interfax news agency reported.
The FSB said it had detained an unspecified number of people on Friday who it said had carried out reconnaissance near the homes and workplaces of Margarita Simonyan and Ksenia Sobchak.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, which in the past has denied involvement in assassinations of pro-war figures inside Russia.
Matt Mathers15 July 2023 13:52
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ICYMI: India’s Modi and France’s Macron agree on defense ties but stand apart on Ukraine
India is close to buying new French warplanes and submarines and played a starring role in France’s Bastille Day celebrations Friday. But for all the camaraderie on display this week between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron, their two countries remain sometimes-awkward allies.
Macron skirted around concerns about threats to rights and freedoms under Modi’s Hindu nationalist government.
Modi called for peace efforts in Ukraine to end Russia’s war and resulting grain shortages, and India has increased imports of sanctioned Russian oil; Macron’s France is boosting weapons supplies to Ukraine for its counteroffensive.
Matt Mathers15 July 2023 13:00
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The Nato summit was not the triumph that Zelensky hoped it would be
The Ukraine president found his efforts to join the bloc frustrated, writes Mary Dejevsky. But the event did have its uses.
Read Mary’s full piece here:
Matt Mathers15 July 2023 12:38
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US support for Ukraine emerges as key dividing line between GOP 2024 hopefuls in Tucker Carlson-hosted forum
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February of 2022. A year-and-a-half later, the fate of the brutal conflict is still top of mind in Washington and beyond.
However, these days, the Ukraine war seems to be a central topic once again.
That renewed focus was on full display on Friday at an event hosted by Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News anchor.
Ariana Baio and Josh Marcus report:
Matt Mathers15 July 2023 11:53
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war-putin-wagner-latest-b2375817.html
