Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and also plans to go to Saudi Arabia. This doesn’t happen often.
Mr Putin is going to talk with the president of the UAE about the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and also about oil production.
The UAE is holding a big meeting about the environment, but we don’t know yet if Mr Putin will be there.
He has hardly been out of Russia since March, when the International Criminal Court (ICC) ordered for his arrest.
The ICC says he sent Ukrainian children to Russia illegally, which is a crime in war. But the UAE and Saudi Arabia don’t agree with the court.
The Russian leader has ignored other recent meetings with other countries, like the Brics summit in South Africa in August and the G20 summit in India in September.
Russia wants to show its power and try to weaken the West’s efforts to separate it.
Mr Putin told the President of the UAE that our relationship has never been better.
The UAE is an important economic partner to Russia in the Arab world. They will talk about trade and oil.
The President of Russia is going to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to meet with the country’s leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The two leaders will talk about how to make the fighting between Israel and Hamas stop, the Kremlin said.
“Yuri Ushakov, a Russian presidential assistant, said that they will talk about the problems in Syria, Yemen, and Sudan in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia. ”
The Kremlin said Mr. Putin will meet with President Raisi to talk about the Gaza war.
Since February 2022, Mr Putin has only traveled to Ukraine (which Russia controls), Iran and China.
Tag: Putin
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Putin arrives in United Arab Emirates for special overseas visit
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Biden’s remarks towards Putin deemed inappropriate – Kremlin
The Kremlin is upset about comments made by US President Joe Biden comparing Russia to Hamas and calling Vladimir Putin a “tyrant”. They think these remarks are not okay.
Biden spoke from the Oval Office and stated that the United States needs to support Israel and Ukraine against Russia and Hamas. He emphasized that we must not allow terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin to succeed.
The spokesperson for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, said that we do not like the way people talk about Russia and our president.
He said that using that kind of language is not appropriate for leaders of countries, and we cannot accept it. -
Putin praised for making it to Xi global summit
Russian leader Vladimir Putin received a warm welcome at a worldwide meeting in Beijing, highlighting the growing friendship between China and Russia.
China’s President Xi Jinping organized a meeting to mark the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), his significant foreign and economic plan.
Mr Putin was considered the most important guest among leaders and officials from over 130 countries.
He has hardly ever left his country since he invaded Ukraine in February of last year.
He is not only losing support from other countries, but he has also been ordered to be arrested by the International Criminal Court for supposed war crimes in Ukraine.
It is very unlikely that Mr. Putin will be arrested in China because China is not part of the ICC. He and Mr Xi are very close friends. The Chinese leader said they have a very strong friendship before the war started.
On Wednesday, the events started with a special ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi and Mr. Putin walked into the hall side by side ahead of other leaders from different countries.
Mr Putin was also in the front and center position of the group photo, standing beside the Chinese president. After Mr Xi, he was the second person to speak. They later had a meeting that lasted for three hours.
Before Russia started its war on Ukraine, Mr. Putin used to have the most important position in previous Belt and Road summits.
China has been criticized by Western countries for supporting Russia and at the same time trying to show support for Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Mr. Putin was eager to repay the kindness. In his speech, he promised to help Mr. Xi’s big BRI project because it aligns with Russian ideas. He also praised our Chinese friends for their accomplishments.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a project where China has spent about one trillion dollars on investment and building projects globally.
He spoke to a group of representatives from developing countries, mainly from the Global South. He mentioned that Russia, China, and most countries around the world want to work together and make progress in their economy.
Mr Putin is visiting at a time when people are worried that China and Russia are joining forces to compete with the Western countries.
Both countries have spoken out against the domination of the US and want a world where power is shared among multiple countries.
China released two white papers before the BRI’s anniversary. These papers present the BRI as the foundation of a new world order which China sees as fairer and more welcoming to everyone.
In his speech filled with references to the Silk Road and interesting sayings, Mr. Xi kept emphasizing this point. He said the BRI shows progress and is the right way to go, and it will be looked upon favorably in the future.
He strongly criticized “fighting over beliefs, competing for power among nations, and forming alliances for political gain,” imposing sanctions without consensus, and separating supply chains. Beijing often complains about Washington for leading what it believes is an unfair type of global development.
On the other hand, the BRI has promoted cooperation that benefits everyone involved, where everyone contributes and makes things better.
Mr Xi also explained an eight-point plan for advancing the BRI. This includes supporting smaller projects, environmentally friendly development, and fostering honesty and trust.
The BRI has received praise for helping many countries grow, but people have also criticized it for causing debt problems, harming the environment, and encouraging corruption and wasteful projects.
The meeting in Beijing has drawn the attention of many countries, mainly from Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America. Other people at the event are Hungary’s leader, Viktor Orban, and officials from the Taliban government in Afghanistan. -
Putin visits ‘close friend’ Xi Jinping in China
Vladimir Putin has come to Beijing to meet with Xi Jinping, who he considers a close friend. This trip is meant to highlight the strong alliance between their countries, which they believe has no boundaries.
Putin and his group traveled to Beijing on Tuesday morning, marking only their second trip abroad since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest.
This year, the Russian president is also going on his first official trip outside of the old Soviet Union. He recently visited Kyrgyzstan, which used to be a part of the Soviet Union.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) accuses Putin of taking children out of Ukraine without permission. The ICC makes the 123 countries, who are members, arrest Putin and send him to The Hague for a trial if he visits their land.
Both Kyrgyzstan and China are not part of the ICC, which was created to handle cases of war crimes.
Xi recently saw the person he is often compared to in Moscow a few days after the legal document was given.
He asked Putin to come to a conference in Beijing called the Belt and Road forum, which is organized by the Chinese leader to promote international cooperation.
Russian media reported that Putin will go to the forum’s reception and have discussions with the leaders of Vietnam, Thailand, Mongolia, and Laos on Tuesday.
Putin is an important guest at the forum. He will speak after Xi on Wednesday and then have a one-on-one meeting with the Chinese president.
Beijing said no to criticism from the West about its partnership with Moscow, even though the war in Ukraine is still going on. They said their partnership is not breaking any international rules and China can work with any country it wants.
Putin went to China for the Winter Olympics in February 2022. At that time, Russia and China said they would work closely together. But a few days later, Putin sent many soldiers to Ukraine.
Putin will be going to the Belt and Road Forum for the third time, and it will last until Wednesday. He went to the last two meetings in 2017 and 2019.
The forum focuses on the Belt and Road initiative, a big plan started by Xi ten years ago. His goal is to create worldwide infrastructure and energy networks that will connect Asia with Africa and Europe, using both land and sea routes.
Putin has said that he likes the idea and thinks it is a good way for countries to work together without forcing anything onto each other.
Since the Ukrainian conflict began, Russia and China have strengthened their energy connections as a sign of their economic collaboration.
Russia sends about two million barrels of oil to China every day, which is more than a third of all the crude oil it exports. Moscow also wants to construct another pipeline that will transport natural gas to China.
The leaders of Russia’s biggest oil and gas companies, Rosneft and Gazprom, will be with Putin when he travels, but we shouldn’t anticipate any new energy deals.
The Kremlin said the trip is not a complete bilateral visit, but rather one that is happening alongside an international conference. -
Putin prepared to profit from conflict in Gaza
It’s easy to imagine Vladimir Putin as a bad guy from a James Bond movie. Like sitting at a big control panel in a hidden mountain place, causing trouble all over the world.
He pushes a button and there is trouble in the Balkans.
When he pushes the button, a powerful explosion happens in the Middle East.
It might seem attractive, but it’s likely not correct. It makes the leader of the Kremlin seem more powerful around the world than they actually are.
Russia is connected to Hamas and has become a strong friend of Iran. The US says that Moscow and Teheran are now working together defensively.
However, this does not mean that Moscow was directly involved in or knew beforehand about the Hamas attack on Israel.Hanna Notte, an expert on Russia and the Middle East, based in Berlin at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, says that she has not seen any proof of Russia directly giving weapons to Hamas or training members of Hamas in military tactics.
Russia and Hamas have been connected for a long time. Russia has never officially announced that they consider Hamas to be a terrorist organization. Hamas teams went to Moscow both last year and this year.
But I wouldn’t assume from that information that there has been a lot of military help. Despite knowing that Russian-made systems have entered the Gaza strip, most likely through the Sinai area in Egypt and with help from Iran.
Basically, President Putin did not start a war in the Middle East by pressing a specific button.
But is he prepared to make use of the opportunity.
DefinitelyAnd this is how it’s done.Loss of focus from Ukraine
With the increase in violence in the Middle East being the main focus of international news, Moscow is hoping that attention will be shifted to dramatic headlines from Israel instead of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
But this is about more than just shifting the focus of news for a short period of time. The Russian government wants Western countries to send fewer weapons to Ukraine and instead, send them to Israel due to their interests in the situation in the Middle East.
“I think this crisis will directly affect the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine,” stated Russian diplomat Konstantin Gavrilov in an interview with the pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper.
The conflict in Israel will cause Ukraine’s supporters to lose focus. This doesn’t mean that the West will stop supporting Ukrainians. However, the amount of assistance from the military will decrease, and Russia could gain an advantage in the operation.
Is it possible that Russia is being overly optimistic in their thoughts.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the United States will support and be there for both Israel and Ukraine.
However, if there is a long-lasting conflict in the Middle East, it will be a challenge for America to provide support to two different allies involved in two separate wars at the same time.
Can Russia help solve the problem.
Russia wants to increase its importance in the Middle East by presenting itself as someone who can help bring peace.
It has done this job in the past, by participating in previous global attempts to stop the fighting in the area.
“Russia is able and will take part in finding a solution to the conflict,” stated Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for President Putin. “We are keeping in touch with both parties involved in the dispute. ”
During his visit to Moscow this week, Iraq’s prime minister asked President Putin to propose a plan for a genuine peace agreement in the area.
Can we really believe that Russia is a peacemaker. It’s difficult to convince people of that.
This is the country that attacked its neighbor with a large military force. For almost 20 months, the war that Russia has been fighting in Ukraine has resulted in a large number of deaths and a lot of damage to the country. This has surprised people all around the globe.
Additionally, just because you claim that you are able and willing to help achieve peace, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the people who are in the conflict will agree to have you as a mediator.Moscow has always been interested in the Middle East. During the time when Israel and the US became close, the Soviet Union supported the Arab countries in the region. For many years, the Soviet Union promoted hatred towards Jewish people.
After the Soviet empire was no more, Russia’s relationship with Israel got better. This happened partly because over a million Jews from the countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union moved to Israel.
Recently, Vladimir Putin’s Russia has become closer to Israel’s enemies, especially Iran. This has caused tension in Russian-Israeli relations.
Criticizing America
The Kremlin sees a chance to do what it often does – blaming America.
Since the Hamas attack on Israel, Vladimir Putin has been saying that it shows the United States’ policy in the Middle East has failed.
It follows the usual pattern of Moscow criticizing what it sees as American dominance.
The Kremlin is trying to make Russia look better in the Middle East by blaming America, which hurts the reputation of the United States.
I have already discussed how Russia could gain advantages from what is happening in the Middle East. But also, there are things that can harm you.
Hanna Notte believes that Russia benefits from carefully planned and controlled instability.
“If this crisis takes away focus from Ukraine, which may happen because Israel is significant in the US domestic politics, then Russia might benefit temporarily. ”
Russia does not want a war that involves the wider area, including Iran, because Iran supports Hamas with weapons and money, according to Ms.
Russia does not want a big war to happen between Israel and Iran. If things go in that direction and it becomes clear that America strongly supports Israel, I believe Russia will have no option but to align more with Iran. I don’t think it wants to.
I believe Putin still values his connections with Israel. I believe that Russian diplomacy does not want to enter a situation where they have to choose one side over the other. But as this conflict gets worse, they might start to feel more stressed. -
Frontline soldiers Putin recruited from Russian jails plotting to overthrow him
A bunch of Russian fighters, who were sent to the most risky places on the frontlines, have decided not to fight for Vladimir Putin as a way to show their dissatisfaction with the terrible conditions they have to endure.
The groups called ‘Storm-Z’ squads are made up of a combination of prisoners from Russian prisons and soldiers who have been demoted as a form of punishment for being accused of being either drunk or on drugs.
Their job is not complicated, as told by five fighters and eight people who have worked closely with or next to them. These men are sent to the most dangerous war zones.
And it is very likely that they will face a certain outcome.
“Ignoring the storm, these soldiers are expendable,” said a regular army member from unit number 40318 was sent to the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine in May and June, where there was a lot of fighting.
He said he didn’t listen to a commander who told him to leave a group of injured fighters behind. The commander wanted them to get medical help on the battlefield.
The commander ordered to leave their own soldiers behind, and it’s unclear why. The commander said it shows that Storm-Z fighters are thought of as less important than regular troops by officers.
A group called Storm-Z, who were brought together from prisons in Russia, have decided that they do not want to continue fighting in Ukraine.The soldier, who didn’t want his identity revealed because he was afraid of getting in trouble in Russia for talking about the war, said he felt sorry for the men. He explained that if the commanders find out that any of the soldiers have been drinking alcohol, they will be quickly sent to the Storm squads.
But the harsh way they are mistreated caused a rebellion among a group of Storm-Z fighters who decided they had reached their limit.
Three months ago, there was a group of about 150 men who belonged to unit number. The number 22179 was badly hurt, tired and only about 20 of them were still alive.
Only a few survived and shared their story, and those men were proof of that. On June 28, they made a video to explain why they won’t keep fighting.
A soldier said: ‘After the really tough fights, after all the things we saw, these are the people who are still here.
On the place where we were fighting, we didn’t receive any bullets or weapons. We didn’t receive any water or food. The people who got hurt were not taken away. Even until now, the bodies of the deceased are decaying.
We must follow terrible orders that are not worth doing. Now, they came and told us, “Hey, we have to go to the front. ”
‘Once again we are being put in a difficult situation, just like before. ‘ And we will never come back from this.
He said more words. ‘We do not want to keep doing fights. ‘
What happened as a result of the mutiny. Some of the fighters were punished by getting beaten up by Russian military police officers, as reported by two relatives of the men.
Putin mentioned at a public meeting on television with a small group of Russian soldiers that convicts are fighting in the regular army.
He said he knew that two of their friends, who had been in prison before, were killed in action.
“Putin said that those people sacrificed their lives for their country and have completely freed themselves from their guilt. He also mentioned that the families of the convicts will receive assistance, without providing more details. ”
But the harsh truth is that these men are facing brutal conditions on the ground. At least five Storm-Z teams have been identified as fighting against the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the east and south.
Three out of the five Storm-Z fighters and three other family members shared stories about terrible battles where most of their teams were killed.
One person who was in jail for stealing and was chosen to be a fighter, said that almost all of the 120 men in his group with the 237th regiment were either killed or injured in a battle close to Bakhmut in June.
What are the Russian Storm-Z units?
Storm-Z units are controlled by the Russian defense ministry. They are made up of people in trouble with the law or the military. These people choose to fight in exchange for a promise that they will be forgiven for their crimes.
They are considered helpful because they can be used as replaceable soldiers, as stated by Conflict Intelligence Team, an independent group that is monitoring the war.
‘The Storm fighters are sent to the riskiest areas of the battlefront for both defense and offense. ‘ the group stated.
The Russian defense ministry has never admitted to creating Storm-Z units, but the first reports of their existence came out in April. The Institute for the Study of War, a think-tank in the US, mentioned a leaked Russian military report about the formation of these squads.
Russian media that is controlled by the government has said that there are these groups called Storm-Z squads. These squads have been in some very intense fights, and some of the members were given medals for being brave. However, the media hasn’t said anything about how these squads are made, or how many people they have lost in battles.Artyom Shchikin, a 29-year-old man from Mordovia in central Russia, was in jail for robbing someone. He had been given a two-year sentence in December 2021. While he was in jail, recruiters from the defense ministry visited and asked the prisoners if they wanted to go fight in Ukraine. This information comes from court documents and two of his relatives.
He decided to join because he wanted to erase his criminal record and make money for his family to renovate their home. He was supposed to be released in December, but he wanted a fresh start. His family confirmed this.
Three Storm-Z fighters claimed that they were promised to be paid around 200,000 roubles (£1,675) per month, but in reality, they were receiving only half of that amount on average.
In May this year, Shchikin was given a job in a prison unit in the 291st Guards Motorised Rifle Regiment and sent to the Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine. There, Kyiv’s forces are trying to get past the Russian defenses.
Shchikin’s family last spoke to him on June 18. According to the relatives, two survivors from Shchikin’s squad told them that a few days later, their unit was attacked by Ukrainians.
According to the family, three friends who were in a trench with him passed away, one lost his hand, and Shchikin himself is now missing. They haven’t found his body.
Shchikin’s family members said that when they asked the defense ministry about what happened to him, they either didn’t get a response or received unclear answers.
‘They were part of a team called Storm. ‘ They don’t think anyone will hurry, said a family member.
After the soldiers rebelled and refused to keep fighting, two fighters informed their families that things had gotten better. However, they were uncertain about when they would be able to leave the military.
In Russia, a soldier can only be sent to a special unit for punishment if they are found guilty by a military court.
None of the people interviewed said that the soldiers involved in the Storm-Z units had gone to court.
Last week, the soldier from group number. 40318 said that there were no legal proceedings or trials involved in these transfers.
The Geneva convention is a collection of global rules for war. However, it does not include regulations for soldiers getting punished by their own group.
Several Russian individuals have been asked to share their thoughts on the matter, but they declined, including an officer from unit number. 40318 is a number, and there is a person who works for the main office of a group called the regimental headquarters.
The Kremlin didn’t answer the questions and told us to ask the Russian defense ministry. The defense ministry hasn’t replied to our request for a comment.
Russian officials have not said anything publicly about the situation involving the Storm-Z squad, who decided to stop fighting.
Ukraine’s government has mentioned that they release certain prisoners if they agree to participate in the war.
The relative of a soldier who was part of the revolt, a man from Siberia who chose to join Storm-Z while in prison, mentioned that she was very worried about updates from the battlefield.
She said, “Please let this finish quickly, oh God. ”
Last week, it was revealed that Putin has enrolled 130,000 new soldiers, including some who are only 18 years old. -
Former Wagner leader Troshev meets Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with one of the former top commanders of the Wagner mercenary group, who the Kremlin said now works for the Defense Ministry.
Andrei Troshev is a former collaborator of the late Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in a plane crash in August.
His death occurred two months after Wagner’s brief march on Moscow.
The Kremlin said President Putin asked Mr. Troshev to supervise volunteer fighting units in Ukraine.
Speaking to Mr. Troshev, the president said he could “provide units capable of performing various combat missions, especially, of course, in the area of special military operations,” implying Ukraine only. Putin added: “You know the problems that need to be resolved first so that combat work can take place in the best and most successful way.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RIA news agency that Mr Troshev “is currently working in the Ministry of Defense”.
The meeting comes as Putin tries to reassert his power after the Wagner mutiny in June.
Within just 24 hours, Prigozhin organized an uprising, sending troops into the southern city of Rostov, then further toward Moscow before retreating. It is the biggest challenge to Putin’s power in the past two decades. Last month, the president called on all employees of Wagner and other Russian private military contractors to swear allegiance to the Russian state.
Natia Seskuria of the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank in London, told the BBC that the meeting and public praise for Mr. Putin was an attempt to show “that he is in charge about the situation and he is in control of Prigozhin’s inner circle.”
“The fact that a Kremlin spokesman confirmed that Troshev worked for the Russian Ministry of Defense proves that we are in the post-Progozhin era, where the MOD has full control over so-called special military operations,” she said. in Ukraine”.
The Kremlin “will continue to rely on Wagner’s resources more cautiously,” she added.
Mr. Troshev is known by the pen name Sedoi, which means “white-haired man.” He is a respected veteran of Russia’s wars in Afghanistan and Chechnya.
He received the Hero of Russia award for his role in supporting government forces in Syria in 2015 and 2016 as Commander Wagner.
Prigozhin and nine other people died in an accident near Moscow on August 23.
Wagner’s boss was described by many as a “walking zombie” after the failed mutiny.
The Kremlin has denied any involvement. On Thursday, Moscow announced a 68% increase in its defense budget as the war in Ukraine continued.
The military budget will reach 10.8 trillion rubles (£90 billion) by 2024, or 6% of GDP.
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Putin tests nuclear weapons as Russia prepares for nuclear war against US, UK, others
Russia will hold its first nationwide nuclear attack exercise across 11 time zones to prevent possible nuclear war.
It is scheduled for October 3 and will see Vladimir Putin‘s regime brand the West as a nuclear aggressor.
This one-day nuclear attack exercise, which will be conducted only on a region-by-area basis, will include preparations for the destruction of up to 70 percent of the country’s construction and life support facilities. Russia.
This would assume a scenario whereby martial law is imposed in Russia and full force must be mobilized.
The test script has the following content:
“In some constituent [regions] of the Russian Federation, due to emergencies or other types of physical impacts, it is possible to completely destroy life support facilities and up to 70% of the housing stock live.” It contemplates “accidents occurring in structures and hydraulic systems with chemical and radiological hazards” leading to “secondary hazards”.Civil servants and regional officials will be ordered to organize “non-personnel emergency rescue teams”, providing food and medical supplies as well as radiation protection.
The document further warns:
“The risk of armed conflicts escalating into local and regional wars, including those involving nuclear energy, is increasing.Pro-Kremlin lawmaker threatens nuclear attack on US on Russian television
“The threat to the security of the population is the risk of the enemy using modern means of long-range defeat, as well as possible attacks by drones and boats.”
The Putin administration has “decided to develop measures to increase the readiness of the civil defense forces and the means to carry out measures to protect people, material and cultural property in its territory.” territory of the Russian Federation, including the evacuation of the entire population. dangerous areas.
Putin is known to have several bunkers in his palace in case of a nuclear attack as well as a fleet of Il-80 Maxdome “Doomsday” aircraft.
The exercises take place four days before Putin turns 71, while the dictator spends 40% of the state budget on the army, police and intelligence agencies, amid the war against Ukraine.
Details of the drills emerged as Mikhail Kovalchuk, Putin’s friend and director of the Kurchatov Institute, demanded the resumption of nuclear weapons testing in the Arctic for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
He called on Western leaders to deliver a shock similar to when the Soviet Union tested the Tsar bomb in 1961, the most powerful bomb ever designed with a yield of more than 50 megatons.
“I think it’s a good idea,” said the 77-year-old, who is part of a group of older, longtime friends around Putin.
“Now the situation is exactly the same. Just conducting tests on Novaya Zemlya [Russia’s Arctic archipelago] is enough,” Mr. Kovalchuk said.
‘At least once. And everything will fall into place.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Novaya Zemlya last month, a sign that testing could soon resume. The rhetoric was delivered by loyalist parliamentarian and army chief Lieutenant General Andrei Gurulev, who demanded that Putin be prepared to use nuclear weapons.
“Our strategic capability is our [nuclear triad],” he said.
“This is what was designed for the United States of America. It’s especially for them.
“And they know very well that after this there will no longer be a United States of America. We are 100% inflicting an unacceptable defeat on the United States. They know it.
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Man who put girlfriend in meat grinder pardoned by Putin
A man from Russia who killed his partner by choking her, then used a machine to crush her body into pieces and got rid of the remains by flushing her down the toilet, has been forgiven by Vladimir Putin. This forgiveness was given because the man fought in the war in Ukraine.
Dmitri Zelensky, who is 41 years old, was in prison for 11 years because he was found guilty of causing the death of Tatiana Melekhina, a 27-year-old university graduate.
The police said that the cruelty shown in the killing was very bad and even experienced detectives were shocked by it.
“He didn’t only cut her body apart, but he also separated the muscles and bones, and turned them into minced meat,” a person said.
Then he poured the mincemeat down the toilet and it went into the drainage system. He tossed the bones into the river.
‘He planned to hide the murder. ‘
When Zelensky’s wife learned about his mistress’s death, she expressed her shock and sadness. She mentioned that she didn’t realize he could be so cruel.
His mother, Galina, confirmed that he was forgiven and allowed to leave prison.
‘My son went to fight in the war for many reasons – he wanted to make up for his mistakes,’ she said.
Zelensky was chosen as a soldier from jail to help Putin in Ukraine.
In June, he said that 32,000 people were coming back to Russia and they didn’t have any criminal records.
His mother, Galina, confirmed that he was forgiven and let out of jail.
‘My son went to the war for many reasons – he wanted to make up for the things he had done,’ she said.
Zelensky was chosen as a soldier for Putin’s forces in Ukraine. He was one of many prisoners who were recruited from jail by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was the leader of the Wagner mercenary group.
In June, he said that 32,000 people were returning to Russia and they have clean records. -
Paranoid Putin alleges US and UK were involved in planning attack on Black Sea Fleet HQ
Russia says that Ukraine‘s friends in the West were involved in planning and carrying out a missile strike on the Black Sea Fleet’s base in Crimea.
Last week, a missile from Ukraine hit the Russian naval base. This caused severe damage to important buildings and sadly resulted in the deaths of at least 34 officers.
After the attack, a very angry Kremlin spokeswoman stated during a meeting: ‘There is no question that the attack had been carefully planned beforehand using information from Western intelligence sources, Nato satellites, and surveillance planes. It was carried out based on advice from American and British security agencies and with their close collaboration. ‘
Moscow often says that the UK, US, and their NATO allies have become involved in the war by giving weapons and information to Ukraine.
Russia took over the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 even though it was against the law. Since then, it has been a common focus point as Russia’s president Vladimir Putin sent a large military force to invade Ukraine about 20 months ago.
Crimea has been a major base for the invasion, and it is being targeted more and more by Ukraine.
Ukraine said that the attack caused a big hole in the main building of the headquarters and injured 105 people.
Russia first reported that one person in the military was dead, but then changed their statement and said the person was actually missing.
Moscow hasn’t given any new information or spoken directly about Mr. Sokolov’s condition
Ukrainian special forces said they killed Admiral Viktor Sokolov, who was in charge of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
But, Russia’s Ministry of Defence later uploaded a video on Tuesday that showed Mr Sokolov and other high-ranking officers participating in a video meeting with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
The Special Operation Forces of Ukraine released a statement on Tuesday, saying that their sources have reported that Mr. Sokolov is one of the people who died. However, many of the dead individuals have not yet been identified. It said it was trying to check if the claim was true after the video appeared.
In the video, Mr. Sokolov blinked his eyes but didn’t say anything. This made people wonder if the Kremlin used old footage of him in the broadcast.
The Admiral also talked to reporters about the Black Fleet’s activities in a video that was shared on a Russian news channel connected to the Russian Defense Ministry.
But it was unsure when the video was made, and the video didn’t mention the Ukrainian attack on fleet headquarters.
The statement from the MOD agrees with what Dmitry Medvedev said. He mentioned that the arrival of tanks made in America in Ukraine and the US promising to give long-range missiles to Ukraine would bring Nato and Russia closer to a direct conflict. -
Putin launches powerful attack on Odessa using self-destructing drones and fast missiles
Russian missiles were launched and hit the port city of Odessa in Ukraine. This happened while the city’s big Jewish community was celebrating the holy day of Yom Kippur.
Some people think that fighters attacked the Hotel Odessa, which is a place where the military trains. Local reports say that the building is on fire.
Other reports are saying that there was a long and ongoing attack on the Black Sea port. Russia fired many missiles during this attack.
Oleg Veretskiy wrote on X, mentioning that the invaders had weapons called ‘Onyx, Calibers, and Shaheds’.
He said: ‘I can’t remember a strong attack on Odessa in a long time. ‘ It was really noisy. Close to us. We made it through. The message that warns people about an air attack has been stopped.
During the night, Russia’s Southern Defense Forces reported that they sent out 19 suicide drones, 2 supersonic Oniks missiles, and 12 Kalibr missiles to attack the area.
A lot of the Jewish people in Odessa, who live in a city with more than 12,000 Jews, were celebrating the end of their time of not eating on the special day called Yom Kippur when the missiles hit.
There have been explosions in the city of Sevastopol in Crimea, which is currently under Russian control.
The attacks happened while President Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine continued for 20 months without any clear sign of winning.
Yesterday, the Russian military bombed an area in Ukraine called Kherson. This resulted in the deaths of two people and caused three others to get hurt. This happened shortly after another airstrike on Sunday, where two people were killed and eight others were injured.
Top-ranking Russian military leaders were seriously hurt when Ukrainian missiles hit Vladimir Putin’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters last Saturday.
Colonel-General Alexander Romanchuk and Lieutenant General Oleg Tsekov were badly hurt when Storm Shadow missiles hit the Navy headquarters in Sevastopol, as reported by Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of Ukraine’s military intelligence.
At least nine soldiers died and 16 were injured in the attack.
The commander of the group, Colonel-General Alexander Romanchuk, is one of the injured. According to the spymaster, he is in a very severe condition. ” This was said to Voice of America. -
Putin suffers double blow as gunfire kills his nuclear and chemical commanders
The leader of Russia’s most important nuclear submarine was shot and killed while driving his truck and being attacked with a lot of gunfire.
Captain Ivan Kovgan, who was 52 years old, was killed by soldiers from Azerbaijan in the area called Nagorno-Karabakh. He had been sent there to help keep peace and was working as the deputy commander for a group of peacekeepers. Captain Kovgan had only been there for two months before he died.
Kovgan worked as second-in-command of Russia’s Navy submarines in the Arctic region.
Four more Russian soldiers died when the car was hit, including Colonel Tagir-Murod from the team that deals with radiation, chemicals, and biological threats.
The soldiers from Azerbaijan who shot someone have been arrested and may be charged with a crime. The leader has also been temporarily relieved of their duties.
The president of the country called Vladimir Putin to say sorry for the attack and promised to give money to the families of the servicemen who were killed.
President Ilham Aliyev said that a detailed investigation will be done to find out what happened, and anyone responsible will be punished accordingly. This was mentioned in a statement from the Kremlin.
Azerbaijan’s defense ministry said that officials from both Baku and Moscow are working together on the investigation and they are asking for people to be patient.
Azerbaijan started a military operation to take control of Nagorno-Karabakh which belongs to them but has been controlled by Armenians for 30 years. At the same time, there was a truck attack.
The countries started fighting over the area in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and had another big fight in 2020 that lasted a few weeks.
Some Russian peace-keepers went to calm down a tense situation as part of an agreement to stop fighting. However, an Azerbaijani military group accidentally shot down a Russian helicopter, causing the death of two pilots.
Yesterday, one of Putin’s very close friends shared a weird video announcing that he is alive and inside the top hospital in the Kremlin. -
Orphans anticipate their fate as Putin’s drones get closer to critical Ukrainian city
A group of children without parents are running out of time, as Russia keeps attacking a city in Ukraine where they live.
Old and decaying docks from the Soviet era in Izmail and Reni are being attacked by suicide drones. This is happening because the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, decided to leave the UN and a deal made with Turkey that allowed Ukraine to safely export grain through the Black Sea.
In the last two months, Fight for Freedom, a group from Romania, has been trying to move children away from danger, but rules and red tape are making it difficult.
President Gheorghe Ignat said it is very important for his team to fight for freedom.
However, he knows very well that Russian aggression is getting closer and closer to his country, Romania, which is a member of both the EU and NATO. This makes the people of Romania fear that they will be drawn into a war.
Izmail experienced a big problem two weeks ago. He said that Russia has been bombing everything there.
There are currently 20 children without parents living in a home. We are working very hard to prepare the documents for moving them to the Suceava area in Romania where we are located.
‘They could get hurt here, so it’s very important for us to take them to a safe place. ‘
Gheorghe, a fighter who does mixed martial arts and is called ‘The Carpathian Bear’, is currently busy arranging the move from Ukraine to his home country.
While we are talking, his phone keeps receiving frequent updates about what is happening on the front line.
In Romania, people are feeling anxious and worried.
The government installed protective shelters in Plauru because Ukrainian sites were attacked and drone pieces were found in Romania.
The town is very close to Izmail, only about 300 meters away.
Currently, there are no official plans to make people leave their homes in the area. However, many residents have packed bags with essential items in case they need to leave quickly.
He said, “Romania is going through a difficult time. ” Both the government and Nato have taken their response very seriously.
Recently, we discovered another drone that was found about 14km within our borders. This is a significant distance considering the presence of nearby villages with many people living just a few kilometers away.
The drones blew up and made big holes in the ground. Just think about what would happen if they had fallen on a house, school, or hospital.
Romania is not currently fighting in a war. We are waiting to see what will occur, but there is currently no action to take. People are scared about the consequences of getting involved.
The Black Sea has many Russian warships that are very near our country. People who live near the river feel like they are in the middle of a war.
They watch and record Russian drones attacking Ukrainian ports every night. They are looking at big bangs in villages nearby on the other side of the river.They are very surprised and scared. Romania is no longer secure as a member of the EU and Nato. This is true. Some people think if Nato helps, the war will end. But it’s not that simple.
Regular individuals go through difficulties. I have seen a lot of pain and hardship in the last year and a half. War brings no positive outcomes or benefits.
Romania’s leader, Marcel Ciolacu, has tried to reassure people that Russia is not focusing on their country.
He made his remarks right when another military drone was found in Bulgaria, which is another country in the EU and NATO.
The military said the plane landed in the town of Tyulenovo by the Black Sea on Sunday evening.
The defense minister, Todor Tagarev, said that we can be sure the event is connected to the war Russia started against Ukraine.
‘This war is definitely connected to more dangers for our safety. ’
The group Fight for Freedom is getting ready to help many people if Russia attacks the coast of Romania.
Since the invasion started, Gheorghe and his team have been going to villages on the frontline in Ukraine four times every week. They give food to as many as 10,000 people.
Bundles of supplies are given out to people who had to leave their homes in Mariupol and Donetsk. This is done at locations in Chernivtsi, Dunaivtsi, and Ivano-Frankivsk.
Fight for Freedom operates four centers for Ukrainian children, ranging from newborns to five-year-olds. They have also rescued over 500 orphans from dangerous areas in the past 15 months. -
Allies of Ukraine display ‘cajónes’ in order to counter Putin’s nuclear threat
A security expert suggests that the Western countries should not believe Vladimir Putin‘s threats about nuclear weapons and should instead provide Ukraine with the necessary modern weapons to have a strong advantage in the war.
Dr Patrick Bury thinks that instead of gradually reducing military aid, the US, UK, and other Western allies of Kyiv should stand up strong against the Russian president’s threats about nuclear weapons.
Dr Bury, a former British soldier who has experience with air assault infantry, referred to Ukraine’s struggle to free its land from a well-resourced country without much help from fast jets as ‘a very expensive and ridiculous situation’.
The person’s analysis is similar to what Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy mentioned that his people are not only fighting to take back their homeland but also to stop a possible World War III. The President of Ukraine said that if his country had received enough modern weapons, it would have regained control over its territory by now.
‘The offensive is currently very uncertain and it mainly revolves around the battle of the reserves. It’s about which side has more troops to contribute, either to break through or to prevent the opposing side from making progress,’ Dr. Bury explained to Metro. couk
‘It’s about who gets the most power first. ‘
The US and other Western countries have sent a lot of military aid to Ukraine. The US alone has given more than $43 billion in security support since the invasion started in February 2022.
But the Russian soldiers in the Kremlin are well prepared and are seeking support from Iran, China, and North Korea for more weapons. Kyiv is still waiting for advanced weapons like modern fighter jets that they want.
The defenders are fighting back in the east and south, but the intense fighting is causing a lot of casualties for both sides, especially with the winter approaching.
Dr Bury, who now specializes in security and defense at the University of Bath, thinks that the West has been taking small steps in dealing with nuclear tensions with Putin because they are afraid it might escalate.
“The people from Ukraine have made some progress, but it’s not at the point they or we would have liked them to be at this time,” the veteran who served in Afghanistan mentioned.
This is not meant to criticize their efforts, they have been incredibly impressive and courageous. They are fighting against the Russian army without any airplanes. In some ways, it’s funny that we have asked them to do this, but it is also very expensive.
The Western countries need to clearly explain and create a well-organized plan about what their final goal is. “As long as it takes” is not the final goal.
Military support for Ukraine has been slowly reduced, bit by bit, with billions of dollars being taken away. Putin’s nuclear threats have made us hesitate in deciding on which equipment Ukraine needs and how much of it to give them.
The Ukrainians requested tanks in May 2022, and they have been continuously requesting modern fast jets since the war started. But you also need courage when dealing with someone like Putin.
The House of Commons library has found evidence of Putin being aggressive with nuclear weapons. They report that he has been using the threat of Russia’s nuclear arsenal to pressure the West into supporting Ukraine militarily and diplomatically. This has been happening since the all-out attack on Ukraine began.
The research paper published this summer says that stopping their involvement in the last US-Russia treaty about weapons of mass destruction is one of the goals of the campaign. -
Bombing near Putin’s Doomsday jet, saboteurs declare great triumph
Explosions caused by people who might be connected to Ukraine destroyed two planes and a helicopter in Russia.
The brave attack happened at a military base where President Vladimir Putin keeps his special plane called the Il-60 Doomsday. He would use this plane if there was a nuclear war.
Bombs were put on the heavily protected Chkalovsky Air Base, which is located about 20 miles northwest of Moscow. This base is where the most important spy planes of the Kremlin are kept.
The AN-148 and IL-20 planes, which are owned by the 354th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, were harmed.
An MI-28N helicopter, used to shoot down drones, also got hit in the back.
Pictures released by Ukrainian intelligence today show the destruction that caused a lot of panic among the top military officials on Monday.
The Russian government is currently searching for people they believe are connected to Ukraine, who they suspect are causing trouble.
The defence ministry is trying to control the spread of information about the incident in the local media.
According to Ukraine’s military intelligence, the event caused a lot of panic among high-ranking military officials in Russia. Government planes, Doomsday planes, and special aircraft are stationed at the airfield.
Some people we don’t know planted bombs and set them off on two airplanes – both planes belong to the 354th special purpose aviation regiment at the airfield. -
Huge explosions shake Putin’s Black Sea retreat after ‘kamikaze drone strike’
An explosive drone was utilized in an assault on a Russian holiday destination favored by Vladimir Putin in the summer, posing a potential threat and danger.
Videos on Telegram show a fire near the Adler International Airport in the city of Sochi, where they had the Winter Olympics in 2014.
A lot of thick, black smoke is coming out of a tank this morning. The tank has a lot of diesel fuel inside.
People thought that the city was attacked for the first time by a drone from Ukraine that was meant to cause a lot of damage.
An oil storage area in Sochi caught fire and exploded because a drone crashed into a tank containing diesel fuel.
One person reported hearing a loud noise like thunder before the fire started at 5am.
One possible explanation for what occurred is that a drone was used to launch an attack. People living nearby heard a big boom at around 5 am, according to someone.
Thick, dark smoke was seen in Sochi, but officials said that it did not affect the flights at the airport, which is an important place for tourists.
The fire occurred about 30 miles away from the president’s official home, Bocharov Ruchey. He had a meeting with Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko there last weekend.
Viktor Alksnis, a military strategist and politician from the Soviet Union, also known as the Black Colonel, quickly expressed his belief that Ukraine was aiming for the mansion.
Putin often governs Russia from Sochi, especially during the summer. Sochi is also the main base of his rumored lover, Alina Kabaeva, who is in charge of a prestigious gymnastics academy in the resort.
“He said that it appears the president’s favorite vacation spot, the Bocharov Ruchey residence near Sochi, will not be available for security reasons. ”
Ukraine is actively searching for Putin. If it is true that a Ukrainian drone attacked the Bocharov Ruchey residence, then it would be the third time someone tried to attack his official homes using a UAV.
The first attack happened on May 3 at the Kremlin and the second attack happened on September 5 at Zavidovo, which is Putin’s hunting palace in the Tver region.
Many firefighters came to the place, and there is a video that shows them battling the fire.
The governor of Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratyev, said that the incident happened. He also said that more than 60 firefighters and 15 pieces of equipment were sent to the location.
There is no danger of a fire spreading. We are finding out why the incident happened. -
Zelensky’s United nations speech in brief
The people at the conference are still listening to speeches from other leaders. People from Guatemala, Hungary, Switzerland, Egypt, and Kyrgyzstan will be contacting them. And that’s right before the afternoon session officially starts.
However, the main focus was on Volodymyr Zelensky, who is the president of Ukraine. Here is a short overview of what he talked about.
He told world leaders that Russia is invading his country, and it’s a very serious threat to the whole world. He also said that Russia should not be allowed to have nuclear weapons.He said that President Putin is turning everything, like food, energy, and nuclear power, into weapons. He said Russia taking control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – which is the largest in Europe – has made it dangerous like a “dirty bomb”.
Russian forces in Ukraine kidnapped many children and taught them to dislike their own country. -
Putin suffers another setback as two senior Russian commanders killed in Ukraine
Vladimir Putin received bad news when two Russian paratrooper colonels died in Ukraine around the same time.
Colonel Andrei Kondrashkin, who is 44 years old, was in charge of the 31st Separate Guards Airborne Assault Brigade, which is a group of soldiers who jump out of planes and fight on the ground.
Kondrashkin passed away during a fight with the Ukrainian forces near Andriivka, a village that was badly damaged by the war. Kyiv recently took control of this village.
The person named Alexander Khodakovsky, who is the deputy head of Russia’s national guard in annexed Donetsk, was the first to announce that he died yesterday.
Today, we felt a lot of pain and sadness when we heard that he had died. We send our sympathy and support to his family, friends, and comrades, Khodakovsky wrote on a messaging app called Telegram.
Khodakovsky said that he and the colonel became close while they fought together during the long siege of Mariupol last year.Khodakovsky said, “I’m sure his soul will go to heaven and he’ll wait for us there. ”
Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov said on Telegram that Kondrashkin’s group, which fought in all the big fights of the war, had to stop Ukrainian soldiers from catching a Russian rifle brigade.
Butusov said that Kondrashkin couldn’t finish the job and that the 31st Airborne Assault Brigade had many areas destroyed. Ukrainian attack planes entered the village through Kondrashkin’s defense area.
We do not know the specific details of how Kondrashkin was destroyed in these battles.
However, it is a big accomplishment to kill the leader of one of the Russian military groups.
Kondrashkin is now the most recent person on a growing list of important military officials from Russia who have either been removed from their position, passed away, or completely vanished since the war.
According to Top Cargo 200, a source that keeps track of the deaths of Russian senior military officers, there have been over 450 majors, almost 250 lieutenant colonels, and around 100 colonels who have passed away.
On September 14, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a research organization in the United States, reported that a high-ranking commander in the Russian airborne forces had passed away.According to pro-Russian military Telegram channels and the Russian independent outlet Mediazona, a Colonel named Vasily Popov, aged 38, was killed while fighting in Ukraine. The specific location was not mentioned.
Mediazona said they checked military records and found that Popov had died. The records said he was 38 years old when he died.
According to the ISW, Popov became the leader of the 247th Guards Air Assault Regiment in either August or September.
A former leader of the regiment, Colonel Konstantin Zizevsky, died in the spring of 2022.
Blogger Egor Guzenko, from the pro-war channel Thirteenth on Telegram, said on September 10 that Popov was an amazing person and a hero.
‘I don’t have any other words, and I feel bad for him,’ he said. ‘Three more men passed away with him, and I feel sad for them. ‘ -
Commander of Putin’s war in Ukraine appears to be unsure of the outcome
The losses Russia has experienced in Ukraine have left the minister in charge of Vladimir Putin’s invasion confused.
Defence minister Sergei Shoigu seemed unsure about the result of the war, as Ukrainian troops took back more land on the eastern and southern fronts in the past week of their counterattack.
A video that was widely shared on social media shows the politician being interviewed by a well-known person who spreads biased information. The interview was about whether Russia would be victorious.
Yevgeny Popov, a TV presenter and supporter of Putin, asks him: “Will we be successful. ”
The Russian defence minister looked hopeless and made a gesture with his hand when asked if Russia will win the war.
Shoigu seemed nervous and just shook his shoulders while saying to the camera: ‘We don’t have any other choices. ‘
At first, the clip was shared with edits that made it seem like the person has no more choices left in the war in Ukraine.
However, the fact that the question is being raised on Russian state television indicates that there is doubt within the Putin machine about the outcome of the war.
Shoigu talked after a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un while there are rumors of an arm deal between the two countries.
This week, a very expensive submarine called the Rostov-on-Don was destroyed by a missile called Storm Shadow which cost a lot of money.
A big ship that can land on a shore was also not able to work in the attack on the port of Sevastopol in Crimea.
Shoigu said to Popov, “We have finished the spring and summer campaign and now we are in the autumn campaign. ”
His report on state TV did not suggest that Russia had made any progress, but he insisted, without providing proof, that they were still causing damage to the Ukrainian military’s equipment and soldiers.
He said: ‘Our soldiers are staying in places to protect and defend. ‘ It is more difficult to do in certain places, and easier in others.
Shoigu said that Russian leaders are acting confidently and protecting what needs to be protected in the areas where Ukrainian forces are attempting to penetrate.
He emphasized: ‘Our main job is to break their equipment. ‘ -
Putin warns UK in ‘serious’ manner and says Sunak ‘doesn’t understand’ what is going on in Ukraine
Vladimir Putin has blamed the UK for planning a strike on a Russian nuclear facility. He criticized Rishi Sunak for not grasping the situation in the Ukraine war.
The Russian president said that Ukrainian soldiers who were captured admitted to being told by British secret services to damage the facility.
He also blamed the UK for not understanding the negative effects of planning an attack, and said he was being provoked.
When Putin spoke in Vladivostok, he asked if the people understand the seriousness of their actions.
Are they trying to make us angry so that we attack Ukrainian atomic power stations.
Does the leader of Britain know what his undercover agents are doing in Ukraine.
Putin also said that the US government might have been in charge of the attack, according to The Times.
He did not say which atomic facility was supposedly attacked.
Russian forces have taken control of the Zaporozhzhia nuclear station in the south of Ukraine for over a year.
Soldiers from both Russia and Ukraine have claimed that each other’s soldiers have fired explosives near the six reactors of the plant.
Putin is going to meet Kim Jong-un, who is the leader of North Korea, tomorrow. They will talk about an agreement regarding nuclear weapons.
The meeting has made Western countries worried that Moscow might buy weapons to use in the war in Ukraine.
Last week, US authorities expressed worries that the two would talk about the chance of North Korea providing weapons for Russian soldiers to use in Ukraine.
They will have a meeting after the Russian Defense Minister visits North Korea in July.
People think that he made secret agreements to give weapons to the Kremlin for their war in Ukraine while he was there. -
Putin commends Elon Musk after Ukraine Starlink dispute
Russian President Vladimir Putin has lauded tech mogul Elon Musk as an exceptional entrepreneur, with his SpaceX firm playing a pivotal role in space transportation.
Putin’s public admiration for Musk came shortly after the entrepreneur, originally from South Africa and now based in the United States, disclosed that he had declined a Ukrainian request to activate his Starlink satellite communication network in the Russian-annexed Crimean city of Sevastopol. This request was made to support an attack on Russia’s Black Sea fleet, but Musk refused, expressing concerns about being involved in a significant act of war.
While speaking at an economic forum in Russia’s Far East, Putin did not directly address the Starlink controversy. However, when asked about SpaceX’s accomplishments in launching rockets into space, he showered Musk with praise.
“As far as private business and Elon Musk is concerned… he is undoubtedly an outstanding person. This must be recognised, and I think it is recognised all over the world,” Putin said.
“He [Musk] is an active and talented businessman and he is succeeding a lot, including with the support of the American state,” he added.
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Putin seems impatient as he keeps shifting his foot during meetings with Kim Jong-un
The president of Russia seemed impatient during the long summit at a spaceport called Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far east of the country.
The 70-year-old man held his fingers together and moved his foot back and forth on its heel while he talked about his conversations with Kim.
He is behaving in a way that makes people think he might have medical problems that he hasn’t talked about.
Last year, some videos appeared showing Putin holding onto tables or chair arms very firmly. This made some people think that he might have a serious illness like cancer or Parkinson’s disease.
Last year, there were some reports that said the president had a type of Parkinson’s disease. This disease makes people have uncontrollable movements. The Kremlin said these reports were not true.
He looked shaky and kept biting his lips while visiting a military base and attending an Easter church service.
Several pictures showed him with a swollen face, supposedly caused by taking steroids for treating pancreatic cancer.
He seemed unable to stop moving his feet while he was with Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in November.
Restless legs syndrome, also called Willis-Ekbom disease, is a common condition in people with Parkinson’s disease, but it can also have other causes.
Putin’s feet move and jerk uncontrollably during a meeting, which could be a sign that he has Parkinson’s Disease.
The warmonger showed strange behavior while welcoming Kim to Russia today, and it wasn’t just the foot twitches.
When the leader of North Korea parked his black car at the spaceport, Putin shook his hand in an uncomfortable way for about 40 seconds. Their handshake mostly involved holding each other’s hand tightly without moving.
However, their meeting mostly involved friendly conversations as both tried to figure out how they could help each other succeed.
Kim praised Russia for fighting against powerful forces and said that North Korea will always support them in their fight against imperialism.
People are guessing that Kim might be asking for assistance in making military spy satellites because of where the summit is happening.
Experts think that Putin wants to obtain many old artillery shells and rockets from North Korea. This could greatly help the Russian army in Ukraine.
But if we buy weapons from or give rocket technology to the country, it would break international rules that the Kremlin has previously agreed to follow.
According to Reuters, Kim wrote in a book at the space center, saying that Russia will always be remembered for giving birth to the first people who conquered space. -
Kim and Putin hold hands as Kim sarcastically hails ‘sacred war’
Kim Jong Un has said that he will fully and completely support Vladimir Putin in Russia‘s fight, which is believed to be the war against Ukraine.
Mr Kim said that North Korea will always support Moscow in their fight against imperialism. He also mentioned that North Korea’s relationship with Russia is their main focus and most important.
The leaders gathered at a remote Russian spaceport called Vostochny Cosmodrome in the eastern part of the country. They visited the sites where rockets are launched and later had a private meeting.
According to a news report from Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti, the discussions went on for four to five hours, and then Mr. Kim departed
Experts believe that North Korea might possess many old artillery shells and rockets, which were designed by the Soviet Union. These weapons could greatly benefit the Russian army in Ukraine.
But if Russia buys weapons or gives rocket technology to North Korea, it would break the rules that limit international trade that Russia has agreed to before.
The choice to meet at Russia’s main space launch center, known as the cosmodrome, indicates that Mr. Kim wants help from Russia to create military surveillance satellites.
In the past, he said the satellites are really important to make his missiles with nuclear weapons more dangerous.
In the past few months, North Korea has tried many times but has not been successful in launching its first military spy satellite into space.
Mr Putin greeted Mr. Kim’s car, which was brought from Pyongyang on a special train, by shaking his hand for about 40 seconds at the entrance to the launch site.
In his introduction, Mr Putin greeted Mr Kim and expressed his pleasure in meeting him. He mentioned that the discussions would focus on working together in terms of the economy, helping people in need, and discussing the state of affairs in the area.Kim showed support for Moscow’s actions to protect its interests, possibly referring to the conflict in Ukraine.
The North Korean leader said that Russia is currently fighting against powerful forces to protect its rights, security, and interests.
The two men started their meeting by visiting a place where they launch rockets called Soyuz-2. Mr Kim asked a lot of questions about the rockets to a Russian space official.
Mr Kim and Mr. Putin had a meeting with their teams and later had a private conversation, said Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin.
According to Russian state media, after the discussions, the president of Russia hosted a formal meal for Mr.
The meeting shows that the two leaders have similar interests as they deal with their own increasing conflicts with the United States.
It happened shortly after the North Korean leader fired some missiles towards the eastern seas.
It is believed that the weapons flew across the country, which has made Japan and South Korea worried about their neighbor, who is sometimes unpredictable.
Japan’s Coast Guard, based on information from Tokyo’s Defense Ministry, said that the missile probably landed, but advised boats in the area to be cautious of things falling from the sky.
For Putin, meeting with Mr. Kim is a chance to get more weapons because the war has used up a lot of ammunition.
For Mr Kim, this is an opportunity to bypass extremely harmful UN penalties and many years of being cut off from diplomatic connections.
When asked if Russia will assist North Korea in creating satellites, Mr. Putin stated that is the reason they have come to North Korea.
The leader of North Korea is very interested in rockets. He said they’re also trying to develop space, using the short form of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
When asked about working together with the military, Mr. Putin said we will discuss everything carefully and not make quick decisions. There is enough time available.
According to South Korea, Mr. Kim also brought along Jo Chun Ryong, a ruling party official who is responsible for policies related to weapons, on recent visits to factories that make artillery shells and missiles.
Even though North Korea has been launching missiles often, Wednesday’s launches before the summit were unexpected. South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which deals with relations between North and South Korea, stated that this was the first time North Korea had launched a missile while Mr. Kim was traveling abroad.
According to Moon Seong Mook, an analyst from the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy in Seoul, Mr Kim may have ordered the missile launches to send a message to Mr Putin about North Korea’s defense plans. This would also show that Mr Kim still has control over the country’s military actions, even when he is not present in North Korea.
Mr Moon, a former high-ranking military officer from South Korea who took part in previous talks with North Korea, explained that the North may have launched these missiles to show their anger towards the United States. This anger stemmed from a comment made by Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the State Department, who called Mr. Putin an “international outcast” seeking help in a war.
The United States has said that North Korea gave Russia weapons, like artillery shells, and sold them to a group called Wagner. Both Russian and North Korean officials said that the claims are not true.
People started thinking that Russia and North Korea might work together in the military after the Russian defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, visited North Korea in July.
Mr Kim went on a tour of his weapons factories. Experts believe he wanted to update the weapons in North Korea and also see if he could sell some to Russia. -
Kim and Putin meet for their anticipated discussion of weapons
Russian President Vladimir Putin showed that he might be open to helping North Korea with their space and satellite program during a visit to Russia’s Vostochny space launch site. This happened before planned discussions about weapons.
When a reporter asked Putin if Russia would assist North Korea in launching their own satellites and rockets, Putin replied, “That’s the main reason we are here. ”
The leader of North Korea is very interested in space and rockets, and they are working hard to develop their space program. “We will present our new items,” Putin said at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, located in Russia’s far east on Wednesday. “We will discuss all the problems slowly and calmly because there is enough time. ”
Putin’s words suggest that Russia and North Korea are getting closer, which concerns US officials. They have warned that this could lead to North Korea providing weapons to Russia for use in their struggling conflict in Ukraine in exchange for prohibited missile technology.
A video from the Kremlin was published on Wednesday. It showed the two leaders shaking hands and then visiting the space center and rocket complex. The complex is where they put together and test the vehicles that are launched into space. This information was reported by Russian state media.
North Korea really wants to develop space technology, but they haven’t been successful yet. They tried two times this year to put a spy satellite in space, but they didn’t work.
In April, Kim emphasized the importance of military satellites for keeping the country safe and maintaining control over their land. He also talked about how valuable these satellites are for planning military operations in advance, according to North Korean media.
Giving this technology to North Korea would go against the rules set by the international community. These rules are meant to make it harder for North Korea to make nuclear weapons and missiles.
Putin said that the talks were about working together on economy, helping people, and understanding what is happening in the area. The conversation lasted a little more than an hour.
Kim said both countries have “a lot of problems” that they can work together on. He commended Russia for protecting its independence and safety against dominant powers. He implied that the US and the West were the dominant powers. He also mentioned that he fully supports everything Russia does in response to these powers.
“And I want to make it clear that I will always support Russia in their fight against imperialism and for independence,” said the leader of North Korea.
After the discussions, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that there are no intentions to sign any documents, as reported by Russian state media.
Peskov said that having a good relationship means talking and working together, especially in important areas like military cooperation and discussing important security problems.Why it matters that Putin and Kim are meeting at a space center
During the tour, the two leaders visited the place where Russia plans to start using its new spacecraft.
According to state news agency TASS, the facilities were constructed to welcome and prepare rockets for launch, carry out the launches, and handle tasks after the launch.
Experts believe that the choice of the space center as the venue for Wednesday’s summit is important.
The meeting at Russia’s eastern spaceport is concerning because it could mean that Putin might give North Korea technology to launch satellites illegally, and in return, North Korea would provide weapons for Russia to use in their unlawful war in Ukraine. This was stated by Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, during an interview with CNN.
Moscow needs more ammunition and shells because the war in Ukraine has severely weakened its military. North Korea, on the other hand, lacks many important things like money, food, and missile technology due to years of international sanctions because of its nuclear weapons program.
North Korea also said that the meeting will improve their relationship.
Kim came to Russia on Tuesday in his very protected private train with his friends and military leaders, as shown in pictures shared by North Korean state media.
Kim visited the border town of Khasan and was greeted by Russian officials. He said that his trip to Russia showed how important the relationship between North Korea and Moscow is.
Former US National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Tuesday that the meeting between Putin and Kim is very important and goes beyond just the possibility of a weapons agreement.
Bolton told CNN that from North Korea’s perspective, this would reconnect them with Russia in an important way. It has been a while since they had such a connection, since the Soviet Union broke apart.
According to state media, after the discussions, Kremlin spokesperson Peskov said that North Korea is a nearby country to us.
“And no matter what others say, we will form good connections with the people living nearby in a way that is helpful for both us and them,” he stated.
Kim’s delegation includes Ri Pyong Chol, who is the military’s second-in-command. Ri is under sanctions from the US and UN because he played a leading role in the country’s ballistic missile programs as the former head of the Department of the Munitions Industry. His sister, Kim Yo Jong, who is a high-ranking official, was seen standing next to her brother when he signed a guest book.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is with Putin in Pyongyang. Shoigu went there in July. Putin said on Wednesday that Shoigu was welcomed in North Korea and that they have many questions.
Shortly before the meeting, North Korea fired two small missiles from the Sunan area around 11:43 a. mand eleven fifty-three in the morning. The time in the area near the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported.
North Korea launched two missiles on Wednesday morning. These missiles flew about 650 kilometers (400 miles) before landing in the sea, as reported by the JCS.
The US and South Korean intelligence authorities are looking at more information about the launch. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it was a very serious action that endangers the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the world.
Experts say it’s not common for Pyongyang to launch something when Kim is away from North Korea.
North Korea might want to demonstrate that their military is always prepared and in control, according to Easley.
“It is noteworthy that North Korea launches missiles despite being under UN sanctions, while Kim is in Russia for a meeting with the leader of a permanent member of the Security Council,” Easley mentioned.
Ankit Panda, a person who knows a lot about nuclear policy, said the launch was important.
Since 2019, Kim began to be less involved in testing and exercises. Many launches happened without him being there. “This launch could have happened because Panda said so. ”
This happens as North Korea has started using tactical nuclear weapons and giving more control to others. -
Putin claims the United Kingdom ‘instructed attack on Russian nuclear plant’
Putin says that Britain planned and carried out an attack on a Russian nuclear facility.
The president of Russia said that Ukrainian soldiers who were captured admitted to being told by British secret services to damage the facility.
He also said that the UK did not fully understand how serious the consequences of planning an attack were, and that he felt like the UK was trying to make him angry.
Speaking in Vladivostok, Putin asked if they are aware of the consequences of their actions.
Are they trying to make us angry enough to attack Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
Does the leader of the UK know what his secret agents are doing in Ukraine.
Putin also said that the US government might have been involved in overseeing the attack. This information was reported by The Times.
He did not say which atomic facility was supposedly attacked.
Russian forces have taken control of a nuclear station called Zaporozhzhia in the south of Ukraine for over a year now.
Soldiers from Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of attacking the area near the plant’s six reactors.
Putin will meet with Kim Jong-un tomorrow to talk about a deal involving nuclear weapons. -
Kim Jong Un travels to Russia in armoured train for talks with Putin
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has arrived in Russia via rail for an anticipated meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
The United States suggests that Moscow is interested in procuring ammunition for the conflict in Ukraine.
In contrast, North Korea is seeking food aid and potentially technology support for its prohibited nuclear and missile programs, as per analysts.
President Putin is currently in Vladivostok, located in Russia’s far east, approximately 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the North Korean border. However, the exact meeting location remains unclear, as Kim’s train is reportedly moving northward, away from Vladivostok.
This marks Kim’s first overseas trip in four years, with his last face-to-face meeting with Putin occurring in 2019.
Putin Challenges the U.S.: "If Ukraine is Ready for Talks, Let Them Revoke Zelensky's Ban,"
— Zlatti71 (@djuric_zlatko) September 12, 2023
September 12, 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a bold challenge to the United States, stating that if they believe Ukraine is prepared for negotiations, they should… pic.twitter.com/Nw2qe22YFkThe most recent meeting between the Russian and North Korean leaders occurred in 2019, coinciding with a breakdown in denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang.
During that time, Putin served as an intermediary, providing updates to both China and the Trump administration. Additionally, Russia supported UN sanctions aimed at curtailing North Korea’s weapons programs in 2017.
The geopolitical landscape has evolved significantly since then. Moscow and Pyongyang have grown closer in the wake of the Ukraine conflict, with both nations holding the US responsible for the war.
In July, North Korea extended a warm welcome to Russia’s Defence Minister, Sergey Shoigu, and subsequently, Moscow blocked efforts within the UN Security Council to bolster sanctions against Pyongyang.
Furthermore, the power dynamics in Northeast Asia have shifted as the United States forged an alliance between Japan and South Korea, an alliance that few believed was possible.
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North Korean leader reportedly travelling to meet Putin in an armoured train
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has supposedly begun his trip to Vladivostok to meet with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
According to a South Korean government official, Mr Kim’s special train for international trips seems to have left Pyongyang.
The two leaders are going to meet on Tuesday, most likely.
The government of Russia, known as the Kremlin, has stated that Mr. Kim will be visiting their country soon.
If the meeting with Mr. Putin happens, it will be the first time the North Korean leader goes on a trip abroad in over four years, and the first time since the pandemic.
The two leaders will probably talk about North Korea giving weapons to Russia to help with its war in Ukraine, said a US official to CBS, the BBC’s US partner.
Mr Kim traveled to Vladivostok in 2019 for his first meeting with Mr. This happened after North Korea’s talks about getting rid of nuclear weapons with former US President Donald Trump didn’t work out.
There are rumors that this car has 20 bulletproof cars. Because of this, it weighs more than regular trains and can’t go faster than 59 km/h (37 mph). He is going to Vladivostok and it will take him a whole day to get there.
There might be a meeting happening soon because the White House said they have new information that the discussions about weapons between the two countries are making progress.
The spokesman for the National Security Council, John Kirby, said that Russia’s Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, recently visited North Korea and tried to convince them to sell artillery ammunition to Russia.
The meeting happens when Russia and North Korea have things that the other country desires.
“He told the BBC that the important thing now is for both sides to agree on prices that they are willing to pay for each other’s help. ”
Russia will probably request North Korea for regular weapons such as artillery shells and rocket artillery ammunition. In return, they will offer food and raw materials, as well as ongoing support at international gatherings like the United Nations.
He said that this could mean that North Korea might give more advanced weapons to Russia so that Moscow can keep and replace its own supplies of regular weapons.
Experts believe Russia might require 122mm and 152mm shells because they are running low on supplies. However, it is challenging to determine the complete artillery inventory of North Korea due to its secretive behavior.
During the meeting in July, Mr Kim and Mr Shoigu showed off some weapons. One of them was the Hwasong missile, which is believed to be North Korea’s first missile with solid fuel.
Mr Kim opened the country to foreign guests for the first time since the Covid pandemic. -
Putin to engage Kim Jong Un over ‘supply of weapons’
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, is reportedly planning a visit to Russia later this month for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, according to a US official who spoke to CBS, a partner of the BBC.
The purpose of their meeting is said to revolve around discussions concerning the potential supply of weapons from North Korea to support Russia’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
The precise location of the scheduled meeting remains undisclosed, and there has been no immediate response or confirmation from either North Korea or Russia in response to these reports. Anonymous sources cited by the New York Times suggest that Kim Jong Un may opt for travel by an armored train.
This development follows recent statements from the White House indicating progress in arms negotiations between North Korea and Russia. John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman, revealed that during a recent visit to North Korea, Russia’s Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu, attempted to persuade Pyongyang to provide artillery ammunition to Russia.
Notably, the meeting showcased various weapons, including the Hwasong intercontinental ballistic missile, believed to be North Korea’s first ICBM using solid propellants. This event marked the first time Kim Jong Un had welcomed foreign visitors since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Putin and Mr Kim have since exchanged letters “pledging to increase their bilateral co-operation”, he said.
“We urge the DPRK to cease its arms negotiations with Russia and abide by the public commitments that Pyongyang has made to not provide or sell arms to Russia,” Mr Kirby said, using an abbreviation for the North.
He cautioned that the US was prepared to take action, including the imposition of sanctions, should North Korea indeed provide weapons to Russia.
Both Washington and Seoul express concerns about the potential outcomes of such a deal, which could lead to increased military cooperation between these two Asian nations.
Recently, South Korea’s intelligence service shared information that Mr. Shoigu had proposed the idea of joint naval exercises involving Russia, China, and North Korea, akin to those conducted by the US, South Korea, and Japan.
Another worry is the possibility of Russia supplying North Korea with weapons at a critical juncture when Pyongyang might be in dire need of them.
Furthermore, there’s apprehension that Kim Jong Un may request advanced weapons technology or expertise from Mr. Putin to facilitate advancements in his nuclear weapons program.
Nevertheless, the agreement could be more transactional in nature than a long-term strategic partnership. Currently, Russia requires weapons, while North Korea, grappling with sanctions, faces pressing financial and food shortages.
According to reports from The New York Times, the meeting between Mr. Kim and Mr. Putin could potentially occur in Vladivostok, a port city on Russia’s eastern coast. The newspaper’s diplomatic correspondent, Edward Wong, informed the BBC News channel that an advance team of North Korean officials had traveled to Vladivostok and Moscow in the previous month.
They “included security officers who deal with the protocol surrounding the travel of the leadership, so that was a strong sign for officials looking at this”, Mr Wong said.
Pyongyang and Moscow have both previously denied that the North is supplying Russia with arms for use in its war in Ukraine.
John Everard, who served as UK ambassador to North Korea between 2006 and 2008, told the BBC that publicity around the possible visit was a “strong reason why the visit is now unlikely to take place”.
“Kim Jong Un is completely paranoid about his personal security. He goes to great lengths to keep his movements secret and if it’s known that he’s planning to go to Vladivostok to meet President Putin, he’s likely just to cancel the whole thing,” he said.
Pyongyang knows that Moscow is “desperate” for munitions and the price that North Korea will ask for them will be “eye-wateringly high”, he added.
While North Korea has stockpiles of weapons “they’re in very poor condition”, he added.
The two leaders last met in April 2019, when Mr Kim arrived by train in Vladivostok. He was welcomed by officials with a traditional offering of bread and salt. This was also probably the last time Mr Kim travelled abroad.
After the meeting, Mr Putin said Mr Kim would require “security guarantees” in order to abandon his nuclear programme.
That meeting came just months after a summit in Vietnam between Mr Kim and then-US President Donald Trump had failed to make progress on denuclearising the Korean peninsula.
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How Russian diplomacy died under Putin through, threats and insults
Russia’s diplomats were once a pivotal component of President Putin’s foreign policy strategy, but that paradigm has undergone a profound transformation.
In the years leading up to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, diplomats witnessed a erosion of their authority, as their role dwindled to echoing the Kremlin’s aggressive rhetoric.
BBC Russian delves into the breakdown of Russian diplomacy, seeking insights from former Western diplomats, as well as ex-Kremlin and White House insiders.
In October 2021, US Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland attended a meeting at the Russian foreign ministry in Moscow. Seated across from her was Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov, with whom Ms. Nuland had maintained a decades-long rapport.
Mr. Ryabkov had been perceived by his American counterparts as a pragmatic and composed negotiator—a person with whom they could engage in dialogue, even amid the deterioration of the bilateral relationship.
However, this time, the dynamics were notably different.
Mr. Ryabkov recited Moscow’s official stance from a written statement and resisted Ms. Nuland’s efforts to initiate a discussion. According to two individuals who discussed the incident with her, Ms. Nuland was taken aback.
Describing Mr. Ryabkov and one of his colleagues as “robots with papers,” she reportedly remarked on their demeanor (the State Department declined to comment on the incident).
Beyond the confines of the negotiation room, Russian diplomats were employing increasingly undiplomatic language.
“We spit on Western sanctions.”
“Let me speak. Otherwise, you will really hear what Russian Grad missiles are capable of.”
“Morons” – preceded by an expletive.
These are all quotes from people in positions of authority at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in recent years.
How did we get here?
A new Cold War
It might be hard to imagine now, but Mr Putin himself told the BBC back in 2000 that “Russia is ready to co-operate with Nato… right up to joining the alliance”.
“I cannot imagine my country isolated from Europe,” he added.
Back then, early in his presidency, Mr Putin was eager to build ties with the West, a former senior Kremlin official told the BBC.
Russian diplomats were a key part of Mr Putin’s team, helping resolve territorial disputes with China and Norway, leading talks on deeper co-operation with European countries, and ensuring a peaceful transition after a revolution in Georgia.
But as Mr Putin became more powerful and experienced, he became increasingly convinced he had all the answers and that diplomats were unnecessary, says Alexander Gabuev, the director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, who is living in exile in Berlin.
The first signal that a new Cold War was beginning came in 2007 with a speech Mr Putin made to the Munich Security Conference.
In a 30-minute diatribe, he accused Western countries of attempting to build a unipolar world. Russia’s diplomats followed his lead. A year later, when Russia invaded Georgia, Moscow’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reportedly swore at his UK counterpart, David Miliband, asking: “Who are you to lecture me?”
Western officials still thought it was worth trying to work with Russia. In 2009, Mr Lavrov and the then-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed a giant red “reset button” in relations, and the two countries seemed to be building co-operation – especially on security issues.
But it soon became obvious to US officials that their Russian counterparts were simply parroting Mr Putin’s growing anti-Western views, says Ben Rhodes, deputy national security advisor to former US President Barack Obama.
Image caption,Ben Rhodes (L), deputy national security advisor to President Obama, says Putin increasingly ignored his own foreign ministry Mr Rhodes recalls President Obama having breakfast with Mr Putin in 2009, accompanied by a folk orchestra. He says Mr Putin was more interested in presenting his view of the world than discussing co-operation and that the Russian leader blamed Mr Obama’s predecessor, George W Bush, for betraying Russia.
As the Arab Spring, the US involvement in Libya, and the Russian street protests unfolded in 2011 and 2012, Mr Putin decided that diplomacy wouldn’t get him anywhere, Mr Rhodes says.
“On certain issues – Ukraine in particular – I did not get the sense that [diplomats] had much influence at all,” says Mr Rhodes.
As an example, when Mr Lavrov, the foreign minister, was appointed nearly 20 years ago he had an “international perspective and his own position”, a former senior Kremlin official told the BBC.
The Kremlin used to consult him even when it knew he might have a different view to Mr Putin, says Mr Gabuev.
But when troops were sent into Ukraine in 2022, Mr Lavrov only found out a few hours before the war began, according to a report in the Financial Times.
Image caption,Putin was said to be more interested in expressing his world views to Obama in 2009 than discussing co-operation Andrei Kelin, Moscow’s ambassador to the UK, rejects the idea that Russian diplomats have lost their influence. He has worked on relations with Western countries throughout his diplomatic career.
In an interview with the BBC, he refused to concede that either Moscow or individual diplomats bear any responsibility for the collapse of relations with the West.
“We are not the ones doing the destroying,” he said. “We have problems with the Kyiv regime. There is nothing we can do about it.”
He says war in Ukraine is “a continuation of diplomacy by other means”.
Diplomacy as a spectacle
As foreign policy officials became less and less influential, they turned their attention back to Russia. Maria Zakharova, who became the ministry’s spokesperson in 2015, is a symbol of this new chapter.
“Before her, diplomats behaved like diplomats, speaking in refined expressions,” says former foreign ministry official Boris Bondarev, who resigned in protest over the war.
But with Ms Zakharova’s arrival, foreign ministry briefings became a spectacle. Ms Zakharova often yelled at reporters who asked her difficult questions and responded to criticism from other countries with insults.
Image caption,Spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry Maria Zakharova is known for “theatrical” press briefings Her diplomatic colleagues were going the same way. Mr Bondarev, who used to work for Moscow’s mission to the UN in Geneva, recalls one meeting where Russia blocked all proposed initiatives, prompting colleagues from Switzerland to complain.
“We said to them: ‘Well, what’s the problem? We are a great power, and you are just Switzerland!’
“That’s [Russian] diplomacy for you,” he says.
This approach was aimed at impressing Russians back home, says Mr Gabuev, the foreign policy analyst.
But an even more crucial target audience for diplomats is their own bosses, according to Mr Bondarev. Official telegrams sent to Moscow after foreign meetings are focussed on how passionately diplomats defended the country’s interests, he explains.
A typical message, according to him, would be something like: “We really gave them a hard time! We heroically defended Russian interests, and the Westerners couldn’t do anything and backed down!”
If everyone writes about “putting Westerners in their place” and you write that you “achieved consensus”, you will be looked at with disdain, he says.
Image caption,Boris Bondarev quit as a Russian diplomat over the Ukraine invasion Mr Bondarev recalls a dinner in Geneva in January 2022 when Mr Ryabkov, from the foreign ministry, met US officials. US First Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman hoped to avert the invasion of Ukraine through 11th-hour negotiations.
“It was awful,” says Mr Bondarev. “The Americans were like, ‘Let’s negotiate.’ And instead Ryabkov starts shouting, ‘We need Ukraine! We won’t go anywhere without Ukraine! Take all your stuff and go back to the 1997 [Nato] borders!’ Sherman is an iron lady, but I think even her jaw dropped at this.
“[Ryabkov] was always very polite and really nice to talk to. And now he’s banging his fist on the table and talking nonsense.”
It should be noted that, in recent years, the diplomatic tone has changed in other countries too, albeit on a smaller scale.
A few years earlier, Japan’s representative for human rights at the UN, Hideaki Ueda, demanded that foreign colleagues “shut up” at a meeting. Gavin Williamson used the same words against Russia when he was the UK defence secretary. And Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, last year referred to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as an “offended liver sausage”.
The US can’t snap their fingers and end this war
After a year and a half of war, is there any hope that diplomacy could help to bring the fighting to an end?
Most of the people the BBC spoke to think it is highly unlikely. Usually, 95% of diplomats’ work is “unofficial meetings and having coffee”, explains Mr Bondarev. Such contacts have greatly declined, he says – there is no longer much to talk about.
Ambassador Kelin has been banned from entering the UK Parliament. At one point, he says, the Russian embassy in London was almost left without gas and electricity, and insurance companies refused to insure the mission’s cars.
Image caption,President Putin with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Sooner or later, dialogue will have to happen, says RAND analyst Samuel Charap. The only alternative to negotiations is “absolute victory”, and it’s unlikely either Kyiv or Moscow could achieve this on the battlefield, he argues.
But he does not expect talks to happen soon. “Putin has changed pretty dramatically over the course of his term in power,” he says. “And frankly, I don’t know whether he’s going to be willing to engage.”
The Ukrainian authorities complain that Russia is once again offering ultimatums instead of compromises, such as demanding that Ukraine accepts the annexation of occupied territories. Kyiv has no intention to negotiate under such conditions, and its Western allies publicly support this decision.
Russia seems set on relying on its military machine, intelligence services and geo-economic power for influence – rather than diplomacy.
In these dispiriting circumstances, why aren’t Russian diplomats simply voting with their feet and resigning from the foreign service altogether?
“It’s a problem for everyone who’s been stuck in their positions for 10 to 20 years,” a former Kremlin employee told the BBC. “There’s no other life for you. It’s terrifying.”
Mr Bondarev, the former diplomat, can relate to that. “If it hadn’t been for the war, I probably would have stayed and put up with it,” he says.
“The job isn’t so bad. You sit, suffer a bit and in the evening you go out.”
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Putin informs India’s PM Modi he can’t make it to Delhi conference
Indian Prime Minister Modi was informed by Russian President Putin that he won’t attend the upcoming G20 Summit in Delhi.
India will be hosting a summit this year in its capital city Delhi from 9-10 September.
Mr Putin called Mr. Modi and informed him that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would be attending the summit on his behalf.
The two leaders talked about many problems and topics that affect both their regions and the whole world, said India in a statement.
A person who speaks for the Russian government said last week that Mr. Putin would not go to the summit because he has a lot of things to do.
The G20 is a group of the 19 richest countries in the world along with the European Union. India is currently in charge of the G20, a position that countries take turns holding each year.
Meanwhile, world leaders such as US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be at a summit in Delhi where they are likely to talk about Russia invading Ukraine.
Mr Putin went to the Brics summit last week. The Brics summit is a meeting of five countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Instead of attending in person, he joined through a video call to avoid the chance of being arrested by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC (International Criminal Court) has issued a warrant to arrest Mr Putin. They believe he committed war crimes in Ukraine.
India said on Monday that Mr. Modi understood and appreciated Russia’s decision and thanked Mr. Putin for supporting their initiatives during their time leading the G20.
Russia’s statement did not say that Mr Putin was not at the G20 summit. Instead, they said that the two countries agreed to work closely together while Russia is in charge of the BRICS group starting next year.
“The conversation also talked about the ongoing problems between Russia and India, which are getting better and closer in a special and important partnership,” it added. -
Russia is ‘planting brainwashed spies in foreign governments’ – whistleblower warns
The Balkans could potentially become Vladimir Putin‘s next area of interest, as suggested by a source that exposes confidential details.
Before the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, plans were made to cause problems in Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Bosnia. This is part of Moscow’s strategy to compete with the West.
The Kremlin’s plan involves training foreign students in Russia and placing them in government institutions in their home countries.
Petar Tanev, who was born in Bulgaria but lived in Moscow for 13 years, talked to Metro. couk about people trying to get him to spread harmful anti-EU and Nato messages.
The person is 23 years old and has a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from RUDN University, which used to be famous as the most esteemed university in Russia.Updates on Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner leader plane crash
Several months before Petar completed his studies in 2022, a Bulgarian friend invited him to go on a trip to annexed Crimea. The purpose of the trip was to organize events that would have an impact on the Balkan peninsula.
He said: ‘In the eyes of the Kremlin, students like me are possible agents. ‘ My colleague from Serbia and I were asked to join a project that aims to connect students from Balkan and Crimean regions. The individual who invited us possessed exceptional persuasive skills. He stated that my future representing Bulgaria in Russia held great potential, although it could also potentially go the other way. He already knew that I have citizenship in two countries.
This is a good example of how they make people interested. He told me to bring together other Bulgarians, as well as Serbians and Macedonians, who are living and studying in Russia, to invite them to Crimea as well.
I didn’t speak up because I didn’t want to admit that I am openly against the government in charge of Russia.
This man began calling me every day, but I just ignored him. I talked to my coworker, the person who was hired at the same time as me, and informed them that it seems like there are clear connections with secret intelligence organizations.
He replied, “Even better. ” As I know, he went to Crimea with Bulgarian students. I think they now work in our government departments.
This happened after a recent scandal where three Bulgarians were arrested in the UK, which showed how much the Kremlin has been secretly operating in Bulgaria.
Petar says that many young people from his country go to Russia for their college education.
He also said that the system is similar to the propaganda made by Joseph Goebbels, who was the main person responsible for spreading false information for the Nazi Party in Germany during World War II.
To prevent infiltration, he asked the Bulgarian government to greatly limit the hiring of individuals who have studied in Russia within the past three years or are currently studying there.Petar emphasized that the government needs to be very careful when hiring someone who graduated from a Russian university when the war started, in order to protect Bulgaria’s sovereignty and security.
Petar remembered another time when he experienced the influence of the Kremlin. It happened when he was a teenager, working for a student group that focused on politics in the Balkans.
At that time, the Ministry of Education in Russia spent a lot of money on propaganda about Bosnia’s region called Republika Srpska, and the impact of Western countries.
Definitely, it is worrying that some people, including many who are citizens of the EU, have been influenced by similar organizations and may have been manipulated by them.
Petar explained that once someone becomes deeply involved in something, it is hard to get out of it.
In addition, the author mentioned that international security agencies have information about individuals who are receiving payment from the Kremlin.
Since the war in Ukraine started, Western sanctions have made it more difficult for Putin’s close associates to use their “official spies”. As a result, they are now using other methods.
Peter said that there are a lot of students who have passports from the EU and are studying in Russia. Using them is the best way to have an impact on political systems in the Balkans.
After coming back to Bulgaria last year, he has been persuading the government to support Ukraine and giving advice to MEPs.
His Instagram page shows the work he is doing to oppose Russia’s war in Ukraine. Recently, he collaborated with Anastasia Shevchenko, a Russian activist who was exiled from her country.DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s, and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
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There is “no doubt” that Putin is to blame for Prigozhin’s demise – Former Russian PM
Mikhail Kasyanov, an ex-Russia prime minister, holds a strong belief that Putin should be held accountable for the plane tragedy that is widely believed to have resulted in the fatality of Yevgeny Prigozhin.
‘I believe that Mr Putin is unable to forgive,’ Mr Kasyanov told Sky News.
Mr Kasyanov, I believe that Prigozhin betrayed the country after his unsuccessful rebellion in June.
This shows that any traitor would be killed in a unique manner, according to Mr. Kasyanov
Mr Putin has shown his anger in wanting to have control.
Prigozhin’s rebellion showed that Mr. Putin was not strong, so he needed to find a way to become powerful. -
China tells Russia it’s still ‘neutral’ on Ukraine War during Saudi peace talks
A day after a Chinese delegation took part in international negotiations to settle the conflict that included Kyiv but excluded Moscow, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi assured his Russian counterpart that Beijing continues to be “impartial” on the conflict in Ukraine.
Wang emphasised to Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, in a phone chat on Monday that China and Russia are “trustworthy and reliable good friends and partners.”
According to a readout of the call released by China’s Foreign Ministry, Wang stated, “On the Ukraine crisis, China will uphold an independent and impartial position, sound an objective and rational voice, actively promote peace talks, and strive to seek a political solution on any international multilateral occasion.”
The call came after two days of talks in Saudi Arabia, where nearly 40 countries, including important allies of Ukraine like the US, UK, and Germany, as well as India and several Middle Eastern countries, gathered to talk about resolving the conflict after Moscow’s invasion began almost 18 months ago.
In order to identify “common ground that will pave the way for peace,” the group concluded that it is crucial to engage in international conversation.
According to China’s Foreign Ministry’s readout of the call on Monday, Lavrov “appreciates and welcomes the constructive role played by China” towards a diplomatic resolution of the “Ukraine crisis.”
Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine, referred to China’s participation in the discussions in Jeddah as “a super breakthrough and a historic victory.”
Xi Jinping, the leader of China and a self-described buddy of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has long been seen as a potential mediator who may help drive Moscow towards peace, and this expectation has been shared by both Ukraine and its Western allies.
Putin and Xi both saw the other as a key ally in altering what they perceive to be an American-led international order that is antagonistic to their objectives.
Despite Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which Beijing has never denounced, China has continued to strengthen its economic, political, and security ties with Russia.
Despite making efforts in recent months to establish itself as a viable peace mediator in the crisis, it did not send a team to previous international negotiations in Denmark in June.
China’s involvement in the Jeddah meetings coincides with the country’s efforts to reignite its relationship with important European trading partners in the face of economic hardship and continued tension with the United States. China has also been stepping up its ties with Saudi Arabia.
Beijing’s backing of Russia has seriously hurt Beijing’s standing in Europe.
The mission was headed by Li Hui, China’s special envoy for Eurasian affairs, who “had extensive interaction and conversation with all sides on the political settlement of the Ukraine problem… carefully to various points of view and suggestions, furthering the development of global consensus,” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement to Reuters on Monday. The ministry has been contacted by CNN for comment.
However, China’s participation in the negotiations did not seem to change its own position on the dispute.
Following the meetings, the ministry told Reuters that Beijing would continue to strengthen the dialogue based on its 12-point position on a political resolution to the problem.
Beijing’s earlier-in-the-year plan called for negotiations to end the crisis. However, it differs considerably from Ukraine’s own vision for peace in that it advocates for a ceasefire without also urging the evacuation of Russian soldiers, which, according to detractors, would enable Moscow to cement its illegitimate military victories.
Despite the opposing side’s objections, Ukraine and Russia continue to officially support the conditions for direct dialogue.
The Chinese foreign ministry reports that Lavrov and Wang addressed China’s proposal during their phone discussion on Monday, with Lavrov reportedly stating that Russia “highly endorses” it.
Wang called for both parties to “work closely and strategically” to promote a “multi-polar world” and “democratisation of international relations” – terms they used to express their shared vision for a world order where Western countries hold less sway. This conversation also highlighted their alignment in the international arena more generally.
According to an official Russian account of the call, which was released by state-run news agency Tass, the two “once again confirmed unanimity or broad consonance of Moscow and Beijing’s approaches to world affairs.”
According to Tass, “They noted their rejection of the Western bloc’s confrontational policy towards Russia and China, as well as its attempts to stifle their growth through the use of sanctions and other illegal means.”
The two had not spoken since Wang’s surprise reappointment as China’s foreign minister in late July, following the abrupt replacement of Qin Gang, who had served in the position for barely six months.
Prior to being elevated to head the foreign affairs branch of the ruling Chinese Communist Party late last year, Wang served as foreign minister for approximately ten years. He now occupies both positions.
According to Tass, Lavrov wished his Chinese counterpart “great success in his new demanding role” and congratulated him on his appointment.
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Russia calls for Britain to spy for Putin and engage in treason
In a furious retaliation to the head of MI6, Russia is now urging Britons to spy for Putin.
UK citizens and other members of the Nato “axis of evil” were invited to provide information with their intelligence agency by Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry.
When he claimed last month that individuals upset by Putin’s invasion could aid his British agents in putting an end to the carnage, Sir Richard Moore infuriated Moscow.
‘Many’ Russian citizens have already committed this act of treason during the previous 18 months, he added.
Two weeks later, in a statement, Putin’s spokesperson described the attack as “Russophobic” and compared it to Nazi propaganda.
Moore urged people to betray the Motherland and work with British intelligence, completely disregarding the gentleman’s code, Zakharova claimed.
‘In my opinion, a mirror-image response is required.
Such appeals should be made to residents of the British Isles and the other nations that make up the Nato axis of evil, enticing them to assist Russian intelligence.
I believe it’s a fantastic idea to provide UK citizens, the majority of whom are currently in incredibly precarious situations, the possibility to work with the Russian secret services, she continued.
MI6 head calls on Russians to “join hands with us” to put an end to the killing in Ukraine
What’s the big deal, anyway? London believes it to be normal, hence. I don’t understand why we should forgo it, so let’s wait and see.
Following the US foreign intelligence service’s rare publishing of a recruitment video explaining how Russians might contact them on Telegram, the MI6 director made a rare intervention.
Sir Richard stated in his speech in Prague that “many Russians are silently appalled by the sight of their armed forces pulverising Ukrainian cities, evicting innocent families from their homes, and kidnapping thousands of children.”
They are witnessing their warriors wreak havoc on a neighbouring nation with terror.
“They know in their hearts that Putin’s justification for attacking a fellow Slavic country is fraudulent, a miasma of lies and fantasy,” the author writes.
In 1968, after the Soviet tanks repressed the Prague spring revolutions, he emphasised that “many Russians are wrestling with the same dilemmas and the same tugs of conscience.”
“I invite them to join hands with us, just like others have done over the past 18 months.” We welcome you at any time,’ the seasoned spy said.
We’ll handle their offers of assistance in the discreet and expert manner for which my service is renowned.
“With us, their secrets will always be safe.” And together, we’ll try to put an end to the slaughter.
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Wagner forces advancing near Polish border might attempt to cross covertly – PM warns
The prime minister of Poland claims that more than 100 members of the Russian mercenary group Wagner are marching towards a narrow strip of land separating Poland from Lithuania and has issued a warning that they may attempt to enter the border by pretending to be migrants.
Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister of Poland, stated on Saturday that his country had learned that the Wagner mercenaries were not far from Grodno, a city in western Belarus close to the Suwalki gap or corridor.
Following a failed military rebellion in Russia, thousands of Wagner soldiers are reportedly in Belarus.
Morawiecki reiterated claims that Belarus, a significant supporter of Russia, has been directing migrants towards the west in an effort to overwhelm Polish border guards.
According to Morawiecki, the troop moves appeared to be another component of this attempt to weaken the border.
In addition to helping illegal immigrants enter Polish territory and destabilising Poland, he predicted that they would likely pose additional hazards by trying to infiltrate Poland under the garb of illegal immigration.
According to Morawiecki, there have been over 16,000 attempts by migrants to cross the border illegally so far this year after being “pushed to Poland” by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Wagner has not responded to the reports, so it is unclear exactly what his forces are doing in Grodno. However, the stationing of Russian allies close to the Suwalki corridor would be an escalation that would alarmed NATO and EU members.
Despite being only 60 miles long, the corridor is crucial from a strategic perspective for NATO, the EU, Russia, and Belarus. The border region is the only overland connection between the Baltic states and the rest of the EU and links the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad to Belarus.
In the early stages of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, analysts worried that Moscow would strike the Suwalki corridor in an effort to defend Kaliningrad, its westernmost province and the only region of the nation that is encircled by EU nations.
The precise number of Wagner forces in Belarus is unknown. As part of an agreement made by the president of Belarus to put an end to the mercenary group’s violent uprising against the Kremlin last month, they were invited to the nation.
Wagner was then requested by Lukashenko to assist with military training. The two intend to conduct combined military drills close to Poland’s border, which is likely to exacerbate existing tensions.
At a conference, Lukashenko made fun of Russian President Putin by saying that the Wagner fighters had started to worry him because they wanted to go on “an excursion” in the west.
Despite claiming that its borders are secure, Poland has shifted its troops east because of potential Wagnerian threats.
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EU warns Africa not to trust Putin’s grain promise
President Vladimir Putin allegedly misled African nations by promising to supply free grain to the continent, according to the EU.
Nabila Massrali, a spokesperson for the European Commission, asserted that given its history, Russia was unlikely to keep its word.
President Putin already promised to give thousands of tonnes of free grain within months during the Russia-Africa conference.
He claimed that his goal was to prevent a “global food crisis.”
Concern was raised lately when Russia withdrew from an agreement that ensured the safe passage of Ukrainian grain exports.
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Putin prepared to host African leaders
President Putin is set to convene a special summit in St. Petersburg with African leaders. However, the number of participants is significantly lower than expected, partly due to concerns surrounding Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and its withdrawal from a UN-brokered deal that facilitated safe grain shipments from Ukraine’s southern ports.
Given the critical issue of food security following the Russian invasion, the agreement had played a crucial role in stabilizing global food prices.
During the first Russia-Africa summit in 2019, 43 leaders attended, whereas this time, only 17 are expected to participate.
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Putin completely supports G20 membership and grain subsidies for Africa
President Vladimir Putin expressed his desire for the African Union (AU) to become a full member of the G20 club of nations while speaking at the beginning of a summit for African leaders in St. Petersburg.
“We hope that this decision will be made as early as September, during the G20 summit in New Delhi,” Mr Putin said.
“As before, Russia is ready to do everything possible to promote the strengthening of the sovereignty of African states, to help make Africa one of the key partners in the new system of a multipolar world order,” he added.
Regarding Russia’s decision to leave a UN-mediated agreement that would have allowed grain supplies from southern Ukrainian ports to finally reach Africa in safety, Mr. Putin declared that Russia can fill the gap.
In the upcoming months, six African nations would be able to get free food from Russia, he noted.
The summit has fewer African leaders participating than the last gathering, in part due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Rich Russian and Putin’s ally found dead from a ‘overdose’
The most recent Putin supporter to be discovered dead in unexplained circumstances was a Russian oligarch who created spyware that takes personal information from average citizens.
On Saturday, July 22, 40-year-old Anton Cherepennikov was discovered dead in his Moscow workplace after apparently suffering a heart attack.
The businessman overdosed on “medical gas,” a source in Moscow law enforcement later informed state media.
According to the source, who also asserted that three people paid him a visit in his workplace the night before he passed away, Cherepennikov took the medicine for medicinal grounds but apparently took more than was permitted.
His death’s official cause is still under investigation.
The US Treasury previously imposed sanctions on Cherepennikov’s business, ICS Holding, which was founded in 2018. Citadel is a potent strain of malware that has infected over 11 million machines worldwide and cost over £387 million in losses.
Following the introduction of a 2018 law requiring internet and telephone companies to divulge the private communications and data of their users, it has been claimed that Russia’s Federal Security Bureau (FSB) employed ICS Holdings to conduct mass surveillance of Russian residents.
Additionally, Cherepennikov worked in Moscow on the creation of a complex facial recognition system and was a member of the boards of directors for the mobile network operators Megafon and USM Telecom.
Independent Russian journalist Vasily Polonsky declared, “I do not believe [he] died of cardiac arrest,” and instantly cast doubt on the cause of his passing. It will take time to pinpoint the specific reason for the entrepreneur’s passing.
Anton Gerashchenko, a Ukrainian expert on internal affairs, added his thoughts to the enigma surrounding his passing on Saturday by tweeting, “Yet another mysterious death of a top-manager in Russia.”
Cherepennikov was described as “an absolutely key tool in Putin’s repression” by an opposition source, the Mirror writes.
The security system is getting desperate because the war isn’t working, thus his assassination cannot be ruled out.
Since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine began, a number of Russian businesspeople have inexplicably passed away, with Cherepennikov’s death being the most recent.
Igor Kudryakov, a wealthy oligarch, was also discovered dead in his Moscow flat on Friday. According to official sources, he had died of a “oncological disease.”
In the meantime, FSB officers detained Igor Girkin in Moscow on Friday after accusing him of “inciting extremism.” Girkin is the head of an extreme nationalist group and a vocal opponent of Putin.
Girkin might spend up to five years behind bars if found guilty.
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Russia can replace Ukraine in supply of grain to Africa
President Putin has stated that Russia has the capability to replace Ukraine as a supplier of grain to Africa after withdrawing from a deal that allowed safe shipment of grain across the Black Sea.
In a statement from the Kremlin, Moscow announced its willingness to provide grain to Africa on both commercial and free-of-charge terms. Previously, in the year leading up to June 2022, Russia was a major exporter of wheat to Africa, shipping 10.8 million tonnes. During the same period, Ukraine exported 6.3 million tonnes of wheat to the continent.
President Putin expressed confidence in a record harvest this year in Russia. The country is set to host the second Russia-Africa summit later in the week.
The termination of the Ukraine grain deal was met with regret from the African Union, whose member states have been severely impacted by the surging food prices.
There are reports suggesting that Moscow is seeking to supply grain to Africa through a partnership involving Qatar and Turkey, although it remains uncertain whether they will accept this arrangement.
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Putin made deal with Wagner in order to ‘save his skin’ – MI6 chief claims
It was a unique occasion when the Kremlin‘s outward appearance and the truth behind its doors coincided.
According to the head of the British intelligence agency Mi6, who revealed this in a rare speech in Prague, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the private military company Wagner, did indeed strike a deal with Putin to halt his advance on Moscow during the foiled uprising of June 24. And it appeared that he had been welcomed into the Kremlin days later when he met with Putin.
The Mi6 chief, identified only as C, also voiced some perplexity at the tremors that shook the Kremlin that weekend and the quickness with which allegiances were discarded and won back.
“If you look at Putin’s behaviors on that day”, Richard Moore said of June 24, “Prigozhin started off I think, as a traitor at breakfast. He had been pardoned by supper and then a few days later, he was invited for tea. So, there are some things and even the chief of MI6 finds that a little bit difficult to try and interpret, in terms of who’s in and who’s out.”
Moore also gave a rare indication of the continued health and whereabouts of Prigozhin himself, whose characteristically profane and frequent audio messages published on Telegram have recently stopped. Asked by CNN if Prigozhin was “alive and healthy”, Moore replied the Wagner leader was still: “floating around”, per his agency’s understanding.
Western intelligence agencies have been reticent to comment on the failed rebellion, for fear of providing a false backbone to Russia’s familiar excuse for internal dissent – that it is arranged and fueled by western spies. Yet the on-camera speech provided an opportunity for Moore’s expression to convey how shocking the weakness betrayed by Putin that weekend had been.
“He really didn’t fight back against Prigozhin”, Moore said. “He cut a deal to save his skin, using the good offices of the leader of Belarus”, he said, referring to the intervention of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko who struck the deal. “So even I can’t see inside Putin’s head”, he added. “He has to have realized, I am sure that something that is deeply rotten in the state of Denmark – to quote Hamlet – and he had to cut this deal.”
Moore added it was difficult to make “firm judgments” about the fate of Wagner itself, as a mercenary group, but they “do not appear to be engaged in Ukraine”, and that there “appears to be elements of them in Belarus.”
Moore chose the city of Prague, which he remarked as the last European capital to have Russian tanks roll into it before Ukraine, as a venue for a speech. He began with an unusually open appeal to Russians “silently appalled by the sight of their armed forces pulverizing Ukrainian cities, expelling innocent families from their homes, and kidnapping thousands of children” to spy for the United Kingdom.
“I invite them to do what others have already done this past 18 months and join hands with us. …Their secrets will always be safe with us, and together we will work to bring the bloodshed to an end.”
It was an abnormally public appeal that fit the upended global geopolitics forged by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While Moore maintained that China is “absolutely complicit in the invasion” because of its continued support of the Kremlin head, he added that Iran’s support for Russia has caused division in its most senior officials. “Iran is clearly keen to make as much cash as it can out of this situation”, he said. And while Iran is notably selling drones that usually hit civilian targets, he added: “It will sell anything it can spare and it thinks it can get away with.”
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Thousands forced to evacuate after powerful blasts at Russian base in Crimea
On Wednesday, a Russian weapons storage facility in occupied Crimea was rocked by a series of explosions that drove thousands of locals from their homes and forced local authorities to divert traffic from a nearby roadway.
The site near Stary Krym in Crimea’s Kirorvsky region was shown on video to be engulfed in smoke and flames, and blasts continued there for at least six hours after the original explosion. According to Russian official media, the head of the Crimean parliament indicated that it might take two days to completely put out the fire.
The cause of the blasts has not yet been confirmed. The Russian-backed leader of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, said on Telegram that “a fire occurred at a military training ground.” Askenov said residents of four surrounding villages – more than 2,000 people – were being evacuated.
The explosions are the latest in a series of recent incidents to roil Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula illegally seized by Russia in 2014. On Monday, Ukraine claimed responsibility for an attack that damaged part of the bridge linking Crimea to Russia, a vital supply line for Moscow’s invasion and a personal project for President Vladimir Putin.
Kyiv has not commented on Wednesday’s explosions at the Crimea training ground. The pro-Russian Grey Zone Telegram channel claimed that a Ukrainian Storm Shadow missile struck the depot, which could not immediately be confirmed, while a rebel Ukrainian group in Crimea called Atesh celebrated the fire but said it was not responsible.
Putin’s spokesman said he had been briefed on the blasts at the ammunition dump.
Russia has retaliated against the Ukrainian strike on the bridge by launching a brutal two-day aerial assault on the strategic port city of Odesa in southern Ukraine, damaging key infrastricture and injuring civilians.
The Kremlin’s barrage overnight included Kalibr, Kh-22 and Oniks cruise missiles, and Iran-made Shahed-136/131 UAVs, the Ukrainian Air Force said, adding that it destroyed 14 cruise missiles and 23 drones.
CNN journalists in Odesa heard an intense bombardment early Wednesday local time.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed it targeted military and fuel facilities in Odesa with “high-precision sea and air-based weapons.”
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow deliberately leveled strikes at key “grain deal infrastructure,” after the Kremlin on Monday pulled out of an agreement that allowed grain to be exported by sea from Ukrainian ports otherwise blockaded by Russia.
He said it was the “largest” attempt by Russia to “inflict pain on Odesa” since the invasion began in February 2022, adding that about “a million tons of food” is stored in the ports that were struck on Wednesday.
“Everyone is affected by this Russian terror,” the Ukrainian leader added.
The Ukrainian Agriculture Ministry said the damage, which hit grain export infrastructure in Odesa and the nearby port of Chornomorsk, would take at least a year to fully restore.
“This is a terrorist act not only against Ukraine, but against the whole world. Its food security is once again under threat. Humanity is being held hostage by a terrorist country that is blackmailing the world with hunger,” the Ukrainian Agricultural Minister Mykola Solskyi said in a Wednesday statement.
Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov called the bombardment “one of the most horrible nights” of the war.
“We do not recall such a scale of attack since the beginning of a full-scale invasion,” he said on Facebook.
There were no casualties reported. But the city was shaken by explosions and several people were wounded by a downed Russian missile, including a nine-year-old boy, officials said.
Further east, two civilians were killed and seven others injured by Ukrainian shelling in parts of separatist-controlled areas of the eastern Donetsk region, according to a Russian-backed official.
Several homes, two schools and a hospital were damaged, the head of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s attack on the Crimea bridge dealt a logistical and symbolic blow to Moscow’s faltering military campaign. The bridge is a critical artery for supplying the peninsula with both its daily needs and supplies for the military, in addition to fuel and goods for civilians.
The $3.7 billion-dollar corridor, which is 12 miles long, is a critical artery for supplying the peninsula with both its daily needs and supplies for the Russian military, in addition to fuel and goods for civilians.
The strike was a joint operation of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and Ukraine’s naval forces, an SBU official told CNN. The attack killed a couple and left their daughter injured.
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Putin to be absent from Brics summit – South African presidency
President Vladimir Putin will not attend an upcoming summit in South Africa. This decision comes in response to South Africa’s leader stating that any attempt to arrest Putin would be considered a declaration of war against Russia.
If Putin were to leave Russian territory, he would be subject to an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant. As a signatory to the ICC, South Africa would be expected to assist in his arrest.
Instead, Russia will be represented by its Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, at the two-day summit. However, Putin will participate in the Brics conference, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, through a video link.
The Brics conference is often viewed as an alternative to the G7 group of advanced economies.
In a statement, South Africa’s presidency described the agreement for Mr Putin not to attend as “mutual” and said it had come about following a “number of consultations” on the summit.
The decision by South Africa not to arrest Vladimir Putin has faced criticism from supporters of Russia, who argue that the country should have asserted its sovereignty and defended its friendship with Russia. The invitation extended to Putin prior to the ICC’s accusations of war crimes in Ukraine has sparked controversy both domestically and internationally.
This move was seen by some as a departure from South Africa’s traditionally neutral stance, aligned with other African nations, in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. However, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government faced increasing pressure to arrest Putin, leading to a sense of urgency.
The Democratic Alliance, the main opposition party in South Africa, took the matter to court in an attempt to compel the authorities to arrest Putin if he visited the country. International human rights organization Amnesty International also joined the legal challenge.
Court documents revealed that President Ramaphosa opposed the arrest, citing national security concerns as the primary reason for his stance.
“Russia has made it clear that arresting its sitting president would be a declaration of war. It would be inconsistent with our constitution to risk engaging in war with Russia,” he said in an affidavit.
Mr Peskov denied Moscow had told South Africa that arresting its president would mean an act of war, but said it was “clear to everyone what [that kind of] infringement against the head of the Russian state would mean”.
Russia has consistently described the ICC arrest warrant as outrageous and legally void, because the country is not a member of the organisation.
The African continent remains split over the war between Russia and Ukraine, with some countries showing reluctance to back United Nations’ resolutions condemning Russia for its actions in Ukraine.
The reasons for this vary from country to country, but experts say one factor is the economic ties that some, including South Africa, have with Moscow.
A sanctioned Russian oligarch, Viktor Vekselberg, is said to be one of the biggest donors to South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress (ANC).
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Russia possesses ‘sufficient’ cluster munitions, using them could result in retaliation – Putin
Considering employing cluster munitions against Ukraine “if they are used against us,” Russian President Vladimir Putin stated, his country has a stockpile of them.
Putin made his remarks just days after American-manufactured cluster munitions were sent to Ukraine, though a senior Ukrainian military official told CNN that they had not yet been deployed.
The Russian leader claimed in an interview with a pro-Kremlin journalist that “Russia has a sufficient supply of various types of cluster munitions.”
“If they are used against us, we reserve the right to mirror actions.”
Washington’s decision to send cluster bombs to Kyiv was controversial and criticized by human rights groups.
The weapons are particularly dangerous to civilians and noncombattants when fired near populated areas because they scatter explosive material, so-called “bomblets,” across large areas. Those that fail to explode on impact can detonate years later, posing a long-term risk to anyone who encounters them, similar to landmines.
What are cluster munitions?
Cluster munitions contain multiple explosives that are released over an area up to the size of several football fields. They can be dropped from a plane or launched from the ground or sea.
The submunitions are released in flight and fall to the ground. They can range from the tens to many hundreds
They are designed to explode on impact but as many as a third don’t, and remain a deadly risk to civilians for years to come
94% of recorded cluster bomb casualties are civilians, of which almost 40% are children
Note: Cluster munitions can vary widely in design and scale, this graphic only aims to explain their general function.
The danger posed by cluster weapons has prompted more than 100 countries – including the United Kingdom, France and Germany – to sign a treaty prohibiting their use.
US President Joe Biden told CNN that the decision whether to send cluster munitions to Ukraine was “very difficult,” but he opted to do so because Kyiv needs more ammunition to continue its fight to push Russian troops out of Ukrainian territory.
A top official at the US Defense Department said Kyiv gave “assurances in writing” that it would not use the cluster munitions in urban areas.
In his interview, Putin said that the Biden administration had called the use of cluster munitions a war crime and that he agreed with that assessment.
It’s not clear exactly which comments Putin was referring to, but former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last year at the outset of the conflict that reports of Russia’s use of cluster bombs, if confirmed, would constitute a war crime.
Putin also claimed that Russia has not yet used cluster munitions, despite evidence to the contrary.
In March, the United Nations said it had compiled credible reports that Russian forces had used cluster munitions in populated areas at least 24 times. A CNN investigation last year found that the Kremlin fired 11 cluster rockets at Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, during the war’s opening days.
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Wagner rebellion questions bloody gains earned by Russian mercenaries
Following the foiled Wagner group mutiny, experts have advised that the financial edifices of Russia’s private army be rigorously examined.
Private military contractors (PMCs) have been sanctioned by the UK, but one researcher called the approach ‘uneven’ because Western countries have been focusing on the organisations piecemeal over the past three years.
Wagner refused to sign contracts that would have tied the PMCs more closely to Vladimir Putin‘s Ministry of Defence in the days leading up to and following the uprising.
Calls had been growing before the mutiny, where leader Yevgeny Prigozhin led his troops to within 124 miles of Moscow, for the ‘criminal organisation’ to be classified as a terror group by the UK.
But Moscow’s apparent attempt to assimilate the soldiers and commanders — together with other PMCs who are said to have committed atrocities in Ukraine — poses new questions about the groups’ aims and financial links.
The Molfar open source intelligence community has been monitoring developments involving the PMCs, also known as non-state security actors. Around 25 are thought by the organisation to have been active in Ukraine since the outset of Russian military aggression in 2014.
They include Rusich, regarded as a neo-Nazi organisation, which is estimated by Molfar to currently have a couple dozen fighters.
Others have been identified by the investigative community as Redut, which has up to 7,000 mercenaries, Achmat, with around 3,500, Veterans, with around 2,000, the Russian Imperial Movement, with around 200, and the Russian Legion and Tiger, with around 500 each.
Fighters of the Wagner private mercenary group in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on June 24 (Picture: Reuters) The UK sanctioned Wagner and a handful of facilitators in March 2023 but the details may already be out of date through the Kremlin’s attempts to absorb or possibly eliminate its leadership.
The tool is meant to freeze assets by preventing any UK business or citizen from dealing with funds held by the designated person and ban the individual from entering or remaining in the UK.
Molfar’s head of research (IT) Maksym Zrazhevskiy told Metro.co.uk: ‘Up to this date, Western countries have imposed sanctions against designated PMCs, with Wagner and the Russian Imperial Movement proscribed as terror groups by France and the US respectively.
‘According to information circulated in the Russian media, some PMCs have already signed contracts with the Russian armed forces. Wagner has only handed over its equipment to the Ministry of Defense.
‘The funding of this criminal organisation remains unknown, so there is plenty of work to be done in simply keeping an eye on the formations and individuals, both on the battlefield and in the business and financial sphere.
‘Media awareness also has a crucial role to play.’
Metro.co.uk told last month how an opaque nexus of formations is now positioned to play a shadowy role in the Kremlin’s power games.
The Wagner mutiny between June 23 and 24 ended with Prigohzin standing his fighters down. They were then given an ultimatum by Putin to sign over to Russia’s regular military, join their leader, then said to be in Belarus, or return to their families.
Uncertainty remains over Prigohzin’s whereabouts, with the Kremlin claiming that he met Putin five days after abandoning his march on Moscow. He has reportedly been in Russia, although he has not made any public appearances via his usual means of social media since the mutiny.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has said the group has handed thousands of tonnes of weaponry and ammunition to the country’s regular forces.
The evidence points to Moscow attempting to clamp down on the private armies, possibly to prevent another element going rogue.
‘We assume that these groups will be absorbed by the Russian Ministry of Defense as with Veterans or Akhmat, who have signed contracts with the regular army,’ Zrazhevskiy explained.
‘This follows Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu’s resolution on February 15, where it was stated that after July 1 all the PMCs or “voluntary formations” must sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense. After the mutiny they were reminded to do this again, but this time by Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s press attaché.
‘Apparently, the Russian government was aware that a mutiny could happen, so to check unrestrained growth or at least be able to control it, they sought to make PMC soldiers sign contracts as leverage.’
The PMCs have been sanctioned by various Western governments, although the UK has been accused of being slow to tackle Wagner’s ‘Londongrad’ links and has been called upon to proscribe it as a terror group.
Australia, Canada, Japan, the EU, and the US have also sanctioned the profits-driven militia, which is responsible for atrocities and criminal acts across Ukraine and Africa, according to the US Treasury.
Rusich, said to have ties to Wagner, is led by fighters with neo-Nazi views and has left behind ‘serious evidence’ of war crimes in Ukraine, according to the Kharkiv Human RIghts Protection Group.
Patriot, another formation, was sanctioned by the US in April 23, 2023, with the Department of the Treasury’s listing stating that the entity was established in 2018 and is engaged in ‘defence activities’.
The group is said to have been formed as a counter-balance to Wagner under the auspices of defence minister Sergei Shoigu, who was the target of angry video tirades by Prigozhin before the Wagner insurrection.
‘There are instances where peace organisations and Ukrainians have not needed to go into the field to collect evidence of war crimes,’ Zrazhevskiy said. ‘The fighters themselves have proudly shared their “achievements” on Telegram or other social media channels.
‘They include videos of Ukrainian soldiers being beheaded in cold blood. In other violations of the Geneva Convention there are instances of ex-Wagner soldiers admitting that they were executing dozens of civilians, including children, in Bakhmut.
‘Another instance is an ex-Wagner soldier admitting to executing hostages. According to Ukrainian intelligence, Wagner was responsible for a powerful explosion which killed Ukrainian prisoners of war in the temporarily occupied town of Olenivka.
‘Outside Ukraine, they are notorious for war crimes in the Central African Republic where they executed more than 100 civilians in the city of Bambari. The authorities of the CAR state have that it was an “operation to eradicate the rebels”.’
Stephen Reimer, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute’s Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, told Metro.co.uk that the sanctions are being applied in an ‘uneven’ manner.
‘The supposed absorption of the Wagner group into the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) might be a cosmetic change,’ he said.
‘I suspect the group will continue with at least some of its operations across Africa, which are self-resourcing and self-financing. I would postulate that the contracts that they have signed with governments around the world, such as Mozambique, to do counter-terrorist operations will continue to go into their accounts, and not into the MoD’s accounts.
‘From a UK point of view, the announcement of sanctions seems to have a performative element that follows the identification of the individuals and organisations concerned. Unfortunately, the implementation piece does not always attract the same care and attention as the announcement piece.’
Prigozhin generated a quarter of a billion dollars from his global natural resources empire in the four years before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to corporate records examined by the Financial Times.
Existing sanctions aimed at the chef-turned-warlord failed to stop his operations reaping in cash amid a trail of alleged human rights abuses across the Middle East and Africa, according to the report.
After the mutiny, Putin said Wagner had been paid more than 86 billion rubles (£726,447) between May 2022 and May 2023.
Sanctions name those giving Russia ‘deniability’
The 2023 UK sanctions against Wagner group members state:
‘There are multiple, credible sources which corroborate and support the conclusion that the existence of the organisation known as the Wagner Group is kept purposefully vague and opaque in order to provide a deniable military capability for the Russian State. The Wagner Group is therefore responsible for, engages in, and provides support for actions which destabilise Ukraine and undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine.’
While off-radar leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was sanctioned in 2020, the latest sanctions list other individuals associated with the group including commander Andrei Nikolaevich Troshe and Dmitry Valeryevich Utkin, who is said to have founded the group.
The amounts generated by other PMCs are even more opaque.
‘What needs to be done is to look into Wagner’s companies and complex corporate structures, which allow the group to raise, move and ultimately benefit from their funds,’ Reimer said.
‘There has been some research done by people trying to track down those shell companies but it’s very complicated, the structures are meant to obfuscate, they are the same means used by others, like many Russian oligarchs, to hide their funds. Investigating Wagner’s funds will mean going down many of these rabbit holes.’
Prigozhin himself was sanctioned by the UK in December 2020 but the group itself was not listed until five months later.
‘The sanctioning of Wagner by the UK marks a shift from targeting terrorist groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda,’ Reimer said. ‘But while targeting terror groups like these tends to be uncontroversial, the PMCs are really non-state proxies and there are questions around how we expand sanctions to meet the threat they pose and what our allies are doing.
‘Sanctions are most effective when they are done in concert. So if the UK, US, Canada and the EU designate different entities at different times, it leaves an uneven landscape for the PMCs to exploit.
‘It’s something that needs to looked at almost on a day-by-day basis; you sanction one company and another company or enabler can be established in its place. The network will reform around the pieces that have been targeted by sanctions. Sanctions are not a “one and done” tool.
‘I have no idea how much the Wagner group is worth, but you get an idea from looking at photographs of their offices in St Petersburg, which is a Bond-villain type of building, that they are not short of money.’
In a joint statement issued by G7 leaders in February 2023, the UK government reaffirmed its intention to target those profiting from the war in Ukraine. The relevant passage stated: ‘We continue to impose targeted sanctions, including on those responsible for war crimes or human rights violations and abuses, exercising illegitimate authority in Ukraine, or who otherwise are profiting from the war.’
The following month the government announced the £1 billion UK Integrated Security Fund, intended to keep the country ‘safe and address global sources of volatility and insecurity’.
Part of its remit is to tackle evasion ‘across the UK’s trade, transport and financial sanctions’, including through work with the private sector to ‘maximise’ the reach of the financial measure.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it does not comment on individual cases.
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Putin ally’s daughter discovered dead in flat
The beautiful Russian daughter of a Putin ally was discovered dead in her flat after apparently complaining of feeling ill.
The concierge of Natalia Bochkareva’s building in Moscow’s Presnensky District sounded the alarm, leading to her discovery.
Before discovering her dead on Tuesday, police officers pounded on the door.
The 44-year-old had complained of feeling ill the day before, according to the concierge.
According to preliminary reports, there were no signs of a violent death.
Her death is the latest in a long line of high-profile Russian figures to suddenly die in mysterious circumstances.
Ms Bochkareva was the daughter of the late Vasily Bochkarev, who governed Penza Oblast from 1998 to 2015.
A year after leaving office, the 67-year-old, who belonged to Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, died from lung cancer.
Ms Bochkareva managed the family’s lumber-processing and bakery businesses after her father’s death.
Two years ago she hit headlines for falling for scam. It’s reported she sent a self-styled fortune teller 16 million rubles (£136,000) to remove a curse.
But after receiving the money, the fortune teller broke off all contact with Natalia and, according to Ms Bochkareva, failed to fulfil her part of the agreement.
The police ended up getting involved.
According to some reports, Natalia suffered from heart problems.
Other recent deaths of Russia’s elite include that of 28-year-old Kristina Baikova in June.
Ms Baikova, a vice-president at Loko-Bank, allegedly fell from her 11th floor apartment in Moscow.
In February Russian defence official Marina Yankina, 58, also fell from an apartment window and died.
As head of the financial support department of the Ministry of Defence, Ms Yankina was a key figure in the funding of the war.
Her death was reported as a suspected suicide – although this is common in Russia before any investigation is carried out or when facts are unclear.
In May meanwhile, Russia’s deputy science minister, Pyotr Kucherenko, thought to be a critic of the war, died suddenly after falling ill on a flight back to Moscow after a work trip in Cuba, the Mail Online reports.
In April, Igor Shkurko, the deputy general director of Russian energy company Yakutskenergo, was found dead in his prison cell
The 49-year-old was a member of the pro-Putin United Russia political party but his membership was suspended following the bribe accusation.
Two months earlier, Russian oil boss Viatcheslav Rovneiko, 59, was ‘found unconscious’ late at night at his home.
Doctors were unable to save him, a report in Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper claimed.
On December 26, Pavel Antonov – a wealthy sausage tycoon, local politician and a Putin critic – died in India after falling out of a hotel window.
His friend Vladimir Bidenov was found dead in the same hotel four days earlier.
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Sending fighter jets to Ukraine pose ‘direct nuclear threat’ – Russian minister cautions
The transfer of F-16 fighter jets from NATO to Ukraine, according to Vladimir Putin’s foreign minister, poses a “direct nuclear threat” to Russia.
In response to Nato’s promise to begin training Ukrainian pilots to operate the fighter jets in August, Sergey Lavrov spoke out.
The Kremlin asserts that it forewarned the US, UK, and France about the dangers of giving Ukraine the jets.
Lavrov said: ‘Just one example of an extremely dangerous turn of events is the United States plans to transfer F-16 fighter jets to the Kiev regime.
‘We have informed the nuclear powers, the United States, Britain and France, that Russia cannot ignore the ability of these aircraft to carry nuclear weapons.
‘No amount of assurances will help here.’
Lavrov continued: ‘In the course of combat operations, our servicemen are not going to sort out whether each particular aircraft of this type is equipped to deliver nuclear weapons or not.
‘We will regard the very fact that the Ukrainian armed forces have such systems as a threat from the West in the nuclear sphere.’
He also warned: ‘The United States and its Nato satellites are creating risks of a direct armed clash with Russia, and this is fraught with catastrophic consequences.
‘The conditions for Russia’s use of nuclear weapons are clearly defined in our military doctrine.
‘They are well known, and I will not repeat them once again.’
He also accused countries at the Nato summit which was held in Vilnius, Lithuania, of ‘consistently lowering the threshold for the use of force and building up the nuclear capability in military planning’.
A key theme of this year’s summit was Volodymyr Zelensky’s wish for Ukraine to join Nato.
But defence secretary Ben Wallace said Zelensky needed to be mindful about keeping ‘doubting politicians’ on side following his complaints.
Mr Wallace said he needed to show more ‘gratitude’ to western allies for arming Ukraine and said ‘we’re not Amazon’.
In other news, Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who staged a coup against Vladimir Putin, is likely dead or in jail, a former US military leader said.
The mercenary leader ordered his soldiers to travel towards Moscow in a failed rebellion against the Kremlin in late June.
The Russian president said his former caterer’s actions amounted to ‘armed mutiny’, and Prigozhin is now feared dead by experts.
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Putin’s top military officer in Ukraine returns after mysterious absence
In spite of rumours that he had been “purged,” Putin‘s top officer in charge of the campaign against Ukraine made an appearance in a new film.
Since Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Wagner, sought his removal during the failed uprising last month, Valery Gerasimov has not been seen.
By releasing video showing the general listening to a report from his military leaders, the Kremlin appears to be putting an end to speculations of the general’s death.
During his attempted coup, Prigozhin repeatedly denounced Gerasimov and defence minister Sergei Shoigu for denying supplies to his mercenary fighters in Ukraine.
Gerasimov’s absence since the revolt prompted claims Putin had got rid of him, something the Russian president has not been shy about doing.
Putin has fired several leaders during the war, including Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, known as ‘The Butcher of Mariupol’, and General Rustam Muradov who was behind the massacre in Vuhledar.
The uncertainty over Gerasimov follows reports Putin is furious by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky bringing key commanders of the Azov regiment home from Turkey.
Moscow claims it was ‘deceived’ over an agreement that Azov commander Denys Prokopenko, 32, and his lieutenants would remain in Turkey after their part in the Siege of Mariupol.
Putin is also likely to be further enraged by Zelensky’s visit to the liberated Snake Island in the Black Sea, marking the 500th day of the war.
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The Kremlin says Wagner boss met Putin after mutiny
The Kremlin reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group mercenaries, following the failed mutiny by the group last month.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, confirmed that Prigozhin, along with 35 other Wagner commanders, was invited to the meeting in Moscow. During the meeting, President Putin provided an “assessment” of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the mutiny itself.
The mutiny, which occurred on June 23, was short-lived, lasting only 24 hours. As part of the resolution to end the mutiny, which saw Wagner troops seizing a city and advancing towards Moscow, charges against Prigozhin were dropped, and he was offered relocation to Belarus.
Prior to the mutiny, there had been public discord between the Wagner Group and Russia’s Ministry of Defense regarding the conduct of the war. Prigozhin had repeatedly criticized the ministry for its failure to provide adequate ammunition to his group.
On Monday, Peskov stated that Prigozhin was one of the commanders who were invited to the Kremlin for the meeting, which took place five days after the collapse of the mutiny.
“The president gave an assessment of the company’s actions on the front,” Mr Peskov is quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.
“He also gave assessment to the 24 June events. Putin listened to the commanders’ explanations and suggested variants of their future employment and their future use in combat.”
According to the spokesman, Prigozhin told Mr Putin that Wagner unconditionally supported him.
The Wagner chief’s current whereabouts are unclear.
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, who played a role in brokering the resolution to the mutiny, stated last Thursday that Yevgeny Prigozhin was in Russia. The BBC tracked Prigozhin’s private jet, which flew to Belarus in late June and returned to Russia on the same evening.
The Wagner Group, a private military organization, has been fighting alongside the regular Russian army in Ukraine since the invasion last year. However, following setbacks on the battlefield, Prigozhin used social media to criticize the high command, particularly Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, the two top figures overseeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
During the mutiny, Prigozhin did not directly condemn President Putin, but analysts viewed it as the most significant challenge to the president’s authority in his more than two decades in power.
In the meantime, General Gerasimov has made his first public appearance since the mutiny. Speculation had arisen that Wagner’s march was halted in exchange for the general’s dismissal.
However, footage aired on Russian TV on Monday showed General Gerasimov giving orders to attack Ukrainian missile sites, suggesting that the video was recorded after the mutiny. The video indicates that President Putin has retained both Defense Minister Shoigu and General Gerasimov in their positions.
