Is Russia on a shopping trip to North Korea for weapons and supplies? The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is doing just that, in Pyongyang. Shortly after Shoigu arrived on a rare trip to North Korea, Blinken said that Russia is jockeying to …
Read More »Igor Strelkov, Former Leader of Pro-Russia Separatists in Ukraine, Arrested in Moscow
Russian police have detained the former leader of Moscow-backed separatists in Ukraine, Igor Strelkov (aka Girkin), on extremism charges, his wife Miroslava Reginskaya said on Telegram on July 21. Igor Girkin (Igor Strelkov) was reportedly arrested by Russian authorities earlier today. https://t.co/Eu4e8EXtfc pic.twitter.com/N8XWn0AvGa— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) July 21, 2023 Strelkov was a …
Read More »Another Russian General Fired: Airborne Commander Ousted in Wake of Prigozhin Mutiny
Another Russian general has been fired in the latest shake-up in the military since Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin launched a short-lived mutiny three weeks ago. Major General Vladimir Selivyorstov, who commanded the 106th Airborne Division, has been dismissed by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Telegram channels close to Russia’s security …
Read More »Russian General Fired After Saying Commanders Betrayed His Troops in Ukraine
by Mike Eckel A top Russian field commander says he was dismissed after disagreements with superior officers over the situation on the front lines, an unusual public display of dissent from within the Russian ranks after just over 500 days of war in Ukraine. The complaints by Major General Ivan …
Read More »Russia’s Military Chief Gerasimov Resurfaces; Kremlin Says Putin Met With Prigozhin After Failed Mutiny
Russia’s Defense Ministry published a video today of Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov in his first public appearance since the Wagner private military group launched a failed mutiny last month against President Vladimir Putin. The ministry released the video as Moscow announced that following the mutiny, Putin met …
Read More »Soldier of Fortune Goes to Bosnia: Wagner Group Symbols and a Mystery Flag
Has the Wagner Group found support in Bosnia? In the wake of Yevgeny Prigozhin‘s recent aborted run on Moscow, Soldier of Fortune went into Eastern Europe to check out the scene. Our correspondent Heath Hansen, who normally roams the U.S. southern border, on Saturday crossed from Montenegro into southern Bosnia …
Read More »How Prigozhin’s Non-Coup Unfolded From Russia’s Rostov-on-Don
From RFEL/RL Russian Service ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia – The first inkling that something unusual was happening came when uniformed men with weapons at the ready blocked traffic at the intersection of Budyonnovsky Prospekt and Bolshaya Sadovaya Ulitsa. Although cars were turned back, pedestrians were allowed to enter the underpass and proceed …
Read More »The Coup That Wasn’t: Prigozhin Takes Deal With Putin; Cancels Uprising, Moves to Belarus
Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who turned his fighters against the military leadership in Moscow, has moved to Belarus, and the criminal charges against him for mounting an armed rebellion will be dropped, the Kremlin said Saturday. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko negotiated the deal with the Wagner Group chief, his …
Read More »Meet Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Ex-Convict Who Made a Run on Moscow
by Mike Eckel Yevgeny Prigozhin, a convict who parlayed a St. Petersburg restaurant business into lucrative Kremlin contracts, founded the private military company Wagner, and became a relentless critic of the Russian military command, made and then stopped a run on Moscow as part of a truncated rebellion. Who is …
Read More »Kremlin Charges Wagner Chief With Mutiny, as Prigozhin Asks Russians to Join Uprising Against Defense Minister
The Kremlin charged Yevgeny Prigozhin with mutiny on Friday night after the bellicose Wagner Group chief called on all Russians to join his forces in an uprising against the country’s defense minister. Prigozhin accused his wartime nemesis, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, of ordering Russian troops to shell Prigozhin’s forces in …
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