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War and Warfare

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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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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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Prigozhin Vows to Send Home Bodies of American, Turkish Fighters Killed in Ukraine

Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said he will repatriate the bodies of an American citizen who was killed in fighting in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, and that of a Turkish citizen who was found dead. The Russian private military chief Prigozhin announced his plans on May 25, as part …

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‘Enemy in the wire!’ The Grueling Battle for Combat Outpost Keating

by Elizabeth M. Collins “Enemy in the wire! Enemy in the wire!” The news, the stuff of nightmares, spread through Red and Blue platoons in seconds. “Enemy in the wire.” Many soldiers didn’t believe it at first. It was a phrase they never expected to hear, one they dreaded. It …

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Ed Freeman and Bruce Crandall Flew Unarmed Helicopters Under Fire in Vietnam

Ed Freeman was close to retirement when war broke out in Vietnam. He was an experienced pilot by then and assigned to the 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, which was sent to deliver troops to what became known as the Battle of Ia Drang, the first major battle between the United …

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