Belarus claims Wagner mercenary troops are training its troops
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Fighters from the Russian mercenary group Wagner are training soldiers in Belarus, the country’s defense ministry said.
The Belarusian ministry released a video showing Wagner fighters instructing Belarusian soldiers at a military compound near Osipovichi, some 90 km (56 miles) from the capital Minsk.
“Wagner fighters acted as instructors in a number of military disciplines,” they said.
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, a staunch Vladimir Putin ally, helped negotiate an agreement to end a brief armed mutiny by Wagner on June 23-24, when the group took control of the southern Russian city of Rostov, marched toward Moscow and Military personnel shot down helicopters and killed their pilots.
It is believed that Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin withdrew his mercenaries and agreed to move to Belarus in exchange for Russia dropping the mutiny charges.
Mr Putin offered Wagner soldiers the opportunity to continue fighting under another commander, known by his combat name “Sedoi” or “Gray Hair”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was using all possible resources to stop the advance of Kiev forces in the east and south of the country.
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Russia’s Wagner fighters train soldiers in Belarus – ministry
Fighters from the Russian mercenary group Wagner are training soldiers in Belarus, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said on Friday.
The ministry released a video showing Wagner fighters briefing Belarusian soldiers at a military compound near the town of Osipovichi, some 90 km (56 miles) southeast of the capital Minsk.
“Wagner fighters acted as instructors in a number of military disciplines,” the Belarusian Defense Ministry said.
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko helped negotiate an agreement to end a brief armed mutiny by Wagner on June 23-24, when the group took control of the southern Russian city of Rostov and marched toward Moscow, shooting down several military helicopters and their pilots were killed.
As part of the deal, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin resigned from his mercenaries and agreed to move to Belarus in exchange for Russia dropping the mutiny charges.
(Kommersant Publishing House, Moscow, Russia (www.kommersant.ru/photo))
Maryam Zakir-Hussain14. July 2023 13:37
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Man jailed for Russian conspiracy to destroy foreign arms shipments to Kiev
A Ukrainian court has sentenced a man to 10 years in prison after finding him guilty of conspiring with Russia to plot to blow up transport infrastructure to disrupt foreign arms shipments, Ukraine’s domestic intelligence service said.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) did not identify the man but said he fought with Russian-backed militant groups in eastern Ukraine before and after the all-out invasion of Moscow on February 24, 2022.
The SBU said it arrested the man in February before he could carry out his assignment.
After fighting against Ukrainian forces in southern Ukraine, he was ordered by Russian military intelligence to blow up two infrastructure objects, it said.
The intended targets were not specified, but said they were in the Rivne region of western Ukraine, which has several important road and rail links with Poland.
Routes for transporting western military aid are kept secret in Ukraine, but equipment is often transported through eastern Poland.
Jane Dalton, Jul 15, 2023 2:00 am
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Opinion: The NATO summit was not the triumph Zelenskyy had hoped for
The Ukrainian President expressed his anger at the summit communique. However, there could be clandestine communications between some in the US and the Kremlin.
And NATO is co-opting the G7 to provide security guarantees and other assistance to Ukraine, raising hopes that the war can be contained, writes Mary Dejevsky:
Jane Dalton, Jul 15, 2023 12:55 am
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South Africa urges Putin to stay away from the summit
Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to attend an economic summit in South Africa next month, but the country is desperate to persuade him to stay away to avoid the legal and diplomatic consequences of his international arrest warrant, according to the deputy president:
Jane Dalton14. July 2023 23:50
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Demonstrators demand the release of prisoners of war
During a rally in Kiev, people shouted slogans to demand the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war captured by Russian forces in Ukraine’s Mariupol region.
Thousands of Ukrainians were killed during the Russian siege of the city, and Azovstal Steel Works soldiers held out for weeks before being forced to surrender.
(AP)
Jane Dalton14. July 2023 22:45
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In pictures: Wagner fighters train Belarusian soldiers
(via Portal)
(via Portal)
(via Portal)
Jane Dalton14. July 2023 21:44
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Grain export agreement fails
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is still awaiting a response from Vladimir Putin on a proposal to extend an agreement allowing safe Black Sea exports of Ukrainian grain beyond Monday, a UN spokesman said.
Guterres wrote to Putin on Tuesday urging him to extend the deal in exchange for connecting a subsidiary of Russia’s Agrarian Bank (Rosselkhozbank) to the international payment system SWIFT, sources said.
The last ship sailing under the agreement loads its cargo in the Ukrainian port of Odessa.
Russia has not agreed To new ships since June 27, and the initiative expires on Monday unless Moscow agrees to an extension.
Moscow has threatened to pull out of the deal negotiated last year, saying its demands to improve its own grain and fertilizer exports have not been met.
Jane Dalton14. July 2023 20:45
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Zelenskyy says Russia is doing ‘everything in its power to stop our soldiers’
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainians must understand that Russia is using all possible resources to stop the advance of Kiev forces in the east and south of the country.
“We must all be very clear, and as clear as possible, that the Russian forces in our southern and eastern areas are doing everything they can to stop our soldiers,” Zelensky said in his evening video address after he died meetings with senior commanders.
“And every thousand meters that we advance, every success of every combat brigade deserves our thanks.”
(AP)
Sam Rkaina14. July 2023 19:40
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Lavrov “aggressively” rejected calls for troops to withdraw from Ukraine
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said separately that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “aggressively” rejected a call for troops to withdraw from Ukraine.
Lavrov said earlier this week the war will not end until the West “abandons its plans to maintain its supremacy,” including its “compulsive desire” to strategically defeat Russia.
According to his spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, he had no plans to contact US colleagues during his stay in Jakarta.
But Lavrov met top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, both sides would “strengthen strategic communication and coordination.”
Sam Rkaina14. July 2023 18:45
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There are no signs that Russia intends to change course in the Ukraine war, Blinken says
Russia is showing no signs of changing tack in its war against Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday as foreign ministers from two dozen countries met in the Indonesian capital for the annual Southeast Asia security meeting.
Top diplomats from China, the United States and Russia, among others, traveled to Jakarta for the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), where broad agendas are typically overshadowed by geopolitical unrest.
Speaking to reporters after the talks concluded, Blinken said there was no sign Russia was ready for meaningful diplomacy over the war, which Moscow describes as a “special military operation” launched in February 2022 to end its war to “denazify” neighbors.
“I haven’t heard anything from Foreign Minister (Sergei) Lavrov suggesting a change in direction regarding what Russia is doing in Ukraine,” Blinken said, adding that Russia is focused on making the United States responsible for the problems of the Ukraine to blame the world.
Sam Rkaina14. July 2023 17:50