The fate of the Wagner mercenary group is at stake, and with it that of their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Vladimir Putin claims to have met up to 35 company commanders on June 29, just five days after the mutiny. And what he told the Kommersant newspaper seems to indicate that the Russian President no longer wants Prigozhin at the helm of Wagner.
According to the Russian leader, many nodded to his words, but Prigozhin refused the offer. “No, the boys have a different opinion,” would be his answer. It is impossible to verify the Kremlin leader’s story (which, by the way, does not appear in the official transcript of the Russian Presidency’s interview), but it seems clear that – after the worst crisis his regime has yet experienced – Putin wants in the Russian re-emerge publicly as a strong leader controlling the situation.
Meanwhile, Ankara and Moscow have a question and answer on the wheat deal, which expires on July 17. To Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said that “Russia and Turkey are on the same wavelength regarding the extension of the grain deal,” the Kremlin tersely replied that “there were no comments from the Russian side on this point.” Agreement allowing Ukraine to safely export its grain across the Black Sea risks leaving the African continent without basic needs.
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Analysis 1 – The farce of the captured mercenaries, the coup makes the tsar tremble
Analysis 2 – Reconstruction in limbo: The promised 50 billion EU are only on paper
Background – Meeting with Prigozhin, here is Putin’s version. “The Wagner Group? It just doesn’t exist as a structure.”
Backstory – The great purge of Prigozhin’s closest generals. The Russian armed forces split, now a new uprising is to be feared
The Day – What happened yesterday
Important points
10:51 a.m
12 Ukrainian soldiers were killed on the Dnipro River
07:48
Kiev, 3 kamikaze drones shot down in Mykolaiv region
10:51 a.m
12 Ukrainian soldiers were killed on the Dnipro River
Twelve Ukrainian soldiers aboard three boats were killed in Ukraine’s Kherson region in recent hours as they attempted to cross the Dnipro River to reach the Russian-held shore. This was announced by a spokesman for the local authorities set up by Moscow. “In the last 24 hours, an attempt by Ukrainian forces to cross the Dnipro River near the settlement of Sofiyivka was foiled,” the source told TASS news agency. Twelve Ukrainian soldiers were killed, he added. The Dnipro River flows through the southern region of Kherson. Russia occupies the east bank and the Kiev government controls the west bank.
09:37
The South Korean President pays a surprise visit to Kiev
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is on a surprise visit to Kiev. This was reported by the Yonhap News Agency, which indicated that Yoon and First Lady Kim Keon Hee entered Ukraine from Poland. Yoon plans to visit Bucha and Irpin, two of the sites of Russian massacres, and will lay a wreath at the war memorial before meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In recent days, Yoon traveled to Lithuania for the NATO summit and then to Poland on an official visit.
09:31
GB: General Popov was fired for criticizing Russian defences
The case of Russian General Ivan Popov, who was fired for expressing doubts about the Russian military leadership’s strategy in Ukraine in a leaked audio file, is indicative of a broader official rejection of the decisions of Russia’s upper echelons. The British Ministry of Defense underlines this on Twitter. “Popov’s comments draw attention to the deep dissatisfaction many officers are likely to harbor with the military leadership. The complaints mirror those of Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin before his mutiny in June 2023. The Chief of the General Staff, General Gerasimov.
09:29
Russian drones over the city of Zaporizhia, one injured
One civilian was injured in the attack by Russian forces on Zaporizhia last night, City Council Secretary Anatoly Kurtev announced on Telegram, as reported by Rbc-Ukraine. The injured man is a 52-year-old man and the city was attacked with drones, the local military administration said. The attack damaged unspecified infrastructure and four blocks of flats, Kurtev added. According to the city’s military administration, the Russian army shelled the Zaporizhia region 45 times yesterday, destroying 27 buildings in 15 villages.
07:48
Kiev, 3 kamikaze drones shot down in Mykolaiv region
Ukrainian forces shot down three Russian kamikaze drones in the Mykolayiv region in the south of the country last night, spokeswoman for the Southern Defense Forces Natalia Gumenyuk announced on United News channel, as reported by Rbc-Ukraine. The Zaporizhia region was also attacked, Gumenyuk added. There are currently no reports of injuries or damage.
06:46
Moscow: In Vilnius, it was decided to trigger a major European war: “The West is not interested in an end to hostilities”
At the NATO summit in Vilnius it was decided to start a “great European war”. This was stated by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, quoted by RIA Novosti. “One gets the impression that a decision was made and even announced at the NATO summit: to unleash a major European war,” Zakharova said, after which the West “simply has no ‘interest’ in ending hostilities and ” benefits from it”. ongoing security crisis in Europe”.
06:29
China and Russia: soon joint military exercises in the Sea of Japan
Chinese and Russian naval and air forces will “soon” take part in a round of joint military maneuvers in the central region of the Sea of Japan. A flotilla of five Chinese ships — one with four helicopters — set sail from the eastern city of Qingdao to take part in the exercises. The group consists of the guided missile destroyers Qiqihar and Guiyang, the guided missile frigates Zaozhuang and Rizhao, and the helicopter carrier Taihu. The theme of the maneuvers organized by the Chinese army is “ensuring the safety of strategic sea routes”. On the 6th, Russian military ships Gromkiy and Sovershennyy arrived in the east Chinese city of Shanghai for a seven-day visit ahead of joint exercises with Chinese warships. Russia and China agreed in March to increase their military cooperation to boost mutual trust between their armed forces, the two countries said in a joint statement after a meeting of Russian and Chinese Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping at the Kremlin.
05:00
Sharp drop in the number of Russian soldiers in Belarus
The number of Russian soldiers stationed in Belarus has fallen sharply, according to Ukraine’s border guard service. Until recently, it was estimated that 2,000 Russian soldiers were in Belarus, but now almost all Russian troops have withdrawn from Belarus territory, said Andrii Demchenko, spokesman for the border guard, quoted by CNN. “However, we cannot rule out that at some point in a rotation, the unitary and tribal troops will return to Belarus,” added the spokesman, stressing that the situation on the border is still under full control. After all, according to Demchenko, no organized deployment of Russian mercenaries in Belarus has been observed. His statements come after the Belarusian Defense Ministry announced today that Wagner mercenaries are training Belarusian soldiers near the town of Osipovichi, some ninety kilometers south of Minsk.
04:51
Wagner’s fighters begin to work as “instructors” in Belarus
Belarus has announced that mercenaries from the Wagner Group, who used to lead Russia’s offensive against Ukraine, are now acting as “trainers” for its army after weeks of uncertainty over the future of the paramilitary group that led a failed insurgency against Moscow in late June started .
01:10
Baltic states ‘criminal charge Russia over sexual assaults in Ukraine’
Speaking on behalf of the Baltic countries at the annual UN Security Council debate on conflict-related sexual violence, Latvian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Andrejs Pildegovics condemned the systematic use of sexual violence as a weapon of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Pildegovics recalled the UN-confirmed cases of sexual violence against women, men and children by the Russian armed forces and called on states to take the necessary measures to combat the crimes and use the necessary legal tools to prosecute those responsible .