Russian mercenaries in Robotyne taken back by the Ukrainian military after the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin
With the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, questions are raised about the fate of the Russian mercenaries who played a significant role in Russia’s invasions of Ukrainian and Syria.
The southeastern settlement of Robotyne was taken back by the Ukrainian military on Monday. There are signs of Ukrainian advances in the region.
The members of the United Nations commission are due to visit Ukraine this week in order to investigate reports of violations of human rights and international law.
Prigozhin died in a jet crash last week at the age of 62. The 10 people died. Passengers included the senior Wagner Group leadership in addition to Prigozhin, according to Russian authorities.
U.S. actions on Ukraine during the campaign of the Republican presidential candidate: The crisis between Russia and Ukraine turns 1 1/2, and the U.N. security council meets Ukraine
The war between Russia and Ukraine became a point of contention during a debate for the Republican presidential nomination. Ron DeSantis, polling in second place, called on Europe to “pull their weight,” and Vivek Ramaswamy slammed U.S. support for Ukraine as “disastrous.” Chris Christie andNikki Haley both believed the US should continue to stand up against Russia. Donald Trump did not attend the debate.
Russian President Putin was absent from the gathering in South Africa. While China and other countries pushed for a peace plan in the video message he delivered to the summit, he defended Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
For the second time since Russia’s invasion, the Ukrainian people celebrated Independence Day last Thursday. Kyiv again put remnants of wrecked Russian military vehicles and equipment on public display. Also Thursday, the U.N. Security Council met to discuss Ukraine, in which Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo said U.N. workers had documented the deaths of 9,444 civilians, including 545 children, but that the real figures are likely much higher.
Evan Gershkovich was jailed in Moscow by a court for three months. The American journalist later appealed the extension. The U.S. government says he was wrongfully detained by Russia.
Source: Latest on Ukraine: Wagner chief Prigozhin died as Russia’s war turned 1 1/2
Prigozhin’s Resurrection: The Case for a Rebellion in Ukraine, and the Misuse of Russian Propaganda
Ukraine launched a missile toward Moscow and attacked Crimea with drones last Friday, according to Russia, which said Russian air defenses downed them all. Some of the largest Ukrainian air attacks against Russian territory to date could have taken place. Russia also continued to fire missiles at Ukraine. On the battlefield, Ukraine’s military reported gaining some territory in the Zaporizhzhia region.
There is a place where you can read past recaps. For context and more in-depth stories, you can find more of NPR’s coverage here. The State of Ukraine is available on NPR’s State of UkrainePodcast.
A liberal activist wearing a pin in honor of Boris Nemtsov, who was killed near the Kremlin in 2015, said that whatever the reason for Prigozhins death it wasn’t by chance.
She said that it was revenge for the uprising. “It’s hard to believe it’s just a coincidence that the crash happened two months to the day after the rebellion.”
“99.9% of people know what happened,” said Alexander, a Wagner supporter and native of eastern Ukraine who said he fled his country after being charged with separatism by the authorities in Kyiv.
She noted that Prigozhin’s fighters had fired on and killed at least a dozen Russian soldiers on their way to Moscow before Putin “wisely” ended the uprising with an amnesty deal.
On her way to the Orthodox church, pensioner Irina Pavlova said that Prigozhin’s rebellion was his undoing and in God’s eyes.
He said the approach had been “successful” until Prigozyn overplayed his hand with a rebellion Against Russia’s military leadership in June.
But Ivan said he recognized Prigozhin’s plain talk about the struggles on the front and failures inside the Defense Ministry made him a rising political star to many in Russia.
Ivan did not approve of Prigozhin’s cruel system of wartime justice in certain instances, and he also disapproved of the use of sledge hammer to execute prisoners.
“He looked like a guy who put his principles over the Russian propaganda,” explained Ivan, 23, a lawyer who — like many at the Moscow memorial — asked his last name be withheld so he could speak freely out of concerns of government reprisals.
“[Prigozhin] might still be alive,” said Bikmulin, noting Russian media had erroneously reported the Wagner leader’s death several times before. “We still haven’t seen a body. His death is a rumor until then.
Bikmulin said that he hadn’t talked to his father in a month. He speculated his father could now be on assignment in Africa, or maybe Belarus. It was possible, he added, that Prigozhin was even with him.
Remembrance of an apparent mercenary officer in the city of Tsitsu: a ceremony in a symbolic memory of a Russian black hole
There were a lot of people who expressed a mixture of grief, pride and disdain for a person whose mercenary force has become a global name for its exploits in the Middle East and Africa.
An apparent mercenary who wore a patch of the group’s skull and was masked in camouflage, tended to candles, mounds of roses and photographs of those killed in the plane crash.
A few people showed up for a ceremony in the city’s cemetery. The cemetery itself was heavily guarded by Russian police and security personnel.