[ad_1]
Yevgeny Prigozhin − an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin until launching a failed insurrection with his Wagner Group mercenaries in June − was listed as a passenger on a business jet that crashed Wednesday in Russia, killing 10. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Prigozhin was on board, authorities said.
Unconfirmed media reports said the jet belonged to Prigozhin, who led his forces on a march that came within 120 miles of Moscow before turning around June 24. Prigozhin and the Wagner soldiers were granted asylum in Belarus as part of a deal to end the rebellion, but he was later seen in Russia and Africa.
Wednesday’s flight was headed from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Russia’s civilian aviation regulator, Rosaviatsia, said Prigozhin was on the passenger list. It’s not certain that he actually boarded the flight, which went down in the Tver region more than 60 miles north of Moscow.
Russia’s state news agency, Tass, cited emergency officials as saying the plane carried three pilots and seven passengers. The authorities said they were investigating. Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti reported eight bodies were found at the site of the crash, citing emergency officials. Video footage shows the plane plummeting from the sky.
The White House said President Joe Biden has been briefed on the events.
“We have seen the reports,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said. “If confirmed, no one should be surprised. The disastrous war in Ukraine led to a private army marching on Moscow, and now – it would seem – to this.”
Prigozhin gained prominence as a caterer to Kremlin events, a role that earned him the nickname “Putin’s Chef,” before he founded the Wagner private military outfit. Wagner forces were instrumental in the grinding, months-long battle over the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, a source of Prigozhin’s frequent criticism of the Russian Ministry of Defense and its leadership.
Contributing: Francesca Chambers
Developments:
∎ A Russian missile slammed into a school in the northern Ukraine city of Romny, killing the school director, deputy director, secretary and librarian, authorities said. Four passersby were injured.
∎ Canada imposed sanctions against four people and 29 organizations from Russia associated with the military, nuclear and finance industries, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced.
∎ A U.S.-made P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance plane owned by Norway was approaching the Russian border when it was intercepted by a Russian MiG-29 jet and turned back, the Russian military said Wednesday. Norway, a NATO member, had no immediate comment.
∎ Eight Ukrainian pilots and more than 60 technical and support personnel have now arrived at Skrydstrup Air Force Base in Denmark to begin training on flying, servicing and maintaining F-16 combat aircraft, the Danish military said.
∎ A Russian helicopter was hijacked by its pilot defector and landed in the Kharkiv region of northwest Ukraine loaded with spare parts, Ukrainian military officials told Ukrainian Pravda. Two crew members were “eliminated,” the military said.
Russia’s ‘General Armageddon’ fired as air force chief
A notorious officer, dubbed “General Armageddon” for his brutal tactics in Syria before leading the Russian military effort in Ukraine, has been fired from a lesser position as chief of the air force, Russian media reported.
Gen. Sergei Surovikin’s name had been loosely linked to an ill-fated coup attempt two months ago, and he had not been seen in public since, state media website RBC reported.
Surovikin was replaced by Gen. Viktor Afzalov as chief of staff for Aerospace Forces. Surovikin had been appointed commander of the troops in Ukraine in October but lost that post in February. In the ensuing months, Prigozhin of the Wagner Group repeatedly criticized the Russian Defense Ministry for failing to provide his troops with sufficient ammunition. Prigozhin lauded Surovikin, however, saying when he led the war effort ammunition was no problem.
Prigozhin and his troops staged a short-lived and ill-fated rebellion June 23. Although no connection between Surovikin and the coup has been made in public, Surovikin has not appeared in public since the coup was aborted the next day, RBC reported.
What price peace? 90% of Ukrainians unwilling to give up land to Russia
More than 90% of Ukrainians are unwilling to give up land to Russia to end the war, while less than 5% are willing to do so, a new survey found. Giving up future membership in NATO drew a bit more interest − 18% of respondents said they could support that. About the same percentage of respondents are ready to give the Russian language official status or to abandon the policy of decommunization in favor of the Kremlin.
Almost half of Ukrainians (49%) believe their country is moving the right direction, about a third (32%) believe that they are in the wrong direction, and the rest are undecided.
“The vast majority of Ukrainians continue to demonstrate their unwillingness to compromise with the aggressor in order to end the war,” the survey managers said. The survey of more than 2,000 adults was conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Foundation and financed by the Netherlands Embassy in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy supports Ukraine’s military tactics amid criticism
Ukraine President Volodymr Zelenskyy dismissed a New York Times report citing unnamed U.S. officials saying Kyiv’s offensive has struggled because of tactical mistakes. The report says Kyiv’s troops are spread too thin between the east and south while firepower should be concentrated on severing the land bridge between Russia and occupied Crimea.
“We will not give up Kharkiv, Donbass, Pavlograd, or Dnipro,” Zelenskyy said. “Even if all the analysts of the world” disagree.
Blasts rip Russians in Crimea, Moscow
A missile defense system in Russian-held Crimea was destroyed and a Moscow building was damaged Wednesday, prompting pro-Kremlin bloggers to chastise their own military for failing to neutralize Ukraine’s ability to strike.
The attacks were part of Kyiv’s continuing quest to make Russians feel pain from the 18-month-old war that has ripped Ukraine apart while leaving Russia virtually untouched. The Ukraine military published video of what it said was a strike that destroyed a Russian antiaircraft missile system at Cape Tarkhankut in Crimea, occupied by Russia since 2014.
“The installation itself, the missiles installed on it and the personnel were completely destroyed,” the military said in a release. Ukraine officials called it a “painful blow” to a vital piece of Russia’s defenses that could turn the tide in Kyiv’s push to take back Crimea.
Russian blogger Rybar said the strike also hit a fuel truck and theorized the blast came from a missile fired from a Ukraine ship.
“A systematic defeat of the entire Ukrainian fleet is needed, and this requires changes in the organization of the Russian Navy,” Rybar wrote.
[ad_2]
Source link
