The site of the jet crash north of Moscow that killed three pilots and seven passengers, including Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, August 23, 2023
EA on Times Radio: Putin, Prigozhin, and Trump
Map: Institute for Study of War
UPDATE 1413 GMT:
Ukraine’s State security service SBU has detained four more staff of military enlistment offices over corruption.
Those arrested are the head of the Kyiv district’s military enlistment office and the head of one of the capital’s military medical commissions; the head of the Kharkiv district’s military enlistment office, accused of taking about $300,000 from potential conscripts; and Odesa’s secretary of the military medical commission.
The SBU said of the detainees, “In exchange for money, the officials offered conscripts to evade mobilization on the basis of fictitious documents on their medical unfitness for military service.”
The suspects allegedly took up to $10,000 per person. They face up to 10 years in prison and confiscation of property.
Earlier this month, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy dismissed all officials in charge of regional military recruitment centers. He said on August 11 that there were 112 criminal proceedings against staff at military registration and enlistment offices.
UPDATE 1311 GMT:
A second cargo ship is trying to break the renewed Russian blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
MarineTraffic reports that Primus, a bulk carrier sailing under a Liberian flag, left Odesa on Saturday morning. The ship has been docked in the port since before Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion.
The Primus is heading to Varna in Bulgaria, with an estimated arrival time of 11 a.m. on Sunday.
The Hong-Kong registered container ship Joseph Schulte left Odesa on August 16 and successfully ran the blockade, reaching Turkey’s Bosporus Strait.
On July 17, Putin reimposed the blockade when he ripped up the July 2022 deal allowing export of Ukrainian grain, foodstuffs, and other essential goods.
UPDATE 1302 GMT:
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has said that it is unacceptable for European Union members to continue a ban on Ukrainian grain imports until the end of 2023.
On Friday, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary called on the EU to accept an extension of their ban from September 15 to December 31 (see 0625 GMT).
“We consider it absolutely unacceptable to continue trade restrictions on the import of agricultural products from Ukraine after the expiration of the European Commission’s ban on September 15,” Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said.
It said the demands of the five EU members are causing a “complete misunderstanding”.
UPDATE 1252 GMT:
Facing a serious labor shortage in the Russian economy, Vladimir Putin has ordered the removal of restrictions on work by juveniles aged 14 or over.
Putin instructed the government and Agency for Strategic Initiatives to consider “promoting employment and stimulating employment” for the teenagers. He ordered the hiring of juveniles under age 18 to be simplified.
Amid Putin’s mass mobilization of men for his Ukraine invasion last September — and the flights of hundreds of thousands to avoid being called up — Russia’s labor shortage is at its most acute since statistics were first gathered in 1996. In July, 42% of enterprises complained about the lack of workers.
UPDATE 1237 GMT:
UK intelligence services believe Maj. Gen. Andrei Averyanov — who oversaw the nerve agent attack on former Russian spy Sergey Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March 2018 — is involved in the assassination of Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to “British sources in intelligence”.
Averyanov is the head of Unit 29155 of the Russian military intelligence service GRU. The unit is responsible for sabotage operations in Europe.
A “former British intelligence officer” said:
Historically, Putin prefers cold revenge. So the way and time of Prigozhin’s death is not surprising. Many, including myself, thought his days were numbered. Around the mentioned name [Averyanov], there is a lot of talk. This is also not surprising.
A “Ukrainian intelligence source” said that Ukraine’s State security service SBU also believes Averyanov is involved.
One current and one former UK intelligence officer said Averyanov is leading an operation to replace Wagner mercenaries in Africa with 20,000 Russian troops.
London’s Financial Times, citing “several informed sources”, said Prigozhin was in Africa just before his death to prevent the GRU from taking control of Wagner operations.
UPDATE 1057 GMT:
Russian shelling has killed two civilians and wounded another in a cafe near Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine.
Kupyansk is four miles from the frontline, and officials have called on residents to evacuate as Russia — trying to divert Ukrainian forces from Kyiv’s counter-offensive — tries to close on the town.
The village of #Podoly in the #Kupyansk district was subjected to artillery shelling by the #Russian military. During the #attack, a cafe in the village was hit, resulting in the loss of life of a man and a woman.
📸:Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office pic.twitter.com/yH22sDXF9x
— SUSPILNE NEWS 📰 (@suspilne_news) August 26, 2023
UPDATE 1032 GMT:
Vladimir Putin has ordered Wagner Group mercenaries to sign an oath of allegiance to the Russian State.
Putin’s decree, with immediate effect, requires anyone carrying out work on behalf of the military or supporting the “special military operation” in Ukraine to pledge “their loyalty to the Russian Federation…strictly follow their commanders and superiors’ orders, and conscientiously fulfill their obligations”.
UPDATE 0723 GMT:
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency GUR says a drone reached its target inside occupied Crimea on Friday, hitting a Russian brigade on a military base.
Residents reported casualties, explosions, and a road closure in Perevalnoye, more than 200 km (125 miles) from the frontline.
The Russian Defense Ministry insisted on Friday that air defenses had downed all 42 drones attacking Crimea.
UPDATE 0651 GMT:
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin says a drone was downed by air defense over the Istra district, about 50 km (31 miles) west of the capital.
Moscow’s Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports again suspended departures and landings for about two hours.
UPDATE 0639 GMT:
The Dutch brewer Heineken has completed its departure from Russia, selling its operations for €1 after Moscow blocked asset sales.
Heineken said it will €300 million ($324 million) with the transfer of its assets, including seven breweries, to Russia’s Arnest Group.
Heineken had resisted calls for a quicker departure, citing its 1,800 employees in Russia.
The Arnest Group is Russia’s largest manufacturer of cosmetics, households goods, and metal packaging for consumer goods.
UPDATE 0625 GMT:
Five central European countries are calling for the extension on their ban of Ukrainian grain imports until the end of 2023.
Poland’s Agriculture Minister Robert Telus issued the announcement after a video meeting with counterparts from Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, and Bulgaria.
The countries issued their bans this spring. The European Union permitted the restrictions until 15 September, as long as Ukrainian grain could transit the countries to other destinations.
The bans have been driven by domestic politics, with farmers blaming the import of Ukrainian grain for lower prices.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Trying to control the narrative over its possible assassination of Wagner Group mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and killing of nine other people, the Kremlin says that it is investigating Wednesday’s jet crash north of Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday:
There is now a great deal of speculation surrounding this plane crash and the tragic deaths of the plane’s passengers, including Yevgeny Prigozhin. Of course, in the west, all this speculation is presented from a well-known angle.
All of this is an absolute lie, and here, when covering this issue, it is necessary to base yourself on facts. There are not many facts yet. They need to be established in the course of investigative actions.
The Russian Investigative Committee said it has recovered flight recorders and the bodies of 10 people from the site in the Tver region: “Molecular genetic analyses are being carried out to establish their identities.”
Funny that the reporter, in his routine news reporting, feels the need to tell Russian viewers that the method the investigators are using “is used all over the world to investigate reasons for aviation accidents”.
Like, “rest assured they are doing legit things over there”. 🤭 pic.twitter.com/r4WwtQ94u4
— Vlada Knowlton 🇺🇦 (@VladaKnowlton) August 25, 2023
Lukashenko: “I Warned Prigozhin”
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko tried to provide political cover for Putin, saying that he warned Prigozhin and Wagner’s military commander Dmitry Utkin to watch out for threats to their lives.
Lukashenko brokered the deal that ended Wagner’s 36-hour rebellion in late June which seized the Southern Military Command in Rostov-on-Don and advanced to within 200 km (125 miles) of Moscow. Under the agreement, Prigozhin and Wagner fighters would relocate in Belarus.
Lukashenko said he told Prigozhin during the rebellion that he would “die” if he continued the march on Moscow. He said the Wagner head responded, “To hell with it – I will die.”
Subsequently, Lukashenko told Prigozhin and Utkin, who was also killed on Wednesday, “Lads – you watch out.”
The Belarusian leader indicated that the crash was an assassination, but insisted that Putin had no involvement.
I know Putin: he is calculating, very calm, even tardy. I cannot imagine that Putin did it, that Putin is to blame. It’s just too rough and unprofessional a job.
“Historically, Putin prefers cold revenge. So the way and time of Prigozhin’s death is not surprising. Many, including myself, thought his days were numbered. Around the mentioned name [Averyanov], there is a lot of talk. This is also not surprising.”
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At the time of the BRICS summit? It’s embarrassing for Putin. Why would he want to draw the world’s attention to it? It doesn’t make sense. He’d probably like the rest of the world to forget the man and his coup attempt (if we can call it that).