First, links to reports from Agence France-Presse, Tass, Reuters, the Moscow Times, the Kyiv Post, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Finally for today, a link to commentary from the reporter’s Substack account.— MCM
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Russia claims killed two Ukraine generals in Kramatorsk strike. From AFP. Russia today claimed its forces had killed two Ukrainian generals and “up to 50 officers” in a strike on a restaurant in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on June 27. “”Up to 20 foreign mercenaries and advisers” were also . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russian Battlegroup Center hits eight Ukrainian troop concentrations with airstrikes. From Tass. MOSCOW — Warplanes of Russia’s Battlegroup Center delivered airstrikes on eight areas of the deployment of Ukrainian troops and artillery, the battlegroup’s spokesman Alexander Savchuk said today. “Su-25 fighter jets of the Battlegroup Center delivered . . . READ MORE . . .
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Where are Russia’s top generals? Rumours swirl after failed Wagner mutiny, by Andrew Osborn | Reuters * Two top Russian generals disappear from public view * Their fate unclear as Putin seeks to reassert authority * Mercenary boss had demanded defence minister’s removal * Yet Sergei Shoigu has made several appearances this week * Rumours of arrest, imprisonment of one of the generals | LONDON — Russia’s most senior generals have dropped out of public view after a failed mercenary mutiny aimed at toppling the top military brass, amid a drive by President Vladimir Putin to reassert his authority and unconfirmed reports of at least one arrest. Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s top general, has not appeared in public or on state TV since . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russian general arrested following Wagner mutiny – Sources. From the Moscow Times Russian General Sergei Surovikin has been arrested, The Moscow Times’ Russian service reported Wednesday, citing two sources close to the Defense Ministry who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The Defense Ministry has yet to comment. Surovikin has not been seen in public since Saturday, when Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin launched an armed . . . READ MORE . . .
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Real Putin has not appeared in public since Wagner’s mutiny – Ukrainian Intel, by Aleksandra Klitina | The Kyiv Post Andriy Yusov, a representative of Ukrainian military intelligence, told Kyiv Post that the real Putin hadn’t made a public appearance since Prigozhin’s mutiny on June 24, raising doubts about whether the real Putin is just in hiding or even still alive. “Since the events related to Prigozhin and the Wagner PMC, and the so-called appeals to Russians, we have been talking about the use of doubles. There is . . . READ MORE . . .
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How much is Putin to blame for the fallout from the failed weekend mutiny? Steve Inskeep of NPR talks with Andrew Weiss of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace talks about the centers of power in Russia, and how they could pose a threat to Russian President Putin. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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EU leaders to debate Russia mutiny, pledge support for Ukraine, by Andrew Gray | Reuters European Union leaders will today debate the repercussions of the aborted mutiny in Russia as they pledge further support for Ukraine in its war against Moscow’s invasion. At a summit in Brussels, the leaders will also talk with NATO boss Jens Stoltenberg and discuss what role the EU could play in Western commitments to bolster Ukraine’s . . . READ MORE . . .
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‘Weaker Putin is a greater danger’: EU’s Borrell. From AFP. The EU’s top diplomat warned today that a “weaker” Russian President Vladimir Putin would pose a “greater danger” after Wagner’s aborted mutiny sparked the largest political crisis in decades in the nuclear-armed country. “So we have to be very much aware of . . . READ MORE . . .
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The role of Belarus’ Lukashenko in resolving the Russia-Wagner Group conflict. Reported on Thursday’s “All Things Considered” by Charles Maynes | NPR A major player in resolving the dispute between the Wagner Group and the Russian state over the weekend was Belarus’ leader Alexander Lukashenko. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Prigozhin’s folly: Russian ‘revolt’ that wasn’t strengthen’s Putin’s hand, by Seymour Hersh | seymourhersh.substack.com The Biden administration had a glorious few days last weekend. The ongoing disaster in Ukraine slipped from the headlines to be replaced by the “revolt,” as a New York Times headline put it, of Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the mercenary Wagner Group. The focus slipped from Ukraine’s failing counter-offensive to . . . READ MORE . . .*
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* May require a subscription to reporter’s Substack account.