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Morning Headlines
Reuters: Russia's most senior generals have dropped out of public view following a failed mercenary mutiny aimed at toppling the top brass, amid a drive by President Vladimir Putin to reassert his authority and unconfirmed reports of at least one arrest.
Reuters: General Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of Russia's military operations in Ukraine, was sympathetic to mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's weekend rebellion, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, though it was unclear if he actively supported it.
Reuters: European Union leaders will on Thursday debate the repercussions of the aborted mutiny in Russia as they pledge further support for Ukraine in its war against Moscow's invasion.
AP News: Ukrainian authorities on Wednesday arrested a man they accused of helping Russia direct a missile strike that killed at least 11 people, including three teenagers, at a popular pizza restaurant in eastern Ukraine.
Reuters: Ukrainian forces are advancing "slowly but surely" on the front lines in the east and southeast of the country as well as around the longstanding flashpoint of Bakhmut, senior military officials said on Wednesday.
FT: The EU is preparing to offer “future security commitments” to Ukraine as the bloc’s leaders seek to agree long-term pledges for Kyiv against the backdrop of rising instability in Russia and entrenched battle lines in the war.
Reuters: As Russia's invasion enters its 17th month, Ukrainian forces say Moscow is ramping up its use of low-cost suicide drones that are capable of destroying equipment many times their value and not easy to defend against.
ISW: Continued reporting about the deal mediated by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko to end the Wagner Group’s armed rebellion suggests that involved parties may still be negotiating the specifics of the agreement.
GOV.UK: Britain will on Thursday introduce a law to prevent British lawyers from advising Russian companies on certain business deals, in an attempt to exert further pressure on Russia.
Reuters: With Putin facing the biggest public challenge of his 23 years as paramount leader, some private jets sped out of Moscow, according to flight tracking data and one source with knowledge of the matter.
More News
Reuters: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described Russia's political and military leaders as bandits on Wednesday, and ruled out any peace plan that would turn the war on Ukraine into a frozen conflict.
Bloomberg: Senior G-7 and EU officials reiterated at a meeting with counterparts from the so-called global south that any just peace accord in Ukraine must see Russia withdraw its troops.
Reuters: The Czech government called Russia a direct threat and China a systemic rival in a new security strategy, approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, reflecting what it called the end of a period of peace and stability in Europe seen since the end of the Cold War.
NY Times: As details emerge about the aborted rebellion in Russia led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, it is becoming clear some Russian officials and foreign intelligence agencies knew about it in advance. Here are some of those who knew of the mercenary leader’s plans.
WSJ Exclusive: Wagner built a global empire. Hours after Saturday’s mutiny, the Kremlin began privately reassuring African and Middle Eastern governments that Russia will now manage it.
NY Times: Satellite imagery shows that Belarus is rapidly building what appear to be temporary structures at a deserted military base, revealing a possible location for Wagner fighters who were given the option of relocating to the country.
The Defense Post: The presence of Wagner troops in Belarus could pose a potential “threat” to the countries of the region, Polish President Andrzej Duda said Wednesday during a visit to Ukraine.
Bloomberg: Poland will increase security on its border with Belarus as it fears that the presence of the Wagner group may intensify what it’s calling a hybrid warfare with its neighbor.
FT: Russia's president has moved to reward loyalists with promotions and freeze out figures sympathetic to the paramilitary organisation’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The Kyiv Independent: The Belarusian opposition organization National Anti-Crisis Management submitted evidence to the International Criminal Court on June 27 alleging the complicity of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko in the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children.
Reuters Exclusive: The Wagner Group mercenaries who seized the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Saturday in a failed mutiny included at least three convicted criminals, a Reuters review of facial recognition software, court records and social media showed.
POLITICO: Bulgaria must flush out Russia-backed agents from its spy services, says to Kiril Petkov, the head of the main force in government. The first step, he says, is to change the law on who signs off on appointing the chiefs of the various security services.
WSJ Exclusive: Wagner's Prigozhin planned to capture Russia's military leadership as part of his mutiny and accelerated the plan after Russian intelligence learned of the plot.
Bloomberg: Putin tried to show he's firmly in control after the dramatic attempted mutiny. But Russia's elite aren’t buying it.
Bloomberg: Switzerland blocks arms maker Ruag from selling almost 100 tanks in a deal that would have seen them used by Ukraine in its war with Russia.
SwissInfo: Switzerland will enforce a newly expanded sanctions list targeting Russia, aligning with the European Union's 11th sanctions package.
Meduza: The authorities in Russia’s Ivanovo region have confirmed that the crew of a military aircraft, shot down during the Wagner rebellion, was killed.
The Insider: Alcohol producer Bacardi has kept its business in Russia despite promises to leave the country immediately after the start of the invasion of Ukraine, according to a report by independent economics publication The Bell. The profits of the company’s Russian subsidiary have notably tripled since February 2022.
The Moscow Times: At least 14 Russian troops were killed during a cross-border raid by anti-Kremlin units made up of Russian nationals this month, regional authorities have revealed nearly a month after the incident.
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