Ramzan kadyrov

Russia's shadowy mercenary collective, the Wagner Group , continues to expand to "up to 50,000" fighters in Ukraine, amid reports that the organization's main financier Yevgeny Prigozhin is becoming "increasingly bold" in his criticism of the Russian military—posing a problem for Vladimir Putin . The private mercenaries have been heavily involved in the fighting in Ukraine, and have claimed credit for the recent fall of Soledar, a strategic town in the Donetsk region, nine kilometers north of Bakhmut. Prigozhin, a billionaire oligarch who has been a long-time ally of Putin's, has used the capture of the town to discredit Russia's a rmy. The British ministry of defense gave an update on the Wagner Group in its daily intelligence update on Friday, where it noted that the group registered as a legal entity at the end of last year, signaling its rapid expansion. "The registration continues the remarkably rapid development of the traditionally opaque group's public profile. … [Read more...] about Wagner Group numbers swell as Prigozhin becomes problem for Putin

When Vladimir Putin ordered his armies into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, it was not to preempt Kyiv's then-distant prospects of NATO accession, nor, primarily, to take his place in history alongside Peter the Great. It was to avoid the fate of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Both Putin and Lukashenko came to power after winning one more-or-less free-and-fair election, then both immediately set to work making sure that no one else could do the same. Despite Putin's nuclear arsenal, his Siberian gas, his veto in the U.N. Security Council, his capacity to project air power as far afield as Syria, and his cult-figure status among fringe members of the international right and left alike, the methods that the Russian and Belarusian presidents-for-life rely on for maintaining power at home are nearly identical. In August 2020, after 26 years of dictatorial rule, Belarusians finally turned against their corrupt, Soviet-nostalgic, aging autocrat. Putin, who was appointed … [Read more...] about Putin is losing the war in Ukraine, but winning the battle at home

Vladimir Putin is rushing through new laws which are likely to pave the way for mobilisation in Russia . On Tuesday, Russia‘s parliament approved a bill to toughen punishments for crimes such as desertion, damage to military property and noncompliance if they are committed during military mobilisation or combat situations. The bill, passed in its second and third readings on Tuesday by the Duma, comes as Russia seem poised to implement mobilisation, which would significantly escalate the conflict in Ukraine . The Russian parliament gave initial approval for introducing the concepts of ‘mobilisation’ and ‘wartime’ into the country’s Criminal Code. This follows intense pressure on Putin from hardliners to declare war, instead of a special military operation as they have been calling it, and mobilise men of military age to join the army. Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference ( Image: via REUTERS) “Judging by what is happening and what … [Read more...] about Vladimir Putin to impose martial law and mobilise all men of military age to fight