Author: M Barbu

Russian War Report Special Edition: Prigozhin and Wagner forces mutiny against Moscow

On the evening of Friday, June 23, Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin effectively broke ties with Moscow and initiated a mutiny against the Russian military, successfully occupying Rostov. Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned Prigozhin’s actions in an address to the nation as Russian authorities secured Moscow and reportedly engaged Wagner forces around Rostov. At the time of writing on the afternoon of Saturday, June 24, Prigozhin appears to have accepted a pause in further escalation, stating that Wagner forces will return to base. Today’s special edition of the Russian War Report provides an overview of the last thirty-six hours, including details on how Prigozhin’s rhetoric escalated into open conflict, open-source analysis of the latest footage, and a review of some of the competing narratives on Telegram and across the Russian information ecosystem.

Wagner Group: The Evolution Of A Private Army

In an astonishing turn of events starting 23 June 2023, the Wagner Group’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin declared all-out war on the Russian state, leading a convoy of mercenaries to march straight toward Moscow. The mutiny, which embarrassed Russian President Vladimir Putin and caught the Russian military and security services completely off guard, developed at lightning speed and ended just as quickly, leading to widespread confusion and chaos. After storming through towns and cities in southern Russia, largely unopposed and in many cases welcomed by locals, Wagner troops announced a sudden return to their field camps, following a deal cut by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Under the terms of the deal, Prigozhin accepted exile in Belarus, leaving the future of Wagner very much in question. This special report puts the Wagner Group into perspective and foreshadows the factors that will shape what happens next.

TSC-Special-Report-The-Wagner-Group-The-Evolution-Of-Putins-Private-ArmyDownload

Why Arabs Do Not Trust the Biden Administration

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states apparently still do not trust the Biden Administration, largely because of its perceived abandonment of its traditional Arab allies in the Middle East and President Joe Biden’s hostility to Saudi Arabia. This view began with then-presidential candidate Biden declaring the kingdom a “pariah” state — and is continuing with US attempts, still ongoing, to revive a “nuclear deal” that will enable an expansionist Iran to have nuclear weapons potentially to topple other countries in the region.

The Greens’ Program: The Suicide of Europe

Beyond Growth is the annual ideological gathering of European environmentalists, and their countless relays in the world of government-funded, supposedly “non-governmental” organizations (NGOs).

What do most people remember when they look at the Beyond Growth report? The European Parliament. The link between Beyond Growth’s radical proposals and the European Parliament is presented as perfectly natural: If the European Parliament wants radical environmentalism, how could you, a small local voter, oppose it?

Somalia replaces army chief amid Al Shabaab resurgence

Somalia has fired its army chief, Maj-Gen Odowa Yusuf Rage, as the country faced a resurgence of Al Shabaab attacks, months after it had raised its tempo against the militants.

Rage, 44, who had trained in Uganda and Turkey, had been the youngest army chief named in modern Somalia, having been appointed by former President Mohamed Farmaajo in 2019.

Concern over Mali’s move to kick out UN peacekeepers

Mali’s decision to kick out the UN peacekeeping mission is eliciting concerns from regional and international powers over its implication on the security of the region.

The junta of the West African nation announced the decision on June 16, blaming the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali, known by its French acronym Minusma, for failing to respond to the country’s security challenges.

France targets Russian and Wagner disinformation in Africa

After armed men killed nine Chinese nationals at a gold mine in Central African Republic in March, a video circulated on the internet saying France had secretly ordered the attack and planned to discredit Russian mercenary group Wagner in the country.

A LOOK AT RUSSIA FROM THE INSIDE

Last week I flew to Moscow, arriving at 4:30 pm on December 8th. In Moscow, it begins to get dark at this time of day, and there will be no sun until about 10 am at this time of the year – the so-called “black days” as opposed to “white nights”. Anyone who is used to living closer to the equator is disturbing. This is the first sign that you are not only in a different country, which I am used to, but also in a different habitat. However, as we drove towards the center of Moscow, which is more than an hour, traffic on the road, road works, everything looked normal. There are three airports in Moscow, and we flew to the farthest from the center, Domodedovo, the main international airport. There is a lot of renovation work going on in Moscow, and while this is holding back traffic on the roads, it indicates that prosperity continues, at least in the capital.