Day 489 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Russia dropped the Case over the "Wagner" Rebellion

Ukraine | June 27, 2023, Tuesday // 11:01|  views

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Day 489 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

  • Lukashenko: It was painful to watch what was happening in Russia
  • The Armed Forces of Ukraine advance towards Melitopol, Berdiansk and Bakhmut
  • Russia dropped the case over the "Wagner" rebellion
  • For the US, Ukraine is "behind schedule" on the front, but Kyiv disagrees
  • The Bulgarian government approved a new package of military aid for Ukraine
  • Ukraine has retaken territory occupied in 2014 for the first time since the start of the war, according to British military intelligence
  • US with new military aid to Ukraine. Analysts believe that the "Wagner" rebellion did not affect Russia's combat capability
  • Washington grants a new 0 million in aid to Kyiv
  • Putin with an address for "Wagner": I will keep my promise to them. Ukraine's Western patrons wanted a fratricidal war
  • Prigozhin appeared: I did not want to overthrow the government, but to save PMC Wagner
  • In Belarus, a camp is being built for 8,000 "Wagner” fighters


Lukashenko: It was painful to watch what was happening in Russia

"It was painful to watch what was happening in the southern parts of Russia" - this is what the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, said during a solemn ceremony at which military personnel were promoted.

"The army of Belarus was put on full combat readiness, our country has the technical ability to oppose the threats coming from the West", Lukashenko said.

"We have been entrusted with the mission of preserving the peace won at the cost of millions of victims," he added.

In his first statement since Yevgeny Prigozhin's attempted rebellion, Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked Lukashenko for his contribution to a peaceful resolution of the situation.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine advance towards Melitopol, Berdiansk and Bakhmut

The Ukrainian army is successfully advancing on several front lines in the southern and eastern parts of the country - Melitopol, Berdiansk and Bakhmut, said Andriy Kovalev, spokesman for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

"On the directions Novodarovka - Priyutnoe, Novodanilovka - Robotino, the Ukrainian military is having success, continuing to conduct artillery fire on identified enemy targets. Also, the defense forces are conducting an offensive on the Bakhmut direction in the regions of Orikhove-Vasilovka, Ivanovskoe, Kurdyumovka, Severnoye, have success and strengthen the positions achieved," the report said.

It is also noted that the Ukrainian military continues to hold back the advance of Russian troops in the Lyman, Avdiivka and Mariinka directions.

Russia's total combat losses in Ukraine since the large-scale invasion are estimated at 226,170 personnel. In the last 24 hours alone, Ukrainian defenders have eliminated 590 Russian invaders.

Russia dropped the case over the "Wagner" rebellion

Russian counterintelligence has dropped the sedition case against the founder of the private military company "Wagner" Yevgeny Prigozhin. This was reported by TASS, citing the Federal Security Service (FSB).

In the course of the investigation, it was established that "the participants on July 24 stopped the actions aimed at committing the crime", reports the FSB, also quoted by the Russian service of the BBC.

The case was dropped despite the deaths of between 10 and 20 Russian soldiers (15 by many estimates) in the course of the rebellion.

It is understood from the announcement that the order was entered today. The Kremlin announced, following an agreement between Prigozhin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday, that the case would be dropped. It was filed on the night of June 23-24: first for calling for a rebellion, then for organizing it.

Yesterday, however, "Kommersant" reported that the case has not been closed, and later sources of RIA "Novosti" confirmed it. Today's closure of the case follows reports that Prigozhin's plane has arrived in Belarus.

For the US, Ukraine is "behind schedule" on the front, but Kyiv disagrees

American representatives are informally expressing their concern over what they consider to be too slow progress in the initial phase of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, writes the New York Times.

"They are behind schedule," commented a high-ranking official of the presidential administration. He calls the results of the counteroffensive launched in early June "sobering", despite the fact that in Washington they are publicly calling for patience.

The offensive is slower than expected, says a senior Pentagon official. He adds, however, that he sees no surprise given the heavily fortified defense lines of the Russians and called for no conclusions to be drawn at this stage.

Another observation by the paper: south of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine is advancing more successfully than expected, although soldiers fighting there say they have been ordered to operate without Western equipment.

Three weeks after launching a counteroffensive vital to Ukraine's chances against Russia, its military is facing a set of challenges that complicate its plans even as it has new Western weapons, the New York Times continues.

Extensive mined areas create problems; the terrain that deprives Ukrainians of cover (unlike Donbas); the KA-52 helicopters, which successfully sneak past its anti-aircraft defenses. In places, the battlefield looks like "Swiss cheese" according to a drone pilot because of the constant artillery fire.

As a result, Kyiv's forces have not advanced more than 6 km in the most successful direction, which is less than half the distance to Russia's main defensive positions. By comparison, the main task of the counteroffensive - as described by the New York Times and as known by expert commentary so far - is to advance more than 90 km from the pre-counteroffensive front line where Ukraine halted Russia's advance in March 2022, to divide the occupied part of southern Ukraine into two zones and cut off the supply lines to the Crimean peninsula.

A senior US military official estimated that more than 15% of the 113 US-supplied Bradley fighting vehicles were damaged or destroyed during the fighting. Success for Ukraine now depends on how many tanks, how many combat vehicles and soldiers it can keep before reaching the main defense lines. For the purposes of the counteroffensive, 40,000 soldiers were trained and equipped with the help of the Western allies.

These are not the first such comments. On June 22, American representatives explained to CNN that the counteroffensive "did not live up to expectations."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not deny the slow progress, but warned that the counteroffensive is not a movie. The main forces have not yet been sent into battle, warned last week the commander of the ground forces Oleksandr Sirsky.

The Ukrainian army disagrees with Western observers: its commander, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, released a video this week of him looking at a large map and saying everything is going "as planned". The US publication also quoted the commander of a drone reconnaissance unit of the 47th Mechanized Brigade as saying: "we're testing their defenses. I wouldn't call it a full-scale attack yet."

However, a medic evacuating wounded from the fighting says, based on conversations with the injured, "It's not going as well as they show on TV."

The Bulgarian government approved a new package of military aid for Ukraine

The Bulgarian Council of Ministers, with decisions No. 444 and No. 445 of June 23 of this year, adopted a new package of military aid and military-technical assistance for Ukraine in implementation of the decision of the National Assembly of December 9, 2022. This was announced by the press service of the Council of Ministers.

The approved list is comparable in volume to the aid from the first package granted by the caretaker government by decision of 22 December 2022. The provision of this aid will not violate the norms of action stocks of the Bulgarian armed forces and their training and combat training, the government states.

Read more about it here.

On June 21, Defense Minister Todor Tagarev announced that a new tranche of military aid from Bulgaria to Ukraine was being prepared. The aid is according to Ukrainian needs and Bulgarian capabilities, as decided by the National Assembly on December 9 of this year. “It is comparable in volume and types to the first package under this decision. There are things that are the same, there are also new ones, but the volume is more or less the same”, the minister said then. “We pull out from the warehouses things that are in good condition and still have a resource, but they are 30-40 years old and more, because of this, the value of the aid is difficult to calculate”, explained Tagarev. He stated that the provision of major combat platforms is not being discussed at this time. “A decision will be proposed to the Council of Ministers very soon”, explained the Bulgarian Minister of Defense.

Ukraine has retaken territory occupied in 2014 for the first time since the start of the war, according to British military intelligence

Ukraine has regained territory lost during the separatist rebellion in 2014 for the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion of the country in February last year, British military intelligence said today, as quoted by the BBC.

In its daily summary published on Twitter, it quoted reports by Ukrainian media that the village of Krasnogorovka near Donetsk was captured a few days ago. Since then, Ukrainian airborne units have made little progress east of Krasnogorovka in the direction of Donetsk.

British military intelligence believes that Ukraine's multi-pronged attacks in the Donetsk region recently have put too much pressure on the forces of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (unrecognized) and Chechen fighters deployed by Russia in the area.

US with new military aid to Ukraine. Analysts believe that the "Wagner" rebellion did not affect Russia's combat capability

The United States is expected to announce a new tranche of military aid to Ukraine worth up to 0 million soon, according to US administration sources. American analysts believe that the rebellion of the private military company "Wagner" has not affected the fighting ability of the Russian army.

The new package of American aid to Kyiv will include 30 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and 25 Stryker armored personnel carriers, ammunition for the HIMARS multiple-launch missile systems and for the Patriot anti-aircraft missiles, as well as portable Javelin anti-tank missile systems and anti-aircraft "Stinger", notes Reuters.

The latest events in Russia show that the help that the West provides to Ukraine is fully justified, French President Emmanuel Macron said. He pointed out that the protest march of the forces of the "Wagner" group from Rostov-on-Don to Moscow has revealed the split in the Russian leadership and the vulnerability of the military and paramilitary structures.

The American Institute for the Study of War commented that the actions of "Wagner" did not have a significant impact on the ability of Russian units in Ukraine to conduct offensive and defensive operations. Fighting is said to be continuing at the same pace on all front lines, with Russian forces even carrying out more ground attacks in the Bakhmut area than in the previous few days.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden said that the West had nothing to do with what happened in Russia. He has contacted his European partners online.

Biden said he was being briefed hourly and had instructed his national security team to be prepared for "a number of scenarios." According to the president, it is crucial to have coordination in actions and expectations.

Some officials are of the opinion that the "Wagner" rebellion threatened the Putin regime and that it is much weaker after it. In this regard, Joe Biden commented that despite the quick lull, they will continue to closely monitor what is happening in Russia and assess the consequences of this weekend's events.

The actions of the United States and its allies and partners will be coordinated, unified and coordinated to respond to the situations, Joe Biden also said, adding that he has already spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and will probably be in touch with him again today.

Washington grants a new 0 million in aid to Kyiv

Kyiv will receive new financial assistance from Washington worth up to 500 million dollars.

The information was confirmed by the coordinator of strategic communications for the National Security Council of the White House, John Kirby. The assistance is expected to include Bradley and Stryker armored fighting vehicles.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the front in the Donetsk region. He awarded the soldiers who distinguished themselves in the battles, took pictures with them and listened to the reports of the commanders.

The awarding ceremony began with a minute's silence in memory of the fallen. In his midnight address, Zelensky thanked everyone who is fighting for Ukraine's freedom.

"Today - at the front. Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts. Our fighters, forward positions, active actions on the front line. Today, in all directions, our soldiers are advancing and this is a happy day. I wish the fighters more days like this. I visited one of the brigades, who distinguished itself at the Battle of Bakhmut. They did a heroic job, well done guys! Next - our marines. Very powerful, very precise - thank you for your efforts to save the soldiers' lives. Then Tavria in the south - a busy day, many emotions - I had the honor to award our soldiers, to personally shake their hands," he said.

Putin with an address for "Wagner": I will keep my promise to them. Ukraine's Western patrons wanted a fratricidal war

"Ukraine's Western patrons wanted to see a fratricidal war".

This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a statement on Channel One. His statement was announced by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier this evening.

Putin's words come two days after the attempted rebellion of the owner of the private military company "Wagner" Yevgeny Prigozhin. On Saturday he announced a march for justice, but shortly before Moscow his "march" got canceled. At the time, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced that he had played a decisive role by negotiating with Prigozhin.

“I once again appeal to all citizens of Russia - thank you for your patriotism. I repeat, it was a consolidation of society, a firm unequivocal position to maintain the constitutional order. Everyone is united by responsibility for the motherland. All measures to neutralize the crisis situation were taken” Putin said from the Kremlin.

According to him, there is a huge external threat in Russia.

"The rebels also betrayed those they had drawn to their side. The enemies of Russia and the Nazis wanted fratricide. They wanted Russians to kill each other. Our society was torn apart," he added. According to him, the organizers of the armed rebellion betrayed not only their country and people, but also those involved in the crime, pushing them to shoot their own.

Putin thanked all services that stood in the way of the rebels.

"All measures had been taken. The armed riot would have been put down," Putin said categorically and thanked all the military personnel and services that stood against the rioters.

"I thank the ‘Wagner’ fighters who did not give in to a fratricidal war. They can sign a contract with the Russia army. The rest can go to Belarus. I will keep my promise to them," he promised.

The Russian president reiterated that the choice of whether to join the state army is theirs, but he is sure that "it will be the choice of Russian soldiers who have realized their tragic mistake".

"We knew and we know that the vast majority of fighters and commanders of the ‘Wagner’ group are also patriots of Russia, loyal to their people and country. They proved this with their bravery on the battlefield, liberating Donbas and Novorussia. An attempt was made to use them... against their brothers in arms, with whom they fought together for the country and its future," Putin said.

He also thanked Lukashenko for his efforts to overcome the situation.

Prigozhin appeared: I did not want to overthrow the government, but to save PMC Wagner

PMC "Wagner" leader Yevgeny Prigozhin released an 11-minute audio recording yesterday, in which he stated that the purpose of his Saturday march to Moscow was not to overthrow the power in Russia, but to save his mercenary army from being disbanded.

The businessman's recording first appeared on the Telegram channel "Gray Zone", which is close to Prigozhin. In the audio, he did not specify where he was.

According to Putin's Chef, if his fighters become part of the regular Russian army, they will be turned into cannon fodder and sent to certain death because of the incompetence of the military leadership in Moscow.

According to an agreement brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the leader of "Wagner" stopped the march of fighters of the group towards Moscow. The agreement provides for Prigozhin to go to Belarus.

“Wagner halted its advance on Moscow the moment it realized it would have to face the waiting Russian troops and that blood would inevitably be spilled”, he claimed.

The head of Wagner said that Lukashenko made proposals so that the group could continue to function.

The advance of Wagner forces towards Moscow shows "serious security problems" in Russia, the head of the private military company pointed out. He assured that civilians along the way supported his fighters' march towards the Russian capital.

In Belarus, a camp is being built for 8,000 "Wagner” fighters

A camp is being built in Belarus for 8,000 mercenaries from the Russian private army "Wagner", whose owner moved to this country after the failed attempt to rebel against the authorities in Moscow last weekend, the Russian Internet publication "Вьорстка" reported.

The camp will be in Asipovichy, Mogilev region and will have an area of 24,000 square meters, the announcement said. It refers to conversations with unnamed relatives of "Wagner" fighters who confirm the information.

At the same time, today "Wagner" assured that its headquarters in St. Petersburg is working normally - two days after the riot, announced and subsequently stopped by the head of the group Yevgeny Prigozhin, reported AFP.

"Despite the events that took place, (the HQ) continues to function normally, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation!", the statement read.

It was published at a time when the fate of "Wagner" - between disbanding the group, its integration into the Russian army or maintaining its current status - remains uncertain, notes AFP.

PMC Wagner's office in Novosibirsk - Russia's third largest city - meanwhile resumed recruitment of fighters today.

The billboards that were removed from the entrance of the building on Saturday were put back up.

Earlier today, sources from "Wagner" said that the private military company continues to recruit fighters in several Russian regions, according to AFP, quoted by BTA.

Novinite is still the only Bulgarian media that publishes a summary of events and highlights related to the conflict, every single day. Our coverage began on day one - 24.02.2022 and will not stop until the war has concluded. Despite the pressure, our independent media will continue to provide its readers with accurate and up-to-date information. Thank you for your support! #stayinformed

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Tags: Ukraine, Russia, wagner, Prigozhin

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