Russia Ukraine conflict reside: Wagner boss ‘confirmed dead by genetic tests’; Kyiv claims 5 Moscow fighter jets hit by drones

In response to information of the crash of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s personal aircraft close to Moscow, our worldwide editor Chris Stevenson gave his take on this Independent Voices article:

“It is not surprising that Russian authorities have declared Yevgeny Prigozhin dead. Given the attempted mutiny he led with the Wagner mercenary group against Moscow, the assumption was that he may not be long for this world.

“When it comes to the iron-grip President Vladimir Putin has on his nation – if you come for the king, as the adage goes, you best not miss.

“But as the speculation swirls about the end of Prigozhin and the embarrassment that Putin could not let stand, it can be easy to brush past the terrible things Progozhin’s mercenaries are believed to have done. Let’s get this straight, Prigozhin deserved the end that all signs point to him having met.”

A vessel carrying metal merchandise to Africa has left Ukraine’s Odesa port by way of a short lived Black Sea hall, a senior Ukrainian authorities official stated.

The ship, en path to Africa, is the second such to take action since Russia withdrew final month from a UN-brokered deal that allowed for grain to be safely exported.

Deputy prime minister Oleksandr Kubrakov stated the Liberian-flagged ship PRIMUS had begun crusing by way of a short lived hall arrange for civilian vessels, confirming a report on Saturday by a Ukrainian lawmaker.

“The 2nd vessel blocked due to the war has left the port of Odesa and is now sailing through a temporary corridor,” Mr Kubrakov posted on the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter.

Mr Kubrakov stated the ship had been on the port since February final 12 months, simply 4 days earlier than Russia’s invasion, and was carrying metal merchandise to Africa.

Local stories from inside Crimea point out growing dissatisfaction with the Russian army’s efforts to forcibly mobilise the inhabitants of the peninsula it illegally annexed in 2014.

A closed survey of locals by Russian-backed authorities sought folks’s opinions on the army draft wherein the outcomes present “an extremely negative attitude” in the direction of conscription, reported Ukraine’s National Resistance Centre within the area.

The motion by Kyiv’s Special Operations Forces is aimed in opposition to the occupation of Ukraine.

The survey outcomes, in line with the resistance centre, motivated occupation authorities to supply conscripts further advantages, however these bonuses had been unlikely to sway the general public temper, the report added.

Ukraine dangers dropping army help from some “major powers” if the battlefield shifts to Russian territory, Volodymyr Zelensky has warned in a home broadcast interview.

The Ukrainian president has been reticent to assert any accountability for an uptick in drone assaults on Russian soil in recent weeks, and requested by a reporter whether or not he thought the conflict ought to transfer to Russia, he stated on Sunday that there was a “big risk” that Ukraine might alienate itself.

He stated: “There are big states in our world, very big states, for whom there is only one point for which they are not on Russia’s side – this is the territorial integrity of the state. If I deliberately direct my troops and decide to go to Russian territory, I must know for sure that this state will not be with me. And then you have to think about what is more important now for the people and Ukraine.”

Russia’s defence ministry stated its forces shot down two drones in a single day in two areas bordering Ukraine.

One drone was shot down over the Bryansk area in Russia’s west and one other within the Kursk area, simply south of it, the defence ministry stated on the Telegram messaging channel.

There was no additional details about potential harm or casualties.

Ukraine is mourning the lack of three fighter pilots killed as two coaching plane collided within the skies some 90 miles west of Kyiv.

Singled out for explicit reward by president Volodymr Zelensky and Ukraine’s airforce is Captain Andriy Pilshchykov, a pilot who glided by the army callsign “Juice”.

The late pilot, who was 30 years previous when the crash occured over the western Zhytomyr area on Friday, had develop into recognized not only for his defence of Ukraine, but additionally for his passionate advocacy for the United States to supply Kyiv with F-16 fighter jets.

The Mig-29 pilot first received fame in Ukraine as he took half in “dogfights” with Moscow’s fighter jets within the skies above Kyiv through the preliminary months of Russia’s invasion, in line with Ukrainian information retailers.

Genetic checks carried out on the stays of passengers from the personal jet which crashed close to Moscow final week have confirmed the dying of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russian officers stated.

“As part of the investigation of the plane crash in the Tver region, molecular-genetic examinations have been completed,” Russia’s Investigative Committee stated in an announcement.

“According to their results, the identities of all 10 dead were established. They correspond to the list stated in the flight sheet,” it stated.

A listing of 10 names, together with the Wagner chief and his shut associates, was revealed by Russia’s aviation company quickly after the personal jet crashed within the Tver area northwest of Moscow on Wednesday final week.

They included Prigozhin in addition to Dmitry Utkin, his right-hand man who helped discovered the Wagner mercenary group.

There had been some hypothesis, particularly on pro-Wagner Telegram channels, about whether or not Prigozhin – who was recognized to take varied safety precautions in anticipation of a potential try on his life – had actually been on the doomed flight.

Authorities are but to clarify what they imagine induced his personal jet to fall from the sky.

Air defences in Russia shot down a hostile drone close to Moscow within the early hours right now, metropolis mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated.

“Today, air defense forces in the Lyubertsy region destroyed a drone flying towards Moscow. Emergency services are on the scene,” he stated on a Telegram message round 4am.

According to preliminary data no casualties or harm on the bottom have been reported, he stated.

Here is the latest battlefield evaluation in Zaporizhzhia from the US-based Institute for the Study of War think-tank, the place Ukrainian forces are thought to have damaged by way of Russia’s first line of defence to have seized the village of Robotyne.

The think-tank stated on Saturday that geolocated footage urged Kyiv’s troops had progressed to a treeline far from Robotyne, and had been approaching an enormous anti-tank ditch forming a part of Russia’s second line of defences:

Ukraine is mourning the lack of three fighter pilots killed as two coaching plane collided within the skies some 90 miles west of Kyiv, with a fallen pilot who glided by the army callsign “Juice” singled out for explicit reward by president Volodymyr Zelensky.

The late pilot, who was 30 years previous when the crash occured over the western Zhytomyr area on Friday, had develop into recognized not only for his defence of Ukraine, but additionally for his passionate advocacy for the United States to supply Kyiv with F-16 fighter jets.

You can learn extra in regards to the pilot right here: