Kremlin Denies State Role in Wagner’s Africa Businesses

The Russian state played no role in the Wagner mercenary group’s multimillion-dollar business interests in Africa, the Kremlin said Wednesday. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov issued the denial after President Vladimir Putin revealed Tuesday that Russia’s state budget “fully financed” Wagner, detailing sums of 86 billion rubles ($1 billion) spent on upkeep and another 110 billion rubles ($1.3…

Tinder Leaves Russia With Memes and Dashed Hopes

Following Bumble and Badoo, the popular dating app Tinder will leave Russia on June 30. Explaining the decision in an annual impact report published on May 1, Tinder’s owner Match Group said it was “committed to protecting human rights.” Public reaction: rivals, politicians and Runet users In the end of May Russian users of Tinder…

Kremlin ‘Welcomes’ Vatican Peace Efforts Over Ukraine

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Pope Francis’s envoy would hold talks with President Vladimir Putin’s adviser in Moscow as Russia “welcomed” the Vatican’s peace efforts over Ukraine. Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi began a Russia visit on Tuesday in the first such trip since Putin sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022.  High-ranking Catholic clerics are rarely seen in…

Wagner Camp Under Construction in Belarus – Reports

Satellite images purporting to show the construction of a camp for exiled Wagner mercenaries after their failed revolt were shared online late Tuesday by independent Belarusian media. According to the Telegram channel Belarus Golovnovo Mozga, satellite images dated June 27 show what appears to be construction underway at a military compound near the town of…

Navalny-Backed Opposition Deputies Stripped of Mandates

Two Siberian opposition deputies backed by jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny have been stripped of their mandates over claims that they had failed to submit personal income statements, a move the deputies themselves called politically motivated. The Novosibirsk City Council voted by majority Wednesday to strip deputies Sergei Boyko and Helga Pirogova of their mandates,…

Senior Russian General Knew About Wagner Leader’s Mutiny Plans – NYT

Updated with Peskov’s comments. Russia’s former top commander in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin, had advanced knowledge of Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plans to topple the country’s military leadership last weekend, The New York Times reported Tuesday, citing unnamed U.S. officials.  “Prigozhin would not have launched his uprising unless he believed that others in positions of…

Taiwan Detects Two Russian Warships Off its Coast

Taiwan sighted two Russian frigates sailing off its eastern coast on Tuesday and deployed surveillance ships and aircraft to monitor their movements, the island’s Ministry of National Defence said.  The Russian warships were “detected sailing from south to north in the waters off our eastern coast” as of 11 pm local time (1500 GMT), it…