Shaken By Mutiny, Kremlin Goes Into PR Crisis Control

The Kremlin has ordered a major PR damage control effort in the five days since armed Russian mercenaries seized a southern city and came within 200 kilometers of the capital with barely any resistance, Russian officials told The Moscow Times. Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s shock rebellion against the country’s military leadership sparked Russia’s…

Russian Media Publisher Sentenced to 8 Years in Absentia Over Bucha Comments

Russian media publisher Ilya Krasilshchik has been sentenced to eight years in prison in absentia over his comments criticizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the independent Mediazona news website reported Thursday. Krasilshchik, 36, was charged in April 2022 with “spreading fake news about the Russian military motivated by political hatred” over statements about the alleged massacre…

Kremlin Insists Putin Has ‘Astounding’ Support After Mutiny

The Kremlin said Thursday that footage, which could not be verified, apparently showing President Vladimir Putin greeting adoring supporters proved that he has “astounding” support after quelling an armed insurrection. Moscow has insisted that Putin’s long rule has not been weakened after Wagner mercenaries marched hundreds of kilometers — almost reaching Moscow — and captured…

Pope Envoy in Moscow Meets Official Wanted By ICC, Patriarch Kirill

Pope Francis’s peace envoy met with a Russian official wanted by the ICC over allegations of illegally transferring Ukrainian children to Russia and Moscow’s spiritual leader Patriarch Kirill on a visit to the Russian capital Thursday.  Cardinal Matteo Zuppi began his visit to Russia earlier this week, in a first such trip since President Vladimir Putin sent troops to…

Wagner Leader’s Troll Factory Expects Takeover – Reports

Russian Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s troll farm and media outfit are looking for fresh ownership after his aborted rebellion and exile in Belarus, independent media reported Thursday. After years of denials, Prigozhin confirmed in February 2023 the widely held belief that he was behind Russia’s network of troll farms known as the Internet Research Agency. The…

Chinese Containers Clogging Russian Rail Depots – VPost

Russian railway depots are clogged with empty shipping containers from China amid a deepening trade imbalance between the two countries, the independent business news outlet VPost reported Wednesday. Managers at Russian shipping companies told journalists that the container build-up had reached “almost critical” levels in the Moscow region and across central Russia. According to Chinese…

Poland Bolsters Border Defense as Wagner Settles in Nearby Belarus

Poland will strengthen its eastern border with neighboring Belarus as Wagner Group mercenaries relocate to the Moscow-allied country following their failed mutiny against Russia’s military leadership, Polish officials said Wednesday.  Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said Wagner’s expected move to Belarus was “a new and much more difficult stage of [Russia’s] hybrid war,” according…