Ukraine 4

[Hoodat]

Ukrainians operating on opposite side of Dnieper near Kherson.

from r/CombatFootage

https://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/comments/14itwzf/something_is_happening_at_the_left_bank_of_dnipro/

[Hoodat]

Shoigu is under house arrest.

https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1673171204209795072

[Hoodat]

Prigozhin may have been offered dismissal of Shoigu and Gerasimov, says SBU

June 25, 2023 at 3:01 PM CDT

Wagner Group mercenary's leader Yevgen Prigozhin may have been promised that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other top military officials to be dismissed in exchange for ending his mutiny, Ukraine’s SBU security service said on June 25.

In return for halting his Wagnerite mercenaries march on Moscow, Prigozhin may have been offered the dismissal of not only Shoigu, but Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and other military officers with whom he was in conflict, Ukrainian news outlet and NV sister publication Ukrainska Pravda reported, referring to sources in the SBU.

The Wagner mercenaries aren't likely to go to Belarus, the sources added.  .  .

https://news.yahoo.com/prigozhin-may-offered-dismissal-shoigu-200100873.html

[Kamaji]

'Either Prigozhin is already dead or a cup of hot polonium tea awaits him in Minsk': Stark analysis of Wagner chief's future with his location still unknown and mutiny charges NOT dropped… as Putin makes NO mention of mutiny in first public comments

Yevgeny Prigozhin on Saturday called off Wagner's attempted coup on Putin
He has struck a deal that will see him exiled in Belarus with no repercussions
Analysts say he will likely be killed and criminal charges against him remain open

By DAVID AVERRE and CHRIS JEWERS
26 June 2023

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is either already dead or is going to meet a sticky end in Belarus after his mercenary group attempted mutiny in Russia over the weekend.

Unless Prigozhin has a deep network of support in the upper echelons of Russia's power structure, then he will be killed in short order, according to Russia expert and political scientist Nicolas Gosset of the Royal Higher Institute for Defence (IRSD).

'I have not seen any photos suggesting that there were 25,000 Wagner troops on their way to Moscow. If [the attempted coup] failed, then Prigozhin is dead. Either he is already dead or a hot cup of polonium tea awaits him in Minsk,' Gosset told Belgian outlet La Libre.

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12234033/Stark-analysis-Wagner-chief-Prigozhins-future-mutiny-charges-NOT-dropped.html

[Kamaji]

Prigozhin may have been offered dismissal of Shoigu and Gerasimov, says SBU

June 25, 2023 at 3:01 PM CDT

Wagner Group mercenary's leader Yevgen Prigozhin may have been promised that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other top military officials to be dismissed in exchange for ending his mutiny, Ukraine’s SBU security service said on June 25.

In return for halting his Wagnerite mercenaries march on Moscow, Prigozhin may have been offered the dismissal of not only Shoigu, but Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and other military officers with whom he was in conflict, Ukrainian news outlet and NV sister publication Ukrainska Pravda reported, referring to sources in the SBU.

The Wagner mercenaries aren't likely to go to Belarus, the sources added.  .  .

https://news.yahoo.com/prigozhin-may-offered-dismissal-shoigu-200100873.html

If that is what he was promised, then it appears that he was promised a pig in a poke, as Shoigu is still very much around.

[Kamaji]

Wagner fears ‘wounded’ Putin, could launch purges like ‘never seen before’: UK official

By Lee Brown
June 26, 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin likely feels “mortally wounded” by the weekend’s military mutiny — risking purges “like we’ve never seen before” and even the possibility of a full-scale “collapsed Russia,” according to UK officials.

Alicia Kearns, the chairman of the UK’s foreign affairs select committee, told LBC Radio that the attempted coups by the powerful Wagner Group over the weekend created a “really dangerous inflection point.”

“The risk of a collapsed Russia is not insignificant,” she warned of the country with the world’s largest nuclear arsenal.

“We don’t know how far Putin will go to keep power, but let’s consider it to be significant. If he’s successful, we will see purges, I think, like we have never seen before,” the senior politician said.

She also warned that “what could come next could be a lot worse.”

*  *  *

Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/06/26/putin-mortally-wounded-by-mutiny-risks-collapsed-russia/

[240B]

[Timber Rattler]

Hmmm...

Belarus will let Wagner Group stay operational, Prigozhin says

https://www.politico.eu/article/yevegeny-prigozhin-wagner-group-russia-ukraine-war-mutiny/

Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin resurfaced Monday to issue an impassioned defense of his mutiny against Russia’s army chiefs over the weekend and said Belarus was offering ways for his mercenary group’s “continued work.”

The Wagner chief led an uprising against Vladimir Putin’s regular army from Friday night, declaring war on the military establishment, seizing the major southern city of Rostov and sending his mercenary forces on a “march” to Moscow during which their armored vehicles ended up 200 kilometers from the capital, before abruptly standing down his men Saturday evening.

The abortive dash for Moscow fizzled out after an intervention by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, who seemed to strike a deal in which the mutineers would be spared prosecution as long as Prigozhin went to Minsk and Wagner troops laid down their weapons or joined regular Russian forces.

By Monday, however, the terms of the deal were still hazy. Russian state media said Prigozhin was still liable for prosecution, and the warlord’s whereabouts were unclear. In an audio statement, Prigozhin gave no indication that Wagner was being wound up, defending his troops as a crack force and saying that Lukashenko was open to allowing them stay operational in Belarus.

“Wagner is likely the most experienced and combat-ready formation in Russia — and possibly in the world,” he said. “At this time, Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko extended his hand and offered to find solutions for the continued work of Wagner PMC within a legal jurisdiction.”

[DB]

Being a mercenary army, who is going to pay them so that they can remain operational? No pay, no army.

[Kamaji]

Russia stocking up on military dolphins to help defeat Ukraine: report

By Isabel Keane
June 26, 2023

The Russian navy is stocking up on one of its best defensive weapons against Ukraine — military-trained dolphins, according to a new intelligence report.

Satellite imagery shows the number of floating mammal pens in the harbor of its main port base in annexed Crimea nearly doubling from April to June, indicating Russia is training more combat dolphins to counter Ukrainian forces, according to the UK intelligence report.

The bottlenose dolphins helping to safeguard the entry to the port of Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea are “highly likely intended to counter enemy divers,” British authorities said last week.

The new satellite images show “at least four layers of nets and booms across the harbor entrance. In recent weeks, these defences have highly likely also been augmented by an increased number of trained marine mammals,” the intelligence report said.

*  *  *

Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/06/26/flipper-is-my-comrade-russia-stocking-up-on-military-dolphins-to-help-defeat-ukraine/

[PeteS in CA]

Dolphin mercenaries work for fish, very cheap.

[Kamaji]

Dolphin mercenaries work for fish, very cheap.

[kevindavis007]

Being a mercenary army, who is going to pay them so that they can remain operational? No pay, no army.

I imagine the oligarchs in Russia will have their own armies soon. If the main Russian army can't provide basic protection, they might as well get their own.

[Kamaji]

Russia's invading troops are now facing 'multiple threats' along 125-mile front line with Ukraine's forces making ground in Bakhmut, UK MoD says amid Kremlin's Wagner mutiny turmoil

By CHRIS JEWERS
26 June 2023

Russia's invading troops are facing 'multiple threats' along a 125-mile section of the front line, with Ukraine's forces making ground around Bakhmut, Britain's Ministry of Defense has reported, amid the fallout from the weekend's Wagner mutiny. After calling off his troops' 'march for justice' toward Moscow, mercenary warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin was expected to go into exile in Belarus as part of a deal that pulled Russia and Vladimir Putin back from the brink of a potential catastrophe. As the world watched the brief armed rebellion unfold, many questioned whether Ukraine would take advantage of the chaos and step up its counteroffensive which has made small gains into Russian-held territory in recent weeks. While there was no initial sign of a major new push to capitalize on the confusion in the Russian ranks, there were reports of Kyiv's troops attacking three fronts: around the Russian-held city of Bakhmut, and along the border between western Donetsk and eastern Zaporizhia oblasts, and further west in the Zaporizhia oblast.

In its most recent intelligence update, Britain's MoD said Ukraine had 'gained impetus in its assaults around Bakhmut' - a city lost to Russia in May. 'In a multi-brigade operation, Ukrainian forces have made progress on both the northern and southern flanks of the town,' the ministry said. It added that there was 'little evidence' that Russia could reinforce its ground forces with reserves 'against the multiple threats it is now facing in widely separated sectors, from Bakhmut to the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, over 200km (124 miles) away.' The intelligence update came as Ukrainian military leaders insisted they were making progress in a multi-direction offensive targeting Russian lines in the south and east of the country, as footage showed Ukrainian forces taking out Russian hardware. 'We are knocking the enemy out of his positions on the flanks of the city of Bakhmut,' ground force commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said. 'Ukraine is regaining its territory. We are moving forward,' he said. Deputy defense minister Ganna Malyar said Ukraine had recaptured 17 square kilometers (6.5 square miles) of ground in the past week, bringing the total for June's offensive to 130 (50 square miles).

*  *  *

Source:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-12235669/Russias-troops-allegedly-facing-multiple-threats-frontline.html

[240B]

I imagine the oligarchs in Russia will have their own armies soon. If the main Russian army can't provide basic protection, they might as well get their own.

Yep. And America is heading the same direction, Scarface style.

[Hoodat]

Has anyone seen Shoigu or Gerasimov in public since Prigozhin's escapade?  I know they released a 'video' of Shoigu which would at least indicate that they have access to him.  But their failure to follow up with Gerasimov may indicate that they do not have access to him.

From Ukraine's standpoint, they hope that both are OK.  It would be a huge setback for the Ukrainian war effort if either were replaced with someone competent.

[Kamaji]

Has anyone seen Shoigu or Gerasimov in public since Prigozhin's escapade?  I know they released a 'video' of Shoigu which would at least indicate that they have access to him.  But their failure to follow up with Gerasimov may indicate that they do not have access to him.

From Ukraine's standpoint, they hope that both are OK.  It would be a huge setback for the Ukrainian war effort if either were replaced with someone competent.

Does anyone in the Russian high command have any competence?

[PeteS in CA]

Some have displayed self-defenestration and building-jumping skills.

[sneakypete]

Does anyone in the Russian high command have any competence?

@Kamaji

There are so many of them the odds are there are,but chances are that no one with  power listens to them.

[Smokin Joe]

@Kamaji

There are so many of them the odds are there are,but chances are that no one with  power listens to them.

When the culture for so many years was that to contest the entrenched orthodoxy could earn one not only a loss of rank, but a trip to the gulag for the whole family, I think the competent ones will only speak up when the consensus of the higher ups agrees.

[Timber Rattler]

For what it's worth...

Lukashenko: Putin wanted to kill Prigozhin but I talked him out of it

https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2023/06/27/lukashenko-putin-wanted-to-kill-prigozhin-but-i-talked-him-out-of-it-n561125

This morning, Lukashenko made a speech in which he gave a more detailed version of how the negotiations developed. According to Lukashenko, it started with an exasperated Putin who called and informed him what was happening. “I…understood that a tough decision had been made, you could hear it beneath Putin’s speech: To wipe them out,” Lukashenko said. But he added, “I advised Putin not to rush.”

At some point he said he told Putin they could definitely kill Prigozhin but then they would have to kill everyone who was angry about him being killed and at some point they’d wind up killing civilians as well.

[mountaineer]

“The security assistance package is the 41st approved by the United States for Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022, for a total of more than $40 billion.”
 Story at Newsmax -  Pentagon:US to give Ukraine $500 Million in Additional Military Aid.

[kevindavis007]

“The security assistance package is the 41st approved by the United States for Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022, for a total of more than $40 billion.”
 Story at Newsmax -  Pentagon:US to give Ukraine $500 Million in Additional Military Aid.

So?

[mountaineer]

So?

So, Newsmax is reporting on how our tax dollars are spent. It's what reporters do, they report.

[Bigun]

What has who gotten for our 40 billion?  Anybody know?