Wagner begins training Belarusian soldiers

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Mercenaries from the Wagner group have begun training soldiers in Belarus after leaving Russia following their rebellion.

The training is thought to be taking place near the town of Osipovichi, about 56 miles south of the capital, Minsk.

The Belarusian defence ministry said: “[Wagner] fighters acted as instructors in a number of military disciplines.”

Reports suggested that some of the mercenaries have been in the country since at least Tuesday.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko brokered a deal to end the Wagner mutiny last month. Under the agreement, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin stood down his mercenaries and agreed to move to Belarus in exchange for Russia dropping charges.

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We will be back tomorrow with all the latest updates from Ukraine.

Ukraine has reportedly advanced almost two kilometres along the southern front over the past week as it pushes ahead to Melitopol.

Kyiv said its counteroffensive, which began last month, was making breakthroughs in the face of “dense” minefields and shelling.

Mykola Urshalovych, a representative of the National Guard, said the force’s 15th Karadag brigade and regular troops were moving towards the occupied southern city of Melitopol.

He added that soldiers, “supported by tanks, have advanced 1,700 metres [1.1 miles] to the south and southeast” in the last week.

Melitopol, which was occupied in the early stages of the war, is strategically important because commanders believe it could sever the land corridor between Russia and Crimea.

The Royal Air Force is ready to “fly and fight” against Russia, the force’s new head has said, despite concerns over cuts to the military, Danielle Sheridan writes.

In his first speech as Air Chief Marshal, Sir Richard Knighton told a conference that the UK was prepared to take on adversaries in the wake of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

He said: “What we need to communicate, so that our adversaries comprehend that we have credible capability, is that we’re ready to fly and fight and that they will lose.”

Read the full story here.

Newly-weds in Kyiv are refusing to let the war ruin their special day as they marry amid the wrecks of military machinery.

One picture shows a couple outside the St. Mykhailivsky Cathedral walking hand in hand, refusing to be put off by the charred Russian tanks just behind them.

Russian forces have destroyed a Ukrainian army fuel depot in Zaporizhzhia along with three command posts, it has been claimed.

Igor Konashenkov, Russia’s defence ministry spokesman, said: “In the area of the settlement of Uspenovka in the Zaporizhzhia Region, a depot storing fuel for military hardware of the Ukrainian army’s 36th marine infantry brigade was destroyed.

“In areas near the settlements of Predtechino and Aleksandro-Shultino... and the town of Orekhov in the Zaporizhzhia Region, three command posts of the Ukrainian army’s 22nd, 28th and 65th mechanized brigades were eliminated.”

He added that three reconnaissance groups operating in the region, which is located in southeastern Ukraine, had been “thwarted”, while six ammunition depots were destroyed.

Nato is risking a “direct armed clash” with Russia that would have “catastrophic consequences”, Sergei Lavrov has warned.

The Russian foreign minister also claimed that member states were “satellites” of the US, according to a Russian Embassy tweet, days after the bloc agreed long-term security guarantees for Ukraine.

He was also accused of responding aggressively to a request to withdraw troops from Ukraine by Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief.

FM #Lavrov: The #US and its #NATO satellites are creating risks of a direct armed clash with #Russia, and this is fraught with catastrophic consequences. pic.twitter.com/RKMwGDEgU3

Mercenaries from the Wagner group are reportedly training soldiers in Belarus after leaving Russia following their attempted coup.

The training is thought to be taking place near the town of Osipovichi, about 56 miles south of the capital, Minsk.

Belarus’ defence ministry said: “[Wagner] fighters acted as instructors in a number of military disciplines.”

Russia may be worried for the safety of its nuclear submarines after a mutiny by Wagner mercenaries last month, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

Submarines from the Northern Fleet will not take part in this month’s Navy Day fleet review in St Petersburg for the first time in its six-year history.

While the MoD said this could reflect the need to keep submarines on standby for operations, it added there may be “security concerns” following the Wagner coup.

It comes after reports that the paramilitary group came close to seizing a stockpile of nuclear weapons as they marched towards Moscow in June.

The MoD said: “There is... a realistic possibility that internal security concerns since Wagner Group’s attempted mutiny have contributed to the decision.”

A man has been jailed for 10 years after a Ukrainian court found him guilty of plotting with Russia to blow up transport infrastructure and disrupt foreign arms supplies.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) did not identify the man but said he had fought with Russia-backed militant groups in eastern Ukraine before and after Moscow’s invasion last year.

He was apparently detained in February before he was able to carry out the mission.

The man was tasked by Russian military intelligence with destroying two infrastructure targets around Rivne in the west of Ukraine, the SBU said.

It did not identify the targets but the region has several important road and railway links with Poland.

Russia has said it will shut a Polish consulate looking after memorials to massacred officers in retaliation for Warsaw’s “aggressive” stance.

The diplomatic mission in Smolensk, in western Russia, is to be closed as relations between the countries plummet amid tension brought by the war in Ukraine.

Russia’s foreign ministry accused Warsaw of “unbridled Russophobia” and said it had pursued a “hostile policy” in recent years.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki responded: “If in the end it comes to it that Russia starts to liquidate our offices we will respond in kind.”

Four Ukrainians who reportedly died in captivity are among the dozens of dead soldiers that have been handed over by Russian forces.

The Ministry of Reintegration wrote on Telegram: “The bodies of dead Ukrainian servicemen from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine (TOT) were repatriated today.

“In this way, it was possible to return the bodies of another 62 defenders.

“Four of them died in enemy captivity as a result of injury, illness and inadequate medical care.”

A photo apparently showing Yevgeny Prigozhin in his underwear has been published online, marking the latest embarrassing image to emerge of the Wagner founder.

Prigozhin is seen sitting on a camp bed wearing a white t-shirt and little else as he raises a hand to the photographer.

The mercenary boss has been a frequent critic of Russia’s military leadership in the Ukraine war and last month launched a coup that took his paramilitary group within 125 miles of Moscow.

Last week, Russia’s security services released selfies of Prigozhin wearing various disguises in what was widely seen as an attempt to discredit him.

The photos appear to have been taken during trips to various African and Middle Eastern countries, and show Prigozhin wearing fake beards, wigs and thick-rimmed spectacles.

The fate of Wagner is to be decided by the Kremlin after the paramilitary organisation launched an abortive coup last month.

Vladimir Putin told Russian newspaper Kommersant: “The [Wagner] group is here, but it does not exist legally.

“There is a separate question related to their real legalisation. It’s a question that must be discussed in the Duma and within the government.”

The Kremlin later said in a statement that what happens to the mercenary group needed to be “considered”.

The man named by Vladimir Putin as the “real commander” of the Wagner group is Andrei Nikolayevich Troshev, a former artillery officer and police colonel.

He served in Afghanistan and Chechnya, and was awarded Russia’s highest honorary title after capturing Palmyra from Isis in 2017.

Known by the nom de guerre “Sedoi” - or “Grey Hair” - he has previously been named as an executive director of Wagner.

The Russian foreign ministry has accused Nato of sponsoring “terrorism” after claiming a Ukrainian drone almost crashed into a nuclear power station.

It made the claim just days after the military alliance held a summit in Vilnius, where G7 countries committed to “Nato-lite” security guarantees for Kyiv.

A spokeswoman said: “A Ukrainian drone fell in the town of Kurchatov where the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant is located.

“The peoples of Nato countries should realize that their governments have been sponsoring acts of nuclear terrorism being committed by the Kyiv regime.”

A mother and child have been sent to hospital with shrapnel wounds after a nearby car exploded in Belgorod.

The region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said the man driving the car had also been hurt, and that all three had suffered injuries of “moderate severity”.

He wrote on Telegram: “I went to the place of emergency. There is no threat to residents of neighboring houses and apartments.

“Operational services are working on site. The investigating authorities are taking all measures to understand the causes of the incident.

“Unfortunately, there are three victims: a man who was in the car at the time of the explosion, and two bystanders - a mother with a child. All the victims were taken to hospitals in the city with shrapnel wounds of the lower extremities.

Vladimir Putin offered Wagner mercenaries the chance to continue fighting in Russia just days after they staged a coup against military leaders.

The Russian President made the offer last month at a meeting with fighters and their founder Yevgeny Prigozhin last month, according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant.

Under the offer, made five days after the paramilitary group marched within 125 miles of Moscow, the fighters would stay under their current commander, identified only by his call sign of “Grey Hair.”

However, the deal was apparently turned down by Prigozhin, who said: “No, the boys won’t agree with such a decision.”

It comes as the Pentagon said Wagner mercenaries were no longer fighting in “any significant capacity” in Ukraine.

Parts of Odesa in southern Ukraine have been left without power after a storm, the region’s governor has said.

Oleg Kiper said that dozens of teams were working on fixing the issues, but this could take until the evening in some areas.

He wrote on Telegram: “This night, gusts of wind and a thunderstorm caused power outages in 11 settlements, five of which were partially without power supply.

“The storm passed over the territory of almost the entire Odesa region, but the most outages occurred in the Izmail district.”

Ukrainian MPs have voted to legalise marijuana to help war veterans cope with physical and mental trauma, writes James Kilner.

The Bill to allow marijuana for medical use sailed through its first reading on Thursday with 268 out of 344 lawmakers supporting the legislation.

It now needs to pass a second reading in parliament before being sent to Volodymyr Zelensky to sign into law.

Read the full story here.

Russia may fear for the safety of its nuclear submarines after a mutiny by Wagner mercenaries, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

Submarines from the Northern Fleet will not take part in this month’s Navy Day fleet review in St Petersburg for the first time in its six-year history.

It comes after reports that Wagner fighters came close to stealing a nuclear weapon during last month’s rebellion on the group’s march towards Moscow.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 14 July 2023.Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/zjKawRonSb🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/mbMA6IcsGl

A journalist killed in eastern Ukraine has been awarded the Legion of Honour by Emmanuel Macron.

Arman Soldin, who worked for French news agency AFP, was just 32 years old when he died in a rocket attack near Bakhmut last year.

President Macron hailed Mr Soldin’s “bravery” in a letter to the news outlet.

He said: “Through his strength of character, his journey and his drive, Arman Soldin embodied your editorial staff’s passion - a passion to convey the truth, tell stories and gather testimonies. It was a passion for a cause: the duty to inform.”

Ukrainian forces had “success” in Donetsk as they continued a counteroffensive against Russian occupation, according to state media.

A spokesman for the general staff is reported that troops had made headway in the direction of two villages, Bila Gora and Andriivka.

Attacks are continuing in the north and south of Bakhmut, while forces are said to have gained a “foothold” on territory gained since last month.

Ukraine’s air force has said it downed 16 ‘kamikaze’ drones launched by Russian forces in the fourth consecutive night of aerial attacks.

In a statement online it said: “The Russians attacked Ukraine with 17 Iranian-made Shahed-136/131 attack drones from the south east direction.

“As a result of military operations... 16 Shaheds were destroyed.”

Two of the drones were brought down in the Mykolaiv Oblast in the south of Ukraine, according to the regional command’s Telegram channel.

A 56-year-old man was injured in an overnight Russian drone strike on Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s hometown, the regional governor has said.

A number of buildings were also damaged in Kryvyi Rih, central Ukraine. All but one of the 17 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia were shot down, according to the air force.

Regional governor Serhiy Lysak said on the Telegram messaging app that falling debris damaged a municipal enterprise, two residential buildings and a transport company.

City mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said windows had been blown out in apartment blocks and private houses, hospitals and schools.

Vladimir Putin has downplayed Yevgeny Prigozhin’s role in the Wagner group, claiming a commander known as “Grey Hair” was the “real” leader.

Little is known about the individual, who was only referred to by his call sign in the Russian newspaper Kommersant.

“All of them could have gathered in one place and continued their service,” the Russian president is reported to have said.

“Nothing would have changed. They would have been led by the same person who had been their real commander all that time.”

Cluster munitions from the US have arrived in Ukraine in what military leaders believe will “fundamentally change” the war.

President Biden recently agreed to send the controversial weapons, which are banned in more than 100 countries, as part of an $800m security package.

Valeryi Shershen, a spokesman for a southern military district, said: “This will further demotivate Russian occupying forces and fundamentally change things in favour of the Ukrainian armed forces.”

Echoing assurances made by Volodymyr Zelensky at this week’s Nato summit, he said the bombs would only be used for the “deoccupation” of Ukraine and not in Russia.

Joe Biden said that he expects Ukraine’s counter-offensive will eventually lead to negotiations to end the war with Russia, writes US Editor Nick Allen.

The US president said he did not believe that Moscow could sustain the war for years, and Vladimir Putin had “already lost”.

He also warned that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group mercenary chief who led a failed mutiny against the Russian president last month, should be careful about being poisoned.

Mr Biden speaking in Helsinki, Finland, said: “Putin’s already lost the war. Putin has a real problem – how does he move from here, what does he do? There is no possibility of him winning the war in Ukraine. He’s already lost that war.”

Read the full story here.

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