06/24/2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 03:31 Prigozhin reports shooting down of Russian military helicopter +++
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin claims that fighters from the Wagner mercenary force shot down a Russian army helicopter. “A helicopter just opened fire on a civilian column, it was shot down by the Wagner units,” says Prigozhin in an audio message.
+++ 03:04 Entire Ukraine under air alert +++
According to Ukrainian sources, drone debris hit a parking lot in the center of Kiev. Rescue workers are on their way to the scene, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. So far there is no information on casualties or damage. The military has been on air alert across Ukraine for more than an hour. Explosions are reported in Kharkiv and other cities. Anti-aircraft units are said to be deployed across the country.
+++ 02:26 USA in consultation with allies +++
The United States is watching the power struggle between Russian military contractor Yevgeny Prigozhin and the government in Moscow. A spokesman for the National Security Council of the White House said that developments would be discussed with allies and partners.
+++ 01:29 Prigozhin: Wagner mercenaries advanced on Russian territory +++
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin claims that soldiers from his mercenary group invaded Russian territory. Prigozhin explains that his fighters are in the Russian border area with Ukraine in an audio message. “We are now reaching Rostov. Defense Ministry units, or more precisely, the conscripts who were supposed to block our way, have left,” explains Prigozhin. You will not fight with conscripts, but only with “professionals,” said the Wagner boss. He also threatens: “We will destroy everything that stands in our way”. The Wagner boss had previously accused the army leadership of bombing his troops and called on the Russians to rebel against the military leadership.
+++ 01:17 increased security measures in Moscow +++
The Russian state news agency Tass reports that security measures have been tightened in Moscow. All important facilities, “government bodies” and the transport infrastructure would be given special protection, reports Tass, citing a representative of the security authorities. Videos had previously appeared online showing an infantry fighting vehicle and an armored military truck driving in front of the Russian parliament, the State Duma.
+++ 00:53 General Prosecutor’s Office: Prigozhin faces 12 to 20 years in prison +++
Russia’s prosecutor general justifies the initiation of proceedings against mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin for attempted armed insurgency. “For such a crime, imprisonment between 12 and 20 years is provided as punishment,” explains the authority. The initiation of the procedure by the secret service FSB was “legal and justified”, according to the public prosecutor’s office.
+++ 00:30 General Surovikin appeals to Wagner: “Stop before it’s too late” +++
The former commander-in-chief of the Russian armed forces, General Sergei Surovikin, addressed a video message to Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and his fighters. “I appeal to the leadership, the commanders and the fighters of the PMC Wagner: together with you, we have walked a difficult path. […] We are of the same blood. we are fighters I urge you to stop,” says Surovikin, who became known as “General Armageddon” and was demoted to deputy supreme commander in January. Before it was “too late,” Wagner should “obey the will and the orders of the popularly elected president of the Russian Federation”. “Stop the columns and return them to their permanent positions and places of concentration”.
+++ 23:39 video is said to show military vehicles on Moscow’s streets +++
According to the “Kyiv Independent”, Russian media reports that the police in several regions of Russia have been put on high alert. Military vehicles are on the roads in Rostov-on-Don near the Ukrainian border. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is said to be staying there. A video that is circulating on Twitter, among other things, is said to show armored vehicles in the center of Moscow.
+++ 22:30 Selenskyj draws consequences from corruption in his own military +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj is taking action after a report about a corruption scandal in his own military. After “Ukrajinska Pravda” reported on a high-ranking district military officer who is said to have bought real estate in Spain – presumably with bribes – Zelenskyj ordered his dismissal. In his video message, he took up the scandal again and called for a fundamental review of the recruitment system in Ukraine. Because of the Russian war of aggression, all Ukrainians between the ages of 18 and 60 are generally conscripted. However, many men buy their way out of this obligation from military doctors and district military replacement offices with false certificates.
+++ 22:15 Prigozhin: “This is not a military coup” +++
Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin denies planning a military coup. “This is not a military coup,” he explains in the context of several audio contributions on Telegram, in which he announced that he would stop the “evil” of the military leadership. “This is a march for justice,” says Prigozhin.
+++ 22:08 report: Russian secret service opens criminal proceedings against Prigozhin +++
According to the state news agency TASS, the Russian secret service FSB has opened criminal proceedings against the mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. Tass reports that he was accused of armed mutiny. According to the Interfax agency, President Vladimir Putin is aware of all events affecting Prigozhin. According to the Kremlin, necessary measures are being taken, reports Interfax.
+++ 21:45 Insider: Germany wants to buy 60 Boeing helicopters +++
According to insider information, Germany wants to buy 60 Chinook helicopters from Boeing. The package, including infrastructure, will cost up to eight billion euros, reports a person familiar with the matter from parliamentary circles. According to this, the procurement of the CH-47 heavy-duty helicopters alone costs 6.27 billion euros. The project still needs parliamentary approval. The topic should be dealt with before the summer break.
+++ 21:12 Prigozhin accuses the Russian army of attacking the Wagner group +++
The head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner accuses the Russian military leadership of having bombed his troops. A “very large” number of Wagner mercenaries were killed as a result of the attacks, Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a statement published by his press service voice message. The mercenary boss accuses the Russian defense minister of having ordered the attacks on the Wagner troop camps. The denial from Moscow came immediately. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu denied attacks on the Wagner mercenaries. Prigozhin threatened to “response” to the attacks and “stop” the Russian military leadership. “We have 25,000 (soldiers) and we will find out why there is chaos in the country,” he said. “Anyone who wants to should join us.”
+++ 20:45 Russian hackers put the Federal Ministry of the Interior’s fake website online +++
Russian hackers apparently managed to upload a fake website of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. This was confirmed by Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser “Authority Mirror”. The website, which looks deceptively real, made untrue claims about regulations for refugees from Ukraine, as reported by “Bild”. Under the invented “Temporary Neighborhood” campaign, it was said, for example, that every German should take in a person from the Ukraine at home. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution assumes that the site is Russian disinformation, an “act of hybrid warfare”. According to the report, the Federal Ministry of the Interior immediately took measures to curb the spread of false information. However, the site was only shut down after 19 days.
You can read about the developments from the previous day here.