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Russian mercenary leader says he did not aim to overthrow government

Russian mercenary leader says he did not aim to overthrow government

THE boss of Russia's Wagner mercenary group broke his silence, two days after leading an aborted mutiny, saying he had never intended to overthrow the government while giving few clues about his own fate or the deal under which he stood down. In the first public remarks released since he was last seen on Saturday night smiling and high-fiving bystanders from the back of an SUV as he withdrew from a city occupied by his men, Yevgeny Prigozhin said his fighters had halted their campaign to avert bloodshed. "We went as a demonstration of protest, not to overthrow the government…
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Russia sets grain deal conditions, Putin suggests free grain for Africa

Russia sets grain deal conditions, Putin suggests free grain for Africa

RUSSIA laid out conditions for agreeing to any further extension of the Black Sea grain deal, and President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow could send free grain to African countries if those conditions were not met. The deal, allowing the safe export of grain from Ukrainian and Russian Black Sea ports, was renewed on Saturday for 60 days - half the intended period - after Moscow said any further extension beyond May 18 would hinge on the removal of some Western sanctions. Russia's foreign ministry, in a statement posted on its website on Monday, said Moscow had decided to limit the extension…
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Putin says Ukrainian group attacks border region, Kyiv denies Russian ‘provocation’

Putin says Ukrainian group attacks border region, Kyiv denies Russian ‘provocation’

ANDREW OSBORN and MARK TREVELYAN PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin said Russia had been hit by a "terrorist attack" in the southern Bryansk region bordering Ukraine, and vowed to crush what he said was a Ukrainian sabotage group that had fired at civilians. Ukraine accused Russia of staging a false "provocation", but also appeared to imply some form of operation had indeed been carried out by Russian anti-government partisans. Amid reports of shelling and sporadic sabotage, Russia's border regions have become increasingly volatile since Moscow invaded Ukraine a year ago in what it called a "special military operation". Putin, in a televised address, accused…
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Russians tighten noose on Ukraine’s Bakhmut, Putin warns of Western espionage

Russians tighten noose on Ukraine’s Bakhmut, Putin warns of Western espionage

DAN PELESCHUK RUSSIAN forces pressed forward their weeks-long drive to encircle and capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, where the commander of Ukraine's ground forces described the situation as "extremely tense". Taking Bakhmut, the scene of some of the war's bloodiest battles, would be Russia's first major prize in more than six months and open the way to seizing the last remaining urban centres in the Donetsk region, one of four Moscow claims to have annexed in its "special military operation" in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the FSB security service on Tuesday to bolster security in the four regions…
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Biden meets eastern NATO allies after Putin’s nuclear warning

Biden meets eastern NATO allies after Putin’s nuclear warning

NANDITA BOSE and ALAN CHARLISH U.S. President Joe Biden met leaders of NATO's eastern flank to show support for their security after Moscow suspended a landmark nuclear arms control treaty, which he called a "big mistake". Biden arrived in the Polish capital Warsaw late on Monday after a surprise visit to Kyiv just days ahead of the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Amid the highest tension between Russia and the West since the Cold War over three decades ago, Biden addressed thousands in downtown Warsaw on Tuesday and said "autocrats" like Russian President Vladimir Putin must be opposed. Hours…
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Biden walks through Kyiv to show resolve ahead of war’s anniversary

Biden walks through Kyiv to show resolve ahead of war’s anniversary

PAVEL POLITYUK and MAX HUNDER U.S. President Joe Biden walked around central Kyiv on an unannounced visit, promising to stand with Ukraine as long as it takes, on a trip timed to upstage the Kremlin ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion. Biden, in trademark aviator sunglasses, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in green battle fatigues, walked side-by-side to a gold-domed cathedral on a bright winter morning pierced by the sound of air raid sirens. "When (Russian President Vladimir) Putin launched his invasion nearly one year ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. He thought he…
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West must tone down their war cries, negotiate with Russia

West must tone down their war cries, negotiate with Russia

WAR-MONGERING, threats and gung-ho diplomacy dominated a gathering of Western leaders in Germany over the past weekend during which war - instead of peace – was given yet another chance to prevail. This year’s Munich Security Conference was, predictably, dominated by the war in Ukraine and how the West can continue to shore up Kyiv’s military to “acceptable NATO levels”. The conference was a global spectacle attended by delegates from more than 100 countries. Western heads of state, accompanied by diplomats and other officials, intelligence personnel and various strategic operatives intermingled with a single mission of revising and reviewing the…
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World must stand with Kyiv as Putin counts on “General Winter”, EU says

World must stand with Kyiv as Putin counts on “General Winter”, EU says

INTERNATIONAL partners must continue to support Ukraine as the country prepares to keep up its fight against Russia's invasion during the upcoming winter months, the European Union's top diplomat said on Thursday. "The winter is coming. Putin is waiting for the 'General Winter' to come and support the Russian army," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned on the sidelines of a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in the western German town of Muenster. "Now, more than ever, we have to support Ukraine, the Ukrainian people. They are fighting, defending their country, and we have the moral duty to support…
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Upcoming Russian nuclear exercises a challenge for the West

Upcoming Russian nuclear exercises a challenge for the West

PHIL STEWART WITH Russia expected to soon carry out large-scale drills of its nuclear forces as President Vladimir Putin threatens to use them, the United States and its allies will be challenged to ensure they can spot the difference between exercises and the real thing. Russia typically holds major annual nuclear exercises around this time of year, and U.S. and Western officials expect them perhaps in just days. They will likely include the test launch of ballistic missiles, U.S. officials say. But with Putin having openly threatened to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia in its unraveling invasion of Ukraine, some…
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