Category: Defense and National Security

Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin on Monday released the first audio statement since an aborted armed rebellion he staged on Saturday, defending the move as a reaction to an attack on his force that killed some of his 30 fighters. “We started our march because of an injustice,” Prigozhin said in an 11-minute audio. He didn’t offer any details as to where he was at the moment or what his future plans are. Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin on Monday released the…

In its statement of support for Moscow on Saturday, Minsk warned that “any provocation, any internal conflict in political and military circles, in the information field and in civil society” would be a “gift to the collective West” for its proxy war against Russia. Western newspapers, TV channels and online news outlets published fake news stories relating to this conflict. Sputnik dissected a few of them. ‘Putin Has Fled Moscow’ British, Polish and Ukrainian media have jumped on rumors that…

MOSCOW — The head of the Wagner mercenary group said his forces were ending a march on the Russian capital after demanding the resignation of the country’s top defense officials over alleged failures in the war in Ukraine. In a statement to his Telegram social media account, Yevgeny Prigozhin said his fighters had led a “march for justice” over the past 24 hours that saw them travel from the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don to the outskirts of Moscow “The…

Evgeny Prigozhin has agreed to halt his advance on Moscow after a mediation effort led by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Belarusian state media reported Saturday evening.Lukashenko’s talks with Prigozhin, said to have stretched throughout the day Saturday, were agreed with Putin. “As a result, the parties agreed to to the inadmissibility of unleashing a bloody massacre on Russian territory. Evgeny Prigozhin accepted President Lukashenko’s proposal to stop the movement of Wagner’s forces in Russia and to take further steps to…

As columns of mercenaries appeared to be moving towards Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to strike back hard against Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the mercenary Wagner Group, who has launched an assault on his own government. In remarks on Saturday morning from the Kremlin, Putin denounced Prigozhin’s “criminal adventure” as an “armed mutiny” that would be met with a response from regular Russian troops. “Any actions that split our nation are essentially a betrayal of our people, of our…

Several world leaders, among them Russia’s closest allies and partners, have offered support for the Kremlin amid the deadly standoff between the Russian military and Prigozhin’s Wagner group. Belarus: Belarus, Russia’s Collective Security Treaty Organization ally and Union State partner, has offered full support for Moscow, emphasizing that Minsk has always been and remains Russia’s close ally. “Belarusians and Russians are brotherly peoples. Our states are bound by a political union. And we cannot remain aloof from events taking place…

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plane left Moscow Saturday morning, according to flight data. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had not fled and “is working at the Kremlin.” Wagner mercenaries appear to be headed for Moscow in what some are calling an attempted coup. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plane took off from Moscow early Saturday morning, heading towards St. Petersburg before disappearing from flight tracking radar. Putin’s presidential plane left at 14:16 Moscow time, according to FlightRadar data retrieved by…

Taiwan’s defense ministry said Saturday that eight Chinese warplanes had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and come close to waters under Taipei’s control. Taiwan lives under constant threat of invasion by China, which views the self-ruled island as part of its territory to be seized one day. On Saturday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said 19 Chinese warplanes including J-10 and J-16 fighters were detected around the island. Eight of them crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and approached the island’s contiguous zone, or the band of sea within 24 nautical miles (44…

Editor’s note: This story was first published in InvestigateWest, an independent news nonprofit dedicated to investigative journalism in the Pacific Northwest. Subscribe to their newsletter. Amanda Klinksiek knows that when she breaks out in hives, she likely has another problem: mold. Hives tipped Klinksiek off to mold in a previous home. And in September, when she moved into a two-bedroom townhouse at Joint Base Lewis-McChord with her husband and two kids, the itchy red bumps appeared again. Klinksiek, 30, tried…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden has agreed to plead guilty to two charges of willfully failing to pay income taxes. He will enter into an agreement that could enable him to avoid a conviction on a gun-related charge, according to a court filing on Tuesday. The federal charges against Hunter Biden resulted from an investigation by David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in the Democratic president’s home state of Delaware, who was appointed by Republican then-President Donald…

The Russian government says it will be forced to take retaliatory measures if Western-made F-16 fighter jets appear in the skies over Ukraine. The threat was aired by Moscow’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during an interview with the RT television channel late last week. According to Lavrov, Russia has issued a “very serious demarche” with regard to the possibility of F-16 aircraft being transferred to Kyiv. He also claimed that the fighter jets would be used by the Ukrainian Armed…

By GT staff reporters Published: Jun 19, 2023 11:55 PM China’s Central Military Commission (CMC) has issued a code of conduct for the social interactions of military officials, including behaviors on social media platforms. Chinese experts believe the code of conduct highlights improving discipline of military personnel and strengthening their sense of confidentiality so as to better protect national security in the big data era. With the approval of the CMC, the Political Work Department and the Discipline Inspection Commission…

UNITED NATIONS, June 19 (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged Israel to halt and reverse what he described as troubling and alarming decisions on settlement activity in the occupied West Bank, a U.N. spokesperson said. “The Secretary-General reiterates that settlements are a flagrant violation of international law. They are a major obstacle to the realization of a viable two-State solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace,” deputy U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a statement. “The…

A military attack against Sweden cannot be ruled out following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a report by the Swedish military said Monday, stressing the importance of its swift entry into NATO. The report entitled “Serious Times” did not single out Moscow for instigating a potential attack but rather said Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s mounting influence in Asia and the world were responsible for rising insecurity. “An armed attack against Sweden cannot be excluded,” the report said. Russia is…

Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to order troops to take more land in Ukraine in order to protect Russian territory, he said in remarks on Tuesday. The assertion comes as Ukraine begins a long-awaited counteroffensive in the country’s south and east, claiming small victories that have been disputed by the Russian government. Putin said Ukraine has suffered “catastrophic” losses in their probing attacks into Russian-occupied portions of Ukraine, however Ukrainian officials have so far called the offensive a success. He…