The War in Ukraine
43 watchers
16 Feb
1:15pm, 16 Feb 2024
39,661 posts
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LazyDaisy
He was very brave. He would have known they would get him, and sooner rather than later.
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16 Feb
1:21pm, 16 Feb 2024
2,965 posts
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Muttley
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16 Feb
1:35pm, 16 Feb 2024
25,999 posts
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richmac
His bravery was exceptional but why did he ever go back to Russia?
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17 Feb
1:27pm, 17 Feb 2024
2,969 posts
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Muttley
The Storyville documentary about Navalny is being heavily plugged on the Beeb. If you're interested in the subject, it is well worth loading up the iPlayer and watching. Very funny in places, utterly jaw-dropping in others.
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21 Feb
9:31am, 21 Feb 2024
10,173 posts
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Northern Exile
Where has the Wagner Group gone? When Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a plane crash shortly after his aborted mutiny against the Kremlin, many assumed it was the end for his fabled Wagner Group. Back then, Prigozhin was "probably the most feared and famous mercenary in the world", said the BBC. The Wagner Group oversaw "billions of dollars" worth of companies and projects", propping up regimes across Africa and the Middle East, and his fighters were also central to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But much has changed since the mutiny of June 2023. The group has now been effectively rebranded in Africa, reportedly as part of a wider effort to bring what remains of Wagner under the direct control of the Russian state. What did the commentators say? After Prigozhin's death, Moscow quickly reassured Middle Eastern and African states that it would be "business as usual – meaning unofficial Russian boots on the ground would keep operating in these regions", said Alessandro Arduino, a lecturer from King's College London, on The Conversation. But now a "transformation is under way". The group's activities in the Central African Republic (CAR), Libya, Mali, Sudan and Burkina Faso have come under the "direct supervision" of Russia's Ministry of Defence. Control of the Africa Corps – also referred to as the "Expeditionary Corps" – has supposedly passed to General Andrey Averyanov, head of a secretive unit specialising in targeted killings, including the attempted novichok poisoning of Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018. It appears to be a similar story in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin is "tightening his grip over what's left of the Wagner group", said Business Insider. Former Wagner troops have been absorbed into Russia's national guard, also known as Rosgvardia, according to an update by the UK Ministry of Defence this month. What next? Internal Russian government documents, seen by the BBC, detail how Russia is offering governments in Africa a "regime survival package" in exchange for access to strategically important natural resources. In the long term, the Russian Defence Ministry will "no doubt seek to create a unified and loyal force dedicated to military action", said Arduino on The Conversation. "But one might surmise that greater allegiance to Moscow will likely come at the cost of reduced flexibility." |
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21 Feb
3:31pm, 21 Feb 2024
2,970 posts
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Muttley
"in exchange for access to strategically important natural resources" That's the key quote. They hope to gain control of a major deposit of something that the West hasn't got enough of. Like lithium, for example. |
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21 Feb
7:20pm, 21 Feb 2024
26,084 posts
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richmac
Yep. Colonialism by another route.
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22 Feb
9:28am, 22 Feb 2024
21,133 posts
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Chrisull
Interesting story broken on Sky today by Ed Conway about how the UK and EU's exports of machinery to Russia are up. The official story is that they are down by 74%. The actual story is exports of the most needed materials (helicopter and drone parts and similar) are up by 1100% to Kyrgyzstan, coincidentally starting at the same time as the invasion, as well as similar to Armenia, Kazakhstan and Georgia. Here's his tweet thread: twitter.com and here's his official story: news.sky.com Need this to stop ASAP. |
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22 Feb
12:13pm, 22 Feb 2024
26,094 posts
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richmac
It does and some while say demonstrates the true nature of war, to make a profit. It also has the potential to be the story to knock the speaker hoo ha out of the headlines. Cross threading there |
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24 Feb
3:56pm, 24 Feb 2024
2,975 posts
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Muttley
Two years ago today ... always raises a smile! |
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