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https://nordictimes.com/world/the-wagner-groups-rebellion-is-over/

World

The Wagner group’s rebellion is over

The war in Ukraine

Published 25 June 2023
– By Editorial Staff
Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner Group seized military bases in Rostov.
5 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

There was no protracted civil war and the Wagner group never entered Moscow. After mediation, they will return to their military bases and their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin will leave Russia for Belarus. It is also clear that the participants in the armed revolt will not be prosecuted for their actions.

The Russian-Jewish leader of the private paramilitary Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has recently launched a fierce attack on the Russian military leadership, accusing it of corruption, mismanagement of the war, lying about Russian successes and losses, and failing to supply enough ammunition or equipment to his soldiers – allegedly leading to many unnecessary deaths in Ukraine.

 

On Friday, he sharpened his tone further, accusing Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu of ordering an attack on the Wagner group, saying that the Russian military leadership is “evil” and that this is why they decided to march towards the city of Rostov – a march for justice, according to Prigozhin.

The Russian Defense Ministry quickly denied all allegations that it had attacked the Wagner group’s positions, and the FSB security service also declared that it was launching an investigation into Prigozhin for staging an armed rebellion on Russian territory – and called on Wagner soldiers to arrest the leader.

President Putin called the Wagner group’s actions “a stab in the back of our country and our people”, adding that the mutiny comes at a time when Russia is “fighting for the life and security of our people, for our sovereignty and independence” – and called for an immediate end to all internal conflicts that could be exploited by the enemy. Troops from Chechnya and elsewhere were also mobilized to be deployed against the Wagner Group if necessary.

The Wagner group, reportedly consisting of around 25,000 soldiers, also captured several key military installations in Rostov without apparently encountering any major resistance, although there were reports of some clashes between the Wagner group and the Russian military.

Marched on Moscow

Prigozhin soon announced that he and his troops are continuing the march – towards the capital Moscow, to ensure that the Russian military leadership is held accountable and their actions investigated. In Moscow, the alarm was raised, police and military were deployed on the streets and Putin declares that the Wagner group was engaging in “treason” and that the consequences will be very severe. Prigozhin countered by criticizing Putin on Telegram and claiming that Russia will soon have another president.

According to some reports, the Wagner group also captured the city of Lipetsk – 40 miles south of Moscow and several other smaller towns along the way.

On Saturday evening, Yevgeny Prigozhin announced that the Wagner Group will stop all troop movements towards Moscow – in order to “avoid bloodshed” and that his soldiers will return to their military bases. Shortly thereafter, control of the military bases was also returned to the Russian military.

– They wanted to disband PMC Wagner. On June 23, we went on a March of Justice in a day. We advanced on Moscow just 200km short, and during this time we did not shed a single drop of the blood of our fighters, he claimed, although several video clips appear to show fighting between the paramilitary group and the Russian military.

Belarusian mediation

The march to Moscow was stopped shortly after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s staff announced that they had successfully mediated the conflict between Prigozhin and the Russian leadership.

”Yevgeny Prigozhin accepted the proposal of President Alexander Lukashenko to stop the movement of the armed men of Wagner in Russia and to take further steps to de-escalate tension,” a Belarusian presidency statement declared. It also stated that the groups leader had been offered “an advantageous and acceptable option for resolving the situation, with security guarantees for the Wagner PMC fighters”.

According to the Kremlin, an agreement has been reached to dismiss the investigation into Prigozhin’s treason and incitement to armed rebellion, and for him to leave Russia for Belarus. The Wagner Group soldiers will also not face prosecution as they are considered to have served well in the war in Ukraine and President Putin is said to have great respect for their sacrifices. Those Wagner Group soldiers who did not take part in the coup will also be allowed to sign contracts with the Russian armed forces, but exactly what happens next to the group, its leadership and its tens of thousands of remaining soldiers remains unclear.

Speculation on motives

In the West, observers have different theories and thoughts about the background of the failed coup and Prigozhin’s motives for it. Some suggest that Prigozhin is seeking more power and influence and saw a chance to challenge Putin and the highest Russian leadership – but that he did not receive the military support he hoped for in his ‘march on Moscow’ and was therefore forced to back down – and is now in exile in Belarus.

Others suggest that it was a power struggle between Prigozhin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu, with the former provoking a reaction from the Wagner group by limiting their access to weapons and ammunition – something the Wagner group says has led to unnecessary losses.

Prigozhin has also harshly criticized the Russian military leadership’s strategy in Ukraine, publicly claiming that Russian troops are poorly led and equipped and have difficulty resisting the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

”In my view the actions by Prigozhin are an act of desperation because he has lost the power struggle against Shoigu and is likely facing serious retaliation. Western media claims this is an attempted coup against Putin. That’s nonsense. The popularity of Putin within Russia and in the non-western world has never been higher. However this war between Prigozhin and Shoigu is an unwelcome distraction for the Kremlin and the most likely outcome will be the arrest or termination of Prigozhin”, writes political commentator Kim Dotcom on Twitter.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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https://nordictimes.com/world/russia-kiev-and-london-planning-false-flag-attacks/

World

Russia: Kiev and London planning false flag attacks

The war in Ukraine

Published 17 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer with Volodymyr Zelensky.
2 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accuses Ukraine and the UK of jointly planning sabotage operations and false flag attacks with the aim of escalating the Ukraine conflict and making continued dialogue between Moscow and Washington impossible.

In a statement on Monday, the SVR claimed that Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and Military Intelligence (GUR) are increasingly coordinating their efforts with British intelligence, as a result of what the SVR describes as Kiev’s “mounting battlefield setbacks and deepening moral exhaustion”.

According to the SVR, these sabotage operations and false flag attacks follow a recurring pattern, with the UK responsible for planning and coordination while Ukrainian agents carry out the attacks. The agency pointed to the railway sabotage in Russia’s Bryansk and Kursk regions, which Moscow describes as Ukrainian terrorist attacks, as well as drone attacks on Russian air bases on June 1, as examples of this tactic.

The intelligence service is now warning that the “Anglo-Ukrainian terrorist tandem” is preparing more false flag attacks. The aim is said to be to escalate the conflict, sabotage the dialogue between Moscow and Washington, and influence the US to continue its military support for Kiev.

Planted sea mines and torpedoes

One scenario described is an attack in which a Russian torpedo attack on a US Navy ship in the Baltic Sea is staged. According to the SVR, Ukraine has already delivered Soviet-made torpedoes to the UK. Some of these are intended to detonate at a safe distance, while one is to be left undetonated “as evidence of Moscow’s malicious activity”.

The SVR also points to a possible scenario in which British, Ukrainian, and Northern European actors plan to “accidentally” find Russian sea mines in the Baltic Sea in order to claim that Russia is trying to sabotage international shipping – another type of false flag attack.

“Kiev has become the perfect executor of vile provocations and terrorist acts for perfidious Albion (England)”, the SVR concluded.

The head of intelligence, Sergei Naryshkin, has previously warned of similar British attacks and says that Russian intelligence is well aware of London’s covert hostile activities against Russia.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/sport/hockey-legend-ovechkin-added-to-ukrainian-kill-list/

Sport

Hockey legend Ovechkin added to Ukrainian “kill list”

The war in Ukraine

Published 11 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Alexander Ovechkin is an outspoken supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
2 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Russian hockey legend Alexander Ovechkin, who recently became the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, has been added to Ukraine’s notorious “enemy list” on the website Mirotvorets (Peacemaker).

Mirotvorets is a database that publishes personal information about individuals who allegedly threaten Ukraine’s security, but has been condemned by human rights groups and described as a “kill list”, as several people listed there have been assassinated or died under unclear circumstances shortly after.

According to Mirotvorets, Washington Capitals star Ovechkin has been included for allegedly working to “whitewash Russia’s reputation” in front of the international community through his participation in international sporting events, as well as for justifying “aggression against Ukraine among foreign audiences”.

The 39-year-old forward is also accused of “deliberately violating” Ukraine’s border, which likely refers to his vacation on the Crimean Peninsula in 2015 – a year after the region voted in a referendum to reunite with Russia.

– It is now easier to find people who are not included on the Mirotvorets database, so there is really nothing to discuss, commented Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Founded “Putin Team”

Russian MP and 2006 Olympic gold medalist in speed skating Svetlana Zhurova expressed surprise on the news channel VseProSport that Ovechkin’s name was only added now.

– It is strange that they did not add Ovechkin to the Mirotvorets database earlier. Alex created the Putin Team (movement in support of Vladimir Putin’s candidacy in the 2018 presidential election in Russia), and for that alone he should have already been on the list.

Zhurova added that she does not believe the listing will have any major consequences for Ovechkin:

– He will not face any restrictions in his daily life or experience problems with entering the US, where he plays for the NHL team Washington Capitals.

Linked to several assassinations

In April, Ovechkin scored his 895th goal in the NHL regular season, surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s previous record of 894 goals. Since then, he has added to his tally and now stands at 897 goals.

Ovechkin’s contract with the Washington Capitals runs until the summer of 2026. Earlier this year, he mentioned that he was considering returning to Russian club Dynamo Moscow, where his professional career began.

The website Mirotvorets has been described by critics as a “kill list”,  as several people who have appeared on it have later been murdered. Yulia Gorbunova, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, warns that the list poses a real threat to the lives of those on it. In April 2015, for example, the website published the home addresses of Ukrainian writer Oles Buzina and former member of parliament Oleg Kalashnikov – just days before both were killed in separate attacks.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/world/ukraines-ex-prime-minister-us-has-given-the-go-ahead-to-oust-zelensky/

World

Ukraine’s ex-prime minister: US has given the go-ahead to oust Zelensky

The war in Ukraine

Published 10 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Ukraine's former prime minister believes that Zelensky will be "forced out" if he does not resign himself.
2 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov is convinced that President Volodymyr Zelensky will soon resign and leave the country, stating that the powers that be in Washington have already given the go-ahead to remove the Ukrainian leader.

In a post on the Telegram on June 9, Azarov wrote that the decision to remove Zelensky “has already been made in the United States” and that Washington has given the “go-ahead” for the process. He added that while Zelensky has some support in Europe, it is unlikely to affect the outcome and “hardly helps” him.

Azarov, who was prime minister under ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, argues that Zelensky will resign because his five-year term expired in May 2024. In such a scenario, according to Azarov, Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk would step in as acting president and start shaping “a new political landscape” in Ukraine.

“I don’t think Zelensky will remain in Ukraine after this”, Azarov said. “He will request protection, most likely from special forces, but they will not make such sacrifices for him. The options for his future may vary”, he added.

“The process of removing Zelensky has begun”

Already the week before his latest statement, Azarov made a similar prediction, claiming that the US has “written off” Zelensky and started a multi-step process to remove him. As an example, he cited the arrest of Leonid Mindich – described as a financial associate of both Zelensky and presidential chief of staff Andrei Yermak – which Azarov sees as a sign of an ongoing power shift.

He stressed that the arrest was not carried out by the Prosecutor General’s Office, but by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office – institutions he described as “created by the US, staffed by the US, and reporting only to the Americans“.

“This is a serious signal that the process of removing Zelensky has begun”, Azarov wrote. He also hinted that if the president does not resign voluntarily, he will be “forced out“. Furthermore, he claimed that US auditors had recently arrived in Kiev to review how US tax money was spent – an initiative he attributed to instructions from the White House.

Potential obstacle to peace deal

Skeptics argue that Azarov’s statements should be seen in light of his political background, as a former prime minister under the ousted president Yanukovych, pointing out that the ex-prime minister has long been a vocal critic of Zelensky and has repeatedly called for his ouster.

Zelensky’s term of office formally expired on May 20, 2024, but presidential elections have not been held due to the state of emergency in Ukraine. Moscow therefore claims that Zelensky lacks legitimacy as the country’s leader.

Despite this, the Russian government has stated that it is open to negotiations with the current administration in Kiev. At the same time, it has warned that Zelensky’s status could be an obstacle to signing a binding peace agreement, as documents approved by a president with questionable legitimacy could be invalidated by a successor.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Nikolai Azarov (born December 17, 1947) was Prime Minister of Ukraine between 2010 and 2014, under President Viktor Yanukovych. He was previously Minister of Finance and one of the founders of the pro-Russian Party of Regions. Azarov resigned in January 2014 in the wake of the Western-backed Euromaidan protests and left the country shortly afterwards.

Since then, he has been living in exile in Russia and is wanted in Ukraine on suspicion of abuse of power. Since then, he has repeatedly criticized Zelensky and the current Ukrainian government.

https://nordictimes.com/world/trump-zelensky-gave-putin-reason-to-bomb-ukraine-to-pieces/

World

Trump: Zelensky gave Putin reason to bomb Ukraine to pieces

The war in Ukraine

Published 9 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Images from Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian air bases and parts of the country's nuclear bomber fleet.
2 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

US President Donald Trump has strongly criticized Ukraine’s latest drone attacks on Russian long-range bombers. According to Trump, these attacks have given Russia valid reason to strike back with full force and have drastically increased the risk of escalation of the conflict.

In statements to reporters on Friday, Trump commented on the Ukrainian attacks on Russian air bases that house strategic bombers with nuclear capabilities. He said that these attacks, along with sabotage against Russian railways, have given Moscow reason to escalate its military efforts.

“They gave Putin a reason to go in and bomb the hell out of them last night, Trump said. “That’s something I didn’t like about it. When I saw it, I said, ‘Here we go… now it’s going to be striking’”.

Trump’s comments came after Russia carried out extensive missile strikes against Ukrainian targets on Friday night in retaliation for what Moscow calls “terrorist acts” by Kiev.

Putin’s warning in conversation with Trump

According to reports, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the attacks in a phone call with Trump on Wednesday. Putin is said to have warned that Moscow’s inevitable response is justified.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday night’s attacks were aimed at targets linked to Ukraine’s defense industry, including “design bureaus, weapons production and repair facilities, drone assembly workshops, flight training centres and Armed Forces of Ukraine storage facilities”.

 

Accusations of sabotage against peace talks

Moscow has accused Kiev of escalating its attacks in an attempt to undermine the US-backed peace talks. Russia has also claimed that Trump is receiving “filtered” information about the conflict from people who are pushing Washington to support Ukraine.

The situation remains tense, with the risk of further escalation if diplomatic solutions cannot be reached.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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