Joe Biden estimated, this Wednesday, June 28, that Russian President Vladimir Putin was an “outcast” who “loses (has) clearly” the war in Ukraine, even if it is, according to the American president, too early to say if its Russian counterpart was weakened by Wagner’s failed rebellion.
Asked by journalists at the White House whether Vladimir Putin is now weakened, Joe Biden replied: “It’s hard to say, but he is clearly losing the war.” The Russian president is now “a pariah across the planet”, he added.
The White House remains cautious in commenting on the aftermath of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigojine’s aborted mutiny last weekend in Russia, when his men seized military bases and marched on Moscow, before making suddenly turn around.
At least ten dead in a Russian strike against a restaurant in Kramatorsk
At least ten people were killed, including three children and 56 injured in a Russian strike on Tuesday against a popular restaurant in Kramatorsk, the only major city in eastern Ukraine controlled by Kiev, emergency services said on Wednesday. Among the dead are three children, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said on Telegram. “Rescuers are digging through the rubble of the destroyed building and looking for people who are likely to be under the rubble,” he added.
The strike destroyed the Ria Pizza restaurant, an establishment in the center of Kramatorsk popular with journalists and soldiers. According to the Ukrainian police, Russia fired two S-300 surface-to-air rockets on this city which had 150,000 inhabitants before the war, and which remains the only large agglomeration still under Ukrainian control in the east of the country.
Three Colombian personalities, the famous writer Hector Abad, the politician Sergio Jaramillo and the journalist Catalina Gomez, correspondent in Ukraine for the daily El Tiempo, were slightly injured while eating in the restaurant with Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina, according to a statement signed by MM. Abad and Jaramillo.
Lithuania announces purchase of two NASAMS surface-to-air missile systems for Ukraine
Lithuania has acquired two advanced NASAMS surface-to-air missile systems from Norway’s Kongsberg that will be delivered to Ukraine within three months, the government announced on Wednesday. This announcement was made as Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda arrived in Kyiv for talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. “NASAMS system launchers will arrive in Ukraine in the near future,” Gitanas Nauseda explained on Facebook.
“Even in these circumstances, when stocks are empty, we find opportunities to help our friends,” he added in a video released separately. Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas valued the contract at 9.8 million euros, adding that the launchers will arrive in Ukraine in three months. According to the ministry, Norway will provide Ukraine with logistics equipment for NASAMS launchers. Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted on Wednesday his “gratification” to Gitanas Nauseda for this acquisition.
Wagner: NATO ready to defend against “Moscow or Minsk”
NATO is ready to defend itself against any threat coming from “Moscow or Minsk”, said Tuesday the Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, after Belarus announced that it would welcome Wagner’s boss, Yevgueni Prigojine . Jens Stoltenberg indicated that NATO was going to decide to strengthen its defense systems during an upcoming summit in mid-July in Lithuania in order to protect all its members, particularly those bordering Russia and Belarus.
“It is too early to make a final judgment on the consequences of Prigojine’s installation in Belarus and on the very probable presence also in Belarus of part of his forces,” Jens Stoltenberg told the press. “What is crystal clear is that we have sent a clear message to Moscow and Minsk: NATO is here to protect every ally and every bit of NATO territory,” he told La Haye after a dinner with seven heads of state or government of the countries of the alliance.
The United States attacks the financing of Wagner in the Central African Republic
The United States announced Tuesday new sanctions against the activities of the Russian mercenary group Wagner in the Central African Republic in particular, a few days after an aborted mutiny by its leader Evgueni Prigojine. The United States was to announce these measures at the very beginning of the week but decided to postpone them a little so as not to appear to take sides in the crisis which unfolded over the weekend in Russia.
The US sanctions target the mining company Midas Resources, which owns several mines in the Central African Republic, as well as Diamville, which specializes in gold transactions, both controlled by Evgueni Prigojine, the US Treasury Department said. The sanctions also target another Dubai-based company, Industrial Resources General Trading, accused of handling transactions on behalf of Diamville. “The Wagner Group funds its brutal operations in part through the exploitation of natural resources in countries like the Central African Republic and Mali,” Treasury Undersecretary Brian Nelson said in a statement.
Pope’s envoy for peace in Ukraine on mission to Moscow on Wednesday
The Kremlin on Wednesday hailed the “efforts” of the Vatican to find a solution to the conflict in Ukraine, in the midst of a visit by an emissary from Pope Francis who is to be received by an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Arrived Tuesday evening in Moscow, the Italian cardinal Matteo Zuppi, envoy of the pope for peace in Ukraine, will meet with the diplomatic adviser of the Kremlin Yuri Ouchakov, indicated the spokesman of the Russian presidency, Dmitry Peskov. “They will talk about the conflict in Ukraine and the possibilities for a peaceful settlement,” Dmitry Peskov said, adding that the Kremlin “greatly appreciates the Vatican’s efforts and initiatives to find a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian crisis.”
This is the first visit to Moscow by a senior Vatican official since the start of Moscow’s offensive against Ukraine in February 2022. According to the Moscow Archdiocese, Matteo Zuppi is also due to attend a religious service Catholic on Thursday evening in the Russian capital.
A possible meeting with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has been mentioned by some Russian media, without being confirmed. According to the Vatican, the main purpose of this visit to Moscow is to “encourage gestures of humanity which can help promote a solution to the current tragic situation and find the means to achieve a just peace”.
Pentagon announces $500 million in additional military aid to Ukraine
The US Department of Defense on Tuesday announced a further $500 million in military aid to Ukraine, including munitions for air defenses and armored vehicles, according to a statement. The new delivery should notably include around fifty Bradley and Stryker armored vehicles, ammunition for Patriot air defense systems and Himars artillery systems, as well as mine clearance equipment, details the Pentagon.
The announcement comes as Kiev is currently waging its counter-offensive against the Russian forces occupying its territory, on which they have erected numerous lines of defense, and while Moscow is reeling from the abortive rebellion this weekend of the boss of the group paramilitary Wagner, Evgueni Prigojine. Denouncing Russian army shelling of its troops, Wagner’s fighters marched on Rostov, where they took control of an army headquarters, then continued on their way to Moscow, before turning back on Saturday, sowing confusion and doubt as to the credibility of the Kremlin.