Vladimir Putin has ordered Wagner fighters to sign an oath of allegiance to the Russian state after the plane crash that, according to the Kremlin, killed Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the mercenary group.
Joe Biden said US officials are trying to figure out how Prigozhin’s plane was shot down and there were no survivors. Russia has criticized Biden for expressing a lack of surprise that Prigozhin had been killed, saying it was inappropriate for Washington to make such remarks.
Russia reported a drone attack on Moscow in the early hours of Saturday morning This forced authorities to once again close all three major airports serving the capital.
Ukraine said on Saturday that three of its air force pilots, including a famous pilot with the call sign Juice, were killed in a mid-air collision on Friday.
Pope Francis urged young Russians to ‘sow seeds of reconciliation’ in a virtual address to a 400-strong congregation in St. Petersburg gathering for the annual Catholic Youth Day.
Russian forces attacked a cafe in a key frontline area in northeastern Ukraine, killing two civilians and wounding a third, regional officials said. The shelling near the town of Kupiansk came as British officials warned that Russia could try to retake the area.
US reporter Evan Gershkovich has appealed a Russian court’s decision to extend his pre-trial detention by three months after his detention on espionage charges, which he denies, according to documents released by a Moscow court. Unlike many Western reporters, he had continued reporting from Russia during Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine.
The German magazine “Der Spiegel” published a detailed and in-depth investigation into the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline. She cites German investigators – who are conducting “the most important study of Germany’s post-war history due to its possible political implications” – and reports that “a striking number of references point to Ukraine”.