A summary of today’s developments
President Putin last night ordered Wagner fighters to sign an oath of allegiance to the Russian state after a deadly plane crash killed Yevgeny Prigozhin, the volatile chief of the mercenary group.
President Biden said US officials are trying to determine precisely how Prigozhin’s plane was brought down, leaving no survivors. Russia criticised Biden for expressing his lack of surprise that Prigozhin had been killed and cautioned that it was not appropriate for Washington to make such remarks.
Russia reported a new drone attack on Moscow in the early hours today which again forced authorities to temporarily shut down all three major airports serving the capital. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the drone was brought down by air defence systems.
Pope Francis urged young Russians to be “sowers of seeds of reconciliation” in a virtual address to a congregation of 400 in St Petersburg that gathered for the annual Catholic youth day.
Russian forces struck a cafe in a key frontline area in northeastern Ukraine today, killing two civilians and wounding a third, regional officials said. The shelling near the city of Kupiansk took place amid warnings from UK officials that Russia may try to retake the area.
US reporter Evan Gershkovich appealed against a Russian court’s decision to extend his pre-trial detention by three months after his detention under spying charges which he denies, according to documents published by a Moscow court. Unlike many western reporters, he had continued to report from Russia during Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine.
German magazine Der Spiegel published a lengthy and detailed investigation into the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline. It cites German investigators – who are undertaking “the most important investigation of Germany’s postwar history because of its potential political implications” – and reported that “a striking number of clues point to Ukraine”.
Academic Samuel Ramani has tweeted about a new memorial in honour of Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, after it was reported that he had been killed in a plane crash on Wednesday.
A new Wagner memorial in Irkutsk pic.twitter.com/2ja6oV7FkO
— Samuel Ramani (@SamRamani2) August 26, 2023
