The Latest Breaking News from Wagner

Options for the mercenary group – in the wake of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s reported demise – include complete dissolution, nationalisation into the conventional Russian army or finding a new leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to hold the key to the future

Vladimir Putin has leant on military contractors to claim victories in Ukraine but his former friend’s attempted mutiny and threats against Russia’s defence establishment have exposed cracks in the president’s authority

Flight recorders also recovered, Russian officials say; Alexander Lukashenko says he warned Wagner bosses to be aware of threats to their lives

In today’s newsletter: Yevgeny Prigozhin is almost certainly dead – but, with the current state of chaos in Russia, could his plane crash be a smokescreen?

As Belarusian president claims he told Wagner chief and his ally Utkin: ‘Lads – you watch out’

An official says reporters indicate Yevgeny Prigozhin was ‘very likely’ targeted and that the explosion falls in line with Vladimir Putin’s ‘long history of trying to silence his critics.’

As the war enters its 548th day, these are the main developments.

Vladimir Putin’s response to plane crash which killed Yevgeny Prigozhin dominates the front of Friday’s newspapers.

Putin says Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin ‘made some serious mistakes in his life’; US will begin training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in October

News that Russia’s Wagner mercenary chief was believed dead in a plane crash has dominated world reports, along with speculation that it might be linked to his June mutiny

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group, is presumed dead. Russia’s Air Transport Agency has said he was on the passenger manifest of 10 people on board a private jet that came down in a fiery crash close to Moscow, killing everyone on board, while a Telegram channel associated…