Schism in Russia’s military gets wider
The rift between Putin’s military and the private Russian military company that has done much of the fighting in east Ukraine grew wider Tuesday as the company’s owner accused Kremlin officials of “high treason” and trying to destroy his force.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a millionaire with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, released an audio statement claiming Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov were handing out orders not to supply the Wagner forces with ammunition and not to support it with air transport.
In recent weeks, Wagner forces have been taking heavy losses while making modest gains in the battle for control of Bakhmut, a crucial city in the Donbas. Prigohzin said the orders from Shoigu and Gerasimov “can be likened to high treason in the very moment when Wagner is fighting for Bakhmut, losing hundreds of its fighters every day.”
Also Tuesday:
⬤ NATO is increasingly concerned that China plans to provide “lethal support to Russia’s war,” NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said. Moscow is also looking for help from North Korea and Iran, he said.
The EU climate czar says Putin unwittingly accelerated Europe’s green transition with his war in Ukraine. Frans Timmermans said Tuesday that the 27-nation bloc has reduced dependency on Russian fossil fuels and increased renewable energy use.
Trump says Ukraine policy could fuel World War III
Former President Donald Trump warned that President Joe Biden’s commitment to funding Ukraine’s defense against Russia is only expanding the conflict. Trump’s comments came after Biden’s secretive trip to Ukraine for a meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday. Trump says his personal relationship with Vladimir Putin would have kept the Russian president from invading Ukraine a year ago.
Moscow makes demands of US ambassador
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. ambassador in Moscow and demanded withdrawal of all U.S.-NATO military equipment from Ukraine and an end to “hostile, anti-Russian activity,” the ministry said in a statement. The note to Ambassador Lynne Tracy emphasized that American actions disprove claims that the United States is not a party to the conflict. The note also demanded explanations about the explosions on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines and urged the U.S. not to interfere with investigations into the blasts.