1/ Yevgeny Prigozhin's most recent video interview (see below) may have inadvertently given away more information than he intended: the map behind him appears to indicate Wagner's worldwide interests, including some not previously publicly known. ⬇️
2/ The indepedent Russian media outlet Verstka has noticed that the map appears to indicate Wagner's worldwide business interests in 32 countries around the world, including in Latin America, Asia and Oceania. It comments:
3/ "Attached to the map are 32 markers in three colours – red, white and green. Red marks are on seven African countries: Mozambique, Central African Republic, Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin and Eritrea.
4/ "By comparing the markers and the news, Verstka came to the conclusion that the presence of Wagner PMC fighters was marked with red markers: all these countries appeared in the reports about Prigozhin's mercenaries.
5/ "There are 13 countries marked with white markers, including Zimbabwe, Madagascar, the Union of the Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea.
6/ "These countries are connected by the fact that Prigozhin’s political strategists were previously noticed in them, working in the elections of politicians pleasing to the Kremlin.
7/ "But in addition to African countries, white markers are also on Myanmar, Ecuador and New Zealand's Chatham Island. The activity of Prigozhin's political strategists in South America or Southeast Asia was not previously known.
8/ "There are also 12 green markers attached to the map. It was not possible to establish what kind of activity they could designate.
9/ "These colors mark both the countries of Africa, such as South Africa, Ethiopia, Gabon, Nigeria, and the states of other continents: Colombia and Bangladesh."
10/ As Verstka notes, "the activity of Prigozhin's structures in these countries of South America and Southeast Asia has not yet been reported." /end
1/ Rosgvardiya (Russian National Guard) personnel who were wounded by Ukrainian shelling at the start of the war are being denied compensation because the Russian authorities say they can't prove a link between their injuries and their war service. ⬇️
2/ The independent Russian news website Dovod ('Argument') reports that a military court in Vladimir has ruled against three Rosgvardiya personnel – Vadim Nosov, Ivan Tezikov and Vagif Vidadi-oglu Abdullayev – in their claim for compensation.
3/ The three entered Ukraine "to perform special tasks" on 24 February 2022, the first day of the invasion, as part of of the Nevsky OMON (riot police) of the Rosgvardiya Directorate for the Vladimir Region. They were injured by Ukrainian mortar fire on 3 March.
1/ Russia's State Duma is planning to adopt a law to punish pet owners who abandon their pets at the airport. In the latest such incident, a Sphynx cat was left in a sealed bag by a trash can when its owners were told they couldn't bring it on the aircraft. ⬇️
2/ The Russian news website Podyom ('Get up') reports on a spate of cases of pet owners literally throwing away their pets when they were told they needed to fly them in a specialised animal carrier. Animal-loving Duma deputies want to fine and ban culprits from flying.
3/ Today (26 May), Podyom reports, "at Koltsovo airport [in Yekaterinburg], a couple of passengers abandoned a Sphynx cat due to the lack of a special carrier. The pet was going to be carried in an ordinary backpack.
1/ Russian space and rocket engineers are being recruited to join a new Russian army battalion called Uranus to fight in Ukraine. Advertisements published by Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, promise that it will "educate you with a strong spirit, will and body." ⬇️
2/ The advertisement shown above has been posted on the internal website of Roscosmos, according to the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel. It asks physically qualified men aged up to 48 years old to sign a contract for military service with the Uranus battalion.
3/ Joiners are offered:
🔺 A 100,000 ruble ($1,257) joining bonus
🔺 Monthly payments of 100,000 rubles from the battalion
🔺 Monthly payments of at least 170,000 rubles ($2,137) from the Russian government
1/ Corrupt Russian officers are said to be allowing mobilised soldiers to stay at home in Russia, in exchange for half of the soldiers' salaries. Several such 'sitting soldiers' have been denounced by Svetlana Chvanova, a pro-war Russian activist. ⬇️
2/ Chvanova is the head of a 'humanitarian aid' group for mobilised soldiers from the Vladimir region. She has alleged that some local soldiers are avoiding going to the front. She says they "receive a [monthly] salary of 200,000 rubles [$2,300], sit at home and get drunk".
3/ Chvanova has denounced two of them to the military police. One of them is the husband of a fellow activist. She says he "doesn't fight, sits at home and drinks, while his salary [goes to him]."
1/ Reports that the Russian border in the Belgorod region was only lightly guarded by a small, mostly conscript force has highlighted how Russia's border protection relies on young conscripts, who are poorly armed and barely trained. ⬇️
2/ It was reported yesterday that the Graivoron district of the Belgorod region, which was briefly captured by the Russian Volunteer Corps militia on Monday, was guarded only by 23 conscripts plus one professional officer and one mobilised man.
3/ A report by the independent Russian media outlet 7x7 describes in detail how conscripts are being used on the Russian border. All Russian male citizens aged from 18 to 27 are subject to a mandatory 12-month draft, with a number of exceptions. They are paid a miserly salary.
1/ The extraordinary success of the Russian Volunteer Corps in taking over a chunk of the Russian border for a day and a half was reportedly due to it being virtually undefended. It was guarded by only 25 men, 23 of whom were barely-trained conscripts. ⬇️
2/ The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel has posted a conversation with the mother of an 18-year-old Karelian conscript, Ivan F., who was wounded in the clashes. It reports that he was conscripted in November 2022 and was assigned to unit 91711 (the 272nd Motorised Rifle Regiment).
3/ According to VChK-OGPU, "The conscripts were "in the fields" [likely meaning sitting in tents] until [17th] February 2023. After that, in complete secrecy, recruits from the military unit were "scattered" to different points to guard the border."