The head of the Wagner group Yevgeny Prigozhin was buried in St. Petersburg and the funeral was held privately. This was reported by the same group of mercenaries, who announced that anyone who wants to “say goodbye” will be able to go to the Porokhovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg, Prigozhin’s hometown. In the morning the Kremlin had announced that Putin would not attend the funeral.
The death of Prigozhin, 62, was confirmed by Russian authorities on Sunday following DNA tests conducted on the 10 bodies recovered following the crash of the plane that went down on August 23 shortly after takeoff from Moscow for St. Petersburg, a plane on board which also traveled other collaborators including the number two of the group, Dmitry Utkin. And there was also Wagner’s head of logistics, Valery Chekalov, whose funeral was also held today at the North Cemetery in St. Petersburg. While on the ground the BBC reports a dramatic increase in deaths among the ranks of Kiev and the Ukrainian media report that the national flag has been hoisted on the left bank of the Dnipro River, it emerged that Putin has accepted the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping and he will travel to China in October: according to the Bloomberg agency, it cited three informed sources according to which the Russian president will participate in the Belt and Road Forum. For the Kremlin leader, it will be the first trip abroad since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him on 17 March in relation to the war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the words spoken by Pope Francis last August 25 in a video connection with the participants in the meeting of young Catholics in St. Petersburg, during which he exhorted them not to forget the legacy of great Russia and recalled Peter I and Catherine II. After the criticisms from Kiev, with the Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko who had spoken of “imperialist propaganda”, a clarification came from the director of the press office of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni: “the Pope intended to encourage young people to keep and promote all that is positive in the great Russian cultural and spiritual heritage, and certainly not exalt imperialist logic and government personalities, cited to indicate some historical periods of reference”, he said. Instead, applause from the Kremlin, which reacted positively to the Pope’s words: “The Pontiff knows Russian history,” said Peskov.
On the battlefront, the Ukrainian army is claiming further territory gains on the southern front, near the recently liberated village of Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region. But it is not easy for Kiev soldiers to push towards the strategic center of Tokmak. At least six people died yesterday in Russian attacks in eastern Donetsk and southern Kherson, Ukrainian officials said.
To know more:
The case – Putin comes out of the bunker and flies to China to see Xi Jinping. Kiev advances beyond the Dnipro
The analysis – The Pope’s Cold War
The backstory – Prigozhin’s secret and armored funeral
Moscow, four Ukrainian boats with landing parties destroyed
Russian Air Force planes from the Black Sea Fleet destroyed four military boats with landing parties of the Armed Forces of Ukraine totaling 50 people. This was reported by the Ministry of Defense of Moscow. Ria Novosti reports it. “Around midnight Moscow time a Black Sea Fleet naval aviation aircraft destroyed four fast military boats with landing parties of Ukrainian special forces with a total of 50 people on board,” the statement said.
Moscow repels attack on Bryansk and Orel regions
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that it thwarted “an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack with unmanned aircraft” during the night. Three drones were shot down by flak over the territory of the Bryansk region and one more over the territory of the Orel region, it is said.
Moscow reopens Vnukovo airport
Vnukovo Airport in Moscow has reopened after a temporary closure. The Tax reports it. “Vnukovo has resumed work, the airspace is open,” it is explained. Delays and cancellations had also occurred at Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo airports. Ten flights were delayed at Domodedovo and four were canceled while four flights were delayed at Sheremetyevo.
Britain could host American nuclear weapons
The US Air Force has set aside $50 million in funding to start a project next year that could pave the way for the return of US nuclear weapons to the UK for the first time in more than 15 years. The Guardian reports it. It would be a mega facility with 144 beds in Suffolk, England, at the RAF base in Lakenheath. To justify the expense, the US Air Force told Congress that the building was intended to “house enlisted personnel as part of an assurance mission,” which, according to experts, is the jargon used by the Pentagon to refer to the management of nuclear weapons. Construction of the building should begin in June 2024 and finish in February 2026. In today’s briefing, the US Department of Defense replied ‘no comment’ to journalists who asked for information on the news. According to the Federation of American Scientists (Fas), the United Kingdom together with five other European countries, including Italy, is investing in the construction of sites for the storage of “special weapons”. In these five countries, 100 B-61 bombs would be located, according to what is known to the Fas. They were taken from the UK in 2017, but the storage facilities have never been dismantled.
Moscow closes Vnukovo airport
Departures and arrivals at Vnukovo airport in Moscow are delayed. This was reported by the aviation services to TASS. “The airspace near Vnukovo airport is closed. Departures and arrivals are delayed,” explained the source.
The Russians: Drone attack on Russia’s Pskov airport near the border with Estonia
Drones attacked Russia’s Pskov airport in the northwest of the country near the border with Estonia. This was reported by TASS quoting the governor of the area, Mikhail Vedernikov, according to whom there were no injuries. “I arrived at the scene right at the start of the accident. According to initial information, there were no casualties. The extent of the damage is now being assessed,” Vedernikov wrote on his Telegram channel.
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