International News
Putin May Seek Revenge On Wagner’s Employer- CIA Director
The director of the CIA, William Burns, has said Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to buy time as he decides how to handle Yevgeny Prighozin.
The Wagner mercenary group’s leader, Mr. Prigozhin, was in charge of a rebellion that took place in Russia a month ago.
According to William Burns, that revolt showed serious flaws in the authority structure Putin had established.
He warned the Aspen Security Forum that the president of Russia might yet seek revenge on Mr. Prigozhin.
“What we are seeing is a very complicated dance,” the CIA chief said on Thursday.
Mr Prigozhin has moved around but had been in the Belarus capital of Minsk recently as well as Russia, he said when asked about a recent video apparently showing the Wagner boss in Belarus.
Mr Putin is likely to be trying to buy time as he works out how best to deal with the leader of the Wagner group, Mr Burns added.
That mercenary group still has value for Russia’s leadership in places like Africa, Libya and Syria and so it was likely that Mr Putin would try and separate the group from its leader.
“Putin is someone who generally thinks that revenge is a dish best served cold,” Mr Burns said. “In my experience, Putin is the ultimate apostle of payback so I would be surprised if Prigozhin escapes further retribution.”
Earlier this month, US President Joe Biden suggested there was a risk the Wagner boss could be poisoned.
“If I were he I’d be careful what I ate. I’d keep my eye on my menu,” the president quipped.
The CIA director echoed that line saying: “If I were Prigozhin, I wouldn’t fire my food taster.”
The intelligence agency did indeed have advanced knowledge of the mutiny, Mr Burns said, confirming previous reports.
A senior Russian army general, Sergei Surovikin, who was reported to have known about the Wagner mutiny in advance, also does not currently have “freedom of movement”, the CIA chief added.
William Burns confirmed the CIA had advanced knowledge of the mutiny
The mutiny was the most direct assault Mr Putin has seen in his 23 years in power, including by directly challenging the Kremlin’s justification for the war in Ukraine, with Mr Prigozhin saying it had been built on lies, Mr Burns said.
He added that what was most remarkable was that Russia’s leader felt compelled to do a deal with a man who used to be his caterer, the CIA chief said.
Mr Prigozhin is often referred to as “Putin’s chef” as he first came to prominence after providing catering services to Mr Putin and the military before founding the Wagner group.
Mr Putin has projected an image of himself as the arbiter of order in Russia, and so the 36 hours of the mutiny will have left many in the country with the question of “whether the emperor had no clothes or at least why is it taking him so long to get dressed”, Mr Burns said.
This would have resurrected deeper questions in the Russian elite about Mr Putin’s judgement, which have been there since his decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
If Ukraine makes further advances on the battlefield then that could lead more Russians to pay attention to Mr Prigozhin’s critique of the war, he said.
It should not come as surprise that Ukraine’s counter-offensive was proving a “hard slog”, the CIA head said, given that offence was harder than defence and the Russians had months to prepare.
“It is going to take time and it is not going to be easy to make progress. I am however an optimist,” Mr Burns said.
In addition, he claimed that by bombing Black Sea commerce and attributing it on the Ukrainians, Russia may have been engaging in a false flag operation.
Ukraine has implemented restrictions on Telegram for government, military, and security personnel, citing national security threats associated with the app, founded by Russian-born Pavel Durov.
The National Security and Defence Council announced in a statement on it’s Facebook page that these limitations will affect all government agencies, military units, and critical infrastructure facilities.
The council emphasized that this measure is essential for protecting national security.
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It reads, “The National Security and Defence Council decided to restrict the use of Telegram in government agencies, military formations and critical infrastructure facilities. It is a “matter of national security.”
More to follow………….
International News
European Parliament Lifts Restrictions On Ukraine’s Use Of Western Weapons Against Russia
The European Parliament has voted decisively to remove restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied weapons against Russian territory.
The resolution, passed by 425 votes to 131, with 63 abstentions, marks a significant escalation in European support for Ukraine’s defense efforts.
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The resolution calls on EU member states to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles and other advanced weaponry against “legitimate military targets” in Russia.
Lawmakers argue that Ukraine needs to fully defend itself, emphasizing that without the ability to strike Russian targets, the country remains vulnerable to continued attacks on its cities and infrastructure.
Additionally, the Parliament urged EU countries to speed up arms deliveries and impose tougher sanctions on Russia, including a full embargo on Russian oil and gas.
The resolution also calls for increased funding for Ukraine’s military and further sanctions on nations assisting Russia, such as Belarus.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that allowing Ukraine to strike inside Russia could be seen as NATO’s direct involvement in the war, raising fears of a broader conflict.
While the vote is non-binding, it sends a strong signal to European governments, many of which have hesitated to provide Ukraine with long-range weapons like Germany’s Taurus missiles due to concerns over escalation.
Turkey on Thursday accused Israel of seeking to expand the war in Gaza to Lebanon with the “alarming” wave of deadly explosions that swept through Hezbollah strongholds.
“The escalation in the region is alarming,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on state-run TRT television. “We see Israel mounting its attacks towards Lebanon step by step.”
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The blasts have killed 32 people in two days, including two children, wounding more than 3,000 others, according to Lebanese health ministry figures.
Israel has not commented on the unprecedented operation in which Hezbollah operatives’ walkie-talkies and pagers exploded in supermarkets, at funerals and on streets.
But its defence minister Yoav Gallant, referring to Israel’s border with Lebanon, said Wednesday: “The centre of gravity is moving northward.”
Turkey blamed Israel for the blasts.
“We have come to a point where these operations carried out by Israel have become increasingly provocative, and in return, Iran, Hezbollah and elements close to them have no choice but respond,” Fidan said.
Hezbollah is an ally of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has been fighting a war in Gaza since its October 7 attack on Israel.
For nearly a year, the focus of Israel’s firepower has been on Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas.
But its troops have also been engaged in near-daily clashes with Hezbollah militants along its northern border, killing hundreds in Lebanon, most of them fighters, and dozens more in Israel.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday called Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati to offer his condolences over the wave of deadly blasts.
Erdogan is a vocal critic of Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Courtesy – AFP
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