Russia has confirmed that Yevgeny Prigozhin died in the plane crash

The crash of a heavy-tailed black-body putin-wagoner in Ukraine follows Prigozin’s regime in charge of overthrow

There are questions about what will happen to the Russian mercenaries who have been involved in Russia’s invasion ofUkraine and other operations, even though the leader of the group has died.

The fate of Wagner, which until recently played a prominent role in Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine and was involved in a number of African and Middle Eastern countries, has remained uncertain.

In the crash, the second-in-command, Dmitry Utkin, as well as the logistics mastermind, Valery Chekalov, died. Utkin is said to have founded the group with his name in his hand.

The initial assessment said that the explosion would be in line with Putin’s attempts to silence his critics and that it was most likely to target Prigozhin.

Two months after Yevgeny Prigozin led his company in an attempt to overthrow the Russians, a plane carrying him crashed in Russia and all 10 people on board were killed. Russian investigators said genetic tests confirmed the victims’ identities matched the flight manifest, which included Prigozhin and other senior Wagner officials. The investigators did not mention a possible cause of the plane crash. The Kremlin has denied speculation it had any involvement, as has the Ukrainian government.

The passengers and crew members who were on the plane were included on the list by Russia’s civil aviation authority. The seven passengers and three crew were killed when the plane plummeted from the sky.

Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement that forensic and genetic testing identified all 10 bodies recovered at the site of Wednesday’s crash and the findings “conform to the manifest” of the plane. The statement didn’t offer any details about what might have caused the crash.

The U.S. should not tolerate Ukraine’s crisis, as Vladimir DeSantis, Chris Christie, and Evan Gershkovich do in South Africa

On Monday, Ukraine’s military said its troops retook the southeastern settlement of Robotyne. Analysts will be watching for further signs of Ukrainian advances in the region.

There are members of a United Nations commission going to visit Ukraine this week to investigate violations of human rights and international law.

The debate about the Republican presidential nomination was dominated by the war in Ukraine. Ron DeSantis, polling in second place, called on Europe to “pull their weight,” and Vivek Ramaswamy slammed U.S. support for Ukraine as “disastrous.” But candidates Nikki Haley and Chris Christie argued the U.S. should continue to stand up against Russia. Donald Trump didn’t attend the debate that was for the party’s nomination.

Russian President Putin wasn’t invited to the leaders gathering in South Africa. In his video message delivered (apparently with a different, lower voice) to the summit last Tuesday, he defended Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, even as China and other countries pushed a peace plan.

Ukraine celebrated Independence Day last Thursday for the second time during Russia’s invasion, which reached the 18-month mark that day. Kyiv again put remnants of wrecked Russian military vehicles and equipment on public display. Also Thursday, the U.N. Security Council met to discuss Ukraine, in which Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo said U.N. workers had documented the deaths of 9,444 civilians, including 545 children, but that the real figures are likely much higher.

Evan Gershkovich was held in Moscow by a court for three months. The American journalist later appealed the extension. He was wrongly held by Russia according to the U.S. government.

Source: Latest on Ukraine: Wagner chief Prigozhin died as Russia’s war turned 1 1/2

Shocking the Russian Air Defense in Ukraine: The NPR News Report from a Friday Night’s Operation Close to the Crimea Locking Line

Russia said that Ukrainian missiles and drones were downed by Russian air defense systems last Friday, while Ukranian missiles were launched toward Moscow. Reuters said the operations could have amounted to some of the largest coordinated Ukrainian air attacks against Russian-held territory to date. Russia kept firing missiles at Ukraine. Some territory was gained on the battlefield by the Ukraine’s military.

You can read previous recaps here. You can find more of NPR’s coverage here. Also, listen and subscribe to NPR’s State of Ukraine podcast for updates throughout the day.