Putin tasks ex-Wagner commander with overseeing volunteer fighters in Ukraine | EUROtoday

Issued on: 29/09/2023 – 06:49Modified: 29/09/2023 – 08:34

2 min

7:48am: Putin tasks ex-Wagner commander Troshev with overseeing volunteer fighters

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Andrei Troshev, previously a high Wagner mercenary commander, to debate how voluntary combating items are used in the Ukraine struggle, the Kremlin stated on Friday.

“At the last meeting we talked about you overseeing the formation of volunteer units that can carry out various tasks, first and foremost of course in the zone of the special military operation,” Putin was quoted as saying, utilizing Moscow’s official time period for the struggle in Ukraine.

Troshev, additionally recognized by the nom de guerre “Sedoi”, or “grey hair” in Russian, is now working for Russia’s defence ministry, RIA Novosti information company quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Friday.

The assembly underscored the Kremlin’s try to indicate that the state had now gained management over the mercenary group after a failed June mutiny by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed in a airplane crash in August.

During the Syrian civil struggle, Troshev was straight concerned in the Wagner Group’s navy operations, significantly in the Deir ez-Zor space, in keeping with EU sanctions paperwork.

6:47am: Russia says it downed 11 Ukrainian drones in a single day

Russian air defences downed 10 Ukrainian drones over the Kursk area and one over the Kaluga area in a single day, the TASS information company cited Russia’s defence ministry as saying on Friday.

6:33am: Ukrainian drone hits Russian energy substation, says governor

A Ukrainian drone dropped explosives on a substation in a Russian village near the border on Friday, chopping off the facility provide to a hospital, the regional governor stated.

In Belaya, lower than 25 kilometres (16 miles) from the border, “a Ukrainian drone dropped two explosive devices on a substation”, Kursk regional governor Roman Starovoyt stated on the messaging platform Telegram.

“One of the transformers caught fire. Five settlements and a hospital were cut off from power supply. Fire crews rushed to the scene,” he added.

“Power will be restored as soon as it is safe to do so.”

Key developments from Thursday, September 28:

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated that Ukrainian forces are “gradually gaining ground” in their counteroffensive towards Russia throughout an unannounced go to to Kyiv on Thursday. The Western alliance chief additionally stated that Ukraine is “closer to NATO than ever before”.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated an escalating grain exports dispute between Kyiv and Warsaw was detrimental to each his nation and Poland in an interview revealed Thursday.

Russia is ready to hike defence spending by nearly 70 % in 2024, a finance ministry doc revealed Thursday confirmed, as Moscow pours assets into its struggle in Ukraine.

Read yesterday’s stay weblog to see how the day’s occasions unfolded.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP, and Reuters)