North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un is expected to travel to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin for talks on a potential arms sale to support Russia's war in Ukraine. The visit follows a July visit by Russia's defense minister to Pyongyang, and U.S. officials are actively advancing the negotiations. The outcome of the talks remains to be seen.
Posts tagged as “Sergei Shoigu”
This week, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the first visit by a Russian defense minister to North Korea since the fall of the Soviet Union. Kim Jong Un and Shoigu met in Pyongyang to discuss military issues and the regional security environment, and Shoigu accompanied Kim to a defense exhibition featuring North Korea's banned ballistic missiles. The visit is seen as a sign of the strengthening ties between North Korea, Russia, and China, and a reminder of the ongoing tensions between North Korea and the U.S. over North Korea's nuclear program.
Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation for the first time since a short-lived armed revolt by the Wagner mercenary group on Saturday. The revolt was led by Yevgeny Prigozhin and focused on Russia's military brass, and President Joe Biden said the US and its allies had strongly communicated to the Kremlin that they were not involved. Putin thanked the Russian people for their support and did not offer any clarity about his planned response to the revolt, which posed the biggest challenge to his rule in more than 20 years.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has made a public appearance in a video released by the Defense Ministry, signaling that order has been restored after a short-lived rebellion by a mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin. The video shows Shoigu visiting troops in Ukraine, likely as a show of strength from the Kremlin, and suggests that the situation is under control.
Russian authorities have launched a criminal probe against Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military contractor, in response to his accusations against the Russian Defense Minister. Former President Donald Trump has criticized aid to Ukraine, while President Joe Biden has made continued aide a priority and has traveled to the wartorn country to underscore U.S. support. The investigation is the latest development in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, with the outcome yet to be determined.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group, has called for an armed rebellion in Russia, leading to a power struggle and criticism from Adam Kinzinger, a CNN senior political commentator and former GOP congressman. The Wagner Group has been a key piece of Russia's strategy in Ukraine, and Prigozhin has been sharply critical of Russian military leadership. Kinzinger has highlighted the apparent admiration for Putin by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in the wake of the call.
This article discusses the recent intelligence briefing from the British Ministry of Defense which revealed that Russian reservist soldiers were ordered to attack a Ukrainian position with firearms and shovels. This is a sign of the increased close-quarter fighting which has characterized much of the war, and is a reminder of the long-standing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Western countries are responding by increasing the supply of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine, as well as expanding training programs for the personnel of the Ukrainian army.