Live

Prigozhin confirmed dead in plane crash, genetic tests verify

Prigozhin confirmed dead in plane crash, genetic tests verify
By Mersiha Gadzo, Nils Adler and Usaid Siddiqui
Published On 27 Aug 2023

This blog is now closed. Thank you for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Sunday, August 27.

27 Aug 2023 - 20:02
 (20:02 GMT)

Prigozhin was ‘biggest threat’ to Putin: Financier

Kremlin critic and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management Bill Browder says former Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was arguably the “biggest threat” to the Russian president’s decades-long hold on power.

“There are many people who saw him as a folk hero in Russia. He was saying stuff that people weren’t allowed to say, which is the [Ukraine] war wasn’t going well, the king’s not wearing any clothes, etc. And that’s not good for Vladimir Putin,” he told Al Jazeera.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, left with Russian President Vladimir Putin [File: Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP Photo]
27 Aug 2023 - 19:05
 (19:05 GMT)

Zelenskyy to propose tougher corruption measures

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a television interview shared on his Telegram channel has said he would ask parliament in the coming week to increase penalties for those found guilty of corruption during wartime.

“I have set a task for the legislation and the Ukrainian legislators will be offered my proposals to equate corruption with high treason in wartime,” he said.

“I think the parliament will get it in the next week and then the ball is in the parliament’s court.”

27 Aug 2023 - 18:34
 (18:34 GMT)

What is destabilising the Polish-Belarus border?

As Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin captures global headlines, tensions are already high at Poland’s border with Belarus, which marks the edge of the European Union.

On the other side, Belarus has been furthering its alliance with Russia as the invasion of Ukraine continues. Now, Wagner’s mercenary fighters have camped out in Belarus, leaving those in border villages in uncertainty and fear.

In Poland, border guards and soldiers are growing in number, and the Polish government has cracked down on people who they say are illegally crossing the border.

So, how has all the tension been affecting the residents?

27 Aug 2023 - 18:26
 (18:26 GMT)

Prigozhin becoming an ‘iconic’ figure: Analyst

Associate professor at the US National Defense University Peter Eltsov says that conspiracy theories about Yevgeny Prigozhin still being alive say a lot about how big a figure the Wagner Group chief was in Russia.

“He is becoming this iconic hero for a lot of his followers,” Eltsov told Al Jazeera.

“There are some conspiracy stories that he’s been recently seen in Mali, and photos of him where African leaders allegedly thank him for saving democracy in Central African Republic. But he’s clearly dead.”

Eltsov said on the social media site Telegram that people were expressing sentiments that Yevgeny shouldn’t have stopped his mutinous march to Moscow in June.

27 Aug 2023 - 17:41
 (17:41 GMT)

Armed assistance ‘small price to pay’ for peace: Zelenskyy aide

Ukraine presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has said that the only way to protect international law and territorial integrity is to “ensure Ukraine’s victory and the complete defeat of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s invasion”.

“This will be the best lesson for anyone who may be tempted to invade neighboring territories today. In this regard, armed assistance to Ukraine is the smallest price to pay for peace in the world,” he posted on social media platform X.

27 Aug 2023 - 17:10
 (17:10 GMT)

Three killed in Russian attack: Ukraine officials

Ukraine authorities have said three people were killed in Russian artillery attacks in the country’s southern and eastern regions.

The regional military administration in Kherson said a 35-year-old woman was killed and a man injured shortly after noon near the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.

A few hours later, the prosecutor’s office reported another person killed and another injured – this time in Kherson itself.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the claims.

27 Aug 2023 - 16:40
 (16:40 GMT)

Ukraine offensive ongoing in the south: Military spokesperson

The Ukrainian army says it is continuing to advance after breaking through the Russian defence line near Robotyne, a settlement in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.

The next target for liberation is the nearby village of Novoprokopivka, said military spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun.

Although the Russian air force is stepping up its attacks there, Shtupun interpreted this as a sign that the Russian ground forces no longer have much to counter the Ukrainian advance.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify Shtupan’s claims.

27 Aug 2023 - 16:14
 (16:14 GMT)

Zelenskyy expects more arms from Western allies

Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy has promised to keep his country on the international agenda, saying he is banking on having a “productive September” that features new pledges of military aid and fresh diplomatic offensives to punish Russia.

President Zelenskyy said he expected to receive more artillery, armoured vehicles, missiles and mine-clearance equipment from Ukraine’s Western allies.

“Each partner is aware of our needs. We are expecting decisions,” he wrote on Telegram.

27 Aug 2023 - 15:49
 (15:49 GMT)

Russia says scrambled fighter plane to deter US drone over Black Sea

Russia has revealed that it scrambled a fighter plane to deter a US Air Force reconnaissance drone from crossing its borders over the Black Sea.

“As the Russian fighter approached, the foreign reconnaissance UAV made a U-turn away from the state border of the Russian Federation,” Russia’s defence ministry said.

 

27 Aug 2023 - 15:13
 (15:13 GMT)

Ukraine says second ship departs Odesa after grain deal lapse

Ukraine has said a second cargo ship stuck in the port of Odesa had left via a temporary corridor set up after the Black Sea grain deal collapsed.

“The Liberian-flagged bulk carrier PRIMUS of a Singaporean operator has left the port of Odesa and is sailing through the temporary corridor established for civilian vessels,” Ukraine’s reconstruction ministry said.

27 Aug 2023 - 14:37
 (14:37 GMT)

Zelenskyy ‘appreciates’ US sanctions on Russians involved in child deportations

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he “appreciates” the United States’ decision to sanction Russian entities that are reportedly part of deporting his country’s children from occupied areas, calling it an “important step”.

“We are working on similar sanctions by our partners. Deportation of children, a deliberate and systematic attempt to cut them off from their families, and an attempt to teach them to hate their country, constitute Russian genocidal policy that deserves equal condemnation by everyone in the world,” he posted on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

The US Department of State on Thursday imposed sanctions on 13 people and entities it said are reportedly connected to the forced deportation and transfer of Ukraine’s children.

27 Aug 2023 - 13:43
 (13:43 GMT)

Prigozhin’s death will not fix Putin’s miscalculation

Asked about the future of Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who had just carried out a mutiny in Russia, CIA Director William Burns warned that “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin is someone who generally thinks that revenge is a dish best served cold”.

On August 23, exactly two months after his short-lived revolt, a private jet crashed in Russia, with Prigozhin reportedly on board.

Some have already credited Burns with predicting Prigozhin’s demise, but for many Russia observers, it hardly came as a surprise. Putin has a long history of taking out those he perceives as traitors.

Read more here.

27 Aug 2023 - 12:30
 (12:30 GMT)

Black Sea shipping threat: Second cargo ship sets sail from Odesa

A second cargo ship has sailed from the port of Odesa in Ukraine, despite the threat of a Russian attack.

The Primus is sailing along a new humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea. It was opened after Russia withdrew from the Black Sea grain deal last month which guaranteed safe passage to vessels carrying Ukrainian exports.

The Ukrainian government has warned of the threat from Russian warship attacks and mine explosions.

Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride is in Kyiv for the latest updates.

27 Aug 2023 - 11:35
 (11:35 GMT)

Global reaction to death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin

US President Joe Biden has said he was “not surprised” at news reported at the time that Prigozhin may have died in a plane crash in Russia.

“I don’t know for a fact what happened, but I’m not surprised,” Biden said, adding: “There’s not much that happens in Russia that Putin’s not behind. But I don’t know enough to know the answer.”

In a statement, US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson also said that “if confirmed, no one should be surprised” by the apparent death. “The disastrous war in Ukraine led to a private army marching on Moscow, and now — it would seem — to this.”

Read more reactions here.

27 Aug 2023 - 11:28
 (11:28 GMT)

Who else died in the plane crash that killed Yevgeny Prigozhin?

Russia’s aviation agency had previously published the names of all 10 people on board the private jet which crashed, which have now been officially confirmed by Russia’s Investigative Committee. Included on the list is Dmitry Utkin, Prigozhin’s right-hand man who helped found the Wagner group.

A retired special forces officer, a member of the GRU military intelligence service and a veteran of Russia’s wars in Chechnya, Utkin was responsible for command and combat training, according to investigations by the Dossier Center and Bellingcat.

For a long time, Utkin was believed to be the founder of Wagner, but many analysts have now said that was a smokescreen for Prigozhin, who only recently acknowledged his leading role in the mercenary group.

Read more here about who else was killed in the plane crash.

27 Aug 2023 - 11:14
 (11:14 GMT)

Investigators retrieve black boxes: Wagner chief’s death draws mixed reactions

Investigators in Russia have retrieved black boxes from the crash site of a plane that killed Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and nine others.

Prighozin’s death has drawn mixed reactions in the country.

Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari reports from Moscow, Russia.

27 Aug 2023 - 11:11
 (11:11 GMT)

Charismatic leader is gone but Wagner will survive in Africa, analysts say

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, just left Mali where he had filmed a video pledging to make “Africa even more free” before he presumably perished in a plane crash in his home country.

His death has sparked concerns for some client governments in Africa who rely on his unique services.

Patronage of Prigozhin’s private military force has been on the rise in recent years since some African governments started turning towards Russia as an alternative international partner in their fight against rising insecurity from various armed groups.

Read the analysis here.

27 Aug 2023 - 10:45
 (10:45 GMT)

Wagner boss Prigozhin’s death confirmed by investigators: Moscow

The death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner paramilitary group, following a plane crash on Wednesday has been confirmed by formal genetic analysis, Russia’s Investigative Committee has said.

“According to their results, the identities of all 10 victims were established, they correspond to the list stated in the flight list,” the committee said.

Russia’s civil aviation authority earlier this week said Prigozhin, along with some of his top lieutenants, were on the list of those on board the plane.

27 Aug 2023 - 10:05
 (10:05 GMT)

List of key events, day 550

German magazine Der Spiegel has published a lengthy and detailed investigation into the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines in the weeks following Russia’s full-scale invasion, saying that “a striking number of clues point to Ukraine”.

Read more here for the situation as it stands on August 27, 2023.

Ukraine appeared to be making some advances in its counteroffensive [Roman Pilipey/AFP]
27 Aug 2023 - 09:29
 (09:29 GMT)

Ukraine investigates incident that killed three pilots

Ukrainian authorities have launched an investigation after a mid-air collision between two warplanes in the west of the country killed three pilots.

Ukraine’s air force spokesperson Yuri Ihnat told Ukrainian television on Sunday it wasn’t immediately clear how long the probe would take.

According to the air force’s Telegram page, two L-39 training military aircraft collided on Friday during a combat mission over Ukraine’s western Zhytomyr region.