No sign surface-to-air missile took down Wagner chief's plane, U.S. says
The U.S. is still assessing what caused the plane purportedly carrying Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin to crash.
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The U.S. is still assessing what caused the plane purportedly carrying Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin to crash.
As an apparent power struggle brings claims of an insurrection in Russia, here's what to know about the Wagner Group and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has broken his silence on the apparent death of Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, sending condolences to Prigozhin's family. U.K. authorities believe Russia's domestic intelligence agency was likely behind Wednesday's plane crash that killed 10 people, including, allegedly, Prigozhin. CBS News reporter Mary Ilyushina has the latest from Latvia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described Yevgeny Prigozhin as a man who made serious "mistakes" but "achieved the right results."
Speculation is running rampant in Russia after Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led a short-lived mutinity in Russia in June, appears to have been killed in a plane crash. Russian officials say he was aboard a private jet that crashed outside of Moscow. Many Kremlin watchers believe the plane was shot down, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin is responsible.
"No matter the cause of the plane crash, everyone will see this as an act of retaliation and retribution," said one analyst. "And the Kremlin won't particularly counteract this view."
CBS News has learned that Ukrainian troops are massing NATO-trained troops in an attempt to punch through Russian defenses in Tokmak, one of the key axes of the Ukrainian offensive. This could open up the road to Melitopol, the occupied city that is a key gateway to annexed Crimea. Debora Patta reports.
The progress of Ukraine's ongoing counteroffensive has been bogged down by land mines left by Russian forces after they were pushed out of liberated areas. CBS News' Debora Patta joined a unit of sappers who work inch by inch to clear what has now become the most heavily mined country in the world.
Russian President Vladimir Putin made no mention of Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin during a remote address at the BRICS Summit in South Africa Thursday morning. Prigozhin was reportedly among 10 people killed in a plane crash northwest of Moscow Wednesday, according to Russia's civil aviation agency, but skepticism over his ultimate fate remains. CBS News foreign correspondent Debora Patta has the latest, including an unverified video of the crash.
The move could throw more scrutiny on Beijing's political influence in the Persian Gulf, with questions being raised over if BRICS is taking an anti-West turn.
Analysts have noted that Moscow may be using jailed Americans as bargaining chips in soaring U.S.-Russian tensions over the Kremlin's military operation in Ukraine.
An economic alliance that includes some U.S. adversaries seeks to expand. Current members of the BRICS economic group are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, but more than 40 countries have expressed interest in joining, from democracies like Argentina to autocracies like Iran. Alexandra Sharp, writer of Foreign Policy's World Brief newsletter, joined CBS News to discuss what the expansion may mean for the U.S.
Russian officials say a business jet crash has killed 10 people and that Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed on the plane's passenger list. For more on this, CBS News was joined by retired U.S. Army major and military analyst Mike Lyons and Catrina Doxsee, associate director of the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, was one of 10 people who died when a private plane crashed Wednesday north of Moscow. In June, Prigozhin led a brief revolt in which his Wagner soldiers marched on Moscow after he heavily criticized Russian defense officials over their handling of the invasion of Ukraine. Debora Patta reports.
Russian officials say all 10 people aboard a business jet en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg have been killed in a crash. Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was reportedly listed as a passenger, but it is still unclear if he was onboard. CBS News foreign correspondent Ramy Inocencio has the latest.
General Sergei Surovikin has been removed as head of Russia's air force, the country's state media reported. Surovikin, nicknamed "General Armageddon," had not been seen in public since the Wagner Group's brief June revolt. Meanwhile, the widespread prevalence of Russian landmines is bogging down Ukraine's counteroffensive. CBS News foreign correspondent Debora Patta has more.
Surovikin, dubbed "General Armageddon" for his brutal military campaign in Syria, hasn't been seen in public since armed rebels marched toward Moscow in June.
Denmark and the Netherlands announced they have been given approval by the U.S. to donate F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Up to 61 warplanes will be sent as early as 2024. Seth Jones, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, joined CBS News to discuss what the acquisition means for Ukraine, and how it helps the country in the long term.
The three-day BRICS Summit of emerging economies is underway in Johannesburg, South Africa, but Russia's Vladimir Putin won't attend in person because of an international criminal court arrest warrant out for him over the abduction of children from Ukraine. Ryan Berg, director of the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, joined CBS News to discuss the conference.
The leader of the mercenary Wagner Group appears to have shared his first video since the group's mutiny in Russia. And Moscow airports are reopened after a drone attack grounded planes earlier Tuesday. CBS News foreign correspondent Imtiaz Tyab joins CBS News from London with more.
Several tour operators offer trips into the vast tunnels of the capital's sewer system, some of which were built in the 19th century.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed retaliation against Russia following a deadly missile attack on a theater in Chernihiv over the weekend. CBS News foreign correspondent Debora Patta has more from Ukraine.
A Russian missile strike wounded more than 100 and killed at least seven, including a 6-year-old girl, in the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv. Debora Patta and a CBS News crew arrived just minutes after the deadly strike.
A missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv killed seven people, including a 6-year-old girl, and injured more than 100 others. CBS News' Debora Patta and her team were in Chernihiv when the strike happened and got to the site of the attack shortly after the missile hit. Patta spoke with emotional families and rescue workers caught up in the carnage.
Russia's robotic lunar craft was scheduled to land tomorrow, but the country's space agency said it crashed after going out of control. It was Russia's first lunar mission in nearly 50 years.