It was a very long Monday. Which followed a very long weekend. So I’m just going to run through what I think are the basics and hit publish.
Here is President Zelenskyy’s speech from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.
Today, our warriors have advanced in all directions, and this is a happy day – address by the President of Ukraine
27 June 2023 – 00:30
Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!
Today – the front. Donetsk region, Zaporizhzhia. Our warriors, our frontline positions, areas of active operations at the front. Today, our warriors have advanced in all directions, and this is a happy day. I wished the guys more days like this.
I paid a visit to the Khortytsia units that distinguished themselves heroically in the Battle of Bakhmut. Well done, warriors! Then our marines – very powerful, very accurate. Thank you for doing your best to save the lives of our warriors. Then Tavria, the south, the front. It was a busy day, a lot of emotions… I was honored to award our warriors, to thank them personally, to shake their hands. Thank you for all your words of support, guys! Thank you for your hugs, very warm ones, to everyone today. And thank you for your chevrons – it is extremely honorable for me, and I will tell about each chevron separately. All our warriors – from soldiers to sailors to generals – are doing a great job!
I presented two Gold Stars of the Hero of Ukraine – to Captain Oleh Olyva, commander of the airmobile company of the 81st separate airborne assault brigade, and Major Serhiy Dudin, deputy commander of the marine battalion of the 35th separate brigade. Indeed, they are great people, thank you!
Meetings with generals… Zubanych, Tarnavskyi, Sodol, Syrskyi. Several operational decisions were made. Once again, we discussed the creation of the Marine Corps, all the details are clear, absolutely clear – organization, training, supply… We are strengthening the Marines and all elements of our Defense Forces, it is a must.
Yesterday, I had talks with partners, including President Biden, primarily about arms supplies.
Today, I was in the area where these weapons will give more power, more protection to Ukrainians’ lives. And bring our victory closer, this is the main thing. All our land will be free – all of it.
I thank everyone who is now fighting for Ukraine, who is preparing for combat, who is on combat missions, who is at combat posts… All those who are recovering from injuries… All those who are training our warriors! Thank you all! I am proud of all of you! Glory to you, our heroes!
And eternal blessed memory to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine, each and every one of them!
Glory to Ukraine!
Secretary of Defense Austin and Minister of Defense Reznikov had a phone conversation today. Here is the DOD’s readout:
RELEASE
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III’s Call With Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov
June 25, 2023Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout:
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke today with Ukrainian Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov to discuss regional security developments and dynamics on the ground in Ukraine. Secretary Austin reiterated unwavering U.S. support for Ukraine and discussed security assistance priorities to meet Ukraine’s needs on the battlefield.
The two leaders pledged to remain in close contact.
Bakhmut:
Even the fiercest battles of WWII pale in comparison with the living hell that is today’s #Bakhmut.
This is Ukraine in the 21st century.
This is our daily reality.🎥@Liberov pic.twitter.com/UQRJ5ljqCM
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) June 26, 2023
Rivnopil:
Rivnopil village, Donetsk region, has been liberated by Ukrainian troops.
Onward!— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) June 26, 2023
Hanna Maliar says the settlement of Rivnopil in the Berdyansk direction was liberated by Ukrainian forces. pic.twitter.com/GrpNXqSvqQ
— Dmitri (@wartranslated) June 26, 2023
The soldiers of the second mechanized battalion of the 31st mechanized brigade officially announced the liberation of Rivnopil.https://t.co/b2ABfq4Y0n pic.twitter.com/scBi9xemVt
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) June 26, 2023
A gas station in the Donetsk Region:
On his way to visit troops in the Donetsk region, President @ZelenskyyUa stopped for a coffee at a gas station. pic.twitter.com/g8ARvaxtdS
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) June 26, 2023
Kyiv:
A little girl with a Ukrainian flag outside the house damaged a few days ago in Kyiv
📷 @rubryka pic.twitter.com/0bLKPiBlxf— Saint Javelin (@saintjavelin) June 26, 2023
The left bank of the Dnipro:
Video of a recent battle on the left bank of the Dnipro near the Antonovsky bridge in Kherson.
P.S: For some reason, Russian BTR drove straight on the Antonovsky bridge and, apparently, will remain abandoned there for a long time) pic.twitter.com/kVRGiBZy4G— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) June 26, 2023
Voronezh Region:
Russian aviation strikes on the highway near Bugaevka, Voronezh region. During the recent «Wagner rebellion». pic.twitter.com/Gcie5RFaPI
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) June 26, 2023
Here’s Prigozhin’s speech with English subtitles:
Here it is, folks: Prigozhin’s full post-insurrection statement (I added the visual component), with English-language subtitles. For a quick summary, check @meduza_en‘s roundup here: https://t.co/UjoHizRP9r pic.twitter.com/VLSyUMCZd7
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) June 26, 2023
Here’s Dmitri’s translation and summary of Prigozhin’s speech today. Full text of the tweet below the tweet.
The guy's backtracking on his origian goals real bad here, also says Wagner didn't kill any Russian military "on the ground", which is false, according to reports.
Also, what sort of "legal framework" can Luka provide?
— Dmitri (@wartranslated) June 26, 2023
Summary of Prigozhin’s 26 June address to clarify the situation: it was to demonstrate protest against the “destruction of PMC Wagner, not toppling the Russian authorities”:
What were the prerequisites for the March for Justice?
– PMC Wagner carries out tasks around the world. It was meant to stop existing on 1 July 2023. “Employees” all refused to sign the contract with MoD, only 1-2% decided to join the Russian army.– The original plan was to go to Rostov on 30 July and transfer all vehicles to MoD, which were ready for transport.
– Despite any aggression, Wagner suffered a missile attack, followed by helicopter attack. Around 30 PMC Wagner fighters died. This triggered an immediate decision to move out early and respond militarily.
– Throughout the 24-hour march, one column went to Moscow, another to Rostov. They made 780 km of progress in one day. They regret being forced to attack the army aircraft but the bombs were dropped which caused the response. During the march, all military objects on the way were blocked and disarmed. None of the military have died on the ground.
– The objective was to not allow destruction of Wagner and take to responsiblity those who with their unprofessional actions made a huge number of mistakes during the SMO. All the military met along the way supported this.
– Wagner stopped when the advanced storm unit deployed artillery, conducted reconnaissance and realised a lot of blood will be shed in an upcoming battle. They decided that demonstration of the protest was enough, and turned around.
– Factors that made Wagner turn around: first, they didn’t want to shed Russian blood. Secondly, they wanted to demonstrate their portest, not overtake the authority in Russia.
– Lukashenko offered to find solutions for further legal operation of Wagner legally. Columns turned aroound and went back to field camps.
– The march showed many things demonstrated before. Serious secruity concerns around the country. All military bases and airfields were blocked.
– If actions on 24 Feb 2022 were done by forces as trained as Wagner, the special operation could have ended in 1 day. This shows the level of organisation that the Russian army should be following.
Here’s The Kyiv Independent‘s Illia Ponomarenko’s assessment of Prigozhin’s remarks. Full text below the tweet:
The thing is: Prigozhin was always about himself and his desire to get away with the situation in which he was to be erased by the Kremlin.
One of Russia’s greatest corruption dealers couldn’t care less about corruption in the military as he has been making insane fortunes from…
— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) June 26, 2023
The thing is: Prigozhin was always about himself and his desire to get away with the situation in which he was to be erased by the Kremlin.
One of Russia’s greatest corruption dealers couldn’t care less about corruption in the military as he has been making insane fortunes from that for decades:
And yeah, Russia’s greatest butcher, the master of meat grinder assaults and suicidal convicts couldn’t care less about “the lives of our boys” in this “criminal war unleashed by power-greedy imbeciles and oligarchs.”
He showed off against the cowardly dictator who had already fled Moscow (unbelievable!) and he got what he wanted.
And Putin has again demonstrated his weakness and his readiness to accept any sort of L and draw away from his own words for the sake of spending one more day on the throne.
Of course, Shoigu is to stay. All this time Prigozhin only pretended to be angry about Shoigu’s and Gerasimov’s incompetence to gain popular support and portray himself as “the only one who really cares.”
He cared about nothing but himself. A lying thug is always a lying thug, be it in the streets or in charge of a giant mercenary army.
What’s really striking to me is that his most senior Sardaukars, including Wagner himself, trusted him and followed him in this fake coup. They really had a plan and they were really believing they were to take the throne.
In reality, they were ordered to stop 200 kms away from Moscow when their boss’ plan to scare the living shit out of Putin and his cronies succeed.
Prigozhin is now very probably getting safe retirement amid endless wealth (we don’t really know what he traded and what guarantees his safety), while his former dogs of war up to the elbow in blood are very much screwed up.
Here’s Meduza‘s Kevin Rothrock’s take:
Some thoughts about Prigozhin’s new statement: He’s really tapping into popular anger about the war’s slow progress, offering the public an explanation for why Russia hasn’t managed to win what their pride says should have been an easy fight. https://t.co/iCzuCIHJJs
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) June 26, 2023
It will be very interesting to see if he can hold together Wagner Group from Belarus, if that is indeed where he settles. (Maybe he’ll go somewhere else, of course.) In the speech, he says repeatedly that he seeks the preservation of the PMC above virtually all else.
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) June 26, 2023
And here’s Putin’s full address with English subtitles:
With English-language subtitles, here is the full national address Putin made tonight in Russia. He made a very similar speech on Saturday, but this one was angrier. pic.twitter.com/u91LiKpkVE
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) June 26, 2023
Both Putin and Prigozhin claim to have the support of the masses and the military rank and file. It's an odd feature of Russian politics that Putin won't mention Prigozhin by name, and Prigozhin's harshest criticisms sidestep Putin and target the Defense Ministry leaders. https://t.co/jEcLTk3QGi
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) June 26, 2023
Reasons for the quirks of the Putin-Prigozhin dialogue btw are that Putin never acknowledges rivals by name, and Prigozhin knows he can't criticize Putin too much w/o infringing on Russia's 1 remaining political institution. Though Prigozhin has gone further than anybody before.
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) June 26, 2023
The most interesting part is that even the Z-crowd in pro-Putin's channels doesn't seem pleased with their fuhrer's speech pic.twitter.com/zQ3qQdLSaG
— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) June 26, 2023
That’s enough for tonight.
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