The presumed death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is another sign that Russia's governance is "starting to crack", the Ukraine's head of mission to the European Union, Vsevolod Chentsov, told The National on Thursday.
"The more turbulence, the more uncertainty, the more challenges that the Russian regime faces, the easier [it is] for Ukraine to survive the fight," Mr Chentsov said on the sidelines of an event to celebrate Ukraine's Independence Day in the Belgian town of Grimbergen, north of Brussels.
The crash occurred two months to the day since Prigozhin led an abortive mutiny against the army top brass, accusing them of incompetence in their handling of Russia's war in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin at the time accused the leaders of the failed mutiny of treason.
Belarus President Alexander Lukaschenko then claimed to have brokered a ceasefire that involved Prigozhin leaving Russia for Belarus, but the mercenary leader was then seen in public at an Africa summit last month in Moscow.
Earlier this week, he broadcast a video of himself in military gear claiming to be in an unspecified country in Africa.
Mr Putin has stayed silent since news of Prigozhin's presumed death started circulating, although he has pointed the finger at Ukraine, a claim rejected by Kyiv.
Western officials and experts on Russia say they believe the Kremlin was involved in the plane crash.
Mr Chentsov cautioned against believing reports in Russian media about Prigozhin's death without further proof.
Yevgeny Prigozhin reportedly killed in plane crash - video
"Do you believe Russian media? They can say anything," he said. "I need to see a [death] certificate.
"Whether he's dead or alive, what is happening in Russia shows that the system has started to crack," Mr Chentsov added.
"This war is also a degradation of the Russian system. As any empire about to collapse, it wants more territories. They need war to survive. That is the paradox of empires."
For now, Prigozhin is certainly "out of the game", according to Mr Chentsov.
"The Wagner group did a lot of bad things on the battlefield," he said. "It's a good development."
The Wagner group, a mercenary force founded in 2014, which is also active in the Middle East and Africa, played a key role in helping Moscow capture the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut in May 2023.
Wagner chief Prigozhin presumed dead in plane crash - in pictures
Yet some countries, particularly in Eastern Europe, have expressed fears of a worsening of tensions in the region after Progozhin's death.
Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda on Thursday said that Prigozhin's death does not improve regional security.
"We really shouldn't think that Prigozhin's death makes us feel calmer or that it somehow improves the security situation," Mr Nauseda said.
In similar remarks on Thursday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the Wagner group was now "under direct supervision of Putin and his people".
"Even more than before, or at least to the same extent as today, it will be used as a tool of provocation, blackmail ... to destabilise countries bordering Russia and Belarus," Mr Morawiecki said.
Both Vilnius and Warsaw had previously suggested that Wagner mercenaries could help facilitate illegal migration from Belarus or even enter the countries disguised as irregular migrants.
Last week, Lithuania closed two of its six border checkpoints with Belarus.
Images obtained on Wednesday by US media organisation Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty show that a camp suspected to be occupied by thousands of Wagner group fighters in Belarus was being dismantled.
The images show that the process of dismantling the camp started on August 1. The news website said that the change affected housing and not military equipment.
Result
Arsenal 4
Monreal (51'), Ramsey (82'), Lacazette 85', 89')
West Ham United 1
Arnautovic (64')
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
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The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
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EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate
Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
More coverage from the Future Forum
BANGLADESH SQUAD
Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper), Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan (vice captain), Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahaman, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
Kill%20
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