Moscow yesterday made an effort to show a return to business as usual after a weekend mutiny by mercenary troops threatened to undermine Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power.
Putin did not personally address the crisis, but made a video speech to a youth forum dubbed the “Engineers of the Future” and praised industry for overcoming “severe external challenges.”
The Kremlin said that Putin had spoken to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi by phone and had received Tehran’s “full support” in connection with the mutiny. Putin also received a call from Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who also expressed his backing, the Kremlin said.
Photo: EPA-EFE / Russian Ministry of Defense
Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu, one of the main targets of Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin’s revolt, appeared in more pre-recorded footage on state television, apparently visiting troops in Ukraine.
Officials in Moscow and in the Voronezh region south of the capital lifted “anti-terrorist” emergency security measures imposed to protect the capital from rebel assault. Prigozhin was last seen on Saturday leaving the southern city of Rostov-on-Don in an armed Wagner convoy, and his location and that of the bulk of his as yet still mobilized and equipped private army was unclear.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin proclaimed the situation in the city “stable,” and thanked Muscovites for their “calm and understanding” during the crisis.
On Saturday, with Wagner columns bearing down on the capital and clashing with regular forces in Voronezh, bordering Ukraine, a “counterterrorist” regime had been ordered.
However, Russia’s operation in Ukraine continued through the crisis, as Shoigu — whom Prigozhin had threatened to overthrow — was at pains to demonstrate.
He appeared yesterday on state television visiting a Russian command bunker in Ukraine and flying in a helicopter to inspect troops battling an Ukrainian counteroffensive.
During the meeting, the minister highlighted “great efficiency in the detection and destruction” of Ukraine’s weapons systems and soldiers, the defense ministry said. It was not possible to independently confirm whether the report had been filmed before or after the Wagner revolt.
Ukrainian military leaders insisted they were making progress in a multidirection offensive targeting Russian lines in the south and east of the country.
“We are knocking the enemy out of his positions on the flanks of the city of Bakhmut,” ground force commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said.
“Ukraine is regaining its territory. We are moving forward,” he said.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS: Foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Konica Minolta have pulled back their operations in China this year Foreign companies pulled more money from China last quarter, a sign that some investors are still pessimistic even as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped US$8.1 billion in the third quarter, data released by the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Friday. The gauge, which measures foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, was down almost US$13 billion for the first nine months of the year. Foreign investment into China has slumped in the past three years after hitting a record in 2021, a casualty of geopolitical tensions,
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