The Ukraine war has been on for 506 days. Russia attacked Ukraine with drones, while locals reported explosions in Russia’s regions of Voronezh and Kursk.
Putin commented on meeting PMC Wagner mercenaries in the Kremlin and said this organisation “does not legally exist”.
Six countries joined the security guarantees for Ukraine, proposed by G7: Czechia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden.
AP has revealed a network of Russian prisons where Ukrainians are being held. It reported that Russia is planning on opening 30 more facilities of that kind.
Japanese Isuzu Motors has left Russia’s market.
Find out what happened overnight in Novaya Gazeta Europe’s 14 July round-up.
Russia attacks south Ukraine with drones; residents of Voronezh, Kursk regions of Russia proper report explosions
Explosions rocked Kryvyi Rih, says local military chief Oleksand Vilkul. It is unknown what kind of damage the attack caused.
The residents of Voronezh and Kursk regions in Russia proper have reported explosions. Some Russian telegram channels posted a video of an alleged explosion in Kurchatov, a town where the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant is located.
Putin: PMC Wagner does not legally exist
Vladimir Putin has told journalist Andrey Kolesnikov the details of his meeting with Yevgeny Prigozhin in the Kremlin, as per Kommersant. During the talk, Putin stated that since Russia has no law on private military companies, PMC Wagner does not legally exist.
Putin also stated that he offered the mercenaries to serve under the leadership of their direct commander known by his callsign Sedoy.
“Many nodded their heads as I said this. Prigozhin, who was sat in the front row and did not see this, said: ‘No, my guys do not agree with this,” Putin said.
Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, confirmed earlier that his boss had had a meeting with Yevgeny Prigozhin in the Kremlin after the mutiny. Peskov stated that 35 commanders and other leaders of Wagners had attended the meeting that was held on 29 June, five days after the mutiny, and lasted three hours.
Six countries join security guarantees for Ukraine
Six countries have joined the security guarantees for Ukraine, proposed by G7: Czechia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden, as per Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s leader.
Zelensky says that Ukraine had made “good agreements with almost all” of its partners during the NATO summit in Vilnius. His team is already preparing for the next NATO summit, hosted by Washington DC and scheduled for 2024.
The G7 countries agreed upon a declaration on their support of Ukraine during the NATO Summit in Vilnius earlier. The declaration includes defence assistance to Ukraine and support in holding Russia accountable for the military aggression.
AP: Russia to open over 30 new prisons in occupied territories
A Russian government document obtained by The Associated Press dating to January outlined plans to create 25 new prison colonies and six other detention centres in occupied Ukraine by 2026. The document dates back to January 2023.
The AP spoke with dozens of people, including 20 former detainees. They say reasons for detention include speaking Ukrainian. Torture is routine, including repeated electrical shocks, beatings that crack skulls and fracture ribs, and simulated suffocation. Many former prisoners told the AP they witnessed deaths.
Hundreds of prisoners are used for slave labour by Russia’s military, for digging trenches and other fortifications, as well as mass graves.
The AP has created a map built on data from former captives, the Ukrainian Media Initiative for Human Rights, and the Russian human rights group Gulagu.net. The recent U.N. report counted a total of 37 facilities in Russia and Belarus and 125 in occupied Ukraine. There are 40 detention facilities in Russia and Belarus, and there are 63 makeshift and formal ones in occupied Ukrainian territory where Ukrainian civilians are held.
At least 4,000 civilians are held in Russia and at least as many scattered around the occupied territories, according to Vladimir Osechkin, an exiled Russian human rights activist who talks to informants within Russian prisons and founded Gulagu.net to document abuses. In total, Ukraine’s government believes around 10,000 civilians could be detained, according to Ukrainian negotiator Oleksandr Kononeko.
Kyodo: Japanese bus and truck manufacturer Isuzu leaves Russia’s market
Isuzu, a major Japanese vehicle brand, has left Russia’s market as it was unable to resume production in Russia after the Ukraine war had started, Kyodo reports, citing its sources.
It is stated that the Ukraine war had disrupted car parts supply routes, causing $12 million worth of losses.
The business was allegedly sold to Sollers, a Russian vehicle manufacturer that owns several car plants.
Isuzu only produced 1% of its trucks in Russia, Kyodo says. In 2021, the Russian branch of the company produced 3,700 vehicles.