Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine
Members of Russia's Wagner Group — an infamous mercenary army — are fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, primarily in the Donbas region, the Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday.
A senior US defence official confirmed their presence after Ukrainian intelligence on Sunday said Wagner Group assassins had entered Ukraine on a mission to kill President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and members of his leadership team.
“We do assess the Wagner group is active in Ukraine, we think that activity is largely in the Donbas area,” the US official told Pentagon reporters.
The Wagner group is reputedly connected to the Kremlin as well as to President Vladimir Putin — though Moscow denies any involvement with it.
The US said last month it had “indications” of Wagner’s presence but “it’s not exactly clear where or how much” the group is involved in the fighting.
In Sunday's Facebook post, Ukrainian intelligence said the Wagner militia's “criminal” mission in Ukraine was to “eliminate the top military and political leadership of Ukraine.”
“Another group of militants linked to Yevgeniy Prigozhin, a Russian propagandist close to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and owner of the Liga [Wagner], began arriving in Ukraine today,” the Ministry of Defence's Main Intelligence Directorate of the ministry announced on Facebook.
The defence official said there are “no indications” that the Wagner group had brought in mercenaries from outside Russia — including Syria.
In December, the EU sanctioned the Wagner Group and 11 of its associates for its activities in Ukraine, Libya, the Central African Republic and Syria. The State Department said the group is also present in Mali.
Assessing Russia’s standing in the war, the US defence official said the battle remains contested, 27 days after the invasion began. The Pentagon said Moscow is now using naval assets in the Sea of Azov to fire on Mariupol but predicted a “tough fight”.
In a shift, the Pentagon said it sees indications that Ukraine is “now able and willing to take back territory” it has lost to Russia in the past four weeks.
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Tips for SMEs to cope
- Adapt your business model. Make changes that are future-proof to the new normal
- Make sure you have an online presence
- Open communication with suppliers, especially if they are international. Look for local suppliers to avoid delivery delays
- Open communication with customers to see how they are coping and be flexible about extending terms, etc
Courtesy: Craig Moore, founder and CEO of Beehive, which provides term finance and working capital finance to SMEs. Only SMEs that have been trading for two years are eligible for funding from Beehive.
Stage 5 results
1 Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 3:48:53
2 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team -
3 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott -
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:04
5 Ilnur Zakarin (RUS) CCC Team 0:00:07
General Classification:
1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 20:35:04
2 Tadej Pogacar (SlO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:01
3 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team 0:01:33
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:48
5 Rafał Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:02:11
Roger Federer's 2018 record
Australian Open Champion
Rotterdam Champion
Indian Wells Runner-up
Miami Second round
Stuttgart Champion
Halle Runner-up
Wimbledon Quarter-finals
Cincinnati Runner-up
US Open Fourth round
Shanghai Semi-finals
Basel Champion
Paris Masters Semi-finals
RESULT
Manchester United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Man United: Sanchez (24' ), Herrera (62')
Spurs: Alli (11')
Movie: Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster 3
Producer: JAR Films
Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Jimmy Sheirgill, Mahie Gill, Chitrangda Singh, Kabir Bedi
Rating: 3 star
