Summary: UK MPs criticize the government for underestimating Russia 's Wagner mercenary group 's growth and influence. The scathing report highlights the lack of understanding of Wagner's activities in Africa and calls for a task force to monitor the group's actions. Wagner group operates like a mafia network, collaborating with governments for mineral rights , leading to exploitation in Africa . Russia also seems to have underestimated the Wagner group , struggling to control its actions. ...

Summary: A West African bloc of nations is considering military intervention in Niger, viewing it as a last resort. Eka-Wass group has been discussing a standby military force to address the situation. The situation in Niger is complex due to border disputes, active insurgencies, and regional implications. Military intervention could further destabilize the region and lead to a refugee crisis . The involvement of Russia's Wagner group in Niger is not imminent due to logistical challenges. ...

Russia Continues Fourth Day of Attacks on Ukrainian Food Export Facilities amid Escalating Tensions Summary: Russia launches consecutive attacks on Ukrainian food export facilities for four days. Tensions escalate with Ukraine's defiance of Russia's naval blockade on grain export ports. Western leaders view the attacks as an attempt by Russia to evade sanctions and cause a global food crisis. Russia claims the attacks are in retaliation for a Ukrainian strike on a Russian-built bridge to Crimea. Concerns rise over the safety of civilian shipping in the Black Sea region. Escalations continue as Poland reinforces its border amid Russia...

Bakhmut won't fall into Russian hands 'any time soon' So I would say in central back, 10 days ago with the times team and spoke to a lot of the soldiers fighting there and the commanders fighting there and was able to move into some areas of the center of the city. I don't think it's going to fall anytime soon. And here's why. The Russians have managed to dominate the battlefield around the city. It's a small city or large town, depending on how you look at it. In the last 48 hours, they have the Russians have captured the entire east side of the city. The city is divided north to south by a thin river. But they've been fighting in that eastern side really since the beginning of December. So it's not like they've just swept in yesterday and grabbed it. They've just got the last few streets that they didn't already hold. They have got t...

Fleeing Russian soldiers on the rise as Ukraine troops advance in Bakhmut Now, the chief of Russia's Wagner mercenary group has said that President Zelensky was being deceptive after suggestions that Ukrainian forces had recaptured the city of Bakhmut. Yeah, he said that the situation on the flanks is shaping up according to the worst predicted scenario for Russia that is, so that signals more misery it would seem for Putin's troops. Well joining us this morning to help unravel these new developments is political reporter Stefan Boscher. Good morning to you Stefan, really good to have you with us and it does need unraveling this because we've had conflicting reports in the past few days about this spring offensive and movements being made by Ukraine in Bakhmut. That's right, some of the most movement was seen on a very stagnant Eastern front for a very long time now ov...

Summary: The Kerch bridge linking Crimea to Russia has been attacked, posing a reputational threat to Putin. While the attack's origin remains unconfirmed, it is likely to be carried out by Ukrainian forces. The bridge's destruction affects the logistics of supplying Russian forces in southern Ukraine and Crimea. Russia's withdrawal from the grain export deal with Ukraine threatens a new food supply crisis. Ukraine's counteroffensive to regain occupied territory is showing progress, but challenges persist. ...

Russian Defense Ministry acknowledges retreat north of Bakhmut A Ukrainian tank rumbled toward back-mood on Friday as Kiev claimed its forces had advanced more than a mile around the shattered ruins of the eastern city. Russian forces have fought for months to seize back-mood without success. The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said that Ukraine had deployed more than 1,000 troops in up to 40 tanks in more than two dozen attempted attacks in the direction of the town of Solodar. The military admitted it was regrouping its forces, suggesting its fighters had fallen back. The leader of a Russian mercenary force gave a different assessment. Evgeny Progoshin, founder of the Wagner paramilitary group, said the Defense Ministry was lying and Russian forces had been routed and forced to flee. Reuters has been unable to verify reports of battlefield movement. Ukraine this week released w...