Wagner

Gunmen attacked a military police base early Tuesday in the Malian capital Bamako where gunfire and explosions were heard and the airport was closed, sources said.

"This morning armed men attacked at least one military police base in Bamako. They have not been formally identified," a police source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Russia on Wednesday said Ukraine was opening a "second front" in Africa after Mali and Niger broke off diplomatic relations with Kiev, accusing it of support for "terrorist groups."

Mali's northern Tuareg rebels claimed they killed and injured dozens of soldiers and Wagner mercenaries in two days of fighting near the Algerian border. The army reported losing two soldiers but said it killed around 20 rebels.

Ukrainian convicts Volodymyr Barandich (C) and Arthur Kachurovsky (L) and a guard (R) wait in a courtyard of the Boryspil penal colony outside the town of Boryspil, Kiev region, on July 4, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Artur Kachurovsky is one of thousands of Ukrainian prisoners who have taken up the offer to join the army and fight the Russians in return for a pardon.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday moved to replace defense minister Sergei Shoigu in a major shake-up to Russia's military leadership more than two years into its Ukraine offensive.

Putin proposed economist Andrey Belousov as Shoigu's replacement, according to a list of the ministerial nominations published by the Federation Council, Russia's upper house of parliament.

Gerasimov was not seen in public for several weeks, raising suspicions that the general was dead.
Unverified rumors of his death began to circulate in the public after social media users shared a photo purportedly showing a message posted by a Russian Telegram channel.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday opens a week-long tour of Africa's west coast as he seeks to bolster U.S.-friendly democracies with security deteriorating in the Sahel.

A Cypriot brokerage firm caught up in an investigation by French prosecutors probing financial transfers possibly tied to Yevgeny Prigozhin on Wednesday denied it had ever had direct relations with the late Wagner mercenary chief.

Day 667 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

Day 665 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours: