The cause of the crash is still being investigated, but several outlets reported that an internal explosion may have brought the aircraft down.

 Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the U.S. believes Prigozhin died but declined to comment on whether he was intentionally killed.

 “Our initial assessment, based on a variety of factors, is that he was likely killed,” Ryder said at a press briefing. Wagner-affiliated social media accounts have been mourning the loss of Prigozhin and Utkin, sharing pictures and videos of the pair on Telegram.

Russia has moved to dismantle Wagner Group since Prigozhin launched a June rebellion, marching on Moscow with thousands of troops before halting the advance.

The deal that stopped the rebellion allowed the mercenary leader to exile to Belarus in return for Putin dropping terrorism charges.

Peter Doran, an adjunct senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Prigozhin's death was "guaranteed" following the aborted armed rebellion.

“By eliminating Prigozhin, which Putin has almost certainly done," Doran wrote in an analysis sent to The Hill, "Russia's president wishes for the world to recall Vladimir Lenin’s famed insight: ‘If one shoots at a king, one must not miss. And if an insurrection is begun, it is death to fail.’

"Prigozhin failed.”

"Norway rebuilds border fence to stop reindeer crossing over to Russia

Jan M. Olsen

ASSOCIATED PRESS

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Norway is rebuilding a dilapidated reindeer fence along its border with Russia in the Arctic to stop the animals from wandering into the neighboring country – costly strolls for which Oslo has to compensate Moscow over loss of grassland.

Norwegian officials said Thursday that so far this year, 42 reindeer have crossed into Russia seeking better pastures and grazing land.

The reindeer barrier along the Norway-Russia border spans 93 miles and dates back to 1954. The Norwegian Agriculture Agency said a stretch of about 4 miles between the Norwegian towns of Hamborgvatnet and Storskog would be replaced.

The construction, with a price tag of 3.7 million kroner ($348,000), is to be completed by Oct. 1, the agency said.

The work is a challenge, however, as the workers have to stay on the Norwegian side of the border 'at all times' during construction, 'which makes the work extra demanding,' said Magnar Evertsen of the agency. If a worker crossed into Russian territory, without a Russian visa, that would amount to illegal entry.

The reindeer crossings bring on a lot of additional bureaucracy. Russia has sent two compensation claims, the agency said.

One claims is for nearly 50,000 kroner ($4,700) per reindeer that crossed into Russia to graze in the sprawling Pasvik Zapovednik natural reserve in the Russian Murmansk region. The other claim is asking for a lump sum of nearly 47 million kroner ($4.4 million) in total for the days the animals grazed in the park, which consists mostly of lakes, rivers, forests and marshland.

The agency said that of the 42 animals that entered Russia this year, 40 have been brought back to Norway and the remaining two are expected to come back soon."

"Ukrainian troops today liberated the southeastern settlement of Robotyne and were trying to push further south, the Ukrainian military said. The advance comes after Ukrainian forces said they broke through the most challenging line of Russian defenses. They expect to progress more quickly now. Reuters reports. 

At least two people were killed and five injured in a Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s central Poltava region, a senior Ukrainian official said today. Meanwhile, Russian air defenses destroyed two drones over the western Bryansk region, Moscow’s defense ministry said today. Maria Kostenko and Josh Pennington report for CNN.

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) is directing Russian civilians to build relationships with influential Western individuals and then disseminate pro-Kremlin narratives to influence Western public policy and opinion, according to newly declassified U.S. intelligence. Because these influence operations are designed to be “deliberately small scale,” they obscure the FSB’s role through layers of ostensibly independent actors. Those who repeat pro-Kremlin narratives do so unwittingly. One official said, “They remain unaware who is essentially seeding these narratives.” Katie Bo Lillis reports for CNN. 

Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, the commander of Ukraine’s eastern forces, has called for reinforcements along the eastern front where Russian forces threaten to make additional gains, even though the United States advises focusing on the south. While the United States has called for massing troops for an overwhelming push to the south, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “We will not give up Kharkiv, Donbas, Pavlohrad or Dnipro. And that’s that.” Thomas Gibbons-Neff reports for the New York Times. "

"The number of Ukraine’s war dead is rising dramatically, according to new estimates by unnamed U.S. officials. Pentagon estimates leaked in April put Ukrainian deaths at 17,500, but the recent estimate suggests over 70,000 have died. The counter-offensive may account for this sharp increase. BBC News reports. 

Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski demanded Belarus expel the paramilitary organization Wagner group fighters, citing border security concerns, speaking at a news conference attended by his Baltic counterparts yesterday. “If there is a critical incident, regardless of whether it is at the Polish or Lithuanian border, we will retaliate immediately. All border crossings that have been opened so far will be closed,” Kaminski added. Kelly Kasulis Cho reports for the Washington Post. 

The United States and its European allies plan to ensure long-term military assistance to Ukraine to demonstrate to Russia that the West’s resolve will not waver. The initial commitment came from the Group of Seven (G7) members, and 18 non-G7 members have since pledged long-term support. However, there are practical obstacles to ensuring long-term support, including the Biden administration’s inability to bind future administrations to those commitments. Laurence Norman and Nancy A. Youssef report for the Wall Street Journal. 

Russia’s Federal Security Service yesterday charged Robert Shonov, a former employee of the U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok, with illegally collecting information about the war in Ukraine and sharing it with U.S. officials. Shonov was detained in May. He faces between three to eight years imprisonment. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the allegations are “wholly without merit.” Valeriya Safronova reports for the New York Times. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend next month’s Group of 20 summit in India. Putin informed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would attend the summit in his stead. Putin attended the BRICS summit earlier this month in South Africa via video link to avoid the risk of possible arrest by the International Criminal Court. BBC News reports. 

The U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine is in Ukraine this week investigating allegations of Russian human rights abuses. This marks their third “fact-finding mission.” The commission previously found evidence of human rights abuses, including war crimes. Sarah Fortinsky reports for The Hill. "

"Ukraine launched several dozen drones as part of its largest drone attack on military targets across Russia since the full-scale invasion. Most drones were shot down. Four military aircraft were disabled in a strike on the Pskov air base, over 400 miles from Ukraine. Yaroslav Trofimov reports for the Wall Street Journal. 

Russia conducted a “massive” attack on Kyiv last night, deploying drones and missiles, head of the Kyiv city military administration, Serhii Popko, said. “Kyiv has not experienced such a powerful attack since spring,” Popko wrote on Telegram. At least two people were killed. Aruzhan Zeinulla and Olga Voitovych report for CNN. 

The impact of the sanctions on Russia, rising prices, and government spending on the defense industry is bringing the effects of the war home for many Russians. Economists warn that the ruble’s devaluation could fuel a price surge over the next 3 to 6 months. Recent surveys show that 19 percent of respondents began reducing purchases of essential items such as toothpaste and food in July, compared to 16 percent in June. Catherine Belton, Jeff Stein, and Robyn Dixon report for the Washington Post. 

Russia will not investigate the plane crash that killed Yevgeny Prigozhin and nine others per international rules. Russia informed Brazil’s aircraft investigation authority that it would not investigate the wreck of the Brazilian-made Embraer jet under international rules “at the moment.” Brazil’s Center for Research and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents had said it would join a Russian-led investigation if invited. Some Western governments suspect the Russian government is behind the attack. Allison Lampert, Gabriel Araujo, and Valerie Insinna report for Reuters. "

"To Daniella Mestyanek Young, every group of people has a little cult in it, and every person has a bit of a cult follower within. At 36, and with a master’s in group psychology from Harvard’s Extension School, she’s acquired a following via her series of TikTok videos in which—while furiously knitting—she shares insights from her own history. She was born into the Children of God, which many ex-members describe as a sex cult, and then escaped it to join the U.S. Army, only to find that the Army was kind of a cult too. In her view, all organizations are situated somewhere on the “cultiness spectrum,” and some celebrated groups, such as the military and Alcoholics Anonymous, are much further toward the dark end than you’d like to believe.

In her TikToks, she includes various lists and rules of cults in an ever-present text box above her head, one of which reads:

Like the other cult experts I spoke with, Young doesn’t believe that anybody can be argued out of Trumpism (or any other firmly held belief). People can save only themselves, as she did. But she argues that such self-rescues are happening all around us."