...

Well, at least he officially earned a lot of money. Would be more interesting to see Putins belongings considering that he officially only earns like 20k a month...

Lukashenko told reporters on Thursday: "As for Prigozhin, he's in St Petersburg (Russia's second biggest city). He is not on the territory of Belarus."

Lukashenko said an offer for Wagner to station some of its fighters in Belarus - a prospect that has alarmed neighbouring NATO countries - still stands.

Mercenary Chief Prigozhin Back in Russia, Belarus's Lukashenko Says | Reuters

It is highly unlikely that Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian private military company Wagner, will be "offed".

"What will happen to him now? Well, all kinds of things happen in life. But if you think that Putin is so malevolent and vindictive to have him [Prigozhin] eliminated somewhere tomorrow… No, it won't happen," Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

Putin Has No Intention of ‘Offing' Prigozhin, Lukashenko Says

• New figures from Kiel Institute put tank deliveries at 471
• Russia's fleet halves, but Kyiv needs more than parity to win

Ukraine Has Caught Up With Russia’s Tank Numbers, Data Signal - Bloomberg

Raiffeisen Bank International is delaying plans to leave Russia, three people familiar with its position said, as Austria steps up its defence of long-standing ties with Moscow.

Exclusive: Raiffeisen Delays Quitting Russia as Austria Defends Ties | Reuters

The Economist magazine has compiled a ranking of European countries that are currently the biggest facilitators of the Russian regime in Europe – but there's no prizes for guessing which states make it to the list.

The most obvious ally of the Kremlin in Europe, according to the publication, is the Hungarian government led by Viktor Orbán, who has been in power since 2010. This country criticizes support for Ukraine, continues to import Russian gas, and also prohibits the transit of weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine on its territory.

Austria has also made it onto the ranking.

"Next-door Austria has, more quietly but equally profitably, largely sat out the struggle, too, citing its non-membership of NATO and self-appointed role as a bridge between East and West, offering little aid to Ukraine even as its trade with Russia has surged," the article reads.

Greece, which continues to resist stronger sanctions on Russian oil supplies, and Cyprus, which recently closed Russian bank accounts under pressure, are also on the Economist's list.

Vladimir Putin’s Useful Idiots

Fuck McConnell but he's right.

The worst thing to happen to Prigozhin so far is that the FSB "accidentally" leaked embarrassing photos of him. 🤡

Sure is a step down from Novichok.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy savaged his Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev in a bruising televised exchange in Sofia on Thursday, in which he opened up with both barrels against Radev’s opposition to arming Ukraine.

The flustered Bulgarian president, visibly taken aback by Zelenskyy’s indignation, asked TV cameras to leave the room in the presidential palace where the meeting was being filmed.

Zelenskyy was visiting Bulgaria largely to meet the pro-NATO and pro-EU administration of Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov, which has supported arms exports to Ukraine and is also exploring ways to sell civilian nuclear equipment.

The meeting with Radev, a former air force chief who is more sympathetic to Russia and equivocal on NATO, went even worse than expected.

Gathered on each side of a long wooden table, the khaki-clad Ukrainian delegation sat stony faced, occasionally grimacing and taking notes, opposite Radev’s team as the Bulgarian president explained that there was “no military solution” and that “more and more weapons will not solve it.”

Zelenskyy delivered his response with measured scorn. “God forbid some tragedy should befall you and you should be in my place,” he said. “And if people with shared values do not help, what will you do? You would say: Putin, please grab Bulgarian territory?”

“No, you, as a real president, I am sure you would not allow a compromise with your independence. It is your right not to support aid to Ukraine. But I would really like you to understand me correctly,” he noted with barbed irony, as a cowed Radev intermittently took refuge in the note paper in front of him.

Zelenskyy lambasted Radev for largely describing Moscow’s invasion as a “conflict” rather than a war, and for vague assertions that the war is spilling over and “expanding its spatial size.”

Roundly brushing aside Radev’s suggestion of a diplomatic fix, Zelenskyy stressed the Kremlin had launched a “war of annihilation against Ukrainians, not other countries” and said Sofia’s government — at odds with Radev — was right to supply arms.

“I also want to tell you, whatever your army has in terms of munitions, it will not be enough to fight with the Russian Federation. You don’t have a bad army, your people are good but it would not be enough to fight against 160 million people. That’s why it’s good to give [weapons] so [we] can defend [ourselves] and war does not come to you,” he said.

“Ukraine and NATO should have shared values. It can’t be otherwise,” Zelenskyy added. “You cannot support Russia and support a balancing position because Russia wants to destroy NATO, wants to destroy Europe and the European Union; these are their goals. Do you get me?”

Can we do Orban next?