A Belarusian soldier walks through a newly-built camp on a site previously used by the Belarusian army that could potentially accommodate up to 5,000 Wagner troops, on July 7, 2023. (Adam Berry/Getty Images)
The Wagner mercenary group is "likely moving towards a down-sizing and reconfiguration process, largely to save on staff salary expenses at a time of financial pressure, the U.K. Defense Ministry wrote on Aug. 13 in its daily intelligence update.
Since the abortive mutiny of June 2023, the Russian state has acted against some other business interests of Wagner owner Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to UK intelligence. There is "a realistic possibility" that the Kremlin no longer funds the group.
If the Russian state no longer pays Wagner, the second most plausible paymasters are the Belarusian authorities, but Wagner could be a significant and "potentially unwelcome" drain on Belarusian resources.
When asked when certain weapons, including missiles to Patriot air defense systems, were expected to arrive in Ukraine, Trump responded by saying "a full complement with the batteries... We're going to have some come very soon, within days."
"We're gonna be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days. Tariffs that are about 100%, we call them secondary tariffs," Donald Trump said in a joint press conference in the White House alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
"Constructive dialogue between Russia and the U.S. will always achieve more than the tired, destructive language of pressure," Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, wrote.
Elsa Court
