THE RUSSIAN INVASION

 THE RUSSIAN INVASION|UKRAINE'S RESPONSE

Ukrainian defense shutdown suspected of embezzlement

A high-ranking manager at the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has been arrested on suspicion of having embezzled the equivalent of around 400 million kroner, AFP reports.

The man, who has not been named, is suspected of having set up a scheme in which he gave false prices for the artillery ammunition he bought. Documents found in his residence support the suspicions, according to prosecutors.

Volodymyr Zelenskyi's government has made it a high priority to fight corruption in the country in order to meet EU requirements.

This summer, he fired everyone in charge of the army's recruiting office after

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THE WAGNER CRASH

WSJ: The ex-spy drew up the assassination plan for Prigozhin

The Kremlin's assassination of Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was orchestrated by Russian Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev, an ex-spy who has been close to Vladimir Putin for decades. That's what the Wall Street Journal writes.

According to the newspaper, Patrushev had long warned Putin that Prigozhin was given too loose reins in Ukraine and that his influence was beginning to become a threat to the Kremlin.

In early August, Patrushev is said to have tasked his associates with designing an operation to get rid of Prigozhin. The plans were reportedly shown to Putin, who did not oppose them. On August 23, Prigozhin's plane crashed. That after a bomb was placed under one of the plane's wings, says a Western intelligence source.

The Kremlin denies the information in the article. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says, according to Reuters, that the Wall Street Journal engages in junk journalism.

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