Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

Russia is likely seeking to sponsor and develop alternative private military companies (PMCs) to eventually replace the Wagner Group of mercenaries who currently have a significant combat role in Ukraine, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said.

In an intelligence update on Twitter, the ministry said this is taking place “in the context of the high-profile feud between the Russian Ministry of Defence and Wagner Group.”

“Russia’s military leadership likely wants a replacement PMC that it has more control over. However, no other known Russian PMC currently approaches Wagner’s size or combat power,” the ministry noted.

It added that Russia likely sees a “continued utility for PMCs in Ukraine because they are less constrained by the limited pay levels and inefficiency” which hamper the effectiveness of the regular army.

Russia’s leadership is also likely to believe that heavy casualties among PMCs will be better tolerated by Russian society than regular military losses, it said.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia’s high-profile camp of pro-war, nationalist commentators looks suddenly vulnerable after the death of one of the country’s most influential military bloggers, analysts say.

The death of Vladlen Tatarsky following an explosion at a cafe in St Petersburg on Sunday has dominated headlines in Russia and beyond. The blast killed Tatarsky and injured at least 30 others, the authorities said, before detaining a woman on suspicion of involvement in what they described as a “high-profile murder.”

The death also sent shockwaves through Russia’s pro-war commentariat which has burgeoned since Russia invaded Ukraine over a year ago. The online community is now asking why Tatarsky was targeted, and by whom.

Read more on the story here

— Holly Ellyatt

The husband of a woman Russian authorities have accused of assassinating pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky said Monday he believes his wife has been framed.

Russian investigators detained Daria Trepova on Monday, accusing her of carrying a hollow bust containing a bomb into a cafe in St. Petersburg where she presented it to Tatarsky before it exploded, killing the prominent pro-Kremlin figure and injuring at least 30 others.

Trepova’s husband Dmitry Rylov said Monday he believes his wife was being framed and “did not completely understand the purpose” of the bust that she had presented to Tatarsky.

“I think my wife was framed,” he told STV News according to an NBC translation. “I’m pretty sure she would never have been able to do something like that by her own will. Yes, Daria and I really do not support the war in Ukraine, but we believe that such actions are unacceptable. I am absolutely sure that she would never have agreed to such a thing if she had known.”

Russia released a video of Trepova on Monday, possibly recorded under duress, in which she admitted taking the statuette into the cafe, but refused to say who gave it to her to do so.

“[Daria] believed that [the bust] was needed for something else,” Rylov said amid suggestions she may have thought it was intended as a listening device. some secretive things that would remain unnoticed, perhaps always,” he added.

Tatarsky’s death has caused a stir among pro-war commentators in Russia, although analysts at the Institute for the Study of War noted there hadn’t been a uniform response both to the death and the authorities’ response.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded Tatarsky with the Order of Courage “for courage and bravery in doing his professional duty” as a “war correspondent.”

— Holly Ellyatt

Finland will formally become a member of the NATO defense alliance on Tuesday, the Finnish president’s office said in a Monday statement.

President Sauli Niinisto will travel to the NATO headquarters in Brussels on the occasion.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed the timeline of Finland’s official accession, in comments reported by Reuters. Turkey, the last holdout on Helsinki’s adhesion to the military coalition, gave its approval on Finland’s membership bid on March 30.

Sweden, which applied for NATO membership at the same time as Finland, still pends approvals.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on his official Telegram channel that he met with House Republican lawmakers in Kyiv.

“Bicameral and bipartisan support from the United States, president Biden, and the entire American people has played a critical role in our country’s ability to stand up to Russia in the war for our freedom and democratic values,” Zelenskyy wrote, according to an NBC News translation.

The delegation was led by the Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, who is also the Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

“I hope that the high level of support and interaction between our states will be maintained. This is the key to joint victory over the Russian aggressor,” Zelenskyy added.

— Amanda Macias

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the Biden administration is “working as diligently as we can” to secure the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

Gershkovich was arrested last week by Russian authorities on espionage allegations.

“We have been pushing hard since the moment we found out,” Kirby said, adding that the Russian charges are “ridiculous.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday said the U.S. State Department is seeking immediate consular access to Gershkovich.

— Amanda Macias

Russia’s Interior Ministry released a video Monday in which a suspect in the death of pro-war Russian blogger Vladlen Tatarsky is seen admitting that she brought a figurine to the cafe in St. Petersburg that later exploded, killing Tatarsky.

The video, which could have been recorded under duress, shows Daria Trepova responding to questions during her detention.

“I carried a figurine in there, which exploded,” she said, according to comments reported by Russian state news agency Tass. 

When asked why she was held, Trepova said: “Detained, I would say, for being at the scene of the murder of Vladlen Tatarsky.”

When asked about who gave her the statuette, she refused to answer, Tass noted, saying: “May I tell you about it later?”

Earlier on Monday, Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee said the killing was a “terrorist act” that had been planned by Ukraine’s intelligence services, and that it involved “agents” linked to jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation, without providing evidence.

— Holly Ellyatt