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SEOUL, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 9, 2023--

Paolo Banchero scored 24 points, Franz Wagner added 19, and the visiting Orlando Magic routed the Indiana Pacers 128-116

With his supporters gathered outside the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia expecting the major announcement that he would be dropping out of the Demo

Since Vladimir Putin rose to power as Russia’s president 23 years ago, few things have rocked his leadership as much as Saturday 24 June when Wagner mercenaries barrelled towards Moscow. The “army within an army” who had been ruthlessly grinding away for months at the vanguard of some of the bloodiest fighting in eastern flanks Ukraine were now on the verge of triggering a war within a war - this time, against the Kremlin. But the Russian president was spared that when the mutiny was halted in its tracks about 125 miles from the capital, in a deal between the leader of the mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin and Putin – brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Prigozhin himself was due to head to Belarus – although he has been pictured in Russia since – with an invitation for Wagner fighters to gather in Belarus. Thousands are set to entered the country since. Nato-member Poland is sending thousands of troops to its border with Belarus, with Warsaw worried increasingly about the potential threat from Wagner fighters, who have been training Belarusian troops at a military range a few miles from the border in recent weeks. Belarus also started military exercises near the border this week, and Lukashenko has said several times that he is restraining Wagner fighters who want to attack Poland. What is the Wagner Group? The Wagner Group is a private military company under the control of Prigozhin that cut its teeth in deployments to Crimea – illegally annexed by Russia – and Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region in 2014. The rebel group has since dispatched troops to several conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, including the Syrian civil war. Prigozhin – a 62-year-old ex-convict sometimes known as “Putin’s chef” because his catering business has hosted dinners for the Russian president – had denied all links with the group until September last year when he announced he was “proud” to be its founder. When did they join the Ukraine war? The UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) first reported that Wagner had been deployed in Ukraine on 28 March 2022, little over a month into Moscow’s invasion – after Russian losses had already begun to hamper the pace of the initial assault. Military consultant Nicholas Drummond told The Independent: “Wagner was involved from the start but the group started to become a key player when the initial assault ran into difficulty. “By the end of March, it was very evident that the invasion had gone wrong. Putin used Prigozhin as a troubleshooter and Wagner was there to fill the gaps.” Former Nato commander Hamish de Bretton-Gordon emphasised Wagner’s crucial role in strengthening Russia’s offensive in the war. Speaking to The Independent, the former commander of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment of the British army, said: “In the early stages of war when Wagner wasn’t heavily committed, the Russian army pretty much nearly collapsed.” “Wagner fights with no boundaries. Criminals fill the ranks of the army. When all of this is over, I’m sure there are going to be horrific things conducted in Wagner’s name.” Below we track Wagner’s involvement in the invasion of Ukraine and their infamous- but failed- march to Moscow: Crimea: In February 2014, were used to help Russia illegally annex Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula. Crimea sits at the top of the Black Sea. The annexation condemned by countries in the West, including the UK. The mercenary group was also involved in Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine throughout 2015, where they allegedly carried out assassinations of local rebel leaders. Kyiv: In March 2022, weeks after Putin launched his invasion, reports suggested a special group had been sent into Kyiv to take out Zelensky. This resulted in a strict 36-hour curfew in Kyiv as Ukrainian soldiers reinforced the capital to protect Zelensky and his government. Since then, reports of Wagner’s activities have mainly focused on the eastern regions of Ukraine, though Kyiv remains a target of ceaseless strikes and artillery from the Russian army. Bucha: In the first week of April 2022, sickening images of a massacre in Bucha began to emerge following weeks of Russian occupation. Just days after Russian troops withdrew from the city, hundreds of bodies were discovered in the city approximately 16 miles northwest of Kyiv, some in mass graves. While Kremlin has always denied causing civilian deaths – although their credibility over such matters is thin at best. Interceptions by the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany’s foreign intelligence service, found evidence to suggest Wagner may be linked to the massacre, Der Spiegel reported. Bakhmut: In May 2022, Wagner began an offensive towards the town of Soledar and the city of Bakhmut in the eastern Ukranian province of Donetsk. It is an area that Putin seeks to control. The battle for Bakhmut has seen some of the most fierce fighting in the war. Located around 34 miles north of Donetsk, the region was an important industrial centre before being ravaged by war. In July, Prigozhin was given the green light to beef up his troops and began recruiting prisoners on a large scale, unconcerned about the type of crime they had committed. By the end of October 2022, the group gained at least 20,000 conscripts, which then more than doubled to 50,000 by the end of January 2023. Between November 2022 to January 2023, Wagner captured the salt-mining town of Soledar and strengthened its position in the south and north of Bakhmut. Fast-forward to May 2023, after months of merciless fighting, Prigozhin claimed to have captured Bakhmut and began withdrawing his troops from the city. The march to Moscow: Towards the end of June 2023, Prigozhin claimed Wagner fighters were deliberately shelled by Kremlin’s soldiers while leaving Bakhmut. This seemed to be the last straw for Prigozhin who had been complaining publicly for weeks about the slaughter of Wagner soldiers due to a lack of ammunition from Moscow. A power struggle was very publicly playing out between the Russian defence ministry and Prigozhin. On Friday 23 June, Prigozhin accused Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, of “destroying” his fighters and concocting lies to justify the invasion of Ukraine. Months of videos rants had been directed by Prigozhin towards Shoigu, with the Wagner leader getting increasingly riled about the actions of the Defence Ministry and the Russian military top brass as the invasion dragged on. A call to action was made by the mercenary group leader, inciting an armed rebellion heading to Kremlin in Moscow. Leaving their stations in the east, Wagner soldiers began their march to the capital and within hours had successfully occupied military headquarters in Rostov and Voronezh on the morning of Saturday 24 June. The group shot down Russian helicopters and and took out Russian artillery as they made their way up the main road to Moscow. The rebel group was seen as far north as Yelets in the evening, just 125 miles from Moscow, before the coup was suddenly called off at the 11th hour by Prigozhin, following the deal with the Kremlin. Belarus and beyond? Following the attempted rebellion in June, thousands of Wagner mercenaries arrived in Belarus. A deal was struck under which the mercenaries would move to Belarus in return for charges against them relating to the uprising being dropped. Putin said the fighters could either leave for Belarus, come under the command of the defence ministry or go back to their families. Before moving to Belarus, Wagner handed over its weapons to the Russian military, part of efforts by Russian authorities to defuse the threat posed by the mercenaries. Between 3,450 and 3,650 soldiers have travelled to a camp close to Asipovichy, a town about 140 miles (230km) north of the Ukrainian border, according to Belaruski Hajun, an activist group that tracks troop movements within the country. Satellite images show that about 700 vehicles, along with construction equipment, have also arrived in Wagner convoys to Belarus, Belaruski Hajun said. They have also helped train Belarusian troops at a military range near the city of Brest. Prigozhin also registered a “real estate management company” in Belarus last week under the name Concord Management and Consulting in Belarus. Documents analysed by independent Belarusian media outlets showed that the company’s registered address is in the same village as the Wagner mercenary camp. Asked about what Prigozhin’s next move could be, Mr de Bretton-Gordon said: “People like Prigozhin are wardogs, they are out to make money out of conflict. “He is now lining his pockets with as much as gold as he can. I think he will stay in Belarus as long as the money stays floating.” Mr Drummond questioned Prigozhin’s motives in Belarus, noting there are several factors at play. “Is he acting as a reserve force in case Putin wants to open a fresh front against Kyiv, or has he genuinely been banished and is considered too powerful to do anything?” But like Mr de Bretton-Gordon, Mr Drummond does not think the Russian president has alienated Prigozhin, but more likely placed him in a “state of suspended animation”. “Prigozhin has suddenly realised he could go straight into Moscow, and then he stopped and turned around. I think he freaked Putin out.” Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine? ‘Extremely dangerous’ Wagner fighters seeking to destabilise Nato, Poland warns Putin ‘looked paralyzed and unable to act’ as Wagner coup unfolded

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has issued a promise to supporters that the summer months will be spent trying to bring “on-pitch success” to the club. Spurs have endured a difficult campaign with boss Antonio Conte departing in March, before Fabio Paratici resigned from his managing director of football position last month following a worldwide ban for allegations of false accounting during his time at Juventus. The club’s trophy drought has also extended into a 15th consecutive season and any hope of another top-four finish has long gone with unrest amongst the fanbase growing amid a perceived lack of direction or transparency from the board. Ryan Mason is the third head coach this season, after Cristian Stellini was sacked following a disastrous four-game spell, and with the managerial search set to extend into a third month next week, Spurs fans’ have repeatedly chanted for Levy to leave the club in recent fixtures. But in his programme notes for the final home match of the season against Brentford, Levy said: “This has been an immensely difficult season. “We made footballing decisions over recent seasons based on ambition and a desire to bring success to our club and they have not delivered what we had hoped. “Your frustration has been understandable and all of us at the club have shared it. “We have undertaken a thorough and rigorous review of our footballing operations. Scott Munn joins us in the summer as our new chief football officer and we look forward to sharing further news with you post-season. “We shall spend the period ahead of next season working relentlessly to position our club for on-pitch success and football you will love to come and watch. “Every element of the club’s operations is geared toward delivering that.” Levy did make similar promises in 2021 with talk of Spurs returning to their “DNA” amid the hunt for Jose Mourinho’s successor. A lengthy managerial search ended with Nuno Espirito Santo being appointed in June, but he was sacked four months later. Feyenoord boss Arne Slot has been installed as the new bookies’ favourite to replace Conte in the current head coach hunt. Earlier this month Julian Nagelsmann was ruled to no longer be a contender while recent weeks have seen Xabi Alonso and Vincent Kompany commit to staying at Bayer Leverkusen and Burnley respectively. Chairman Levy did pay tribute to Mason for stepping up for a second time in interim charge and women’s caretaker Vicky Jepson, who replaced Rehanne Skinner in March. He added: “I should like to thank everyone at the club – all our staff, across all our locations, and our players – for their dedication and hard work during what has been a busy and often challenging season.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Sir Mo Farah preparing to push himself to the limit in Great Manchester Run 10K Eddie Howe says Elliot Anderson is ready to fly with Magpies Sam Allardyce says West Ham game is ‘do or die’ in Leeds’ survival fight

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