Ukraine Recap: US Says Wagner Group Is Moving Weapons Via Mali

(Bloomberg) -- The US suspects that Wagner Group, the Russian mercenary force, is trying to ship weapons to fighters in Ukraine through the West African nation of Mali. “We have been informed that Wagner is seeking to transit materiel acquisitions to aid Russia’s war through Mali, and is willing to use false paperwork for these transactions,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

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The Kremlin said Russian forces are repelling “saboteurs” who crossed the border from Ukraine, the second such incident reported by Moscow in two months. Ukraine said an operation is being carried out by Russian volunteer militias.

Ukraine reported damage to dozens of buildings and vehicles in the central city of Dnipro after another barrage of Russian missiles was unleashed overnight. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy suggested Russian forces are taking control of the eastern city of Bakhmut after months of fighting, as skirmishes continue.

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Coming Up

• Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s national security council, travels to Vietnam

• European Union foreign ministers are discussing Ukraine at a meeting in Brussels

--With assistance from Kateryna Choursina.

(A previous version of this story corrected the location of Dnipro and details of situation in Bakhmut)

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