Wagner

The Washington Post reports, citing a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity, that US intelligence agencies discovered in mid-June that Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was planning some sort of armed attack, but that information was not discussed in meetings with Ukrainian officials, President Volodymyr Zelensky and others.

Russia's war in Ukraine has had a "corrosive" effect on Russian President Vladimir Putin, CIA Director William Burns said Saturday, with discontent over the conflict creating a "once-in-a generation opportunity" for the spy agency.

Day 492 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

The EU's top diplomat warned Thursday that a "weaker" Russian President Vladimir Putin would pose a "greater danger" after Wagner's aborted mutiny sparked the largest political crisis in decades in the nuclear-armed country.

"A weaker Putin is a greater danger. So we have to be very much aware of the consequences," Josep Borrell said ahead of a gathering of EU leaders in Brussels.

Day 490 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

Belarus welcomed the head of the Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin into exile on Tuesday following an aborted rebellion, as NATO warned it was ready to defend against "Moscow or Minsk".

The death toll from a Russian missile strike on a restaurant in eastern Ukraine rose to eight on Wednesday, as Kiev played down the effect of a brief mutiny by the head of the Wagner mercenary group on the conflict.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin is remaking the Metropolitan Opera from the bottom up.

Turkish soldiers stand guard in front of the Silivri Prison in Istanbul, where many journalists and political prisoners are held. Photo: EPA-EFE/TOLGA BOZOGLU

Day 489 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours: