Following the spectacular drone attacks against its suburbs Moscowin which the Russian government blamed Kyiv, the White House tried to distance itself by making it clear that it did not approve of Ukrainian attacks on the house Russia.

“We will continue to provide them with everything they need to defend and protect their territories, Ukrainian territory, but we do not support attacks on Russia,” a White House national security official said yesterday. Speaking on CNN’s morning program, John Kirby calculated that if the image of a NATO war against Russia was created, it would benefit Vladimir Putin. Asked if U.S. intelligence believes the latest terrorist attacks in Moscow were organized by Ukrainians, which Kiev denies, the U.S. official said: “We’re trying to gather information, but I can’t tell you anything definitive right now.”

This response provoked a reaction from Russia’s Charge d’Affaires in the United States, Anatoly Antonov. “What do these attempts to hide behind the phrase “gather information” say?” This is about encouraging Ukrainian terrorists,” the Russian diplomat said, echoing President Putin’s statement that drone attacks on civilians in areas of Moscow constituted “terrorism.” In a similar vein, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the “lack of condemnation” of the US and UK attacks encourages repetition.

Deputy Chairman of the Russian National Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, as usual, used a much harsher tone towards the United Kingdom. Commenting on British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley’s recent statement that Ukraine has the right to project power beyond its borders, Medvedev called the UK “Russia’s eternal enemy” and warned that “stupid officials” encouraging attacks on it could become “legitimate targets”. » Russian military.

During yesterday’s day, the Belgorod region bordering on Russia again became the object of shelling. The region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, spoke of “multiple hits” by artillery on eight apartment buildings, four residential buildings, a school, and a government building, injuring four people. At the same time, authorities in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine said the Ukrainian army had killed five civilians when it fired U.S. HIMARS missiles at a farm. Two refineries located 60 kilometers from the largest Russian oil terminals were also attacked by drones.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and GETHA head Valery Gerasimov once again received another “fire”, as the founder of the Wagnerian mercenary army asked the prosecutor’s office to investigate possible “crimes” of the top military leadership before and during the war in Ukraine. Finally, the German government called on Russia to close four of its five consulates in the country, in response to Moscow’s decision to drastically limit German diplomatic representation in Russia.

Recruitment to Wagner through advertising

On social media and specifically Twitter and to facebooktrying to recruit foot soldiers, medics, drone operators and psychiatrists Russian Wagner Group for his fighting around the world, including in Ukraine.

According to an investigation by Politico magazine, Wagner’s ad has already been “viewed” 120,000 times on two social networks in the past ten months. Sixty ads in several languages, including French, Vietnamese and Spanish, say that the mercenary group is looking for employees of various specialties, including combat soldiers, computer technicians, drivers and medical personnel. The ad mentions a monthly salary of 2,800 euros and the contract includes full health insurance.

While the Politico investigation team was unable to conclusively attribute the ad to Wagner, the social media posts use the same language as those from the mercenary group founded Evgeny Prigozhin. “We only know that they use exactly the same terminology as the Wagner sites and messages on the Telegram and VKontakte networks,” said Kyle Walter, the head of the investigation.

Whether the hype led to an increase in recruitment remains unknown. The advertising of military actions and calls for acts of violence, recorded in the Wagner ad, violate the rules of the Twitter and Facebook companies.

“The ads contain promotional videos as well as phone numbers of Wagner dealers. Spreading such messages on social media is very dangerous,” says Walter.

When asked about advertising, the Twitter platform responded to Politico with the well-known humorous excrement badge, thus demonstrating his disdain for investigative journalism. The company withdrew from the European Charter against disinformation last week. The DSA (EU Digital Services Act) is due to come into effect on 25 August. Violation of the law is punishable by a fine of up to 6% of the global income of the accused company.

“We have labeled the Wagner Group as a dangerous organization by excluding it from our platforms. Our company removes content that praises or financially supports Wagner as soon as we become aware of its publication, ”a spokesman for parent company Facebook Meta said.

Wagner is actively involved in armed conflicts in Mali and Central Africa. However, the group gained worldwide fame thanks to its activities in Ukraine after last year’s Russian invasion. Wagner’s men were in charge of operations in Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine. According to its head Yevgeny Prigozhin, the group has lost 20,000 troops in Ukraine so far and is now trying to recruit new fighters.

The French-language advertisement stated that Wagner soldiers were entitled to “regular holidays, medical care, good pay and the opportunity to work all over the world”, even guaranteeing a generous bonus after their contract ended. “Join us to defend the honor of Russia and the multipolar world!” concludes the French Facebook ad.

“Directly from Bahamut, Yevgeny Prigozhin is calling for volunteers aged 22 to 55 to work in the Wagner group,” he wrote in a message in Indonesian on Twitter.