Kristi Noem Ends Western Hemisphere Tour in Diminished Role After DHS Firing 
Denmark Election 2025: Social Democrats Suffer Historic Losses Amid Migration and Cost-of-Living Tensions 
G7 Foreign Ministers Gather in France Amid Global Tensions and U.S. Policy Uncertainty 
Israel Eyes Litani River as New Border Amid Escalating Lebanon Offensive 
U.S. Deploys Elite 82nd Airborne Troops to Middle East Amid Iran Tensions 
Iran-Israel Missile Strikes Continue Amid Mixed Signals on U.S.-Iran Diplomacy 
Trump Votes by Mail Despite Calling It "Cheating" as Democrat Wins Mar-a-Lago District 
Trump Backs Down on Iran Strikes After Gulf Allies Sound the Alarm 
Iran Demands Lebanon Be Part of Any Ceasefire Deal With Israel and the U.S. 
Trump's Overhaul of American History: Museums, Monuments, and Cultural Institutions 
Iran-U.S. Negotiations: Tehran Reviews American Peace Proposal Amid Ongoing Gulf Conflict 
Russia Strikes Kharkiv and Izmail as Cross-Border Drone War Escalates 
Maduro Faces Rare Narcoterrorism Charges in U.S. Court 
FEMA Reinstates $1 Billion Disaster Prevention Grant Program After Court Order 
Russia-Iran Military Alliance Deepens With Drone Shipments Amid Middle East Tensions 
US-Iran Ceasefire Talks Underway: What You Need to Know 
Bachelet Pushes Forward With UN Secretary-General Bid Despite Chile's Withdrawal 
The head of the Russian Wagner mercenary group and ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin extended amnesty to a batch of convicts who fought on the ground in Ukraine. This follows video footage released by Russian media showing the first set of convicts that were granted amnesty.
In video footage released by the Ria Novosti news outlet, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is seen telling what would be the first batch of convicts that served in the war for six months that they are being granted amnesty.
“You’ve worked through your contract. You worked honorably, with dignity,” Prigozhin was seen telling the convicts, saying that they should expect to be treated “with the highest respect” in Russian society after serving for six months in the war effort.
“Don’t drink a lot, don’t use drugs, don’t rape women, do not get up to no good,” said Prigozhin.
The video footage was released after Zambia criticized Russia when a Zambian student who was serving a prison sentence in Russia was killed on the front lines in Ukraine after being granted amnesty for their service. The mercenary group is originally made up of hardened members of the Russian military and fought in Mali, the Central African Republic, Libya, and Syria, as well as Ukraine.
Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Wagner mercenary group – funded by Prigozhhin, an oligarch also known as “Putin’s chef” – kept a low profile. However, mercenaries of the group have since taken on a more public persona since the war began in February last year.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is set to receive more armored combat vehicles from the West but stopped short of providing the heavier armored tanks Ukraine has requested. French President Emmanuel Macron told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that France would be sending light AMX-10 RC armored combat vehicles following a call between the two leaders.
Hours after the announcement from Paris, US President Joe Biden said the United States was also considering sending Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine. This would be in addition to the 2,000 vehicles the Pentagon has provided Ukraine, including 477 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles and over 1,200 Humvees.
