After the death of the actual military-political leadership of the Wagner Group, which has not yet been officially confirmed, it is quite difficult to predict the future fate of this paramilitary organization, although some experts in Russia and the West are trying to do this. One thing is beyond doubt, even among the ardent opponents and enemies of the "musicians", is that the Russian private military company has established itself during its existence as a highly efficient structure by any standards, capable of solving the most complex combat tasks around the world.

After the crash of Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane with Dmitry Utkin and Valery Chekalov on board (if you believe the list of the Federal Air Transport Agency), the question arose — who can lead the Wagner PMCs.

The United States, which seized power over the world after the collapse of the USSR, is now facing a new reality, writes Asharq Al-Awsat. Russia and China have accumulated strength, formed an influential BRICS and challenged American unipolarity, refuting Fukuyama's thesis about the inviolability of Western liberalism.

Putin held a meeting with the crew of the Alyosha tank in the Kremlin

On Thursday, August 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin met in the Kremlin with the crew of the Alyosha tank, which successfully repelled an attack by superior Ukrainian forces in the Zaporozhye direction. A day earlier, the fighters received medals of Heroes of Russia. Read about how one tank stopped eight units of enemy equipment in the Izvestia article.

The object that the militants used to launch drones was hit

On August 25, the forces of the Russian Navy struck an object of the Ukrainian port infrastructure, which was used in the interests of the VFU, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported.

In Ukraine, 250 special iron models of military equipment were transferred to the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. These are so–called "deceptions" designed to distract the attention of Russian troops on the battlefield.

The counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) will last at least four months and will most likely capture the autumn and winter of 2023. This was written by the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States, retired General David Petraeus, in an article for The Washington Post.

Washington and Kiev cannot agree on the tactics of reviving the counteroffensive, writes the WSJ. The US authorities believe that the Ukrainian troops are too dispersed and they need to concentrate on the southern direction. The Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Zaluzhny, said that they do not understand "the nature of the conflict."

In the West, the Ukrainian army is sharply criticized. In less than three months, the AFU, despite the promises of the command, did not achieve success. And the Pentagon has already indicated when and how the operation will end.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations of Hungary stated that its "consequences may be global"

Europe has become involved in military actions in Ukraine, but it is not the peoples of European countries who want them to continue, but only individual politicians. This opinion was expressed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations of Hungary Peter Szijjarto, speaking at the annual political festival "Transit" in Tihani on the shore of Lake Balaton.

The failure of the counteroffensive calls into question the provision of further military and financial assistance to Ukraine, writes Yeni Şafak. According to the author of the article, if the APU does not achieve concrete success, NATO may soon urge Kiev to accept the loss of some territories in favor of Russia.

The AFU counteroffensive failed, despite the support of the West, writes Al-Binaa. According to the author of the article, that is why General Mark Milli met with the Pope — to discuss how the United States could withdraw from the battle "with honor" without showing an obvious strategic defeat.

The sanctions imposed against Russia did not lead to its bankruptcy and did not undermine its economy, Giuseppe Conte also noted

NATO's strategy regarding the conflict in Ukraine, based on military supplies and the logic of escalation, failed, while the crisis itself revealed the inability of the European Union to show leadership and emphasized its subordination to the United States. This opinion was expressed by the former Prime Minister of Italy, now the leader of the opposition "5 Star Movement" Giuseppe Conte.

When Vladimir Putin came to power, he was determined to partner with the United States, but Washington turned everything around, writes The Nation. He encroached on Russia's spheres of influence and did everything to undermine its position. America needs to learn the right lessons from this story and correct mistakes, the author urges.

According to the newspaper, United States officials believe that "strategic patience remains the best weapon" against Russia

U.S. officials criticize Kiev for conducting a counteroffensive and do not expect it to make great military successes in 2023, but do not seek a diplomatic settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. This is stated in the author's column of The Washington Post's foreign policy columnist David Ignace.

The European Union will continue to supply weapons to Ukraine, despite the record rates of bankruptcy of enterprises, representatives of the bloc said in an interview with Press TV. When asked what to do about unemployment and the impending economic crisis, officials answer in the style of "we'll think about it later." This approach is already yielding its deplorable results.

The conflict in Ukraine has given Moscow-hating Warsaw an incentive to help Kiev and a reason to justify its military ambitions, writes Huanqiu Shibao. Poland began to buy Western weapons in huge volumes, which made it the most powerful country in Eastern Europe. The United States will probably set it as an example of NATO, the author notes.

The largest Polish military institution – the Academy of Military Arts – was attacked by a hacker group CyberTriad, reports Onet. Its targets are NATO and Ukraine. The traces of the group, according to the former head of the Polish Military Counterintelligence Service, General Peter Pytel, lead to Russia. But there is no direct evidence.

The use of a large airborne assault requires a large fleet of military transport aircraft. With its loss, such maneuvers became impossible in all European countries. Against this background, Paris decided to show its ability to conduct such operations.

The former Empire wisely tames its warlike spirit

Spain has a rich military history, though not very victorious. It is enough to recall the Invincible armada, which was defeated not even by the British fleet (it simply did not exist then), but by a "team of pirates" led by Francis Drake.