President Vladimir Putin recruited a former aide of late Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin to oversee mercenary fighter units in Ukraine. The Russian president met Andrei Troshev, who is known by his nom de guerre "Sedoi" or "grey hair", along with deputy defence minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov on Thursday night, the Kremlin said in a statement. Mr Putin reportedly said that they had spoken about how "volunteer units that can perform various combat tasks, above all, of course, in the zone of the special military operation". "You yourself have been fighting in such a unit for more than a year," the president said. "You know what it is, how it is done, you know about the issues that need to be resolved in advance so that the combat work goes in the best and most successful way." The meeting appeared to be the Kremlin's attempt to show that Mr Putin had regained control over the mercenary group since Prigozhin's death in a plane crash in August following a failed mutiny against Moscow. Prigozhin had claimed that the mutiny, which was aborted before reaching Moscow, was not aimed at toppling Mr Putin but at settling scores with defence minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov. The president in recent months ordered the Wagner mercenaries to sign an oath of allegiance to the Russian state – a step Prigozhin had opposed. Mr Troshev “betrayed” Prigozhin's short-lived mutiny against Moscow after earning Mr Putin’s favour by transferring inside information to the Russian defence ministry, investigative outlet Gulagu.net claimed in July. It is believed that Wagner will now be overseen by Mr Troshev and M Yrevkurov, who have travelled to several countries in recent months where the mercenaries worked. Mr Troshev was born in Leningrad – the Soviet-era name for Mr Putin's home town St Petersburg – and has earlier been pictured with the president. He fought in Afghanistan during the Soviet Union's decade-long war. After the fall of the Soviet Union, he served in the North Caucasus with the Russian army and then in SOBR, a quick reaction special forces unit of the Russian interior ministry. He was a commander in the unit. For his service in Afghanistan, Mr Troshev was awarded the military decoration Order of the Red Star twice. He was awarded Russia's highest medal – Hero of Russia – in 2016 for the storming of Palmyra in Syria against Islamic State militants. Several hundred fighters of the Wagner group have returned to the battlefield in Ukraine to fight for Russia, Kyiv claimed. “We have recorded the presence of a maximum of several hundred fighters of the former Wagner PMC (private military company),” spokesperson for the eastern military command Serhiy Cherevatyi said. These Wagner fighters were scattered in different places and were not part of a single unit, and had no significant impact, he said. “They do not constitute any integral, systematic, organised force,” the spokesperson said. “As they say – game over. These are pathetic remnants, nothing good awaits them here.” Read More Ukraine war - live: Kyiv ‘strikes power substation in Russia’ as Putin meets ‘Grey Hair’ commander Ukraine says hundreds of Wagner fighters back on battlefield months after failed coup A month after Prigozhin’s suspicious death, the Kremlin is silent on his plane crash and legacy The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

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Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT. For up-to-the minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan. ————————— TOP STORIES ————————— TRUMP-COLUMNIST-LAWSUIT — A jury found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, awarding her $5 million in a judgment that could haunt the former president as he campaigns to regain the White House. The verdict was split: Jurors rejected Carroll’s claim that she was raped, finding Trump responsible for a lesser degree of sexual abuse. By Larry Neumeister, Jennifer Peltz and Michael R. Sisak. SENT: 1,250 words, photos, videos. PAKISTAN-IMRAN KHAN — Pakistan braced for more turmoil a day after former Prime Minister Imran Khan was dragged from court in Islamabad and his supporters clashed with police across the country. The 71-year-old opposition leader is expected in court later Wednesday for a hearing on keeping Khan in custody for up to 14 days. By Munir Ahmed and Riazat Butt. SENT: 540 words, photos. DEBT LIMIT — Fresh off a White House meeting with no serious breakthrough on the debt limit standoff, President Joe Biden is launching a new phase of his pressure campaign against House Republicans as he makes his case that lawmakers should lift the nation’s borrowing authority without any strings attached. By Seung Min Kim. UPCOMING: 560 words, photos, video by 5:30 a.m.; speech at 1:30 p.m. GEORGE SANTOS-CRIMINAL CHARGES — U.S. Rep. George Santos, who faced outrage and mockery over a litany of fabrications about his heritage, education and professional pedigree, has been charged with federal criminal offenses, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. SENT: 810 words, photo. TUNISIA-SYNAGOGUE ATTACK — A Tunisian naval guard shot and killed a colleague and two civilians as he tried to reach a synagogue on the Mediterranean island of Djerba during an annual Jewish pilgrimage, the Tunisian Interior Ministry said. The attacker was slain by security guards, and 10 people were injured. By Bouazza Ben Bouazza. SENT: 400 words, photos. UPCOMING: Video. MALL SHOOTING-TEXAS-THINGS-TO-KNOW — It took four minutes for a neo-Nazi with an arsenal of firearms to kill eight people and wound seven others at a Dallas-area shopping center before a police officer ended the rampage, likely saving untold lives. By Jake Bleiberg and Gene Johnson. SENT: 900 words, photos. ————————— MORE NEWS ————————— WESTMINSTER DOG SHOW — A “PBGV” wins Westminster dog show, a first for the breed. SENT: 550 words, photos. MEDIA-CARLSON-TWITTER — Tucker Carlson says he’s coming back with show on Twitter. SENT: 200 words, photo. PEOPLE-ROBERT DE NIRO — Robert De Niro, at 79, becomes a father for the seventh time. SENT: 180 words, photo. WIFE-MURDER-CHILDREN’S BOOK — Grief book author’s murder charge tangled in estate dispute. SENT: 720 words, photo. HIDE AND SEEK-SHOOTING — Sheriff: Louisiana man shot child playing hide and seek. SENT: 220 words, photos. SEXUAL MISCONDUCT-MARILYN MANSON — Marilyn Manson lawsuit against ex Evan Rachel Wood gutted. SENT: 620 words, photos. RUSSIAN-UKRAINE-WAR-JOURNALIST KILLED — Journalist working for AFP news agency killed in Ukraine. SENT: 320 words, photos. ESCAPED INMATES-PENNSYLVANIA — Perimeter guards absent as two men escaped Philadelphia prison. SENT: 880 words, photos. GEORGIA-WHITE HOUSE INVITE — Georgia’s championship football team declines White House invitation. SENT: 220 words, photo. OBIT-CRUM — Denny Crum, who coached Louisville to two NCAA titles, dies. SENT: 1,160 words, photos. ———————— WASHINGTON/POLITICS ———————— ELECTION 2024-TRUMP — Trump will return to CNN’s airwaves, joining the network for a town hall in New Hampshire a day after a civil jury found him liable for sexually assaulting an advice columnist nearly three decades ago. SENT: 820 words, photo. UPCOMING: 990 words after 8 p.m. event. CONGRESS-OVERSIGHT-EXPLAINER — Facing growing pressure to show progress in their investigations, House Republicans this week plan to detail what they say are concerning new findings about Biden’s relatives and their finances. SENT: 1,100 words, photo. ————————— NATIONAL ————————— DEADLY-BUS-STOP-CRASH — Two days after eight people were killed when an SUV slammed into a crowd waiting at a Brownsville, Texas, bus stop, information on the victims remains scarce, leaving relatives of missing people scrambling to locate loved ones and pleading for information. SENT: 800 words, photos. TEXAS PROTEST-SHOOTING — Prosecutors are seeking at least 25 years in prison for a U.S. Army sergeant who fatally shot an armed man during a Black Lives Matter protest in Texas, saying his history of racist and provocative texts and social media posts expose a threat of violence likely to resurface. SENT: 570 words, photos. LGBTQ SANCTUARY-KANSAS CITY — A Kansas City Council committee will consider a resolution that would designate the city as a sanctuary for people seeking or providing gender-affirming care, even as the state’s attorney general is proposing a new restrictions on the procedures for adults and children. SENT: 580 words, photo. ————————— INTERNATIONAL ————————— SOUTHEAST ASIA-SUMMIT — Southeast Asian leaders condemned an armed attack on an aid convoy that the regional group had arranged for displaced people in Myanmar, calling for an immediate stop to violence and for the military government to comply with a peace plan. SENT: 780 words, photos, video. TURKEY-ELECTIONS-PREVIEW — In the year in which the Turkish republic marks its centenary, the country is being closely watched to see if a united opposition can succeed in unseating an increasingly authoritarian leader in the NATO-member country. SENT: 1,070 words, photos. IRAN-UNCOVERING DISSENT — More women are choosing not to wear the mandatory headscarf, or hijab, in Iran. SENT: 1,130 words, photos. SUDAN-TRAPPED ANIMALS — Dozens of zoo animals in Sudan’s capital — including an elderly crocodile, parrots and giant lizards — are feared dead after street battles between the country’s rival forces made the location unreachable. SENT: 730 words, photos. With SOUTH SUDAN-RETURNING TO CRISIS — South Sudanese flee Sudan’s conflict yet return to crisis. INDIA-ELECTION — People in the southern Indian state of Karnataka were voting in an election where pre-poll surveys showed the opposition Congress party favored over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing Hindu nationalist party. SENT: 550 words, photos. ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — The Israeli military said it killed two Palestinian gunmen who fired on troops in the occupied West Bank, the latest in near-daily violence roiling the region. SENT: 330 words, photo. ————————— BUSINESS/ECONOMY ————————— CONSUMER PRICES — After steadily declining for nearly a year, consumer price data to be released will likely show that U.S. inflation remained stubbornly high in April, a sign that it might be entering a newer, stickier phase. By Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber. SENT: 760 words, photos. UPCOMING: Report at 8:30 a.m. HACKING AI — ChatGPT's maker, OpenAI, and other major artificial intelligence providers such as Google and Microsoft, are coordinating with the Biden administration to let thousands of hackers take a shot at testing the limits of their technology. By Technology Writer Matt O'Brien. UPCOMING: 950 words, photos by 5 a.m. FINANCIAL MARKETS — Asian shares declined in muted trading as investors awaited an upcoming report on inflation in the United States, an important indicator for where interest rates and global growth might go in the coming months. By Business Writer Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 600 words, photos. ————————— ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT ————————— BRITAIN-TABLOID-LAWSUITS-PRINCE HARRY — Prince Harry’s legal battle against the British press faces its biggest test yet and threatens to do something he said his family long feared: put a royal on the witness stand to discuss embarrassing revelations. SENT: 850 words, photo. ITALY-COLONIAL RECKONING — Italy is coming to terms that it has stolen antiquities in its museum collections: the relics of a brutal colonial empire that the country hasn’t fully reckoned with. SENT: 1,350 words, photos. ————————— HOW TO REACH US ————————— At the Nerve Center, Jerome Minerva can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, Hiro Komae (ext. 1900). For graphics and interactives, ext. 7636. Expanded AP content can be obtained from AP Newsroom. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 844-777-2006. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide South Sudanese flee Sudan's conflict yet return to crisis The trials of Prince Harry: 1st phone hacking case to begin Pakistan braces for turmoil as ex-PM Khan due in court

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