Good morning, readers!

Okay, hear us out.

We swear we didn’t intend to fill today’s newsletter with stories of Russia, Ukraine, and the EU. It was only after researching, we’ve realized…

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Today’s geopolitics hotspots

Wagner’s new 25-year-old boss?

With the demise of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the notorious puppeteer of the Wagner Group, a cloud of uncertainty loomed over the future of the rudderless organization. His death created a void in his sprawling empire of assets and influence.

Now, the rumor mill is churning:

• Yevgeny’s supposed will, circulating on social media, hints at his 25-year-old son, Pavel Prigozhin, as the heir apparent.

But it seems the young Prigozhin might have to play a game of thrones before he can claim his father’s legacy.

🧔🏻 Who is Pavel?

• Pavel isn’t exactly a stranger to the battlefield. He’s been in the action with Wagner in Syria and even was rewarded the group’s “black cross” as a badge of honor.

• He’s also had a taste of leadership, thanks to his father who appointed him CEO of Concord Management and Consulting. This company, founded by his father, had its fingers in many pies—from catering and construction to media and internet “research” (*cough* a troll farm).

• In 2022, the US Treasury Department added his name to their sanctions list for his involvement in Prigozhin’s business empire.

🌍 Global ambitions

Pavel Prigozhin isn’t just planning to fill his father’s shoes; he’s got his sights set on a bigger, more influential empire.

• He’s reportedly in talks with Viktor Zolotov, the chief of Rosgvardia, Russia’s National Guard, about bringing the Wagner Group back into Ukraine.

• He’s also keen on preserving Wagner’s identity and autonomy, steering clear of defense ministry contracts.

📜 The will.

The alleged will of Yevgeny Prigozhin reveals that Yevgeny left a vast inheritance to his son, Pavel. This includes a fortune estimated at $130 million, real estate holdings, a catering business, and even his private army, Wagner.

Pavel also future payments regarding the debt of $827 million owed to Concord, his father’s catering company, by none other than the Russian defense ministry.

👨‍👩‍👧 Family struggles.

But the will isn’t just about assets and liabilities. It also entrusts Pavel with the care of his grandmother, stepmother, two sisters, and a grandson.

However, there are murmurs of discontent within the family, with some members considering challenging the will in court on grounds of forgery or invalidity.

🗡️ Wagner struggles.

Pavel Prigozhin may have also stepped into his father’s crosshairs. He’s likely to face pushback from some Wagner commanders and fighters, who pledge their loyalty to other power players in the Russian government or military.

• Take Andrei Troshev, for instance. A former senior commander at Wagner, he’s now in the Ministry of Defense and has Putin’s seal of approval. He’s got his eye on Wagner, aiming to bring it under his control and fold it into the regular army.

• Then there’s Sergey Surovikin, a general who fell from grace after being dismissed from his post as commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces. His close ties with Yevgeny Prigozhin and alleged involvement in the Wagner-led armed mutiny in June 2023 led to his downfall.

🌟 Today’s gem

There is no need for a meme today because of our first story of the Quick updates section! 😉

Quick updates

Click the country's name for more.👇🏻

🇺🇦 Ukraine:

Musk mocks Ukraine’s president with a meme, Kyiv fires back.

Elon Musk sparked a meme war on X by posting a meme that ridicules the Ukrainian president for begging for aid. The post provoked angry reactions from many online, who reminded Musk that Ukraine is fighting a war against Russian aggression and that he himself benefits from huge subsidies from his country.

Ukraine’s parliament was quick to respond with a counter-meme that accused Musk of spreading Russian propaganda:

There’s also this image circulating: 😂

✱ NOTE: Musk’s meme is based on an old internet meme that originally said “Trying to hold a fart next to a cute girl in class.”

🇺🇦 Ukraine:

First-ever meeting outside EU borders.

In a rare move, almost all of the bloc’s foreign ministers flew to Kyiv for a surprise summit. They pledged more aid, sanctions, and support for Ukraine’s bid to join the EU.

EU’s Foreign Policy Chief Borrell also proposed a €5 billion aid to Ukraine for next year, but it still needs to be approved.

But not everyone is on board: Slovakia elected a pro-Russian leader, Poland is having a trade dispute, and the US Congress stalled on funding.

✱ NOTE: The meeting in Kyiv was the first time the EU foreign ministers met outside the bloc’s borders. 23 foreign ministers and 4 other government officials joined the meeting.

🇷🇺 Russia:

Moscow’s secrets exposed by a blunder.

Stay away from stairs and windows! It seems like someone in the Russian government made a huge mistake.

They accidentally published a list of hundreds of secret military and spy facilities in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The list supposedly named which buildings should never lose power, but it also revealed their locations and functions. Among them were Putin’s secret service, an ammo depot, and homes of GRU (Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation) officers.

The list was alledgedly on the Moscow City Hall website, but it is unavailable as of now.

✱ NOTE: The list was found by an opposition group led by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon who was jailed by Putin. The group is known as the Dossier Center.

🇷🇺 Russia:

Russia can’t find anyone to work in Ukraine.

It’s not easy being an occupier. Russia is struggling to fill its administrative posts in the four regions of Ukraine it annexed last year.

The reason? Fear of Ukrainian attacks.

Despite offering double pay, Russian officials are turning down jobs in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.

Can you blame them?

✱ NOTE: Russia is now also drafting locals from the occupied regions to boost its military presence.