Latest on Ukraine: Wagner chief Prigozhin died as Russia's war turned 18 months

A portrait of the late owner of private military company Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin sits at an informal memorial next to the former the group's headquarters in St. Petersburg, Russia, Aug. 24. Dmitri Lovetsky/AP hide caption

toggle caption Dmitri Lovetsky/AP

A portrait of the late owner of private military company Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin sits at an informal memorial next to the former the group's headquarters in St. Petersburg, Russia, Aug. 24.

Dmitri Lovetsky/AP

Here's a look ahead and a roundup of key developments from the past week.

What to watch

With the death of Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, questions remain about to the Russian mercenaries who have played key roles in Russia's invasion of Ukraine and operations elsewhere, including and .

On Monday, Ukraine's military said its troops . Analysts will be watching for further signs of Ukrainian advances in the region.

On Tuesday, Ukraine marks Memorial Day for those killed defending the country.

This week, members of a United Nations commission are due to into reports of violations of human rights and international law.

Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin crashed in Russia last Wednesday, killing all 10 people on board, two months after Prigozhin led his mercenary company in an attempted mutiny in Russia. Russian investigators the victims' identities matched the flight manifest, which included Prigozhin and other senior Wagner officials. The investigators did not mention a possible cause of the plane crash. The speculation it had any involvement, as has the .

The Ukraine war became a sticking point of candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination last Wednesday. Ron DeSantis, polling in second place, called on Europe to "pull their weight," and Vivek Ramaswamy slammed U.S. support for Ukraine as "disastrous." But candidates Nikki Haley and Chris Christie argued the U.S. should continue to stand up against Russia. The front-runner for the party's nomination, former President Donald Trump, did not attend the debate.

Leaders of the BRICS countries gathered in South Africa — . In his video message delivered (apparently with a different, ) to the summit last Tuesday, he of Ukraine, even as China and other countries .

Russian military vehicles and equipment on public display. Also Thursday, the U.N. Security Council met to discuss Ukraine, in which Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo U.N. workers had documented the deaths of 9,444 civilians, including 545 children, but that the real figures are likely much higher.

A Moscow court extended Evan Gershkovich's pretrial detention by three months last Thursday. The American journalist the extension. The U.S. government says he was wrongfully detained by Russia.

Ukraine launched a missile toward Moscow and attacked Crimea with drones last Friday, according to Russia, which said Russian air defenses downed them all. Reuters said the operations could have amounted to some of the Ukrainian air attacks against Russian-held territory to date. Russia also continued to fire missiles at Ukraine. On the battlefield, Ukraine's military reported gaining some region.

In-depth

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Russia's war in Ukraine is changing the world:

Earlier developments

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