Every week the Stereogum staff chooses the five best new songs of the week. The eligibility period begins and ends Thursdays right before midnight. You can hear this week’s picks below and on Stereogum’s Favorite New Music Spotify playlist, which is updated weekly. (An expanded playlist of our new music picks is available to members on Spotify and Apple Music, updated throughout the week.)

05

Florry - "Drunk And High"

Keep the rootsy indie rock coming. Florry’s been leaning that way lately, and on the opening track from new album The Holey Bible — coming soon on the same label that gave us M.J. Lenderman’s Boat Songs — their flirtations with alt-country come home to roost. “Drunk And High” laces its power-pop jangle with pedal steel, fiddle, and Southern-fried lead guitar to glorious effect. Francie Medosch and friends hoot, holler, and harmonize atop the ruckus, until you end up wondering if Philadelphia somehow slipped below the Mason-Dixon line while we weren’t looking. —Chris

04

Slowdive - "Kisses"

How lovely it is to have Slowdive back (again). From the jump, “Kisses” is everything a Slowdive superfan could want: hypnotic and hazy melody, a tight, driving rhythm, swirling synths, and lush, whispery vocals from Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell that entwine with each other just so. The sheer dark romance of “Kisses” really makes you want to drive around Los Angeles at night (IYKYK). It’s not like we needed a refresher on why Slowdive influenced so many dream-pop and shoegaze acts of the last 30 years, but it’s great to hear from the OGs nonetheless. —Rachel

03

The Smile - "Bending Hectic"

“Bending Hectic” sure packs a wallop, and I can only imagine what it must be like to witness live (certain fans among us have, as the Smile debuted it on tour last year). An eight-minute odyssey of sound, “Bending Hectic” starts softly with elegant, harp-like guitar picks; every few beats, Jonny Greenwood curves the strings in an experimental manner that makes me think of early-career Animal Collective. Meanwhile, Thom Yorke’s murmur gives way to cinematic strings by the London Contemporary Orchestra, which curdle and turn dissonant — like that godawful THX chord at the movies, except more bone-chilling. The song’s conclusion is screeching, chaotic, thudding, and totally at odds with the song’s beginning. You can practically visualize its curvature, mirroring the title. —Rachel

02

Aphex Twin - "Blackbox Life Recorder 21f"

We shan’t be taking new Aphex Twin for granted! Richard D. James can go a long time without releasing music — even his trickle of ambiguous SoundCloud tracks has dried up. But earlier this month, he started making the festival rounds again for the first time in four years, and here comes Aphex Twin’s first official material in five: “Blackbox Life Recorder 21f” is a prelude to an EP, due out next month. And it slaps, at least in the transportive way one might expect. It’s groovy, not so frenetic as some of his more recent material, but still hypnotically unstable. There are no showy breakdowns, just a whole lot of impeccably layered sounds. —James

01

Doja Cat - "Attention"

Last year, Doja Cat got tonsil surgery, which forced her to pull out of the Weeknd’s stadium tour. She talked openly about career burnout. She shaved her head and her eyebrows. She mentioned the term “hardcore punk” as a possible future direction. Doja didn’t seem terribly interested in the pop stardom that she’d chased for so long, and nobody knew what form she’d take when she came back. But “Attention” isn’t the confrontational fuck-you that some of us were expecting. Instead, it’s a warm, honest, irresistible track about the pressures and headaches of fame — one that manages to pull us in rather than pushing us away.

It’s pretty. That’s the most striking thing. The backing track, from past Doja collaborators Rogét Chahayed and Y2K, is lush and pillowy, with murmuring jazz bass and florid acoustic guitar and light plucks of electric sitar. On the hook,, Doja sings in a dreamy, sleepy coo, and her words are a little nebulous: “It don’t need your lovin’, it just needs your attention.” On the verses, Doja raps with easy, conversational fire, lashing out at anyone who thinks she’s not living up to some imaginary standard: “Boo-hoo, my n***a, I ain’t sad you won’t fuck me/ I’m sad that you really thought your ass was above me.” It’s a striking statement from a true pop star — one who can go anywhere she wants from here. —Tom

more from The 5 Best Songs Of The Week

'Today the world saw that the masters of Russia do not control anything. Nothing at all. Just complete chaos,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says

Chaos in Russia works to Kyiv’s advantage, Ukraine officials said on Saturday, June 24, but it remains to be seen whether President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his army can capitalize on the disorder caused this weekend as mercenaries marched towards Moscow.

Late on Saturday, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a founder of the Wagner army, said he was halting his “march for justice” on Moscow after a deal that spared him and his mercenaries from facing criminal charges. The deal also exiled Prigozhin to Belarus.

“Today the world saw that the masters of Russia do not control anything. Nothing at all. Just complete chaos,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address, urging Ukraine’s allies to use the moment and send more weapons to Kyiv.

The Prigozhin unrest, the biggest internal challenge to President Vladimir Putin as Russia’s paramount leader for 23 years, has spurred global security concerns and a frenzy of calls between Washington and its allies to coordinate actions.

“Any chaos behind the enemy lines works in our interests,” State-run Ukrinform news agency quoted Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba as saying on Saturday.

Putin called Prigozhin’s actions a “blow to Russia,” but there were no immediate signs his rule was threatened. The defense ministry, under the helm of Putin’s loyal ally Sergei Shoigu, remained silent throughout the weekend’s events.

Kuleba said it was too early to speak of consequences for Ukraine, but later in the day he held a call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss the events and Kyiv’s counteroffensive efforts.

The US State Department said in a statement afterwards that Washington will stay “in close cooperation” with Kyiv as the situation develops.

Ukraine’s military reported on Saturday an offensive near villages ringing Bakhmut, which was taken by Wagner forces in May after months of fighting. Kyiv also claimed the liberation of Krasnohorivka village in Donetsk, but gains were incremental.

The counteroffensive has been in general “slower than desired,” Zelenskiy said recently.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, said on Saturday there was no immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from the frontline to Moscow.

“They…all remain in their places. They continue their resistance,” Ukrainian state media quoted Danilov as saying. – Rappler.com

Leaders of SAG-AFTRA signaled they are making good headway in contract negotiations with the major studios, suggesting Hollywood may avert a second strike.

In a video message to members Saturday, SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland shared no details of the talks, but said they were progressing well.

“We are having an extremely productive negotiations that are laser focused on all the crucial issues you told us are most important to you,” Drescher said.

The talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers began June 7 and are being closely watched in light of the ongoing writers’ strike, which began May 2.

The writers’ strike has brought nearly all scripted production to a halt in Los Angeles. But an actors’ strike could be even more destabilizing for the film and TV industry.

An agreement with the actors, coming on the heels of a contract recently negotiated by the Directors Guild of America, would likely put more pressure on Writers Guild of America and the AMPTP to resolve their standoff, although guild leaders have stressed they would not be bound by terms negotiated by other guilds.

Actors have been vocal in their support of writers and share many of the same demands to boost pay and improve working conditions that they say have eroded during the streaming era.

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SAG-AFTRA members have already authorized their leaders to call a strike if they can’t reach a deal on a new film and TV contract before their contract expires June 30.

The last time actors went on strike was in 2000 in a dispute over their commercials contract. The previous actors’ strike against the major film and TV studios was in 1980.

Despite the tensions, SAG-AFTRA leaders expressed optimism they could reach a deal that would avert another walkout.

“We have a very narrow window of time remaining before our contract expires,” Crabtree-Ireland said in the video. “We remain optimistic that we will be able to bring the studios, networks, streamers along to make a fair deal.”

SAG-AFTRA, which represents some 160,000 performers and broadcasters, is seeking increased wages to counter inflation, higher residuals from streaming and protections from the use of AI. Additionally, the union wants to bolster contributions to its health and pension plans and curb the practice of self-taped auditions, a trend that accelerated during the pandemic.

The video message was first reported by Deadline.

TOKYO, Japan – Japan’s military is testing Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service with an eye to adopting the technology next fiscal year, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Sunday, June 25, citing unnamed government sources.

The Ministry of Defense already has access to communication satellites in geostationary orbit, but use of Starlink technology, operated by Musk’s SpaceX, would add a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit, the Yomiuri said.

Countries around the world are seeking to build resilience against the risk of jamming of communications or attacks on satellites in the event of conflict.

Japan’s Self-Defense Forces have been testing Starlink since March with the system deployed in about 10 locations and in training, the newspaper said.

Defense ministry spokespeople could not immediately be reached for comment on the report outside business hours.

Starlink technology is being deployed by Ukraine on the battlefield, and Russia is attempting to block its use in the region. Musk said in October SpaceX could not afford to indefinitely fund Starlink’s use in Ukraine.

The US Defense Department said this month it had contracted to provide Starlink services there. – Rappler.com

Heavily armed Russian mercenaries who advanced most of the way to Moscow halted their approach, de-escalating a major challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power, in a move that their leader said would avoid bloodshed.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former Putin ally and founder of the Wagner army, said his men reached within 125 miles (200 km) of the capital on Saturday. Earlier, Moscow deployed soldiers in preparation for their arrival and told residents to stay indoors.

The Wagner fighters captured the city of Rostov hundreds of miles to the south before racing north in convoy, transporting tanks and armoured trucks and smashing through barricades set up to stop them, video showed.

On Saturday night, they began withdrawing from the Rostov military headquarters they had seized, a Reuters witness said.

“In 24 hours we got to within 200 km of Moscow. In this time we did not spill a single drop of our fighters’ blood,” Prigozhin, dressed in full combat uniform at an undisclosed location, said in a video.

“Understanding… that Russian blood will be spilled on one side, we are turning our columns around and going back to field camps as planned.”

Reuters could not independently verify how far Prigozhin’s mercenaries had reached. Video earlier showed convoys of Wagner vehicles less than 310 miles (500 kilometers) from Moscow.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that under a deal brokered by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, the criminal case opened against Prigozhin for armed mutiny would be dropped, Prigozhin would move to Belarus, and Wagner fighters who joined his “march for justice” would face no action, in recognition of their previous service to Russia.

Peskov, who called the events of the day “tragic”, said Lukashenko had offered to mediate, with Putin’s approval, because he had known Prigozhin personally for around 20 years. Little pushback from armed forces

Wagner’s lightning insurrection appeared to develop with little pushback from Russia’s regular armed forces, raising questions about Putin’s hold on power in the nuclear-armed nation even after the abrupt halt to Wagner’s advance.

Earlier, Prigozhin said his “march” on Moscow was intended to remove corrupt and incompetent Russian commanders he blames for botching the war in Ukraine.

In a televised address, Putin said the rebellion put Russia’s very existence under threat.

“We are fighting for the lives and security of our people, for our sovereignty and independence, for the right to remain Russia, a state with a thousand-year history,” Putin said, vowing punishment for those behind “an armed insurrection”.

In later outlining the deal brokered by Lukashenko, Peskov said the agreement had the “higher goal” of avoiding confrontation and bloodshed.

Peskov declined to say whether any concessions were made to Prigozhin, other than guarantees of safety for him – something he said Putin gave his word to vouch for – and for Prigozhin’s men, to persuade him to withdraw all his forces.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the developments, which sparked a flurry of high-level calls between Western leaders, exposed turmoil at the heart of in Russia.

“Today the world can see that the masters of Russia control nothing. And that means nothing. Simply complete chaos. An absence of any predictability,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. Ex-convicts in Wagner ranks

The fighters led by Prigozhin, a former convict, include thousands of ex-prisoners recruited from Russian jails.

His men fought the bloodiest battles of the 16-month Ukraine war, including for the eastern city of Bakhmut. He railed for months against the military’s top brass, especially Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov, accusing them of incompetence and of withholding ammunition from his fighters.

This month, he defied orders to sign a contract placing his troops under Defense Ministry command.

He launched the apparent mutiny on Friday after alleging that the military had killed many of his fighters in an air strike. The Defense Ministry denied this.

He said he had captured the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District without firing a shot in Rostov, which serves as the main rear logistical hub for Russia’s entire invasion force in Ukraine.

Residents of the city had milled about calmly, filming on mobile phones as Wagner fighters in armoured vehicles and battle tanks took up positions.

Western capitals were closely following the situation. U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with the leaders of France, Germany and Britain, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to G7 counterparts. The top U.S. military officer, Army General Mark Milley, canceled a scheduled trip to the Middle East. Ukraine attacks near Bakhmut

The insurrection risked leaving Russia’s invasion force in Ukraine in disarray, just as Kyiv is launching its strongest counteroffensive since the war began in February last year.

Some Ukrainians were gleeful at the prospect of a split in Russian ranks 16 months after the Kremlin’s troops invaded their country.

Ukraine’s military said on Saturday its forces made advances near Bakhmut, on the eastern front, and further south.

Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said an offensive was launched near a group of villages ringing Bakhmut, which was taken by Wagner forces in May after months of fighting.

Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, commander of the southern front, said Ukrainian forces had liberated an area near Krasnohorivka, west of the Russian-held regional centre of Donetsk.

Tarnavskiy said the area had been under Russian control since separatist forces backed by Moscow seized it in 2014. – Rappler.com

Should go without saying, but:

Telegram and Twitter were big spreaders of misinformation during the Russian coup attempt. Credit: Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The potential coup attempt in Russia by a paramilitary organization may already be over(opens in a new tab), but the misinformation sure did flow during the breaking global event.

On Friday, news quickly spread that the Kremlin-aligned private army known as Wagner Group, led by "Putin's chef" Yevgeny Prigozhin, was leaving the war in Ukraine and marching towards Moscow. This breaking news caught many by surprise, and people flocked to social media in an effort to make sense of what appeared to be a coup attempt.

However, with information sparse as events in Russia were still unfolding, misinformation and wild speculation ran rampant online, showing that modern day social media and internet news sources are still highly flawed and lacking.

A major issue with this particular event is that many of the most popular platforms in the country aren't ones that get much use in the western world. Telegram, for example, is extremely popular in non-English speaking countries like Russia. Much of the breaking news surrounding the coup attempt was first being posted there, and in Russian.

English speakers not only had to understand the language, but be familiar with which Telegram channels were legitimate sources of information. Due to lackadaisical moderation on the platform, many English-language users that are on Telegram tend to be far right-wingers and biased towards Putin's regime. These accounts are not the best sources of information, if they even have any actual on-the-ground info to begin with.

Much of what flowed on Telegram eventually did make its way to English-speaking users in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere via Twitter. And that poses yet another problem. Since Elon Musk acquired the platform, Twitter has gone through changes that don't exactly bode well for it as an invaluable breaking news resource like it once was.

For example, prior to Musk, the blue checkmark meant that a user was verified by Twitter as the journalist or expert that the individual claimed they were. Remember, the purpose of the checkmark was to make sure these users couldn't be impersonated. Now, however, anyone who pays $8 per month for Twitter's premium subscription service, Twitter Blue, gets a blue checkmark.

Furthermore, those paid blue checkmark users now get priority placement in Twitter's For You feed algorithm, and in the replies to other users' tweets. And, echoing the issue on Telegram, many Twitter Blue subscribers are not far, ideologically speaking, from the Putin regime.

​​"It's probably not good that during a major breaking news event, the ongoing Wagner mutiny in Russia, the majority of viral false and misleading claims are from accounts with Twitter Blue subscription, whose posts are promoted by Twitter's algorithm," observed(opens in a new tab) Shayan Sardarizadeh, a journalist that covers disinformation and conspiracy theories at BBC Verify.

The issues on Twitter became so obvious that they quickly even became meme-fodder(opens in a new tab) on the platform. For example, many blue checkmark users began spreading information in long tweet threads about the Russian coup, regardless of the fact that they had no expertise on the matter.

It also didn't help that Elon Musk, who owns the platform and has more than 144 million followers, decided not to use his reach to promote experts or journalists on the ground. Instead, Musk deemed(opens in a new tab) a cryptocurrency and tech entrepreneur who hosts larger Twitter Spaces audio chats, the provider of the "best coverage of the situation," and referred his followers to their account.

And unfortunately for those most affected, like people living in Russia, online information was hard to come by as well. Internet observatory NetBlocks reported(opens in a new tab) that the country's major telecommunications providers were blocking users from accessing Google's popular news aggregator, Google News.

Wagner Group now appears to have reversed course and will no longer march towards Moscow. Instead, the paramilitary group will join the Kremlin and again turn their focus to Ukraine, the country that Russia has invaded, to continue a war that has been subjected to its own disinformation campaigns. However, this potential coup, which lasted less than 24 hours, put a big spotlight on how the internet may be worse off than ever before when it comes to spreading accurate information during breaking global news events.

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Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the leader of the Russian paramilitary organization known as Wagner Group, said he will end an attempted coup d'état against Russian President Vladimir Putin, turn his mercenary group around from Moscow, and start heading in the opposite direction.

Despite months of supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine, Prigozhin has grown increasingly critical of the Russian Ministry of Defense and its efforts to support the war. Tensions boiled over on Friday after Prigozhin said his Wagner mercenaries would lead a "march of justice" against the Russian army.

The Wagner mercenary group came within 200 kilometers of Moscow on Saturday, before agreeing in the evening to turn around because Russian "blood might be shed," Prigozhin said.

In an address to the nation Saturday morning, Putin vowed to punish Prigozhin and the Wagner troops supporting the "attempted armed rebellion."

"Those who organized and prepared the military uprising, who took arms against their military comrades, have betrayed Russia and will pay for it," Putin said.

This is what you need to know about the Wagner Group and its leader: What is the Wagner Group in Russia? Wagner boss to withdraw troops from Bakhmut

The Wagner mercenary group is a paramilitary organization founded by Yevgeniy Prigozhin, a longtime close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Prigozhin recently admitted to founding the Wagner Group in 2014 to support Russia in its annexation of Crimea and provide military assistance to pro-Russian separatists fighting in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.

In the years since, the Wagner Group has been suspected of operating in at least 30 countries to further Russian interests, including in Syria, Libya, Venezuela, and the Central African Republic. The split between the Kremlin and Prigozhin's Wagner forces raises questions about the future of the group's influence in those regions.

The split between Putin and Prigozhin also raises questions about how long Wagner forces will continue to prop up Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, Nicolas Maduro's in Venezuela, and some governments in Africa, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, Prigozhin sent his Wagner troops to the frontlines of the war. He has also visited Russian prisons to fill the group's ranks, promising freedom to Russian inmates between the ages of 22 and 50 if they choose to serve in the mercenary outfit for six months.

The exact size of the group is unclear, but Prigozhin has previously claimed that he leads a force of more than 20,000 soldiers. Who is the Wagner Chief?

Prigozhin, 61, is the head of the Wagner mercenary group that was supporting the Russian government in its war against Ukraine before Prigozhin turned against the Russian Ministry of Defense.

After months of becoming increasingly critical of the Russian military and its efforts in the war against Ukraine, Prigozhin is now waging a campaign against the same people his group spent months fighting alongside in Ukraine.

Prigozhin was born in the former Soviet Union and served ten years in prison when he was younger. After he was freed from jail, Prigozhin ran a hot dog stand before he became the owner of several fancy restaurants in Saint Petersburg.

His restaurants drew the attention of the Russian elites and brought Prigozhin into close contact with Putin. The Russian president dined at Prigozhin’s restaurant with former French President Jacques Chirac and former U.S. President George W. Bush.

Earning the nickname “Putin’s chef,” Prigozhin found other ways to make himself useful to Russia’s president.

Prigozhin has admitted to being the founder of the Internet Research Agency, a network of companies that interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He was indicted in 2018 by a U.S. grand jury for interfering in American political elections. In 2021, Prigozhin was placed on the FBI’s “most wanted” list.

Contributing: Tom Vanden Brook

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko brokered a deal with Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin on Saturday that ended an attempted armed rebellion against the Russian government.

Prigozhin said on Friday that his Wagner mercenaries would lead a "march of justice" against the Russian army, but ended the attempted coup d'état Saturday evening after arriving within 200 kilometers of Moscow because he claimed he wanted to avoid spilling Russian blood. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks during the Supreme State Council of the Union State Russia-Belarus meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 6, 2023.

The Belarusian foreign ministry announced on Twitter that Lukashenko held negotiations with Prigozhin throughout the day on Saturday and that the Wagner group leader accepted the Belarusian president's proposal to end the Wagner group's march on Moscow.

This is what you need to know about the controversial Belarusian president: Who is Alexander Lukashenko?

Lukashenko, often described as Europe's last dictator, is the disputed president of Belarus. He has led the country as president for nearly 29 years, assuming office in July 1994.

Lukashenko, 68, began a sixth term in office after the controversial August 2020 Belarusian presidential election. The results of the election were widely regarded as fraudulent by Western countries and hundreds of thousands of Belarusians took to the streets to protest Lukashenko's attempts to hold onto power.

He is also a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Amid a wave of protests following the 2020 Belarusian election, Putin offered to provide Lukashenko with military support. Lukashenko also supported Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, allowing the Russian military to invade Ukraine from Belarusian territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speak during their meeting at the Bocharov Ruchei residence in the resort city of Sochi, Russia, Friday, June 9, 2023.

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is Lukashenko's main political opponent. She challenged Lukashenko in the 2020 election after her husband, Sergei Tikhanovsky, was arrested and prevented from running in the presidential election that year.

Tsikhanouskaya was forced to flee Belarus after the 2020 election and currently lives in exile in Europe. She has since been sentenced to prison in-absentia by Belarusian authorities.

Members of Wagner Group stand on the balcony of the circus building in the city of Rostov-on-Don. | AFP/Getty Images

U.S. officials suspect the rebellion by a Russian warlord against the Kremlin’s military leadership could provide Ukraine with a much-needed opportunity to reverse the fortunes of its sputtering counteroffensive.

The Biden administration has yet to draw up a formal assessment and officials cautioned it was too early for definitive conclusions. But multiple interagency meetings Friday night and Saturday morning arrived at a preliminary consensus that the Wagner mercenary group’s insurrection will occupy the Kremlin’s attention.

“I don’t see how it could hurt them,” said one of the senior administration officials. Others said it was likely to help, especially since Wagner overtook the Southern Military District headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, the epicenter of Russia’s operational management for its invasion of Ukraine.

The officials, granted permission to speak anonymously about the greatest challenge to Putin in more than 20 years, said they were tracking Wagner forces into Rostov and now as they make their way northward toward the Russian capital. The local governor of the Lipetsk region, roughly six hours from Moscow, said Wagner troops drove through the oblast with armored vehicles Saturday morning. Russian military bloggers indicated that a Wagner advance reached the Moscow region.

Even Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy conceded his country’s counteroffensive hasn’t gone to plan as Russian airpower and dormant mines stalled Kyiv’s advances on multiple fronts. The Biden administration feared that a lack of clear success heading into next month’s NATO summit would erode alliance unity and complicate the politics of continued support for Ukraine. But Prigozhin’s play could change the calculus.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed Saturday by Cabinet-level officials — including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines — about Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s armed march toward Moscow.

Gen. Mark Milley, chair of the Joint Chiefs, spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, Gen. Valery Zaluzhnyy Saturday.

“I told him about the offensive and offensive actions of our units,” Zaluzhnyy said, according to a readout of the conversation. “I informed him that the operation is going in accordance with the plan.”

Biden also spoke Saturday about the situation in Russia with President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom.

Further, Blinken chatted with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. “Ukraine remains focused on achieving the goals of its counteroffensive in the territory of Ukraine with the steadfast support of our American allies,” Kuleba said in a Saturday tweet.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin plans to speak to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov later on Saturday.

A U.S. official said phone calls to European counterparts are focused on the effort to “reassure them” and also reinforce the need to message neutrality. “No one should be spiking the football.”

The general agreement on the calls between the U.S. and its European allies is that Kyiv now has an unprecedented opportunity to advance while a key mercenary force shifts its attention from holding Ukrainian positions to attacking points inside Russia.

Biden was scheduled to travel Saturday to Camp David — which is equipped with resources with which he could monitor the unfolding situation — but his departure for the presidential retreat in the Maryland woods was delayed until early Saturday afternoon.

Even if Putin quashes the rebellion, it could occupy the resources of the Russian military and would likely eliminate the use of the Wagner Group at the front, where it had proven successful against Ukrainian forces.

“Cracks in the Putin regime are wide and bright now. The Kremlin has to put the Prigozhin rebellion down with force to avoid it from threatening regime legitimacy,” said Alina Polyakova, president and CEO of the Washington-based Center for European Policy Analysis.

NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said the military bloc is “monitoring the situation.” One early complication for NATO is that Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, a NATO ally, already pledged his “full support” in a call with Putin Saturday.

But the open rebellion — and the ease with which Wagner took the military command center in Rostov, where the Kremlin controls its war on Ukraine — also vividly displayed the weakness of Russia’s military.

Officials cautioned that events over the next few hours and days were difficult to predict, from Vladimir Putin swiftly putting down the insurrection to his grip on power slipping, as the myth of his total control over Russia shatters in real time. Administration figures said they couldn’t confirm Putin’s whereabouts.

And while U.S. officials currently believe Putin will remain in charge, there’s quiet fear inside the administration that the Russian leader could reach for the most catastrophic options available to him if he sniffs a challenge to his power.

No one in the White House would miss Putin, but there’s no evidence that Prigozhin — or at least someone aligned with him — would be any less dangerous. Any sort of tumult or coup in the country with the world’s largest nuclear arsenal would be an inherently deep concern, the officials said.

“This sort of instability is dangerous, no matter what the outcome,” said one U.S. official.

Paul McLeary and Myah Ward contributed to this report.

Too long to post article

YouTube has been making some big announcements for creators at this year's VidCon(opens in a new tab).

Yesterday, Mashable reported on the new long-awaited thumbnail A/B split testing feature called Test & Compare which will help YouTubers maximize their video views. And now YouTube is working on a potential new way to help creators reach a larger audience: AI-powered multi-language voiceover dubbing for their video content.

The tool is powered by Aloud, an AI dubbing company that is part of Google's own Area 120 startup incubator.

Aloud first provides the creator with a transcription of their video. The user can then edit the transcribed text as they see fit. After the creator signs off on the transcription, Aloud creates(opens in a new tab) an AI voiceover dub for the video. Aloud currently provides this service for free on its website, which is separate from the tool YouTube is building into its platform, but there's currently a waitlist.

A YouTube spokesperson told(opens in a new tab) The Verge that the company has already been testing out the AI dubbing tool with "hundreds" of creators.

There are a few pretty big limitations with Aloud, according to the FAQ section on its website(opens in a new tab). The startup's AI-powered tool currently only works with English-language videos and can only dub into two languages, Spanish and Portuguese, at this time. However, with Google's backing and this new partnership with YouTube, it wouldn't be surprising to see Aloud roll out more language options in the near future.

This tool would mark the second major feature related to multi-language dubbing that YouTube launched this year.

In February, the company rolled out an option to upload multiple audio tracks for individual videos, sorted by language. Viewers can now simply hit the Settings button on any YouTube video that enables this feature and choose to listen with an alternative audio track in the language of their choice. However, this feature requires creators to supply their own audio, which would require the YouTuber to go out and have their video translated and dubbed on their own.

YouTube's partnership with Aloud to create AI-powered dubs could help YouTubers save both time and money while still broadening their audience.