Day: May 13, 2022

The leader of Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia on Friday set July 17 as a date for a referendum on joining Russia. “Anatoly Bibilov signed a decree on holding a referendum in the Republic of South Ossetia,” his office said in a statement, citing his people’s “historic aspiration” to join Russia. South Ossetia was…

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urged Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Friday to move immediately to implement a ceasefire in Ukraine, in their first conversation since before the war began, the Pentagon said. “Secretary Austin urged an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication,” the Pentagon said in a statement. The Pentagon…

Russia will suspend electricity supplies to Finland this weekend, a supplier said on Friday as tensions rise over Helsinki’s NATO bid following the conflict in Ukraine. “We are forced to suspend the electricity import starting from May 14,” said RAO Nordic, a subsidiary of Russian state energy holding Inter RAO that sells its electricity on…

A Russian court on Friday extended the pre-trial detention on drug charges of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, state media reported. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA champion, was detained at Moscow airport in February on charges of carrying in her luggage vape cartridges with cannabis oil, which could carry a 10-year prison…

An award-winning artist said Friday that he fled Russia after security forces uncovered his plan to disrupt the country’s annual Victory Day parade with a peaceful protest against the war in Ukraine. Danila Tkachenko said he purchased 140 blue-and-yellow smoke grenades and installed them in air conditioners that he placed outside an apartment building near…

The European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) on Friday confirmed the suspension of Russia’s TASS agency for not respecting its standards. The decision came during the EANA’s general assembly in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, the alliance’s president Clemens Pig told reporters. In February, three days after Russia invaded Ukraine, EANA’s executive body composed of five…

Russia has advised its citizens to “refrain” from traveling to the United Kingdom and from trying to obtain a British visa, citing what it called London’s “unfriendly” stance toward Moscow and long delays for visa applications. In a statement Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused the British Embassy in Moscow of prioritizing applications from Ukrainian…

The tourism business in Russian-controlled Crimea is bracing for a difficult summer season as large numbers of Russians cancel planned trips due to flight suspensions and security concerns caused by the war in Ukraine.  “About 50% of our [prospective] guests have chosen to cancel bookings with us,” a hotel representative in Crimea’s resort city of…

Russia’s state-controlled shipping giant Sovcomflot has sold roughly a dozen of its ships ahead of this week’s EU deadline for sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Sovcomflot, one of the world’s largest tanker operators, was looking to sell at least 40 of its 121 vessels at short notice as…

Britain on Friday sanctioned 12 members of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “inner circle” accused of hiding corrupt riches in return for influential state positions. They included his ex-wife Lyudmila Ocheretnaya and Alina Kabaeva, a former Olympic gymnast who the U.K. government said was “alleged to have a close personal relationship with Putin.” “We are exposing…

Ukraine opened its first war crimes trial in connection with Russia’s invasion Friday, accusing a young Russian soldier of shooting an elderly Ukrainian civilian in the early days of the offensive. Sgt. Vadim Shishimarin, 21, stands accused of killing an unarmed 62-year-old man riding a bicycle and talking on the phone in the Sumy region…

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday said he doubted the motives of Ukraine’s intention of joining the European Union while accusing Brussels of ambitions beyond the European continent. Ukraine, where Russia launched a military campaign on Feb. 24, “is ready to declare a neutral, non-aligned status,” Lavrov told reporters following a meeting of CIS…

Prices for car parts in Russia have gone up by an average of 31% since Moscow invaded Ukraine, the Kommersant business daily reported Friday. Industry experts cite currency volatility, non-transparent pricing and logistical issues for the shortage of spare parts that is driving up prices. While some parts were in short supply during the Covid-19…

Authorities in Moldova’s Moscow-backed breakaway region of Transnistria said Friday two attempted attacks were carried out on infrastructure in the regional capital Tiraspol.  The incidents come after a string of attacks were reported in the separatist region with fears mounting of a spillover from the conflict in neighboring Ukraine.  “At around 4:15 in the morning,…

While many Georgians feel a personal connection to the war in Ukraine, a number are putting their lives on the line for it, traveling to Ukraine to join the Ukrainian military as it resists the Russian invasion. At least nine Georgians have died in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, likely the largest death toll…

A military recruitment office was attacked with Molotov cocktails in the Siberian city of Omsk overnight, local media reported Friday. Photographs published by the Om1.ru news website showed a red brick building with at least two broken windows and burn marks. Eyewitnesses described a strong smell of kerosene and seeing forensic teams working at the…

Russia sees Ukrainian membership of the European Union to be equivalent to Ukraine joining NATO, a senior Russian diplomat at the United Nations said Thursday.  Moscow previously expressed willingness to see Ukraine join the EU as part of ceasefire talks aimed at de-escalating the Russian invasion. Those talks stalled when evidence of mass atrocities emerged after…