Month: July 2022

Ukraine said the “strongest” shelling by Moscow so far of the southern city Mykolaiv killed a grain tycoon Sunday, as Russia claimed an attack from a drone wounded six personnel at the headquarters of its Black Sea fleet in annexed Crimea.  AFP journalists witnessed intense Russian bombardment of the eastern town of Bakhmut after President…

The United States’ quest to dominate the oceans and NATO’s expansion are the biggest threats facing Russia, according to a new Russian naval doctrine signed by President Vladimir Putin on Sunday. The 55-page document said the “main challenges and threats” to national security and development were Washington’s “strategic objective to dominate the world’s oceans” and…

Ukraine’s president urged civilians on Saturday to evacuate the frontline Donetsk region, the scene of fierce clashes with the Russian military, as Kyiv called on the Red Cross and UN to gain access to its soldiers being held by Moscow’s forces. The eastern Donetsk region has faced the brunt of Russia’s offensive since its assault…

Kateryna never takes pictures with comrades before going to the front line — it’s bad luck. Karina does not tell her mother she is going to the front. Iana uses social media to try and raise the morale at home. On another day of war in eastern Ukraine, the three are resting with their unit…

Russian energy giant Gazprom Saturday suspended gas supplies to Latvia following tensions between Moscow and the West over the conflict in Ukraine and sweeping European and U.S. sanctions against Russia.  The declaration came a day after Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of bombing a jail holding Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russian-held territory, with…

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Friday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in their first contact since the Ukraine war, saying he pressed him to accept a proposal on freeing two Americans held in Russia. “We had a frank and direct conversation. I pressed the Kremlin to accept the substantial proposal that we…

Few people in Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan had heard of Alik Kamaletdinov before May, when he wrote a viral VKontakte post calling on locals to sign up for a Bashkir battalion to take part in Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.  More than 800 Bashkirs aged between 18 and 50 expressed interest in joining in just two…

A former regional activist for jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been imprisoned for 6.5 years for sharing a video of a mock execution of top Putin lieutenants. Opposition blogger Sergei Komandirov, 26, was detained in October 2021 on criminal charges of justifying terrorism for sharing a controversial video depicting a mock trial of “Vladimir…

A Ukrainian court on Friday reduced to 15 years a life sentence handed down to a Russian soldier for pre-meditated murder in the country’s first war crimes trial. Vadim Shishimarin, 21, was sentenced to life in prison in May after being found guilty of fatally shooting a 62-year-old civilian in northeastern Ukraine in the early…

The Kremlin expressed “solidarity” on Friday with China’s stance on Taiwan after Chinese President Xi Jinping warned U.S. leader Joe Biden not to “play with fire” over the self-ruled island. “Certainly we are in solidarity,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “We respect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and believe that no country in the…

Footage that emerged on social media late Thursday appears to show a Ukrainian prisoner of war being castrated by Russian fighters, igniting shock and outrage in Ukraine. The Moscow Times is unable to independently verify the authenticity of the video. The minute-and-a-half-long video, which The Moscow Times has chosen not to republish, shows what appears…

President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited a port in southern Ukraine to oversee grain being loaded for export onto a Turkish ship, the presidency said on Friday, following a deal with Russia brokered by the UN and Turkey. “The first vessel, the first ship is being loaded since the beginning of the war. This is a Turkish vessel,”…

Russia and Ukraine accused one another over the shelling of a prison in separatist-held eastern Ukraine that killed at least 40 Ukrainian prisoners of war.   “Ukrainian security forces fired [U.S.-supplied long-range missile systems] HIMARS rockets at a pre-trial detention center near Olenivka tonight,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement carried by state news agencies. …

Russia’s population shrank by a record average of 86,000 people a month between January and May, state statistics agency Rosstat has said.   The decline surpasses the previous record contraction of 57,000 people a month in 2002, when Russia’s population shrank to 145.3 million from nearly 146 million the previous year.  Russia’s population has fallen to…

Eight foreigners have been killed and four injured in a fire at a Moscow hostel, news agencies reported early Friday. The flames broke out on the first floor of the building in southwestern Moscow due to likely equipment failure or a power grid emergency, the state-run TASS news agency cited an unnamed emergency services source…

Moscow’s former chief rabbi now living in exile in Israel warned Thursday of “dark clouds on the horizon” for Russian Jews, as ties between the two countries deteriorate over the Ukraine war. Pinchas Goldschmidt, who left Russia in March over opposition to the conflict, told reporters that “the Jewish community was pressured…to openly support the war. Our…

Estonia said Thursday it would block Russian nationals from obtaining temporary residence permits or visas to study in Estonia. “The continuation of sanctions against Russia is essential to ensuring relentless pressure on the country,” Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said in a statement. “If the sanctions help in stopping Russian aggression, a positive effect on our own security…

Russian strikes on military facilities and residential buildings across war-scarred Ukraine Thursday left several dead in attacks President Volodymyr Zelensky described as “missile terrorism.” The deadliest attacks, which struck the central Kirovohrad region, came as the country was marking its first Day Of Ukraine Statehood that was announced by Zelensky earlier. Russia’s invasion has morphed…

A former Russian state television producer has been fined on charges of “discrediting” the Russian military, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported Thursday.   Marina Ovsyannikova, 44, became famous for protesting the war in Ukraine on a live newscast by her former employer, Channel One, in March.  Prosecutors say the journalist “discredited” the Russian Armed…

A Russian court fined U.S. tech giants WhatsApp, Snapchat and Tinder on Thursday for refusing to store the personal data of Russian users inside the country, Interfax news agency reported.  U.S. company Meta, the owner of messaging service Whatsapp, was ordered by Moscow’s Tagansky District Court to pay 18 million rubles ($298,136), according to Interfax,…

Ukrainians have been living with the reality of war for nearly half a year as Russia’s offensive shows no sign of letting up. Five months after the Kremlin first sent troops into its western neighbor on Feb. 24, Russia now occupies swathes of Ukraine’s south and east and continues to press forward in the country’s…

The Kremlin confirmed that Russia is in talks with the United States to exchange prisoners held by each country after the U.S. state secretary disclosed a “substantial proposal” for a possible swap.  Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that Washington made the proposal “weeks ago” to facilitate the release of basketball star Brittney Griner…

Samsung smartphones have disappeared from store shelves in some areas of Russia, media outlet RBC reported Thursday, as overall smartphone sales reached a decade low.  Customers in some major Russian cities are being asked to wait up to five days for deliveries, according to RBC.  Western electronics manufacturers Samsung and Apple suspended shipments to Russia…

An Israeli delegation will sit down with talks with Russian officials Thursday as tensions simmer over Russian threats to close a veteran Jewish immigration agency, according to Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz. The Kremlin initially did not approve the meeting on Sunday and the delegation’s trip was delayed, Haaretz reported. The Israeli-Russian negotiations will take place…

An American teacher jailed on drug charges in Russia is being kept from communicating with family freely, his sister told CNN on Wednesday. Marc Fogel, 61, was last month found guilty of drug acquisition, manufacture, smuggling and possession and sentenced to 14 years in a maximum-security prison. Fogel’s family says he was carrying cannabis for…

The United States has made a “substantial proposal” to Russia to free Americans including basketball star Brittney Griner, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday, as he announced he will speak to his Moscow counterpart for the first time since the Ukraine war. Blinken said he expected a telephone call “in the coming days” with…

Jailed Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza faces a second criminal case, Novaya Gazeta Europe reported Wednesday.   Kara-Murza, 40, has been in pre-trial detention since his April 12 return to Russia on charges of spreading “false” information about the Russian military and faces 10 years in prison.  Authorities now accuse him of cooperating with an “undesirable” foreign…

US basketball star Brittney Griner said at her trial Wednesday she had no intention of smuggling drugs into Russia and that she came to the country despite U.S. warnings so as not to let down her Russian team. Griner, a two-time Olympic basketball gold medalist and Women’s NBA champion who had played in Russia, was detained…

Russia has handed down its first-ever sentence against a surrogate mother on human trafficking charges, Russian media reported Wednesday. A court in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk found Kazakh citizen Tamara Yandieva, 29, guilty of human trafficking and sentenced her to three years in prison, the state-run TASS news agency reported.   Although surrogacy is legal…

A barrage of Ukrainian rocket fire on the Russian-controlled Antonovskiy Bridge in the occupied Kherson region late Tuesday appeared to signal intensifying military preparations for Ukraine’s first major counteroffensive of the war.  Video footage Wednesday showed huge craters in the strategic bridge over the Dnipro River that is part of a major highway connecting the…

The Philippines has scrapped a deal to buy 16 Russian military-transport helicopters over fears of U.S. sanctions, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. The $227 million deal to acquire Mi-17s from Moscow was approved in November and canceled in June, before the end of then-President Rodrigo Duterte’s term in office.  “We could face sanctions,” Former Defense…

Russia’s prisons hope to replace Western brands like IKEA with products made by inmates as the government races to carry out its import substitution program, reports said Wednesday.  State and municipal companies have signed 600 million rubles ($10 million) of contracts with penal colonies from the Middle Urals region so far this year, the local…

The Kremlin on Wednesday vowed to hinder work of Western media in Russia after a European court upheld a broadcast ban imposed on Russian news channel RT France. “Of course, we will take similar measures of pressure on Western media that operate in our country,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.  “We will also not…

Supplies of Russia’s Sputnik Light Covid-19 booster shot have run out in most regions as the country sees a new resurgence in the virus, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday. Russia on Wednesday recorded over 9,000 new coronavirus infections, an increase of nearly 3,000 compared to Tuesday. Sputnik Light consists of the first dose of…

Russian tourist Alexandra Rumyantseva is tanning on a beach in Moscow-annexed Crimea, not far away from the front lines of Ukraine’s eastern and southern territories. Sitting on a rock in a white bikini by clear Black Sea waters on the outskirts of Sevastopol, Rumyantseva looks up as a Russian fighter jet whizzes through the perfectly…

The European Union agreed to reduce gas consumption to break its dependence on Russia on Tuesday, as missile strikes on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast cast doubt on a grain export deal. The effort to help Germany wean itself off Russian gas for the winter came as Turkey announced a meeting in Russia next week between…

Despite damaging Western sanctions imposed on Moscow in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s economy appears to be weathering the storm better than expected as it benefits from high energy prices, the IMF said Tuesday. The sanctions were meant to sever Russia from the global financial system and choke off funds available to…

Russia will withdraw from the International Space Station (ISS) “after 2024” and build its own orbiting space outpost, the newly appointed chief of state space agency Roscosmos said Tuesday. “I think that by that time we will start putting together a Russian orbital station,” Roscosmos chief Yury Borisov said at a meeting with Russian President…

U.S. and German authorities’ decision to block Russian darknet drug marketplace Hydra following the invasion of Ukraine has made life more dangerous for some illegal drug users, according to Russian charities. Hydra, which was estimated to be worth over $1.3 billion at the time of its closure, had dominated Russia’s economic underworld, enabling the purchase…

The Kremlin said Tuesday that a move to close in Russia the agency that processes Jewish immigration to Israel should not be “politicized,” calling it a purely legal matter.  In a surprise move, a Moscow court said last week that the Justice Ministry had requested the “dissolution” of the Jewish Agency because of unspecified legal violations. Tens…

A former top executive of disgraced payments company Wirecard believed to be under the protection of Russia’s security services near Moscow has at least two fake Russian passports, investigative reports said Monday.  Austrian national Jan Marsalek is on Europol’s most-wanted list for alleged fraud after Wirecard — where he served as chief operating officer —…

Ukraine said on Tuesday that Russian forces had launched multiple missile strikes at targets on the Black Sea coast near the southern port city of Odesa and in Mykolaiv.  The attacks come days after Russian strikes hit the port of Odesa, calling into question a breakthrough deal to resume exports of grain from Ukraine, that…

A convict whose violent beating by prison guards was caught on video and led to a mass outcry over prison torture in Russia has died from double pneumonia, his mother told independent media Monday.  Video of Yevgeny Makarov’s torture northeast of Moscow was leaked in 2018, prompting a series of investigations across Russian correctional facilities and…

Russia’s state-owned gas company on Monday announced an unexpected, drastic cut in supply to Europe, leading Ukraine to call the West to action over the “gas war.” The gas cuts came amid guarded hope of resuming exports this week of another key commodity — Ukraine’s grain — under a breakthrough deal that was called into…

French prosecutors have opened an investigation into the assets owned by Russian oligarchs, a legal source said on Monday. The probe is expected to look into possible money laundering and corruption. The investigation, first reported by the Parisien newspaper, comes after anti-graft group Transparency International filed a legal complaint against oligarchs in France in May. …

Gazprom said it was cutting daily gas deliveries via the Nord Stream pipeline to 33 million cubic meters a day — about 20% of the pipeline’s capacity — from Wednesday. The company said in a statement on Monday that it was halting the operation of one of the last two operating turbines due to the…

Russia’s largest resort city Sochi experienced major flooding over the weekend as record rainfall washed out the city on the Black Sea coast. Local power supplies were cut off, apartment buildings were flooded, cars were seen being washed away and a river overflowed, leading to one civilian death and several injuries. Russian climate activist Arshak…

Russia’s Avtovaz automaker will revive the classic three-door Lada Niva Legend, the sanctions-hit company announced Monday. Known for its simplicity and durability since the Soviet period, the Niva Legend’s Classic 2022 configuration is hitting the market with a limited number of 1,800 vehicles and a price tag of 800,000 rubles ($13,600). “We’re glad to expand…

Kazakhstan is significantly increasing its defense spending and seeking closer ties with China and NATO countries amid fears of Moscow’s geopolitical ambitions spreading beyond Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a Kazakh official.  The Central Asian country will commit an extra 441 billion tenge ($918 million) to its defense budget, a nearly 1.5-fold increase…

The Kremlin said Monday that Russian strikes on Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa “should not affect” a UN-brokered deal between Moscow and Kyiv to unblock grain exports.  “This cannot and should not affect the start of shipment,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, two days after Moscow hit the port.  He said Russia’s strikes…

The European Union has agreed to impose sanctions on the “Night Wolves,” a notorious pro-Kremlin biker gang, as part of the bloc’s latest penalties over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Financial Times reported Friday. The Night Wolves are famous for their nationalist leanings, provocative pro-Kremlin trips to Europe and ties with President Vladimir Putin. The…

A Siberian regional opposition deputy has fled to Georgia shortly after Russian authorities launched a criminal investigation against her on allegations of spreading “fake” information about the Russian army. Helga Pirogova, 33, was arrested last week and charged days later over a since-deleted tweet that criticized the mother of a deceased volunteer soldier who praised…

A Russian chess robot latched onto and broke a child prodigy’s finger during a tournament in Moscow, news outlets have reported. Video shared by the Baza Telegram channel Thursday showed the robot arm squeezing the boy’s finger and adults rushing to his help. The news outlet identified the victim as 7-year-old Kristofer, one of Moscow’s…

Laptops and computer keyboards with Russian-language layouts are increasingly reaching Russia under a government scheme to maintain imports despite Western sanctions and an exodus of international businesses over the war in Ukraine, the Kommersant business daily reported Monday. Russia’s “parallel import” scheme allows the supply of keyboards and laptops originally intended for foreign markets without approval…

Russia’s top diplomat reassured Egyptian leaders Sunday that their orders for Russian grain would be met as he began a tour of African countries dependent on imports for their food supply. “We confirmed the commitment of Russian exporters of cereal products to meet their orders in full,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference…