President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the war in Ukraine was part of Russia’s wider struggle against Western domination, and warned that the world is probably entering the “most dangerous” decade since the end of World War II. The Russian leader showed no sign of backpedaling on the eight-month-old invasion of Ukraine, and indeed painted the…
Russia’s use of Iranian drones in Ukraine is “appalling,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday, adding that the United States and allies would seek to block such shipments. Russia has used the drones to “kill Ukrainian civilians and destroy the infrastructure they rely on for electricity, for water, for heat. It’s appalling,” Blinken…
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that a mission of the UN’s atomic agency should inspect Ukraine’s nuclear sites “as fast as possible”, reiterating Moscow’s claims Kyiv is preparing to use a “dirty bomb”. “They say the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) wants to come and check Ukraine’s nuclear facilities. We are in favour. And…
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the coming decade will be the “most dangerous” since the end of World War II, while accusing the West of seeking to dominate the world. “Ahead is probably the most dangerous, unpredictable and at the same time important decade since the end of the Second World War,” Putin…
Andrei had been serving his second prison term in St. Petersburg for car theft when he was released and sent to the frontline in Ukraine. The 22-year-old is one of the thousands of Russian inmates believed to have been recruited to fight in the war by Russia’s notorious Wagner group, being offered a reduced sentence…
EU chief Charles Michel called on Thursday for closer ties with Central Asia on his first official visit to Kazakhstan, the main economic powerhouse in a region where Russia’s influence has come under question. In the first European Union-Central Asia summit, Michel met the leaders of the region’s five countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan…
A Western cap on Russian energy prices destroys individual countries’ sovereignty and plays into the hands of the United States, Igor Sechin, the chief executive of state oil giant Rosneft, said Thursday. “The idea is to essentially abolish the sovereign rights of countries to their own resources,” the Kommersant business daily quoted Sechin as saying. “Because the…
The Kremlin blamed the United States for the breakdown in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine on Thursday, claiming that Kyiv pulled out of negotiations on Washington’s orders. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed the two warring sides had drafted a peace deal in March, one month into Moscow’s full-scale invasion, when Kyiv’s delegation suddenly stepped…
Russian-installed authorities in Ukraine’s occupied region of Zaporizhzhia ordered phone checks on local residents on Thursday, announcing the implementation of military censorship under Russian President Vladimir Putin’s martial law decree. “From today in the Zaporizhzhia region, law enforcement officers have begun a selective preventing check of the mobile phones of citizens,” Moscow-appointed official Vladimir Rogov…
Commercial satellites used by the United States to assist Ukraine in its war against Russia are “legitimate” targets for attacks, a Russian diplomat said Wednesday. Private assets like Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet constellation, as well as Maxar and Planet Labs earth observation satellites, have proven critical in keeping Ukrainians online and piercing the fog of…
Russian lawmakers on Thursday voted unanimously in favor of a bill to forbid the spreading of “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” toward minors and adults. While Russian law currently prohibits the spread of so-called “gay propaganda” to minors under 18, the new bill would expand the ban to content aimed at all age groups. Activists…
U.S. automaker Ford Motor announced Wednesday it has finalized a full exit from Russia with the sale of its minority stake in a Moscow region-based joint venture. Ford was among a number of foreign automakers to suspend operations in Russia in March after President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine eight months ago.…