Russia on Wednesday vowed to defend its “traditional” values against threats from the United States and so-called “gay propaganda” in a document signed by President Vladimir Putin. The presidential decree, setting out official policy and entering force immediately, stresses the importance of “traditional values as the basis of Russian society.” It warns that Moscow must…
Updates with reaction and details. The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday it was withdrawing its forces over the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region, abandoning the only Ukrainian regional capital to have been captured since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. The withdrawal announcement was made by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu…
Updates with reaction and details. Kirill Stremousov, the vocal deputy head of the Moscow-installed administration in the occupied Kherson region of Ukraine was killed Wednesday in an apparent car accident, according to local officials. Stremousov, known for his strongly anti-Ukrainian rhetoric, died near the town of Henichesk, Russian pro-war blogger Semyon Pegov wrote on Telegram.…
Viktor Cherkesov, a longtime associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin who fell foul of the Kremlin for publicly discussing a rift within Russia’s security elites, has died in St. Petersburg at age 72. Cherkesov’s death, which followed “a severe illness,” was announced late Tuesday by the Rosbalt news website. He is survived by his wife,…
Russia has made little progress in absorbing four partially occupied areas of eastern and southern Ukraine that it annexed with great fanfare in September, analysts told The Moscow Times, as intensifying military activity and political challenges hinder integration. Aligning economies and political administrations has been stymied by local resistance, including assassination attempts on Russian-appointed officials. …
Uzbek officials have been using meetings with the European Union to lobby for the lifting of sanctions on Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov and his sister Gulbakhor Ismailova, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the talks. The Central Asian country has also signaled readiness to assist the tycoon in his legal action against the…
The Kremlin said Wednesday that Moscow’s ties with Washington were likely to remain at rock bottom regardless of the results of the U.S. midterm elections, with relations at a historic low over the conflict in Ukraine. “These elections won’t have any significant impact,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies,…
Russia secretly flew $141 million in cash and Western weapons seized in Ukraine to Iran this summer in exchange for 166 Iranian drones, Sky News reported Tuesday, citing an unnamed security source from an unidentified country. According to Sky News, two Russian military cargo planes landed at a Tehran airport early on Aug. 20 carrying…
The only crematorium in central Russia’s breadbasket region has been forced to shut down due to EU sanctions levied over the invasion of Ukraine, local media reported Tuesday. The crematorium in the city of Voronezh south of Moscow cannot replace its broken Czech-made cremation oven due to EU restrictions on the export of high-tech goods…
Russia is moving detained U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner to a penal colony, her lawyers said Wednesday, drawing a sharp rebuke from the White House. Griner, convicted for possession of a small quantity of cannabis oil, was transferred out of a detention center on Nov. 4, her legal team said. She “is now on her way…
Theatergoers south of Moscow were held “hostage” and shot at by actors playing Ukrainian soldiers during an immersive play that glorifies Russia’s invasion of its neighbor, local media reported Tuesday. Opening scenes from the production titled “Polite People” showed actors dressed in Ukrainian military uniforms violently capturing audience members and shooting them with what appeared to…