Day: December 12, 2022
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Explainer: Why is Russia Trying So Hard to Capture the Small Ukrainian City of Bakhmut?
Russian forces have been attempting to seize Bakhmut in Ukraine’s Donetsk region for at least seven months. But in recent weeks, the battle in and around the city has become one of the fiercest of the nine-month war in Ukraine. Bakhmut, which sits above a vast salt mine and is famed for its Soviet-era winery,…
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Demand for Luxury Homes in Moscow at Lowest for 5 Years
Demand for luxury homes in Moscow has fallen to its lowest level in five years, according to research by real estate company NF Group. The number of property sales in so-called elite new builds in the Russian capital fell 44% year-on-year, from 1,620 sales in 2021 to just 900 in 2022, the lowest number recorded…
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Freed Arms Dealer Viktor Bout Joins Russia’s Ultra-Nationalist LDPR
Viktor Bout, the arms dealer once dubbed the “Merchant of Death” who was released from a U.S. jail in exchange for U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner last week, has joined Russia’s ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), according to video footage posted on the party’s Telegram channel on Monday. In his first public appearance since arriving…
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Moscow Calls for ‘Diplomatic’ Solution to Kosovo Tensions
The Kremlin on Monday called for a “diplomatic” resolution to a recent flare-up in tensions in Kosovo following attacks targeting the police. “We are in favor of the parties making efforts of a peaceful nature and this situation being resolved through diplomatic means,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “We stand for ensuring that all…
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Putin Cancels Annual Press Conference for First Time in Decade
Russian President Vladimir Putin has canceled his annual end-of-year press conference for the first time in 10 years, the Kremlin announced on Monday, as the war in Ukraine enters its 10th month. “As for the big press conference, yes, it won’t happen before the New Year,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “But we hope…
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Russia Blocked 5K Websites Per Week in 2022, NGO Says
Russia has blocked an average of 4,900 websites per week so far in 2022, according to an internet freedom NGO’s tally published by the Kommersant business daily Monday. According to the NGO, Roskomsvoboda, authorities restricted 14,800 websites last week alone — the highest total in a single week in several years. While it did not name…
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Russian Military Calls for Accordion, Balalaika Donations
Authorities in St. Petersburg said the Russian military has opened collection points for musical instruments for Russian soldiers in Ukraine to boost morale. “The Russian Defense Ministry has organized the collection and transfer of musical instruments to the mobilized [and] military personnel performing special tasks who have no professional musical education,” reads a message posted…
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Body of Zambian Student Killed in Ukraine Repatriated
The body of a Zambian student who died while fighting in Ukraine after he was recruited in a Russian jail arrived home in a makeshift coffin Sunday. AFP journalists saw a white, glass-paneled hearse adorned with small curtains affording a partial view of the container holding the body arrive on the tarmac at Lusaka airport,…
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Moscow Buses Take Down Army Recruitment Ads Targeting Central Asian Nationals
Moscow transportation authorities have removed city bus ads recruiting Central Asian nationals into the Russian military with promises of expedited citizenship, media reported Sunday. Photos showing an Uzbek-language recruitment message on board a Moscow bus went viral last week. “If you join the Russian Armed Forces under contract, you can easily obtain Russian citizenship in…