Day: December 20, 2022
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Russia Conflicted on Ukraine Winter Offensive, Senior U.S. Official Says
The Russian leadership has conflicting views on whether to launch a winter offensive in Ukraine, which has warned of a fresh Russian attempt to seize Kyiv, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin has publicly called for his top military brass to present him with “short- and medium-term” plans on how to…
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Russia’s Justice Ministry Seeks Dissolution of Moscow Helsinki Group
Russia’s Justice Ministry has filed for a court order to shut down one of the country’s most prominent and respected human rights organizations, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported on Tuesday. In its legal filing, the Justice Ministry claimed that the Moscow Helsinki Group had violated unspecified “legal requirements” while carrying out its activities, a…
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Gas Pipeline Fire in Russia’s Republic of Chuvashia Kills 3: Governor
Three people died on Tuesday when a key gas pipeline in the Republic of Chuvashia in western Russia caught fire, the regional governor told Russian television. Images circulating on social media showed a large ball of fire billowing over one and two-story buildings in a snow-blanketed village, with residents moving closer to inspect the blaze.…
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Moscow Says 100K IT Specialists Have Left Russia This Year
Around 100,000 IT specialists have left Russia this year, an official said Tuesday, following the start of Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine on Feb. 24. Young Russians fled the country in droves, especially those working in the IT sector and able to work remotely, sparking fears of a brain drain. Some months later, the announcement of the…
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Russian Oligarch Deripaska’s Sochi Hotel Seized After War Criticism – FT
A Russian court ordered the seizure of a luxury hotel complex owned by Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska after he criticized President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine earlier this year, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The court order to seize the $1bn Imeretinskiy hotel and marina complex in Sochi came in September after the Kremlin…
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Russian Space Chief Praises U.S. After ISS Coolant Leak
The head of Russian space agency Roscosmos on Tuesday praised Russia-U.S. cooperation at the International Space Station following a major coolant leak from a Soyuz crew capsule. “Say hello to the entire American team. They proved themselves to be very worthy in this situation and lent us a helping hand,” Borisov said, speaking to the…
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Moscow’s Deputy FM Claims U.S. Holding 60 Russians ‘Hostage’
A senior Russian diplomat has accused the United States of holding more than 60 Russian citizens as “hostages,” the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported Tuesday. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin’s comments come nearly two weeks after Russia freed U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner in exchange for Viktor Bout, a notorious arms dealer imprisoned in…
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Russia Places Ex-Kremlin Adviser, Gallerist Marat Gelman on Wanted List
Russia has placed prominent art gallerist and former Kremlin adviser-turned-critic Marat Gelman on its wanted list. An Interior Ministry card listing Gelman — who moved to Montenegro in 2014 amid a growing crackdown on artistic freedoms — as a wanted person mentions his Israeli citizenship, the RBC news website reported. It does not specify the crime…
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Putin Orders Intensified Hunt for ‘Traitors, Spies, Saboteurs’
President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia’s counterintelligence services on Monday to step up their hunt for “traitors, spies and saboteurs” and prevent threats from abroad. Speaking on Security Agency Worker’s Day, a professional holiday in Russia, Putin laid out “high demands” on Russia’s security agencies to respond to “new threats and challenges.” “You must put a firm…
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Russia Sentences 4 Jehovah’s Witnesses to Lengthy Prison Terms
A Russian court has sentenced four members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses to prison terms ranging up to seven years, the religious organization said Monday. The men in the Far East city of Birobidzhan were charged with organizing and financing “extremist” activities by holding joint worship services. They were detained as part of a special operation involving…
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Putin Insists No Plan to Absorb Belarus on Visit in Ukraine Shadow
President Vladimir Putin denied plans to absorb Belarus as he paid a rare visit Monday to the country whose strongman assisted his invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Putin flew into Minsk with his defense and foreign ministers in tow, hours after Russian forces launched a swarm of attack drones at critical infrastructure in Kyiv, which provoked emergency…