Year: 2022

African Union head Macky Sall on Friday urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to take into account the suffering in African countries from food shortages caused by the conflict in Ukraine. Putin hosted the Senegalese president at his Black Sea residence in Sochi on the 100th day of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, with global food shortages…

Russia has achieved “certain results” in its military campaign in Ukraine, the Kremlin said Friday as the war passed the 100-day mark, vowing to continue what it calls a “special military operation” until all its goals are met. President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 with the stated aim of “demilitarizing and…

Belarus’s authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko on Friday offered to share a baby formula with the United States, highlighting shortages in a country that has put him under sanctions. A product recall and shutdown of a major plant in February triggered a dramatic and ongoing reduction in the availability of formula for parents across the United…

Russian forces will drastically speed up their offensive in Ukraine following an unspecified change of tactics, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said Friday as the invasion entered its 100th day. Kadyrov said Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had outlined “new tasks to improve further tactics” on the battlefield during their meeting in Moscow on Thursday. “The measures…

Two people were injured after a fire ripped through a 10-story business center in western Moscow on Friday, authorities said. The blaze was put out after more than 120 people were evacuated, the emergencies ministry said. Footage showed massive flames and billowing plumes of smoke as firefighters battled the blaze. “At 12:32 (09:32 GMT) the…

June 3 marks 100 days since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  The Kremlin has long claimed it is carrying out a “special military operation,” not a war, underlining its allegedly limited scope as the “defense” of Ukraine’s Moscow-backed separatist states in Donetsk and Lugansk.  But 100 days of war has not just killed thousands,…

China is searching for ways to help Russia financially amid tightening Western sanctions without violating the restrictions itself, The Washington Post reported Thursday. Moscow has requested greater trade, financial and technological support from its largest trading partner Beijing in at least two “tense” exchanges in recent weeks, unnamed Chinese officials told the newspaper.  Weapons and ammunition…

On a remote plain on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border the morning of Feb. 24, hundreds of paratroopers from Russia’s 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade boarded helicopters they thought were bound for a training ground in western Belarus.  But once the units were airborne, senior officers turned to the men to tell them that they were actually…

Russia’s oil production increased by 5% in May after it saw one of its steepest drops the previous month under Western pressure over the war in Ukraine, the Vedomosti business daily reported Friday. Russian crude output last month totaled 43.1 million tons and averaged 10.2 million barrels per day, Vedomosti cited an unnamed industry source…

Russia is developing a domestic alternative to Europe’s top human rights court, the head of the ​​Association of Russian Lawyers said Thursday. Russia has been outside the jurisdiction of the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) since March, when Moscow was expelled from the Council of Europe over its invasion of Ukraine.  Work is currently…

Russia said Thursday it was ready to directly settle any disputes with its creditors after missing payments on its foreign debt due to Western sanctions over Ukraine. Moscow faces the risk of its first external debt default in more than a century. Punishing Western sanctions on Russia have largely severed the country from the international…

The variety of goods on sale at Russian shops has fallen across nearly every category this spring, according to research cited by the BBC’s Russian service. Russian consumers face increasingly limited product choices as Western sanctions and the exit of more than 900 foreign businesses over the war in Ukraine have cut off many import flows. “Where…

Russian state nuclear agency Rosatom this week closed the door for further cooperation with Norway, ending nearly three decades of partnership which saw Norway give Russia more than 2 billion euros to help it secure its nuclear dump sites and improve safety at icebreakers and power plants. Rosatom representatives on Tuesday announced that Norway is no…

Russian forces on Thursday hammered the last Ukrainian defenses holding a strategic city in the Donbas region as the war approached its 100th day and Washington warned it could still last for months. Vladimir Putin’s troops have set their sights on capturing eastern Ukraine since Ukrainian forces repelled them from seizing Kyiv after the Russian…

Croatian police have arrested a Russian activist linked to protest punk group Pussy Riot, acting on an international warrant issued by Turkmenistan, a member of the group said Wednesday. Aysoltan Niyazova was arrested on the Croatian border early Monday when she entered the country from Slovenia with the group, Maria Alyokhina told reporters. Pussy Riot…

Russian users are encountering issues accessing the Proton VPN service due to likely interference by Russian authorities and internet providers, the Swiss-based company said late Wednesday. VPN use in Russia has soared by 5,300% since authorities blocked independent media and popular U.S. social networks Instagram and Facebook in the early days of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Observers…

Russian clinics are bracing for a shortage of the wrinkle-reducing drug Botox amid a Western business exit over the war in Ukraine, the Kommersant business daily reported Thursday, citing pharmaceutical researchers. Cosmetic and medical Botox imports saw a threefold drop to 74,500 units in January-March compared with the same time last year, according to the…

Russia has failed to pay $1.9 million of accrued interest on a sovereign bond, a panel of investors said Wednesday, as Moscow faces the risk of its first default in decades. The Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee (CDDC) said on its website that it voted “yes” in answer to a question from bond holders over whether…

A Russian journalist covering Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine for state media has said that he “doesn’t regret” his time in a far-right group after being pictured with Nazi tattoos.  Gleb Erve currently covers the conflict — which the Kremlin claims was launched to “denazify Ukraine” — for the state-run RIA Novosti news agency. Ukrainian news…

Moscow-controlled areas of southern Ukraine could stage a referendum to become part of Russia as early as July, a senior Russian lawmaker said Wednesday.  Ukraine has accused Moscow of plotting to stage sham independence referendums in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. “I don’t rule out that this may happen as early as July,”…

The Kremlin said Wednesday it doesn’t have information on the death of a French journalist in Ukraine, reportedly killed during a bombardment by Russian forces. “To draw conclusions, you need detailed information about where it took place, under what circumstances, what is the truth, what is not. We don’t have such information,” Russian presidential spokesman…

Russian forces have seized 70% of the industrial city of Severodonetsk in a push to control eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, the regional governor said Wednesday. “The Russians control 70% of Severodonetsk,” Luhansk governor Sergiy Gaiday wrote on Telegram. He said that some Ukrainian troops had retreated to “more favorable” positions while others continued fighting inside…

The Kremlin on Wednesday accused Washington of “adding fuel to the fire” by planning to supply Ukraine with advanced missile systems. “We believe that the United States is adding fuel to the fire deliberately and on purpose,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.   “Such supplies” do not encourage Kyiv to resume peace talks, Peskov…

A projection appeared on the facade of Moscow’s U.S. Embassy overnight blaming the United States for children killed in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, according to a video shared by Russian state media. “The blood of Donbas children is on the hands of U.S. warmongers,” one of the projected images read. The video’s creators, who remained…

A court in Russia’s Far East has handed down the country’s first guilty verdict for spreading “fake news” on Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Authorities in the Zabaikalsky region accused local resident Pyotr Mylnikov of falsifying unspecified Russian Defense Ministry documents, as well as posting “knowingly false” videos in a social media chat he moderated in…

Ukraine will not use advanced missile systems it expects to receive from the United States to attack within Russian territory, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday. President Joe Biden announced earlier that the U.S. is sending advanced rocket systems in Ukraine to strike “key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine.” A U.S. official identified the…

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny faces new criminal charges of creating an “extremist organization” and fueling hatred against authorities that could see his existing jail term extended by 15 more years, he has said.  The latest charges come on the heels of his March sentencing to nine years, raising fears among allies and supporters that authorities…

European Union leaders have agreed to cut off Sberbank, Russia’s largest financial institution, from international payment system SWIFT.  This measure will be included as part of the EU’s sixth package of sanctions against Moscow, as Western countries seek to further isolate the Kremlin from global financial markets following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Sberbank is the…

A military court in the Siberian city of Ulan-Ude has fined an officer for stealing jet engine fuel to heat his private home, the court’s Telegram channel announced Tuesday.  Major Dmitry Malanov stole 52,900 rubles ($840) worth of fuel “to subsequently use to heat a private residential building,” the court reported.  Malagov was found guilty…

Russian companies sanctioned by the West will be legally exempt from electing boards of directors, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced at a government meeting Tuesday.  The move is expected to allow the Kremlin and a closely linked circle of oligarchs to retain a tight grip on joint-stock companies that have been shaken by a mass…

Two Russian soldiers were sentenced to more than 11 years in jail each on Tuesday after a court in central Ukraine found them guilty of firing artillery at civilian areas.  The verdict after the trial in the Poltava region comes one week after another court, in the capital Kyiv, gave a 21-year-old Russian soldier a…

Two Russian soldiers were sentenced to more than 11 years in jail each on Tuesday after a court in central Ukraine found them guilty of firing artillery at civilian areas.  The verdict after the trial in the Poltava region comes one week after another court, in the capital Kyiv, gave a 21-year-old Russian soldier a…

Ukrainian cell service has been cut off in the country’s southern Kherson region, Russian state media reported Tuesday, as Moscow continues to cement its presence in occupied territories. Russian SIM cards were apparently unaffected by the latest outage Monday, which Ukrainian and Russian-installed officials in Kherson both blamed on each other. “The connection works, but…

More than 3,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine after more than three months of conflict, investigative news site iStories reported Tuesday. The outlet collected open-source data to identify and verify the deaths of 3,043 Russian servicemen, using social media, news reports, or confirmation by relatives. While the number is unlikely to reflect Russia’s actual…

The Russian government requires banks to share client biometric data with the state, the Kommersant business daily reported Tuesday. Russia’s Unified Biometric System (UBS), which is accessible to the police and intelligence services, was created in 2018 to allow the use of facial recognition for online banking.  Kommersant reported that authorities sent a directive to…

The leader of Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia on Monday scrapped plans to hold a referendum on joining Russia which his predecessor had scheduled for July 17. South Ossetia was at the center of the Russian-Georgian war in 2008 after which the Kremlin recognized the territory as an independent state and stationed military bases…

EU leaders on Monday backed a ban on most Russian oil imports, after a compromise deal with Hungary to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine. The 27-nation bloc has spent weeks haggling over a proposed total embargo on Russian oil but came up against stubborn resistance from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. EU leaders…

Officials in the Russian city of Kirov have ordered residents to clear out the basements of their apartment blocks so that they can be used as potential bomb shelters. Notices pictured on social media gave residents ten days to remove their belongings and warned that the basements would be used in the event of “possible…

Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered to Russian forces at the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol may face the death penalty, a pro-Moscow separatist official said Monday. “The court will make a decision about them,” Yuri Sirovatko, the justice minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine, was quoted as saying by…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday visited the city of Kharkiv, marking his first trip to eastern Ukraine since Russia invaded his country on Feb. 24. Kharkiv, once the site of some of the war’s fiercest fighting, now lays relatively quiet as Russia pushes for control of the Donbas region to the southeast. But Russian…

Russia is set to boost wages and welfare payments for millions in a bid to ease the economic fallout of the country’s invasion of Ukraine.  A bill signed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin Monday will raise pensions, as well as Russia’s minimum wage and living wage, by around 10%, according to business daily Vedomosti. …

Muscovites are voting to name a square outside the city’s U.S. embassy in honor of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Residents will choose from three potential names for the currently untitled square at the intersection of Bolshoy Devyatinsky Lane and Konyushkovskaya Ulitsa, where the U.S. embassy is located. They are “Defenders of Donbas Square,” “Donetsk People’s…

Russian forces edged toward the center of the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk Monday, while President Volodymyr Zelensky prepared to appeal to EU leaders at an emergency summit where a ban on Russian oil imports is on the agenda.  Zelensky is expected to press EU officials at the summit “to kill Russian exports” as he…

Russia’s population in 2021 hit147.2 million, the state-owned Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily reported Monday, citing census data. The Rosstat statistics agency said Russia’s population increased 1.4% since the previous census conducted in 2010. The growth came as a result of migration – without migrants moving to Russia, the population would have recorded a significant decline.  Former…

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday denied speculation that President Vladimir Putin was ill, saying there were no signs pointing to any ailment. Putin’s health and private life are taboo subjects in Russia, and are almost never discussed in public. Answering a question from France’s broadcaster TF1, Russia’s top diplomat said: “I don’t think…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made his first trip Sunday to the war-torn east since Moscow’s invasion started, as Russian forces tightened their grip around key cities in the Donbas region. After visiting Kharkiv, Zelensky announced that he had fired the northeastern city’s security chief in a rare public rebuke. Zelensky said the man was dismissed…

Patriarch Kirill said Sunday that the Russian Orthodox Church “understands” a decision by its branch in Ukraine to cut ties amid Moscow’s offensive in the pro-Western country. “We fully understand how the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is suffering today,” the head of the Russian Orthodox Church said in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in central…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday told the leaders of France and Germany Moscow is ready to look for ways to ship grain stuck in Ukrainian ports but demanded the West lift sanctions. The Kremlin chief also warned French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz against ramping up arms supplies to Ukraine, saying they…

Ukraine has said it is doing “everything” to defend Donbas, where an intensifying Russian offensive is prompting Kyiv’s forces to consider a strategic retreat from some key areas to avoid being surrounded. Russia is waging all-out war for the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions that make up Donbas – Ukraine’s industrial heartland where President Volodymyr…

Kyrgyzstan’s climbing federation said Friday that it has removed a Ukrainian flag from a mountain named after Russian President Vladimir Putin, following a police investigation of the stunt. Earlier this week, a Twitter user identifying as a climber posted a video of a Ukrainian flag flying next to a plaque marking the mountain as Peak Putin, 4,446…

Moscow-backed separatists announced the capture Friday of the strategic Ukrainian town of Lyman as the gathering pace of a Russian advance in eastern Ukraine was cheered on by pro-Kremlin online groups. The claim followed days of intense fighting in Lyman, which lies on a road leading to the major eastern Ukrainian cities of Sloviansk and…

A local deputy in Russia’s Far East called on President Vladimir Putin to stop the military campaign in Ukraine in a rare show of opposition to the war among local politicians. “We demand the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. We demand an end to military action,” Primorye region legislative assembly member Leonid Vasyukevich said…

Russian parliamentary deputy Leonid Slutsky was unanimously elected Friday the head of Russia’s nationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR).  “I could never have guessed that I would be elected the chairman of my native party,” Slutsky told party delegates after the vote, Vedomosti newspaper reported.  Slutsky also promised to “modify” the party’s political strategy ahead of…

Two southeast Ukrainian regions seized by Russian troops have switched to Russian area codes, state-owned media reported Friday, citing officials. “New telecom operators are already working [in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions],” Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to the head of the annexed region of Crime told RIA Novosti news agency. A RIA Novosti correspondent based in…