Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich’s seven children became the beneficiaries of 10 offshore trusts holding assets worth billions of dollars shortly before he was hit with sanctions, Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported Friday. They acquired the beneficial ownership of the secretive trusts with assets of at least $4 billion in early February 2022, three weeks before Russia…
Artillery exchanges pounded war-scarred cities in eastern Ukraine on Friday despite Russian leader Vladimir Putin unilaterally ordering his forces to pause attacks for 36 hours for the Orthodox Christmas. The brief ceasefire declared by Putin earlier this week was supposed to begin at 09:00 GMT Friday and would have been the first full pause since…
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, a powerful ally of President Vladimir Putin, is embracing the rhetoric of the medieval crusades in urging support for Moscow’s offensive in eastern Ukraine. When Pope Urban ordered the first crusade to the Middle East in 1095, he told Christians to rise up and defend fellow believers, promising that their sins…