The Russian State Duma has unanimously resolved to rescind Russia’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The bill will now be sent to the upper chamber and then to President Vladimir Putin, who is expected to sign it into law. Russian lawmakers and media figures have called for the country to carry…
Russia’s nuclear weapons “saved” the country, Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, said Wednesday. “Were it not for the work of [Soviet atomic bomb creator Igor] Kurchatov and his colleagues, it is difficult to say if our country would still exist,” Patriarch Kirill said. His comments came as he presented a Church…
Russian courts have convicted a record number of soldiers on charges of sexual violence, murder and other felonies in the first half of 2023, the independent news website Mediazona reported, citing Supreme Court data. The courts issued 32 murder convictions against Russian soldiers from January to June 2023. By comparison, fewer than 20 convictions were made…
Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday ordered law enforcement agencies to seek the extradition from Canada of a Ukrainian World War II veteran who fought alongside the Nazis. Yaroslav Hunka, 98, had served in the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, which is accused of committing crimes against humanity during the Holocaust. Hunka was…
“Warming is about to end. And the cause is not humans, but the interplay between the Sun and Earth. Currently, we are in a favorable period, but we will inevitably transition to an unfavorable [cold] one … around 2030-2035.” This statement by Andrei Fedotov, director of the Limnological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences…
Rosatom and Gazprom, Russia’s energy companies, organized a joint session at the African Energy Week (Cape Town, South Africa). The session “Powering Africa’s Future: Collaborative Energy Solutions” unveiled a suite of innovative energy solutions, perfectly tailored to meet the diverse needs of the African continent. The session also included representatives from the South African investment…
Russia “highly values” North Korea’s support for its Ukraine campaign, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Pyongyang on Wednesday, with Western concerns mounting over the historic allies’ deepening military ties. Lavrov’s comments came as he began a two-day visit to Pyongyang that is expected to lay the groundwork for a trip by President Vladimir Putin.…
Russia’s Central Bank has suspended the issue of the new 1,000-ruble bill, whose design depicts a museum housed in a former Orthodox cathedral next to a tower topped with the Muslim crescent, following complaints from members of the Russian Orthodox Church. In a short press release, the Bank said it would stop issuing the bills…
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday decried Washington’s supply of ATACMS long-range missiles to Ukraine as a “mistake” that would not fundamentally change the situation on the battlefield. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday his forces had used the U.S. Army’s M39 Army Tactical Missile System for the first time, though the United States had not…
Russian forces have scaled back their offensive on the frontline city of Avdiivka, the Ukrainian military said Wednesday as analysts documented heavy Russian losses in its major push for the Donetsk region stronghold. Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces has reported at least 15 or more daily Russian attacks on Avdiivka since Russian troops closed in…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted invitations to visit Thailand and Vietnam, according to government statements from the two Southeast Asian nations. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has thrown Putin into international isolation, leaving him with few allies. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the alleged deportations of thousands of…
The deadly blast at a Gaza hospital Tuesday night was a “crime” and Israel must provide proof that it was not involved, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. At least 500 people were killed in the blast at the al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said, blaming an Israeli airstrike. Israel claims the blast…
Russian leader Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that world conflicts “strengthen” his country’s relations with China, after talks with Xi Jinping that celebrated their nations’ deepening political and economic ties. Putin, on his first trip to a major global power since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, met his “old friend” Xi in Beijing on the sidelines of…
Russia’s air defense systems downed at least 28 drones over territories near Ukraine overnight, Moscow’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday. Air defense assets on duty “intercepted and destroyed” drones over the Black Sea and the Belgorod and Kursk regions in western Russia, it said. Russia’s military did not provide details of any damages sustained on the ground…