Ukraine and Russia on Thursday said they swapped 100 prisoners of war each, the latest exchange between the warring sides since Moscow accused Kyiv of downing a plane carrying captured Ukrainian soldiers. Moscow and Kyiv have both vowed to keep exchanging prisoners as Russia’s war against Ukraine drags quickly approaches its second anniversary. “Another 100…
Ukraine’s top commander Valery Zaluzhny was on Thursday removed from his post, in the biggest shake-up of Kyiv’s military leadership since Russia’s invasion began almost two years ago. The popular general had led the Ukrainian army since the start of the war, pushing back a vastly more powerful invading force in the first months of…
At least six civilians in southwestern Russia’s Belgorod region have been wounded in Ukrainian shelling, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said Thursday. A man received shrapnel wounds when a “kamikaze” drone attacked a bus in the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka, less than 5 kilometers from Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, Gladkov wrote on the messaging app Telegram. He later…
Russian concert promoters in early February received an expanded list of musicians banned from performing in the country, the independent news website Meduza reported Thursday, citing two anonymous music industry sources. The names of 50 recording artists and bands reportedly include both vocal critics of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as well as those who have…
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin accused the United States of “interfering” in their countries’ domestic affairs during a telephone call on Thursday, the Kremlin said. Xi and Putin denounced the “U.S. policy of interfering in the internal affairs of other states” during an hour-long call. “The leaders of the two…
Finland has extended the closure of its border with Russia until April 14, as a recent surge of asylum seekers it accuses Moscow of orchestrating shows no sign of abating, the Nordic country’s Interior Ministry announced Thursday. Finland has not reopened its eastern border with Russia since closing it in December over what it called…
Kazakh-born businessman Vasily Anisimov is at least the seventh billionaire to renounce his Russian citizenship after the invasion of Ukraine, Forbes Russia reported Thursday, citing documents provided by the exiled oligarch. Anisimov, the former owner of the license for the “Putinka” vodka brand and the real estate holding Coalco, is reportedly listed as a citizen…
It means completion of general construction works in Unit 1 containment and transition to the equipment start-up-and-adjustment phase. February 08, 2024, Büyükeceli, Mersin Province, Türkiye. – A “clean area” has been arranged in the reactor compartment of Akkuyu NPP Unit No. 1. This term means a prepared working space for controlled assembly of a reactor,…
Large numbers of Russian troops are pushing to capture the frontline town of Avdiivka, its Ukrainian mayor said Thursday, escalating a months-long effort to capture the industrial hub. Late last year, Moscow launched a costly bid to seize the town, which has been caught up in fighting since 2014 when it briefly fell to Moscow-backed…
Russian election authorities on Thursday disqualified pro-peace presidential hopeful Boris Nadezhdin from the March election over alleged errors in his endorsement signatures. The veteran politician’s campaign has presented a rare challenge to a tightly controlled election in which President Vladimir Putin is likely to win a fifth term, with thousands of Russians lining up to…
A powerful explosion rocked the suburbs of the city of Izhevsk in central Russia on Wednesday night, with state-run media reporting that the blast occurred at a machine and missile production facility. Videos shared on social media showed a large fireball lighting up the night sky over the testing grounds of the Votkinsk Machine Building…