Belarus Holds Snap Inspection of Nuclear Arms Carriers

Belarus said Tuesday it had started a surprise inspection of its non-strategic nuclear weapon carriers on the orders of President Alexander Lukashenko. The announcement comes a day after his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin ordered nuclear drills in Russia, raising fears that the powerful weapons could be used in Ukraine. Non-strategic nuclear weapons, also known as…

Ukraine Says Thwarted Russian Plot to Kill Zelensky

Authorities in Kyiv announced Tuesday that they detained two Ukrainian security officials involved in a plot coordinated by Russia to assassinate senior Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said in a statement that it had exposed a network of agents run by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), whose aim was…

Armenian PM Threatens to Ban Russian TV Channels

Armenia could ban Russian television broadcasts if Moscow continues ignoring Yerevan’s requests for more balanced coverage, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Tuesday. “We expect the broadcasts of Russian TV channels to respect the citizens and the state system of Armenia,” Pashinyan said during a marathon press conference, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. “We…

Putin Sworn In for Fifth Term as President

Vladimir Putin was sworn in as President of Russia for a fifth on Tuesday, setting the stage for another six years in power as he leads the country in its devastating war against neighboring Ukraine. After Putin took the oath of office, led by Constitutional Court head Valery Zorkin, he was officially sworn in as…

Russian Shelling Kills 1 in Ukraine’s Sumy region

Ukraine said Tuesday that one person was killed by Russian artillery fire in the northeastern Sumy region. Sumy and the neighboring region of Kharkiv, where the country’s second-largest city is located, have come under increasing aerial bombardments in recent weeks. “As a result of an enemy attack, one civilian was killed and four were wounded,…

Regional Official Arrested for Bribery in Russia’s Bashkortostan

A regional minister has been detained on suspicion of soliciting 5 million rubles ($55,000) as a bribe in Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan, investigators said Tuesday. Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, did not identify the official by name, saying only that he is a 47-year-old ex-transportation minister. But Bashkortostan Governor Radiy Khabirov identified the…

Russia Arrests U.S. Army Soldier on Theft Charges

Updated with White House comments. Russia said Tuesday that it will hold an American soldier who was detained in the Far East over the weekend in custody until early July on theft charges. The U.S. Army said the soldier, identified by a Russian court in the city of Vladivostok as Gordon Black, had been detained…