Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that Russia can only be forced into peace, as he denounced Iran and North Korea as “accomplices” in the war. Addressing a special UN Security Council session attended by a representative of Russia, Zelensky described Moscow as insincere in its calls for dialogue. “We know some in the world…
The Kremlin is attempting to create the illusion that Russian men who fight in Ukraine will enjoy greater career prospects — including the possibility of future government roles — as it grapples with a shortage of military volunteers and seeks to quell criticism from Ukraine war veterans. Russian media reported Monday that several veterans of…
Russian strikes on a residential quarter of Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv killed three civilians and wounded more than 30 on Tuesday afternoon, Ukrainian officials said. Kharkiv lies around 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Russian border and has been pounded by Russian aerial attacks throughout the two-and-a-half-year war. “The targets of the Russian bombs…
A Russian warship taking part in naval drills fired a warning shot at a Norwegian fishing boat in the Arctic Ocean earlier this month, the boat’s captain told local media on Monday. The confrontation occurred on Sept. 12 in the Barents Sea between the anti-submarine destroyer Admiral Levchenko — one of Russia’s largest warships — and…
A park dedicated to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine was torn down in order to make way for the construction of a new business center, the regional news outlet Govorit Moskva reported Tuesday. The “Homecoming Alley,” unveiled in the Bashkortostan capital of Ufa in September 2022, featured 130 tree saplings planted by soldiers’ relatives, local…
JPMorgan and HSBC unknowingly processed payments for companies controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenary group, according to a new report by the U.S.-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS). According to the center, Wagner was able to establish an early foothold in Africa during the mid-2010s thanks to access it had to an international “network of financial services and…
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will hold talks with Vladimir Putin during a visit to Russia next month to attend the BRICS summit, an Iranian government spokeswoman said Tuesday. The visit to the BRICS summit in the Tatarstan capital of Kazan from Oct. 22 to 24 will be Pezeshkian’s first to Russia since he took office…
Russian lawmakers adopted a bill Tuesday allowing criminal defendants to serve in the military, closing a loophole that previously limited enlistment to suspects and convicts. The lower-house State Duma said its deputies voted in favor of two bills that, if signed into law, will allow defendants to sign military contracts or be mobilized. “Criminal proceedings against such persons will be…
Several men accused of being involved in last week’s shootout at the headquarters of online retailer Wildberries are seeking to join the Russian military and fight in Ukraine, the Kommersant business daily reported Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Two security guards were killed and several others injured during the Sep. 18 shooting outside the…
Three Russian men were detained in the African nation of Chad, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said late Monday, confirming earlier reports. The ministry identified the detained Russians as Maxim Shugaley, Samer Sueifan and E. Tsaryov, saying it was in “close contact” with authorities in Chad and taking the “necessary steps in the interests of their swift…
The Kremlin said Monday that it was “extremely” concerned over relentless Israeli airstrikes that have killed over 500 people and wounded around 1,800 others, as the Russian Embassy in Lebanon urged citizens to leave the country. “This development is potentially extremely dangerous,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, warning of the “widening area of conflict…
Russia plans to boost defense spending to 13.2 trillion rubles ($142 billion) in 2025 from 10.4 trillion rubles projected for this year, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing draft budget proposals it had seen. That increase would represent 6.2% of Russia’s projected GDP, a historically high figure as the war in Ukraine shows little sign of ending…
Two teenagers in western Siberia’s Omsk region were arrested and charged with terrorism for setting fire to a helicopter, the regional court’s press service announced Tuesday. Baza, a Telegram news channel with reported links to Russia’s security services, published a video Monday in which one of the teenagers admits to breaking into the helipad and…