Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s suggestion that Kyiv would seek nuclear weapons if it could not join NATO was a “dangerous provocation,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday. The Ukrainian leader made the comments at an EU summit on Thursday, in which he said “either Ukraine will have nuclear weapons, which will protect us, or we…
Russia and Ukraine said Friday they exchanged the bodies of 590 fallen soldiers in the latest publicly known swap between the two warring countries. Moscow received the remains of 89 soldiers, the RBC news website reported, citing Russian lawmaker Shamsayil Saraliyev, who is a member of a parliamentary group dedicated to Russia’s so-called “special military…
The BRICS group of countries is driving global economic growth faster than advanced Western economies, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the group’s business forum on Friday. The five original members of BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — together with its four newcomers accounted for 37.4% of global GDP compared to 29.3% for…
As Moldova gears up for its presidential election and EU referendum this Sunday, President Maia Sandu is banking on both her victory and a successful EU referendum, which would mark a decisive moment in her efforts to bring Moldova into the European Union. In total, 11 candidates are vying for the presidency in the Oct.…
Latvia imposed an indefinite entry ban for pro-Kremlin designer Artemiy Lebedev and comedian Valery Ponomarenko, a month before he was due to perform in the country, Latvia’s Foreign Ministry announced Friday. Latvian authorities did not cite the specific reasons for blacklisting Lebedev and Ponomarenko, noting only that the former is “known in certain circles” and…
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend this month’s BRICS summit in Russia, India’s Foreign Ministry said Friday, months after the Indian leader met with President Vladimir Putin in a meeting that drew condemnation from Ukraine. Modi’s government has longstanding ties with Moscow that have persisted despite India’s attempts to forge closer security partnerships with…
North Korea is sending “large-scale” troop deployments to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine, with 1,500 special forces already stationed in Russia’s Far East where they are undergoing training, Seoul’s intelligence agency said Friday. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) released detailed satellite images of what it said was Pyongyang’s first deployment to Russia. South Korean President Yoon Suk…
Washington unveiled new sanctions Thursday targeting China-based companies linked to the production of drones that Russia has deployed in its war against Ukraine. It marks the first time the U.S. sanctioned Chinese companies “directly developing and producing complete weapons systems in partnership with Russian firms,” the U.S. Treasury Department said. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said…
Russia’s agricultural safety watchdog banned the import of tomatoes, melons, wheat and other food products from neighboring Kazakhstan amid ongoing trade disputes between the two countries. “The decision was made because Kazakhstan’s competent authorities failed to take measures to ensure the phytosanitary safety of [products sent to] Russian territory,” Rosselkhoznadzor said Thursday. The watchdog said…
Authorities in southwestern Russia’s Belgorod region on Friday denied reports of Ukrainian troops launching an incursion into a village on the border with Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. Open-source intelligence bloggers speculated earlier this week that Ukraine may have opened a “new axis” in the Belgorod region village of Zhuravlevka to cut off one of the Russian…
A cargo ship capsized off the coast of Far East Russia’s Sakhalin island, killing at least two crewmen, the state-run Interfax news agency reported Friday, citing emergency services. Earlier, Sakhalin region Governor Valery Limarenko said the Grigory Lotsov, which was loaded with crushed stone and sand, sank off the coast of Sakhalin’s Korsakovsky District. Limarenko…
Top executives of the largest nuclear companies and organizations from BRICS+ member states, including Russia, China, South Africa, Brazil, Iran, Ethiopia, and Bolivia, held the first meeting within the framework of the Nuclear Energy Platform being created. During the meeting, which took place at the Moscow Atom Museum, the participants discussed the initiative and outlined…