Category: another
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‘We’ll Keep Fighting’: Attack on Navalny Aide Volkov Startles, But Doesn’t Deter Russian Exiles in Lithuania
VILNIUS, Lithuania — Thousands of Russian opposition activists fled to Lithuania’s capital following the Kremlin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, seeking safety from the political crackdown quickly sweeping their home country. That sense of safety was blighted when Leonid Volkov, a close aide of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was attacked near his home with a…
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Fatal Ukrainian Strikes Rock Russia as Vote Cements Putin’s Grip
In a separate post, Gladkov announced that schools and shopping centers in the city of Belgorod and some surrounding districts would close temporarily over the coming days, the second time this month. Russia’s Defense Ministry earlier said it had downed rockets, missiles and drones in the border regions of Belgorod and Kursk which have suffered…
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Russian Strikes Kill 20, Including Rescuers, in ‘Vile’ Odesa Attack
Russian missiles pounded Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odesa on Friday, killing more than a dozen people including rescue workers in an attack President Volodymyr Zelensky described as “vile.” AFP journalists on the scene saw bodies covered by blankets strewn on the street, while images from officials showed exhausted emergency service workers smeared with…
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‘Indifference’ and ‘Anger’ Guide Voter Choice in Russia’s Ethnic Republics
In Russia’s ethnic republics, outsize war casualties, worsening economic conditions and even sweeping repressions are unlikely to catalyze voters against President Vladimir Putin in this weekend’s presidential election, experts and activists told The Moscow Times. With most of the Russian opposition imprisoned, in exile or dead, Putin is expected to easily secure victory in the…
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Putin Votes Online in Russian Presidential Election – TV
President Vladimir Putin cast his vote online Friday in Russia’s presidential elections being held in occupied regions of Ukraine. Images distributed by the Kremlin showed the long-time Russian leader voting at a computer in his office and waving to the camera. … we have a small favor to ask. As you may have heard, The…
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Putin Vows Response to Ukrainian Attacks on Russian Border Regions
President Vladimir Putin said Friday that his military would respond to this week’s spate of Ukrainian attacks on Russia, which he described as an attempt by Kyiv to derail the March 15-17 presidential election. “The goal of these pointless acts from a military standpoint and criminal acts from a humanitarian standpoint was to try to…
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Barbie and Bogatyrs: The First Day of Voting in Russia’s Election
Newlyweds, a legendary Slavic hero and Tucker Carlson greeted voters at polling stations across Russia as the country’s presidential election began. Here’s a look at some of the most colorful scenes from the first day of voting: Fictional Characters A local resident came to a polling station in Yugorsk dressed as Cheburashka. He voted in…
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Parts of Far East Russia Report 100% Voter Turnout on First Day of Election
More than 400 polling stations in remote parts of Russia’s Far East have reported a 100% turnout on the first day of the presidential election, the independent news website Vyorstka reported Friday. Early voting began in difficult-to-reach areas across 37 Russian regions, as well as parts of occupied Ukraine, in late February. Vyorstka noted that…
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‘Loyalty Check’: Russia Holds Election in Occupied Ukrainian Territories
Russia has opened polling stations for the 2024 presidential election in the Moscow-occupied regions of Ukraine despite ongoing fighting and the regions being internationally recognized as part of Ukraine. Moscow claimed to have annexed Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions following 2022 referendums that Ukraine and the West described as a sham. It previously…
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Russians Set Fire to At Least 4 Polling Stations on First Day of Election
At least four people in regions across Russia carried out arson attacks at polling places on Friday as the first day of voting in the March 15-17 presidential election got underway. In Moscow, an elderly woman was detained for setting fire to a voting booth, according to the independent news outlet Sota. A video published…
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Russians Dump Green Dye Into Ballot Boxes in At Least 7 Regions
Russian election and law enforcement authorities have reported a spate of incidents involving voters spilling green antiseptic dye into ballot boxes on the first day of the presidential election. The dye, called zelyonka in Russian, was widely used in attacks on opposition activists figures during the 2010s. Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) called for security…
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Shelling of Russia’s Belgorod Kills 1, Injures 2
At least one person was killed and two others were injured in an attack on the Russian city of Belgorod on Friday afternoon, local authorities said, just shortly after pro-Kyiv militias warned of an imminent strike. Belgorod region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said air defense systems shot down 10 “aerial targets” on their approach to the…
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Jailed Human Rights Activist Orlov Offered to Fight in Ukraine
Russian prison authorities tried to recruit jailed human rights campaigner Oleg Orlov for the war in Ukraine despite his pacifist views, the Memorial human rights group said Friday. A Moscow court sentenced Orlov to two-and-a-half years in prison in late February for speaking out against the war in Ukraine and “discrediting” the Russian military. Memorial…
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Russia’s Online Voting System Briefly Crashes on First Day of Election
Russia’s online voting system briefly crashed on Friday, the first day of the March 15-17 presidential race, with independent election observers saying the likely cause was “huge numbers” of workers being forced to vote. “The system has temporarily switched to electronic line management due to the unprecedented number of people wishing to vote online,” read a message…
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Russia’s FSB Detains Moscow Resident for Launching Drones Near Military Sites
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained a man in Moscow on suspicion of launching drones near Russian military sites, the state news agency TASS reported Friday, citing an official statement. A video released by the FSB showed masked agents raiding a house and arresting a middle-aged man whose face was blurred. “They asked me…
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Russia Says 3 Children Killed in Eastern Ukraine Shelling
A Moscow-installed official on Friday said Ukrainian shelling of the Russian-held city of Donetsk killed three children. Russia claims to have annexed the Donetsk region, even though it does not have full control of it and the frontline regional capital comes under frequent shelling attacks. “As a result of barbaric overnight shelling … a direct…
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Russia and Ukraine Down Drones as Voting Starts
Russia and Ukraine downed drones and rockets overnight as polling stations opened across Russia on the first day of voting in the country’s presidential election. Kyiv has launched some of its largest air attacks on Russia this week ahead of the vote, which is set to hand President Vladimir Putin another six-year term in the…
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Russia Begins Voting as Ukraine Steps Up Border Attacks
Russia began voting on Friday in an election set to prolong President Vladimir Putin’s rule by six more years, as Kyiv branded the vote a “farce” and launched a barrage of deadly attacks on border regions. Officials in Moscow warned against any protests during the March 15-17 presidential vote, after calls from the opposition for…
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Moscow Authorities Threaten Criminal Charges for Election Day Rallies
Moscow authorities have threatened to criminally prosecute those who take part in election-day rallies aimed at expressing opposition to President Vladimir Putin. Supporters of late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny are expected to go to polling stations at noon on Sunday — the final day of Russia’s presidential vote — to make a visible show of…
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Putin’s Election Win Is Almost Certain. What Can Anti-Kremlin Russians Do?
MOSCOW – Almost no one doubts the outcome of Russia’s presidential election, where President Vladimir Putin is set to secure another six years in power with a huge lead over his opponents. With the election under tight control and wartime repressions stronger than ever, anti-war Russians nonetheless have some options to show their discontent with the…
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Lithuania Says Russian Special Services Involved in Volkov Attack
Updated with Peskov’s remarks. Lithuania on Thursday said it suspects Russian special services were behind an attack on Russian opposition figure Leonid Volkov earlier this week and called the incident an act of “political terrorism.” Volkov, a close ally of late Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, was briefly admitted to the hospital after he was…
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Russia Says 6K Foreign Fighters Killed in Ukraine
Russia said Thursday that its forces have killed nearly 6,000 foreign volunteers fighting on the side of Ukraine since Moscow’s full-scale invasion over two years ago. According to the Defense Ministry, 13,387 “foreign mercenaries” from dozens of countries have fought in Ukraine since February 2022. Overall, Russian forces have killed 5,962 of those volunteer fighters, it…
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Bread Rolls and Dyson Hair Stylers: Russia Lures Voters With Election Day Freebies
Local officials across Russia have been doubling down on efforts to encourage the public to vote in this weekend’s presidential election as the Kremlin seeks a historic turnout for President Vladimir Putin’s expected re-election. In addition to pressuring public sector workers and employees of state-linked companies into casting a ballot, officials are also trying to…
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Armenian PM Calls on Citizens To Discuss EU Membership
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday called for broad public dialogue on the prospect of applying for EU membership, as the ex-Soviet country’s ties with Russia fray. Moscow’s war in Ukraine has reinvigorated the EU’s drive to enlarge, with Brussels putting EU aspirants Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia on a formal membership path after years…
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Moscow Activists Jailed for Links to ‘Underground’ Navalny Group
A Moscow court has sentenced two young activists to prison for their links to late opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s “underground headquarters,” the independent Mediazona news website reported Thursday from the court. Higher School of Economics (HSE) student Alina Olekhnovich, 21, and HSE graduate Ivan Trofimov, 22, were sentenced to 3.5 years in prison each on…
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Russia Bans Entry to 227 Americans for ‘Anti-Russian’ Actions
Russia has banned entry to 227 U.S. citizens, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow announced Thursday. The Foreign Ministry accused the banned individuals of playing a role in steering Washington’s “Russophobic policies” and being directly involved in “anti-Russian actions.” The latest additions to Russia’s “stop list” include State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, former U.S. Ambassador to…
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2 Dead, 19 Injured in Ukrainian Strike on Russia’s Belgorod Region – Governor
Updated with injury count. Two people died and 19 others were injured on Thursday in western Russia’s Belgorod region as the country faced widespread drone attacks for a third day in a row, officials said. Russia’s Defense Ministry said 14 Ukrainian drones were destroyed in border regions overnight, the latest wave of attacks ahead of…
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Police Search Homes of Nadezhdin Campaign Volunteers in Southern Russia
Law enforcement agents have searched the homes of several volunteers from ex-presidential hopeful Boris Nadezhdin’s campaign team in southern Russia, the online news outlet Caucasian Knot reported Thursday. The police searches were carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday in the southern Russian city of Stavropol, local Nadezhdin campaign manager Alexander Korovayny told the outlet, adding that he believed…
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Pro-Kyiv Fighters Launch Incursion Into Russia’s Kursk Region
Anti-Kremlin militias fighting on the side of Ukraine launched an incursion into western Russia’s Kursk region on Thursday, Russian authorities said. “Ukrainian terrorists have not given up on trying to enter our territory with their sabotage and reconnaissance units around the village of Tyotkino,” Kursk region Governor Roman Starovoit wrote on the messaging app Telegram.…
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Russia’s FSB Says Arrested 4 Members of Pro-Ukraine Paramilitary Group
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said Thursday it had arrested four alleged members of a pro-Ukraine paramilitary group preparing attacks on Russian territory, including poisoning Russian soldiers. The four were arrested in the city of St. Petersburg, the FSB said in a statement. “The FSB has put an end to the illegal activities in St.…
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Putin Urges Russians to Vote at ‘Difficult’ Time for Country
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday urged Russian citizens to vote in the March 15-17 presidential election, which he said comes at a “difficult” time for the country. Putin is all but guaranteed to secure another six-year term this weekend in a vote the Kremlin says will show society is fully behind Moscow’s so-called “special military…
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Teen Comedians Apologize On-Camera for Joke About Bashkortostan Head
A group of teenagers from Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan have been forced to record an on-camera apology after they joked about the regional head during a popular comedy competition. The three high schoolers from Bashkortostan’s capital of Ufa were performing as a team in the national KVN comedy tournament on Sunday when they joked about a…
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In Quotes: Putin Grants Wide-Ranging Interview to State Media Ahead of Election
President Vladimir Putin gave a wide-ranging interview to leading Russian TV presenter Dmitry Kiselyov on Wednesday, days ahead of the country’s presidential election where he is expected to easily win re-election. The hour-and-a-half-long televised interview focused heavily on domestic political and economic issues with some attention given to Russia’s foreign policy, particularly its two-year war…
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After Kyiv Row, Moscow Hails Pope’s Peace Efforts
Russia congratulated Pope Francis Wednesday on 11 years in office, hailing his support for “humanism and peace” after the pontiff caused outrage by urging Ukraine to “raise the white flag.” “Pope Francis is a true and sincere advocate of humanism, peace and traditional values,” the Russian Embassy to the Holy See posted on X, formerly…
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Russians Indirectly Support Ukraine By Buying Dutch Flowers, MP Says
A Russian lawmaker on Wednesday criticized his fellow countrymen for allegedly purchasing billions of dollars worth of Dutch flowers for International Women’s Day, implying that the money was helping fund Ukraine’s war effort. “Do you know where the money in most of these multibillion-dollar flows went to?” Oleg Nilov, from the systemic opposition party A…
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Nadezhdin’s Far East Campaign Head Jailed for ‘LGBT Propaganda’ in Hacked Private Chat
A court in Russia’s Far East city of Vladivostok has arrested ex-presidential hopeful Boris Nadezhdin’s local campaign head for “LGBT propaganda,” the independent news outlet Mediazona reported Wednesday. Igor Krasnov was ordered to six days of arrest on charges of “displaying extremist symbols,” Mediazona reported, citing his friends. Russia’s Supreme Court outlawed the “international LGBT…
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Pro-Kyiv Militias Urge Russians in Border Regions to Evacuate
Anti-Kremlin militia groups fighting on the side of Ukraine have urged civilians in western Russia’s Belgorod and Kursk regions to evacuate, saying they were preparing to launch attacks on Russian “military positions” across the two regions. “Putin’s assassins are carrying out massive strikes on peaceful Ukrainian cities, putting their positions between your homes, your children’s schools…
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Attack on Navalny Ally Volkov Likely ‘Organized by Russia’ – Lithuania
Lithuanian intelligence services on Wednesday said that the attack on Russian opposition figure Leonid Volkov, a close ally of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was likely “organized by Russia.” The Baltic state’s president said Moscow’s potential involvement should not come as a surprise, before striking a note of defiance against Russian President Vladimir Putin: “No…
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Moscow Should Not Boycott Paris Olympics, Russian Sports Minister Says
Russia’s Sports Minister on Wednesday said Moscow should not boycott the upcoming Paris Olympics despite restrictions on its athletes over the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Last year, the International Olympic Committee suspended Russia from the Games, but later said it would allow Russian athletes to compete as neutrals outside of team events as long as…
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Russia Opens Criminal Case Against Journalist Zygar Over ‘War Fakes’
Russian authorities have pressed criminal charges against journalist Mikhail Zygar for spreading “fake news” about the Russian military, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported on Wednesday, citing an anonymous law enforcement source. According to the Baza Telegram channel, which is purported to have links to Russian law enforcement, Zygar is accused of spreading false information…
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Putin Says Russian Nuclear Weapons ‘More Advanced’ Than in U.S.
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday lauded Moscow’s nuclear arsenal and warned that he was ready to deploy the weapons if Russia’s sovereignty was threatened. The Kremlin has touted its nuclear prowess throughout its two-year offensive in Ukraine, last month warning Western countries that there was a “real” risk of nuclear catastrophe if they escalated the…
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EU Lifts Sanctions on Yandex Co-Founder Volozh
The European Union has removed sanctions that were placed on Russian tech billionaire Arkady Volozh after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to a document published on Wednesday. Volozh, who co-founded the Russian tech giant Yandex, announced his resignation as CEO of the company in mid-2022 after being targeted by EU sanctions. In August,…
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Russian Oil Refinery Set Ablaze in Latest Wave of Drone Attacks
A wave of drone strikes targeted Russian oil refineries and border regions for the second day in a row on Wednesday, with one sparking a fire and injuring several people in the central Ryazan region, officials said. Dozens of Ukrainian drones were launched overnight, targeting the Russian border regions of Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk and Voronezh, and…
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Navalny Ally Leonid Volkov Attacked Near Lithuania Home
Longtime Navalny aide and former Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) chairman Leonid Volkov was attacked at his home in Lithuania on Tuesday night, his associates said. “Someone broke a car window and sprayed tear gas in his eyes, after which the attacker started hitting Leonid with a hammer,” Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Volkov,…
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U.S. Announces Emergency Ukraine Aid, as Poles Warn of Russia Threat
U.S. President Joe Biden announced an emergency $300 million military aid shipment for Ukraine on Tuesday, as Poland’s leaders visited the White House to warn of the growing threat from Russia. The White House sidestepped Republicans in Congress, who have for months blocked a much larger package for Kyiv’s desperate fight, by using money that…
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3 Killed in Russian Strike on Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih
A Russian missile strike on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih left at least three people dead and 38 wounded Tuesday, including children, according to authorities. Rescuers could be seen evacuating wounded civilians from a burning multi-story residential building in a video published by Kyiv’s interior ministry. “Three dead and 38 injured,” Interior Minister…
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‘Make the Young Fall in Love With Putin’: Young Russians Pressured to Vote as Kremlin Demands Record Turnout
Russian officials have been ordered to significantly boost voter turnout among young people in the upcoming presidential election as the Kremlin seeks to hand President Vladimir Putin a resounding re-coronation. Students, graduate students and young workers are facing pressure and coercion from authorities, their schools and employers in the lead-up to the March 15-17 vote.…
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Russian Women Fined $1,000 Over Restaurant Kiss
Two women in southern Russia’s Krasnodar region have been fined 50,000 rubles ($550) each for kissing each other on camera, the regional court’s press service said Tuesday. In early February, a police report was filed against the women, whose names were not given, after they were filmed kissing each other at a restaurant. Law enforcement…
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EU Firms Supply $630Mln in Equipment to Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 Project Despite Sanctions
European companies have supplied over $630 million worth of equipment according to the current exchange rate to Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project since the invasion of Ukraine despite it being under Western sanctions, The Moscow Times’ Russian service and the Arctida NGO reported Tuesday in a joint investigation. Arctic LNG 2, whose key stakeholders include…
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Russia Says Captured Village in Ukraine’s Donetsk Region
Moscow on Tuesday said its forces had captured the village of Nevelske in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, where Russian troops have made recent gains. Russian forces have recently been able to take advantage of Ukrainian shortages of ammunition and servicemen to take territory in the east. Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that…
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Pro-Kyiv Militias Attack Russian Border Regions
Russia said Tuesday that it had repelled a series of brazen cross-border raids by pro-Ukrainian militias who burst into its territory and claimed to seize control of a village. Groups of pro-Kyiv volunteer fighters, made up of Russians who oppose the Kremlin, said earlier that they had broken into the Kursk and Belgorod regions bordering…
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Russia Bans Entry to 347 Citizens of Baltic States
Moscow on Tuesday banned entry to 347 citizens of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia over what it called the “hostile policy” of the three Baltic states toward Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry accused the governments of the three Baltic states of interfering in its domestic affairs and “persecuting” their Russian-speaking populations in the announcement published on its…
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Russian Military Transport Plane Crashes in Flames Northeast of Moscow
Updated with Defense Ministry’s statement. A Russian military transport plane caught fire and crashed in the Ivanovo region northeast of Moscow, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday. Footage circulating on social media showed the IL-76 aircraft descending toward the ground with one of its engines on fire. Other footage showed a column of black smoke rising…
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Kyiv Summons Vatican Envoy Over Pope’s ‘White Flag’ Comments
Ukraine on Monday summoned the Vatican’s envoy to Kyiv after Pope Francis suggested the country should consider raising “the white flag” against Russia, causing fury in Kyiv. Ukraine has angrily rejected Pope Francis’s suggestion to negotiate with Russia two years after its invasion, vowing “never” to surrender to Moscow. “Due to the statements of Pope…
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Zelensky Claims Russian Advance in Ukraine ‘Halted’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that Russian advances had been “halted” in Ukraine and the situation was now “much better” for his troops than in recent months. “The Russian advance has been halted,” Zelensky told French broadcaster BFM TV. “Our command, our military has stopped the Russian advance in eastern Ukraine,” he said. Kyiv…
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Moldova Slams Russia Over Polling Stations in Transnistria
Moldova on Monday said it would summon the Russian ambassador to show “its disapproval of the decision to open polling stations” in separatist Transnistria during the Russian presidential election. Moldova last week downplayed talk of rising tensions after pro-Russian rebel officials in Transnistria appealed to Russia for “protection.” Russian news agencies reported that six polling…
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In Photos: Russia Opens Voting in Occupied Ukrainian Territories, Frontline Areas
While Russian citizens will cast their votes in the 2024 presidential election from March 15-17, early voting is already underway in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine. Russia claimed to have annexed the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in September 2022 following referendums that Kyiv and the West described as a sham. Moscow has opened…
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What Do We Know About Russia’s Presidential Candidates?
Russians will vote for one of the four presidential candidates officially registered by the Central Election Commission (CEC) this week. In addition to President Vladimir Putin, who is running as an independent candidate, the candidates include Leonid Slutsky of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), Nikolai Kharitonov of the Communist Party and Vladislav Davankov of the…
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Latvian Police to ‘Screen’ Russian Voters Outside Moscow’s Embassy
Russian nationals who visit Moscow’s embassy in Latvia to vote in the March 15-17 presidential election will undergo police screenings, local media reported on Monday, citing the head of the Baltic country’s police force. “Access to the embassy will be controlled accordingly, residence permit and visa checkpoints will be set up in coordination with the State…
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China, Russia, Iran Holding Joint Naval Drills
The navies of China, Russia and Iran are staging joint drills in the Gulf of Oman this week, Beijing said Monday. The military activities — to be conducted from Monday through Friday — are aimed at “jointly maintaining regional maritime security,” according to a statement published on social media platform WeChat by China’s defense ministry.…