Moscow announced Monday it was expelling a Ukrainian embassy worker, the latest in a wave of diplomatic expulsions that have embroiled Russian and European diplomats. The expulsion came amid heightened tensions between Moscow and Kiev over an uptick in fighting between Ukraine’s army and pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine. Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement…
Most Russians support the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and do not believe Russia violated international agreements when it took the action in 2014, according to an independent survey published on Monday. The Levada Center polling agency said 86% of respondents supported the annexation, while 71% of respondents did not see it as illegal and…
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said Monday he opposes new sanctions against Russia despite soaring tensions between the West and Moscow over a slew of accusations. The European Union and NATO earlier this month expressed solidarity with the United States, which hit Russia with the toughest sanctions in three years for election interference and cyberattacks. In…
Russia has vaccinated 11.9 million people with a first dose of one of its three homemade coronavirus vaccines, Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said Monday. That represents around 10% of Russia’s adult population and comes as the government has stepped up efforts to boost its slow-going nationwide vaccination campaign, which was rolled out early December.…
Russian prosecutors on Monday suspended the activities of Alexei Navalny’s regional offices, in a move his team said would essentially shut down the jailed opposition figure’s decade-long movement against President Vladimir Putin. The order came as a court began considering whether to designate Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and his regional offices as extremist organizations, putting…
Moscow announced Monday it was expelling an Italian diplomat in response to the “unfriendly” removal of two Russian officials from Italy in March over spying allegations. The foreign ministry said it had summoned Italy’s ambassador and that he was informed Russia was “declaring ‘persona-non-grata’” Rome’s naval attache in Moscow, who would have 24 hours to leave the…
Romania said Monday it will expel a Russian diplomat, the latest European country to do so in solidarity with the Czech Republic, which is involved in a spat with Moscow. The deputy military attache at the Russian embassy in Bucharest, Alexei Grichayev, would be declared “persona non grata… in view of his activities and actions…
The ex-mayor of Yakutsk, Sardana Avksentiyeva will run in Russia’s State Duma elections this fall for the recently formed New People party, she said in an Instagram post Monday. “I’m going to the State Duma elections with New People,” said Avksentiyeva, who was the first female mayor of the Siberian town, adding that the chairman…
President Volodymyr Zelensky was due Monday to visit the Chernobyl exclusion zone and address Ukrainians to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the world’s worst nuclear disaster. The exclusion zone is a 30-kilometer radius around the nuclear power plant that was evacuated in the aftermath of an explosion and was deemed unsafe for humans to live for thousands…
Russia and the rest of the world increased military spending in 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think tank said in a new report Monday. In a second consecutive year of growth, Russia’s military expenditure rose 2.5% to $61.7 billion, placing it fourth in the world behind the United…
A Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East on Monday carrying 36 U.K. telecommunications and internet satellites, the Roscosmos space agency said. OneWeb, a London-headquartered company, is working to complete the construction of a constellation of low earth orbit satellites providing enhanced broadband and other services to countries around the…
Russia has declared the leading independent news website Meduza a “foreign agent,” the Justice Ministry announced Friday amid what critics call the Kremlin’s continuing crackdown on free speech. A statement on the ministry’s website said the decision, which also includes the Moscow-based Pasmi (“First Anti-Corruption Media”) news site, was made “in compliance with the requirements…
Russia has relaxed its coronavirus entry requirements to give citizens from a list of countries, including the United Kingdom, more options to cross its borders. A government decree, signed last week, says citizens from any of the 29 countries with which Russia has resumed regular air connections can enter Russia via a flight from either…
Europe’s football governing body UEFA said Thursday that the Russian city of St. Petersburg will host three additional Euro 2020 group games after the original hosts of the 12-city tournament could not guarantee fan admittance due to the coronavirus. St. Petersburg was initially scheduled to host three group stage matches and one quarter-final when UEFA’s…
The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said Friday they were expelling a total of four Russian diplomats in solidarity with the Czech Republic, which is involved in a spat with Moscow. The Czech government has accused Russian secret services of being behind a fatal explosion at an arms depot in eastern Czech Republic…
President Vladimir Putin did not discuss anticipated unification between Russia and Belarus during late-night talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, the Kremlin said Friday. Lukashenko met Putin in Moscow days after he said his security services had thwarted a coup plot in Belarus, and the Russian president denounced Western silence about the claims. Their…
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny ended his three-week hunger strike Friday, saying it had resulted in “huge progress” and thanking his supporters. In a post on Instagram, Navalny said he was following the advice of his supporters and doctors, who had warned he could die “at any minute,” if he continued to refuse meals in…
President Vladimir Putin on Friday backed a proposal by the head of Russia’s health watchdog to introduce a non-working period in early May to prevent a surge in coronavirus infections. “If you think that it’s necessary, let’s do it. Today I’ll sign the relevant decree,” Putin said in a televised meeting in response to a…
European lawmakers said this week that a deepfake of a prominent Russian opposition figure had spoken to them via video calls. Latvian member of parliament Rihards Kols posted back-to-back images of the real opposition figure Leonid Volkov and a hyper-realistic fake Volkov that he said had communicated with him last month. Kols said that his…
Russian communists are planning to build a Josef Stalin museum as the country grapples with the Soviet dictator’s legacy, a local Communist Party group said Thursday. The Nizhny Novgorod branch said regional party leaders on May 8 plan to lay the foundation stone of the Stalin Center in the town of Bor some 450 kilometers…
Russia on Friday began withdrawing troops that had been running drills near the borders of Ukraine, the defense ministry said, following weeks of heightened tensions between Moscow and the West over the buildup. “Military units and formations are currently marching to railway loading stations and airfields, and loading onto landing ships, railway platforms and military…
Alexei Navalny’s personal doctors on Thursday urged him to “immediately” call off his hunger strike as the jailed Kremlin critic said he was full of “pride and hope” after nationwide protests. Thousands of Russians took to the streets in dozens of cities across the country on Wednesday evening, after the West warned the Kremlin that…
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky was welcome in Moscow “any time” but stressed that he should discuss the conflict in eastern Ukraine with separatists directly. “If we are talking about bilateral relations, then, by all means, we are ready to welcome the president of Ukraine at any time that…
The Czech government said Thursday it would slap a ceiling on the Russian embassy workforce as part of a spiraling diplomatic row, which means dozens of staff will have to leave by next month. Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek said Russia will have until the end of May to withdraw its embassy’s employees to reduce their numbers to…
Slovakia has decided to expel three Russian diplomats, Prime Minister Eduard Heger said on Thursday, after a diplomatic rift between its Czech neighbor and Moscow. “Three representatives of the Russian diplomatic mission must end their activities in Slovakia and must leave the country within seven days,” Heger said. Heger said that Slovakia had made its…
President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia, the world’s fourth-highest producer of carbon emissions, was committed to fulfilling its international obligations to combat climate change. Russia has set numerous heat records in recent years, with the first half of 2020 seeing the warmest temperatures since the country began weather observations. “Russia is approaching with complete…
Russia has confirmed 4,736,121 cases of coronavirus and 107,103 deaths, according to the national coronavirus information center. Russia’s total excess fatality count since the start of the coronavirus pandemic is above 422,000. April 22: What you need to know today Russia on Thursday confirmed 8,996 new coronavirus cases and 397 deaths. Egyptian firm Minapharm announced Thursday it will produce 40…
Russia will begin withdrawing its military forces from the Ukrainian border starting Friday, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced Thursday, after the buildup had raised alarms in the West of renewed clashes. Speaking during snap readiness exercises in annexed Crimea, Shoigu ordered the general staff of the armed forces, military chiefs and the airborne troops to…
Russia will deport more than 100 foreign nationals for attending recent rallies in support of jailed and hunger-striking Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, a senior Moscow migration official said Thursday. Tens of thousands took to the streets across 11 Russian time zones Wednesday to demand Navalny’s release and treatment by his own doctors as he entered…
The Kremlin on Thursday downplayed opposition protests in support of jailed opposition figure Alexei Navalny that saw nearly 1,800 people detained across Russia. Thousands of people took to the streets Wednesday to demand freedom and proper medical attention for Navalny, who has been on a hunger strike for three weeks in a penal colony outside…
The Russian military has launched mass multiple-forces drills in annexed Crimea, the Defense Ministry said Thursday as Russia’s troop buildup near Ukraine raises alarm in the West. Russia’s navy, aerospace forces, airborne troops and air defense forces are expected to perform air strikes, deploy cruise missiles and use drones during the snap readiness maneuvers. “More…
Germany is in talks with Russia to buy 30 million doses of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine once it is approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), Saxony state premier Michael Kretschmer said on Thursday. “Germany is negotiating 3 x 10 million doses for June, July, August. The prerequisite for this is the swift EMA…
Supporters of jailed opposition figure Alexei Navalny took to the streets Wednesday with calls to free the Kremlin’s most outspoken critic as he entered his fourth week of a hunger strike. Navalny’s allies called on supporters to protest in a last-ditch effort to save his life after his doctors warned that he could die “any…
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s depleted team has vowed to press on with its activities despite billing Wednesday’s mass Russia-wide rallies as the “final battle” before authorities drive them underground as an “extremist” organization. Tens of thousands took to the streets across more than 100 Russian cities to demand Navalny’s release or treatment by outside…
The number of Russian officials convicted on corruption charges sank to an eight-year low during 2020, data collated by the independent Open Media news site has shown. Some 6,948 convictions were handed out for corruption last year — the lowest level since 2012, the site found. It marks a continued decline from a high of…
The United States’ Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan has left Russia for consultations with Washington on the future of U.S.-Russia ties as tensions between the two powers reach new highs, Interfax reported. Moscow advised Sullivan last week to return to Washington for consultations after U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration levied sanctions and diplomatic expulsions against…
Rosneft will take part in the All-Russian environmental cleanup Green Spring – 2021.
Tens of thousand supporters of opposition leader Alexei Navalny rallied across Russia Wednesday to demand the release of the jailed activist, who has been on hunger strike for three weeks. Allies of the anti-corruption campaigner — who returned to Russia in January after recuperating from an alleged poisoning attempt last August — called the action…
The Czech government on Wednesday gave Moscow an ultimatum, warning it may expel more Russian diplomats unless the 20 Czech nationals ejected from Russia are allowed to return to work by noon on Thursday. Prague expelled 18 Russian embassy staff and Moscow sent back the Czech diplomats in retaliation on Monday, in a row over…
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s team have called for protests across the country on the day President Vladimir Putin gives his annual address to the nation. Putin’s most vociferous critic has been on hunger strike for three weeks, demanding to see his own doctors for a host of ailments. They have said he “could die…
Russian investigators on Wednesday said they are inspecting an oil spill in the Gulf of Finland near the city of Vyborg in the Leningrad region, hours after President Vladimir Putin called for stronger action against polluters. The Investigative Committee’s northwestern transport investigation department said it dispatched a team of its investigators and specialists from environmental…
Czech police have detained five of its nationals suspected of fighting alongside pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, Czech prosecutors announced Wednesday as ties between the countries eroded over allegations of Moscow’s involvement in a 2014 explosion. The Prague High Public Prosecutor’s Office said on its website that the suspects taken into custody are suspected of…
With troops massing on the border with eastern Ukraine, Alexei Navalny languishing in jail, mass protests planned across Russia, rumors of closer integration with Belarus and relations with the West at a new low, President Vladimir Putin’s annual state of the nation address Wednesday had promised fireworks. In the end, few exploded. Instead, Putin’s speech…
The ex-wife of a Russian billionaire on Wednesday won a British court case against her son, whom she accuses of helping his father hide his assets during the bitter divorce battle. The High Court of England and Wales in 2016 awarded Tatiana Akhmedova 41.5% of Farkhad Akhmedov’s $1-billion-plus fortune. But she said 65-year-old businessman Akhmedov…
President Vladimir Putin warned Tuesday of Russia’s “swift” and “severe” response to foreign hostile actions and decried Western sanctions, which he likened to a sporting competition. “I hope that no one will think of crossing the ‘red line’ in relation to Russia, which we ourselves will define in each specific case,” Putin said in his…
Russian President Vladimir Putin is addressing the nation in the annual speech to the Federal Assembly as tensions brew at home and abroad. The Russian president’s address to lawmakers and regional heads comes hours before planned nationwide protests in support of hunger-striking Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, whose failing health in prison has drawn worldwide concern.…
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday invited Russian leader Vladimir Putin to meet in war-torn eastern Ukraine, stressing that millions of lives were at stake from fresh fighting in the separatist conflict. The blunt offer for talks came following a flare-up in clashes between Ukraine’s army and pro-Russian separatists controlling two regions in the country’s east,…
The number of scientists and highly qualified specialists leaving Russia has risen fivefold in nearly a decade, Russia’s Academy of Sciences (RAS) said Monday. Nikolai Dolgushkin, the RAS presidium’s chief scientific secretary, estimated that emigration among Russian researchers increased from 14,000 in 2012 to almost 70,000 last year. He contrasted the figures with China, the…
Russian prosecutors have asked a court to dissolve jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and his regional network of headquarters, Interfax reported Tuesday. The demand comes ahead of planned protests on Wednesday calling for Navalny’s immediate treatment at a civilian hospital as his allies sound the alarm over his deteriorating health in prison. …
Russia is once again facing questions over its coronavirus-related data after it claimed its Sputnik V vaccine has 97.6% effectiveness based on an analysis of infections among vaccine recipients in Russia. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which is funding and marketing the vaccine, said Monday it had analyzed the number of coronavirus cases among…
Alexei Navalny’s doctors were again denied access Tuesday to the jailed Kremlin critic, as lawyers for the hunger-striking opposition figure said he was “very weak” and demanded he be transferred to a civilian hospital. A team of medics has been trying to see the 44-year-old since early this month, after President Vladimir Putin’s most outspoken…
The Czech Republic on Tuesday called on its EU and NATO partners to expel Russian diplomats in solidarity, accusing Moscow of orchestrating an “unprecedented terror attack” on Czech territory. Foreign and Interior Minister Jan Hamacek said he would summon the Russian ambassador Wednesday to disclose further steps after the expulsion of 18 Russian diplomats believed…
President Vladimir Putin has signed a law Tuesday that will require electoral candidates who receive any amount of financial support from abroad to label themselves as “foreign agents.” Russia’s “foreign agents” law, first passed in 2012, has been gradually expanded in recent years to apply to any politically active individual or organization receiving funding from…
Today is the National Blood Donor Day.
President Vladimir Putin is due to give his annual state-of-the-nation speech Wednesday as tensions brew both at home and abroad. The Russian president’s address to lawmakers and regional heads comes hours before planned nationwide protests in support of hunger-striking Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, whose failing health in prison has drawn worldwide concern. Putin’s address also…
Russia has blocked flights over annexed Crimea and the Black Sea for naval and aviation drills this week, Interfax reported Tuesday, citing an alert to pilots. The so-called “notice to airmen” (NOTAM), which is filed to warn aircraft pilots of potential hazards, reportedly applies to territorial waters off the southern coast of Crimea and parts…
The Myanmar military regime imported $14.7 million in radar equipment in February, Russian customs data published on Monday showed. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu agreed to supply Myanmar with Pantsir-S1 surface-to-air missile systems, Orlan-10E surveillance drones and radar equipment during a visit to the capital Naypyidaw in January. The deal was made a week before…
Russia’s space agency said Tuesday it hoped to launch its own orbital station in 2025 as Moscow considers withdrawing from the International Space Station program to go it alone. Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin said work had begun on the fist module of a new station, after officials warned that Russia was considering pulling out of the ISS,…
Italy will begin accepting Russian tourists this summer as it eases coronavirus restrictions, Russian state media reported Tuesday, citing Rome’s envoy to Moscow. Italian Ambassador to Moscow Pasquale Terracciano made the promise days after officials in Rome announced reopening dates for the country’s schools, restaurants, swimming pools and gyms in response to anti-lockdown protests. Pasquale…
Updated at 1:00 p.m. on April 20 to add U.S. Embassy confirmation. The United States’ Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan will briefly return to Washington for consultations following tit-for-tat sanctions and diplomatic expulsions amid heightened tensions, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow confirmed Tuesday. Axios reported Monday that the State Department recalled Sullivan after he initially defied…