Updated with Kremlin’s “no agreements” remarks. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected Russia’s fighter jets Friday as part of his wide-ranging visit to Russia’s Far East amid Western concerns about military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang. Two days after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin and touring the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Kim traveled to the industrial…
Turkey’s energy minister has publicly questioned for the first time the need for a new natural gas hub that Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed last year. Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told a group of reporters on Thursday that Turkey already had a well-functioning gas trading platform. Putin first raised the idea of creating “a gas…
Cuba’s Foreign Minister and Ambassador to Russia have issued conflicting statements about Havana’s stance on its citizens taking part in Moscow’s war in Ukraine. The clashing remarks follow Cuba’s arrest last week of 17 people suspected of having links to an illicit Russian trafficking and recruitment network for what the Kremlin calls its “special military…
Wealthy Russians have continued to move cash through Swiss bank accounts even after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including family members of a tycoon publicly backing the war, a media investigation showed Thursday. Leaked documents analyzed by the Tamedia group showed that family members of Alexander Ponomarenko, the head of Moscow water company Mosvodokanal, had…
Pegasus spyware may have been used to hack the cellphones of journalists from the independent Novaya Gazeta Europe news website, the outlet reported Thursday. The disclosure comes one day after Meduza, another leading independent Russian news website, said the spyware had been detected on the phone of its CEO Galina Timchenko in the first known…
Ukraine’s prosecutor general said Thursday the International Criminal Court (ICC) had opened a field office in Kyiv, as part of efforts to hold Russian forces accountable for potential war crimes. Kyiv has called for a special tribunal to be created to hold Moscow responsible for violations committed during its invasion, launched on Feb. 24, 2022.…
Updated with the U.S. State Department’s response. Moscow on Thursday said it was expelling two U.S. Embassy employees for allegedly “liaising” with a former U.S. consulate worker accused by Russian authorities of spying for Washington. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the two American diplomats, Jeffery Sillin and David Bernstein, were engaged in “illegal activities by liaising with a Russian citizen,…
Estonian and Lithuanian officials have warned that passenger vehicles with Russian license plates could soon be confiscated following a Baltics-wide entry ban. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia issued back-to-back entry bans this week for Russian-registered cars after the European Commission clarified that existing regulations prohibit the import or transfer of goods originating in Russia. “These cars [with Russian…
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gifted each other rifles after the two held a high-profile summit in Russia’s Far East, the Kremlin said Thursday. The Russian leader has sought to strengthen alliances with other hardline leaders ostracised by the West, and met with Kim amid speculation they would agree…
American-born mixed martial artist Jeff Monson has been elected to office in the regional parliament of Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan, as the Central Election Commission on Wednesday officially recognized the results of this past weekend’s vote. Monson will now serve among the 87 ruling United Russia party members who were elected to Bashkortostan’s 110-seat state assembly, known…
The European Parliament has recognized Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko as an “accomplice” to Russia’s military aggression and war crimes in Ukraine, according to a resolution adopted on Wednesday. The resolution condemns Minsk’s involvement in Russia’s “unjustified, illegal, and unprovoked war against Ukraine.” This involvement includes stationing and training Russian troops in Belarus, which Moscow used…
A Russian warplane intentionally fired at a British spy aircraft over the Black Sea last year, the BBC reported Thursday, citing three anonymous Western defense sources with knowledge of the incident. One of two Russian Su-27 fighters that shadowed an unarmed Royal Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance plane “released” a missile in international airspace off the…
Russia said it destroyed nearly two dozen Ukrainian drones trying to attack annexed Crimea and patrol ships in the Black Sea on Thursday. “At about 5:00 am, the Ukrainian armed forces attempted to attack the Black Sea Fleet patrol ship Sergey Kotov in the Black Sea with five unmanned sea boats,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said…
The family of jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich said Wednesday they have appealed to the United Nations to help seek his release from detention in Russia, where the American journalist has been held since March on spying charges. Gershkovich’s parents and sister said they had submitted a petition to the UN Working Group…
Russia said it destroyed multiple Ukrainian drones in its border regions of Bryansk and Belgorod during the night from Wednesday to Thursday, with no casualties reported. The Russian Defense Ministry said six drones had been shot down in four separate locations over the Bryansk region, which is located around 400 kilometers southwest of Moscow. “Air…
Ukraine’s armed forces Friday said the village of Andriivka near the key frontline town of Bakhmut had been “liberated,” a day after claims it had been retaken were dubbed premature. On Thursday, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar backtracked on an announcement that Kyiv had wrested control of the eastern village from Russian forces, after Ukrainian…
“We will always be with Russia,” Kim said, according to footage broadcast on Russian TV. “An old friend is better than two new ones,” Putin said, quoting a Russian proverb and referencing the Soviet Union’s role in the Korean War. Kim then “said goodbye to Putin, wishing him good health” and headed to his next…
A Russian-installed court in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region jailed two Ukrainian soldiers for 29 years each, Russia’s Investigative Committee said Wednesday, after it accused them of killing three civilians. Moscow has repeatedly sentenced captured Ukrainian soldiers to long jail terms, in court proceedings that Kyiv does not recognize on Russian-occupied territory. Russia’s Investigative Committee named…
Pegasus spyware was used to hack into the cellphone of Galina Timchenko, the CEO of the independent Russian news website Meduza, the outlet said Wednesday. The incident marks the first known case of Pegasus being used against a Russian journalist, Meduza said. Timchenko’s phone appeared to have been hacked in February just hours before she…
When journalist Yevgeniya Baltatarova arrived in Kazakhstan in March 2022, she had no plans to stay in the country long-term. Just days before, the Federal Security Service (FSB) raided her apartment in Ulan-Ude, the capital of the Siberian republic of Buryatia. According to Baltatarova, the officers were searching for evidence proving that she violated a then-unpassed “army…
Moldova has deported the local bureau chief of Russia’s state-run Sputnik news agency, Russian media reported Wednesday. “I was issued a 10-year ban on entering Moldova,” Vitaly Denisov, head of Sputnik Moldova, told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency. Denisov said Moldovan migration officers had informed him that he posed a threat to national security…
The EU will keep Russian tech billionaire Arkady Volozh under sanctions despite his recent condemnation of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg reported late Tuesday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. Volozh co-founded Russia’s internet giant Yandex and announced his resignation in mid-2022 after being targeted by EU sanctions. His lawyers last month petitioned the…
As the Russian ruble has slumped to post-invasion lows in recent months, talk of a possible exodus among millions of Central Asian labor migrants has bubbled to the surface. Federal and local news channels have been awash with stories about how hundreds of thousands could leave Russia altogether, as the value of their salary has…
Moscow will not discuss “speculation” about the inclusion of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in a list of candidates for a prisoner swap with the West, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Wednesday. “This is speculation that requires neither official commentary nor informal discussion,” Zakharova said at a briefing on the sidelines of the…
Updated to clarify that the ban applies to passenger vehicles. Estonia has banned passenger vehicles with Russian license plates from entering the country, authorities in the Baltic nation announced Wednesday amid heated debates over an EU directive on sanctions enforcement. “Starting from today… Estonia will deny entry to all Russian registered vehicles,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna…
A Russian Su-24 bomber on Tuesday crashed in southern Russia during a training flight, state-run media reported, citing Russia’s Defense Ministry. The two-man crew’s fate remains unknown more than 12 hours after the incident, which occurred in the Volgograd region. The Su-24 was not equipped with weapons and crashed in an uninhabited area, Interfax reported,…
“We will always be with Russia,” Kim said, according to footage broadcast on Russian TV. “An old friend is better than two new ones,” Putin said, quoting a Russian proverb and referencing the Soviet Union’s role in the Korean War. Their talks as well as discussions with delegations lasted around two hours before the leaders…
Updated with confirmation by the Ukrainian military. A Ukrainian cruise missile and seaborne drone attack on a shipyard in annexed Crimea damaged two Russian warships that had been undergoing repairs, Russian and Ukrainian military officials said Wednesday. The overnight attack targeted a shipyard in the port city of Sevastopol, home to Russia’s Black Sea fleet,…
A court in Russia’s republic of Chechnya has reduced the prison sentence for the mother of prominent Chechen activist Abubakar Yangulbaev, a civil rights group said Tuesday. Zarema Musaeva in July was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison on charges of assaulting the authorities and fraud. She denies the accusations. Rights groups criticized Musaeva’s conviction, describing it…
A former Austrian foreign minister who danced with Russian President Vladimir Putin at her wedding has moved to St. Petersburg along with her two ponies, according to the independent news outlet The Insider. Karin Kneissl will head the Geopolitical Observatory for Russia’s Key Issues (GORKI), a research center at St. Petersburg State University that was established in…
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a wide-ranging address on Tuesday at the annual Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, touching upon Moscow’s protracted war against Ukraine and anti-war elites in exile, while also playing up Russia’s development of “weapons based on new physical principles.” Putin’s remarks come ahead of a rare and closely watched summit with North Korean…
A Russian court on Tuesday sentenced independent journalist Abdulmumin Gadzhiev to 17.5 years in prison on charges of participating in and financing a terrorist organization, Mediazona reported Tuesday. The former editor of Chernovik, a leading independent news outlet in the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, was arrested in June 2019 and has since remained in…
Russian humanitarian aid arrived Tuesday in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh via territory controlled by Azerbaijan, separatist authorities in the Armenian-populated enclave said. Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of spurring a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh by closing the single road linking the mountainous territory with Armenia. That roadway, known as the Lachin corridor, is policed by…
Updated with Peskov’s remarks about Sergei Shoigu. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s armored train has crossed into Russia ahead of a rare and closely watched summit with President Vladimir Putin, Russian media reported Tuesday. Kim left Pyongyang accompanied by military, government and ruling party officials on Sunday afternoon, according to North Korean state media, his first…
Two Ukrainian drones attacked a town in western Russia’s Kursk region overnight, the regional governor said early Tuesday. “An explosive device was dropped from a Ukrainian drone in Rylsk,” Kursk region Governor Roman Starovoit had initially reported late Monday. Two buildings had their facades damaged and windows were blown out as a result of the…
A Russian passenger plane flying from the Black Sea resort of Sochi to the Siberian city of Omsk with 167 people on board made an emergency landing in a Siberian field on Tuesday, officials said. Authorities released footage of the Ural Airlines Airbus A320 in a field next to a forest in the Novosibirsk region, saying…
Moscow’s Foreign Ministry has slammed a European Union ban on Russian citizens from bringing their personal vehicles and other belongings across EU borders as a “racist” move. In a Sept. 8 explanatory note to its rules on sanctions against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, the European Commission said that the regulation “prohibits the purchase, import,…
At the northeastern edge of Eurasia lies Kamchatka, a remote peninsula in Russia’s Far East which is home to the Volcanoes of Kamchatka, a natural site inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1996 as one of the world’s most remarkable volcanic regions. Spanning almost 4 million hectares, the Volcanoes of Kamchatka is a…
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Zvezda Shipyard in the town of Bolshoi Kamen in Primorsky Territory
The European Union on Monday slammed elections in Russian-occupied Ukraine, warning Kremlin-backed officials and vote organizers that they would face “consequences.” Russia’s Central Election Commission claimed that the pro-Kremlin ruling United Russia party secured overwhelming majorities in the legislative votes in Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, as well as in annexed Crimea. “The European Union…
Joint military exercises between Armenian and U.S. forces began on Monday, the latest sign of Yerevan’s drift from its longtime ally Moscow. The drills come amid mounting frustration in Armenia over what it sees as Russia’s failure to act as a security guarantor as tensions escalate with neighboring Azerbaijan. “Exercise Eagle Partner’s opening ceremony has…
Belarus on Monday accused Poland of firing warning shots and using tear gas and physical force to push back migrants trying to enter the European Union through their volatile border. Ties between Minsk and Warsaw, frozen for years, hit new lows after Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko allowed Russia to use his country to attack Ukraine,…
Kyiv said Monday its forces had recaptured an oil and gas drilling platform in the Black Sea that had been controlled by Moscow since 2015. The platform is roughly halfway between the Moscow-annexed Crimean peninsula and the coast of Ukraine’s southwestern Odesa region. “Ukraine regains control of the so-called Boyka Towers (platform),” Kyiv’s military intelligence…
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit Russia “in the coming days” after receiving an invite from Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin confirmed Monday. Speculation had been mounting that Kim, who rarely leaves his country and had not travelled since the coronavirus pandemic, would meet Putin to discuss potential arms deals. “At the…
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has won his third term in office by a sweeping margin following a relatively muted wartime campaign, poll results showed Monday. With 100% of the ballots counted as of early Monday, Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) website showed Sobyanin securing 76.39%, or 2.5 million, of the votes. Moscow’s electoral commission said…
Russia said Monday it destroyed two Ukrainian drones in the western Belgorod region, with no casualties being reported. The Russian Ministry of Defense said the incident involved two unmanned aerial vehicles and took place around 1:20 a.m. local time. “Air defense systems on duty destroyed two drones over the territory of Belgorod region,” the ministry…
Russia’s Central Elections Commission claimed on Sunday that the United Russia party, which staunchly backs President Vladimir Putin, was leading local ballots in four Ukrainian regions occupied by Russian forces. The Kremlin claimed to have annexed the eastern and southern territories late last year despite not having full military control over them, and the so-called…
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed diplomatic victory on Sunday, declaring a G20 summit in India a “success” after the bloc shied away from direct criticism of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “We were able to prevent the West’s attempts to ‘Ukrainize’ the summit agenda,” Lavrov said as the two-day meeting of leaders closed. “The text…
Russia said Sunday that it destroyed three military speedboats carrying Ukrainian soldiers in the Black Sea which Moscow claims were headed toward annexed Crimea. “In the western part of the Black Sea… naval aviation of the Black Sea Fleet destroyed three military Willard Sea Force speedboats,” which are U.S.-made and were carrying Ukrainian troops, the…
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin is expected to win re-election by an overwhelming margin in this weekend’s mayoral elections following the elimination of virtually all other opposition and independent candidates. Sobyanin has led Russia’s capital, a city of 12 million people, through waves of mass protests, the Covid-19 pandemic and, today, regular drone attacks amid the…
Russia on Friday summoned the ambassador of Armenia over “unfriendly steps,” as Yerevan announced drills with the U.S. military and has grown increasingly critical of Moscow’s role in the Nagorno-Karabakh standoff. The move followed warnings by the Kremlin against conducting drills with the U.S. and mounting tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory. …
The Kremlin is working to solidify its control — both militarily and politically — over the four Moscow-occupied regions of Ukraine with this month’s regional elections there, experts and officials told The Moscow Times. Nearly a year after Moscow staged widely disputed referendums to annex Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, Russian authorities now aim…
The Russian military has withdrawn a regional task force from neighboring Belarus, Ukrainian border authorities and independent Belarusian war monitors have said. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced in October 2022 the deployment of a joint regional group of military forces after accusing Ukraine of preparing an attack on his country. On Thursday, the State Border…
Russia’s FSB security services said Friday it had detained a man for plotting a rail bombing in annexed Crimea. The FSB said the suspect — a Russian citizen in his mid-40s — had been “collecting information on the deployment of Russian Defense Ministry facilities and units” and was preparing a railway bombing. “In а hiding…
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived Friday to head Moscow’s G20 summit delegation in President Vladimir Putin’s absence, television broadcasts showed. Putin is not attending — or even planning to make a video address at — the G20 in India, with relations between Moscow and many members of the bloc fraught over the Ukraine war.…
Reports of widespread voting irregularities have marred the first day of Russia’s local and regional elections, the independent election watchdog Golos reported Friday. Elections are taking place on Sept. 8-10 in 49 Russian regions, as well as annexed Crimea and the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claims to have annexed, with Kremlin-backed candidates mostly expected to clinch easy…
A Russian military song and dance ensemble has arrived in North Korea, state media said Friday, with a Chinese delegation also due for a key anniversary, in fresh signs of border reopening. North Korea has been largely closed off from the outside world since early 2020, when it shut its borders in response to the…
Russian airlines have suffered thousands in additional costs due to regular airport closures prompted by drone strikes inside Russia, the RBC news website reported Friday, citing aviation industry experts. Moscow’s four international airports have repeatedly restricted access to their runways amid an increasing number of drone attacks on the Russian capital. “If a plane was flying…
Overnight drone strikes targeted a major Russian microchip plant near the Ukraine border for the second time in just over a week, according to media reports late Thursday. Bryansk region Governor Alexander Bogomaz said a brief fire erupted at an “administrative building” of an “industrial site” in the city of Bryansk, some 100 kilometers north…
Seventeen people have been arrested in Cuba over suspected links to an alleged Russian trafficking network recruiting men for Moscow’s war effort, the interior ministry said Thursday. The Cuban government said Monday it was working to dismantle a “trafficking network that operates from Russia to incorporate Cuban citizens living there, and even some from Cuba,…