Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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ROSATOM started the first phase of construction of Paks II NPP units
On July 3, 2023, at the Paks II NPP construction site, the general contractor of the project, JSC ASE (Engineering Division of Rosatom) started works on the first phase of construction of the new Paks NPP units (Hungary) with the construction of the groundwater cut-off. The construction of the groundwater cut-off is carried out in…
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ROSATOM Increasing Russian Isotope Supplies to India
Isotope – Regional Alliance JSC (a Rusatom Healthcare company) delivered the first shipment of germanium-68/gallium-68 (Ge-68/Ga-68) generators manufactured by Cyclotron CJSC (Obninsk) under the new contract with Esente Healthcare, a local medical product distributor, to the Republic of India. According to the contract terms, Isotope JSC will supply the Indian side with 40 units of…
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Russia’s FSB Arrests Man Over Alleged Donations to Ukrainian Army
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has arrested a Russian national who lives abroad on suspicion of donating money to the Ukrainian military, state news agencies reported Wednesday. The FSB claimed the 39-year-old had also tried buying satellite communication equipment that would help Ukrainian artillery locate and fire on Russian military units, according to TASS. It…
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Russian Regions Shelled Near Ukraine Border
At least one person was injured in attacks on two Russian regions bordering Ukraine, regional authorities said early Wednesday. The governors of southwestern Russia’s Belgorod and Kursk regions both issued statements about Ukrainian attacks on two residential areas, located some 400 kilometers apart from each other. The Belgorod region town of Valuyki was shelled for…
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Russia Says One Killed, 41 Injured in East Ukraine Attack
Recast and includes updated casualty count. Russia said Wednesday that one person was killed and another 41 were injured by a Ukrainian strike in the Russian-controlled town of Makiivka in the eastern Donetsk region. “Forty-one people, including two children, have been injured due to the shelling. One person has died from their wounds,” Vladislav Klyucharov, the Moscow-installed head…
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ROSATOM and Carbon Zero Sign Contract to Register Green Certificates
WindSGC-2 (part of NovaWind, ROSATOM’s wind power division) and Carbon Zero LLC signed a contract to maintain a register of green certificates. According to the contract, Carbon Zero will maintain a register of certificates issued for the electric power generated at ROSATOM’s renewable energy facilities as required by the green electricity certification standard. Three of…
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Kremlin Hints at ‘Contacts’ with U.S. Over Jailed Reporter
The Kremlin said Tuesday there were “certain contacts” with the U.S. over detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, responding to a question about a possible prisoner exchange. U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy was allowed to visit Gershkovich in prison on Monday after a gap in visits of more than two months. Russian state media reported…
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Russia Returns $111M Seized During Police Raids to Prigozhin
Russian authorities have returned 10 billion rubles ($111.2 million) to exiled Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin which they had seized in police raids during his aborted rebellion last month. Law enforcement in St. Petersburg confiscated the large sum of money — along with “hundreds of thousands” of U.S. dollars and five gold bars — in raids…
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Russia Assembles Iranian Drones for Use Against Ukraine – Reports
Manufacturing facilities based in one of Russia’s special economic zones have been assembling Iranian drones used to attack Ukraine, the Protokol and Razvorot independent media outlets reported in a joint investigation published Monday. As part of a three-stage franchise agreement, specialists at the Alabuga special economic zone in the republic of Tatarstan assemble prefabricated drone…
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Jailed Russian Theater Director Speaks Out in Bid to End Pre-Trial Detention
Russian theater director Yevgenia Berkovich on Monday spoke out in court against remaining in pre-trial detention. She and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk are under investigation for the charge of “justifying terrorism” for the play “Finist, the Brave Falcon.” The charge is punishable by up to seven years in prison. Yevgenia Berkovich: My opinion about this motion…
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Russian Acting School to Train Future Actors at Destroyed Mariupol Theater
A Russian state acting school has opened enrollment for a theater arts program that will train future actors and directors for the Mariupol drama theater in occupied southern Ukraine. “The program will be carried out through in-person courses on a state-funded basis for the Mariupol Russian Drama Theater, focusing on ‘Acting’ and ‘Theater Directing’ degrees,”…
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Chechen Court Sentences Mother of Prominent Activist to 5.5 Years in Prison
Zarema Musaeva, the mother of prominent Chechen human rights lawyer and activist Abubakar Yangulbaev, has been sentenced to 5.5 years in prison, the Committee Against Torture rights group reported Tuesday. A judge at a local court in Grozny, the capital of Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, found Musaeva guilty of assaulting the authorities and fraud…
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Russia Says Downed 5 Ukrainian Drones Outside Moscow
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it had downed five Ukrainian drones near Moscow, calling it a “terrorist act” that disrupted flights at one of the capital’s main airports. Four unmanned aircraft were downed by air defense systems near Moscow, with the fifth “suppressed by electronic warfare” in the Moscow region, the Russian military said. According…
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Russian Journalist, Lawyer Beaten and Hospitalized in Chechnya
A prominent Russian journalist and lawyer have been hospitalized after being badly beaten on a visit to Russia’s republic of Chechnya, the rights groups Memorial and the Crew Against Torture (CAT) said early Tuesday. Yelena Milashina and lawyer Alexander Nemov arrived in the Chechen capital of Grozny to attend the court hearing of the mother of…
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U.S. Ambassador Says Evan Gershkovich in Good Health
Russia on Monday granted the United States consular access to jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, with the U.S. ambassador reporting him in good health. The U.S. State Department said Ambassador Lynne Tracy met Gershkovich at the Lefortovo prison in Moscow, only her second such meeting with him since he was arrested on March…
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Russians Appeared to Welcome Wagner Rebels With Open Arms. The Truth Is More Complex.
Anna, a 67-year-old woman from the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, remembers being woken up by the sounds of military equipment early in the morning of June 24. From her window, she could see a tank, armored vehicles and machine gunners of the Wagner private military company sitting opposite her house, surrounding one of the Russian…
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Russia Accuses Major Vodka Distiller of Funding Ukraine Army
Russia has added the Ukrainian owner of a popular vodka brand to its wanted list on suspicion of financing Ukraine’s armed forces. Russia’s Investigative Committee said Monday it had launched a criminal investigation into Yevhen Cherniak, the founder of Ukraine’s Global Spirits holding — which produces Khortytsa vodka — on charges of sponsoring terrorism. Cherniak…
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Shoigu Praises Army ‘Loyalty’ During Mutiny
Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu on Monday praised his army’s “loyalty” during an armed uprising last month by the Wagner military group that targeted the country’s senior military leadership. “The plans primarily failed because the personnel of the armed forces showed loyalty to their oath and military duty,” he said in his first public comments since…
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Russia to Cut Oil Exports in August
Russia’s top energy official said Monday that Moscow will voluntarily cut oil exports by 500,000 barrels per day, building on previously announced production cuts. “As part of efforts to ensure that the oil market remains balanced, Russia will voluntarily reduce its oil supply in the month of August by 500,000 barrels per day, by cutting its exports…
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Chechen Strongman Kadyrov, Ally Delimkhanov Reappear Amid Rumors of Illness
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has appeared on video with his close ally and Russian lawmaker from Chechnya, Adam Delimkhanov, following growing rumors that he has been suffering from serious health problems. In the three-minute video published on Instagram Sunday, Kadyrov was shown seated beside Delimkhanov at a dining table. “We’re living our lives, slowly but…
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Russia Claims to Foil Assassination Attempt on Crimean Governor
Russia’s domestic intelligence agency said Monday it had thwarted an assassination attempt on the Moscow-installed head of annexed Crimea. “An assassination attempt organized by Ukraine’s special services targeting the head of the Republic of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, was foiled,” Russian state-run agency TASS reported, citing a statement by the Federal Security Service (FSB). Video released…
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ROSATOM Commissioned Phase 3 of Kuzminskaya Wind Farm
Located in Stavropol Krai, the wind power station consists of 64 wind turbines with an installed capacity of 160 MW. As confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, 68% of the wind farm parts and components have been sourced locally. “Kuzminskaya is our eighth wind farm in Southern Russia. The first 100 MW…
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Wagner Halts Recruitment After Botched Mutiny
Russia’s Wagner mercenary group has announced it is suspending the recruitment of new fighters in the aftermath of its failed mutiny and as the Russian military’s deadline for volunteer units to sign contracts passed over the weekend. Wagner’s recruitment channel on the Telegram messaging app said late Sunday that a one-month recruitment suspension was linked to…
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No Need for New Call-Up to Replace Wagner, Lawmaker Says
There is no need for further mobilization in Russia to replace Wagner fighters who left the battlefield in Ukraine after their short-lived mutiny, Russian state media said on Monday, citing a senior lawmaker. Last month, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, led his forces in a rebellion against Russia’s top military brass.…
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Wagner Boss ‘Gone off the Rails’ Over Money — Russian TV
A top Russian propagandist on Sunday accused the Wagner boss of “going off the rails” after receiving billions in public funds, as Moscow’s new narrative takes shape after Wagner’s brief mutiny. Last weekend the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, led his forces in a short-lived rebellion against Russia’s top military brass, in a…
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40 Russian Diplomats and Embassy Staff to Leave Romania
Forty diplomats and Russian embassy staff in Bucharest were set to leave Romania on Saturday following a request from the government, with ties worsening between the two countries since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Eleven diplomats and 29 technical and administrative staff, accompanied by their families, “will leave Romania on board a civilian aircraft belonging to…
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Russian Donuts by any Name are Delicious
Moscow and St. Petersburg are old rivals, and not only for the title of capital city. They even argue about food and what to call it. For example, Muscovites call gyros “shaurma,” but in St. Petersburg they are called “shaverma.” Another big argument is what to call a doughnut: ponchik or pyshka? In the northern…
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Rosatom Wind Farms Have Generated Over 1 Billion kWh of Electricity Year to Date
The wind farms operated by NovaWind, Rosatom’s wind power division, generated a total of 1.1 billion kWh of electric power in the first six months of 2023, up 110 million kWh year on year. In the first half of 2022, their total output exceeded 987 million kWh. For half a year, the wind farms prevented…
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Exiled Wagner Boss Shutters Patriot Media Group – Reports
Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has closed down his St. Petersburg-based media holding, according to multiple media reports published Friday. The Patriot media group, which Prigozhin founded in 2019, encompasses the Internet Research Agency, widely known as a “troll factory,” which conducts online influence operations to advance Russia’s business and political interests abroad. All…
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Wagner Mutiny Stirs Panic, Uncertainty and Hope for Change in Russia’s Ethnic Republics
As members of the Wagner mercenary outfit launched their “march of justice” to Moscow early on June 24, residents of the Far Eastern republic of Sakha (Yakutia) thousands of kilometers away gathered outside the regional capital to celebrate Yhyakh, the New Year marked by indigenous Sakha peoples. Though many Sakha locals boycotted this year’s government-sponsored…
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Russia Says Wagner’s Future in Africa Depends on ‘Countries Concerned’
Moscow said Friday that the Wagner Group would continue to work in African countries if their governments chose to maintain contracts with the private military group. “The future of the agreements between African countries and the Wagner private military company is above all up to the governments of the countries concerned,” Russian foreign minister Sergei…
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Russians Mourn Tinder’s Exit in Beachfront Funeral
A group of Russians has bid farewell to dating app Tinder on Friday with a beachfront funeral in the resort city of Sochi. Tinder owner Match Group last month announced it will leave Russia on June 30, citing its commitment “to protecting human rights.” Mourners clad in black shared stories of how Tinder helped them…
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Take Your Pick: Mutiny, Coup, Uprising or Nothing
Поход: hike, walk, march Like just about everyone else reading this, I watched Russia very closely for about 30 hours over the weekend, and despite all that and a lifetime of experience with the place, I have no idea what happened. What was it? Mutiny? Rebellion? Attempted coup? As I look back, it seems that…
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Wagner ‘Staged’ Cheering Crowds During Mutiny, Claims Rostov Governor
Public displays of support shown for Wagner mercenaries in southern Russia’s Rostov-on-Don as they took control of a military headquarters last weekend were “staged,” the regional governor said Thursday. Rostov region Governor Vasily Golubev disputed claims that locals in the regional capital were sympathetic to Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s short-lived mutiny, arguing that those who…
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Science Festival organized with the support of ROSATOM held for the first time in Myanmar
From June 28 to June 30, Yangon (Myanmar) hosted the Science Festival, organized by ROSATOM and the Ministry of Science and Technology of Myanmar. The event was held simultaneously at the Information Center for Nuclear Technologies and the Yangon Technological University. The Science Festival is held in the countries of ROSATOM presence and traditionally brings…
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Organizers Confirm Cancellation of Russia’s Flagship Air Show
Organizers of Russia’s International Air and Space Salon (MAKS) confirmed Friday that the flagship airshow due to be held in July this year in the Moscow region town of Zhukovsky has been postponed to 2024. MAKS airshow has been held biennially since 1993, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors over the years. This year marks the…
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Russia Will Be ‘Stronger’ in Wake of Wagner Revolt Says Lavrov
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that Russia would emerge “stronger” after the failed mutiny by Wagner Group mercenaries last weekend. “Russia has always overcome all its problems… it comes out stronger and stronger,” Lavrov told journalists during a briefing in Moscow. “It will be the same this time, too. This process has already…
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In Photos: Muslims in Russia Celebrate Eid al-Adha
Muslims across Russia this week are celebrating the holy festival of Eid al-Adha, or “The Feast of Sacrifice,” the second and largest of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam. The holiday, which this year takes place from June 28-July 1, commemorates the prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son on God’s orders. At Moscow’s…
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Poland Detains Russian Hockey Player Suspected of Spying for Moscow
Poland said Friday it arrested a Russian ice hockey player on suspicion of having spied for Moscow while playing for a Polish club, prompting Russia to protest and demand an “immediate” explanation. Relations between Warsaw and Moscow have been hostile historically but have reached new lows during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with Poland being one of…
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Wagner Still Recruiting Fighters After Failed Mutiny – Reports
Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenary outfit continues to recruit fighters despite his exile in Belarus following a short-lived mutiny last weekend, according to multiple media reports. “Everything’s the same as before, for now. Nothing’s changed,” a recruiter for Wagner in the central Russian city of Saratov told the BBC. “Nothing has stopped, we’re still recruiting,” said…
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Russians Buy Up Property in Occupied Mariupol As Counteroffensive Looms
Russians are buying up real estate in the occupied Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, over a year after a relentless siege by Moscow left it mostly in ruins, the independent news outlet Bumaga reported. Russian authorities have for months boasted of large-scale reconstruction efforts in Mariupol following the destruction of approximately 90% of the city’s…
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Shaken By Mutiny, Kremlin Goes Into PR Crisis Control
The Kremlin has ordered a major PR damage control effort in the five days since armed Russian mercenaries seized a southern city and came within 200 kilometers of the capital with barely any resistance, Russian officials told The Moscow Times. Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s shock rebellion against the country’s military leadership sparked Russia’s…
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Kyiv Claims Gains in Donbas, Moscow Says Killed Ukraine Generals
Kyiv said Thursday its forces were gaining ground in Donbas, as Moscow claimed it had killed two generals in a missile strike earlier this week — the same day strikes on a restaurant in east Ukraine killed at least 12 people. Sixteen months into Russia’s invasion, Kyiv said it was advancing around Bakhmut and fighting “fierce”…
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A company of ROSATOM and YLB signed an agreement for cooperation in lithium mining and production in Bolivia
On June 29, 2023, Uranium One Group JSC (an entity of ROSATOM) and YLB (Lithium Deposits of Bolivia, Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos) Bolivian State Company signed a framework agreement on the construction of lithium carbonate mining and production complex in Potosí Department, Bolivia. Today lithium is in the mainstream of the green economy; it is…
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Russian Media Publisher Sentenced to 8 Years in Absentia Over Bucha Comments
Russian media publisher Ilya Krasilshchik has been sentenced to eight years in prison in absentia over his comments criticizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the independent Mediazona news website reported Thursday. Krasilshchik, 36, was charged in April 2022 with “spreading fake news about the Russian military motivated by political hatred” over statements about the alleged massacre…
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Kremlin Insists Putin Has ‘Astounding’ Support After Mutiny
The Kremlin said Thursday that footage, which could not be verified, apparently showing President Vladimir Putin greeting adoring supporters proved that he has “astounding” support after quelling an armed insurrection. Moscow has insisted that Putin’s long rule has not been weakened after Wagner mercenaries marched hundreds of kilometers — almost reaching Moscow — and captured…
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Artist Katya Muromtseva’s ‘Women in Black’ Protest in London
This summer Pushkin House, London’s flagship independent center for Russian culture, is hosting the exhibition “Women in Black Against the War” by Russian multi-media artist Katya Muromtseva. Muromtseva, 33, has exhibited in Moscow’s Garage Museum of Contemporary Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as in the U.S. and Japan. The show…
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Pope Envoy in Moscow Meets Official Wanted By ICC, Patriarch Kirill
Pope Francis’s peace envoy met with a Russian official wanted by the ICC over allegations of illegally transferring Ukrainian children to Russia and Moscow’s spiritual leader Patriarch Kirill on a visit to the Russian capital Thursday. Cardinal Matteo Zuppi began his visit to Russia earlier this week, in a first such trip since President Vladimir Putin sent troops to…
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Wagner Leader’s Troll Factory Expects Takeover – Reports
Russian Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s troll farm and media outfit are looking for fresh ownership after his aborted rebellion and exile in Belarus, independent media reported Thursday. After years of denials, Prigozhin confirmed in February 2023 the widely held belief that he was behind Russia’s network of troll farms known as the Internet Research Agency. The…
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Chinese Containers Clogging Russian Rail Depots – VPost
Russian railway depots are clogged with empty shipping containers from China amid a deepening trade imbalance between the two countries, the independent business news outlet VPost reported Wednesday. Managers at Russian shipping companies told journalists that the container build-up had reached “almost critical” levels in the Moscow region and across central Russia. According to Chinese…
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Poland Bolsters Border Defense as Wagner Settles in Nearby Belarus
Poland will strengthen its eastern border with neighboring Belarus as Wagner Group mercenaries relocate to the Moscow-allied country following their failed mutiny against Russia’s military leadership, Polish officials said Wednesday. Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said Wagner’s expected move to Belarus was “a new and much more difficult stage of [Russia’s] hybrid war,” according…
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Diplomatic Protest After Russian Strike Injures Colombians in Ukraine
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said Wednesday that his country would send a note of diplomatic protest to Russia after three Colombians were injured in a missile strike that killed 12 in Ukraine. Petro said on Twitter that “Russia has attacked three defenseless Colombian civilians. In so doing, it violated the protocols of war.” He added…
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Russian General Arrested Following Wagner Mutiny – MT Russian
Russian General Sergei Surovikin has been arrested, The Moscow Times’ Russian service reported Wednesday, citing two sources close to the Defense Ministry who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The Defense Ministry has yet to comment on the alleged arrest of Surovikin, who has not been seen in public since Saturday, when Wagner Group chief…
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Putin Says ‘Didn’t Doubt’ Support of Russians During Wagner Mutiny
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said that he did not doubt the support of Russian citizens during the rebellion by the Wagner mercenary group. “I did not doubt the reaction in Dagestan and in all of the country,” he said as he met Sergei Melikov, the head of the Caucasus region, according to an extract…
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Russia Labels Independent News Outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe ‘Undesirable’
Russian authorities have added Latvia-based independent Russian news outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe to the country’s list of “undesirable” organizations. The designation means the outlet must cease all operations inside Russia and makes it a crime to engage with the publication in any way, including sharing its content online. The Prosecutor General’s Office said the decision was…
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Russia and the Republic of the Union of Myanmar reached a new level of cooperation in the field of nuclear energy
On June 27-28, 2023, a delegation from ROSATOM, led by Deputy Director General Nikolay Spassky, embarked on a working visit to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. The primary objective of this trip was to evaluate the initial outcomes of the collaborative efforts between the two nations in the realm of peaceful nuclear energy…
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Kremlin Denies State Role in Wagner’s Africa Businesses
The Russian state played no role in the Wagner mercenary group’s multimillion-dollar business interests in Africa, the Kremlin said Wednesday. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov issued the denial after President Vladimir Putin revealed Tuesday that Russia’s state budget “fully financed” Wagner, detailing sums of 86 billion rubles ($1 billion) spent on upkeep and another 110 billion rubles ($1.3…
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Tinder Leaves Russia With Memes and Dashed Hopes
Following Bumble and Badoo, the popular dating app Tinder will leave Russia on June 30. Explaining the decision in an annual impact report published on May 1, Tinder’s owner Match Group said it was “committed to protecting human rights.” Public reaction: rivals, politicians and Runet users In the end of May Russian users of Tinder…
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Kremlin ‘Welcomes’ Vatican Peace Efforts Over Ukraine
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Pope Francis’s envoy would hold talks with President Vladimir Putin’s adviser in Moscow as Russia “welcomed” the Vatican’s peace efforts over Ukraine. Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi began a Russia visit on Tuesday in the first such trip since Putin sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022. High-ranking Catholic clerics are rarely seen in…
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Officials Disclose Russian Troop Deaths 1 Month After Cross-Border Incursion
At least 14 Russian troops were killed during a cross-border raid by anti-Kremlin units made up of Russian nationals this month, regional authorities have revealed nearly a month after the incident. Two anti-Kremlin militias fighting on the side of Ukraine staged raids into southwestern Russia’s Belgorod region on June 1. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have repelled…
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