By BABA AHMEDBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Islamic extremist rebels in Mali linked to al-Qaida said they have captured mercenary fighters from Russia’s Wagner Group in fighting earlier this month. It’s the first time that Mali’s extremist rebels known as JNIM have claimed to capture Russian fighters. The Wagner Group fighters were seized in the first week of April in the mountainous Segou region of central Mali, said the JNIM statement, which called the fighters “criminals.” Since the beginning of the year, several European countries have denounced the presence of Wagner’s Russian mercenaries, estimated to be about 1,000, who fight alongside Malian soldiers. They have been blamed for killing about 300 civilians in the central town of Moura. They have also been blamed for staging burials of bodies near the Gossi military base and trying to blame French military forces for the graves. However, Mali’s ruling junta denies that Wagner’s forces are fighting in the country, saying instead that they are training Malian soldiers as part of cooperation between Mali and Russia.
By Evan Simko-BednarskiRussian security services on Monday have been accused of staging a Ukrainian assassination attempt by releasing photos of confiscated copies of “The Sims” video games that some speculate were mistaken by Kremlin officers for SIM cards. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation released the bizarre photos Monday and announced that police had arrested six neo-Nazis plotting to kill Russian TV Host Vladimir Solovyov in Moscow. The Russian federal police (FSB) claimed to recover “an improvised explosive device, eight improvised incendiary devices of the Molotov cocktail type, six PM pistols, a sawn-off hunting rifle, an RGD-5 grenade, more than a thousand cartridges of various calibers, drugs, [and] fake Ukrainian passports” from the would-be assassins, as well as “nationalist literature and paraphernalia.” The plot to kill him with a car bomb, according to the FSB, was supposedly cooked up in coordination with the Ukrainian security services.
Russian authorities say at least 17 people have died in last week's fire at a military research facility northwest of MoscowBy The Associated PressMOSCOW -- At least 17 people have died in last week's fire at a Russian military research facility, authorities said Monday. The regional government in Tver, a city about 180 kilometers (112 miles) northwest of Moscow, said that so far only five of the victims had been identified.
BY MADELINE ROACHE, NEWSGUARDIn the footage, a strike is made on military infrastructure belonging to Ukrainian forces. According to information provided by our intelligence services, the Ukrainian army had stored weapons and military equipment in warehouses, as well as ammunition for them. This was all being used to equip Ukrainian combat groups. The target was destroyed with a series of accurate strikes. The missile launcher then left its location at top speed and changed launch positions to implement high-precision launches on new enemy targets. In the footage, a strike is made on military infrastructure belonging to Ukrainian forces. According to information provided by our intelligence services, the Ukrainian army had stored weapons and military equipment in warehouses, as well as ammunition for them. This was all being used to equip Ukrainian combat groups. The target was destroyed with a series of accurate strikes. The missile launcher then left its location at top speed and changed launch positions to implement high-precision launches on new enemy targets.
By Toby Luckhurst & Olga Pona | BBC News, Lviv"You can't imagine how horrible the conditions were." Oleksandr and Olena are two of the lucky few who recently managed to escape from Mariupol, which is now almost under full Russian control after weeks of bombardment. The city is effectively sealed off from the world, and information about what is happening inside is difficult to confirm independently. But the pair, and others, have given chilling accounts of life in Russia's so-called filtration camps, set up outside Mariupol to house civilians before they are evacuated. Oleksandr and Olena, speaking from the relatively safe western city of Lviv, say they ended up at one of the centres when they tried to escape the city. After walking from their home to an evacuation point, they were driven to a Russian refugee hub at a former school in the village of Nikolske, north-west of Mariupol. "It was like a true concentration camp," Oleksandr, 49, says.
Margaret WeaverLarge fires have been reported at an oil depot in the Russian city of Bryansk, which is approximately the halfway point between Moscow and Kyiv. Multiple explosions were reportedly heard, but there's no evidence of an attack from Ukraine into Russian territory. While some sources questioned if Ukraine was responsible, Reuters reported "no immediate indication" the blaze was connected to the war. The fires were reported in the same region Russian officials claimed was hit last week in an attack striking residential buildings and injuring seven people. Videos of the Bryansk blazes circulated widely on social media, showing columns of smoke rising from facilities in the Russian city. NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System showed a satellite image of multiple fires.
MOSCOW (AP) — A new Russian intercontinental ballistic missile is capable of carrying several hypersonic weapons, a senior Russian military officer said Sunday. Col. Gen. Sergei Karakayev, the commander of the Russian military's Strategic Missile Forces, said in televised remarks that the new Sarmat ICBM is designed to carry several Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the Sarmat was test-fired for the first time Wednesday from the Plesetsk launch facility in northern Russia and its practice warheads have successfully reached mock targets on the Kura firing range on the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula. The test launch came amid soaring tensions between Moscow and the West over the Russian military action in Ukraine and underlines the Kremlin’s emphasis on the country’s nuclear forces.
Dennis Wagner, USA TODAYOnce upon a time, there lived a powerful leader known as Catherine the Great who ruled a vast empire and, over the years, conquered many new lands. Catherine appointed her boyfriend to oversee one of those conquests — a place now called Ukraine. As time passed, he informed her the citizens were flourishing and happy. But, according to a version of the tale passed on for centuries, it was a lie. In the legend, Catherine decided to launch an expedition, taking a barge down the Dnieper River so she could observe the thriving, joyful subjects. Her boyfriend, Grigory, was fearful his deceit would be exposed, and eager to please his beloved. So, the story goes, he instructed minions to build fake villages along the riverfront — freshly painted facades.
By Mark TrevelyanLONDON, April 23 (Reuters) - Russia said on Saturday it plans to deploy its newly tested Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, capable of mounting nuclear strikes against the United States, by autumn. The target stated by Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Roscosmos space agency, is an ambitious one as Russia reported its first test-launch only on Wednesday and Western military experts say more will be needed before the missile can be deployed. The Sarmat is capable of carrying 10 or more nuclear warheads and decoys, and of striking targets thousands of miles away in the United States or Europe.
By CARLEY PETESCH and GERALD IMRAYDAKAR, Senegal (AP) — When abuses were reported in recent weeks in Mali — fake graves designed to discredit French forces; a massacre of some 300 people, mostly civilians — all evidence pointed to the shadowy mercenaries of Russia’s Wagner Group. Even before these feared professional soldiers joined the assault on Ukraine, Russia had deployed them to under-the-radar military operations across at least half a dozen African countries. Their aim: to further President Vladimir Putin’s global ambitions, and to undermine democracy. The Wagner Group passes itself off as a private military contractor and the Kremlin denies any connection to it or even, sometimes, that it exists. But Wagner’s commitment to Russian interests has become apparent in Ukraine, where its fighters, seen wearing the group’s chilling white skull emblem, are among the Russian forces currently attacking eastern Ukraine.
By Giulia CarbonaroTwo Russian oligarchs were found dead this week alongside their family in luxurious homes in Russia and Spain, with the two cases discovered within 24 hours of each other. Both deaths are believed by police to be cases of murder-suicide, but the evidence supporting these theories is muddled by the fact that the events happened so close together, with the two oligarchs the last of several who have been found to have died by suicide since the beginning of the year. Here's a list of all the Russian oligarch who have been found dead in mysterious circumstance since January.
Bloomberg NewsRussia faces a very deep and prolonged economic contraction along with higher inflation and reduced living standards, as sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies over the invasion of Ukraine sap it of vital products and technology, according to economists at the central bank. In the most detailed public statement on the outlook since the war started, the Bank of Russia’s Research Department warned in a report that “the depth of the contraction may be quite significant and exit trajectory drawn out in time” because the supply shocks triggered by sanctions are unlikely to fade quickly.
ReutersApril 22 (Reuters) - Russia plans to take full control of Donbas and southern Ukraine during the second phase of what it calls its special military operation, the deputy commander of Russia's central military district said on Friday, Russian news agencies reported. The statement from Rustam Minnekayev, the deputy commander, is one of the most detailed about Moscow's latest ambitions in Ukraine and suggests Russia does not plan to wind down its offensive there anytime soon. Minnekayev did not mention them by name, but two major Ukrainian cities in southern Ukraine, Odesa and Mykolayiv, remain under Ukrainian control. The Interfax and TASS news agencies cited him as saying that full control of southern Ukraine would improve Russian access to Moldova's pro-Russian breakaway region of Transdniestria, which borders Ukraine and which Kyiv fears could be used as a launch pad for new attacks against it.
Arjun SinghA Russian General announced plans to occupy the Transnistria region of Moldova on Friday. Speaking at a defense industry meeting, Brigadier General Rustam Minnekayev, acting commander of Russia’s Central Military District, stated that the Russian Armed Forces plan to “make passage” into the region – in Moldova’s East, bordering Ukraine and less than 30 miles from the port city of Odessa – to create a “land corridor to Crimea,” Russian media reported. Such a corridor would also purport to connect the Russian mainland to Transnistria. Minnekayev stated that the measure was part of Russia’s second phase in its war in Ukraine, which involves establishing full control over the Donbas Region and Ukraine’s coast along the Black Sea. No timeline was provided for the maneuver to begin, however.
Victor I. NavaApro-Kremlin media outlet published and then deleted a post on social media Thursday that reported over 13,000 Russian soldiers had been killed in Ukraine, citing the Russian Ministry of Defense. The publication, Readovka, posted on the Russian social media platform VK that the Defense Ministry had announced in a closed briefing that 13,414 Russian soldiers had been killed and 7,000 more were missing in Ukraine. Additionally, the post claimed that the sinking of the Moskva warship had left 116 dead and more than 100 missing. The post was quickly deleted by Readovka. The outlet claimed its VK page had been hacked.
Brendan ColeLong before Russia invaded Ukraine, Russia developed a plan in 2020 to enter and occupy Belarus because it faced mass protests against President Alexander Lukashenko, according to the Ukrainian defense ministry. The ministry's main intelligence directorate in Kyiv said on Tuesday that Moscow had outlined the justification to invade their neighbor "after the falsification" of the Belarusian presidential election in which Lukashenko claimed victory with just over 80 percent of the vote. Ukraine released what it said were Russian military documents showing a plot for Moscow to "suppress popular protests" sparked by the now exiled opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who said she won a first-round victory with 60 percent of the vote.
MSNA Russian national operating alongside Malian soldiers was killed by a roadside bomb in Sahel state, marking the first confirmed death of what in Mali are officially described as Russian military instructors. According to an army document seen by AFP, a Malian army unit accompanied by a “Russian adviser” struck an improvised explosive device near the town of Hombori on Tuesday. An official at a hospital in Sevare, who asked not to be named, confirmed the death and said the Russian was in his 30s. An elected official in central Mali, who also requested anonymity, said that he had “learned of the death of a Wagner agent”.
Rob DaviesThe multibillionaire Russian oligarch Vagit Alekperov has stepped down as the president of the London-listed firm Lukoil after sanctions were imposed on him by the UK and EU. In a statement to the stock market, Russia’s second-largest oil company said Alekperov, who is on good terms with Vladimir Putin, had formally notified the company of his decision to resign on Thursday. Lukoil is among 27 firms whose shares were suspended by the London Stock Exchange in early March in order to avoid market turmoil. The Moscow-headquartered firm is not subject to sanctions. However, the UK government has said Alekperov was targeted because of his role in the Russian energy sector, including an 8.5% equity stake in Lukoil that was worth £3bn before the shares were suspended.
Treasury officials had said the secretary may skip some meetings if Russia attends.By Kate Davidson and Paola TammaU.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other global policymakers walked out of a meeting of the Group of 20 major economies in Washington on Wednesday when Russia’s finance minister began speaking, in a blunt show of opposition to the invasion of Ukraine. Yellen left the session along with Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and multiple other finance ministers and central bank governors once Anton Siluanov, the Russian finance minister who joined the meeting virtually, began to address the gathering. Some economic policymakers from other countries who joined virtually turned off their cameras when Siluanov began to speak, according to a person familiar with the matter.
By Mark TrevelyanLONDON (Reuters) -Russia said on Wednesday it had conducted a first test launch of its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, a new addition to its nuclear arsenal which President Vladimir Putin said would give Moscow's enemies something to think about. Putin was shown on television being told by the military that the missile had been launched from Plesetsk in the country's northwest and hit targets in the Kamchatka peninsula in the far east. The Sarmat has been under development for years and so its test-launch is not a surprise for the West, but it comes at a moment of extreme geopolitical tension due to Russia's eight-week-old war in Ukraine.
Erin Burnett Out FrontThe Pentagon says it is unknown how many of the estimated 500 crew members on the Russian cruiser Moskva actually survived. The ship sunk after Ukraine struck it with two missiles, according to the US. This comes as the father of one Russian sailor aboard the Moskva is demanding answers about his son.
On April 14, the United Nations Security Council held a meeting on the political and humanitarian situation in war-torn Yemen. During the meeting, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield cited Russia’s “war of choice in Ukraine” as the main reason why wheat prices in Yemen are rising, worsening the dire humanitarian situation in the country. She said Yemen is one of the countries most vulnerable to rising wheat prices. But Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador, responded by trying to shift blame onto Western countries and the sanctions they have imposed on Russia. He said those countries must recognize their responsibility for causing the crisis in the financial and food markets. “The main factor for instability and the source of the problem today is not the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, but sanctions measures imposed on our country seeking to cut off any supplies from Russia and the supply chain,” Polyansky said.
As more and more families call BS on the Kremlin’s claims that all sailors survived, Dmitry Peskov says “we are not authorized to release anything.”Allison QuinnThe Kremlin refused to answer mounting questions on Tuesday about the fate of sailors on board its most powerful warship after it was reportedly sunk by Ukrainian missiles last week, claiming it is “not authorized” to do so. While Ukraine said several crew members on board the Moskva, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, were killed, Moscow has denied that its ship was downed by Ukraine, claiming it was badly damaged after an “ammunition” fire, and repeatedly insisted that all 500 crew members were safely evacuated before it went down “in a storm.” Amid numerous reports of Moskva crew members’ families searching for their missing loved ones and publicly mourning dead sailors on social media, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, immediately shut down all questioning on Tuesday. “All communication is only through the Defense Ministry,” he said, adding that “we are not authorized to release anything.”
Sinéad BakerRelatives of crew members aboard the sunken Russian warship Moskva say they haven't been able to locate their loved ones in the days since it went down. The Moskva, a missile cruiser that was the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, sank on Thursday. Russian state media blamed an on-board explosion but Ukraine said it struck the ship with missiles, something the Pentagon later confirmed. The Moskva is thought to have had around 500 crew on board. Russia said the ship was completely evacuated but the families of some crew members have begun questioning that claim. Yulia Tsyvova, whose son Andrei was on board, told The Guardian she didn't receive an update about his whereabouts until Monday, when she received a call from Russia's defence ministry to say he was dead.
Putin says he’s proud of his “noble” war against Ukraine, but his soldiers there say it’s such a mess “entire battalions are starting revolts.”Allison QuinnRussian soldiers in Ukraine are said to be “dumping their stuff” and leaving after the military leadership stiffed them on special pay they were promised. That’s according to several intercepted phone calls released by Ukrainian authorities Wednesday, all of which paint the same picture of a “total clusterfuck” among Russian troops, as one soldier put it. In audio released by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, a man purported to be a Russian soldier is told by a woman back home to “limp” so that he’ll be rotated out. He says military leadership has promised “enormous cash payments,” but goes on to complain that “they say things here and then don’t fulfill a damn thing.” “Everyone is outraged, entire battalions are starting revolts. The commanders promise us that they are giving us their word,” he said.
by Rebecca BeitschFinland and Sweden appear to be edging closer to joining NATO, a move that leaders and experts see as the best way to confront Russia as it escalates its rhetoric on nuclear weapons. The conflict in Ukraine has forced the two Nordic nations to reconsider their absence from the alliance forged after World War II, which commits members to defending one another if attacked. “Mr. Putin is proving NATO relevant and necessary,” said Sean Monaghan, a visiting fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “If NATO didn’t exist, you’d have to invent it.”
ydzhanova@businessinsider.com (Yelena Dzhanova)Ukrainian intelligence officials claim to have intercepted a call in which a Russian soldier says Vladimir Putin's troops are shooting their own people in Moscow. The Security Service of Ukraine released an audio clip of the call on Friday, in which a man's voice can be heard saying Putin's forces have been opening fire on a Russian town. The man, a soldier located in Ukraine's Donetsk region, was speaking to his wife on the phone, who's back home in Russia. "These are our heroes," he told his wife. "This is done in order to provoke ... Ukrainians," he said, according to Ukrainian intel. The soldier said Russian forces bombed Klimovo, a Russian city straddling the border between Russia and Ukraine. Klimovo authorities, meanwhile, blamed Ukrainian soldiers for shelling the city, an accusation Kyiv has vehemently denied. The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine characterized the blame as "an attempt to ignite anti-Ukraine hysteria in Russia," according to Radio Free Europe, a US-funded media company.
Harry RobertsonThe impending Russian debt default is likely to be one of the most difficult in history to resolve, and could even lead the US to permanently seize assets from the country's central bank, according to a report from the consultancy Oxford Economics. Russia is facing its first default on its foreign-currency debt since the aftermath of the Bolshevik revolution in 1918. The US Treasury earlier this month blocked Russia from paying $650 million due on two bonds using funds held at American banks. Russia has instead tried to pay in rubles, but credit ratings agencies have said this would constitute a default.
By Nadeen Ebrahim, CNNAs Russia faces unprecedented sanctions on virtually all sectors of its economy, it may have to turn to a trusted ally with more than four decades of experience with Western embargoes. Until the Ukraine war, Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world, according to Castellum.Ai, which tracks sanctions. Russia now holds that record and the two countries are in what analysts call "a marriage of convenience" that is likely to grow stronger as the war in Ukraine escalates. "Common interests in helping the other evade sanctions are important to these dynamics in Russia-Iran relations," said Giorgio Cafiero, CEO of Gulf State Analytics in Washington DC. Amid tit-for-tat air blockades between Moscow and the West last month, Russian transport minister Vitaly Savelyev said his country is "studying the case of Iran" to help it deal with sanctions on maintenance and spare parts. Iran still operates some planes purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution that ruptured its ties with the West.
Joanna WaltersUnited States warned by Russia to stop arming Ukraine. Amid Russia’s ongoing attack on Ukraine and fresh US pledges to send more weapons to the embattled Ukrainians, Moscow has sent what is being termed a formal diplomatic note to Washington warning that more American military aid is “adding fuel” to the bitter war, the Washington Post reports, pointing out that the outlet has seen the relevant memo.
The war in Ukraine has prompted an exodus of Russian ‘diplomats’. Does it mark the end of an era?by Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editorThe unprecedented wave of expulsions of Russian diplomats from European capitals – now close to 400 – is not just a symbolic, if reversible, act of revulsion at the war crimes for which Russia stands accused. It is part of a decades long battle to police the dividing line between espionage and diplomacy, one in which the west of late has been accused of too often ignoring a resurgence in Russia’s clandestine activities, either because of an excessive focus on domestic terrorism, or excessive reliance on intercepts. Sir John Sawers, the former head of M16, last year said he suspected the west was picking up only 10% of Russia’s espionage. The current scale of the exodus of alleged Russian spies – probably the largest single set of such expulsions in history according to the distinguished former French diplomat François Heisbourg – may also raise questions about why the west came to indulge so many Russian “diplomats” working on European soil. By Friday, among the EU member states, only Malta, Cyprus and Hungary had so far declined to send any Russian “diplomats” packing.
Darragh RocheA Russian TV pundit has raged against Ukraine and called for the bombing of the capital city of Kyiv following the sinking of the Russian missile cruiser Moskva in the Black Sea. Vladimir Bortko, a filmmaker and former member of the Russian State Duma, said on state TV on Thursday that the Russian "motherland" had been attacked after Ukraine said it had hit the ship with missiles. "We should bomb Kyiv," said Bortko at one point in an exchange with the TV host. Russia, which began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, has not officially said the vessel was attacked but the country's Defense Ministry has confirmed that the Moskva, which had a crew of 510, sank after a fire on the ship was caused by the detonation of ammunition.
Alice VargasMoldova said on Wednesday that reports that the Russian military is trying to recruit Moldovan citizens are serious and that it regularly discusses all matters of concern with Russian officials, in response to a question about the war in Ukraine. The comments came days after British military intelligence said Moscow was trying to replenish its forces in Ukraine by recruiting in the breakaway region of Transdniestria.
Simon DrukerApril 14 (UPI) -- Two Russian Navy submarines test-fired cruise missiles in the Sea of Japan on Thursday, the Japanese government confirmed. "The Pacific Fleet's two latest diesel-electric submarines Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Volkhov conducted launches of Kalibr cruise missiles from the submerged position against the naval target," Russian news agency TASS reported.
By Josh KovenskyRussia admitted that its largest ship in the Black Sea had gone under on Thursday, after Ukraine said on Wednesday that it scored a rocket strike on the vessel. Ukrainian officials first announced on Wednesday evening that they had hit the rocket cruiser Moskva off the coast of Odessa with one of the country’s home-developed “Neptune” anti-ship missiles. Moskva is Russian for Moscow, the country’s capital. Moskva was the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, one of Russia’s main naval bodies. Based out of the city of Sevastopol in Crimea, the fleet was buttressed by ships taken from Ukraine’s navy after Russia annexed the peninsula in 2014.
ReutersApril 14 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Moscow would work to redirect its energy exports eastward as Europe tries to reduce its reliance on them, adding that European nations would not be able to ditch Russian gas immediately. Russia supplies around 40% of the EU's natural gas, and western sanctions over what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine have hit its energy exports by complicating the financing and logistics of existing deals.
insider@insider.com (John Haltiwanger)Russia on Thursday threatened to deploy nuclear weapons to the Baltics if Finland and Sweden join NATO, despite the fact it's already assessed to have such assets in the region. "If Sweden and Finland join NATO, the length of the land borders of the alliance with the Russian Federation will more than double. Naturally, these boundaries will have to be strengthened," Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said on Telegram. "There can be no more talk of any nuclear-free status for the Baltic — the balance must be restored," Medvedev, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said. Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas responded by saying the Russian threat is "quite strange" given Russia currently has nuclear weapons in Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave on the Baltic sea, per Reuters. Kaliningrad is located between Lithuania and Poland, both NATO members.
Marc ChampionHow the Moskva caught fire late on Wednesday remains disputed. Russia’s defense ministry said the warship’s ammunition store detonated. The governor of Ukraine’s Odesa region, Maksym Marchenko, backed up by the defense ministry, said it was struck by two Neptune missiles, a new Ukrainian anti-ship system of which just one battery exists. In either case the missile cruiser’s loss is an embarrassment for Russia and a win for Ukraine. The ship gained notoriety at the start of the war for a confrontation with a small contingent of Ukrainian guards on Snake Island in the Black Sea who, in colorful terms, reportedly told the Moskva to get lost. It will also cost Russia militarily. While old –- it was commissioned in 1982 -- the Slava (Glory) class Moskva was refitted in 2010. It provides a mobile bubble of long-range air defense for the rest of the fleet, as well as command and control systems. Those abilities cannot be easily substituted.
Alexander Nazaryan·Senior White House CorrespondentNEW YORK — A trillion dollars: That’s how much money famed investor Bill Browder believes Vladimir Putin and Russian oligarchs have stolen from the Russian people since the fall of the Soviet Union. “And that was money that was supposed to be spent on health care and education, roads and services,” Browder said at a Manhattan event to celebrate the publication of his second book, “Freezing Order,” which chronicles how he became a Putin nemesis as a result of his attempts to expose Kremlin corruption. Those efforts led to the death of Browder’s attorney Sergei Magnitsky, who was tortured in a Russian prison and whose name is affixed to sanctions bills passed by Congress.
By Irina SlavRussia is ready to sell crude oil at pretty much any price, but only to friendly countries, Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov told Russian news agency Interfax. Commenting on oil price forecasts, Shulginov said that these will need to be revised soon in light of the changes in the geopolitical and economic situation. He added that while a price range of between $80 and $150 per barrel of crude was possible, Russia was ready to sell its oil at any price range because its priority was to keep its oil industry going. "A price range of $80 to $150 per barrel is generally possible," Shulginov told Interfax, "but it is not our job to play guesswork with prices. Our job is to ensure the continue operation of the oil industry. We are ready to sell friendly countries oil and oil products at any price range." Separately, commenting on news about foreign companies' exit from the Russian energy industry, Shulginov said this exit is, for now, hypothetical. These companies, he said, would first need to find a buyer for their Russian business.
President Voldomyr Zelensky has called for Nuremberg-style hearingsAndrew Buncombe Chief US CorrespondentStatements and assertions published by Russia’s state-controlled media show the atrocities carried out in Ukraine amount to war crimes, says a US expert on Vladimir Putin and his country. In the weeks before and since Russia invaded Ukraine, Susan Smith-Peter, Professor Of History at the City University of New York, has been monitoring Russian state media and posting translations of some of the pieces she thinks show Moscow’s intention to breach the rules of war. She says while Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has called for the establishment of a war crimes tribunal similar to the Nuremberg Trials that followed World War II, much of the discussion in the West has focused on the challenge to prove “intent”.
Sam MeredithLONDON — Finland and Sweden could both seek to join NATO in the coming weeks, warning Europe’s security landscape has “completely changed” in the aftermath of Russia’s onslaught in Ukraine. Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said Wednesday that the Nordic country, which shares a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia, would decide on whether to join the U.S.-led military alliance “within weeks.” Finnish lawmakers are expected to debate the pros and cons of joining the 30-member alliance upon returning from their Easter break.
ReutersBERLIN, April 13 (Reuters) - The European Union should impose an embargo on Russian oil as soon as possible, the chairmen of three German parliamentarian committees said on Tuesday after a visit to Ukraine. German Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael Roth said cutting Russian oil would be a very important signal because it would affect Russia's main source of income. With mounting civilian deaths in Ukraine amid Russia's invasion, Germany, Europe's largest economy, is under pressure to wean itself off Russian gas and oil, as critics say the revenue provides Moscow with vital funds to wage war.
Hundreds of foreign companies from Pepsi to Apple to IKEA have pulled back operations in Russia as the West has hit the country with sweeping sanctions. Here’s how Russians are living with the economic fallout from Moscow’s decision to invade Ukraine.
Analysis by Luke McGee, CNN(CNN) When Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, his goals were clear. He wanted to bring his neighbor to heel, assert Russian authority in Eastern Europe and make the West think twice about expanding militarily and politically toward Russia's borders. But in one important respect, Putin's plan appears to have failed: The war has united the West against Moscow in ways that seemed unimaginable in January. Now, Finland and Sweden -- nations that are officially non-aligned -- are edging ever closer toward joining NATO, the US-led military alliance. Finland is expected to produce a report on the country's security policy this week, a key step on the road to the nation potentially applying for NATO. That report is expected to start discussions in Finland's parliament about whether to pursue membership in the alliance -- discussions which Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said she hoped would wrap up "before mid-summer."
Is this the new Russia and China democratic world order, we tell you what you can and cannot do but you do not dare tell us what we can and cannot do or we will destroy you.BBC NewsRussia has warned Finland and Sweden against joining Nato, arguing the move would not bring stability to Europe. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that "the alliance remains a tool geared towards confrontation". It comes as US defence officials said Moscow's invasion of Ukraine has been a "massive strategic blunder" which will likely bring Nato enlargement. US officials expect the Nordic neighbours to bid for membership of the alliance, potentially as early as June. Washington is believed to support the move which would see the Western alliance grow to 32 members. US State Department officials said last week that discussions had taken place between Nato leaders and foreign ministers from Helsinki and Stockholm.
By Laura BenitezRussian Railways JSC has been ruled in default by a derivatives panel after missing a bond interest payment, the first such decision since Russia was slapped with extensive sanctions that complicated financial transactions. A failure-to-pay credit event occurred after a coupon due on March 14 failed to reach investors by the end of a 10-day grace period, according to the Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee.
By Anna Cooban, CNN BusinessLondon (CNN Business) Russia has defaulted on its foreign debt because it offered bondholders payments in rubles, not dollars, credit ratings agency S&P has said.Russia attempted to pay in rubles for two dollar-denominated bonds that matured on April 4, S&P said in a note on Friday. The agency said this amounted to a "selective default" because investors are unlikely to be able to convert the rubles into "dollars equivalent to the originally due amounts." According to S&P, a selective default is declared when an entity has defaulted on a specific obligation but not its entire debt.Moscow has a grace period of 30 days from April 4 to make the payments of capital and interest, but S&P said it does not expect it will convert them into dollars given Western sanctions that undermine its "willingness and technical abilities to honor the terms and conditions" of its obligations.
Julia DavisAs Russia’s war of aggression continues to ravage its neighbor, the Kremlin’s propaganda apparatus has been more blatant than ever before in outlining the country’s goals for its biggest nemesis: the U.S. Last week, American intelligence officials reportedly assessed that Russian President Vladimir Putin may use the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine as a pretext to order a new campaign to interfere in U.S. elections. Though AP reported that “it is not yet clear which candidates Russia might try to promote or what methods it might use,” Russian state media seem to be in agreement that former U.S. President Donald Trump remains Moscow’s candidate of choice.The time is coming “to again help our partner Trump to become president,” state TV host Evgeny Popov recently declared. On Thursday’s edition of the state television show The Evening With Vladimir Soloviev, Putin’s pet pundits offered an update on plans for 2024. “We’re trying to feel our way, figuring out the first steps. What can we do in 2023, 2024?,” Russian “Americanist” Malek Dudakov, a political scientist specializing in the U.S., said.
Scilla AlecciAfter Western nations blacklisted Russia’s biggest banks in response to the invasion of Ukraine, many Russians rushed to ATMs, grimly standing in long lines to try to withdraw their savings. Some of the banks’ top executives had less reason to worry. They had already taken steps that may help blunt the impact of sanctions on their personal wealth, according to secret documents examined by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists as part of the Pandora Papers investigation. Over the last decade, eight executives at five of Russia’s biggest financial institutions – Sberbank, Alfa Bank, VTB, Gazprombank and VEB – exploited the secrecy of the offshore financial system to stash wealth in faraway jurisdictions, the Pandora Papers reveal. All eight of the bankers were involved in a variety of offshore maneuvers in recent years as Russia’s relationship with the rest of the world became increasingly fraught, the records show.
Sabrina TaverniseThe last time I was in Russia, the summer of 2015, I came face to face with a contradiction. What if a place was unfree, but also happy? How long could it stay that way? Moscow had blossomed into a beautiful, European city, full of meticulously planted parks, bike lanes and parking spaces. Income for the average Russian had risen significantly over the course of the previous decade. At the same time, its political system was drifting ever closer to authoritarianism. Fifteen years earlier, Boris Yeltsin had left power in shame, apologizing on national television “for having failed to justify the hopes of the people who believed that we would be able to make a leap from the gloomy and stagnant totalitarian past to a bright, prosperous and civilized future at just one go.”
Russian Gen. Alexander Dvornikov is notorious as the “Butcher of Syria" for his targeting of civilians while commanding troops in the region.By Doha Madani and Courtney KubeRussia's reported appointment of Gen. Alexander Dvornikov, a man with a history of targeting civilians, to take over operations in Ukraine marks what some military analysts see as an indication that Russia intends to terrorize civilians as the war progresses. Dvornikov, who most recently oversaw Russian troops in Syria, was chosen as the new ground commander in Ukraine, a U.S. official and a Western official confirmed. The decision to bring in Dvornikov could be an acknowledgment of what U.S. intelligence officials have described as a failure to achieve the quick takeover Russian President Vladimir Putin envisioned, retired Adm. James Stavridis said Sunday on “NBC Nightly News.” "The appointment of this new general indicates Vladimir Putin’s intent to continue this conflict for months, if not years," Stavridis said. Dvornikov is known as the "Butcher of Syria," Stavridis noted.
ReutersApril 10 (Reuters) - The Russian government said on Sunday it has increased its reserve fund used for emergency spending by 273.4 billion roubles ($3.52 billion) to ensure economic stability against the backdrop of Western sanctions over Ukraine.
"The larger issue of broad-scale war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine lies at the feet of the Kremlin," Jake Sullivan said.By David CohenNational security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday that the war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine were part of President Vladimir Putin’s master plan for the invasion. “We, in fact, before the war began declassified intelligence and presented it,” Sullivan said on ABC’s “This Week,” “indicating that there was a plan from the highest levels of the Russian government to target civilians who oppose the invasion, to cause violence against them, to organize efforts to brutalize them in order to try to terrorize the population and subjugate it. So this is something that was planned.” Russia’s recent retreat from areas near Kyiv left behind massive evidence of atrocities, particularly in Bucha, where civilians who had been executed, many with their hands tied behind their backs, were found through the area. On top of that, Russia has targeted civilian sites throughout the war, with airstrikes on hospitals and places where refugees have congregated.
By Miriam BergerMercenaries working for a Kremlin-linked network of private security contractors have taken up arms in Ukraine on Russia’s behalf, U.S. and British officials say. The network, known as the Wagner Group, first worked in Ukraine in 2014 during Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. Since then, its fighters have turned up on battlefields from Syria to Mali. In Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, about 1,000 Wagner mercenaries are concentrated in the country’s east, where Pentagon officials say Russia has refocused its war effort after failing to capture the capital, Kyiv. Germany’s foreign intelligence service claimed this week to have intercepted communications that could link the Wagner Group to indiscriminate killings of Ukrainian civilians. Russian officials have denied links to the Wagner Group, whose true ownership and funding sources remain unclear. But experts say it has deep ties to the Kremlin, serving as a tactical tool for Moscow in hot spots where Russia has political and financial interests.
ReutersApril 9 (Reuters) - Russia staged war games on Saturday in Kaliningrad - an enclave on the Baltic Sea sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania - Interfax news agency cited the Baltic Fleet Command as saying, days after a senior official warned European countries against any potential action against Kaliningrad. "Up to 1,000 military personnel... and more than 60 military equipment units were involved in the control checks," Interfax news quoted the Russian Baltic Fleet Command's press service as saying.
ReutersApril 8 (Reuters) - Russia's justice ministry said on Friday it had revoked the registration of 15 foreign organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Moscow Has Forcibly Taken More than 400,000 Ukrainians to Russia, Ukraine Says
By Nebi Qena and Cara Anna/AP(KYIV, Ukraine) — Ukraine accused Moscow on Thursday of forcibly taking hundreds of thousands of civilians from shattered Ukrainian cities to Russia, where some may be used as “hostages” to pressure Kyiv to give up. Lyudmyla Denisova, Ukraine’s ombudsperson, said 402,000 people, including 84,000 children, had been taken to Russia. The Kremlin gave nearly identical numbers for those who have been relocated, but said they wanted to go to Russia. Ukraine’s rebel-controlled eastern regions are predominantly Russian-speaking, and many people there have supported close ties to Moscow.
By Janis LaizansMEDYKA, Poland, April 9 (Reuters) - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday that Russian forces appeared to have committed war crimes by targeting civilians in Ukraine, but she said lawyers must investigate the alleged incidents.
Hannah ToweyBill Browder — an international investor who once ran the largest foreign investment fund in Russia and is described as "Putin's enemy" — said companies remaining in Russia is the "equivalent of continuing to do business in Nazi Germany." "Every business has a moral obligation to get out of Russia, no matter what the cost is," Browder told The New York Times in an interview published Saturday by DealBook. "I don't think anyone should even be concerned about returning because everyone will be welcomed back in a post-Putin regime." He added that if Putin remains in power, companies should not "want to go back."
Russia hopes to recruit upwards of 60,000 new troops, according to the U.S.By Morgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Meredith Deliso, and Nadine El-BawabRussian President Vladimir Putin's "special military operation" into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian troops invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Russian forces have since been met with "stiff resistance" from Ukrainians, according to U.S. officials. In recent days, Russian forces have retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. After graphic images emerged of civilians lying dead in the streets of Bucha, a town northwest of Kyiv, the United States and European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes.
Danielle WallaceThe Ukrainian government on Thursday released what they claimed were intercepted radio recordings of a Russian commander instructing his soldiers to "take out" Ukrainian civilians in Mariupol. The Times of London reported Thursday about the obscenity-strewn recordings released by the Security Service of Ukraine. In one recording, an unidentified Russian soldier says he observed "two people coming out of the grove in civilian [clothing]." He also spotted a vehicle and states he cannot determine whether it’s a civilian vehicle or one operating by members of the Ukrainian military. "Take them all f***ing out!" a Russian commander shouts in response, according to the intercepted call. "Off them all, f***!" the superior shouted. The soldier accepts the command, saying, "Got it."
“We lost everything and had to start over again,” one Stalin survivor said. “I’m afraid many of these Ukrainians will have to, as well.”By Corky SiemaszkoThey were children when the Russian soldiers came for them in the dead of winter 1940. The armed men who barged into their homes and gave them a half-hour to get dressed and pack a bag were called Soviets back then. And in the early days of World War II, they rousted Poles from their homes in what is now western Ukraine and shipped them off to the gulags in Siberia. For these survivors, reports that Ukrainians are now being deported to "filtration" camps deep inside Russia brought back painful memories of their own ordeals — mixed with deep sympathy for a new generation of victims. “I was just 3-and-a-half when the Russians came for us in the middle of the night, but I can still remember the sound of them banging on the door with rifles and bayonets and yelling 'Out! Out!” Marie Wypijewski, 85, told NBC News. "They made my father stand with his face to the wall while my mother packed and dressed us in the warmest clothes she could find."
Since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is experiencing the largest exodus since the October Revolution of 1917. Many who are leaving are intellectuals and artists. Their future is uncertain.DW.comOn the night of March 4, 2022, Russian investigative journalist Andrei Loshak could hardly sleep — in fact, he had slept very little since February 24, the day Russia invaded Ukraine. He checked channels on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, and found one message in particular that made him freeze in fear: In the near future, martial law could be imposed in Russia, which would make it impossible to leave the country. Over the next weeks, he began to think about what to do. Eventually, he realized he had to leave — immediately. The same day, Loshak was on a plane to Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. "Here in Georgia, I immediately met so many friends and colleagues from Moscow and other Russian cities that I hadn't seen in Russia in the past years," says Loshak.
wbostock@businessinsider.com (Bill Bostock)Russia said it was quitting the United Nations Human Rights Council on Thursday shortly after it was suspended for atrocities in Ukraine. The UN General Assembly voted 93 to 24 to suspend Russia on Thursday, with 58 abstentions. UN regulations require a two-thirds majority of voters to expel or suspend members. The assembly moved to vote on Russia's membership after evidence emerged of more than 300 civilian deaths during Russia's occupation of Bucha, a town outside the capital Kyiv. Though there is substantial evidence suggesting Russia committed the killings, Russia denies the claims and says the deaths were staged to discredit Russia. Following its suspension, Russia said it was quitting the body entirely, with Gennady Kuzmin, Russia's ambassador to the UN, saying the suspension was an "illegitimate and politically motivated step," Reuters reported.
by Caroline VakilDmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, acknowledged in an interview published on Thursday that Russia had sustained “significant losses of troops” and called it a “huge tragedy.” The remarks, which were made to Sky News, are a rare acknowledgement from Moscow of the difficulties Russia has confronted in its invasion of Ukraine. Russia has not provided many updates regarding its troops’ casualties; previous figures reported by Moscow have been notably lower than estimates from Ukraine and NATO.
"This is nothing new for the Russian Army," a U.S. congressman tells ABC News.By Bill HutchinsonIn one of the creepiest allegations to emerge from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin is being accused by Ukrainian officials of using "mobile crematoriums" to incinerate dead civilians in a deliberate effort to cover-up alleged war crimes in the hard-hit city of Mariupol. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko made the charge this week, saying he heard eyewitness accounts of Russian soldiers driving around Mariupol with crematoriums on lorries and collecting bodies of civilians while at the same time barring the International Committee of the Red Cross from entering the city with humanitarian aid. "The world has not seen the scale of the tragedy in Mariupol since the existence of Nazis concentration camps," Boychenko said on Tuesday. "The Russians have turned our entire city into a death camp. Unfortunately, the creepy analogy is getting more and more confirmation."
MSN(Reuters) - Russia will do everything to make sure its creditors receive their money, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Thursday, a day after the country edged closer to a potential default on its international debt. Having managed to service its debt in foreign currency since the beginning of what Moscow calls "a special military operation" in Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russia has encountered difficulties with foreign exchange payments on its Eurobonds. On Wednesday, Russia said it had to pay roubles to holders of its dollar-denominated Eurobonds maturing in 2022 and 2042 as a foreign bank had refused to process an order to pay $649 million to holders of its sovereign debt. "We will do everything so creditors receive their invested money from the Russian Federation," TASS news agency quoted Siluanov as saying. Siluanov said state-run monopoly Russian Railways (RZhD) was not allowed to pay dollars on its Eurobonds and the company will pay roubles instead, according to Interfax news agency.
nmusumeci@insider.com (Natalie Musumeci)Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin shrugged off the impact of Western sanctions, NBC News reported. Russia's financial system has "withstood" the "sanctions storm," Mishustin said. While the ruble has recovered, the country has been flirting with default and inflation is skyrocketing. Russia's financial system has "withstood" the "sanctions storm" that has been imposed against the country by global leaders over its war with Ukraine, the prime minister claimed on Thursday, despite skyrocketing inflation and the threat of a Russian debt default. "The authors of this strategy expected that the sanctions storm would destroy our economy in a few days. Their scenario didn't come true," Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said in an address to the Russian State Duma, according to a translation by NBC News.
Yahoo NewsLONDON (Reuters) - Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that if Finland and Sweden joined NATO then Russia would have to "rebalance the situation" with its own measures. Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which it says aims among other things to degrade Ukraine's military potential and prevent it becoming a bridgehead for a NATO attack, has prompted the two Nordic countries to consider joining the U.S.-led alliance. If the two countries join, "we'll have to make our western flank more sophisticated in terms of ensuring our security," Peskov told Britain's Sky News. However, he said Russia would not see such a move as an existential threat, of the kind that might prompt it to consider using nuclear weapons.
German intelligence presented evidence of transmissions to MPs, according to SpiegelKate Connolly in Berlin and Bethan McKernan in KyivRadio transmissions in which Russian soldiers appear to talk among themselves about carrying out premeditated civilian killings in Ukraine have been intercepted by Germany’s foreign intelligence service, a source close to the findings has said. The evidence was presented by officials from the foreign intelligence service, the BND, to parliamentarians on Wednesday. Reports of the radio communications were first published in the German news magazine Spiegel, which said the communications related to atrocities carried out in Bucha, north of Kyiv.
by Ines KagubareA new Facebook report found that government-affiliated hackers from Russia and Belarus attempted to use the social media platform for cyber espionage and disinformation campaigns targeting Ukrainians. The report, released on Thursday, said the hackers targeted the Ukrainian telecom industry, defense and energy sectors, tech platforms, journalists, and activists. Facebook said it disrupted a disinformation campaign linked to the Belarusian KGB, which posted that Ukrainian troops were surrendering, and that nation’s leaders were fleeing the country the day Russia invaded. The tech company said it disabled the account and stopped the campaign that same day.
Danielle WallaceAs Ukrainian and Western officials have decried the atrocities witnessed in the Bucha massacre and around Kyiv, a hardened Chechen fighter and close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin has been posting videos to his Telegram channel saying his men stand ready to finish the job in Ukraine. Ramzan Kadyrov, leader of the majority Muslim Chechen Republic, has reportedly visited the badly bombarded port city of Mariupol on the Black Sea as Russian troops have pulled back from the capital region around Kyiv and are regrouping to focus their offensive on southeastern Ukraine. Western countries upped their sanctions against Moscow Wednesday in an effort to cripple the Russian war machine after photos surfaced showing corpses in civilian clothing lining the streets of Bucha, some with their hands behind their backs and showing signs of rape and torture.
John Bacon, Ella Lee, Celina Tebor, Joey Garrison | USA TODAYThe UN General Assembly on Thursday approved a U.S.-initiated resolution to suspend Russia from the world organization’s Human Rights Council amid mounting evidence of atrocities by the Russian military in Ukraine. The vote was 93-24 with 58 abstentions. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield launched the campaign to suspend Russia from the 47-member Human Rights Council after videos and photos from the Kyiv-area town of Bucha emerged, revealing streets strewn with corpses of civilians, apparently after Russian soldiers retreated. Russia becomes the first permanent member of the U.N. Security Council to have its membership revoked from any U.N. body. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this week also called for Russia's removal from the Security Council so it can't use its veto power to "block decisions about its own aggression."
Natasha TurakUkraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has met with G-7 and NATO leaders in Brussels, one day after the U.S. announced new penalties on Russia that included a ban on all new investment in the country and sanctions on President Vladimir Putin’s daughters. “I came here today to discuss three most important things: weapons, weapons, and weapons,” Kuleba said in a tweet. Evidence of atrocities against civilians by Russian forces drew strong condemnation from G-7 members, who have called for Russia to be removed from the U.N. Human Rights Council. Russian air attacks are predominantly focused on parts of eastern Ukraine and Russian forces are seeking to encircle Ukrainian forces in the region, according to an advisor to Ukraine’s president. Officials in Ukraine and NATO expect far worse fighting in the coming days.
Russia is a bully nation, Russia tells countries to stay out Russian affairs and at the same time, Russia keeps telling other countries what they can and cannot do in their own county or they will destroy them.Brendan ColeARussian lawmaker has warned that Moscow would retaliate if Finland joins NATO as Russian aggression in Ukraine spurs the Nordic country towards membership of the alliance. Vladimir Dzhabarov from Russia's upper house, the Federation Council, said that any move by Helsinki to join NATO would be a "strategic mistake." He said that Finland had developed close ties with Russia but NATO membership would mean "it would become a target." "I think it [would be] a terrible tragedy for the entire Finnish people," said Dzhabarov. However, he said that it was unlikely that "the Finns themselves will sign a card for the destruction of their country," in comments reported on Wednesday by Russian state-owned domestic news agency RIA Novosti.
Russia is trying to hide the bodies of people it has killed to hide the atrocities of what it has done.Caitlin McFallThe Mariupol City Council on Wednesday accused Russian forces of relying on a mobile crematorium to cover up their alleged war crimes in the southeast port city of Ukraine. Mariupol, which has been partially occupied for weeks, has been the target of one of the most brutal Russian offensives in Ukraine since the invasion began in February. "The killers are covering their tracks," the city council said in several social media posts, adding that the Russians have set up "mobile crematoriums." "Russia’s top leadership ordered the destruction of any evidence of crimes committed by its army in Mariupol," the council added in a translated statement, accusing Moscow of reacting to widespread condemnation over mass civilian killings in Bucha. Humanitarian access to the city has been blocked for weeks, with an estimated 160,000 residents unable to evacuate and lacking access to electricity, heating, health care and water, reported the U.K.’s Ministry of Defense.
Russia is threatening states over its actions and the actions of Russian soldiers.By Michelle NicholsUNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -Russia has warned countries at the United Nations that a yes vote or abstention on a U.S. push to suspend Moscow from the Human Rights Council will be viewed as an "unfriendly gesture" with consequences for bilateral ties, according to a note seen by Reuters on Wednesday. The United States said on Monday it would seek Russia's suspension after Ukraine accused Russian troops of killing hundreds of civilians in the town of Bucha. The 193-member U.N. General Assembly in New York is due to vote on the measure on Thursday.
Yes, Russia is to blame they started the war and they have committed civilian massacres in other places around the world.CBS NewsBeijing — China on Wednesday said images of civilian deaths in the Ukrainian town of Bucha are "deeply disturbing" but that no blame should be apportioned until all facts are known. Emerging evidence of what appeared to be widespread civilian massacres in the wake of Russian withdrawals from the Kyiv areas may complicate Beijing's attempts to guide public opinion over the conflict, in which China has refused to criticize Moscow. China supports all initiatives and measures "conducive to alleviating the humanitarian crisis" in the country, and is "ready to continue to work together with the international community to prevent any harm to civilians," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters at a daily briefing.
Two of three Lake Como homes belonging to Putin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov were attacked overnight.Barbie Latza NadeauItalian firefighters extinguished a blaze set in a brazen dawn arson attack on a lavish villa owned by Vladimir Putin’s top propagandist Vladimir Solovyov early Wednesday. A fire official confirmed to The Daily Beast that the fire nearly engulfed the villa situated on the flanks of Lake Como, which has been confiscated by Italian officials due to sanctions but which still belongs to the Russian state TV presenter. The villa, with sweeping views over one of Italy’s most idyllic lakes, was undergoing full renovation when it was sequestered. It is Solovyov’s most recent property purchase in northern Italy, and he had been renovating it thanks to COVID-19 bonus payouts for construction projects.
By Nandita Bose, Matt Spetalnick and Alexandra AlperWASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - The United States targeted Russian banks and elites with a new round of sanctions on Wednesday, including banning Americans from investing in Russia, in response to what President Joe Biden condemned as "major war crimes" by Russian forces in Ukraine.
Human Rights Watch says deaths during anti-jihadist operation in Moura ‘the worst atrocity in Mali in a decade’Emmanuel AkinwotuSuspected Russian mercenaries participated in an operation with Mali’s army in March in which about 300 civilian men were allegedly killed over five days, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says. Witnesses and local community leaders said hundreds of men were rounded up and killed in small groups during the anti-jihadist operation on 23 March in the central town of Moura. The rural town of about 10,000 inhabitants is in the Mopti region, a hotspot of jihadist activity that has intensified and spread to neighbouring countries in the Sahel region. Local security sources told HRW that more than 100 Russian-speaking men were allegedly involved in the operation, which HRW described as the worst single atrocity reported in Mali’s decade-long armed conflict. Witnesses spoke of white soldiers talking in an unfamiliar foreign language they believed to be Russian.
By Krisztina Than, Gergely Szakacs and Nina ChestneyBUDAPEST/LONDON, April 6 (Reuters) - Hungary said on Wednesday it was prepared to pay roubles for Russian gas, breaking ranks with the European Union which has sought a united front in opposing Moscow's demand for payment in the currency.
AFP FranceUkraine authorities have said bodies discovered on April 2, 2022 in the small town of Bucha were civilians killed by retreating Russian forces, allegations which Moscow has denied. Several posts shared on social networks -- including from Russian authorities -- have claimed that the scene was staged by Ukrainian forces and some of the so-called bodies were filmed moving. But AFP journalists on the ground confirmed they saw dead bodies that had been left for several days; footage used to support the misleading claims does not show the bodies moving, AFP's investigation found. On April 3 the Russian defence ministry shared on its Telegram feed -- which has nearly 200,000 followers -- a 21-second video of the scene alongside a comment that it was "fake". "The video with the bodies is puzzling: here, at 12 seconds, the “corpse” on the right moves its hand. At 30 seconds in the rearview mirror, the "corpse" sits down. The bodies in the video seem to have been deliberately laid out in order to create a more dramatic picture," the Telegram post reads.
By ROBERT BURNSWASHINGTON (AP) — Kyiv was a Russian defeat for the ages. The fight started poorly for the invaders and went downhill from there. When President Vladimir Putin launched his war on Feb. 24 after months of buildup on Ukraine’s borders, he sent hundreds of helicopter-borne commandos — the best of the best of Russia’s “spetsnaz” special forces soldiers — to assault and seize a lightly defended airfield on Kyiv’s doorstep. Other Russian forces struck elsewhere across Ukraine, including toward the eastern city of Kharkiv as well as in the contested Donbas region and along the Black Sea coast. But as the seat of national power, Kyiv was the main prize. Thus the thrust by elite airborne forces in the war’s opening hours. But Putin failed to achieve his goal of quickly crushing Ukraine’s outgunned and outnumbered army. The Russians were ill-prepared for Ukrainian resistance, proved incapable of adjusting to setbacks, failed to effectively combine air and land operations, misjudged Ukraine’s ability to defend its skies, and bungled basic military functions like planning and executing the movement of supplies.
htowey@insider.com (Hannah Towey)An abnormally high number of ships ditched their Russian flags this March and re-registered to nations such as the Marshall Islands and St. Kitts, according to data provided by Windward AI, a maritime risk consultancy. A total of 18 ships changed their Russian flag to a different nationality during the month of March. That's more than three times the normal rate of 5.8, Windward's data showed. Five of the vessels are linked to Russian ownership. The tactic — while legal — could allow businesses to hide their connections to the Russian regime and "deceive authorities" in order to evade sanctions, Windward said in its monthly report. "Right now, tracking a Russian vessel with a Russian flag is very easy," Windward CEO Ami Daniel said in an interview with Insider. "If you build a shell company, you put a vessel in there with a new name … I think it's a different ball game."
By Philip PullellaVATICAN CITY, April 6 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Wednesday condemned "the massacre of Bucha" and kissed a Ukrainian flag sent from the town where tied bodies shot at close range littered the streets after Russian troops withdrew and bodies poked out of a mass grave at a church.
Grace DeanRussia made considerably less money than forecast from oil and gas sales in March, suggesting that the Kremlin underestimated the impact of the Ukraine war. Revenue from oil and gas sales in March was 302 billion rubles ($3.6 billion), or 38%, lower than Russia's finance ministry forecast on March 3, according to data from the ministry, published Tuesday. Russia is a leading oil supplier and the world's top gas exporter, and Europe typically gets about 40% of its natural gas from Russia. However, European and other Western nations have been switching away from Russian supplies in the wake of the Ukraine invasion.
esnodgrass@insider.com (Erin Snodgrass)Satellite images out of the Ukrainian town of Bucha corroborate recent reports of civilian deaths in the Kyiv-Oblast suburb, while simultaneously refuting Russia's denials about the civilian bodies found, according to a New York Times visual analysis. Gruesome images and videos of dead bodies lying in the streets of Bucha emerged on social media over the weekend, prompting international outcry and condemnation. Russia's Ministry of Defense denied responsibility for the casualties in a Sunday Telegram post, accusing Ukraine of staging the footage and calling the scene a "hoax." The Russian Ministry even suggested that Ukraine had placed the bodies in the street sometime after March 30, after "all Russian units withdrew completely from Bucha." Satellite images from Maxar Technology reviewed by The Times (and also sent to Insider), however, show that some of the bodies have been lying in the streets for more than three weeks, during a time when Russian troops occupied the town.
By Gerry DoyleApril 5 (Reuters) - Satellite images taken weeks ago of the town of Bucha in Ukraine show bodies of civilians on a street, a private U.S. company said, undercutting the Russian government's claims that Ukrainian forces caused the deaths or that the scene was staged. Maxar Technologies provided nine images taken of Bucha on March 18, 19 and 31 to Reuters. At least four of the images appear to show bodies on one of the town's roads, Yablonska Street. The city was occupied by Russian forces until about March 30.
Sinéad BakerPresident Vladimir Putin's spokesman said he uses a VPN, as Russia continues to heavily censor citizens' access to the internet and foreign news. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov made the remarks in an interview with the Belarus-1 TV channel — a state-media outlet in Russian-allied Belarus — published Saturday. The host asked Peskov: "You installed a VPN, right?" He replied: "Yes of course, why not, it's not banned."
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