Russia

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US targets Russia with hundreds of sanctions over Ukraine war, Navalny death

WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The United States on Friday imposed extensive sanctions against Russia, targeting more than 500 people and entities to mark the second anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and retaliate for the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

https://www.reuters.com/world/biden-announces-new-sanctions-vs-russia-two-years-into-ukraine-war-2024-02-23/?

US and EU pile new sanctions on Russia for the Ukraine war’s 2nd anniversary and Navalny’s death

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and European Union on Friday heaped hundreds of new sanctions on Russia in connection with the second anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine and in retaliation for the death of noted Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny last week in an Arctic penal colony.

https://apnews.com/article/european-union-sanctions-russia-ukraine-war-28a5d7faabbcbc5fe3a0de3ec84fd87d?

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🇷🇺 Russia surrenders Navalny remains

After a fight, Alexei Navalny's body was turned over to his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya.

• Russian officials had given her a three-hour ultimatum to decide between a secret burial without a public farewell or a prison burial, Navalny's spokesperson said.

"We're not letting up," President Biden said on X. "His vision for a brighter future for Russia will live on."

• Go deeper.

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What’s life like for Russia’s political prisoners? Isolation, poor food and arbitrary punishment

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Vladimir Kara-Murza could only laugh when officials in Penal Colony No. 6 inexplicably put a small cabinet in his already-cramped concrete cell, next to a fold-up cot, stool, sink and latrine.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-crackdown-prison-navalny-karamurza-putin-3e5b9f5d3cfde3256819fbde5e405067?

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Attempts to hire a hearse to take Navalny to his own funeral have been blocked -spokesperson

MOSCOW, Feb 29 (Reuters) - Allies of deceased Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny said on Thursday that attempts to hire a hearse to take his body to his own funeral in Moscow the following day had been thwarted by unknown individuals.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/attempts-hire-hearse-take-navalny-his-own-funeral-have-been-blocked-spokesperson-2024-02-29/?

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Putin foe Alexei Navalny is buried in Moscow as thousands attend under a heavy police presence

Under a heavy police presence, thousands of people bade farewell Friday to opposition leader Alexei Navalny at his funeral in Moscow after his still-unexplained death two weeks ago in an Arctic penal colony.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-alexei-navalny-funeral-9263c4d0688b883fa9f853f5d0310e45?

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How Putin’s crackdown on dissent became the hallmark of the Russian leader’s 24 years in power

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — When charismatic opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down on a bridge near the Kremlin in February 2015, more than 50,000 Muscovites expressed their shock and outrage the next day at the brazen assassination. Police stood aside as they rallied and chanted anti-government slogans.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-putin-crackdown-opposition-dissent-prison-532705369591610a94e9e86340233380?

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Russians head to polls in a vote set to extend Putin’s rule. His foes are in jail, in exile or dead

Voters headed to the polls in Russia on Friday for a three-day presidential election that is all but certain to extend President Vladimir Putin’s rule by six more years after he stifled dissent.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-election-2024-updates-227e65cb2a3f2c4cfdb58a9525fbe884?

ps:And this is what the trumplican republicans want to emulate in this country!!!!!

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AP investigation finds Russia imposed its passports on population in Ukraine's occupied territories Russia has successfully imposed its passports on nearly the entire population of occupied Ukraine by making it impossible to survive without them, coercing hundreds of thousands of people into citizenship ahead of elections Vladimir Putin has made certain he will win, an Associated Press investigation has found. Read more.

Why this matters: The process started almost immediately after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and is now complete ahead of Russia’s elections. But accepting a passport means that men living in occupied territory can be drafted to fight against the same Ukrainian army that is trying to free them.   Under international law dating to 1907, it is forbidden to force people “to swear allegiance to the hostile Power.” Additionally, every passport and birth certificate issued makes it harder for Ukraine to reclaim its lost land and children, and each new citizen allows Russia to claim a right to defend its own people against a hostile neighbor.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ A lonely radio nerd. A poet. Vladimir Putin’s crackdown sweeps up ordinary Russians   Moldova faces multiple threats from Russia as it turns toward EU membership, foreign minister says   The drama in Russia’s election is all about what Putin will do with another 6 years in power

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Putin is poised to extend his rule in highly orchestrated vote even as Russians quietly protest

Russians crowded outside polling stations at noon Sunday on the last day of a presidential election, apparently heeding an opposition call to protest against President Vladimir Putin in a vote that offered them no real alternatives after he ruthlessly cracked down on dissent.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-election-putin-2024-updates-d4dcaa5c93dc44b745cec7d811831daa?

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Putin extends rule in preordained Russian election after harshest crackdown since Soviet era

President Vladimir Putin extended his reign over Russia in a landslide election whose outcome was never in doubt, declaring Monday his determination to advance deeper into Ukraine and dangling new threats against the West.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-election-putin-2024-updates-ebdaae1bf12b44343b88ba471f9f0cb0?

ps:Wow that was a tough campaign!!

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Russia says 40 killed and more than 100 wounded in attack on Moscow concert hall

MOSCOW (AP) — Several gunmen burst into a large concert hall on the edge of Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with automatic gunfire, killing at least 40 people, injuring more than 100 others and setting fire to the venue in a brazen attack just days after President Vladimir Putin cemented his grip on power in a highly orchestrated electoral landslide.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-moscow-gunmen-concert-hall-injuries-fe7db5bb4ad4df17b6cbd04a3250faa1?

Russia says 40 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

MOSCOW (AP) — Several assailants burst into a large concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing at least 40 people, injuring more than 100 and setting fire to the venue in a brazen attack just days after President Vladimir Putin cemented his grip on power in a highly orchestrated electoral landslide.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/03/22/russia-says-40-dead-145-injured-in-concert-hall-raid-islamic-state-group-claims-responsibility/?

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ISIS releases graphic video of Moscow concert attack

(NewsNation) — Islamic State-affiliated Amaq news agency released graphic footage Saturday showing gunmen opening fire in a Moscow concert hall that left scores dead.

https://www.newsnationnow.com/world/isis-graphic-video-moscow-concert-attack/amp/

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‘Duty to warn’ guided US advance warning of the Moscow attack. Adversaries don’t always listen The “duty to warn,” which obliges officials to lean toward sharing knowledge of a dire threat if conditions allow. John Kirby, U.S. national security spokesman, however, made clear that the warning shouldn’t be seen as a breakthrough in U.S.-Russian relations or intelligence-sharing. Read more.

Why this matters: The duty to warn doesn’t mean the other side has a duty to listen. That’s especially so when the other side is an adversary. Russians can regard any U.S. attempt at counterintelligence cooperation as naive and an opportunity to look for openings for political gain or to undermine U.S. intelligence-gathering, said Steven Hall, a longtime U.S. intelligence official in the former Soviet Union.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Russian massacre suspects’ homeland is plagued by poverty and religious strife   Moscow theater shooting fans flames of a disinformation war   Ukraine ramps up spending on homemade weapons to help repel Russia

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🗞️ WSJ reporter detained 1 year

Today's Wall Street Journal front page is completely devoted to Evan Gershkovich, with a blank space labeled: "HIS STORY SHOULD BE HERE." Via X Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained by Russian authorities one year ago today, Axios' Sara Fischer writes. The 32-year-old was arrested on espionage charges that he, the Journal and the U.S. government vehemently deny. Why it matters: Gershkovich is the first American journalist to be arrested and held on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War. The U.S. government has been negotiating with Russia to get Gershkovich out via a prisoner swap. Efforts to release him and U.S. Marine veteran Paul Whelan, who is also being held on espionage charges, have come up short. Gershkovich's imprisonment and the government's subsequent struggles to get him out have deterred the Western press from working in Russia. More from the Journal.

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A growing number of Americans end up in Russian jails. The prospects for their release are unclear

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A journalist on a reporting trip in a Ural Mountains city. A corporate security executive traveling to Moscow for a wedding. A dual national returning to her hometown in Tatarstan to visit her family.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-prisoners-swap-gershkovich-whelan-putin-2a53c30a7ee686ee85de412ee833d154?

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Russian soldiers who quit Putin’s war get no hero’s welcome abroad as asylum claims surge

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AP) — If the choice was death or a bullet to the leg, Yevgeny would take the bullet. A decorated hero of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Yevgeny told his friend and fellow soldier to please aim carefully and avoid bone. The tourniquets were ready.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-putin-deserter-asylum-5c7642cd14431d9af65076df2df4b861?

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British man charged with acting on behalf of Russia in plot to torch Ukrainian-linked business

LONDON (AP) — A British man accused of plotting to torch a London business connected to Ukraine has been charged with conducting hostile activity to benefit Russia, prosecutors said Friday.

https://apnews.com/article/british-man-accused-hostile-activity-arson-benefit-russia-06dec3cafa7be7293f481f160806ee2f?

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Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list

Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.

https://www.newsbreak.com/news/3426181255240-russia-puts-ukrainian-president-zelenskyy-on-its-wanted-list?

ps:If anyone should be put on a "wanted List" it should be putin!!!!!

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Russia announces it will hold nuclear drills. What does this mean for the ongoing war? Russia on Monday threatened to strike British military facilities and said it would hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons — the first time such an exercise has been publicly announced by Moscow, and amid sharply rising tensions over comments by senior Western officials about possibly deeper involvement in the war in Ukraine. Read more.

What to know: What are tactical nuclear weapons: Unlike nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles that can destroy entire cities, tactical nuclear weapons are smaller, more discreet and less powerful weapons used against troops on the battlefield. They are also not subject to any arms control agreements between Moscow and Washington, unlike strategic weapons.   How is Belarus involved: Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarus’ authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, said that nuclear weapons deployment to Belarus was intended to counter perceived Western threats. Russia moved some of its tactical nuclear weapons into the territory last year.   What has Putin said about the weapons: Since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin has repeatedly reminded Western nations about Moscow’s nuclear might in a bid to discourage them from increasing military support to Kyiv. Moscow’s defense doctrine envisages a nuclear response to an attack that could “threaten the very existence of the Russian state.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Russia warns Britain and plans nuclear drills over the West’s possible deepening role in Ukraine   Putin is starting his 5th term as president, more in control of Russia than ever   New US penalties against Russia target weapons development and countries aiding in sanctions evasion

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What is the newly passed ‘Russia law’ that has divided people in Georgia for months?

Georgia’s parliament has passed a law that critics see as a threat to media freedom and the country’s aspirations to join the European Union. Lawmakers defied weeks of large demonstrations in the capital that also featured anger at neighboring Russia.

https://apnews.com/article/georgia-law-protests-explainer-0408d5f527d5558da270208963efc1b5?

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More top Russian military officials are being arrested Arrests in the last month, including detainments as recently as this week, immediately raised questions about whether President Vladimir Putin was reasserting control over the Defense Ministry amid the war in Ukraine, whether a turf battle had broken out between the military and the security services, or whether some other scenario was playing out behind the Kremlin’s walls. Read more.

Key points: Corruption scandals are not new and officials have been accused of profiting from their positions for decades. All the most recent military officials arrested face charges of corruption, which they have denied. Putin wants everyone to have “a skeleton in their closet,” security expert Mark Galeotti said. If the state has compromising material on key officials, it can cherry-pick whom to target, he added.   Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s defense budget is 6.7% of gross domestic product. That is a level not seen since the Soviet era. It remains critical that the war is managed correctly because Russia’s economy depends on it.   More arrests are likely as the new defense minister wants to show “there is a price to be paid” for corruption in order to rein it in, Richard Connolly, a specialist on the Russian economy at the Royal United Services Institute in London, said. Sam Greene, director of Democratic Resilience at the Center for European Policy Analysis, added that it’s also possible that “entrepreneurial” investigators will think launching a criminal case against a general is a great opportunity for career advancement.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Deputy Russian military chief of staff jailed for bribery in latest arrest of high defense officials   US will announce $275 million more in artillery and ammunition for Ukraine, officials say   Putin signs decree allowing seizure of Americans’ assets if US confiscates Russian holdings

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Putin warns that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — President Vladimir Putin warned Wednesday that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets in response to NATO allies allowing Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-putin-ukraine-e192904652221b29efdc88d0af23114e?

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Russian warships conduct drills en route to Cuba with new hypersonic missiles on board Russian warships conducted drills in the Atlantic, the military said Tuesday, as they were heading to visit Cuba, part of Moscow’s efforts to project power amid tensions with the West over Ukraine. Read more.

Key points: The Admiral Gorshkov frigate is armed with new Zircon hypersonic missiles that Russian President Vladimir Putin has touted as a potent weapon capable of penetrating any existing anti-missile defenses. The Admiral Gorshkov and a Kazan nuclear-powered submarine are accompanied by two support vessels on their visit to Havana which Cuban officials said reflected “historically friendly relations” between Russia and Cuba.   It’s not the first time Russia has sent warships to the Caribbean, but this week’s visit follows Putin’s warning that Moscow could respond to Ukraine’s Western allies allowing Kyiv to use their weapons to strike targets in Russia by giving similar weapons to adversaries of the West worldwide.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ US will send Ukraine another Patriot missile system after Kyiv’s desperate calls for air defenses   North Korea’s Kim hails Russia ties as Putin reportedly plans a visit   Russia, Belarus launch a second stage of drills to train troops in tactical nuclear weapons

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⚓ Russian warships in Cuba

A driver parks a vintage car as a Russian submarine Kazan enters Havana Bay in Cuba. Photo: Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters A small fleet of Russian warships — including a nuclear-powered submarine and a frigate — arrived for a stopover in Cuba yesterday. Why it matters: It's seen as a show of force after the Biden administration authorized Ukraine to strike inside Russia using U.S.-provided weapons, Reuters notes. U.S. officials say they're monitoring the ships but believe the visit poses no threat. Go deeper.

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WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich to stand trial in Russia on espionage charges

Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich will stand trial for espionage charges, Russian prosecutors said in a statement Thursday.

https://www.axios.com/2024/06/13/russia-wsj-reporter-trial-evan-gershkovich?