Page 104 - Russia

Ukrainian military says it sank a Russian landing ship in Black Sea

Ukraine's military said Wednesday it sank a Russian landing ship in the Black Sea using naval drones, a report that has not been confirmed by Russian forces. The Caesar Kunikov large landing ship sank near Alupka, a city on the Crimean Peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014, Ukraine's General Staff said in a Wednesday morning update. Ukraine's Military Intelligence, known by its Ukrainian acronym GUR, said its special operations unit "Group 13 sank the Caesar Kunikov using Magura V5 sea drones on Wednesday. The Russian military did not immediately comment on the claim, saying only that it downed six Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea overnight. It is the second time in two weeks that Ukrainian forces have said they sank a Russian vessel in the Black Sea. Last week, GUR published a video that it said showed naval drones assaulting the Russian missile-armed corvette Ivanovets.

Russia warns West: We will be very tough if you 'steal' our assets

Russia has said that if its property is seized then it will seize U.S., European and other assets in responses

Russia, West clash over Ukraine at UNSC meeting ahead of war anniversary

Russia accused the West on Monday of sabotaging agreements that would have prevented the war in Ukraine -- but the US and its allies put the blame squarely on Moscow, saying there is no escaping that President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of its smaller neighbour. Days before the second anniversary of Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022, Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia again put the cause of the war down to the failure to implement the 2015 Minsk agreements, which he blamed on "Kyiv's sabotage" supported by the West. The agreements aimed to resolve the conflict between Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists that flared in April 2014 after Russia's annexation of Crimea and its support for the separatists in the mostly Russian-speaking industrial east called Donbas. At Monday's Security Council meeting that Russia called on the seventh anniversary of the signing of the Minsk peace plan brokered by France and Germany, Nebenzia called claims by Ukraine and Western natio

France accuses Russia of disinformation campaign in key election year

French government officials on Monday accused Russia of operating a long-running online manipulation campaign against Ukraine's Western backers in the lead up to the second anniversary of Moscow's military invasion of its neighbour. French foreign ministry officials said in a media briefing that Russia has stepped up efforts to manipulate information and spread deception, targeting Kyiv's allies in the West, including Poland, Germany and France. They referred to messages on social media platforms such as X, formerly Twitter, and websites like Sputnik as "massive in scope" and "complex in structure". The aim of Russia's disinformation campaign remains the same, officials said: To amplify Russia's success in the Ukraine war, justify its invasion, discredit and diminish Ukraine's military resistance and undermine civilians' resilience in the face of daily attacks on cities and towns, and fracture Western support for Ukraine's military and slow if not stop supply with weapons ...

Nato chief warns, says Trump puts safety of US troops, allies at risk

The head of the NATO military alliance warned on Sunday that Donald Trump was putting the safety of US troops and their allies at risk after the Republican presidential frontrunner said Russia should be able to do "whatever the hell they want" to NATO members who don't meet their defence spending targets. "Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the US, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement. Speaking on Saturday at a rally in Conway, South Carolina, Trump recalled how as president he told an unidentified NATO member that he would "encourage" Russia to do as it wishes in cases of NATO allies who are "delinquent". "You didn't pay? You're delinquent?" Trump recounted saying. "No I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills." Trump's remarks caused deep ...

Warned Nato allies to spend more on defence to counter Russia: Donald Trump

Republican front-runner Donald Trump said Saturday that, as president, he warned NATO allies that he would encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want to countries that are delinquent as he ramped up his attacks on foreign aid and longstanding international alliances. Speaking at a rally in Conway, South Carolina, Trump recounted a story he has told before about an unidentified NATO member who confronted him over his threat not to defend members who fail to meet the trans-Atlantic alliance's defense spending targets. But this time, Trump went further, saying had told the member that he would, in fact, encourage Russia to do as it wishes in that case. You didn't pay? You're delinquent?' Trump recounted saying. No I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.' NATO allies agreed in 2014, after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, to halt the spending cuts they had made after the Cold

Russian envoy Denis Alipov advocates permanent seat for India at UNSC

India and Russia have maintained a robust strategic partnership, rooted in historical ties and shared interests, over decades

Russian drone strike on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, kills 7

A Russian drone strike on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, killed at least seven people overnight, including three children, Kharkiv region governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on Saturday. He said the Iranian-made Shahed drone hit civilian infrastructure in the Nemyshlyan district on the city, causing a massive fire that burned down 15 private houses. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said more than 50 people had been evacuated and that emergency workers had contained the blaze by Saturday morning. The Ukrainian air force said air defense systems destroyed 23 out of 31 Iranian Shahed drones launched by Russia overnight. The drones primarily targeted the northeastern Kharkiv region and the southern province of Odesa, the statement said. Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper said four people were injured there by the overnight drone attacks. The attacks came in three waves, he said. The first targeted the regional capital the port city of Odesa. All nine drones were shot down, but

Tucker Carlson interviews Vladimir Putin: 5 key things Russian Prez said

Tucker Clarson interview: Vladimir Putin said that a deal to release the WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich 'can be reached'

India does not trust US; played smart by staying close with Russia: Haley

Aspiring Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Wednesday said that India wants to be a partner with the US, but as of now they don't trust Americans to lead. The Indian-American presidential aspirant also said that New Delhi has played smart in the current global situation and stayed close with Russia. In an interview with Fox Business News, Haley, 51, said that as of now India sees the United States as weak. "I have dealt with India too. I have got to say, I have dealt with India too. I have talked with Modi. India wants to be a partner with us. They don't want to be a partner with Russia," she said. "The problem is, India doesn't trust us to win. They don't trust us to lead. They see right now that we're weak. India has always played it smart. They have played it smart, and they have stayed close with Russia, because that's where they get a lot of their military equipment," she said in response to a question. "When we start to lead again, when we start to get the weak

Security is fragile at Ukraine's Russian-occupied nuclear power plant: IAEA

Security at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remains fragile amid worrying recent staff cuts enacted by Russian authorities occupying the facility, which is one of the 10 biggest atomic power plants in the world, the United Nations nuclear watchdog chief said Tuesday. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi, who is in Kyiv, told The Associated Press that his upcoming visit to the plant as the war approaches its two-year milestone will aim to assess the impact of recent personnel reductions after Russia denied access to employees of Ukraine's Energoatom. This huge facility used to have around 12,000 staff. Now, this has been reduced to between 2,000 and 3,000, which is quite a steep reduction in the number of people working there, Grossi said. To man, to operate these very sophisticated big installations you need a certain number of people performing different specific functions. So far the situation is stable, but it is a very, very delicate equilibrium, he

Russia accuses US of aggression against Iraq and Syria, US vows to continue

Russia accused the United States on Monday of aggression against Iraq and Syria aimed at preserving its global dominance and salvaging the Biden administration's image ahead of US elections. The US retorted that its military response to unjustified attacks by Iranian-backed proxies against American forces is not only legal but will continue. The exchange came at a contentious UN Security Council meeting called by Russia, Syria's closest ally, where both countries also said they did not want an escalation and spillover of the Israel-Hamas war. Many council members expressed fears of a growing Mideast conflict and urged de-escalation and stepped-up peace efforts. Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused the US of violating international law and continuing to sow chaos and destruction in the Middle East. He said violence by the United States and its allies has escalated from the Palestinian territories to Lebanon, the Red Sea and Yemen and is nullifying international efforts to

Putin to visit Turkey in first trip to Nato country since Ukraine War

Putin's trips abroad have been limited due to the risk of possible arrest on a warrant from the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes

Search engine Yandex owner to exit Russia in $5.2 bn deal: Report

Yandex has always sought to portray itself as free from Kremlin influence, a task that has become more challenging as the company has become such a strategic national asset

At least 28 dead after bakery attacked in Russian-occupied Ukraine: Report

Moscow-installed officials say Ukrainian shelling killed at least 28 people at a bakery in the Russian-occupied city of Lysychansk. At least one child was among the dead Saturday, local leader Leonid Pasechnik wrote in a statement on Telegram. A further 10 people were rescued from under the rubble by emergency services, he said. Ukrainian officials in Kyiv did not comment on the incident. Both Moscow and Kyiv have increasingly relied on longer-range attacks this winter amid largely unchanged positions on the 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) front line in the nearly 2-year-old war. The military administration for Ukraine's Sumy region said Sunday that Russian forces had shelled the region in 16 separate attacks the previous day, firing on the border communities of Yunakivka, Bilopillia, Krasnopillia, Velyka Pysarivka, and Esman.

Foreign journalists, people detained in Moscow amid crackdown on protests

Independent Russian media group Mediazona reported on Saturday that among those held are journalists working for Kommersant, France Press and Spiegel, as well as human rights activists

Top UN court decides to proceed with Ukraine case over Russia's invasion

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced on Friday (local time) its decision to proceed with the case initiated by Ukraine concerning Russia's justification for its invasion in Feb 2022

Exxon Mobil beats estimates, ends 2023 with a $36 billion profit

Profits from oil majors have been down in 2023 by about a third from record levels in 2022, pressured as oil and gas prices retreated after spiking when Russia invaded Ukraine

ICJ set to decide if it can hear Ukraine's genocide case against Russia

The International Court of Justice is ruling Friday on whether it has jurisdiction to hear a case filed by Ukraine in the days after Russia's invasion accusing Moscow of breaching the genocide convention. In the highly-charged case, Kyiv claims that Russia breached the landmark 1948 convention by using trumped-up claims of genocide in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk as a pretext for attacking Ukraine nearly two years ago. Ukraine also accuses Moscow of planning acts of genocide. Moscow rejects the allegations and argued last year that the court should throw out the case before even considering the merits of Kyiv's claims. At hearings in September, the leader of Moscow's legal team, Gennady Kuzmin, called Ukraine's case hopelessly flawed and at odds with the longstanding jurisprudence of this court. In order for the court to have jurisdiction, Ukraine has to establish that it has a dispute with Russia over the genocide convention. A member of Moscow's legal team, Sienho

Swapped 195 prisoners of war with Ukraine on Wednesday, says Russia

Russia's Defence Ministry says Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 195 prisoners of war each. The Russian Defence Ministry said the swap was conducted on Wednesday. The announcement came a week after Russia alleged that Ukrainian forces shot down a military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war who were to be swapped for Russian POWs. The Defence Ministry said that missiles fired from across the border brought down the transport plane in Russia's Belgorod region on Jan. 24. Local authorities in Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, said the crash killed all 74 people onboard, including six crew members and three Russian servicemen. Ukrainian officials confirmed last week that a prisoner swap was due to happen that day but said it had been called off.