Page 130 - Russia

Putin says Russian economy faring better than expected; GDP positive

'Our results, at least for the time being, let's say, cautiously, are better than previously expected, better than predicted,' Putin said, according to a transcript on the Kremlin's website

Will stand up against sanctions and 'provocations', says Vladimir Putin

Putin told the group there was a growing risk of a new global economic and financial crisis fuelled by developed countries' debts and worsening food and environmental security

India tops Russian Urals oil purchases in June as China retreats: Report

Russia has heavily relied on India, China, Turkey and Bulgaria for oil sales since the imposition of sanctions

Int'l centre opens to help hold Russian leadership accountable for Ukraine

An international centre opened on Monday in The Hague to support nations already building cases against senior Russian leaders for the crime of aggression resulting from the country's invasion of Ukraine. The International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine is the latest step in concerted worldwide efforts to hold the Russian leadership criminally responsible for its war against Ukraine last year, triggering Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II. The centre is based at the headquarters of the European Union's judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust. It will not issue indictments or arrest warrants for suspects. Instead, it will support investigations already underway in Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said in a statement that the launch was a clear signal that the world is united and unwavering on the path to holding the Russian regime accountable for all its crimes. He added that .

India's oil imports from Russia climb to new peak as buying limit nears

Daily volumes climbed to 2.2 million barrels a day in June, rising for a 10th month, according to Viktor Katona, the head of crude analysis at Kpler

Russia launches first drone strike on Ukraine's capital Kyiv in 12 days

After a relative lull, Russia launched a drone attack early Sunday on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, officials said. It was the first such attack of the war in 12 days. All of the Iranian-made Shahed exploding drones were detected and shot down, according to Serhii Popko, the head of the Kyiv city administration. In addition to the city itself, the surrounding Kyiv region was targeted. Kyiv regional Gov. Ruslan Kravchenko reported that one person was wounded by falling debris from a destroyed drone. Officials in the Ukrainian capital didn't provide an exact number of drones that attacked the city. But Ukraine's air force said that across the country, eight Shaheds and three Kalibr cruise missiles were launched by the Russians. Further south, a 13-year-old boy was wounded in overnight shelling of Ukraine's partially occupied southern Kherson province, said Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, spokesman for the Ukrainian administration of the province. The child was wounded when the Russian army shel

3 killed, 17 wounded by Russian shelling in Ukraine, Spain PM visits Kyiv

Ukrainian officials reported more civilian casualties from Russian shelling in the country's east and south on Saturday, as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Snchez began a visit to Kyiv as a show of continuing support from Madrid and the European Union for Ukraine's fight to dislodge invading Russian forces. In an address to Ukraine's parliament that received several standing ovations, Snchez said, We'll be with you as long as it takes. I am here to express the firm determination of the European (Union) and Europe against the illegal and unjustified Russian aggression to Ukraine, he said on the day that Spain took over the six-month rotating presidency of the 27-nation EU. At a later news conference with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sanchez announced Spain would deliver more heavy weaponry to Ukraine including four Leopard tanks and armoured personnel carriers, as well as a portable field hospital. He also said Spain will provide an additional 55 million euros to help with ...

Russian media watchdog blacklists outlets linked to Wagner mercenary chief

Russia's media watchdog blacklisted at least five media outlets affiliated with Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and blocked their websites in Russia. The move came after Wagner fighters took control of a Russian military headquarters and advanced on Moscow in what appears to have been an attempted insurrection. As of Saturday, websites of the RIA FAN news agency and four online news portals controlled by Prigozhin's Patriot media holding company People's News, Neva News, Politics Today and Economy Today were listed on a register of blacklisted sites maintained by the communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor. Unconfirmed reports in Russian news outlets Friday claimed that Prigozhin himself had ordered a shut down of St. Petersburg-based Patriot. Prigozhin has not directly confirmed or denied the reports. Patriot, founded in 2019 to bring together Prigozhin's media and internet assets, included the Internet Research Agency, the so-called troll farm linked to Russian attempts

A failure in Russia

The events in Russia last week reveal that Mr Putin's governance innovations are not as robust as claimed

UK calls for UN reform with permanent Security Council seat for India

The UK government has reiterated its call for reform of the United Nations as one of its top transnational priorities and supported India's bid for permanent membership of the powerful Security Council. India has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the UN Security Council (UNSC), saying it rightly deserved a place as a permanent member of the United Nations. Currently, the UNSC has five permanent members - China, France, Russia, the UK and the US. Only a permanent member has the power to veto any substantive resolution. In a speech at a conference at the Chatham House think tank in London on Thursday, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly called for a reinvigorated multilateral system that is more reflective of the times. He pointed out that the world's economic centre of gravity is shifting away from the Euro-Atlantic and towards the Indo-Pacific but the multilateral institutions are yet to catch up. I have five transnational priorities. First, reform of the .

President Putin calls PM Modi big friend of Russia' at Moscow's ASI forum

President Vladimir Putin has called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a big friend" of Russia and said his 'Make in India' campaign has had a "truly impressive effect" on the country's economy. Putin made these remarks on Thursday at a forum in Moscow organised by Russia's Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI). Our friends in India and our big friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, launched the Make in India' initiative several years ago. It has had a truly impressive effect on the Indian economy. It would do no harm to emulate what is working well, even if it was not us but our friends who created it, the president was quoted as saying by the RT News. Putin made a case for India as he discussed the opportunities for Russian companies due to the West's sanctions policies, and the need for Moscow to offer support tools to help our companies market their products more efficiently. Crediting Indian leadership for creating an effective model to develop local manufacturing capabilities and w

Russia's Wagner mutiny weakened Vladimir Putin, but not his ruling system

Russia under Putin's leadership is easy to see as a personalist dictatorship. The president has almost unlimited powers under Russia's much-rewritten, much-abused constitution

What a powerful idea: US Ambassador on PM Modi's 'not an era of war' remark

The Prime Minister made a 'not an era of war' comment while talking with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in September 2022 during an SCO summit

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UN urges Israel, Palestinians to halt violence in statement backed by US

The UN Security Council has urged Israel and the Palestinians to avoid actions that can further inflame tensions in the volatile West Bank. The statement was backed by both the United States and Russia in a moment of unity on a divisive issue, reflecting the widespread international concern at the escalating violence especially by Israeli forces and settlers. Tuesday's statement followed what UN Mideast envoy Tor Wennesland called an alarming spike in violence in the West Bank that led to numerous Palestinian and Israeli casualties. He warned the council that unless decisive steps are taken now to rein in the violence, there is a significant risk that events could deteriorate further. Wennesland said he was particularly alarmed by the extreme levels of settler violence, including large numbers of settlers, many armed, systematically attacking Palestinian villages, terrorizing communities, sometimes with support from Israeli forces. Council members called for restraint and encourage

Nato warns against underestimating Russian forces, increases preparedness

NATO's chief has said that the power of Russia's military shouldn't be underestimated following the weekend mutiny against it by Wagner Group mercenaries, and said the alliance has increased its readiness to confront Russia in recent days. Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance may decide to further boost its strength and readiness to face Russia and its ally Belarus when NATO leaders meet in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on July 11-12. So, no misunderstanding and no room for misunderstanding in Moscow or Minsk about our ability to defend our allies against any potential threat," Stoltenberg said Tuesday. At a meeting in The Hague of eight NATO leaders, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said that neighbouring countries would face a heightened danger if the Wagner Group deploys its "serial killers" in Belarus. Stoltenberg said it was still early to draw any conclusions about what Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and some of his forces might do or whether they all might end up in .

US sanctions gold firms connected to Russian Wagner mercenary group

The US has imposed sanctions on four firms and one individual connected to the Wagner Group, the Russian mercenaries that led a brief revolt against the Kremlin last week. Tuesday's sanctions from Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control targeted entities in the Central African Republic, the United Arab Emirates and Russia that were connected to the Wagner Group and its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin. The sanctions are not directly related to last week's uprising. The US has previously issued sanctions against Prigozhin and the Wagner Group multiple times, including alleging that he tried to interfere with the 2016 US election. Diamville SAU and Midas Ressources SARLU, two mining firms based in the Central African Republic and connected to Prigozhin, were targeted for sanctions, along with Russia-based Limited Liability Company DM, which conducted gold sales, and Dubai-based Industrial Resources General Trading, which provided support to Diamville. The US also sanctioned Andrei Ivano

'You effectively stopped a civil war,' Vladimir Putin hails armed forces

Russia drops criminal case against Wagner leader, but his future still uncertain

Belarus Prez says Prigozhin, who led rebellion in Russia, is in his country

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko confirmed on Tuesday that Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the mercenary group Wagner, has arrived in Belarus after a short-lived armed mutiny in Russia. Prigozhin's exile in Belarus had been announced by the Kremlin earlier as part of the deal that ended the rebellion. Lukashenko on Tuesday said Prigozhin has moved to Belarus and he and some of his troops would be welcome to stay in Belarus for some time at their own expense. Russian authorities said on Tuesday they have closed a criminal investigation into the aborted armed rebellion led by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and are pressing no charges against him or his troops. The Federal Security Service, or FSB, said its investigation found that those involved in the mutiny, which lasted less than 24 hours after Prigozhin declared it on Friday, ceased activities directed at committing the crime, so the case would not be pursued. It was the latest twist in a series of stunning events that ha

Russia drops charges against Prigozhin, others who were part of mutiny

Russian authorities said Tuesday they have closed a criminal investigation into the armed rebellion led by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, with no charges against him or any of the other participants. The Federal Security Service, or FSB, said its investigation found that those involved in the mutiny ceased activities directed at committing the crime, so the case would not be pursued. The announcement was the latest twist in a series of stunning events in recent days that have brought the gravest threat so far to President Vladimir Putin's grip on power amid the 16-month-old war in Ukraine. Over the weekend, the Kremlin pledged not to prosecute Prigozhin and his fighters after he stopped the revolt on Saturday, even though Putin had branded them as traitors. The charge of mounting an armed mutiny carries a punishment of up to 20 years in prison. Prigozhin escaping prosecution poses a stark contrast to how the Kremlin has treated those staging anti-government protests in ...