Page 138 - Russia

Russia threat to exit Ukraine grain deal adds risk to global food security

The United Nations is racing to extend a deal that has allowed shipments of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea to parts of the world struggling with hunger, helping ease a global food crisis exacerbated by the war Russia launched more than a year ago. The breakthrough accord that the UN and Turkey brokered with the warring sides last summer came with a separate agreement to ease shipments of Russian food and fertiliser that Moscow insists hasn't been applied. Russia set a Thursday deadline for its concerns to be ironed out or it's bowing out. Such brinkmanship isn't new: With a similar extension in the balance in March, Russia unilaterally decided to renew the deal for just 60 days instead of the 120 days outlined in the agreement. UN officials and analysts warn that a failure to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative could hurt countries in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia that rely on Ukrainian wheat, barley, vegetable oil and other affordable food products, especially

Russia's parliament denounces Europe's Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces

Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, has formally denounced the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), according to a statement published on its website

Look at EU regulations: Jaishankar tells Borrell on import of Russian oil

Responding to Josep Borrell, EU Foreign policy chief's remarks calling for action against Indian refined products from Russian crude, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday (local time)

US State Dept condemns arrest of its former consulate employee in Russia

The U.S. State Department on Tuesday condemned the arrest of a former employee of a U.S. consulate in Russia, the latest example of the country's crackdown against its own citizens and foreigners. Russia's Tass news agency said Robert Shonov was detained in the Russian city of Vladivostok on suspicion of "cooperation on a confidential basis with a foreign state, international or foreign organization. Tass didn't say when the detention occurred or provide any details of the allegation. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Shonov is a Russian national worked at the now-closed U.S. consulate in Vladivostok for more than 25 years. He said that after a Russian government order in April 2021 required dismissing all local employees from U.S. diplomatic outposts in Russia, Shonov worked at a company the U.S. contracted with to support its embassy in Moscow. Mr. Shonov's only role at the time of his arrest was to compile media summaries of press items from publicly available Russia

Alleged Russian hacker charged in $200 million ransomware spree: Report

Ransomware groups typically hack into computer networks and deploy malicious software that encrypts computers and makes them unusable

Russian firms investing rupee surplus in Indian govt debt: IBA chief

IBA chief Sunil Mehta is the first senior official to confirm that Russian funds in Indian banks were being invested into government securities as it gives them the advantage of easy liquidity

US announces criminal cases involving flow of information to Russia, China

The Justice Department announced a series of criminal cases Tuesday tracing the illegal flow of sensitive technology, including Apple's software code for self-driving cars and materials used for missiles, to foreign adversaries like Russia, China and Iran. Some of the alleged theft highlighted by the department dates back several years, but U.S. officials are drawing attention to the collection of cases now to highlight the work of a task force created this year to disrupt the transfer of goods to foreign countries. We are committed to doing all we can to prevent these advanced tools from falling into the hands of adversaries who wield them in a way that threatens not only our national security but democratic values everywhere, said Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, who heads the Justice Department's national security division. One of the cases, unsealed Tuesday in federal court in Los Angeles, accuses a former software engineer from Apple of taking proprietary data related

EU urged to crack down on imports of Indian fuels made with Russian oil

EU should crack down on India reselling Russian oil as refined fuels including diesel into Europe, blocs diplomat has said, as nations move to tighten sanctions on Moscows, media reported

Prosecutor ends FBI's Trump-Russia investigation probe with no new charges

A special prosecutor found that the FBI rushed into its investigation of ties between Russia and Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and relied too much on raw and unconfirmed intelligence as he concluded a four-year probe that fell far short of the former president's prediction that the crime of the century" would be uncovered. The report on Monday from special counsel John Durham represents the long-awaited culmination of an investigation that Trump and allies had claimed would expose massive wrongdoing by law enforcement and intelligence officials. Instead, Durham's investigation delivered underwhelming results, with prosecutors securing a guilty plea from a little-known FBI employee but losing the only two criminal cases they took to trial. The roughly 300-page report catalogs what Durham says were a series of missteps by the FBI and Justice Department as investigators undertook a politically explosive probe in the heat of the 2016 election into whether the Trump campaign was colluding

Russia, India, China, among others target faith community members: US

A senior US official on Monday said far too many governments, including Russia, India, China and Saudi Arabia, continue to freely target faith community members, as the state department released its Congressional-mandatory annual report on international religious freedom that documents the status of religious freedom in countries across the world. "Far too many governments continue to freely target faith community members within their borders," Rashad Hussain, Ambassador at Large, Office of International Religious Freedom, told reporters at a news conference here soon after the annual 2022 "Report on International Religious Freedom" was released by Secretary of State Tony Blinken. The report provides a fact-based, comprehensive view of the state of religious freedom in nearly 200 countries and territories around the world, Blinken said, noting that it aims to highlight areas where freedom of religion or belief is being repressed to promote accountability and ultimately, drive progres

Ukraine is not attacking Russian territory, says President Zelenskyy

"We are preparing a counterattack to de-occupy the illegitimately conquered territories," Zelenskyy added

Zelenskyy arrives in Berlin to meet German leaders, discuss arms deliveries

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Berlin early Sunday for talks with German leaders about further arms deliveries to help his country fend off the Russian invasion and rebuild what's been destroyed by more than a year of devastating conflict. A Luftwaffe jet flew Zelenskyy to the German capital from Rome, where he had met Saturday with Pope Francis and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni. On the eve of his arrival which took place amid tight security the German government announced a new package of military aid for Ukraine with aid worth more than 2.7 billion euros (USD 3 billion), including tanks, anti-aircraft systems and ammunition. Already in Berlin. Weapons. Powerful package. Air defense. Reconstruction. EU. NATO. Security, Zelenskyy tweeted Sunday, in an apparent reference to the key priorities of his trip. After initially hesitating to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons, Germany has become one of the biggest suppliers of arms to Ukraine, including Leopard 1 an

China, Russia increasing military collaboration, Japanese minister warns

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi expressed concern on Saturday about Russian and Chinese military cooperation in Asia and said the security situation in Europe could not be separated from that in the Indo-Pacific region since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Speaking at a meeting of European and Indo-Pacific foreign ministers in Sweden, Hayashi said Russia's war in Ukraine had shaken the very foundation of the international order and must face a united response by the international community. Otherwise, similar challenges will arise in other regions and the existing order which has underpinned our peace and prosperity could be fundamentally overturned, Hayashi said. Japan firmly backs Ukraine in the war but China says it remains neutral while declaring a no limits relationship with Moscow and blaming the US and NATO for provoking the conflict. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in March at the same time as Chinese President

Four Russian military aircraft shot down near Ukraine's border, says report

Two Russian fighter jets and two military helicopters were shot down on Saturday close to the Ukrainian border, reported Sky News

G7 finance leaders say greater economic uncertainty requires vigilance

The Group of Seven's top financial leaders united Saturday in their support for Ukraine and their determination to enforce sanctions against Russia for its aggression but stopped short of any overt mention of China. The finance ministers and central bank chiefs ended three days of talks in Niigata, Japan, with a joint statement pledging to bring inflation under control while aiding those suffering the most from surging prices. They also committed to collaborating to build more stable, diversified supply chains for developing clean energy sources and to enhance economic resilience globally against various shocks. The statement did not include any specific mention of China or assertions regarding economic coercion in pursuit of political objectives, such as penalizing the companies of countries whose governments take actions that anger another country. Talk this week of economic coercion by China had drawn outraged rebukes from Beijing. Officials attending the talks in this port city

Have retaken territory near embattled eastern city of Bakhmut: Ukraine

Ukrainian military commanders said on Friday that their troops had recaptured more territory from Russian forces at the scene of the war's longest and bloodiest battle, for the eastern city of Bakhmut, but it wasn't clear if this marked the start of Kyiv's long-expected counteroffensive. Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said Kyiv had stepped up attacks north of the region. The 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of territory retaken by Ukrainian forces south of Bakhmut this week represented a significant gain and will protect an important supply chain, according to commanders of Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, a special forces unit that led the attack. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he met with the top military commanders Friday, noting that he heard a report from Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi whose forces stopped the enemy and even pushed him back in some directions. In a statement on Telegram on Friday, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar confirmed that Ukrainian forces

China to send special envoy to Ukraine, Russia as part of peace efforts

China is sending a special envoy to Ukraine and Russia starting next week in an effort to help reach a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, its Foreign Ministry said Friday. Li Hui, who is China's special representative for Eurasian affairs and a former ambassador to Moscow, will also visit Poland, France and Germany, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said. China says it remains neutral over Russia's war in Ukraine but has declared it has a no limits relationship with Moscow and blames the US and NATO for provoking the conflict. Beijing has put forward a peace plan for Ukraine that has been largely dismissed by the country's supporters, who say a resolution can only come when Russia ceases its attacks and withdraws its troops from Ukrainian territory. Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month, setting the stage for the diplomatic push. The visit of the Chinese representative to relevant countries expresses Chi

Ukraine needs more than a $30 billion arsenal for counterstrike on Russia

A dramatic breakthrough similar to Ukraine's Kharkiv offensive last year could help bring an early end to an invasion that's disrupted energy and grain markets, fueling cost-of-living crises

Russia restores visa-free access for Georgians, lifts flight ban

Russia unilaterally imposed the ban in 2019 after a wave of anti-Kremlin protests in Georgia

Pakistan keen to pay for more Russian oil imports with Chinese Yuan

Pakistan's first cargo of Russian oil will arrive within a month, and was purchased at a discount, a spokesman in the energy ministry's petroleum division said in response to questions