Page 156 - Russia

SBI to facilitate rupee trade with Russia after RBI gives approval

9 Indian banks have permission to open 17 special vostro rupee accounts for overseas trade with sanctions-hit nation

Russia's Rosatom sends 'more advanced' fuel option for Indian nuclear plant

Russia's state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom earlier this year sent a "more advanced" fuel option for a nuclear power plant in southern India, an Indian government minister told parliament

Russian govt intensifies crackdown targeting human rights group and maps

The Russian government has intensified its crackdown on critics and what it sees as harmful information about its special military operation in Ukraine with moves to ban a human rights group and publication of maps that omit annexed Ukrainian land. The crackdown fits a theme Russian President Vladimir Putin sounded Tuesday in a video address honouring Russia's military and security agencies. Putin, a former KGB operative, called on those forces to redouble their efforts to protect the stability of society and the security of the government against direct threats to internal security. His speech coincided with a report by the state Tass news agency that Russia's Justice Ministry filed a lawsuit to disband one of the country's oldest human rights organizations, the Moscow Helsinki Group. No reason was given for the action, but it fits a pattern against other organizations the government accuses of working against the country's interests. One of the group's leaders told the Meduza news

Zelenskyy visits front-line city of Bakhmut; Putin meets troops in Kremlin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Tuesday with troops in the eastern city of Bakhmut, the scene of some of the most intense combat since Russia invaded the country, praising their courage, resilience and strength" as artillery boomed in the background. For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the courage and self-denial of his forces in Ukraine but he did so at a ceremony in an opulent and glittering hall at the Kremlin in Moscow, not on the battlefield. Both leaders sought to build morale as the stalemated conflict grinds through its 10th month and winter sets in. Zelenskky met with military personnel in a dimly lit building possibly a disused factory in Bakhmut, which he has called the hottest spot on the entire front line, his office said. The city, about 600 kilometers (380 miles) east of Kyiv, has remained in Ukrainian hands, thwarting Moscow's goal of capturing the rest of Donetsk province and the entire Donbas industrial region. The Ukrainian leader

Ukraine accelerates efforts to erase Russian influence from public spaces

On the streets of Kyiv, Fyodor Dostoevsky is on the way out. Andy Warhol is on the way in. Ukraine is accelerating efforts to erase the vestiges of Soviet and Russian influence from its public spaces by pulling down monuments and renaming hundreds of streets to honour its own artists, poets, soldiers, independence leaders and others including heroes of this year's war. Following Moscow's invasion on Feb. 24 that has killed or injured untold numbers of civilians and soldiers and pummeled buildings and infrastructure, Ukraine's leaders have shifted a campaign that once focused on dismantling its Communist past into one of de-Russification. Streets that honoured revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin or the Bolshevik Revolution were largely already gone; now Russia, not Soviet legacy, is the enemy. It's part punishment for crimes meted out by Russia, and part affirmation of a national identity by honouring Ukrainian notables who have been mostly overlooked. Russia, through the Soviet .

China-Russia's navy drills to 'further deepen' partnership against West

China says Chinese-Russian naval drills beginning Wednesday aim to further deepen" cooperation between the sides whose unofficial anti-Western alliance has gained strength since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The drills will be held off the coast of Zhejiang province south of Shanghai through next Tuesday, according to a brief notice posted Monday by China's Eastern Theater Command under the ruling Communist Party's military wing, the People's Liberation Army. This joint exercise is directed at demonstrating the determination and capability of the two sides to jointly respond to maritime security threats ... and further deepen the China-Russia comprehensive new-era strategic partnership of coordination," the notice said. The Russian Defense Ministry said the Varyag missile cruiser, the Marshal Shaposhnikov destroyer and two corvettes of Russia's Pacific Fleet would take part in the maneuvers. The ministry said the Chinese navy planned to deploy several surface warships and a submari

India's consumer good shipments to Russia rise for 2nd month in Oct: Govt

During October, India exported goods worth $280 million, up 3.7 per cent as compared to a year ago, led by demand for items such as vegetables, tea, coffee, chemicals as well as iron and steel product

Iran to launch two homegrown telecom satellites by March 2023: Minister

The Minister's announcement came after Iran and Russia on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding to expand space industry cooperation

Russia to invest $69 mn in quantum communication network in 2023-24: Report

The roadmap includes more than 120 projects, such as tools to promote quantum communications for potential users, development of sales markets, commercialisation of services

Russia fires 70 missiles in one of its biggest blitz on Ukraine: Report

Either we'll win the war or world would be destroyed: Putin's key aide

Russian economy to contract by 3% this year, says central bank head

The head of Russia's Central Bank said on Friday that the country's economy will contract by about 3 per cent this year, a sharp turnaround from its growth in 2021, the year before sanctions and company pullouts in the wake of the conflict in Ukraine. Central Bank governor Elvira Nabiullina said following a bank board meeting that inflationary pressure remains elevated, citing worsening trade conditions as one factor. She said annualised inflation as of December was 12.7 per cent. Russia's gross domestic product rose by about 4.8 per cent last year. A wide array of foreign companies pulled out of Russia or scaled down their activities in the country after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in late February. The European Union imposed a price cap this month on Russian oil, one of the country's key exports. Nabiullina said the effect of the price cap would be analyzed more thoroughly at the bank's February meeting.

India to remain top buyer of Russia's Urals crude in Dec, says report

India is taking most of Russia's Urals crude oil loading in December as it remains top buyer for a second month in a row, according to traders and Refinitiv data

New European Union sanctions target Russian military-industrial complex

The European Union said Friday its latest round of sanctions will hit Russia's military-industrial complex, as well as people and groups that are attacking Ukrainian civilians or kidnapping children. Valdis Dombrovskis, a European Commission vice-president, said the package will deal a blow to 168 entities companies or state organizations as well as some two dozen individuals. The ninth package of EU punitive measures against Russia for its war in Ukraine was approved by EU leaders at a summit Thursday. It was formally adopted Friday by written procedure. European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said the package also focuses on tech, finance and media to push the Russian economy and war machine further off the rails." Von der Leyen added that the new sanctions target almost 200 individuals and entities involved in attacks on civilians and kidnapping children." Russia's open effort to adopt Ukrainian children and bring them up as Russian is already well underway, in one of the mos

Russians face major hurdles for return to Olympic track amid Ukraine war

The International Olympic Committee's complex discussion about allowing Russian athletes to participate at the Paris Games in 2024 if their country is still at war provided no short-term help in improving the athletes' standing among leaders in track and field, the biggest sport on the Olympic programme. In a year-end interview this week, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe suggested the Russian war in Ukraine, to say nothing of the still-active doping sanctions against Russia that have been in place since 2015, have led to a more difficult path for Russian track athletes to reach the IOC goal of participating as neutrals either at next year's world championships or at the Olympics the year after that. Coe sketched out a two-part process for Russian reinstatement. First, the doping sanctions would have to be lifted at a World Athletics council meeting in March, a prospect that seems more likely after a series of positive reports from a task force that monitors Russia's compliance

US imposes new penalties on entities involved in Russia's financial sector

The United States on Thursday imposed a new round of financial penalties on people and entities involved in Russia's financial sector, with the targets including one of that country's richest men, Vladimir Potanin, his family and a commercial bank he acquired this year. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control also imposed sanctions on more than 40 people linked to the Russian financial sector and 17 subsidiaries of VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company also known as VTB Bank Russia's second largest bank. VTB Bank was designated for sanctions in February. The State Department issued separate diplomatic designations on the people and companies. Western nations and other allies have imposed a range of penalties meant to crush Russia's finances due to Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Russia's Central Bank faces restrictions that target access to the more than $600 billion in reserves that the Kremlin has at its disposal. Allied countries have .

European Union approves new sanctions against Russia over war in Ukraine

The European Union said it approved a new package of sanctions Thursday aimed at ramping up pressure on Russia for its war in Ukraine. The package, whose details have not been revealed, was approved after days of deliberations during a meeting of the 27-nation bloc's ambassadors. The Czech Republic, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council, said the package will be confirmed by written procedure on Friday. Details will then be published in the bloc's legal records. The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, last week proposed travel bans and asset freezes on almost 200 more Russian officials and military officers as part of the new round of measures. The targets of the latest recommended sanctions included government ministers, lawmakers, regional governors and political parties. In addition to sanctions on various entities, banks and individuals, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and members of his family, the EU previously approved an embargo on co

Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow warns 'consequences' if US sends missiles

Russia's Foreign Ministry warned Thursday that if the United States confirms reports that it plans to deliver sophisticated air defense missiles to Ukraine, it would be another provocative move by the U.S. that could prompt a response from Moscow. Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a weekly briefing Thursday that the U.S. has effectively become a party to the war in Ukraine, following reports that it will provide Kyiv with Patriot surface-to-air missiles, the most advanced the West has yet provided to help Ukraine's military repel Russian aerial attacks. Zakharova added that growing amounts of U.S. military assistance, including the transfer of such sophisticated weapons, "would mean even broader involvement of military personnel in the hostilities and could entail possible consequences. She did not specify what the consequences might be. U.S. officials said Tuesday that Washington was poised to approve sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, finally agreeing to an

US charges 7 Russian nationals with military tech plot on govt orders

The US has charged five Russian nationals, including a suspected Federal Security Service (FSB) officer for allegedly conspiring to obtain military-grade and dual-use technologies from US companies

Centre looks to close Chabahar port negotiations by end of FY23

With the international framework broadly agreed on, talks pick up the pace

Putin will not hold annual year-end press conference, says Kremlin

During the media gathering - a major political event in the country - Putin takes questions from the press and the public in a marathon that usually lasts several hours