Page 96 - Russia

Russia ready to use nuclear weapons if sovereignty threatened, says Putin

President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if there is a threat to its statehood, sovereignty or independence, voicing hope that the US would refrain from actions that could trigger a nuclear conflict. Putin's statement was another blunt warning to the West ahead of a presidential vote this week in which he's all but certain to win another six-year term. In an interview with Russian state television released early Wednesday, Putin described U.S. President Joe Biden as a veteran politician who fully understands possible dangers of escalation, and said that he doesn't think that the world is heading to a nuclear war. At the same time, he emphasized that Russia's nuclear forces are in full readiness and from the military-technical viewpoint, we're prepared. Putin said that in line with the country's security doctrine, Moscow is ready to use nuclear weapons in case of a threat to the existence of the Russian state, our sovereignty and independence. The .

Russian polls to give Putin another 6 yrs in power, a look at key issues

Vladimir Putin is poised to sweep to another six-year term in this week's presidential election, even though Russians are dying in Ukraine in a war grinding through its third year and his country is more isolated than ever from the rest of the world. The all-but-certain outcome comes through his rigid control of Russia established during his 24 years in power the longest Kremlin tenure since Soviet leader Josef Stalin. Putin, 71, has silenced virtually all dissent through harsh new laws that impose heavy fines or prison on independent voices. Critics have succumbed to unexplained deaths or fled abroad. The ballot features three other token candidates who publicly support his policies. How is the war affecting the election? Putin has focused his campaign on a pledge to fulfill his goals in Ukraine, describing the conflict as a battle against the West for the very survival of Russia and its 146 million people. In a state-of-the-nation address last month, he charged that the U.S. an

Close ally of late Oppn leader Navalny attacked in Lithuania's capital

Associates of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny reported Tuesday night that the politician's close ally and top strategist was attacked near his home in Lithuania's capital. Navalny's spokesman Kira Yarmysh said the assailant smashed a window of Leonid Volkov's car, sprayed tear gas into his eyes and started hitting him with a hammer. Police and an ambulance were on the way, Yarmysh said. The attack took place in Vilnius nearly a month after Navalny's unexplained death in a remote Arctic penal colony. President Vladimir Putin's fiercest critic was serving a 19-year prison term there on the charges of extremism widely seen as politically motivated. Navalny had been jailed since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow to face certain arrest after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin. His Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his regional offices were designated as extremist organizations by the Russian government that same year. Volkov use

Killed 234 fighters while thwarting an incursion from Ukraine, says Russia

The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday night that Moscow's military and security forces killed 234 fighters while thwarting an incursion into Russian border regions earlier in the day. In a statement, the ministry blamed the attack on the Kyiv regime and Ukraine's terrorist formations, insisting that the Russian military and border forces were able to stop the attackers and avert a cross-border raid. It also said the attackers lost seven tanks and five armored vehicles. The reports of border fighting earlier on Tuesday were murky, and it was impossible to ascertain with any certainty what was unfolding in Russia's Kursk and Belgorod regions. Cross-border attacks in the area have occurred sporadically since the war began and have been the subject of claims and counterclaims, as well as disinformation and propaganda. Ukrainian long-range drones smashed into two oil facilities deep inside Russia on Tuesday, officials said, while an armed incursion claimed by Ukraine-based Russian ..

Pentagon to supply $300 mn in weapons to Ukraine even as it lacks funds

The Pentagon will rush about $300 million in weapons to Ukraine after finding some cost savings in its contracts, even though the military remains deeply overdrawn and needs at least $10 billion to replenish all the weapons it has pulled from its stocks to help Kyiv in its desperate fight against Russia, senior defense officials said Tuesday. It's the Pentagon's first announced security package for Ukraine since December, when it acknowledged it was out of replenishment funds. It wasn't until recent days that officials publicly acknowledged they weren't just out of replenishment funds, but $10 billion overdrawn. The replenishment funds have allowed the Pentagon to pull existing munitions, air defense systems and other weapons from its reserve inventories under presidential drawdown authority, or PDA, to send to Ukraine and then put contracts on order to replace those weapons. One of the senior defence officials who briefed reporters said the package represented a one time shot unle

Economic stability key selling point as Putin gears up for reelection

Russians are finding a few imported staples, like fruit, coffee and olive oil, have shot way up in price. Most global brands have disappeared or been reincarnated as Russian equivalents under new, Kremlin-friendly ownership. A lot more Chinese cars are zipping around the streets. Those who want a particular luxury cosmetic may be out of luck. Other than that, not much has changed economically for most people in President Vladimir Putin's Russia, more than two years after he sent troops into Ukraine. That's despite the sweeping sanctions that have cut off much of Russia's trade with Europe, the U.S. and their allies. That sense of stability is a key asset for Putin as he orchestrates his foreordained victory in the March 15-17 presidential election for a fifth, six-year term. Inflation is higher than most people would like, at over 7% above the central bank's goal of 4%. But unemployment is low, and the economy is expected to grow 2.6% this year, according to the International ...

Russia's spy service KGB accuses US of trying to meddle in election

Putin, who is almost certain to win the March 15-17 presidential election, has warned the West that any attempts by foreign powers to meddle in the ballot would be considered an act of aggression

Pope Francis' 'white flag' comment met with criticism from Ukraine, allies

Ukrainian and allied officials Sunday criticised Pope Francis for saying that Kyiv should have the courage to negotiate an end to the war with Russia, a statement many interpreted as a call for Ukraine to surrender. The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Poland, a vocal ally of Kyiv, condemned the pope's remarks. And a leader of one of Ukraine's Christian churches on Sunday said that only the country's determined resistance to Moscow's full-scale invasion, launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb 24, 2022, had prevented a mass slaughter of civilians. In an interview recorded last month with Swiss broadcaster RSI and partially released on Saturday, Francis used the phrase the courage of the white flag as he argued that Ukraine, facing a possible defeat, should be open to peace talks brokered by international powers. Our flag is blue and yellow. We live, die and win under it. We will not raise other flags, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba posted on Sunday on X, former

Still trying to evict elite Russian government hackers, says Microsoft

Microsoft said on Friday it's still trying to evict the elite Russian government hackers who broke into the email accounts of senior company executives in November and who it said have been trying to breach customer networks with stolen access data. The hackers from Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service used data obtained in the intrusion, which it disclosed in mid-January, to compromise some source-code repositories and internal systems, the software giant said in a blog and a regulatory filing. A company spokesman would not characterise what source code was accessed and what capability the hackers gained to further compromise customer and Microsoft systems. Microsoft said on Friday that the hackers stole secrets from email communications between the company and unspecified customers cryptographic secrets such as passwords, certificates and authentication keys and that it was reaching out to them to assist in taking mitigating measures. Cloud-computing company Hewlett Packard

MEA raises concerns over Indians working as support staff for Russian army

Several Indian nationals have been duped to work with the Russian Army and India has strongly taken up the matter with the Russian government for their early discharge, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said strong action has been initiated against agents and unscrupulous elements who recruited the Indians on false pretexts and promises. "The CBI yesterday busted a major human trafficking network conducting searches in several cities and collecting incriminating evidence. A case of human trafficking has been registered against several agents," Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing. "We once again appeal to Indian nationals to not be swayed by offers made by agents for support jobs with the Russian Army. This is fraught with danger and risk to life," he said. Jaiswal said India remains committed to ensure early release of the Indian nationals serving as support staff to the Russian Army. "We remain committed to the early rel

India busts trafficking racket duping people into fighting for Russia

The traffickers, operating across several Indian states, targeted people using social media platforms and through local agents, the CBI said in a statement

Will provide 10,000 drones to Ukraine in its fight against Russia: Britain

Britain said Thursday that it would provide 10,000 drones to arm Ukraine in its fight against Russia. The announcement by Defense Secretary Grant Shapps during a visit in Kyiv with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy includes an investment of 125 million pounds ($160 million) on top of 200 million pounds ($256 million) previously committed for drones. The weaponry will include 1,000 one-way attack or kamikaze drones and models that target ships. Ukraine's Armed Forces are using U.K. donated weapons to unprecedented effect, to help lay waste to nearly 30% of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, Shapps said. On Tuesday, Ukrainian sea drones reportedly sank another Russian warship in the Black Sea, the latest in a series of strikes that has crippled Moscow's naval capability.

CBI busts network trafficking Indians to Russia-Ukraine conflict zone

The Central Bureau of Investigation has busted a major human trafficking network that took Indians to the Russia-Ukraine war zone in the garb of providing jobs abroad, officials said on Thursday. The agency is conducting searches at over 10 locations in seven cities, they said. The officials said the agency has registered an FIR against various visa consultancy firms and agents. Several individuals have been detained during the search and Rs 50 lakh has been seized, they added.

Putin's crackdown casts a wide net, ensnaring LGBTQ+ community, lawyers

It's not just opposition politicians who are targeted in the crackdown by Russian President Vladimir Putin's government in recent years. Also falling victim are independent voices as well as those who don't conform to what the state sees as the country's traditional values. Russia's once-thriving free press after the collapse of the Soviet Union has been largely reduced to either state-controlled media or independent journalists operating from abroad, with few critical outlets still working in the country. Prominent rights groups have been outlawed or classified as agents of foreigners. Lawyers who represented dissidents have been prosecuted. LGBTQ+ activists have been labelled "extremists. A look at those who have come under attack during Putin's 24-year rule that is likely to be extended by six more years in this month's presidential election: INDEPENDENT MEDIA Independent news sites largely have been blocked in Russia since the first weeks of the war in Ukraine. Many have moved

Hyderabad man, duped into working as 'helper' for Russian army, dies

A man from Hyderabad, who was among the Indians "duped" by agents on the promise of jobs and taken to Russia and forced to work as a "helper" for the Russian Army, has died. The Indian Embassy in Moscow on Wednesday confirmed the death of the man, identified as Mohammed Afsan, adding that they are in touch with the family here. "We have learnt about the tragic death of an Indian national Shri Mohammed Asfan. We are in touch with the family and Russian authorities. Mission will make efforts to send his mortal remains to India," Indian embassy in Moscow said in a post on 'X'. When contacted, Afsan's brother Imran said the Indian embassy in Moscow informed the family about the 30-year-old's death. He requested the Central government to help them get back his brother's mortal remains. AIMIM sources said the party's chief Asaduddin Owaisi had contacted the Indian embassy in Moscow after Afsan's family approached him in this regard recently. An official from the Indian embassy in Mosco

Chess legend Garry Kasparov added in 'terrorist, extremist' list by Russia

Russian financial watchdog responsible for combatting money laundering and terror financing added chess grandmaster and vocal Putin critic Kasparov's name to the list of 'terrorists and extremists'

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny died of natural causes: Russian spymaster

Russia's spymaster said on Tuesday that opposition leader Alexei Navalny died of natural causes, a statement that appeared to reflect the Kremlin's efforts to assuage international outrage over the death of President Vladimir Putin's fiercest foe. Sergei Naryshkin, the director of the Foreign Intelligence Service, the top spy agency known under its Russian acronym SVR, made the statement in an interview broadcast by Russian state television. He didn't name the cause of Navalny's death in a remote Arctic penal colony or give any other details. Sooner or later life ends and people die, he said. Navalny has died of natural causes. Navalny died on February 16 at Penal Colony No. 3 in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,900 kilometres northeast of Moscow where he was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism. Russian authorities still haven't announced the cause of his death at age 47 and many Western leaders blamed it on Putin, an accusation the Kremlin ang

'Will not meddle in US presidential election,' Russia rejects accusations

President Vladimir Putin dropped a series of ironic remarks about the U.S. election, saying that he finds Joe Biden preferable as the next U.S. president to Donald Trump

Putin's 24-years rule: Crackdown on dissent solidifies his leadership

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. Nine years later, stunned and angry Russians streamed into the streets on the night of Feb 16, when they heard that popular opposition politician Alexei Navalny had died in prison. But this time, those laying flowers at impromptu memorials in major cities were met by riot police, who arrested and dragged hundreds of them away. In those intervening years, Vladimir Putin's Russia evolved from a country that tolerated some dissent to one that ruthlessly suppresses it. Arrests, trials and long prison terms once rare are commonplace, especially after Moscow invaded Ukraine. Alongside its political opponents, the Kremlin now also targets rights groups, independent media and other members of civil-society

Russia mulls putting nuclear power plant on moon with China: Report

Borisov, a former deputy defence minister, said that Russia and China had been jointly working on a lunar programme and that Moscow was able to contribute with its expertise on "nuclear space energy"