Page 46 - Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin vows to find masterminds of Moscow concert hall attack

Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed on Tuesday to track down the masterminds of the Moscow concert hall attack that left 144 people dead in the worst assault on Russian soil in two decades, and urged the country's law enforcement agencies to tighten security at mass gatherings. Putin has repeatedly sought to link the March 22 attack to Ukraine and the West despite the Islamic State group's claim of responsibility and Kyiv's vehement denial. Speaking at a meeting with top officials of the Interior Ministry that oversees the nation's police force, Putin said it is important to determine "not only the perpetrators of this outrage, but all links in the chain and its beneficiaries. He added, in an apparent threat of retaliation: Those who use this weapon against Russia should realize it's a double-edged weapon. Putin said that the masterminds of the concert hall raid sought to sow discord and panic, strife and hatred in our multiethnic country in order to break up Russia from within,

BJP wants to replicate Russia, China like rule, says Farooq Abdullah

The BJP wants to replicate Russia- and China-like rule in the country, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah claimed on Tuesday and said the INDIA bloc has come forward to safeguard the Constitution, even at the cost of "our lives". He also targeted the Centre over the issue of the Katchatheevu island, handed over to Sri Lanka in the 1970s, and asked why the BJP-led Centre is silent on the "continuous incursion" by China in Ladakh and its claims over land in Arunachal Pradesh. "The INDIA bloc has been formed to safeguard the Constitution because there is apprehension that the Constitution will be finished (by the BJP) The same thing will happen here (in India) as (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and China President (Xi Jinping) are sitting there. They (the BJP) are making attempts as they want to rule the country for life (without any opposition)," Abdullah told reporters. "INDIA will not allow this to happen and protect the Constitution given by (BR) Amdedkar, even at the co

As cases of asset seizures rise, Vladimir Putin's tycoons seek safeguards

With most Russian billionaires having been sanctioned over the past two years, the next concern is which decades-old privatisation decisions might be reversed

We encourage peaceful resolution of Russia-Ukraine conflict, says India

India on Thursday said it continues to encourage a peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through "dialogue and diplomacy". MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said this in response to a query during a press briefing on India's stand on the inaugural Peace Summit in Switzerland. "We continue to encourage peaceful resolution of Russian-Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy, and remain open to engage, all ways and means, that would help achieve this objective," he said. His comments came on a day Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba arrived here on his maiden visit to India. Kuleba said the bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and India is "important" and it will be strengthened. In response to a question on number of Indians "duped" by agents and sent to Russia to join the military, the MEA spokesperson said, "We are constantly in touch with Russian authorities, we are pressing, we have taken it up strongly for them to have our nationals released a

US and UK probe $20 billion of crypto transfers to Russian exchange

The Biden administration has been attempting to squeeze crypto exchanges like Garantex since the early days of the war

WSJ reporter Gershkovich marks year in Russian prison as jail time extended

For Evan Gershkovich, the dozen appearances in Moscow's courts over the past year have fallen into a pattern. Guards take the American journalist from the notorious Lefortovo Prison in a van for the short drive to the courthouse. He's led in handcuffs to a defendants' cage in front of a judge for yet another hearing about his pre-trial detention on espionage charges. The proceedings are always closed. His appeals are always rejected, and his time behind bars is always extended. Then it's back to Lefortovo. Gershkovich was arrested a year ago Friday while on a reporting trip for The Wall Street Journal to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. The Federal Security Service, or FSB, alleges he was acting on US orders to collect state secrets but provided no evidence to support the accusation, which he, the Journal and the US government deny. Washington designated him as wrongfully detained. The periodic court hearings give Gershkovich's family, friends and US officials a glimpse o

House Speaker Mike Johnson committed to advancing assistance to Ukraine

For over a month, House Speaker Mike Johnson has sat on a funding package that would send desperately needed ammunition and weaponry to Ukraine, mulling how best to gain a grasp of what is expected to be a difficult lift in the House. The Republican speaker has indicated he will attempt to push for approval of tens of billions in wartime funding for Ukraine, as well as Israel, once the House returns in April. Yet it will be perhaps his most difficult task since he took the speaker's gavel late last year. We'll turn our attention to it and we won't delay on that, the Louisiana representative said of the Ukraine package at a news conference last week. Still, Johnson has waited to act at a time when Russia is renewing its missile attacks on Kyiv. In Ukraine's eastern regions, soldiers are running low on ammunition as they attempt to hold off a surge of Russian soldiers to the frontlines. European leaders and analysts are warning that the conflict could grow into a much larger clash tha

Death toll in Moscow concert attack rises to 140 after another victim dies

The death toll from last week's Moscow concert hall attack rose to 140 on Wednesday after another victim died in a hospital, Russian officials said. That person was one of five still hospitalized in extremely grave condition, and the doctors did everything they could to save them, Russia's Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said. A total of 80 people injured in the attack remain hospitalized, the official added, and 205 others have sought outpatient medical assistance. The Friday night massacre in Crocus City Hall, a sprawling shopping and entertainment venue on the northwestern outskirts of Moscow, was the deadliest terrorist attack on the Russian soil in nearly 20 years. At least four gunmen toting automatic rifles shot at thousands of concertgoers and set the venue on fire. An affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the violence, while US intelligence said it had information confirming the group was responsible. French President Emmanuel Macron said France

Gazprom buys former Shell stake in Sakhalin Energy for $1 billion

Sakhalin Project is fully owned by Gazprom, company filings showed

US warned Russia of terror attack 2 wks in advance, Moscow didn't listen

The US warning to Russia couldn't have been plainer: Two weeks before the deadliest attack in Russia in years, Americans had publicly and privately advised President Vladimir Putin's government that extremists had imminent plans for just such slaughter. The United States shared those advance intelligence indications under a tenet of the US intelligence community called the duty to warn," which obliges US intelligence officials to lean toward sharing knowledge of a dire threat if conditions allow. That holds whether the targets are allies, adversaries or somewhere in between. There's little sign Russia acted to try to head off Friday's attack at a concert hall on Moscow's edge, which killed more than 130 people. The Islamic State's affiliate in Afghanistan claimed responsibility, and the US said it has information backing up the extremist group's claim. John Kirby, the Biden administration's national security spokesman, made clear that the warning shouldn't be seen as a breakthrough

Ukraine ramps up spending on locally-produced weapons to repel Russia

Ukraine needs any edge it can get to repel Russia from its territory. One emerging bright spot is its small but fast-growing defence industry, which the government is flooding with money in hopes that a surge of homemade weapons and ammunition can help turn the tide. The effort ramped up sharply over the past year as the US and Europe strained to deliver weapons and other aid to Ukraine, which is up against a much bigger Russian military backed by a thriving domestic defence industry. The Ukrainian government budgeted nearly USD 1.4 billion in 2024 to buy and develop weapons at home 20 times more than before Russia's full-scale invasion. And in another major shift, a huge portion of weapons are now being bought from privately owned factories. They are sprouting up across the country and rapidly taking over an industry that had been dominated by state-owned companies. A privately owned mortar factory that launched in western Ukraine last year is making roughly 20,000 shells a month

Islamists carried out concert attack, Ukraine had a role, implies Putin

In the deadliest attack inside Russia for two decades, four men burst into the Crocus City Hall on Friday night, spraying bullets during a concert by the Soviet-era rock group Picnic

No evidence that Ukrainian govt had anything to do with Moscow attack: US

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday that this terrorist attack was conducted by ISIS and Russian President Vladimir Putin understands that

Gunmen who raided hall tried to escape to Ukraine, says Putin; Kyiv denies

The suburban Moscow music hall where gunmen opened fire on concertgoers was a blackened, smoldering ruin Saturday as the death toll in the attack surpassed 130 and Russian authorities arrested four suspects. President Vladimir Putin claimed they were captured while fleeing to Ukraine. Kyiv strongly denied any involvement in Friday's assault on the Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk, and the Islamic State group's Afghanistan affiliate claimed responsibility. Putin did not mention IS in his speech to the nation, and Kyiv accused him and other Russian politicians of falsely linking Ukraine to the assault to stoke fervor for Russia's war in Ukraine, which recently entered its third year. US intelligence officials confirmed the claim by the IS affiliate. "ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement. The US shared information with Russia in early March ab

Gunmen who raided Moscow concert hall tried to escape to Ukraine: Putin

Russian authorities arrested the four people suspected of taking part in the attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people and believe they were headed to Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said Saturday during an address to the nation. Kyiv, meanwhile, strongly denied any involvement in Friday's attack on the Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk, which the Islamic State group's affiliate in Afghanistan claimed responsibility for in a statement posted on social media channels linked to the group. Kyiv accused Putin and other Russian politicians of falsely linking Ukraine to the assault in order to stoke fervor in Russia's war in Ukraine, which recently entered its third year. A U.S. intelligence official told The Associated Press that U.S. agencies had confirmed that IS was responsible for the attack. Putin said authorities have detained a total of 11 people in the attack, which also injured scores of concertgoers and left the venue a smoldering ruin

Russia points finger at Ukraine as death toll in Moscow terror attack rises

They planned to cross the border into Ukraine where they 'had contacts,' the service known as the FSB said in a statement without giving more detail, the Interfax news service reported

Death toll in Moscow attack reaches 133; Isis claims responsibility

Several assailants burst into a large concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing at least 40 people, injuring more than 100 and setting fire to the venue in a brazen attack just days after President Vladimir Putin cemented his grip on power in a highly orchestrated electoral landslide. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on affiliated channels on social media, which couldn't be independently verified. It wasn't immediately clear what happened to the attackers after the raid, which Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described as a huge tragedy" and state authorities were investigating as terrorism. The attack, which left the concert hall in flames with a collapsing roof, was the deadliest in Russia in years and came as the country's war in Ukraine dragged into a third year. The Kremlin said that Putin was informed about the raid minutes after the assailants burst into the Crocus City Hall, a large music venue

Russia's oil-exporting machine finally getting snarled by sanctions

State-run Sovcomflot transported about a fifth of all Russia's crude deliveries to India last year

Prez Putin rejected terror alert before deadliest attack in decades

The US Embassy in Moscow had issued a public warning on March 7 that "extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts

India stands in solidarity with Russia in this hour of grief, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said India strongly condemns the heinous terror attack in Moscow and stands in solidarity with the government and the people of Russia in this hour of grief. Assailants burst into a large concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing more than 60 people, injuring over 100 and setting fire to the venue in a brazen attack, according to media reports. "We strongly condemn the heinous terrorist attack in Moscow. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims," Modi said in a post on X. "India stands in solidarity with the government and the people of the Russian Federation in this hour of grief," he said. Media reports said the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on its affiliated channels on social media.