Russia

Reuters reports: Russians cast their ballots across the country’s 11 time zones on Friday, the start of a three-day election that is almost certain to hand Vladimir Putin six more years at the helm of the world’s biggest nuclear power. Amid the Ukraine war, the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two, the 71-year-old Kremlin chief dominates Russia’s political …

Reuters reports: President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Wednesday Russia was technically ready for nuclear war and that if the U.S. sent troops to Ukraine, it would be considered a significant escalation of the conflict. Putin, speaking just days before a March 15-17 election which is certain to give him another six years in power, said the nuclear war …

The BBC reports: Donald Trump will not fund Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion if he is elected US president again, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban has said. “He will not give a penny in the Ukraine-Russia war. That is why the war will end,” the conservative premier said. “It is obvious that Ukraine cannot stand on its own feet,” Mr Orban …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis said in an interview that Ukraine, facing a possible defeat, should have the courage to negotiate an end to the war with Russia and not be ashamed to sit at the same table to carry out peace talks. “I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about …

Reuters reports: The U.S. embassy in Russia warned that “extremists” had imminent plans for an attack in Moscow, hours after Russian security services said they had foiled a planned shooting at a synagogue by a cell from the Afghan arm of Islamic State. The embassy, which has repeatedly urged all U.S. citizens to leave Russia immediately, gave no further details …

The New York Times reports: Into the depleted field of journalism in America, a handful of websites have appeared in recent weeks with names suggesting a focus on news close to home: D.C. Weekly, the New York News Daily, the Chicago Chronicle and a newer sister publication, the Miami Chronicle. In fact, they are not local news organizations at all. …

The Associated Press reports: A civilian U.S. Air Force employee has been charged in federal court in Nebraska with transmitting classified information about Russia’s war with Ukraine on a foreign online dating platform, the Justice Department said Monday. David Franklin Slater, 63, who authorities say retired as an Army lieutenant colonel and was assigned to the U.S. Strategic Command at …

The Hill reports: When asked by “Fox News Sunday” anchor Shannon Bream how much “pressure” the U.S. or other international leaders should put on Russia and Ukraine to find a solution, Rubio said, “I’m not going to set parameters on what that looks like. It’s not our place to do that; it’s premature to do that.” “Here’s what I do …

Reuters reports: Russians chanted opposition politician Alexei Navalny’s name on Friday as his coffin was carried into a Moscow church surrounded by police for a funeral that only a few people were allowed to attend. Navalny’s allies said they believed the service had got underway soon afterwards but could not be sure because the authorities were blocking mobile phone signals …

Politico Europe reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday warned NATO against sending its troops to help Ukraine, in an explicit nuclear threat. “There has been talk of sending NATO contingents to Ukraine. But we remember the fate of those who sent contingents [in the past]. Now the consequences for the interventionists will be much more tragic,” Putin said in …

Reuters reports: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since Russia’s full-scale invasion two years ago, giving the first official figure for more than a year. Zelenskiy told a news conference in Kyiv that he could not disclose the number of wounded because it would help Russian military planning. “31,000 Ukrainian troops have been …

Via press release from the White House: Today, I am announcing more than 500 new sanctions against Russia for its ongoing war of conquest on Ukraine and for the death of Aleksey Navalny, who was a courageous anti-corruption activist and Putin’s fiercest opposition leader. These sanctions will target individuals connected to Navalny’s imprisonment as well as Russia’s financial sector, defense …

The New York Times reports: A former F.B.I. informant accused of making false bribery claims about President Biden and his son Hunter — which were widely publicized by Republicans — claimed to have been fed information by Russian intelligence, according to a court filing on Tuesday. In the memo, prosecutors portrayed the former informant, Alexander Smirnov, 43, as a serial …

The Associated Press reports: Police in Moscow were called to investigate alleged LGBTQ+ propaganda at a fan event dedicated to the cartoon series “My Little Pony,” organizers said Sunday. The Mi Amore convention was closed by organizers early Saturday after officers arrived at the venue in the Russian capital, despite police being unable to find evidence of illegal activity. “The …

NBC News reports: President Joe Biden has directed his administration to impose major sanctions to hold Russia accountable for the death last week of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Tuesday that the sanctions package, which comes ahead of the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, will be announced on Friday. Kirby …

The Daily Kos reports: The patriarch of a right-wing Canadian family of 11 had just about enough of gay people in his country. “We didn’t feel safe for our children there in the future anymore,” father Arend Feenstra told Russian media. “There’s a lot of left-wing ideology, LGBTQ, trans, just a lot of things that we don’t agree with that …

Sky News reports: X has suspended the account of Alexei’s Navalny’s widow. It is unclear why the social network, formerly Twitter, has suspended Yulia Navalnaya’s account. Earlier today on X, Ms Navalnaya urged the Kremlin to “give back Alexei’s body and let him be buried with dignity”. She also said she “did not care how the killer’s press secretary comments …

The New York Times reports: The widow of Aleksei A. Navalny said on Monday that she would carry on her husband’s work to challenge President Vladimir V. Putin’s autocratic rule, presenting herself for the first time as a political force and calling on his followers to rally alongside her. She said she was appearing on her husband’s YouTube channel for …

The New York Times reports: For the second day in a row, mourners walked purposefully along Moscow’s snow-heaped Garden Ring on Saturday carrying bouquets to lay at one of the improvised memorials to Aleksei A. Navalny, the Russian opposition figure who perished in a prison colony the day before. The flowers, wrapped in paper to shield them from the icy …

“I didn’t talk about the things that every other American media outlet talks about. Because those are covered and because I have spent my life talking to people who run countries – in various countries – and have concluded the following: that every leader kills people, including my leader. “Every leader kills people, some kill more than others. Leadership requires …