Russia

Russia Bombards Ukraine With Dozens Of Missiles

Reuters reports: Russia fired scores of missiles into Ukraine early on Thursday, targeting Kyiv and other cities including Lviv in the west and Odesa in the southwest, sending people rushing to shelters and knocking out power in one of Moscow’s largest aerial assaults.  Ukraine’s military said it had shot down 54 missiles out of 69 launched by Russia. Air raid …

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Russia To Freeze Sperm Of Potentially Doomed Soldiers

The Moscow Times reports: Russian reservists called up to fight in Ukraine as part of Russia’s recent mobilization drive will be eligible for free sperm-freezing procedures, state-run media reported on Wednesday, citing a lawyers’ association that represents military families hoping to secure state funding for the procedure. More than 300,000 reservists have so far been called up to fight in Russia’s …

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Russian Mogul Dies In “Fall From Hotel Window”

The BBC reports: Russian sausage tycoon Pavel Antov has been found dead at an Indian hotel, two days after a friend died during the same trip. They were visiting the eastern state of Odisha and the millionaire, who was also a local politician, had just celebrated his birthday at the hotel. Reports in Russian media said Mr Antov, 65, had …

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Ukraine To Request February Peace Summit At UN

The Associated Press reports: Ukraine’s foreign minister on Monday said that his government is aiming to have a peace summit by the end of February, preferably at the United Nations with Secretary-General António Guterres as a possible mediator, around the time of the anniversary of Russia’s war. Asked about whether they would invite Russia to the summit, he said that …

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Putin Claims Russia Is Ready To Negotiate With Ukraine

Reuters reports: Russia is ready to negotiate with all parties involved in the war in Ukraine but Kyiv and its Western backers have refused to engage in talks, President Vladimir Putin said in an interview aired on Sunday. “We are ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions, but that is up to them – we are not the …

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Another Russian Industry Mogul Has “Died Suddenly”

Reuters reports: A major Russian shipyard that specialises in building non-nuclear submarines said its general director had died suddenly on Saturday after 11 years in the job, but gave no details. Admiralty Shipyards, based in the western port of St Petersburg, announced the death of Alexander Buzakov in a statement. He had been in the job since August 2012. Tass …

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Putin Calls Fighting In Ukraine “War” For First Time

CNN reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday used the word “war” to refer to the conflict in Ukraine, the first known time he has publicly deviated from his carefully crafted description of Moscow’s invasion as a “special military operation” 10 months after it began. “Our goal is not to spin the flywheel of military conflict, but, on the contrary, …

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Departure Of Telecoms Poses Trouble For Russia

Reuters reports: When telecoms gear makers Nokia and Ericsson leave Russia at the end of the year, their departure could steadily cripple the country’s mobile networks over the long-term, setting off a deterioration in communication for everyday Russians. Ericsson and Nokia, which together account for a large share of the telecoms equipment market and close to 50% in terms of …

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Russians Hacked JFK Taxi Dispatch To Charge Drivers

From the Justice Department: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and John Gay, the Inspector General of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (the “Port Authority”), announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging DANIEL ABAYEV and PETER LEYMAN with two counts of conspiracy to commit computer intrusions. The Indictment charges …

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Russian Oligarch Dies After “Falling Down Stairs”

Yahoo News reports: Russian real estate tycoon Dmitry Zelenov passed away earlier this month after tumbling down a flight of stairs while visiting friends in the French Riviera, according to a local outlet and an independent Russian outlet. The 50-year-old was the former owner of Russian developer Don-Stroy, which constructed the 61-story Triumph Palace Tower in Moscow, one of the …

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FIFA Won’t Play “Peace” Message By Zelensky At Final

CNN reports: A request by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to share a message of world peace prior to kickoff at the World Cup final on Sunday has been rebuffed by FIFA, a source told CNN. The source said Zelensky’s office is offering to appear in a video link to fans in the stadium in Qatar, ahead of the game and …

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Pope Francis: Spend Less On Santa, Give To Ukraine

Yahoo News reports: Pope Francis on Wednesday encouraged people to spend less on gifts and parties this Christmas and send the difference to Ukrainians in need. “Let’s have a more humble Christmas, with more humble gifts,” Francis said. “They are hungry, they are cold, many die due to lack of doctors or nurses.” “Let us not forget them, Christmas in peace …

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PolitiFact’s 2022 “Lie Of The Year” Award Goes To Putin

PolitiFact reports: Ukraine wasn’t being led by neo-Nazis and it wasn’t committing genocide. Putin employed those lies to co-opt Russian citizens whose family members would be sent to fight a war, kill others and possibly die themselves. The lies have permeated the assault. When hundreds of bodies were discovered lying in the streets and homes of Bucha after weeks of …

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Beleaguered Putin Cancels Annual Press Conference

The Guardian reports: Vladimir Putin will not hold a year-end press conference for the first time in at least a decade, in what Kremlin-watchers view as a break with protocol due to his war in Ukraine. The marathon press-conferences are traditionally an occasion for the Russian president to burnish his image, a campy spectacle that allows Putin to play the …

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Brittney Griner Arrives In Texas After Release By Russia

CBS News reports: Brittney Griner, the American basketball star detained by Russian authorities in February, has safely returned to the US after being released from custody in a prisoner exchange. Griner stepped off the plane shortly after 5:30 a.m. ET Friday at Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas. The Biden administration repeatedly made offers to get Paul Whelan released as …

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Paul Warns Russia: Not Releasing Whelan Hurts Tourism

“I think it’s good news that the basketball player is being released. Nine years of hard labor for drug possession is a ridiculous charge. “But I think also Russia needs to realize that the other gentleman’s being kept on trumped-up spy charges. What that means is particularly if he wasn’t a spy, which I don’t have any evidence that he …

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Biden And Brittney Griner’s Wife Celebrate Her Release

The Guardian reports: Speaking at the White House, Joe Biden formally announced the release of Brittney Griner from detention in Russia, and pledged to continue working to bring home another American jailed in the country. “Moments ago, standing together with her wife Cherelle in the Oval Office, I spoke with Brittney Griner,” Biden said. “She’s safe, she’s on a plane, …

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Zelensky Named Time Magazine’s Person Of The Year

TIME Magazine reports: The process of choosing the Person of the Year—who or what most influenced the events of the past 12 months, for good or for ill—can be agonizing. How could one person represent an entire year? Do we lean into the light, reach into the darkness, or land somewhere in between? This year’s choice was the most clear-cut …

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Putin Signs Law Expanding Ban On LGBT “Propaganda”

The Associated Press reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a law that significantly expands restrictions on activities seen as promoting LGBT rights in the country. A 2013 law banned what authorities deem to be spreading “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” to minors. The new law expands that ban to spreading such information to people aged 18 and older. …

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Edward Snowden Takes Russian Citizenship Oath

The Associated Press reports: Former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who fled prosecution after revealing highly classified surveillance programs, has received a Russian passport and taken the citizenship oath, Russian news agencies quoted his lawyer as saying Friday. Lawyer Anatoly Kucherena was reported as saying that Snowden got the passport and took the oath on Thursday, about three months after …

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