Russia

Bloomberg News reports: Fiji’s High Court has given the green light for U.S. and local authorities to seize a $325 million megayacht whose ownership is in dispute, setting the stage for a legal showdown to determine whether the luxury vessel’s owner is sanctioned Russian gold billionaire Suleiman Kerimov as the U.S. claims. The Suva High Court on Monday granted the …

Media Matters has the transcript: TUCKER CARLSON (HOST): Democrats have convinced themselves that Russia stole the presidency, which rightfully belonged to Hillary Clinton. And they mean it when they say it. And that’s why they are taking us to war with Russia. So, that’s not their goal — saving Ukraine, saving human lives. No, that’s not their goal. Instead, the …

Reuters reports: Germany said on Monday it was prepared to back an immediate European Union embargo on Russian oil, a major shift from Moscow’s biggest energy customer that could let Europe impose such a ban within days. Russia’s energy exports – by far its biggest source of income – have so far largely been exempt from international sanctions over the …

Reuters reports: Israel denounced Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday for suggesting that the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had Jewish origins, saying his comments were anti-Semitic and dangerous. Israeli Foreign Ministry Yair Lapid said the Russian ambassador would be summoned for “a tough talk” over the assertion, which Lavrov made on Sunday in an interview with Italian television. “It …

The Washington Post reports: Ukrainian officials say Russian forces have seized more than 2,000 pieces of artwork from the besieged port city of Mariupol. They have been taken to Russian-occupied Donetsk, local channel TV7 reported. The Mariupol City Council wrote in a Telegram message Thursday that Russian forces have raided the three local museums, including the Kuindzhi Art Museum, since …

The Hill reports: Georgia President Salome Zourabichvili is on a mission in Washington to build support for her country as a key bulwark in case Russia seeks to expand its aggression beyond Ukraine. In an interview with The Hill, Zourabichvili said that she believes Moscow doesn’t have the capacity to move its military to launch another operation, but that “it …

Reuters reports: A Russian law firm on Friday said it had filed a lawsuit against U.S. tech giant Apple seeking 90 million roubles ($1.28 million) in damages for consumers affected by Apple withdrawing its payment service from Russia. Law firm Chernyshov, Lukoyanov & Partners said Apple had violated Russian consumers’ rights after the company restricted the use of its built-in …

Britain’s The Metro reports: Homophobic Russian MP Vitaly Milonov is presenting a reality show where contestants have to guess which person is gay in order to win a cash prize. I’m Not Gay is a series that sees eight men move into a country house together. At the end of each episode, they vote to eliminate a contestant they suspect …

The Independent reports: Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Madison Cawthorn were among a handful of Republicans to vote against a bill supporting the small European nation of Moldova amid fears it could be dragged into the war in Ukraine. The House voted to pass a motion by 409 to 17 expressing support for “Moldova’s democracy, independence, and territorial integrity” …

Axios reports: The White House unveiled a proposed legislative package on Thursday that would allow the federal government to sell assets seized from Russian oligarchs over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine and to use the proceeds for military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The U.S. has already seized million of dollars in assets from wealthy Russians with close ties to …

The Associated Press reports: Officials in Poland and Bulgaria say Russia is suspending their countries’ natural gas deliveries starting on Wednesday. The governments of the two European countries said Tuesday that Russian energy giant Gazprom informed them it was halting gas supplies. The suspensions would be the first since Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that “unfriendly” foreign buyers …

The New York Daily News reports: Memo to Sen. Rand Paul: Ukraine is an independent country, not a Soviet puppet state. The Kentucky conservative firebrand parroted a talking point by Russian President Vladimir Putin, claiming that Russia only invades countries once part of the former Soviet Union. “You could argue the countries they’ve attacked were part of Russia,” Paul said …

Reuters reports: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the West on Monday not to underestimate the elevated risks of nuclear conflict over Ukraine and said he viewed NATO as being “in essence” engaged in a proxy war with Russia by supplying Kyiv with weaponry. Lavrov, in a wide-ranging interview broadcast on state television, also said that the core of any …

Today Online reports: A Russian court on Tuesday (April 26) hit Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta and video platform TikTok with fines for refusing to take down LBGT content. In separate hearings, a Moscow court ordered Meta to pay four million rubles (S$74,000) and TikTok 2 million rubles for failing to delete content with LGBT “propaganda”, news agency Interfax …

The Los Angeles Times report: When the Finnish Reservists’ Assn. recently announced wartime defense courses for civilian women in the southern town of Haemeenlinna, the 400 slots filled almost immediately, with a waiting list of 500 more. Topics will include shooting, cybersecurity and how to manage the first several days of an invasion from abroad. In many ways, Finland has …

The New York Post reports: New footage of Vladimir Putin appearing unsteady, fidgeting and biting his lips during an Orthodox Easter service in Moscow on Sunday has added to suspicions that the Russian leader is seriously ill. The warmongering president shifts uncomfortably, sticks out his tongue and bites his lips as Patriarch Kirill announces that “Christ has risen” – joining …

Politico reports: U.S. and Ukrainian officials on Sunday discussed the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin expanding his invasion from the Donbas region of southeastern Ukraine into the neighboring nation of Moldova — another former Soviet state and non-NATO member in Eastern Europe. Transdniestria, or Transnistria, is a pro-Russia breakaway region of Moldova, which borders Ukraine to the southwest. Moldova, …

The Associated Press reports: Russian forces have launched fresh airstrikes on a Mariupol steel plant where an estimated 1,000 civilians are sheltering along with about 2,000 Ukrainian fighters. The Azovstal steel mill where the defenders are holed up is the last corner of resistance in the city, which the Russians have otherwise occupied. Mariupol has been the focus of fierce …

The Wall Street Journal reports: The far-right party of French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has begun paying a settlement of 12 million euros—equivalent to $12.94 million—to a Russian military contractor under U.S. sanctions, part of a debt restructuring that granted her party more time to repay a loan it took from a Russian bank, according to Russian and French …

Axios reports: Russian Olympic gold medalist swimmer Evgeny Rylov has been banned from competition for nine months after appearing at a rally in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. FINA, swimming’s international governing body, said in a statement Thursday that Rylov was suspended “from all competitions and activities organized or sanctioned by FINA” for nine …