Russia

Politico Europe reports: A yacht worth $700 million with alleged ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin has been impounded as part of the European Union’s ongoing sanctions against Russia, according to a statement from Italy’s Economy Ministry. The boat — the Scheherazade, located in the Italian town of Marina di Carrara, north of Pisa — had “significant economic and business …

Miami’s ABC News affiliate reports: In the intervening months since Russia invaded Ukraine, oil prices have risen, inflation has increased, and the state of Florida has reportedly lost millions due to investment in Russia. Even before the losses, Florida Democrats had urged the state to divest itself from the money it’s invested in Russian companies. Now, Democrat Andrew Learned (D-Brandon) …

Haaretz reports: In a call with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s assertion that Adolf Hitler had Jewish origins. Bennett accepted Putin’s apology for Lavrov’s remarks and thanked him for clarifying the Russian president’s attitude toward the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust, Bennett’s office said in a statement. …

Reuters reports: The European Commission has proposed freezing the assets of Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, a diplomat said on Wednesday. The Patriarch has been added to a draft blacklist that already includes hundreds of military officers and businessmen close to the Kremlin whom the EU accuses of supporting the war in Ukraine. The sanction, which would …

NBC New York reports: After the I-Team revealed Russian diplomats abusing parking privileges and failing to pay $101,000 in outstanding NYC parking summonses, NBC New York has learned the U.S. State Department has held up more than two dozen registrations for vehicles belonging to the Russian Federation. The action will prevent Russia from renewing some of its U.S. diplomatic license …

Religion News Service reports: Pope Francis told an Italian newspaper on Tuesday (May 3) that NATO may be partly to blame for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and he said he hopes to visit Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in hopes of brokering a peace. Talking to reporters from Il Corriere della Sera, Francis said that “NATO barking …

The Daily Beast reports: Russia has broadcast video clips simulating the destruction of the U.K. and Ireland via a massive tidal wave triggered by an underwater nuclear explosion in response to the U.K.’s support for Ukraine. The sequences showed on state channel Russia-1 Sunday night were narrated by presenter Dmitry Kiselyov, who falsely claimed Prime Minister Boris Johnson had threatened …

Reuters reports: Pope Francis said in an interview published on Tuesday that he asked for a meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin to try to stop the war in Ukraine but had not received a reply. The pope also told Italy’s Corriere Della Sera newspaper that Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, who has given the war …

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 …