Russia

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 …

Bloomberg News reports: Anheuser-Busch InBev will sell its stake in a Russian joint venture, taking a $1.1 billion hit as the world’s largest brewer joins the global move to exit operations following the country’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Leuven, Belgium-based AB InBev said it will dispose of its holding in the AB InBev Efes venture, adding that it’s already in …

The Hill reports: Koch Industries is working on an “exit strategy” for its business in Russia, after previously saying that employees at its glass factories in the country faced personal risks if it pulled out. The company, headed by political mega-donor Charles Koch, would join hundreds of other multinationals, many that halted operations in Russia early on during its war …

AlterNet reports: Ex-National Security Adviser and retired Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn said on Wednesday that the United States, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the European Union should cease supplying Ukraine with military aid to fend off invading Russian forces. Flynn, whose deep ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin ultimately sank his career, appeared on the …

The Associated Press reports: The Russian military said Wednesday it successfully performed the first test of a new intercontinental ballistic missile, a weapon President Vladimir Putin said would make the West “think twice” before harboring any aggressive intentions against Russia. The test launch of the Sarmat missile comes amid soaring tensions between Moscow and the West over the Russian military …

Tennis.com reports: The likes of Daniil Medvedev, Aryna Sabalenka, Andrey Rublev, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Victoria Azarenka will not be permitted to compete at the All England Club this summer. It was confirmed late Wednesday afternoon that Wimbledon would become the first tennis tournament to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Belarus …

Media Matters has the transcript: ERIC BOLLING (HOST): When Russia’s war on Ukraine started, Putin and his propaganda-drivers felt that that was their moment to run with an American TV anchor whose comments could be used to support their own narrative and prop up their propaganda machine. From that moment on, clips from Tucker’s show were to be used ad …

The Daily Mail reports: A Ukrainian millionaire contacted Kyiv’s military to bomb his own house after he spied Russian invaders using it as a military base to fire rockets on the property’s webcam. Businessman Andrey Stavnitser handed over coordinates to the house in the outskirts of the capital once he realised it was housing military targets, sacrificing the ‘beautiful’ home …

Reuters reports: Lithuania’s parliament on Tuesday voted to ban public displays of the letter “Z”, the black and orange ribbon of St George, and other symbols seen as expressing support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian military vehicles in Ukraine are prominently marked with the letter “Z”, and it has started appearing on social media and on clothing elsewhere in …

Politico Europe reports: French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said today that, if she were president, she would engage with Russia after the war in Ukraine to ensure Moscow doesn’t create an alliance with Beijing. She has been a long-standing admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has received party loans from a Russian bank. Le Pen has long …

Reuters reports: Russia said on Monday it had hit hundreds of military targets in Ukraine overnight, destroying command posts with air-launched missiles, while authorities in the western city of Lviv, which has escaped heavy bombardment, said a missile attack killed six. The Russian defence ministry said in a statement it had destroyed 16 Ukrainian military facilities in the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, …

The Daily Beast reports: During Friday’s broadcast of The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, one of the most popular political talk shows in Russia, Kira Sazonova of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration argued: “I’ve thought a lot about the ongoing situation with Ukraine, in terms of what modern Ukraine represents for the West. It took me …

Deadline reports: Russian missiles raining down on central Kharkiv, Ukraine yesterday killed two people and injured 18. Among the latter group were workers at celebrity chef José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen, a charitable effort which has fanned out across the country to feed those effected by the war there. Also on Sunday the Executive Director of the U.N’s World Food …

The Washington Post reports: Russian Maj. Gen. Vladimir Frolov of the 8th Army died in battle in Ukraine and was buried in Russia on Saturday, according to a statement from the governor of St. Petersburg. The statement from Alexander Beglov offered no details of when or where Frolov was killed. As deputy commander of the 8th Army, Frolov commanded forces …

The Hill reports: Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed Saturday that roughly 20,100 Russian troops have been killed since the start of Moscow’s invasion. On top of those casualties, the ministry said in a Twitter post that 163 Russian aircrafts, 762 tanks, eight boats and 66 anti-aircraft warfare systems have been destroyed, in addition to other military equipment. NATO earlier …