Russia

“Well, it’s obvious, number one, that the Biden administration have zero diplomacy skills. There should have been a summit with Vladimir Putin, you know, right after this thing started. “They had a done deal, we all know that, but we talked to them, ‘Hey, we’ll give you whatever it takes we’re gonna give you, you’re gonna be able to fight …

The Washington Post reports: When an associate of one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies launched a pro-Kremlin media outlet here in May 2023, Czech counterintelligence officers began keeping careful watch. For nearly a year, European intelligence officials said, the Czech authorities secretly recorded hours of meetings between several far-right politicians from across Europe and the associate, Artem Marchevsky, …

Reuters reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to halt the war in Ukraine with a negotiated ceasefire that recognises the current battlefield lines, four Russian sources told Reuters, saying he is prepared to fight on if Kyiv and the West do not respond. Three of the sources, familiar with discussions in Putin’s entourage, said the veteran Russian leader had …

Bloomberg News reports: Ukrainian authorities said they foiled a plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other high-ranking officials, making the announcement on the day of Vladimir Putin’s inauguration in Moscow. Two colonels with Ukraine’s Department of State Security, a special unit responsible for protecting government officials, have been detained on suspicion of high treason, the Prosecutor General’s office said …

The Associated Press reports: Vladimir Putin began his fifth term Tuesday as Russian leader at a glittering Kremlin inauguration, setting out on another six years in office after destroying his political opponents, launching a devastating war in Ukraine and concentrating all power in his hands. At the ceremony inside the gilded Grand Kremlin Palace, Putin placed his hand on the …

ABC News reports: Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening. It was the first time that Russia has publicly announced drills involving tactical …

From the Justice Department: Jareh Sebastian Dalke, 32, of Colorado Springs, was sentenced today to 262 months in prison for attempted espionage in connections with his efforts to transmit classified National Defense Information (NDI) to an agent of the Russian Federation. According to court documents, Dalke pleaded guilty in 2023 to six counts of attempting to transmit classified NDI to …

Politico reports: A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the conviction of veteran Republican campaign operative Jesse Benton for steering an illegal Russian contribution to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Benton, who played leading roles in the presidential campaigns of Ron and Rand Paul and worked briefly as Mitch McConnell’s campaign manager, helped facilitate an improper $25,000 payment to the …

Politico Europe reports: Chechnya, we have bad blood. The culture ministry of the Russian republic recently announced it is banning any songs that are too up-tempo — or down-tempo — in a bid to conform with the country’s musical traditions and root out any hint of Westernization. “From now on all musical, vocal and choreographic works should correspond to a …

The Washington Post reports: Former president Donald Trump has privately said he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine by pressuring Ukraine to give up some territory, according to people familiar with the plan. Some foreign policy experts said Trump’s idea would reward Russian President Vladimir Putin and condone the violation of internationally recognized borders by force. Trump’s proposal consists of …

The Daily Beast reports: Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union, Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) affirmed a fellow Republican colleague’s statement that pro-Russia and anti-Ukraine messaging had penetrated the party base in Congress. That colleague, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Mike McCaul (R-TX), criticized conservative news outlets when he said, “Russian propaganda has made its way into the United States, …

The Christian Post reports: The World Russian People’s Council, led by Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, has labeled President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as a “holy” endeavor, seemingly aiming to bring the region under Russian dominion. The declaration frames the war as a key moment in Russia’s battle against the “criminal Kiev regime” and Western “Satanism,” calling it a …

CNN reports: Within hours of opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s death in February in a Russian prison, a group of anti-Kremlin hackers went looking for revenge. Using their access to a computer network tied to Russia’s prison system, the hackers plastered a photo of Navalny on the hacked prison contractor’s website, according to interviews with the hackers, screenshots and data reviewed by CNN. …

Reuters reports: Iran tipped off Russia about the possibility of a major “terrorist operation” on its soil ahead of the concert hall massacre near Moscow last month, three sources familiar with the matter said. In the deadliest attack inside Russia in 20 years, gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons at concertgoers on March 22 at the Crocus City Hall, killing …

The Associated Press reports: Russian authorities arrested the four men suspected of carrying out the attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people, President Vladimir Putin said Saturday during an address to the nation. He claimed they were captured while fleeing to Ukraine. Kyiv strongly denied any involvement in Friday’s attack on the Crocus City …

CNN reports: ISIS has claimed responsibility for an attack at a popular concert venue complex near Moscow Friday that left at least 40 dead and more than 100 wounded after assailants stormed the venue with guns and incendiary devices. The terror group took responsibility for the attack in a short statement published by ISIS-affiliated news agency Amaq on Telegram on …

The Guardian reports: At least a dozen people have been killed and many more wounded according to unofficial reports in the worst terror attack in Russia in years, as gunmen in combat fatigues opened fire and detonated explosives in a big concert hall in Moscow. Photos showed the Crocus City Music Hall engulfed in flames as videos emerged from the …

The Moscow Times reports: Russian authorities have arrested employees of a gay club as part of the country’s first criminal “extremism” case against members of the LGBTQ+ community, a court in the city of Orenburg said Wednesday. Kremlin-aligned conservative activist Yekaterina Mizulina earlier this week announced criminal charges in connection with the LGBTQ+ club Pose’s activities. Nationalist, pro-war activists said …

Politico Europe reports: France wants Russia to observe a cease-fire in Ukraine during this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with Ukrainian television on Saturday. “This is a message of peace,” Macron said, before a voiceover interpreter quoted the French president as saying that France is doing so in line with the spirit …

The Daily Beast reports: The Russian ambassador to the United States says he plans to complain to American officials about security failings at the embassy in Washington, D.C. on Sunday as voters cast their ballots in the Russian presidential election. Anatoly Antanov told reporters that “traitors” were allowed “to block the entrance to the Russian embassy and interfere with Russian …