Tag Archives: Kremlin

The Washington Post reports: Moscow’s proposed evacuation routes to Russia and Belarus are “unacceptable,” Ukraine said, insisting that civilians fleeing battle zones should be allowed to reach western Ukraine or European Union countries. Russia announced six evacuation routes from several Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv, and hard-hit Kharkiv and Mariupol — four leading to either Russia or its ally, …

TechCrunch reports: Google has just announced that YouTube will geoblock the Kremlin-affiliated media outlets Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik in Europe, following pressure from regional lawmakers to choke off Russian war propaganda. YouTube hosts thousands of videos by the two Russian state-affiliated media firms and RT’s own channel marketing claims it’s “the most watched news network on YouTube.” Yesterday Facebook, …

The New York Times reports: The Kremlin said Monday that President Vladimir V. Putin would recognize the independence of two territories in Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists, further escalating tensions in what Western nations fear could lead to one of the biggest conflicts in Europe since World War II. The announcement was made by the Kremlin in a statement summarizing …

Reuters reports: Russia has threatened to ban YouTube and block German news media websites after the American site removed two online channels run by RT, the Kremlin-funded television station. YouTube said that it had deleted RT’s German-language channels, RT DE and Der Fehlende Part, for repeated breaches of its policies on spreading misinformation about the coronavirus. The decision provoked a …

Politico Europe reports: Boris Vishnevsky has been in politics for some 30 years. In that time, he thinks he’s participated in at least that many electoral campaigns. So when Vishnevsky — a central opposition figure in St. Petersburg fighting pro-Kremlin candidates — started campaigning for this year’s legislative elections, he wasn’t expecting any surprises. Then he saw a voting poster …

The Moscow Times reports: Dozens of people in Vladimir Putin’s entourage have tested positive for the coronavirus, the Russian leader said Thursday, as his country struggles with high infection rates and a vaccine-skeptic population. Earlier this week, 68-year-old Putin canceled all in-person events and said he was self-isolating after announcing an outbreak in the Kremlin. “Cases of the coronavirus were …

The BBC reports: A major operation to influence public opinion saw comments posted on Western media articles in support of Russian interests, according to new research. Cardiff University’s Crime and Security Research Institute found 32 prominent media websites across 16 countries were targeted including Mail Online, the Express and the Times. The comments were fed back into Russian-language media outlets …

The Guardian reports: Vladimir Putin personally authorised a secret spy agency operation to support a “mentally unstable” Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential election during a closed session of Russia’s national security council, according to what are assessed to be leaked Kremlin documents. The key meeting took place on 22 January 2016, the papers suggest, with the Russian president, …

Reuters reports: The Kremlin on Friday blamed a surge in COVID-19 cases on reluctance to have vaccinations and “nihilism” after a record 9,056 new infections in Moscow, mostly with the new Delta variant, fanned fears of a third wave. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin extended restrictions he had imposed this month, which include a ban on events with more than 1,000 …

Mediaite reports: Ahead of a mid-June meeting in Geneva with Vladimir Putin, President Joe Biden said on Sunday he’ll bring up the issue of human rights with the Russian president. On Monday, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov responded by saying Russia is prepared to discuss the matter. “Of course, we will be ready to discuss everything, including problems that exist in …

Reuters reports: Hollywood actor Steven Seagal, a long-time admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has joined a pro-Kremlin party, the party said on Sunday. Seagal received a party membership card of an alliance named Just Russia Patriots For Truth on Saturday, a video released by the party showed. It was formed earlier this year. The party controls a faction in …

Reuters reports: The Kremlin said on Tuesday it had deliberately decided it would not reveal the name of the Russian-made vaccine which President Vladimir Putin is due to take later on Tuesday. “We are deliberately not saying which shot the president will get, noting that all three Russian (-made) vaccines are absolutely reliable and effective,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told …

The Daily Mail reports: Donald Trump was cultivated as a Russian asset more than 40 years ago which exploded into a decades-long ‘relationship’ of mutual benefit to both Russia and Trump, a shocking new book claims. Trump was rescued multiple times from multiple bankruptcies by boatloads of Russian cash laundered through his real estate in the 80s and 90s, the …

The Daily Beast reports: The Kremlin-backed news network RT kicked off its Election Day coverage with an interview with Rudy Giuliani, who gleefully helped spread misinformation about the vote. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer appeared on RT’s Going Underground show in an interview broadcast Tuesday morning. During the chat, Giuliani furthered a Russian disinformation campaign to make false claims about …

Reuters reports: The nerve agent used to poison Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was detected on an empty water bottle from his hotel room in the Siberian city of Tomsk, suggesting he was poisoned there and not at the airport as first thought, his team said on Thursday. Navalny fell violently ill on a flight in Russia last month and …

Fox News reports: The top spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services deleted his Twitter in the aftermath of a late-night rant in which he suggested tear gassing journalists and battled with other users on the social media platform. Michael Caputo, who was using his verified Twitter account, commented “gas all of them” in response to a post …

ABC News reports: Russia has sought to “amplify” concerns over the integrity of U.S. elections by promoting allegations that mail-in voting will lead to widespread fraud, according to an intelligence bulletin obtained by ABC News, again echoing a frequent and unfounded complaint raised by President Donald Trump. Analysts with the Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence branch issued the warning on …

From a statement issued today by Joe Biden: This is not how democracy works. But it is how American national security and sovereignty are violated. The tools of our government are meant to defend the American people and our system of governance against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And yet, at a moment when we know that our elections are …

Reuters reports: Thousands of people took to the streets on Saturday in Russia’s far eastern city of Khabarovsk to protest against President Vladimir Putin’s handling of a regional political crisis and the suspected poisoning of his most vocal critic. “Putin, have some tea,” protesters chanted as they marched on the city’s main thoroughfare, in a reference to the case of …

Sky News reports: German doctors treating Russian dissident Alexei Navalny say tests indicate he was poisoned. Doctors at Charite-Universitatsmedizin Berlin, where the Putin critic has been since being transferred from Siberia on Saturday, said: “The clinical findings indicate intoxication by a substance from the cholinesterase inhibitor group. “The specific substance has not been identified so far and a further wide-ranging …