Tag Archives: Russia

ESPN reports: Detained WNBA star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty on Thursday to bringing hashish oil into Russia, telling a judge that she had done so “inadvertently” while asking the court for mercy. The move is not expected to end her trial in Khimki, Russia, anytime soon. Even with a guilty plea in Russian criminal courts, the judge will continue to …

The Associated Press reports: The 30 NATO allies signed off on the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland on Tuesday, sending the membership bids of the two nations to the alliance capitals for legislative approvals — and possible political trouble in Turkey. The move further increases Russia’s strategic isolation in the wake of its invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February …

The Associated Press reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin shot back at Western leaders who mocked his athletic exploits, saying they would look “disgusting” if they tried to emulate his bare-torso appearances. Putin made the comment during a visit to Turkmenistan early Thursday when asked about Western leaders joking about him at the G7 summit. Speaking to reporters, Putin retorted that, …

Reuters reports: U.S. President Joe Biden pledged more American troops, warplanes and warships for Europe on Wednesday as NATO agreed the biggest strengthening of its deterrents since the Cold War in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Biden’s commitment at the Madrid summit “to defend every inch of allied territory” came as the U.S.-led military alliance also set in motion …

Politico reports: Vladimir Putin plans to attend the G20 summit in Indonesia in November, an aide to the Russian president said Monday. Despite launching a brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin was invited to the meeting of the world’s major developed and emerging economies by Indonesian President Joko Widodo — a move that will spark soul-searching for Western allied leaders …

Reuters reports: NATO will massively boost the number of troops on high readiness to over 300,000, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday, with allies set to adopt a new strategy describing Moscow as a direct threat four months into the Ukraine war. “Russia has walked away from the partnership and the dialogue that NATO has tried to establish with Russia …

Bloomberg News reports: Russia defaulted on its foreign-currency sovereign debt for the first time in a century, the culmination of ever-tougher Western sanctions that shut down payment routes to overseas creditors. For months, the country found paths around the penalties imposed after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. But at the end of the day on Sunday, the grace period on …

Reuters reports: Russian missiles hit an apartment block and kindergarten in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Sunday, in strikes U.S. President Joe Biden condemned as “barbarism” as world leaders gathered in Europe to discuss further sanctions against Moscow. Up to four explosions shook central Kyiv in the early ours, in the first such attack on the city in weeks. Two …

Reuters reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday told his counterpart from Belarus that Moscow would supply Minsk with missile systems capable of carrying nuclear weapons, the Russian foreign ministry said. At a meeting with Putin in St Petersburg, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko expressed concern about the “aggressive”, “confrontational” and “repulsive” policies of its neighbours Lithuania and Poland. He asked …

Politico Playbook reports: On Tuesday, we broke the story about the details of Alex Holder’s film, that he had been subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 committee, turned over all of his footage and was coming to Washington this week for a closed-door deposition before the committee. On Thursday, shortly after he finished talking to Jan. 6 investigators, we met up …

Reuters reports: U.S. companies Cisco Systems and Nike plan to fully exit Russia, the two firms told Reuters on Thursday, as the pace of Western firms departing accelerated. Telecoms equipment maker Cisco will wind down its business in Russia and Belarus, the company said. Nike is making a full exit from Russia three months after suspending its operations there, the …

NBC News reports: Attorney General Merrick Garland is making a surprise visit to Ukraine on Tuesday, according to a Department of Justice spokesperson. Garland is meeting with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova “to discuss U.S. and international efforts to help Ukraine identify, apprehend, and prosecute those individuals involved in war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine.” A number of alleged …

The New York Times reports: The Nobel Peace Prize put up for auction by the Russian journalist Dmitri A. Muratov to help Ukrainian refugees sold Monday night for $103.5 million to an anonymous buyer, obliterating the record for a Nobel medal. The proceeds from the auction will go to UNICEF to aid Ukrainian children and their families displaced by Russia’s …

The Guardian reports: Palaces, yachts and vineyards reportedly provided to Vladimir Putin by friends and oligarchs can now be linked to what appears to be an informal network holding assets worth more than $4.5bn (£3.7bn). A digital paper trail appears to suggest that an array of holiday homes and other assets reportedly used by the Russian president, which according to …

The Guardian reports: Russia has provoked concern in Brussels after threatening to retaliate over Lithuania’s ban on the transit of some goods across its territory to Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad. The move by the government in Vilnius was described as “unprecedented” in Moscow, where the Russian foreign office said they reserved the right to respond to protect their …

Newsweek reports: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said re-electing former President Donald Trump could help Russian President Vladimir Putin win the ongoing war in Ukraine. Clinton made the remarks in an interview with the Financial Times published on Friday where she also argued that the U.S. was “on the precipice” of no longer being a democracy. “If Trump …

Reuters reports: IKEA said on Wednesday it would sell factories, close offices and reduce its nearly 28,000-strong workforce in Russia, the latest move by the world’s biggest furniture brand to cut its operations there following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The move comes after IKEA temporarily closed stores and paused sourcing in Russia, joining a mass corporate exodus as Western companies …

The Daily Beast reports: Assuming that a criminal prosecution against Trump is all but inevitable, state TV host Vladimir Solovyov seemed perturbed during his show The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov last Friday: “Look at what’s going on in America. A criminal prosecution against Trump and his followers is an obvious step towards a dictatorship.” Solovyov failed to mention the kind …

Reuters reports: It might look and smell like McDonald’s but now it’s Vkusno & tochka. The golden arches are gone, the Filet-O-Fish is simply a fish burger. The Big Mac has left Russia. A new era for Russia’s fast-food and economic scene dawned on Sunday, as McDonald’s restaurants flung open their doors in Moscow under new Russian ownership and with …

Reuters reports: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that millions of people could starve because of a Russian blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports which he said had left the world “on the brink of a terrible food crisis.” Russia has seized large parts of Ukraine’s coast, blocking farm exports and driving up the cost of grain. Zelenskiy said Ukraine was …