Tag Archives: Russia

Finland Seizes 21 Yachts Owned By Russian Oligarchs

The Helsinki Times reports: Finnish Customs has placed a total of 21 yachts under a transfer ban on grounds of suspicion that they are owned by oligarchs or other individuals falling within the sanctions regime of the EU, Sami Rakshit, the head of the enforcement department at Finnish Customs, confirmed to YLE on Monday. Rakshit told YLE that customs officials …

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Kremlin Promotes Fox Host’s Batshit “Occult” Claims

Mediaite reports: Twitter accounts associated with the Kremlin are using sidelined Fox Nation host Lara Logan to portray Ukrainian soldiers as Nazis and occultists. On far-right platform Real America’s Voice last week, Logan said she did not “buy” reporting which shows Russia has inflicted widespread devastation on Ukraine since its invasion of the country. On Sunday morning, Russian Twitter accounts …

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Russian Stock Market Partially Reopens After 25 Days

The BBC reports: The Moscow stock exchange has partially reopened after a nearly month-long suspension over the war in Ukraine. Only bonds issued by the Russian government can be traded as part of a phased re-opening of the market. The exchange closed hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent thousands of troops into Ukraine on 24 February. Andrei Braginsky, a …

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Koch Donations Under Fire Over Stance On Russia

CNBC reports: More than two dozen U.S. lawmakers received roughly $110,000 in campaign contributions from Koch Industries in the weeks leading up to Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine — money some ethics lawyers say should be returned given the company’s decision to maintain operations in Russia. U.S. lawmakers are being scrutinized for accepting campaigns contributions from the conglomerate, which is …

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Gibraltar Seizes Russian Oligarch’s Super-Yacht [VIDEO]

Reuters reports: A luxurious super-yacht linked to the owner of Russia’s largest steel pipe maker, who is currently under British and European Union sanctions, docked in Gibraltar on Monday and was then detained by the authorities. Western sanctions on Russian oligarchs over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine have triggered an exodus of luxury yachts from Europe in recent weeks, with several …

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Biden: Russia Possibly Planning Cyber Attacks On US

CNN reports: President Joe Biden on Monday urged private sector partners to strengthen their cyber defenses immediately, pointing to “evolving intelligence” that suggests Russia could conduct malicious cyber activity against American companies and critical infrastructure. While the Biden administration has been warning the nation of the prospect of cyber attacks by Russia for months, most recently as a response to …

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Russia Declares Meta Guilty Of “Extremist Activity”

Reuters reports: A Moscow court on Monday found Meta Platforms Inc guilty of “extremist activity”, but said its decision would not affect the WhatsApp messenger service, focusing its ire on the company’s already banned Facebook and Instagram social networks. Moscow’s Tverskoi District Court upheld a lawsuit filed by Russian state prosecutors on banning the activities of Meta on Russian territory, …

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Russian Strike Levels Kyiv Shopping Mall [VIDEO]

The New York Times reports: A Russian missile strike reduced a sprawling shopping mall in Kyiv to a smoldering ruin, one of the most powerful strikes to rock the center of the Ukrainian capital since the war began last month. City officials said at least eight people were killed, though the toll was likely to rise from the explosion around …

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Roger Stone Backs Putin As “Acting Defensively”

“Ukraine is not even remotely about what they’re telling us. Ukraine is about the fact that the Ukrainians have used their soil to place dual launch missile pads, missiles that would be aimed at the Soviet Union. “There are, in fact, biolabs there funded by our tax dollars cooking up who knows what pestilence to dump on the Russian people. …

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Russian Students Forced Into “Patriotism” Lessons

The Washington Post reports: In a dingy Russian classroom with worn-out rugs, elementary school students lined up to form the shape of the letter Z: the symbol used on much of Russia’s military equipment in Ukraine and an emblem of support at home, showing up on everywhere from bus stops to car stickers to corporate logos. Now it has become …

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Ukraine Rejects Demand To Surrender City Of Mariupol

The Associated Press reports: Ukrainian officials defiantly rejected a Russian demand that their forces in Mariupol lay down arms and raise white flags Monday in exchange for safe passage out of the besieged strategic port city. Even as Russia intensified its attempt to bombard Mariupol into surrender, its offensive in other parts of Ukraine has floundered. Western governments and analysts …

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Ukraine Says Russia Bombed School Sheltering 400

The Associated Press reports: Ukrainian authorities said Sunday that Russia’s military bombed an art school sheltering some 400 people in the port city of Mariupol, where heavy street fighting is underway weeks into a devastating Russian siege. The strike on the art school was the second time in less than a week that local officials reported an attack on a …

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Belarus President: Putin Is “Completely Sane, Healthy”

Reuters reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin is healthy, sane and “in better shape than ever”, his close ally Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has said in an interview with the Japanese television channel TBS. “He and I haven’t only met as heads of state, we’re on friendly terms,” Lukashenko said in a recording of the interview. “I’m absolutely privy to all …

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Top Chinese Official Blames Ukraine War On NATO

The Associated Press reports:  In a speech on Saturday, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng criticized the far-reaching Western sanctions imposed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine and said the root cause of the war in Ukraine “lies in the Cold War mentality and power politics.” Echoing a Kremlin talking point, the Chinese envoy said if NATO’s “enlargement goes further, …

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Republicans Twice As Likely To View Putin Favorably

Mediaite reports: Although most GOP voters view him unfavorably, Republicans were twice as likely as everyone else to hold a “favorable” view of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Respondents to a YouGov poll released this week were asked “Do you have a favorable or unfavorable view of Vladimir Putin?” Among all respondents, just 10 percent answered “Somewhat favorable” or “Very favorable,” …

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Gay Rights Activist Among Those Killed In Ukraine

The Guardian reports: A gay rights activist from Kharkiv, Elya Shchemur was killed during the Russian bombardment of the city centre, her colleagues at Kharkiv Pride said on Thursday. She was killed at the local territorial defence office where she volunteered, they said. “Elya was an activist and a patriot: she participated in all possible actions and democratic events of …

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US Cultural Institutes Cut Ties To Russian Oligarch

Politico reports: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts last week quietly renamed its “Russian Lounge” — a room featuring the country’s art and culture paid for by one of its richest men, Vladimir Potanin — amid a backlash against Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. In 2011, Potanin [photo] donated $5 million to the Kennedy Center. He paid to …

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PayPal Drops Transaction Fees For Ukrainian Citizens

The Verge reports: PayPal is expanding the services available to its Ukrainian users and waiving fees to help with humanitarian efforts in the country during Russia’s ongoing invasion. According to a news release, Ukrainians will be able to send and receive peer-to-peer PayPal or Xoom payments, and the company won’t apply its normal fees to either side of the transaction. …

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Russian Burger King Partner Won’t Close Its 800 Stores

Axios reports: Burger King on Friday said that its business partner controlling approximately 800 restaurants in Russia has “refused” to suspend operations in the country. “We contacted the main operator of the business and demanded the suspension of Burger King restaurant operations in Russia. They have refused to do so,” David Shear, the president of Restaurant Brands International, which owns …

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Biden Holds Two-Hour Call With Chinese President

CNBC reports: President Joe Biden held a nearly two-hour phone call on Friday morning with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The call was seen as a critical test of whether Biden can convince China to stay on the sidelines of the conflict in Ukraine, and to turn down Russian requests for military or economic aid. …

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