Tag Archives: Ukraine

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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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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Boris Johnson Compares Ukraine Invasion To Brexit

Politico Europe reports: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson compared the invasion of Ukraine by Russia to the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union in 2016. He argued both examples showed countries’ willingness to fight for their freedom. “I know that it’s the instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom every time,” …

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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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Bush And Clinton Lay Flowers At IL Ukrainian Church

The Hill reports: Former Presidents George W. Bush and Clinton visited a Ukrainian church in Chicago on Friday, laying down flowers in a show of solidarity with the nation. A video shared by the George W. Bush Presidential Center shows the 42nd and 43rd presidents each carrying yellow sunflowers in their hands, wrapped in blue and yellow cloth to represent …

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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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Putin Holds Pro-War Rally Before 100,000 In Stadium, Vows To Liberate Ukraine From “Genocide Of Nazism”

Reuters reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin justified the invasion of Ukraine before a packed soccer stadium on Friday but coverage of his speech on state television was unexpectedly interrupted by what the Kremlin said was a technical problem with a server. Speaking on a stage at the centre of Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, Putin promised to tens of thousands of people …

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Russia’s Shuttered McDonald’s See Trademark Squatters

The Washington Post reports: McDonald’s is now closed in Russia, part of a wave of companies exiting the country after its invasion of Ukraine sparked sanctions from the West. But a local alternative, Uncle Vanya, appears to be gearing up to take a bite of the Russian burger business — with a strangely familiar logo. Though none of these new …

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Anti-Vax/QAnon Groups Spread Kremlin Propaganda

Politico Europe reports: Before Russia invaded Ukraine, Booba — one of France’s most popular rap artists, with an online audience of millions — spread wild claims about COVID-19. But since late February, the French musician has shifted gears to another global crisis: the war in Ukraine. And in post after post, Booba [photo], who canceled a sponsorship deal with Puma …

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Ukraine Asked US For Long-Term Resistance Funding

Axios reports: Ukraine’s top national security official asked earlier this month for the U.S. to go beyond traditional military aid and provide the country with the funding, training and weaponry to support a long-term resistance movement, according to a letter obtained by Axios. Russia’s advances on the battlefield have largely stalled, prompting fears of a long, grinding war of attrition. …

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Biden To Discuss Russia/Ukraine With Xi Tomorrow

Politico reports: President Joe Biden will speak to China’s Xi Jinping on Friday, the two leaders’ first call since Russia invaded Ukraine and one that could play an outsize role in determining the trajectory of the war. During the conflict’s early weeks, Russia has aligned itself with China, and Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin reinforced their nations’ ties during …

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Putin Vows To Root Out “Traitor Scum” And “Spit Them Out Like A Gnat That Flew Into Our Mouths” [VIDEO]

The Washington Post reports: Russians “will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and will simply spit them out like a gnat that accidentally flew into their mouths,” said Putin, using language reminiscent of the Stalinist era. “I am convinced that such a natural and necessary self-purification of society will only strengthen our country.” He said …

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Schwarzenegger To Russians: Defy Putin, Stop Fighting

The Insider reports: Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made a direct appeal to Russian people and soldiers on Thursday, detailing the lies behind the Kremlin’s propaganda for the war on Ukraine. “Your lives, your limbs, and your futures are being sacrificed for a senseless war condemned by the entire world,” Schwarzenegger said in a video published by Attn. “So every …

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Koch: More Harm Than Good For Us To Leave Russia

The Washington Post reports: Koch Industries, the American manufacturing giant that employs 122,000 people across the world, said Wednesday it would not exit its operations in Russia because doing so would put its “employees there at greater risk and do more harm than good.” The multinational conglomerate’s presence in Russia is relatively small, its president and chief operating officer, Dave …

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Russia To US: We May Have To Put You In Your Place

Reuters reports: Russia warned the United States on Thursday that Moscow had the might to put the world’s pre-eminent superpower in its place and accused the West of stoking a wild Russophobic plot to tear Russia apart. Dmitry Medvedev [photo], who served as president from 2008 to 2012 and is now deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council, said the United …

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Ukraine Says Russia Bombed Shelter Marked “Children”

CNN reports: A theater where hundreds of people had taken shelter in Mariupol was bombed on Wednesday, according to local authorities, as hundreds of thousands of people remain trapped in the coastal Ukrainian city that has been encircled for weeks by Russian forces. Mariupol City Council, who shared an image of the destroyed building, said Russian forces had “purposefully and …

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LIVE VIDEO: Biden Speaks On New US Aid To Ukraine

ABC News reports: Speaking just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on him to be a “leader for peace,” President Joe Biden on Wednesday is expected to detail how much military aid the U.S. is already providing — or will provide — to Ukraine. But it was unclear how much he would directly address Zelenskyy’s emotional and direct appeal …

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