Tag Archives: Vladimir Putin

The Associated Press reports: A Russian man arrested and accused of running a travel agency for gay customers was found dead in custody in Moscow, rights group OVD-Info reported Sunday, amid a crackdown on LGBTQ rights in Russia. According to OVD-Info, which tracks political arrests, Andrei Kotov — director of the “Men Travel” agency — faced charges of “organizing extremist …

The Washington Post reports: Azerbaijan demanded Sunday that Russia admit responsibility for the incident that led to the crash of a passenger plane on Christmas Day, killing 38 people, and pay compensation to the government and affected families. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in televised remarks that the national carrier’s plane, which was supposed to land in Grozny, the capital …

The New York Times reports: President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Saturday apologized for the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane this past week, breaking the Kremlin’s three-day silence on the accident that claimed the lives of 38 people. He did not explicitly acknowledge Russia’s responsibility for the crash. The Kremlin said in a statement that Mr. Putin “offered …

Bloomberg News reports: Russia rebuffed incoming US President Donald Trump’s call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, while saying it’s ready to hold negotiations on a long-lasting peace agreement to end almost three years of war. “A ceasefire is a road to nowhere” that Ukraine will use to build up its military capacity, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in …

The Telegraph reports: An Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed on Christmas Day was “likely shot down by a Russian military air defence system,” a UK-based aviation security firm has said. The crash immediately prompted speculation that the aircraft was shot down by Russia after it took a detour of hundreds of miles in the wrong direction and crash-landed with holes …

From the Russian state media outlet Tass: US President-elect Donald Trump did not send an invitation to his inauguration in January to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “No, he didn’t send an invitation,” the spokesman said, answering a question. Previously, the CBS News TV channel reported citing its sources that Trump invited Chinese leader Xi …

Agence France-Presse reports: Police in Moscow raided multiple bars early Saturday and arrested the director of a gay travel agency under laws criminalising “LGBT propaganda”, state media reported. The raids came on the one year anniversary of Russia’s Supreme Court outlawing the “international LGBT movement”, paving the way for arrests and prosecutions of the country’s already repressed LGBTQ community. Russian …

NBC News reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday congratulated Donald Trump on winning the U.S. election, praised him for showing courage when a gunman tried to assassinate him, and said Moscow was ready for dialogue with the Republican president-elect. In his first public remarks since Trump’s win, Putin said Trump had acted like a real man during an assassination …

Axios reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a revised nuclear doctrine on Tuesday to effectively lower his country’s threshold for using nuclear weapons. The new doctrine suggests Russia could use nuclear weapons to respond to attacks by Ukraine carried out with American support. The new doctrine expands the range of countries and alliances — a clear reference to NATO — …

CNN reports: Vladimir Shklyarov, a world-renowned Russian ballet star, has died after falling from the fifth floor of a building on Saturday. His death was confirmed by the Mariinsky Theater, a venue in the city of St. Petersburg where Shklyarov was the highest-ranking dancer. “He died a natural death. It’s not a crime,” a source in the emergency services told …

The Guardian reports: The Kremlin has denied reports that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, spoke to the US president-elect, Donald Trump, calling the media reports “pure fiction”. The Washington Post first reported that a call had taken place and said that Trump had told Putin that he should not escalate the Ukraine war. Reuters also reported on a call. “It …

Politico Europe reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Donald Trump on his U.S. election victory, praising the Republican’s “manly” response to an attempted assassination — and saying he’s “ready” to speak with him. “I take this opportunity to congratulate him on his election as president of the United States of America,” Putin said on Thursday at the annual meeting of …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Western security officials say they believe that two incendiary devices, shipped via DHL, were part of a covert Russian operation that ultimately aimed to start fires aboard cargo or passenger aircraft flying to the U.S. and Canada, as Moscow steps up a sabotage campaign against Washington and its allies. The devices ignited at DHL logistics …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a linchpin of U.S. space efforts, has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since late 2022. The discussions, confirmed by several current and former U.S., European and Russian officials, touch on personal topics, business and geopolitical tensions. At one point, Putin asked the billionaire to …

CNN reports: In 2020, Bob Woodward writes, Trump had “secretly sent Putin a bunch of Abbott Point of Care Covid test machines for his personal use.” Putin — who infamously isolated himself over fears of Covid — told Trump on a phone call to keep the delivery of the Abbott machines quiet, Woodward reports. “Please don’t tell anybody you sent …

The Hill reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law Wednesday that will allow criminal defendants to skip prosecution and potential prison time if they enlist in the army. The bill was originally approved by the Russian Supreme Court and parliament before Putin stamped the measure, which could potentially place 20,000 new soldiers on the frontlines in the war against …

Mediaite reports: A Russian state media host and his guest pundits laughed at Americans who they said would fall for Vladimir Putin’s “trolling” endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris over Donald Trump on Thursday. “This is trolling of the highest level,” Vladimir Soloviev said. “And Americans will believe all of it is real.” “Our ‘favorite,’ if you can call it …

CNN reports: The Biden administration on Wednesday plans to accuse Russia of a sustained effort to influence the 2024 US elections by using Kremlin-run media and other online platforms to target US voters with disinformation, six sources familiar with the matter told CNN. It’s expected the US will make a series of moves on Wednesday aimed at addressing the Kremlin’s …

NBC News reports: Russia’s efforts to influence this year’s U.S. election through information warfare have the same aim as in previous elections — to undermine President Joe Biden’s campaign and the Democratic Party and weaken public confidence in the electoral process, intelligence officials said Tuesday. Russia’s election influence operations, which include covert social media accounts and encrypted direct messaging channels, …

The Associated Press reports: The trial of a Russian American dual citizen whom Russia accuses of treason opened on Thursday as tensions rise between Washington and Moscow, including over the arrests of two American journalists. The trial is being held behind closed doors in Yekaterinburg, in the same court that next week is to begin hearing the case of Evan …