Tag Archives: Vladimir Putin

The Washington Post reports: Russia is permanently banning nearly 1,000 Americans, including President Biden and Vice President Harris, from entering the country in response to the United States’ support of Ukraine and the historic sanctions facing Moscow nearly three months into its invasion. On Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry published the list of 963 Americans barred from entering Russia — …

The New York Times reports: Russia is moving toward eliminating age limits for military service — an apparent effort to expand the pool of potential recruits amid heavy casualties in Ukraine. Under an amendment introduced by senior lawmakers, Russians older than 40 would be able to sign first-time military service contracts. The law would bring in more service members with …

Reuters reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto on Saturday that ditching neutrality and joining NATO would be a mistake that could damage relations between their two countries, the Kremlin said. The two countries said their presidents spoke by phone two days after Finland declared its intention to join the Western alliance. Moscow has described that …

NBC News reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to justify his war in Ukraine on Monday, blaming the West and linking the conflict to World War II but not announcing any escalation despite fears from Kyiv and its allies. In a speech at Moscow’s Victory Day parade to celebrate the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany, Putin framed the struggling …

Politico Europe reports: A yacht worth $700 million with alleged ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin has been impounded as part of the European Union’s ongoing sanctions against Russia, according to a statement from Italy’s Economy Ministry. The boat — the Scheherazade, located in the Italian town of Marina di Carrara, north of Pisa — had “significant economic and business …

Haaretz reports: In a call with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s assertion that Adolf Hitler had Jewish origins. Bennett accepted Putin’s apology for Lavrov’s remarks and thanked him for clarifying the Russian president’s attitude toward the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust, Bennett’s office said in a statement. …

Reuters reports: Pope Francis said in an interview published on Tuesday that he asked for a meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin to try to stop the war in Ukraine but had not received a reply. The pope also told Italy’s Corriere Della Sera newspaper that Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, who has given the war …

The New York Times reports: President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia congratulated Emmanuel Macron on Monday for his re-election as France’s president after defeating Marine Le Pen, a far-right candidate many in Russia favored as a potential game-changing option for the Kremlin amid the threat of new sanctions and in the midst of the war in Ukraine. “I sincerely wish …

The New York Post reports: New footage of Vladimir Putin appearing unsteady, fidgeting and biting his lips during an Orthodox Easter service in Moscow on Sunday has added to suspicions that the Russian leader is seriously ill. The warmongering president shifts uncomfortably, sticks out his tongue and bites his lips as Patriarch Kirill announces that “Christ has risen” – joining …

Axios reports: Russian Olympic gold medalist swimmer Evgeny Rylov has been banned from competition for nine months after appearing at a rally in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. FINA, swimming’s international governing body, said in a statement Thursday that Rylov was suspended “from all competitions and activities organized or sanctioned by FINA” for nine …

Reuters reports: Russia said on Monday it had hit hundreds of military targets in Ukraine overnight, destroying command posts with air-launched missiles, while authorities in the western city of Lviv, which has escaped heavy bombardment, said a missile attack killed six. The Russian defence ministry said in a statement it had destroyed 16 Ukrainian military facilities in the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, …

The Washington Post reports: Russian Maj. Gen. Vladimir Frolov of the 8th Army died in battle in Ukraine and was buried in Russia on Saturday, according to a statement from the governor of St. Petersburg. The statement from Alexander Beglov offered no details of when or where Frolov was killed. As deputy commander of the 8th Army, Frolov commanded forces …

Reuters reports: Russia said the crew of its Moskva warship were evacuated on Thursday after an explosion of ammunition aboard that Ukraine said was caused by a missile strike, and a U.S. defence official said the stricken vessel was still trying to put out a fire. The warship, a Soviet-era missile cruiser, is still believed afloat and the United States …

The Independent reports: Steven Seagal reiterated his support for Vladimir Putin and his allies at a party in Moscow for his 70th birthday, it has emerged. In a video circulated on Twitter, Seagal, who called Putin “one of the greatest world leaders, if not the greatest world leader, alive today”, could be seen calling everyone in the room “my family …

The New York Times reports: President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said on Tuesday that the “main goal” of the war in Ukraine was “to help people” in the country’s east, the latest sign that Russia is focused on the battle for the Donbas region as the next stage of the war. “What we are doing is helping people and …

ABC News reports: Russia has defaulted on its foreign debt because it offered bondholders payments in rubles, not dollars, credit ratings agency S&P has said. Russia attempted to pay in rubles for two dollar-denominated bonds that matured on April 4, S&P said in a note on Friday. The agency said this amounted to a “selective default” because investors are unlikely …

CNN reports: The US announced new sanctions Wednesday on Russian financial institutions and individuals, including Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters, as it aims to increase economic pressure on Russia and Putin himself following horrific images from the Ukrainian city of Bucha. The US is targeting Putin’s two adult daughters because they believe the Russian President may be hiding …

San Diego’s Fox News affiliate reports: Ukrainian Americans held a silent protest outside Awaken Church in San Diego County as it hosted a controversial guest speaker Saturday, Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Saturday’s protesters claimed Carlson spreads pro-Russia propaganda. They arranged strollers, car seats and baby shoes to represent the more than 150 children killed by the war in Ukraine. …

CNBC reports: President Joe Biden said Monday that evidence needs to be gathered to put Russian leader Vladimir Putin on trial for war crimes related to his nation’s invasion of Ukraine. “He is a war criminal,” Biden said of Putin, on the heels of reports of mass killings of civilians by Russian troops in the town of Bucha, northwest of …

The Associated Press reports: The U.S. government seized a mega yacht in Spain owned by an oligarch with close ties to the Russian president on Monday, the first in the government’s sanctions enforcement initiative to “seize and freeze” giant boats and other pricey assets of Russian elites. Spain’s Civil Guard and U.S. federal agents descended on the yacht at the …