Tag Archives: Vladimir Putin

Iranian-Made “Kamikaze Drones” Rain Down On Kyiv

The BBC reports: Russia has hit Ukraine with a wave of attacks, including Iranian-made “kamikaze” drones on the capital, Kyiv. The strikes hit critical infrastructure in three regions, cutting off electricity in hundreds of villages across the country, according to Prime Minister Denys Shmygal. At least seven people have died so far – four in Sumy and three in Kyiv. …

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Russians Kill Conductor For Refusing To Lead Concert

The Guardian reports: Russian soldiers have shot dead a Ukrainian musician in his home after he refused to take part in a concert in occupied Kherson, according to the culture ministry in Kyiv. Conductor Yuriy Kerpatenko declined to take part in a concert “intended by the occupiers to demonstrate the so-called ‘improvement of peaceful life’ in Kherson”, the ministry said …

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Russia Now Snatching Men Off The Streets To Fight

The Washington Post reports: Police and military officers swooped down on a Moscow business center this week unannounced. They were looking for men to fight in Ukraine — and they seized nearly every one they saw. Some musicians, rehearsing. A courier there to deliver a parcel. A man from a Moscow service agency, very drunk, in his mid-50s, with a …

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REPORT: Volunteers Kill 11 At Russian Military Facility

Reuters reports: At least 11 people were killed and 15 more wounded at a Russian military training ground on Saturday when two attackers opened fire on a group of volunteers who wished to fight in Ukraine, RIA news agency said. The deadly incident is just the latest in a series of high-profile setbacks for Moscow’s forces since the Feb. 24 …

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Reuters: Oil Giant Is Cooperating With Russian Draft

Reuters reports: Some of oilfield service firm Schlumberger’s more than 9,000 Russian employees have begun receiving military draft notices through work, and the company is not authorizing remote employment to escape mobilization, according to people familiar with the matter and internal documents. Schlumberger’s cooperation with authorities by delivering the military call-ups and its refusal to allow Russian staff to work …

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Elon Musk Denies Report He Had “Direct Conversation” With Putin Before Tweeting About War Against Ukraine

The Hill reports: Tesla CEO Elon Musk is denying claims by Ian Bremmer, president of political risk research firm Eurasia Group, that he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin before posting a controversial tweet implying that Ukraine should not retake more land from Russia than it has lost this year. Musk had a “direct conversation” with Putin about the war, …

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Russian Hackers Take Down Websites Of US Airports

CNN reports: More than a dozen public-facing airport websites, including those for some of the nation’s largest airports, appeared inaccessible Monday morning, and Russian-speaking hackers claimed responsibility. No immediate signs of impact to actual air travel were reported, suggesting the issue may be an inconvenience for people seeking travel information. “Obviously, we’re tracking that, and there’s no concern about operations …

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Russian Ally Kyrgyzstan Cancels Joint Military Exercises Between Six Pro-Russia “Security Treaty Org” Countries

Politico reports: The Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan on Sunday unilaterally cancelled joint military drills between the six nations making up the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, less than a day before they were due to start on its territory. The Kyrgyz defense ministry did not specify the reason for cancelling the “Indestructible Brotherhood-2022” command and staff exercises, which were …

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Russian Cruise Missiles Strike Major Ukrainian Cities

Reuters reports: Russia fired cruise missiles at cities across Ukraine during rush hour on Monday morning, killing civilians and knocking out power and heat, in what President Vladimir Putin declared to be revenge for Ukrainian attacks including on a bridge to Crimea. The missiles tore into busy intersections, parks and tourist sites in the centre of downtown Kyiv with an …

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Czechs Make Mocking Claim On Russian Territory

Bloomberg News reports: The Czechs have backed up their government’s rejection of Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions with a time-honored national tradition: mockery and dark humor. Politicians and bloggers have embraced a website dedicated to the purported decision by 97.9% of residents in the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad to join the Czech Republic — and change its …

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Russia Offers To Pay Families Of Draftees With Fish

The Times of London reports: Russia’s beleaguered enlistment officers were given a new way to entice men to join up this week: plying their families with fresh fish. The local chief of President Putin’s ruling party, Mikhail Shuvalov, promised islanders in the far-eastern Sakhalin island 5kg of flounder, pollock and salmon in exchange for sending their men to a war …

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Putin Signs Law Formalizing Ukraine Annexation

Reuters reports: President Vladimir Putin formally incorporated four Ukrainian regions into Russia on Wednesday even as his forces retreated within them, while Moscow stepped up its energy war with Europe by further cutting gas supplies. Pushing ahead with Europe’s biggest annexation since World War Two, Putin signed off on a law annexing the new territory, which represents up to 18% …

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Pope Begs Putin To End “Spiral Of Violence And Death”

Reuters reports: Pope Francis for the first time directly begged Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the “spiral of violence and death” in Ukraine, saying on Sunday that the crisis was risking a nuclear escalation with uncontrollable global consequences. In an address dedicated to Ukraine and made to thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square, Francis also condemned Putin’s latest …

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Putin Holds Ceremony On Annexing Ukraine Regions

The Associated Press reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin has opened a Kremlin ceremony to start the process of absorbing parts of Ukraine into Russia, defying international law. The annexation ceremony in the Kremlin’s opulent white-and-gold St. George’s Hall will feature Putin and the heads of the four regions of Ukraine signing treaties for them to join Russia, in a sharp …

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Fleeing Russian Men Get Draft Notices At Borders

The New York Times reports: The Kremlin has dispatched still more forces to shore up its faltering war effort, but the units are headed not to Ukraine but to Russia’s borders with other countries, where on Tuesday they were confronting young Russian men trying to join an exodus out of the country. As the avenues for Russians to escape a …

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Russia Claims Victory In Ukraine Annexation Vote

The Associated Press reports: The Kremlin paved the way Tuesday to annex more of Ukraine and escalate the war by claiming that residents of a large swath overwhelmingly supported joining with Russia in stage-managed referendums the U.S. and its Western allies have dismissed as illegitimate. Pro-Moscow officials said all four occupied regions of Ukraine voted to join Russia. According to …

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Putin Grants Russian Citizenship To Edward Snowden

The Associated Press reports: President Vladimir Putin has granted Russian citizenship to former U.S. security contractor Edward Snowden, according to a decree signed by the Russian leader on Monday. Snowden is one of 75 foreign nationals listed by the decree as being granted Russian citizenship. The decree was published on an official government website. Snowden, a former contractor with the …

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Exodus Escalates As Russian Men Flee Conscription

The Associated Press reports: Military-aged men fled Russia in droves Friday, filling planes and causing traffic jams at border crossings to avoid being rounded up to fight in Ukraine following the Kremlin’s partial military mobilization. Queues stretching for 10 kilometers (6 miles) formed on a road leading to the southern border with Georgia, according to Yandex Maps, a Russian online …

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Moscow Aviation Official Dies After “Falling Down Stairs”

Yahoo News reports: The former head of a Kremlin-linked engineering institute died Wednesday in an apparent accident, according to CNN — adding to the long list of Russian CEOs and officials who have met a mysterious end this year. Russian news outlet Izvestia reported that Anatoly Gerashchenko “fell from a great height” down numerous flights of stairs inside the Moscow …

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Voting Begins In Ukraine Annexation Referendums

The Associated Press reports: Voting began Friday in Moscow-held regions of Ukraine on referendums to become part of Russia, Russian-backed officials there said. The Kremlin-orchestrated referendums, which have been widely denounced by Ukraine and the West as shams without any legal force, are seen as a step toward annexing the territories by Russia. The vote, which asks residents if they …

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