Russia
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As the war in Ukraine enters a new week, we’re back with an overview of everything you need to know about the conflict, from Donald Trump’s return to the White House to North Koreans captured by Ukraine. Here’s the present situation on the battlefield… Call between Putin and Trump expected soon One of the biggest…
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Moldova’s Moscow-backed separatist region of Transnistria extended its state of emergency today for another month as it grapples with an energy crisis after losing access to Russian gas supplies that had propped up its economy for decades. Russia’s Gazprom suspended gas exports to Transnistria on 1 January, citing unpaid Moldovan debts of $709m (£580m). Moldova…
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Vietnam and Russia signed an agreement on nuclear energy and several cooperation deals on Tuesday (Jan 14) during a visit to Hanoi by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Vietnam aims to restart its nuclear energy programme having suspended it for years, as it needs to boost power generation to feed its growing industrial sector, a…
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday criticised the clean up of a major oil spill in the Black Sea and created a new task force to take over the operation, almost four weeks after the spill began. Dozens of marine mammals have been found dead since the disaster, which began on December 15 when two…
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Vladimir Putin has signed into law stricter penalties for crimes related to security and the armed forces, according to Ukrainian and Russian media. Armed rebellion and terrorism now carry 20 years to life in prison, with no eligibility for parole, Suspilne and Ukrainska Pravda report. Foreign citizens found to have been “aiding the enemy” face…
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Joe Biden is set to sanction more Russian oil tankers in the dying days of his administration, according to sources cited by the Reuters news agency. “It’s a very substantial package. Two Russian oil companies, more than 100 tankers, oil traders, Russian insurance companies etc,” one of the officials said, without naming the entities. It…
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I predict the war in Ukraine will end in 2025. Or perhaps more accurately: the fighting will stop and the conflict will be frozen. Both sides have recently indicated a willingness to make concessions in order to achieve a peace agreement. Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Sky News he’d be willing to cede territory, while Vladimir Putin said…
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Here’s what you need to know about the Russia-Ukraine war at the start of this year… Ukraine launches new Kursk offensive The biggest story of the year so far came yesterday, when Moscow’s defence ministry said Ukraine had launched a new offensive in Russia’s Kursk region. In a statement, Moscow said efforts to destroy the…
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More than 51,000 households have been left without gas and 1,500 apartment buildings have no heat in Moldova’s pro-Russian separatist enclave, authorities report. Transnistria, a mainly Russian-speaking separatist region along the Ukrainian border, had received Russian gas via Ukraine for decades, using it to generate electricity. But that gas was cut off along with flows…
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A Ukrainian official has told the BBC they hope a New Year prisoner exchange with Russia will happen “any day,” although arrangements could fall through at the last minute. Petro Yatsenko, from Ukraine’s Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, said negotiations with Moscow over prisoner swaps have become more difficult in recent months…
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people, but stopped short of acknowledging that Moscow was responsible. Putin’s apology came as allegations mounted that the plane had been shot down by Russian air defenses…
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Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko discussed “regional security and bilateral relations” during a one-on-one meeting on Christmas Day, a spokeswoman for the Belarusian leader says. The pair spoke in private before today’s Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting near St Petersburg (see 16.00 post). “You and I understand that presidents can never sidestep security issues, said…
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The Kazakh government says there is currently no official explanation for the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that killed 38 people yesterday. Four sources told the Reuters news agency today that the plane was downed by a Russian air defence system The Kazakh vice premier said the government can neither confirm nor deny that…
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Dozens are feared dead after a passenger plane carrying 67 people crashed in Kazakhstan, the country’s emergencies ministry said. Authorities say 32 people survived the Christmas morning crash, including two children. The Azerbaijan Airlines flight was en route from Baku in Azerbaijan to Grozny in Russia, but was rerouted due to fog. It crashed near the city of…
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In case you missed it, Moscow has denied claims Bashar al Assad’s wife is seeking a divorce and a route out of Russia, where the couple are staying. The deposed Syrian dictator has been in the Russian capital with Asma al Assad since rebels forced him out of power in a lightning offensive earlier this…
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Russia has received proposals from various countries to host talks between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, according to a Kremlin aide. Yuri Ushakov declined to say which countries had made offers. Trump has said he wants to swiftly end the war in Ukraine but is yet to make public how he intends to do so.…
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