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The fighting is reminiscent of a battle for another eastern city, Bakhmut, which fell to Russian forces last May after months of brutal urban combat. Since Moscow launched its renewed offensive around Avdiivka in October, Ukraine's top general and Western military experts have made downbeat assessments of Ukraine's ability to break Russian lines. Located just north of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk in the industrial Donbas region, Avdiivka hosts deeply entrenched Ukrainian defences. Pushing Ukrainian forces out of Avdiivka would be seen as enlarging the amount of territory Russia controls and making Donetsk city safer. Seizing Avdiivka could boost Russian morale and deal a psychological blow to Ukrainian forces, which have made only incremental gains in a counteroffensive launched in June.

Persons: Nuzhnenko, Ukraine's, Russia's, Andrei Gurulyov, Semyon Pegov, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Mykola Bielieskov, Bielieskov, Dan Peleschuk, Andrew Osborn, Mike Collett, White Organizations: Ukraine's National Guard Omega, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, REUTERS Acquire, Mechanized Brigade, Avdiivka, National Institute for Strategic Studies, Kyiv, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Avdiivka, Ukraine, Donetsk region, Radio Free Europe, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Russian, Moscow, Kyiv, Soviet, Donetsk, Luhansk, Russia

REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Former U.S. marine Paul Whelan has been attacked by another inmate in a Russian prison while serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges, Russia's prison service said on Wednesday, after Whelan's brother publicised the incident. After repeated requests, the prisoner hit Paul in the face, breaking Paul's glasses in the process, and attempted to hit him a second time," Dave Whelan said. The Mordovia regional prison service confirmed to the Interfax news agency that the attack on Whelan had happened. There was CCTV footage of the incident and the prison service was looking into it further before submitting a report to the police, Interfax reported. Arrested in 2018 in Russia, Paul Whelan was convicted of espionage in 2020 and handed a 16-year sentence.

Persons: U.S . Marine Paul Whelan, Maxim Shemetov, Paul Whelan, Whelan, Dave Whelan, Paul, Vladimir Putin, Evan Gershkovich, Andrew Osborn, Guy Faulconbridge, Timothy Organizations: U.S . Marine, REUTERS, U.S, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Former U.S, Russia's Mordovia, American, Mordovia, Turkey, Washington

Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who was detained and accused of espionage, stands inside a defendants' cage during his verdict hearing in Moscow, Russia June 15, 2020. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan was attacked by another inmate in a Russian prison while serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges, Russia's prison service said on Wednesday, after Whelan's brother publicised the incident. The Mordovia regional prison service confirmed to the Interfax news agency that the attack on Whelan had happened. There was surveillance TV footage of the incident and the prison service was looking into it further before submitting a report to the police, Interfax reported. Arrested in 2018 in Russia, Paul Whelan was convicted of espionage in 2020 and handed a 16-year sentence.

Persons: U.S . Marine Paul Whelan, Maxim Shemetov, Former U.S . Marine Paul Whelan, Whelan, Dave Whelan, Paul, Vladimir Putin, Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Andrew Osborn, Susan Heavey, Guy Faulconbridge, Timothy Organizations: U.S . Marine, REUTERS, Former U.S . Marine, Embassy, State Department, U.S . State Department, U.S, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Former, U.S, Russia's Mordovia, American, Mordovia, Turkey, Washington

Ten days after that, Russia said a Hamas delegation was in Moscow for talks. Moscow has offered to host a regional meeting of foreign ministers and Putin has said that Russia is well placed to help. "My explanation is it's because the war is becoming the organising principle of Russian foreign policy and (because of) ties with Iran, which brings military materiel to the table. The central Russian war effort is more important than, for example, the relationship with Israel." "We're going to finish this war (with Hamas) ... After this, Russia will pay the price," Weitmann said in a stormy October interview with Russian state broadcaster RT.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Yosri, Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu, Sergei Markov, Washington, Hanna Notte, Moscow, Alexei Pushkov, Pushkov, Markov, Alex Gabuev, Anatoly Viktorov, Alexander Ben Zvi, Mikhail Bogdanov, Amir Weitmann, Weitmann, we're, Andrew Osborn, Mike Collett, White, Nick Macfie Organizations: Hamas, West Bank, REUTERS, West, EU, Kremlin, U.S, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Likud, RT, Ukraine, Thomson Locations: Russian, Gaza, Israel, Hebron, Russia, Moscow, United States, U.S, EU, Iran, Tehran, Ukraine, Berlin, Washington, Palestine, Arab, Jerusalem, Syria

Skochilenko, an artist and musician known as Sasha to her friends, has admitted replacing price tags in a supermarket in her native St Petersburg on March 31 2022 with small pieces of paper urging an end to the war and criticising the authorities. But Skochilenko, who has already spent over a year-and-a half in prison, denies the formal charge of knowingly spreading false information about the Russian army. Skochilenko is due to make a final statement on Thursday to a court in St Petersburg which is expected to deliver a verdict on the same day. Amnesty International has declared Skochilenko "a prisoner of conscience" - someone who is imprisoned solely because of who they are or what they believe. Reporting by Reuters Writing by Andrew Osborn Editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Alexandra, Sasha, Skochilenko, Said, Alexandra Skochilenko, Russia's, Moscow, Vladimir Putin, Yana Nepovinnova, Andrew Osborn, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Amnesty International, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Russian, St Petersburg

Authorities have detained nearly 20,000 people for anti-war activity and opened over 800 criminal cases against anti-war dissidents, according to the OVD-Info rights group. Skochilenko replaced price tags in a supermarket in her native St Petersburg on March 31 2022 with five small pieces of paper urging an end to the war. "Even you, your honour (the judge), even you, the state prosecutor, you also don’t want people to die prematurely, for young soldiers to lie in the fields, for civilians to die." Copies of the imitation price tags produced by Skochilenko are on display on a website maintained by her supporters. Another alleges Russia was sending conscripts to fight in Ukraine, which Russia has also denied.

Persons: Alexandra, Sasha, Skochilenko, Alexandra Skochilenko, Moscow's, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Gladyshev, Putin, Andrew Osborn, Mark Trevelyan, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Authorities, Moscow, Wednesday, Amnesty, NATO, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Russian, St Petersburg, Mariupol, Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council via video link at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia October 27, 2023. Washington expressed deep concern about Russia's decision and it was a step in the wrong direction. Moscow says its deratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) is merely designed to bring Russia into line with the United States, which signed but never ratified the treaty. But some Western arms control experts are concerned that Russia may be inching towards a nuclear test to intimidate and evoke fear amid the Ukraine war. Post-Soviet Russia has not carried out a nuclear test.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Antony Blinken, Putin, Robert Floyd, Floyd, Andrey Baklitskiy, Russia's, Andrew Osborn, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones, Grant McCool Organizations: Security, Kremlin, Sputnik, U.S, Moscow, Comprehensive, Washington, Treaty Organization, Russian Federation, Twitter, Soviet Union, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, United States, Ukraine, Washington, Russian, Soviet Russia, North Korea

Putin, who made the comments in a Kremlin meeting with Russian religious leaders of different faiths, said bloodshed in the region had to stop. "Our task today, our main task, is to stop the bloodshed and violence," said Putin, according to a Kremlin transcript of the meeting. And not only for the Middle East region. It could spill over far beyond the borders of the Middle East." The aim, he said, was to "launch a real wave of chaos and mutual hatred not only in the Middle East but also far beyond its borders.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Edgar Su, Putin, Israel, Andrew Osborn, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Initiative, of, People, REUTERS, Hamas, Thomson Locations: Beijing, Gaza, East, Moscow

Summary Russia moving fast to de-ratify nuclear test ban treatyAccuses US of nuclear testing site activitySays it won't test itself unless Washington doesSays it will keep sharing monitoring dataOct 10 (Reuters) - Russia accused the United States on Tuesday of carrying out preparatory work at a nuclear testing site in Nevada but said that Moscow would not restart its own nuclear testing programme unless Washington did. A nuclear test by the United States or Russia could encourage others such as China to follow suit, starting a new nuclear arms race between the big powers, which stopped nuclear testing in the years after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991. The United States last tested in 1992 and the Soviet Union in 1990. Ryabkov's comments also came days after President Vladimir Putin held out the possibility of resuming nuclear testing. Ryabkov was cited by Russian news agencies as saying that Russia felt it had no choice but to align itself with Washington's nuclear testing stance.

Persons: Sergei Ryabkov, Ryabkov, Vladimir Putin, Putin, We're, Robert Floyd, Andrew Osborn, Alexander Marrow, Gareth Jones Organizations: Washington, TASS, United, Russian Federation, West, Comprehensive, Treaty Organization, Thomson Locations: Russia, United States, Nevada, Moscow, China, Soviet, Soviet Union, Russian, Washington, Ukraine

[1/3] Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev arrives for a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Moscow, Russia May 25, 2023. "The stars aligned for certain reasons and President Aliyev saw the alignment," said Suleymanov, who previously worked in Aliyev's office. "President Aliyev is completing something that his father could not do because he ran out of time," said one of the sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to give comments to the media. Aliyev's father, then President Heydar Aliyev, was forced to agree to a ceasefire that cemented Armenia's victory. "President Aliyev has delivered the testament of his father," said Suleymanov, the ambassador to Britain.

Persons: Ilham Aliyev, Ilya Pitalev, Aliyev, Elin Suleymanov, Suleymanov, Hikmet Hajiyev, Hajiyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Pashinyan, Aliyev's, Heydar Aliyev, Ilham, Heydar, Vladimir Putin, Putin, David Babayan, Babayan, Andrew Osborn, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: Economic Council, Sputnik, REUTERS, Reuters, Reuters Graphics, Kremlin, Russia, Karabakh, Baku, Armenian, European Commission, Armenia, West, Moscow, Karabakh Armenian, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Kremlin, Azerbaijan, Karabakh, Armenia, West, Britain, Baku, Caucasus, Iran, Turkey, Ukraine, Russian, Washington, Soviet, Stepanakert

Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh region ride in a truck upon their arrival at the border village of Kornidzor, Armenia, September 27, 2023. Earlier, Ethnic Armenian authorities in Karabakh said they were dissolving the breakaway statelet they had defended against Azerbaijan for three decades. Many of those leaving have said they fear persecution and ethnic cleansing at the hands of Azerbaijan. Suleymanov, who issued a call on social media appealing to ethnic Armenians to stay and be part of a multi-ethnic Azerbaijan, said he understood why many civilians were frightened, but that those who chose to stay would benefit from planned rebuilding and infrastructure projects. HISTORIC MONUMENTSKarabakh Armenians will enjoy the same rights and protections as other citizens of Azerbaijan, he said.

Persons: Irakli, there's, Elin Suleymanov, Suleymanov, we're, Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Azerbaijan, Reuters, Baku, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Britain, Baku, Nakhchivan, Iran, Turkey

Summary Erdogan and Aliyev hold talks in Azerbaijani exclaveBoth leaders back a land corridor via ArmeniaYerevan, in turmoil over Karabakh, opposes the ideaAliyev has threatened to create corridor by forceSept 25 (Reuters) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hosted talks on Monday with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan at which he hinted at the prospect of creating a land corridor between their two countries via Armenia, which opposes the idea. Aliyev in 2021 threatened to create such a corridor - that would create a contiguous land bridge between close allies Turkey and Azerbaijan and deprive Armenia of a land border with Iran - "whether Armenia likes it or not." "The land link between the main part of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan (the exclave) was thus cut off," complained Aliyev. "The new target of Azerbaijan and Turkey is Syunik (a province in southern Armenia through which such a corridor would pass). "We expect a comprehensive peace agreement between the two countries (Azerbaijan and Armenia) as soon as possible and for promises to be quickly fulfilled, especially on the opening of the Zangezur (land) corridor."

Persons: Erdogan, Aliyev, Ilham Aliyev, Tayyip Erdogan, Andrew Osborn, Nailia, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: Reuters, General, Azerbaijan, Thomson Locations: Armenia Yerevan, Karabakh, Armenia, Nakhchivan, Iran, Turkey, Ankara, Baku, Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Azerbaijani Soviet, Armenian Soviet, Artsakh, Syunik, Russia, Yerevan, Ukraine, South Caucasus, Russian

[1/2] Vehicles of Russian peacekeepers leaving Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region for Armenia pass an Armenian checkpoint on a road near the village of Kornidzor, Armenia September 22, 2023. Images of fleeing Armenians at Russia's own peacekeeping base at an airport in Nagorno-Karabakh have been harder for them to watch. But its handling of the Karabakh crisis has forced it into a blame game with Armenia and obliged it to defend its foreign policy in the region. It now accuses him of triggering the crisis by saying - after Russian peacekeepers were deployed to Karabakh in 2020 following Armenia's defeat in a 44-day war - that he recognised Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. Baku has long argued that Karabakh falls within its own borders, but Karabakh Armenians wanted Pashinyan to recognise their independence and unify them with Armenia.

Persons: Irakli, Alexander Baunov, Russia's, Sergei Markov, Pashinyan, Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Margarita Simonyan, Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Armenian, Soviet, Carnegie, Karabakh, Protesters, Kremlin, Russian, Security Council, NATO, Thomson Locations: Karabakh, Armenia, Kornidzor, Russia, Azerbaijan Moscow, Kabul, U.S, Afghanistan, Nagorno, Turkish, Moscow, Azerbaijan, Soviet Union, Turkey, Iran, Ukraine, South Caucasus, Stepanakert, Russian, America, Baku ., Yerevan, Baku, Pashinyan

In an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica published on Sunday, Nikol Pashinyan accused Russia of failing to ensure Armenia's security in the face of what he said was aggression from neighbouring Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region. "Armenia's security architecture was 99.999% linked to Russia, including when it came to the procurement of arms and ammunition," Pashinyan told La Repubblica. "This example should demonstrate to us that dependence on just one partner in security matters is a strategic mistake." His words underscore resentment inside Armenia about what many there see as a failure by Russia to defend their interests. Pashinyan accused Russian peacekeepers deployed to uphold the ceasefire deal of failing to do their job.

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, Pashinyan, Andrew Osborn, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Russian, Italian, Repubblica, European Union, Russian Federation, Thomson Locations: Russia, Moscow, Azerbaijan, Karabakh, Armenia, Caucasus, Yerevan, United States, Ukraine, Russian, Baku, Nagorno

Putin cited "preliminary information" as indicating that Prigozhin and his top associates in the Wagner mercenary group had all been killed and, while praising Prigozhin, said he had also made some "serious mistakes." "There is now a great deal of speculation surrounding this plane crash and the tragic deaths of the plane's passengers, including Yevgeny Prigozhin. "All of this is an absolute lie, and here, when covering this issue, it is necessary to base yourself on facts. Peskov, who said Putin had not met Prigozhin recently, also said it was unclear how long the tests and investigative work would take. The Pentagon has said its own initial asessment is that Prigozhin was killed.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Klimentyev, Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Prigozhin's, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Sergei Ryabkov, Joe Biden, Biden, Russia's, Andrew Osborn, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: Kremlin, Sputnik, REUTERS, U.S, Pentagon, Wagner Group, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Kremlin, MOSCOW, West, Africa, Belarus

A cameraman films a wreckage of the private jet linked to Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin near the crash site in the Tver region, Russia. Neither referenced the plane crash in which 10 people were said to have been killed. A Reuters reporter at the crash site on Thursday morning saw men carrying away black body bags on stretchers. Unnamed sources told Russian media they believed the plane had been shot down by one or more surface-to-air missiles. SECOND PLANE LINKED TO PRIGOZHINFlightradar24 online tracker showed that the plane had dropped off the radar at 6:11 p.m. (1511 GMT).

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Marina Lystseva, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Lavrov, Anatoly, Putin, WAGNER, Dmitry Utkin, Abbas Gallyamov, Gallyamov, Bill Browder, Browder, Joe Biden, I’m, Biden, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Andrew Osborn, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Marina, Defence Ministry, Embraer, SA, Reuters, Telegram, Kremlin, Twitter, General Staff, Thomson Locations: Tver, Russia, MOSCOW, Ukraine, South Africa, Moscow, St, Petersburg, Kuzhenkino, Russian, St . Petersburg, Grey, Africa, Belarus

Putin's comments, which suggested he harboured decidedly mixed feelings about Wagner's mercenary boss, were the most definitive yet on Prigozhin's fate. It remains to be seen too how Wagner fighters, some of whom have already spoken of betrayal and foul play, react. Pledging a thorough investigation which he said would take time, Putin said that "preliminary data" indicated that Prigozhin and other Wagner employees had been on the downed plane. A cameraman films a wreckage of the private jet linked to Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin near the crash site in the Tver region, Russia, August 24. The mutiny was ended by an apparent Kremlin deal which saw Prigozhin agree to relocate to neighbouring Belarus.

Persons: Putin, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Wagner, It's, Ramzan Kadyrov, Marina Lystseva, Kadyrov, Anatoly, Prigozhin's, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Andrew Osborn, Nick Macfie, Andrew Heavens, Stephen Coates Organizations: Reuters, U.S . Department of Defense, REUTERS, Marina, Embraer, SA, Telegram, Wagner Group, Wagner, General Staff, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Moscow, U.S, Washington, Ukraine, Africa, Kremlin, Donetsk, Tver, Russia, St . Petersburg, Kuzhenkino, Grey, Belarus

There was no immediate official confirmation that Prigozhin, Russia's most powerful mercenary and a self-declared enemy of the Russian Defence Ministry, was physically on board. Reuters could not confirm that he was on the aircraft though a Telegram channel linked to Wagner pronounced him dead. Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin leaves the headquarters of the Southern Military District amid the group's pullout from the city of Rostov-on-Don, Russia, June 24, 2023. Unconfirmed Russian media reports said that Dmitry Utkin, Prigozhin's right-hand man, had also been on board and that Prigozhin and his associates had attended a meeting with officials from the Russian Defence Ministry. An unverified video clip posted to social media showed a plane resembling a private jet falling out of the sky towards the earth.

Persons: Wagner, Prigozhin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Joe Biden, Alexander Ermochenko, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Dmitry Utkin, Andrew Osborn, Max Rodionov, Mark Trevelyan, Grant McCool Organizations: Russian Defence Ministry, Reuters, Wagner Group, Kremlin, Defence Ministry, Embraer, TASS, Southern Military, REUTERS, Russia's, General Staff, Thomson Locations: Moscow, MOSCOW, Russia, Africa, Tver, St . Petersburg, Kuzhenkino, Tver Region, Rostov, Don, St Petersburg, Ukraine, Belarus

General Sergei Surovikin, commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, visits the Joint Headquarters of the Russian armed forces involved in military operations in Ukraine, in an unknown location in Russia, in this picture released December 17, 2022. His reported removal suggests the authorities found fault with his behaviour, but the details of his alleged wrongdoing remain unknown. Surovikin earned the nickname "General Armageddon" during Russia's military intervention in Syria for the brutal tactics he employed there. He was placed in charge of Russian military operations in Ukraine last October, but in January that role was handed to General Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff, and Surovikin was made a deputy to Gerasimov. Afzalov was previously deputy to Surovikin and has been chief of staff of the Aerospace Forces for at least four years, according to British military intelligence.

Persons: Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Russian Air and Space Forces Sergei Surovikin, Viktor Afzalov, General Valery Gerasimov, Afzalov, Andrew Osborn, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Sputnik, REUTERS, RBC, Telegram, Ministry of Defence, Russian Air and Space Forces, Main Staff of, Air Force, Reuters, Aerospace Forces, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Russia, Kremlin, MOSCOW, Moscow, Syria, Gerasimov, Surovikin

Sputnik/Yekaterina Shtukina/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoSummary Medvedev pledges revenge for Black Sea attacksSuggests Russia will hit Ukrainian ports againThreatens ecological disasterMOSCOW, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday suggested Moscow would launch more strikes against Ukrainian ports in response to Kyiv's attacks on Russian ships in the Black Sea, and threatened to hand Ukraine "an ecological catastrophe". Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, a body chaired by President Vladimir Putin, spoke after Ukrainian sea drone attacks on a Russian warship in the port of Novorossiysk, and against a tanker near Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Apparently, the strikes on Odesa, Izmail, and other places were not enough for them," Medvedev said in a post on his official social media accounts. Russia has in recent weeks targeted the Black Sea port of Odesa, where the Ukrainian Navy is headquartered, and Izmail, Ukraine's main inland port across the Danube River from Romania, damaging port infrastructure and grain facilities. Medvedev suggested retaliatory Russian strikes against Ukraine for its sea drone attacks could end any chances of reviving the grain deal.

Persons: Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Andrew Osborn, David Holmes Organizations: Russia's, Scientific, Machine, Sputnik, Saturday, Russia's Security, Security, Russian Navy, Ukrainian Navy, United Nations, Ukraine, Thomson Locations: Reutov, Moscow, Russia, MOSCOW, Russian, Ukraine, Novorossiysk, Crimea, Odesa, Romania, Poland

Navalny, 47, President Vladimir Putin's fiercest domestic critic, is already serving sentences totalling 11-1/2 years on fraud and other charges that he says are also bogus. What is called 'Stalinist'," said Navalny, who is able to post on social media via his supporters and lawyers. Who expect it and who are willing to make sacrifices for its birth," Navalny said, according to a text supplied by his aides. Putin, in power since 1999, is expected to run for another six-year presidential term in 2024. His supporters cast Navalny as a Russian version of South Africa's Nelson Mandela who will one day be freed from prison to govern the country.

Persons: Alexei Navalny, Evgenia, Vladimir Putin's, Navalny, Putin, Africa's Nelson Mandela, Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones, Conor Humphries Organizations: IK, REUTERS, Prosecutors, MOSCOW, Russia, West, CIA, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Pokrov, Moscow, Russia, Melekhovo, Ukraine, Germany, Soviet

[1/3] Emergencies services members gather outside the damaged office building in the Moscow City following a reported Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow, Russia, July 30, 2023. REUTERS/StringerSummary Russia accuses Ukraine of new drone attack on MoscowSays all three drones shot down or forced to crashNobody hurt, minor damage to two buildings - mayorMOSCOW, July 30 (Reuters) - Russia's Defence Ministry said it had brought down three Ukrainian drones early on Sunday that had been trying to attack Moscow. The incident followed what Russia said was a similar Ukrainian attempt to attack Moscow with two drones last Monday, one of which was brought down close to the headquarters of the defence ministry. The Defence Ministry said two drones had crashed in the Moskva-Citi district after being brought down using radio-electronic equipment. GLASS AND DEBRISA young woman who gave her name only as Liya described the Moscow incident.

Persons: Stringer, Nobody, Sergei Sobyanin, Mykhailo Fedorov, Monday's, Liya, Andrew Osborn, Rishabh, William Mallard, Lincoln, Frances Kerry Organizations: REUTERS, Russia's Defence Ministry, Citi, Ukraine, TASS, The Defence Ministry, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Ukrainian, Russia, Ukraine, MOSCOW, Moskva, Kyiv, Moscow's Vnukovo, Crimea, Bengaluru

MOSCOW, July 30 (Reuters) - Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who has sometimes raised the spectre of a nuclear conflict over Ukraine, said on Sunday that Moscow would have to use a nuclear weapon if Kyiv's ongoing counter-offensive was a success. "Imagine if the.. offensive, which is backed by NATO, was a success and they tore off a part of our land then we would be forced to use a nuclear weapon according to the rules of a decree from the president of Russia. They are making sure that a global nuclear fire is not ignited," he said. Medvedev, who has cast himself as one of Moscow's most hawkish voices, appeared to be referring to part of Russia's nuclear doctrine which sets out that nuclear weapons can be used in response to aggression against Russia carried out using conventional weapons which threatens the existence of the Russian state. Kremlin critics have in the past accused Medvedev of making extreme statements in an effort to dissuade Western countries from continuing to supply Ukraine with arms.

Persons: Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Andrew Osborn, Susan Fenton Organizations: Russia's Security, NATO, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russian, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia

"What happened in Niger is nothing other than the struggle of the people of Niger with their colonisers. It was unclear who was in charge of Niger after soldiers on Wednesday evening declared a military coup and held President Mohamed Bazoum in the presidential palace. Prigozhin, in his voice message, boasted of Wagner's alleged efficiency in helping African nations stabilise and develop in what sounded like a sales pitch. "...Thousands of Wagner fighters are capable of bringing order and of destroying terrorists and of not allowing them to harm the local populations of these states," he said. Reporting by Andrew Osborn Additional reporting by Milan Pavicic Editing by Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, colonisers, Mohamed Bazoum, Putin, Sergei Lavrov, it's, Andrew Osborn, Milan, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Reuters, Wednesday, Central African Republic, Kremlin, Analysts, PMC, U.S, CSIS, Thomson Locations: Niger, St Petersburg, MOSCOW, Russian, Western, Africa, France, Central African, Belarus, Russia, Moscow

"We will be ready to provide Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic and Eritrea with 25-50,000 tonnes of free grain each in the next 3-4 months," Putin told the summit, whose participants applauded. Last year, Russia exported a total of 60 million tonnes of grain, of which 48 million tonnes was wheat, Putin said. He said Western sanctions, imposed in response to Russia's war in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation", had even prevented Russia from supplying free fertiliser to poor nations. On the one hand, Western countries are obstructing supplies of our grain and fertilisers, while on the other they hypocritically blame us for the current crisis situation on the world food market," said Putin. Visiting dignitaries were also invited to visit Russia's imperial palaces or watch a gala match between Russian and African "football legends".

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Russia's, U.N, Antonio Guterres, PUTIN, Azali Assoumani, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Thursday, WEST Putin, European Union, Union, Kremlin, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Africa, Moscow, MOSCOW, St Petersburg, Russian, Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Ukraine, Sudan, United States, France, African

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