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REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, no longer welcome in Western concert halls since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, was named on Friday as director of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre. After performing for decades on the world's biggest classical stages, Gergiev has been shunned in the West since the start of the war in February 2022. The following month he was fired as chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra after the city's mayor said Gergiev had declined to "clearly and unambiguously" distance himself from the invasion. Gergiev, also a former principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, has long been controversial outside Russia because of his support for President Vladimir Putin. He spoke out in favour of Russia's invasion of Crimea in 2014.

Persons: Valery Gergiev, Lisi Niesner, Gergiev, Vladimir Urin, Urin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, we're, we've, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, REUTERS, Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre, Mariinsky Theatre, Munich, Orchestra, Bolshoi, London Symphony Orchestra, Islamic, Thomson Locations: Russian, Vienna, Austria, Ukraine, St Petersburg, West, Russia, Crimea, Palmyra, Syria, Islamic State, China

[1/2] Evgenia Kara-Murza, wife of jailed Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, addresses the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy in Geneva, Switzerland May 17, 2023. Kara-Murza, 42, has a condition called polyneuropathy that takes away the sensation in his limbs unless controlled by medicines and exercise. His wife Evgenia Kara-Murza said exercise was now impossible for him in a cell measuring just 3 x 1.5 metres (9.8 x 4.9 feet), furnished with only a bed and a backless stool, where he has been held since September in a maximum-security penal colony in the city of Omsk. The fact that they've isolated him to the maximum of course makes me very concerned for his life," Evgenia Kara-Murza said. "The politically motivated conviction of Vladimir Kara-Murza is deplorable.

Persons: Evgenia Kara, Murza, Vladimir Kara, Denis Balibouse, Kara, Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin, Vladimir, Mr Kara, wryly, Mark Trevelyan, Mark Heinrich, Gareth Jones Organizations: Geneva, Human Rights, Democracy, REUTERS, Britain's, Reuters, Russian, Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth, Development, Liberal International, Thomson Locations: Geneva, Switzerland, Moscow, Omsk, Ukraine, Russia, Britain

The highly unusual incident suggested disarray in Russia's military establishment and state media over how to report the battlefield situation in southern Ukraine. It said that, after the regrouping, the Dnepr force would release some troops to be deployed in offensives on other fronts. RIA said the Russian military command had agreed with the Dnepr leadership's conclusions and ordered the relocation of troops to start. Another state agency, TASS, published just one alert on troops regrouping to more favourable positions, and then withdrew it, saying it had been released in error. Russian state media have privileged access to official briefings and typically report major military announcements shortly before they appear in the Telegram channel of the defence ministry.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Mark Trevelyan, Alexander Marrow, Kevin Liffey Organizations: RIA, LONDON, RBC, Russian Ministry of Defence, Dnipro, Telegram, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Dnipro, Ukraine, Dnepr, Russia, Kherson, Russia's, Russian, The U.S, Ukrainian

Two other Baltic telecoms cables were damaged on the same night of Oct. 7 along the route that the ship was travelling, according to shipping data reviewed by Reuters. NewNew Shipping, the owner and operator of the NewNew Polar Bear, has previously declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. TRAIL OF DAMAGEIn total, three Baltic telecoms cables and one pipeline were damaged in the space of less than nine hours. Data from shipping intelligence firm MarineTraffic, reviewed by Reuters, showed that the NewNew Polar Bear passed over a Swedish-Estonian telecoms cable at 1513 GMT, then over the Russian cable at around 2020 GMT, the Balticconnector at 2220 GMT and a Finland-Estonia telecoms line at 2349 GMT. Finnish police announced on Oct. 24 that they had found a ship's anchor near the broken gas pipeline.

Persons: Anton Vaganov, Rostelecom, Vladimir Putin, Gasgrid, Mark Trevelyan, Nerijus Adomaitis, Anne Kauranen, Terje Solsvik, Bill Berkrot, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Rostelecom, St ., Economic, REUTERS, Reuters, NewNew Shipping, Kremlin, Communications Ministry, St, Thomson Locations: St, St . Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Finland, Estonia, Baltic, Beijing, Ukraine, China, Swedish, Estonian, St Petersburg, Kaliningrad, London

Oleg Tsaryov, a Ukrainian politician supporting the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, attends a news conference dedicated to a new law on the battle flag of Novorossiya (New Russia) in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, August 22, 2014. A source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) intelligence agency said the shooting was a special operation conducted by the agency. The source gave few details of the operation but described Tsaryov as an "absolutely legal target". The attack took place in Yalta in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Tsaryov, who runs hotels in Crimea, said Reuters' account had "very little to do with reality".

Persons: Oleg Tsaryov, Maxim, Ally, Russia's, Oleg, Vladimir Rogov, Tsaryov, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Andriy Yusov, Darya Dugina, Vladlen Tatarsky, Stanislav Rzhitsky, Rzhitsky, Tom Balmforth, Yuliia, Giles Elgood, Ron Popeski, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, Security Service of Ukraine, Kyiv, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Donetsk People's Republic, New Russia, Donetsk, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Kyiv, Yalta, Crimea, Russian, United States

The bill to deratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) was approved by 156 votes to zero in the upper house after the lower house also passed it unanimously. Putin had requested the change to "mirror" the position of the United States, which signed the CTBT in 1996 but never ratified it. Though it has never formally come into force, the CTBT has made nuclear testing a taboo - no country except North Korea has conducted a test involving a nuclear explosion this century. CNN published satellite images last month showing that Russia, the United States and China have all expanded their nuclear test sites in recent years. Russia suspended the treaty this year and it is due to expire in 2026, leaving the two countries without any remaining bilateral nuclear weapons agreement.

Persons: Sergei Ryabkov, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Ryabkov, Washington, Filipp Lebedev, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Russia's, Duma, Russian, Handout, REUTERS, Washington, CNN, U.S . Energy Department, U.S, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, United States, Ukraine, North Korea, China, Nevada, U.S, Kyiv, Washington

The lower house, the State Duma, on Wednesday passed the second and third readings of a bill that revokes Russia's ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. What is happening in the world today is the exclusive fault of the United States," parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Russia's testing ground in the remote northern archipelago of Novaya Zemlya in August. CNN published satellite images last month showing Russia, the United States and China have all built new facilities at their nuclear test sites in recent years. The Soviet Union last tested in 1990 and the United States in 1992.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Vyacheslav Volodin, Volodin, Sergei Shoigu, Melissa Parke, Mark Trevelyan, Nick Macfie Organizations: States Arms, West, State Duma, Comprehensive, Washington, Defence, CNN, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, International, Nuclear, Soviet Union, Thomson Locations: Russia, Moscow, United States, Russian, Ukraine, China, India, Pakistan, Korea, Washington, Novaya Zemlya, Stockholm, USA, Soviet Russia

[1/2] An analyst monitors from a computer screen in the control room of the international nuclear test monitoring agency CTBTO in Vienna February 12, 2013. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 17 (Reuters) - Russia's parliament starts voting on Tuesday on withdrawing Moscow's ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. The CTBT is a 1996 treaty that bans "any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion" anywhere in the world. It says that the test ban, "by constraining the development and qualitative improvement of nuclear weapons and ending the development of advanced new types of nuclear weapons, constitutes an effective measure of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in all its aspects". But the move would provide it with legal cover to test if it wanted to, and some security analysts see a Russian test now as more likely.

Persons: Heinz, Peter Bader, Matthew Harries, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Mark Trevelyan, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Comprehensive, UN, Arms Control Association, State Duma, Publicly, Thomson Locations: Vienna, Britain, France, Russia, United States, Israel, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, US, London, RUSSIA, Ukraine, Russian, Belarus

Navalny aides said lawyers Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin and Alexei Liptser were being investigated on suspicion of belonging to an "extremist group". Later on Friday, a Moscow court remanded all three in investigative custody until Dec. 13, according to a statement posted by the court on Telegram. Navalny told the judge on learning of the investigations against his lawyers. REUTERS/Yulia Morozova/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights"As in Soviet times, not only political activists and political prisoners but also their lawyers are being persecuted." Navalny aide Leonid Volkov posted on the X social media platform that the three lawyers faced up to six years in prison if found guilty of belonging to an extremist group, "just for being Navalny's lawyers".

Persons: Navalny Putin, Alexei Navalny, Navalny, Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin, Alexei Liptser, Vladimir Putin, Kobzev, Yulia Morozova, Putin, Leonid Volkov, " Volkov, they’re, Volkov, Alexander Marrow, Maxim, Peter Graff, Diane Craft Organizations: IK, REUTERS, Kremlin, U.S . Central Intelligence Agency, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Vladimir Region, Basmanny, Germany, Siberia

[1/3] Dmitry Muratov, editor of the now-banned independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, stands in a courtroom before a hearing of the case of Russian veteran human rights campaigner Oleg Orlov, accused of discrediting Russia's armed forces, in Moscow, Russia October 11, 2023. Orlov, 70, was defending himself in a case based on a November 2022 article in which he wrote that Russia under President Vladimir Putin had descended into fascism. "Where is it defined that our commander-in-chief (Putin) always rightly understands not only the interests of Russia, but the interests of its citizens?" Orlov asked in his closing speech at a trial which began in June. "And if the ideas of a part of Russia's citizens about their own interests don't match those of the commander-in-chief, don't they have the right to talk about this?"

Persons: Dmitry Muratov, Oleg Orlov, Russia's, Evgenia, Orlov, acquit, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Vladimir Kara, Murza, Alexei Navalny, Gareth Jones Organizations: Novaya Gazeta, REUTERS, Memorial, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Chief of the Russian Armed Forces' General Staff Valery Gerasimov, via a video conference call at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, Russia October 7, 2020. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD... Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreLONDON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia has successfully tested its new Burevestnik missile. - Its nuclear propulsion gives the missile much longer range than traditional turbojet or turbofan engines that are limited by how much fuel they can carry. - Development of the missile's nuclear propulsion unit has been a huge technical challenge, involving a number of test failures. - The Nuclear Threat Initiative said the Burevestnik's nuclear propulsion could enable it to stay aloft for days, if needed.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Alexei Druzhinin, Putin, Mark Trevelyan, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: Russian Armed Forces, Staff, Sputnik, International Institute for Strategic Studies, United States Air Force's National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Nuclear Threat Initiative, New York Times, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Kremlin, United States, Washington

Navalny, 47, now faces a transfer to a "special regime" prison colony, the harshest grade in Russia's penal system, with the prospect of staying there until he is in his mid-70s. Daniel Kholodny, a TV technician who worked for Navalny, was sentenced to eight years in jail in August as part of the same trial. "For all of us - their colleagues and friends - this is constant pain," Navalny aide Leonid Volkov posted on X, formerly Twitter. The Kremlin has tried to portray Navalny as politically irrelevant, and Putin makes a point of never speaking his name. Moscow has cast him as an extremist and, without providing evidence, as a puppet of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

Persons: Alexei Navalny, Viktor Rogov, Vladimir Putin, Daniel Kholodny, Alexei, Kholodny, Navalny, Leonid Volkov, Putin, Russia's, Nelson Mandela, Vladimir Kara, Murza, PUTIN, scoundrels, Mark Trevelyan, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: IK, Navalny, U.S . Central Intelligence Agency, Kremlin, U.S . State Department, European Union, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Vladimir, Navalny, Moscow, Ukraine, Siberia, Melekhovo, Russia, Germany

Sept 25 (Reuters) - The leader of Russia's Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, said on Monday he was proud of his teenage son Adam for beating up a prisoner accused of burning the Koran. The Chechen leader, who styles himself as a ruthless ally of President Vladimir Putin, said he was releasing the video to settle any doubts about whether the incident, first reported last month, had really taken place. The prisoner, Nikita Zhuravel, had complained about the attack to Russia's human rights ombudswoman, who said last month she had referred the issue to her counterpart in Chechnya. The eldest, Akhmat, was pictured with Putin in the Kremlin in March, fuelling rumours he was being groomed as Kadyrov's successor. Kadyrov's health has been the subject of intense speculation, with rumours swirling this month that he was dead or in a coma.

Persons: Ramzan Kadyrov, Adam, Kadyrov, Vladimir Putin, Nikita Zhuravel, Akhmat, Putin, Mark Trevelyan, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Russia, Thomson Locations: Chechnya, Soviet Union, Ukraine, Kremlin, Moscow

Nagorno-Karabakh, known as Artsakh by Armenians, is a mountainous region within Azerbaijan that is internationally recognised as part of that country. But its 120,000 inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Armenians who broke away during a first war in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In a 44-day war in 2020, Azerbaijan recaptured seven surrounding districts and took back about a third of Nagorno-Karabakh itself. Azerbaijan has been tightening pressure on Nagorno-Karabakh for months, effectively blocking its lifeline road connection with Armenia - the "Lachin corridor". Such a deal would put Azerbaijan close to achieving all its objectives, while any further fighting could increase the risk of a bigger war between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Persons: Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan's, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Russian Defence Ministry, Reuters, Russian, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Thomson Locations: Askeran, Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Armenia, KARABAKH, Artsakh, Soviet Union, AZERBAIJAN, Moscow, Ukraine, Aghdam, Turkey, Russia, Iran, South Caucasus, Baku, United States, EU

A woman visits a makeshift memorial near former PMC Wagner Centre, associated with the founder of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in Saint Petersburg, Russia August 24, 2023. Putin, who has spoken in the past of his hatred of traitors, described it as a "stab in the back". Prigozhin "assumed that Putin would not want to risk all this", Gallyamov said. 'GAME OF THRONES'But the death of Prigozhin, if confirmed, is not without cost to Putin. If Putin was responsible for Prigozhin's death, he said, it demonstrated he was willing to engage in brutal repression of any kind of dissent.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Anastasia Barashkova, Putin, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Utkin, Prigozhin, Tatiana Stanovaya, Wagner, Abbas Gallyamov, Gallyamov, Andrew Borene, Samuel Ramani, RUSI, Ramani, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Mark Trevelyan, Gareth Jones, Andrew Heavens Organizations: PMC Wagner, Wagner Group, REUTERS, Kremlin, Putin, Central African, Analysts, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, Kremlin, Ukraine, Africa, Moscow, Belarus, Mali, Central African Republic, France, United States, U.S

A woman visits a makeshift memorial near the former PMC Wagner Centre, associated with the founder of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in Saint Petersburg, Russia August 24. "From the point of view of Putin, as well as many among the security forces and the military, Prigozhin's death should be a lesson to any potential followers." Putin, who has spoken in the past of his hatred of traitors, described it at the time as a "stab in the back". 'GAME OF THRONES'But the death of Prigozhin, if confirmed, is not without cost to Putin. If Putin was responsible for Prigozhin's death, he said, it demonstrated he was willing to engage in brutal repression of any kind of dissent.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Anastasia Barashkova, Putin, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin, Tatiana Stanovaya, Abbas Gallyamov, Gallyamov, Andrew Borene, Samuel Ramani, RUSI, Ramani, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Robert Horvath, Mark Trevelyan, Gareth Jones, Andrew Heavens Organizations: PMC Wagner, Wagner Group, REUTERS, Reuters, Analysts, Kremlin, Central African, Putin, La Trobe University, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, Kremlin, Ukraine, Africa, Moscow, United States, Belarus, Mali, Central African Republic, France, U.S, Melbourne

In one extraordinary video, he shouted and cursed at Shoigu and Gerasimov, demanding ammunition so his men could keep fighting as he stood in a field littered with the corpses of Wagner fighters. Prigozhin performed a U-turn and Wagner fought on, eventually capturing the city in late May. But a turning point came weeks later when he rejected an order for Wagner fighters to sign contracts placing them under the control of the defence ministry. Two weeks later, a video appeared to show Prigozhin welcoming his fighters to Belarus. Taking advantage of his political connections, Prigozhin was awarded major state contracts, becoming known as "Putin's chef" after catering for Kremlin events.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Marina Lystseva, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Prigozhin, Putin, Christo Grozev, Bellingcat, Donald Trump, Stanislav Belkovsky, Mark Trevelyan, Cynthia Osterman, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Marina, Defence, Staff, Kremlin, Financial Times, St, Thomson Locations: wreckages, Tver, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Rostov, Belarus, St Petersburg, Africa, St Petersburg's, U.S, Niger, Prigozhin

REUTERS/Yulia Morozova/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 23 (Reuters) - Here are some key facts about Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia's Wagner Group mercenary force, who Russia's civil aviation authority said was on the passenger list of a plane that crashed north of Moscow on Thursday. Prigozhin used social media to trumpet Wagner's successes and wage a feud with the military establishment, accusing it of incompetence and even treason. But in late July, Prigozhin was photographed in St Petersburg while a Russia-Africa summit was taking place in the city. - Born in St Petersburg on June 1, 1961, Prigozhin spent nine years in Soviet prisons for crimes including robbery and fraud. - In 2014, Prigozhin founded Wagner, a private military company whose fighters have deployed in support of Moscow's allies in countries including Syria, Libya and the Central African Republic.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Maxim Fomin, Vladlen Tatarsky, Yulia Morozova, Russia's Wagner, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Mark Trevelyan, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: REUTERS, Russia's Wagner Group, Kremlin, St, Central African, United, Internet Research Agency, Thomson Locations: St Petersburg, Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Rostov, Belarus, Africa, St Petersburg's, Syria, Libya, Central African Republic, United States, Washington

And it can only end on the basis of justice and reason," African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat told Putin and African leaders in St Petersburg. Putin gave it a polite but cool reception when African leaders presented it to him last month. Putin responded by arguing, as he has in the past, that rising world food prices were a consequence of Western policy mistakes long predating the Ukraine war. On Thursday, he promised to deliver free Russian grain in the next several months to six of the countries attending the summit. Mali's Assimi Goita told Putin: "You have shown pragmatism and realism in efforts to reach agreement with Ukraine."

Persons: Putin, Vladimir Putin, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Denis Sassou Nguesso, Macky Sall, Cyril Ramaphosa, Pavel Bednyakov, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Abdel Fattah al, Sisi, Russia's Wagner, Faustin Archange Touadera, Assimi Goita, Kevin Liffey, Joe Bavier, Alexander Winning, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Kremlin, Union, Reuters, South, Sputnik, Central African, CAR, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, St Petersburg, Russian, Belarus, Congo, Europe, Kyiv, Africa, Saint Petersburg, Ukrainian, Western, Mali, Central, Central African Republic

"I had no hesitation, I immediately did whatever was possible to get out," Sossinsky told Reuters in a phone interview. Fluent in three languages and still delivering classes to students in Russia via Zoom, he now expects to live out his life in exile. She fled Russia in 1923 with her mother and sisters. Alexey got his first taste of Russia in the mid-1950s, after the death of Stalin, when the family visited there on holiday. "My daughter is absolutely panicked by the thought that I will return to Russia and will be put in prison and God knows what.

Persons: Alexey Sossinsky, Vladimir Putin, Sossinsky, Putin, Ariadna Chernova, Viktor Chernov, fleetingly, Bronislav Sossinsky, Alexey, Bronislav, Stalin, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Mark Trevelyan, Peter Graff Organizations: Reuters, Constituent, Bolsheviks, White Army, Moscow State University, KGB, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, France, United States, Istanbul, Russia's, New York, Moscow, Soviet Union

Chicago wheat futures , a benchmark of global prices, have risen around 20% since Russia ended the deal on July 17. It's absolutely an important national security issue for a lot of these African countries," he said. Putin says Russia is expecting a record harvest this year and is ready to fill the gap for African countries by supplying grain both commercially and for free. Dizolele said, noting that Russia backed African countries at the U.N., had defence and security agreements with some of them and gave scholarships to their students. But Putin's response, when Ramaphosa and other African leaders presented the proposal to him last month, was to repeat a familiar list of accusations against Ukraine and the West.

Persons: Anton Vaganov, Putin, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Mvemba Dizolele, Samuel Ramani, RUSI, Dizolele, WAGNER, Cyril Ramaphosa, Ramani, Mark Trevelyan, Joe Bavier, Carien du, Tom Balmforth, Michelle Nichols, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Saint, REUTERS, Putin, Kremlin, U.S, Africa, Washington -, Strategic, International Studies, International Criminal Court, Treasury, Central African, Ukraine, South, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Russia, Africa, Saint Isaac's, central Saint Petersburg, Black, Russian, St Petersburg, Ukraine, Chicago, Washington, Turkey, Qatar, Moscow, United States, Kenya, Somalia, Central African Republic, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, West, London, Johannesburg, Carien du Plessis

[1/2] Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko meet people outside the Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Kronstadt near Saint Petersburg, Russia July 23, 2023. Sputnik/Alexander Demyanchuk/Pool via REUTERSJuly 23 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine's counteroffensive "has failed" as he hosted Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, his close ally, for talks in St Petersburg on Sunday. "There is no counteroffensive," Russian news agencies quoted Lukashenko as saying. Ukraine began its long-anticipated counter-offensive last month but has so far made only small gains against well entrenched Russian forces who control more than a sixth of its territory after nearly 17 months of war. Putin, in response, warned Poland on Friday that any aggression against Belarus would be considered an attack on Russia.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, Nicholas, Alexander Demyanchuk, Lukashenko, Putin, Mark Milley, Russia's Wagner, Wagner, Mark Trevelyan, Felix Light, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Belarusian, Naval, Sputnik, REUTERS, U.S, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Telegram, NATO, Thomson Locations: St, Kronstadt, Saint Petersburg, Russia, St Petersburg, Russian, Ukraine, Poland, Warsaw, Rzeszow, Belarusian, Polish, Belarus, Moscow, Minsk, West

Russia said at the time that the warrant was "outrageous" and legally void because Russia is not an ICC member. The Kremlin has yet to say publicly if Putin intends to go to the summit. In Saturday's statement it said Ramaphosa had briefed Putin about preparations for the event, but did not give details of their exchange. On the grain deal, which expires on Monday unless Russia agrees to extend it, Putin reiterated to Ramaphosa that commitments to remove obstacles to Russian food and fertiliser exports had not yet been fulfilled, the Kremlin said. Russia has threatened to quit the deal before, however, only to renew it at the last minute.

Persons: Ramaphosa, Putin, S.Africa, Vladimir Putin, Cyril Ramaphosa, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Kopano, Clelia Organizations: Kremlin ICC, South, Kremlin, Putin, International Criminal Court, ICC, Ukraine, Thomson Locations: Russia, South Africa, Brazil, India, China, Ukraine, Moscow

But he said that for most of the call, lasting about an hour, "we considered and discussed what to do with Ukraine". Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in February 2022, says other countries should not negotiate its future on its behalf, and the United States has repeatedly backed this principle, described as "nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine". TALKS 'SOONER OR LATER'Naryshkin told TASS that negotiations on the war would become possible at some point. Podolyak said Russia was losing the war and there could be no negotiations with people like Naryshkin. "This Russian elite perceives events completely inadequately, so there is nothing to talk about with them."

Persons: Wagner, Naryshkin, Sergei Naryshkin, William Burns, Burns, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Mykhailo Podolyak, Podolyak, Anna Dabrowska, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: CIA, TASS, The New York Times, Wall Street, Moscow, Kremlin, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, United States, Russian, Russia, Moscow, Washington

July 11 (Reuters) - A Russian military official who had commanded a submarine in the Black Sea and appeared on a Ukrainian blacklist of alleged war criminals has been shot dead by an unknown assassin while on his morning run. Russia's top investigative body said Stanislav Rzhitsky, 42, was gunned down early on Monday in the southern city of Krasnodar. Rzhitsky's address and personal details appeared on the Ukrainian website Myrotvorets (Peacemaker), a vast unofficial database of people considered to be enemies of Ukraine. Russian state media and war bloggers said Rzhitsky was deputy head of military mobilisation in the city and had previously commanded the "Krasnodar" submarine in the Black Sea. Russia has blamed Ukraine for the attacks, while Kyiv has denied involvement, suggesting they are the result of Russian infighting.

Persons: Stanislav Rzhitsky, Myrotvorets, Anton Gerashchenko, Gerashchenko, Rzhitsky, Darya Dugina, Vladlen Tatarsky, Vladimir Soldatkin, Maxim Rodionov, William Maclean Organizations: Russian, Russian Defence Ministry, Black, Telegram, Ukraine, Kyiv, Thomson Locations: Krasnodar, Rzhitsky's, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russia, Vinnytsia, Moscow

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