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☆ Putin likely did not directly order Navalny’s killing, U.S. intelligence agencies conclude
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Floral tributes, portraits of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and messages are seen left outside the former Russian Embassy in Tbilisi on March 1, 2024. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin probably didn't directly order the killing of Alexei Navalny at a remote penal colony in February, according to three sources familiar with the matter. As Russia's most high-profile and popular dissident, Navalny's death dealt a severe blow to the country's opposition movement, which has been brutally suppressed by the Kremlin. Before Navalny's death, there had been tentative discussions about a possible prisoner exchange with Russia involving Navalny and Americans detained in Russia, NBC News previously reported. Navalny's allies allege that Putin had the dissident killed to thwart the proposed prisoner swap that would have freed him.

Persons: Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Navalny, Joe Biden, Sergei Skripal, Navalny's Organizations: Russian Embassy, Kremlin, Washington, Russia's Federal, Service, CIA, National Intelligence, NBC Locations: Tbilisi, Russia's, Russia, Russian, United Kingdom, Western

CNN —A Russian court has placed Forbes journalist Sergey Mingazov under house arrest after he was detained for allegedly spreading fake news about the Russian armed forces, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti has reported. Forbes Russia says its journalist will be under house arrest for at least two months as he awaits trial after being detained on Friday. Bubon said that Mingazov is accused of spreading “knowingly false information” about the Russian armed forces “under the guise” of reliable reporting. Internet ban imposedBubon told Forbes Russia that Mingazov’s house arrest was enforced as a “preventative measure.” In Russia, preventative measures take place pre-trial and include being remanded in custody, released on bail, or placed under house arrest. “It contained, under the guise of being reliable, deliberately false information about… the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,” it continued.

Persons: Sergey Mingazov, Forbes, “ Forbes, Mingazov, ”, Mingazov’s, Konstantin Bubon, Bubon, “, general’s, Alsu Kurmasheva, Evan Gershkovich, Alexander Nevzorov, Dmitry Gordon, Marina Ovsyannikova Organizations: CNN, Novosti, Forbes Russia, Russian Armed Forces, Mingazov’s, Kremlin, Khabarovsk territory’s, Armed Forces, Russian Federation, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, Wall Street Locations: Russian, Bucha, Ukraine, ”, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Russia, Khabarovsk, Radio Free Europe

☆ Alexey Navalny's death wasn't directly ordered by Putin, WSJ reports
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Putin critic Alexey Navalny's death may not have been planned to happen when it did, WSJ reported. The Journal reported that this opinion is shared by several US intelligence agencies. AdvertisementAlexey Navalny's February death in a remote Arctic prison camp likely wasn't directly ordered by Vladimir Putin, despite Navalny's outspoken criticism of the Russian president, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Despite the suspicious circumstances of the opposition leader's death, the outlet reported Putin may not have intended Navalny to be killed when he was. None of the intelligence agencies cited by the Journal or the Pentagon have responded to requests for comment from Business Insider.

Persons: Alexey Navalny's, Navalny's, —, Vladimir Putin, Putin, — wasn't, Putin wasn't, Leonid Volkov, Navalny Organizations: Kremlin, Service, Street, CIA, National Intelligence, State, Journal, Pentagon, Business Locations: Russian, Poland

☆ Putin’s War Will Soon Reach Russians’ Tax Bills
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Paul Sonne | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is about to institute a rare tax increase on corporations and high earners, a move that reflects both the burgeoning costs of his war in Ukraine and the firm control he has over the Russian elite as he embarks on a fifth term in office. Financial technocrats in Mr. Putin’s government are searching for new ways to fund not just an expensive war in Ukraine but also a broader confrontation with the West that is likely to remain costly for years. Russia is allocating nearly a third of its overall 2024 budget to national defense spending this year, a huge increase, adding to a deficit that the Kremlin has taken pains to keep in check. The proposed tax increase underscores Mr. Putin’s rising confidence about his political control over the Russian elite and his country’s economic resilience at home, showing that he is willing to risk alienating parts of society to fund the war. It would represent the first major tax overhaul in over a decade.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin Locations: Russia, Ukraine

☆ Kim Jong Un tested a new rocket that could hit Seoul — and may aid Russia against Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Mikhaila Friel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Kim Jong Un oversaw tests for a rocket capable of hitting Seoul in South Korea, Bloomberg reported. Russia and North Korea have previously denied reports of an arms deal between the two nations. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok on April 25, 2019. Russia and North Korea have previously denied an arms deal exists between the two countries. Business Insider reported in October that North Korea was on track to become "one of Russia's most significant foreign arms suppliers."

Persons: Kim Jong Un, —, Yang, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Zemlianichenko, Simon Miles, Miles, Kelly Grieco, it's Organizations: Bloomberg, Service, Ukraine, Korean People's Army, Korean Central News Agency, Asan Institute, Policy Studies, NK News, North Korean, Duke University's Sanford School of Public, Kremlin, Soviet Union, AP News, Business, pushback, US, Stimson Center Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, Korea, Russian, Vladivostok, Soviet

☆ Russia vetoed a US attempt to stop countries putting nukes in space — exactly what the Kremlin is accused of trying to do
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Russia vetoed a UN resolution led by the US and Japan to prevent a space arms race. The resolution aimed to head off the deployment of nuclear weapons in orbit. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementRussia vetoed a US- and Japan-led UN resolution aimed at stopping a nuclear arms space race. Russia used its Security Council veto on Wednesday to block a resolution calling on countries to work toward the "prevention of an arms race in outer space."

Persons: — Organizations: UN, US, Service, Business Locations: Russia, Japan

☆ Russian courts saw hundreds of AWOL cases in March alone, a record high since the war began: report
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In March, Russia dealt with its highest-ever number of AWOL cases since the war began, Mediazona reported. AdvertisementRussian courts assessed 684 absences without leave in March, the highest-ever monthly count since the war in Ukraine began, independent Russian media reported. Citing public records, independent outlet Mediazona reported on April 12 that a daily average of 34 AWOL sentences were carried out in military courts that month. Related storiesRussian courts have dealt with some 2,300 AWOL cases since the start of 2024, and about 7,400 total cases since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, according to Mediazona. This spring, Russia is set to call up some 150,000 men for routine, statutory military service, which typically lasts about one year.

Persons: Mediazona, —, Christopher Cavoli Organizations: Service, UK Defence Ministry, Russian Ministry of Defense, Business, US Army, NATO Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Europe

☆ Audacious Ukrainian drone attacks keep doing massive damage to Russia's oil industry
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The strikes are doing serious damage to Russia's oil and gas sector. Bloomberg reported that Russia's oil refining is at an 11 month low. AdvertisementBloomberg earlier this week reported that Russia's oil refining is at an 11-month low because of flooding and Ukraine's drone campaign. Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil depots are one of the few bright spots in its war in recent months. "Future Ukrainian drone strikes may disable and disrupt more of Russia's refining capacity and inflict critical constraints on Russian refining that begin to substantially impact Russia's production of distillate products," the analysts said.

Persons: —, Joe Biden's Organizations: Bloomberg, Service, AFP, Metallurgical, The Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Russia's Smolensk, Lipetsk, Russia's, Ukraine's, US

☆ A pro-Kremlin oligarch's impounded yacht is being auctioned off — with the money going to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A Dutch auction house is selling the seized yacht of a pro-Kremlin oligarch, per a Ukraine agency. Ukraine said it's the first seized asset to be sold to help support the country. The move is a "turning point" that could pave the way for similar efforts abroad, it said. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy .

Persons: it's, —, Troostwijk Organizations: Kremlin, Service, Management Agency, Business Locations: Ukraine, Russian Ukrainian

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Relief in Kyiv as Biden set to sign U.S. aid package; Russian official detained on bribe allegations
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Russian law enforcement have detained Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov on suspicion of taking bribes, Russia's Investigative Committee said on April 23, 2024. A Russian deputy defense minister in charge of military construction has been detained on Tuesday on suspicion of "large-scale" bribe-taking, in one of the highest-profile corruption cases since Moscow launched its war in Ukraine. A brief statement by the Investigative Committee, Russia's top investigative body, said late on Tuesday that Timur Ivanov had been taken into custody and an investigation into his case was proceeding. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had been informed in advance of his detention, he said. Russian news reports also said Ivanov was likely the most senior Russian official to face such charges since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Timur Ivanov, Ivanov, Alexei Navalny, Dmitry Peskov, — Organizations: Sputnik, Russian, Defense, Investigative, Russia's, Corruption Foundation, Kremlin Locations: Russian, Kubinka, Moscow, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Mariupol, Russia

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Ukraine disputes Russia's claim to have seized another village; Kyiv, Odesa targeted in drone strikes
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Kyrylo Budanov, chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine, speaks during the farewell ceremony for Dmytro Kotsiubailo on Independence Square on March 10, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine. They conduct a complex operation ... it will be a difficult period. Mid-May, early June," Budanov told the BBC in an interview conducted on April 19, a day before the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hinted last Friday that Russian forces would try to seize the city of Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine in a future significant Russian offensive operation. Russia wants to establish a demilitarized so-called "sanitary zone" in the border areas of Ukraine to protect Russia's southwestern regions from attack.

Persons: Kyrylo Budanov, Dmytro Kotsiubailo, Budanov, We've, we'll, Sergei Lavrov, Holly Ellyatt Organizations: Directorate of Intelligence, BBC, . House, CNBC, Russian, Kremlin Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia, BBC Ukrainian, Kharkiv

☆ Moldova Is a Cautionary Tale for Ukraine - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Paula Erizanu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

But it would clearly involve freezing the conflict, resigning Ukraine’s occupied territory to Russia in exchange for an end to the fighting. A small western neighbor of Ukraine, Moldova experienced Russia’s first post-Soviet war of aggression, which ended with a cease-fire agreement in 1992. The case shows that Russia simply cannot be trusted. Anyone calling for Ukraine to settle for one should heed Moldova’s cautionary tale. Russia stopped providing Moldova with gas, leaving people in cities to freeze in their apartments and cook their food outside on bonfires.

Persons: Pope Francis, Ukraine’s, Russia’s Organizations: Russian Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Moldovan, Russian, Transnistria, Moscow

☆ ‘Our artillery is starving:’ Ukraine holds its breath as US set to approve $60bn of military aid
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Andy Carey | Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The Ukraine aid bill, passed in the United States’ House of Representatives on Saturday, is now due to go to the Senate on Tuesday. At the top: artillery shells and air defense systems. “To win, we need ammunition… our artillery is starving,” an artillery reconnaissance commander with the 110th mechanized brigade, callsign “Teren,” told CNN after the vote on Saturday. While Ocheretyne itself is of no strategic value, it sits on a ridge, making it a desirable military target. “We need front-line air defense as much as we need protection for our cities and villages,” Zelensky said.

Persons: Joe Biden, ”, Volodymyr Zelensky, “, Teren, Velyka, Patrick Ryder, we’ve, Mark Warner, Chasiv Yar, Rob Lee, Russian Su, Anatolii Stepanov, ” Zelensky, Dmytro Kuleba, ” Kuleba, CNN’s Andy Carey, Victoria Butenko, Daria Tarasova, Svitlana Vlasova Organizations: Ukraine CNN —, United States ’, 110th, CNN, Ukraine’s Eastern Command, Pentagon, US Department of Defense, Senate Intelligence, CBS News, Sunday, –, Kremlin, Nazi, Getty, Patriot, Tactical Missile Systems, Warner, US, Ukrainian Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Russia, United, Russian, Avdiivka, Donetsk, Germany, Poland, Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk, Chasiv, Nazi Germany, AFP

☆ Russia's economic strength will last another 18 months before unraveling as Putin grapples with policy 'trilemma,' think tank says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewRussia's economic strength could last another year-and-a-half before it starts to fade, according to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In a best-case scenario, the current arrangement will likely begin to come apart within eighteen months owing to growing imbalances and possible social problems," Prokopenko warned. In other words, temporary fixes and a decline in living standards will add to the political and economic headwinds facing the Kremlin," Prokopenko said. Experts have warned of near-term social unrest in Russia, particularly as living standards continue to deteriorate.

Persons: —, Alexandra Prokopenko, Prokopenko, Putin Organizations: Service, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Washington DC, Monetary Fund, Business, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Kremlin Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Moscow

☆ Russia's military is allergic to the deep reforms it needs
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Can the Russian military can be reformed to better achieve Putin's revanchist aims? Yes, but the drastic changes will not be easy, an expert on Russia's military says. AdvertisementWhatever the outcome of the Ukraine war, one thing seems certain: the Russian military needs drastic changes. Indeed, Russia's tendency to seek top-down structural reforms matched with enduring characteristics of the Russian military suggest that a transformation of the Russian military will be difficult." Given that observers so misjudged Russian military capabilities prior to the Ukraine war, how can the West accurately determine whether reforms are occurring?

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, Katherine Kjellström Elgin, Putin, Elgin, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Center for Strategic, National Guard Service, Nazi, NATO, Elgin, Business, Russo, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Washington ,, Elgin, Moscow, Russia, Crimean, Soviet, Nazi German, Turkish, Forbes

☆ Peter Morgan Turns His Pen From ‘The Crown’ to the Kremlin
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Maureen Dowd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Going from Princess Diana, a lovely icon who generated waves of sympathy, to Vladimir Putin, an icy villain who generates waves of disdain, might be difficult for some writers. Not Peter Morgan. After pulling back the curtain on the British royal family for six seasons of “The Crown,” Morgan was keen to move on. Morgan enjoys writing about the vilified, giving them a fighting chance. In “Patriots,” he creates a jigsaw of four Russian men, their fates intertwining in the post-Soviet era, who represent a Byzantine spectrum of moral values.

Persons: Princess Diana, Vladimir Putin, Peter Morgan, ” Morgan, Putin, Frankenstein, Morgan, ” Organizations: “ Patriots

☆ Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signals Putin's plan to seize Kharkiv and create a 'sanitary zone'
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewForeign Minister Sergey Lavrov has strongly suggested that Russia intends to seize the city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, making him the first senior Kremlin official to identify the city as a potential target outright. Moscow has already made it clear that it believes the only way to defend Russian territory is through such a buffer zone, which would put its settlements out of reach of Ukrainian fire. AdvertisementPutin has wanted to take Kharkiv since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. The city has symbolic as well as strategic value for the Russian president, as it has a majority Russian-speaking population and was the first capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Persons: —, Sergey Lavrov, Lavrov, Ukraine's, Vladimir Putin's, Dmitry Peskov, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Kremlin, for, Business, Bloomberg, Kharkiv, Ukrainian Soviet, Komsomolskaya Pravda Locations: Russia, Kharkiv, Ukraine, Moscow, Ukrainian, Russian, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Moskva

☆ Arrests of Europeans for Aiding Russia Raise Fears of Kremlin’s Reach
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Paul Sonne | Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The authorities in Poland and Germany have arrested at least five of their citizens in recent days and accused them of spying for Russia or of offering to help Moscow commit violence on European soil, including a “possible attack” on the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. The arrests underscored fears of the Kremlin’s furtive network in the West and its use of foreign nationals, including violent criminals and soccer hooligans, to terrify or possibly even kill opponents sheltering abroad. The Polish National Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement that a Polish citizen, identified as Pawel K., was detained on Wednesday. It said he had offered to assist Russian agents in a possible plot aimed at killing Mr. Zelensky. It gave few details, other than saying he had “declared his readiness to act for the military intelligence of the Russian Federation and established contacts with citizens of the Russian Federation directly involved in the war in Ukraine.”

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, “, ” Organizations: Prosecutor’s, Russian Federation Locations: Poland, Germany, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Polish, Russian

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Ukraine says it downed Tu-22M3 bomber for the first time; 8 killed in major attack by Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk on Friday said the country shot down a Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber for the first time, destroying a warplane capable of using long-range missiles. "During today's attack, two such missiles were destroyed for the first time. Ukraine needs more means, more missiles, in order to better protect the frontline territories from Russian terrorism," he added. Separately, Russia's Defense Ministry said the bomber crashed over the southern Stavropol region when it was flying back to its home airfield, state news agency RIA reported via Telegram. The Stavropol region is located in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia, hundreds of kilometers from Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Persons: Mykola Oleschuk, Oleschuk, Sam Meredith Organizations: Tupolev, Kremlin, Nazi, Ukrainian Air Force, Air Force, Main Directorate of Intelligence, Ministry of Defense, CNBC, Russia's Defense Ministry Locations: Moscow, Nazi Germany, Russian, Ukraine, Stavropol, North Caucasus, Russia

☆ How a store manager from India ended up killed on the battlefields of Ukraine fighting for Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Vedika Sud | Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“I saw holes on the back of his shoulder, his ribs right down till his lower back,” Imran told CNN. “He was going to work as a taxi driver or delivery boy in Russia – that process was on,” Imran said. Meanwhile, India, which has no law preventing its citizens from serving in a foreign state’s military, has acknowledged that a number of its nationals have been fighting for Russia in Ukraine. In early March, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said it had busted major human trafficking networks that were duping men into Russian military jobs, with 35 such cases identified. Asfran Mohammed, right, and his brother Imran are pictured with Asran's children before Asfran left for Russia.

Persons: New Delhi CNN —, Asfan Mohammed, he’d, Imran Mohammad, Vladimir Putin’s, “, ” Imran, Imran, ”, Asfan, Putin, Allen, He’d, Asfran, Mohammed Imran, Inna Varenytsia, Bimala Rai Paudyal, I’d, who’d, Asfran Mohammed, Mohammed Imran “, I’ve Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, CNN, Russian, ”, United Arab Emirates, Reuters Foreign, Kremlin, Indian Ministry, External Affairs, India’s, Bureau of Investigation, Indian Nationals, CBI, Asfan, Indian, Indian Embassy Locations: New Delhi, India, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, Hyderabad, “, Australia, Moscow, Ukrainian, Kreminna, South Asia, Nepal

Ahead of the encroaching Russian forces, Ukrainian volunteers have been evacuating civilians from Ocheretyne and other villages, posting videos on social media showing older residents leaving badly destroyed apartment buildings, along with their pets, and with belongings packed into cardboard boxes. A photograph taken on April 11, 2024, near the town of Chasiv Yar, in Donetsk region, shows smoke rising from fires after bombing. Anatolii Stepanov/AFP/Getty ImagesAbout 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Ocheretyne, on another piece of higher ground, the town of Chasiv Yar is also firmly in Russian sights. “The situation around the town of Chasiv Yar is difficult,” Nazar Voloshyn, spokesman for the Ukrainian Ground Forces’ “Khortytsia” operational-strategic group, told CNN. Ukraine’s vulnerability in the face of the FAB threat highlights another huge need for Kyiv – more air defenses.

Persons: Oleksandr Syrskyi, Novokalynovo, Boris Rozhin, Anatolii Stepanov, Velyka, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, Mike Johnson, Jake Tapper, “, Vladimir Putin doesn’t, Lloyd Austin, Chasiv Yar, ” Nazar Voloshyn, Yurii Fedorenko, Yar, Chasiv, ” Voloshyn, Zelensky, Victoria Butenko Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian, United States Congress, Russian, Getty, Ukraine’s Eastern Command, ” Artillery, US, House Defense, House, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Kremlin, Nazi, Ukrainian Ground Forces, Separate Assault Brigade, Reuters, Ukrainian Telegram, FAB, Kyiv, NATO Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ocheretyne, Avdiivka, Ukrainian, Novokalynove, Donetsk, Ocheretyno, AFP, Tonenke, Pokrovsk, Europe, Russia’s, Chasiv, Nazi Germany, Kalynivka, Ivanivske, Zaporizhzhia region, Chasiv Yar, Kharkiv

☆ Georgia presses on with Putin-style ‘foreign agent’ bill despite huge protests
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Christian Edwards | Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Georgia’s government is attempting to force through a controversial “foreign agent” law, despite international condemnation and huge protests from its citizens. Critics of the law say is it is a Kremlin-inspired effort to undermine democracy which will damage Georgia’s bid to join the European Union. The ruling Georgian Dream party first tried to pass the bill 13 months ago, but was forced into an embarrassing climbdown following a week of intense protests. Nearly 80% of Georgians support European integration, according to a poll conducted in December by the National Democratic Institute. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, thousands of Russians – especially men of service age – have fled to Georgia to avoid conscription.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ” Salome Zourabichvili, Zourabichvili, –, Irakli Gedenidze, ” Giorgi Bekurashvili Organizations: CNN, European Union, South Caucasus, “, Kremlin, EU, National Democratic Institute Locations: Soviet, Europe, United States, Tbilisi, Georgian, Russia, South, Russian, “ Russia, Georgia, Ukraine

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Putin gives first comments on Iran attack; Ukraine 'ran out of missiles' to stop power plant destruction
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin has given his first comments on the Iranian attack on Israel, calling on all sides to exercise restraint in order to avoid a major regional confrontation. The Kremlin said Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, had spoken on the phone Tuesday, discussing Israel’s airstrike on a Iranian diplomatic mission in Damascus and Iran’s "retaliation measures," referring to Tehran's massive drone and missile strike on Israel last Saturday. As the world awaits Israel's reaction to the attack, the Kremlin said "Putin expressed hope that all sides will exercise sensible restraint and will not allow a new round of confrontation that may be fraught with disastrous consequences for the entire region." The Kremlin said that Putin believed that the "unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict was the root cause of the current developments in the Middle East." In other news, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine "ran out of missiles" to stop a Russian strike destroying a Ukrainian thermal power plant near the capital Kyiv last week.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Ebrahim Raisi, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Kremlin, Israel Locations: Israel, Damascus, Ukraine, Russian, Kyiv

☆ Xi Jinping is hyping China as Ukraine's peacemaker — while actually helping Russia's invasion
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewChina's leader, Xi Jinping, played the role of Ukraine's peacemaker during talks on Tuesday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. At the meeting in Beijing, Xi presented his German counterpart with four principles for peace in Ukraine, according to Chinese state media. AdvertisementThe principles are vague and similar to a Ukraine peace plan proposed by China last year. But despite these public statements, analysts say that Xi's claims to be a peacemaker are a charade and that in reality, China is increasing support for Russia's military. AdvertisementThis is in addition to the diplomatic and economic support China has already given the Kremlin.

Persons: —, Xi Jinping, Olaf Scholz, Xi, Scholz, Vladimir Putin, he's, Joe Biden Organizations: Service, Business, London's Royal United Services Institute, The, Associated Press Locations: Beijing, Ukraine, China, Russia, US, Germany, San Francisco

☆ Russian Missile Strikes North of Kyiv Kill at Least 14, Ukraine Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Maria Varenikova | Marc Santora | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At least 14 people were killed and scores more injured when three Russian missiles struck a busy downtown district of Chernihiv, north of Kyiv, just before noon on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the death toll, reported by the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general, might rise and blamed Ukraine’s lack of air defenses for the loss of life. The prosecutor general said that 61 people were reported injured. “This would not have happened if Ukraine had received enough air defense equipment and if the world’s determination to counter Russian terror was also sufficient,” Mr. Zelensky said in a statement. Ukrainian officials did not comment on the apparent attack, but Russian military bloggers affiliated with the Kremlin reported that Ukrainian missiles had struck locations around the air base in Dzhankoi, Crimea.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s, Mr, Zelensky, ” Organizations: Kremlin, Ukrainian Locations: Russian, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Ukraine, Crimean, Ukrainian, Dzhankoi, Crimea

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