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☆ Russia Will Keep U.S. Soldier in Custody for Months, Local Media Reports
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Anatoly Kurmanaev | More About Anatoly Kurmanaev | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

An American soldier detained in Russia last week will remain in jail until at least July while the authorities investigate theft charges against him, the Russian news media reported on Tuesday, citing local court officials. The soldier was detained in the port city of Vladivostok in the east of Russia on Thursday, a spokeswoman for the local court told the Russian business newspaper Kommersant. His detention came to light on Monday, when the U.S. State and Defense Departments said that he was being held. An American military official identified him as Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, 34, an Army sergeant in the process of returning home to Texas after being stationed in South Korea.

Persons: Gordon Black Organizations: Kommersant, U.S . State, Defense, American Locations: American, Russia, Vladivostok, Texas, South Korea

Convicted of selling drugs and ostracized by his family, he endured abuse from guards and frequent spells in solitary confinement at a high-security Russian prison. He told a friend he felt alone and racked with guilt. Then, in the summer of 2022, Mr. Mokin and other inmates in Penal Colony No. He offered freedom and money, even as he warned that the price for many would be death. Mr. Mokin and 196 other inmates enlisted the same day.

Persons: Aleksandr Mokin, Mokin, Yevgeny V, fatigues, Wagner, “, ” Mr Organizations: Penal, The New York Times Locations: Chelyabinsk, Ukraine

Four former Russian inmates who fought with Wagner in eastern Ukraine said they had received calls and messages offering new military contracts in recent weeks, confirming recent reports by Russian military bloggers. Three former fighters said they were specifically urged to join Rosgvardia, Russia’s militarized national guard. Originally envisioned as a rear-guard force, Rosgvardia has gained prominence since the invasion of Ukraine under the leadership of Victor Zolotov, a former bodyguard of President Vladimir V. Putin. “Wagner is officially becoming a unit of Rosgvardia,” read a recruitment text received by a former Wagner fighter last week and seen by The New York Times. “The entire structure, methods of work and commanders remain the same.”

Persons: Wagner, Rosgvardia, Victor Zolotov, Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, “ Wagner, ” Organizations: Kremlin, Rosgvardia, The New York Times Locations: Ukraine

Manuel Barrios joined the battle against Russian forces in Ukraine because a bank threatened to repossess his home in Colombia. They were among hundreds of Colombian veterans who have volunteered to fight for Ukraine for the chance to make at least three times what they can earn at home. “He said he was fighting a war in a country that wasn’t his because of the dire need,” said Mr. Barrios’s wife, Maria Cubillos. The stories of Colombian volunteers highlight the shifting nature of the Ukraine war, which has transformed from a fast-moving struggle for national survival into a war of attrition. Heavy losses and stalemated battles are forcing both sides to look for new pools of fighters to replenish their ranks.

Persons: Manuel Barrios, Luis Alejandro Herrera, Jhoan Cerón, “, ”, Barrios’s, Maria Cubillos Organizations: Russian Locations: Ukraine, Colombia, United States, Mexico

They took swipes at the United States and depicted themselves as building a “fairer, multipolar world.” And they marveled at their countries’ “deepening” trust. And he gave a prominent role to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, underscoring how central their relationship is to Mr. Xi’s vision. Mr. Putin was treated as the guest of honor and often pictured by Mr. Xi’s side. While Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi huddled, President Biden landed in Israel on a visit aimed at preventing the war between Israel and Hamas from spreading. Though Mr. Xi did not publicly remark on the war, Mr. Putin, at a news briefing, blamed the United States for increasing tensions in the Middle East by sending warships to the region.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, Xi, Biden, ” Locations: China, Russia, United States, Beijing, Ukraine, Gaza, Israel, Russo

☆ Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich Appears in Russian Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Anatoly Kurmanaev | More About Anatoly Kurmanaev | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal whom Russia accuses of espionage, appeared on Tuesday at a hearing in a Moscow court to appeal a ruling that had extended his pretrial detention. The ruling, in August, extended his detention by three months. He has been detained in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison on espionage charges that he, the U.S. government and The Journal have vehemently denied. Lefortovo jail is infamous for the near-isolation and often harsh conditions imposed on its inmates. If convicted, Mr. Gershkovich would face up to 20 years in a Russian penal colony.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Gershkovich Organizations: Wall Street Journal, United Locations: American, Russia, Moscow, U.S, United States, Russian

☆ Drastic Economic Moves Highlight Russia’s Wartime Bind
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Anatoly Kurmanaev | More About Anatoly Kurmanaev | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For years, Russia’s central bank has skillfully shielded the country’s economy when crisis has loomed, drastically raising interest rates, restricting money movements or taking over ailing banks. The swift, sharp moves conveyed a clear message that, despite increasingly bitter economic conflicts with the West, economic stability would be maintained at any cost. The bank raised the benchmark interest rate by 3.5 percentage points to 12 percent. High interest rates raise the cost of borrowing, inhibiting spending. But political considerations can push in the opposite direction, for low interest rates that stimulate spending and keep the economy moving.

Persons: Elvira Nabiullina, Vladimir V Organizations: West Locations: assertively, Ukraine

In a month spent at the front line, Aleksandr, an ex-convict serving in the Russian Army, hadn’t seen a single Ukrainian soldier and had barely fired a shot. He said he had watched dogs gnaw at the uncollected corpses of his dead comrades, drunk rain water and scavenged garbage dumps for food. Aleksandr claims that out of the 120 men in his unit, only about 40 remain alive. “We are being sent to a slaughter,” Aleksandr said in a series of audio messages from the Kherson region, referring to his commanders. “We are not human to them, because we are criminals.”

Persons: Aleksandr, hadn’t, ” Aleksandr, ” Organizations: Russian Army, The New York Times Locations: Ukrainian, Ukraine, Kherson

☆ A Spending Boom Fuels Russia’s Wartime Economy, Raising Bubble Fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Anatoly Kurmanaev | More About Anatoly Kurmanaev | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After Russia invaded Ukraine, Anna Gromova, a Russian entrepreneur, made a snap decision to open a real estate agency, hoping to create a safety net from the economic fallout of the conflict. Within weeks, she landed a deal for a stately 18th-century apartment, with parquet floors and high ceilings in the prestigious center of Russia’s former imperial capital of St. Petersburg. Since the war, the owner had stopped coming to Russia, allowing her client to buy it for roughly 40 percent below its current value. Amid the constant shocks, people are looking for “a window of opportunity” to secure their income, she added. Her business has been underpinned by a state-led spending boom that has propped up the national economy despite the swiftest and most far-reaching campaign of sanctions imposed by Western nations in modern history.

Persons: Anna Gromova, ”, Gromova Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russian, St . Petersburg, Western

Moscow took sharp action on Friday to curb inflation, fearing the effects of ever higher spending on the war in Ukraine and of a weakening Russian ruble. Russia’s central bank took the unexpected step of raising its benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point, to 8.5 percent from 7.5 percent. It was the first large hike in more than a year, and the bank warned that further increases were likely. “It is a surprise and on its face reflects more concern at the central bank about inflation and how the economy is doing that we had appreciated,” said Robert Kahn, the head of the Geoeconomics Team at the Eurasia Group, a New York-based risk analysis firm. “It suggests that the war is proving increasingly disruptive to economic activity and pushing up inflationary pressures.”

Persons: Moscow, ”, Robert Kahn Organizations: Eurasia Group Locations: Ukraine, Russia’s, New York

A top Russian general in Ukraine has lashed out at his bosses after being fired from his command, accusing them of undermining the war effort with dishonesty and politicking, in the latest sign of turmoil within the Kremlin’s military leadership. In a four-minute recording released late Wednesday night, Maj. Gen. Ivan Popov addressed his troops, accusing his superiors of inflicting a blow on his forces by removing him from his post in retaliation for voicing the truth about battlefield problems to senior leadership behind closed doors. His firing, and the unusual public airing of his grievances, reflected the disarray that has roiled Russia’s military command since a failed mutiny three weeks ago. While the 58th Combined Arms Army he commanded has been holding off a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Zaporizhzhia region, “we were hit in the rear by our senior commander, who treacherously and vilely decapitated our army at the most difficult and tense moment,” General Popov said — an apparent reference to Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, chief of the armed forces. Since the mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group and its boss, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, several senior officers have been detained or pushed out of their posts, according to a person close to the Russian military, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

Persons: Ivan Popov, vilely, General Popov, —, Valery V, Gerasimov, Wagner, Yevgeny V Organizations: Arms Army Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Zaporizhzhia

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