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☆ U.S. issues hundreds of sanctions targeting Russia, takes aim at Chinese companies
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ukrainian servicemen ride on an armored personnel carrier in a field near Chasiv Yar, Donetsk, on April 27, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The United States on Wednesday issued hundreds of fresh sanctions targeting Russia over the war in Ukraine in action that took aim at Moscow's circumvention of Western measures, including through China. The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on nearly 200 targets and the State Department designated more than 80 in one of the most wide-ranging actions against Chinese companies so far in Washington's sanctions aimed at Russia. China's support for Russia is one of the many issues threatening to sour the recent improvement in relations between the world's biggest economies. "The Chinese side firmly opposes the U.S.'s illegal unilateral sanctions," he said.

Persons: Janet Yellen, Antony Blinken, Yellen, Liu Pengyu Organizations: The U.S . Treasury, State Department, The U.S, Treasury, World Trade Organization, U.S Locations: Chasiv Yar, Donetsk, Ukraine, United States, Russia, China, The U.S, The, Hong Kong, Washington, U.S

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov speaks before a press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin following the Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia, July 29, 2023. The army said it would soon go on the offensive after the biggest mobilisation in Israeli history. The Palestinians want a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital - all territory captured by Israel in the 1967 war. The Quartet, set up in 2002, consists of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia. He said Russia was in contact with the Palestinians to find out if any Russians had been injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Persons: Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Bobylyov, Lavrov, Sergei Lavrov, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Israel, Aboul Gheit, Hosni Mubarak’s, Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Agency, REUTERS, Kremlin, League, Quartet, Arab League, West Bank, United Nations, European Union, Thomson Locations: Russia, Africa, Saint Petersburg, Moscow, MOSCOW, Israel, Palestinian Territories, United States, Gaza, East, Iran, Palestinian, East Jerusalem

☆ Azerbaijan pounds Karabakh as Russia and US call for calm
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Ethnic Armenians in Karabakh said Azerbaijan had triggered a new war against the 120,000 people living in an area they consider their homeland. Armenians in Karabakh, known by Armenians as Artsakh, said fighting was continuing with varying intensity. As the Soviet Union crumbled, what is known as the First Karabakh War erupted (1988-1994) between Armenians and their Azeri neighbours. RUSSIAIn 2020, after decades of skirmishes, energy-rich Azerbaijan began a military operation which became the Second Karabakh War, swiftly breaking through Armenian defences. Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, won a resounding victory in the 44-day war, taking back parts of Karabakh.

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, Karabakh, Antony Blinken, Ilham Aliyev, Pashinyan, Aliyev, Blinken, Antonio Guterres, Baku's, Guy Faulconbridge, Lidia Kelly, Chris Reese, Lincoln, Gareth Jones Organizations: Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defence, Azerbaijan, Wednesday, Nagorno, Armenian, U.S, Washington, Residents, United Nations, European Union, TASS, Thomson Locations: Armenia, Nagorno, Karabakh, Russia, U.S, Azerbaijan, YEREVAN, United States, Baku, Yerevan, Turkey, Ukraine, Soviet Union, South Caucasus, Iran, Artsakh, Russian, France, Germany, RUSSIA, Moscow, Melbourne

☆ Azerbaijani forces strike Armenian-controlled Karabakh, raising risk of new Caucasus war
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Karabakh, a mountainous area in the volatile wider South Caucasus region, is internationally recognised as Azerbaijani territory. Karabakh has been at the centre of two wars - the latest in 2020 - since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union. The European Union, France and Germany also condemned Azerbaijan's military action, calling on it to return to talks on the future of Karabakh with Armenia. Loud and repeated shelling was audible from social media footage filmed on Tuesday in Stepanakert, the capital of Karabakh, called Khankendi by Azerbaijan. Karabakh separatist authorities said 25 people had been killed, including two civilians, and 138 injured due to Baku's military action.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Hikmet Hajiyev, Ilham Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Hajiyev, Nikol, Baku's, Dmitry Peskov, Blinken, Ruben Vardanyan, Vardanyan, Andrew Osborn, Mark Heinrich, Daniel Wallis Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Soviet Union . U.S, European, Reuters, Armenian, . Security Council, Russian, Kremlin, TASS, Security, Thomson Locations: Khankendi, Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Karabakh, Artsakh, Baku, Armenia, BAKU, Caucasus, Soviet, European Union, France, Germany, Stepanakert, Yerevan, Russia, South Caucasus, Ukraine, Turkey, Republic of Azerbaijan, Moscow, United States

☆ Mexico president defends Russia participation in military parade
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador waves as he travels from Oaxaca to Veracruz on board the "Tren Transistmico" passenger train during its first test trip, in southern Mexico September 17, 2023. Ukraine's ambassador to Mexico, opposition politicians and critical media blasted the decision to allow a Russian unit to participate on Saturday, but Lopez Obrador said Mexico had allowed any country to join in. Lopez Obrador, a leftist, has sought to keep Mexico neutral in the war between Russia and Ukraine, at one point proposing peace talks. Ukraine's ambassador to Mexico, Oksana Dramaretska, said on X that the parade had been "sullied" by the participation of a Russian unit which she said was "stained with blood." "Long live the friendship between Mexico and Russia!," the Russian embassy said on X.

Persons: Andres Manuel Lopez, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador, Russia's, Oksana Dramaretska, Mr, Dramaretska, Daniel Ortega, Ortega, Xochitl Galvez, Valentine Hilaire, Raul Cortes Fernandez, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Thomson Locations: Oaxaca, Veracruz, Mexico, MEXICO, Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Brazil, Chile, China, Venezuela, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Cuba, Nicaragua

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on five Turkish companies and a Turkish national, accusing them of helping Russia evade sanctions and supporting Moscow in its war against Ukraine. The move is part of a bigger package of measures hitting Russia with sanctions on more than 150 targets, including the country's largest carmaker. The U.S. State Department imposed sanctions on Denkar Ship Construction for providing ship repair services to previously designated vessels of a company connected to the Russian Defense Ministry. The U.S. also imposed sanctions on a major local copper producer - Russian Copper Company. The Treasury slapped sanctions on Finland-based logistics firms Siberica Oy and Luminor Oy, accusing them of sending a wide variety of electronics into Russia.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Jonathan Ernst, reconvenes, Wally Adeyemo, we've, Sanayi, Denkar, Ilker Dogruyol, Dogruyol, Tayyip Erdogan, Humeyra Pamuk, Daphne Psaledakis, Polina Devitt, Gleb Stolyarov, Don Durfee, Alexandra Hudson, William Maclean, Paul Simao Organizations: Cancer, White, REUTERS, Rights, Turkish, Ukraine, Reuters, NATO, Treasury, . Treasury Department, U.S . State Department, Denkar, Russian Defense Ministry, State Department, ID Ship Agency, GAZ Group, Russian Copper Company, Siberica, Luminor, U.S, Kurdistan Workers Party, European Union, United, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Russia, Moscow, Turkey, Washington, Ankara, Sweden, United States, Ukraine, Sea, Turkish, U.S, Finland, Kyiv, Hungary, London

☆ Russia ramps up artillery production but still falling short, Western official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, estimated Russia fired between 10 million and 11 million rounds last year in Ukraine. "If you expended 10 million rounds last year and you're in the middle of a fight and you can only produce 1 to 2 million rounds a year, I don't think that's a very strong position." Other Russia investments in its defense sector may also allow Moscow to produce close to 200 tanks a year, double some previous Western estimates, the official said. The Western official said those negotiations were likely aimed at securing artillery and demonstrated Moscow's desperation in Ukraine. The U.S. government has provided more than $43 billion in weaponry and other military aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began last year.

Persons: Gleb Garanich, they've, you've, Sergei Shoigu, Shoigu, Phil Stewart, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Russian, Republican, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia, Moscow, Washington, North Korea, Pyongyang, Russian, U.S

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visit an exhibition of armed equipment on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on July 27, 2023. The fact North Korean hackers may have obtained information about the Zircon does not mean they would immediately have that same capability, said Markus Schiller, a Europe-based missile expert who has researched foreign aid to North Korea's missile programme. Last month, North Korea test-launched the Hwasong-18, the first of its ICBMs to use solid propellants. "North Korea announced that it was doing the same thing in late 2021. If NPO Mash had one useful thing for them, that would be top of my list," he added.

Persons: Kim Jong, Sergei Shoigu, ScarCruft, Lazarus, Tom Hegel, SentinelOne, Hegel, Obama, Nicholas Weaver, Matt Tait, Weaver, Vladimir Putin, Markus Schiller, Schiller, Jeffrey Lewis, James Martin, James Pearson, Christopher Bing, Chris Sanders, Alistair Bell Organizations: Russia's, North, Korean Central News Agency, KCNA, REUTERS, NPO Mashinostroyeniya, Pyongyang LONDON, Reuters, North Korean, United Nations, Soviet Union, NPO, Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, Mash, James, James Martin Center, Nonproliferation Studies, Korea, Thomson Locations: Pyongyang, WASHINGTON, Russian, Reutov, Moscow, Russia, Washington, New York, North Korea, Soviet, United States, Crimea, Korean, Europe, London

☆ Russia criticises UK sanctions on officials involved in Kara-Murza trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Police officers respond, after Protest group 'Led by Donkeys' spread paint in the colours of the Ukrainian flag on a road, ahead of the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, outside the Russian Embassy in London, Britain February 23, 2023. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File PhotoLONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Russia's embassy in London on Tuesday said Britain had attempted to interfere in its domestic affairs by imposing sanctions on Russian judges and officials involved in the trial of Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza. "We regard the British authorities’ recent decision to impose restrictive measures against six Russian nationals as an inadmissible attempt to interfere in the domestic affairs of Russia," the Russian Embassy said in a post on the social platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Kara-Murza, who holds Russian and British citizenship, is prominent opposition figures who stayed in Russia and continued to speak out against President Vladimir Putin . Reporting by Farouq Suleiman; editing by William JamesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Hannah McKay, Britain, Vladimir Kara, Kara, Murza, Vladimir Putin, Farouq Suleiman, William James Our Organizations: Police, Ukrainian, Russian Embassy, REUTERS, Twitter, Russian, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russian, London, Britain, Russia

☆ Russian embassy in Moldova to suspend consular appointments
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Alexander Tanas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CHISINAU, July 30 (Reuters) - Russia's embassy in Moldova has announced it will temporarily stop providing appointments for consular matters in what Moldovan officials say is a situation linked to the order by the country's authorities to reduce staff. A statement issued by the embassy late on Saturday said consular appointments would be suspended from Aug. 5 "for technical reasons." Moldovan officials say the order to reduce staff at the Russian embassy to 25 from the current level of more than 80, to take effect from Aug. 15, will establish parity with Moldova's embassy in Moscow. Much of the embassy's consular work concerns the pro-Russian separatist enclave of Transdniestria, which broke away from Moldova before the collapse of Soviet rule and where 200,000 Russian passport holders live. Embassy staff were previously able to travel to the enclave on the Ukrainian border to conduct consular affairs, but authorities in the separatist region say the reductions will make that arrangement much more difficult.

Persons: Maia Sandu, Igor Zakhahrov, Maria Zakharova, Ron Popeski, Chris Reese Organizations: Russian Foreign, Embassy, Thomson Locations: CHISINAU, Moldova, Soviet Moldova, Ukraine, Moscow, Russian, Transdniestria

☆ Russia hits Ukraine's grain for fourth day, practises seizing ships
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Olena Harmash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Moscow has described the attacks as revenge for a Ukrainian strike on a Russian-built bridge to Crimea - the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014. Russia's defence ministry on Friday said its Black Sea fleet had practised firing rockets at "floating targets" and apprehending ships. The president of Turkey, which brokered the deal alongside the U.N. said, he hoped planned talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin could lead to the restoration of the initiative. Western leaders have accused Russia of seeking to loosen sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine, which already exempt exports of Russian food. Russian grain has moved freely through the Black Sea to market throughout the conflict and traders say Russia is pouring wheat onto the market.

Persons: Oleh Kiper, Vladimir Putin, Tayyip Erdogan, Putin, WAGNER, Russia's Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Yuriy Malashko, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Joe Biden's, Zelenskiy, Anna Pruchnicka, Philippa Fletcher, Peter Graff Organizations: Press Service, Operational Command, Ukrainian Armed Forces, NATO, Poland KYIV, UN, Washington, . Security, Ukraine, United, U.S, West, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Odesa region, Russia, Poland, Odesa, Moscow, Crimea, Ukrainian, Washington, Turkey, Gulf, Cyprus, POLAND, Polish, Belarus, People, Zaporizhzhia, Kostiantynivka, Donetsk, Iranian, United States, Russia's, Kyiv, KYIV

WASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on companies in the United Arab Emirates, Central African Republic and Russia, accusing them of illicit gold dealings to fund Russia's Wagner Group mercenary force. "The Wagner Group funds its brutal operations in part by exploiting natural resources in countries like the Central African Republic and Mali. The Wagner Group did not immediately respond to the U.S. allegations. The U.S. State Department ahead of the announcement said that the action against Wagner was unrelated to an aborted mutiny last weekend. Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Humeyra Pamuk and Costas Pitas; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Russia's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Brian Nelson, Vladimir Putin, Diamville, Andrey Nikolayevich Ivanov, Midas Ressources, Daphne Psaledakis, Humeyra Pamuk, Costas Pitas, Jonathan Oatis, Grant McCool Organizations: United Arab, Russia's Wagner Group, U.S . Treasury Department, Wagner Group, Central African, Terrorism, Financial Intelligence, U.S . State Department, Russia, Industrial, Trading, United, Wagner, Treasury, Industrial Resources, Thomson Locations: United States, United Arab Emirates, Central African Republic, Russia, U.S, Ukraine, Africa, Mali, Libya, Syria, Ukraine's Crimea, Donbas, African Republic, Dubai, Saharan Africa, Washington, Russian

WASHINGTON, June 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. sharpened its criticism of Russia's record on human trafficking on Thursday, citing Moscow’s treatment of conscripts and Ukrainian children, in an annual report on countries that Washington says are failing to protect victims. The State Department’s 2023 Trafficking in Persons report kept Russia on a list of "state sponsors" of human trafficking and ranked Russia among the world's worst at addressing the problem. A section on Russia included more criticism than last year of Moscow's detention of people in Ukraine. “There was a government policy or pattern of trafficking of Ukrainian citizens and North Korean workers,” it added. The report put Russia in Tier 3, which groups the worst offenders in human trafficking, where it was last year.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, ”, Matt Spetalnick, Simon Lewis, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Criminal, State Department, Thomson Locations: U.S, Washington, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, North, Syria, Russia's, Tier, Algeria, Chad, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Malaysia, Vietnam

Biden said on Friday he had an "extremely negative" reaction to reports that Russia has moved ahead with a plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. The U.S. State Department denounced the Russian nuclear deployment plan. Tactical nuclear weapons are used for tactical gains on the battlefield, and are usually smaller in yield than the strategic nuclear weapons designed to destroy U.S., European or Russian cities. "The United States has been for decades maintaining a large arsenal of its nuclear weapons in Europe. Together with its NATO allies it participates in nuclear sharing arrangements and trains for scenarios of nuclear weapons use against our country."

☆ WSJ reporter's detention will deter others from 'setting foot' in Russia, Blinken says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday Russia's detention of Evan Gershkovich and denial of consular access to the Wall Street Journal reporter sends a message that people around the world should "beware of even setting foot" in Russia. Reporter for U.S. newspaper The Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich appears in an undated handout image taken in an unknown location. The Wall Street Journal/Handout via REUTERSAsked about the case at a news conference, Blinken said Moscow's actions would "do even more damage to Russia's standing around the world." "I think it sends a very strong message to people around the world to beware of even setting foot there lest they be arbitrarily detained," Blinken said. Russia's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Blinken's remarks.

WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - The United States on Monday determined that Russia has "wrongfully detained" American Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, effectively saying that espionage charges are bogus and that the case is political. The Wall Street Journal has denied Gershkovich was spying. The Wall Street Journal's publisher and editor in chief said the "wrongfully detained" designation "will unlock additional resources and attention at the highest levels of the U.S. government in securing his release." Legislation passed by Congress in 2020 lists 11 criteria to help determine if a U.S. citizen is "wrongfully detained." The Biden administration has secured the release of at least 25 "wrongfully detained" Americans.

☆ Elon Musk's Twitter is now recommending Kremlin-linked accounts to users after restricting them last year, tests suggest
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Twitter appears to be amplifying tweets of Russian state accounts after suppressing them last year. The Telegraph created a new account and was recommended the Kremlin-linked accounts, it reported. Elon Musk has been lifting most restrictions on accounts labelled harmful under previous management. Twitter had more broadly limited the reach of state-affiliated media since 2020, by not recommending them to users and labelling them as state-affiliated. The world's second-richest man reinstated Donald Trump's Twitter account in November to this end, although the former president has still not posted any new tweets.

WASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) - Russia or pro-Russian elements are likely behind the leak of several classified U.S. military documents posted on social media that offer a partial, month-old snapshot of the war in Ukraine, three U.S. officials told Reuters on Friday. "We are aware of the reports of social media posts and the Department (of Defense) is reviewing the matter," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said. One document posted on social media said 16,000 to 17,500 Russian forces had been killed since Russia's Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine. The United States believes that actual figure is much higher, at around 200,000 Russians killed and wounded, officials say. Still, the document leak came as speculation mounts about what offensives Kyiv and Moscow might attempt in the war's second year.

☆ Russia is offering North Korea food for a bunch of weapons it needs to wage war in Ukraine, White House says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia is once again seeking weapons from pariah states like North Korea to fuel its war in Ukraine. North Korea has battled food shortages in recent years while Moscow faces weapons shortages. The US has previously accused North Korea — and other isolated countries like Iran — of backing Russia's campaign by providing it with military assistance. "We also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation to North Korea and that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for munitions," Kirby said, according to multiple reports. Earlier this year, the White House revealed intelligence that it said showed North Korea providing rockets and missiles to the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group, a notorious paramilitary organization.

The Treasury said that Mkrtychev's negotiations with North Korean and Russian officials "detailed mutually beneficial cooperation," adding that Mkrtychev confirmed Russia's readiness to receive military equipment from North Korea with senior Russian officials. Russia's embassy in Washington and North Korea's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In December, the White House said private Russian military company, the Wagner Group, took delivery of an arms shipment from North Korea to help bolster Russian forces in Ukraine. In November, after the White House said Pyongyang was covertly supplying Russia with a "significant" number of artillery shells, North Korea said it had never had arms dealings with Russia and has no plans to do so. Reporting By Arshad Mohammed, Daphne Psaledakis and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BRUSSELS, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The European Union is close to a 10th sanctions package against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and EU governments hope to reach a deal on Wednesday if they can overcome differences about a ban on Russian rubber and diamond imports, EU diplomats said. Among those the bloc is seeking to target are Russians it says are involved in the illegal deportation of some 6,000 Ukrainian children. "We were discussing today the 10th sanctions package against Russia," Polish ambassador to the EU Andrzej Sados said after talks by ambassadors of the EU's 27 governments in Brussels. "At least 34 Russian institutions are involved in systemic stealing of Ukrainian children, including the Russian children's ombudsman," Sados said. The U.N. refugee agency said last month Russia was giving the children Russian passports and putting them up for adoption.

☆ Russia urges Sweden again to share Nord Stream probe findings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Lidia Kelly | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Russia renewed its calls on Sweden late on Monday to share its findings from the ongoing investigation into the explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines last year. "Almost five months have passed since the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. All this time, however, the Swedish authorities, as if on cue, remain silent," Russia's embassy to Sweden said on the Telegram messaging platform. It also reiterated Moscow's stance, without providing evidence, that the West was behind the blasts affecting the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines - multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects that carried Russian gas to Germany. Construction of Nord Stream 2 was completed in September 2021, but was never put into operation after Germany shelved certification just days before Russia sent its troops into Ukraine a year ago this week.

☆ Zelenskiy urges speedy help from allies as Russia pounds Ukraine's east
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Much of Russia's artillery fire was focused on Bakhmut, a bombed-out city in Donetsk province and a principal target for President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskiy said Russia was in a hurry to achieve as much as it could with its latest push before Ukraine and its allies could gather strength. Speed saves people's lives, speed brings back security, and I thank all our partners who realize that speed is important." Russian forces had made incremental progress in their assault on Bahkmut, White House spokesperson John Kirby said. Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin said Russian forces would not be able to capture the town anytime soon.

WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Russia has held at least 6,000 Ukrainian children - likely many more - in sites in Russian-held Crimea and Russia whose primary purpose appears to be political re-education, according to a U.S.-backed report published on Tuesday. The report said Yale University researchers had identified at least 43 camps and other facilities where Ukrainian children have been held that were part of a "large-scale systematic network" operated by Moscow since its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Some of the children were moved through the system and adopted by Russian families, or moved into foster care in Russia, the report said. Ukrainian prosecutors have said they are examining allegations of forced deportation of children as part of efforts to build a genocide indictment against Russia. "This network stretches from one end of Russia to the other," Raymond said, adding that researchers believed that the number of facilities in which Ukrainian children have been held exceeds 43.

REUTERS/Sarah MeyssonnierBRUSSELS, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy takes his mini-tour of European capitals to Brussels on Thursday, aiming to push EU leaders for more weapons in the fight against Russia's invasion and for a quick start to EU membership talks. Having visited London and Paris on Wednesday, Zelenskiy is expected to attend a summit of EU leaders and address the European Parliament during his trip to the Belgian capital. A Ukrainian official said Zelenskiy wanted leaders at the European Council summit to ramp up munitions supplies. On the question of joining the EU, Ukrainian officials are pushing for membership talks within months. The Ukrainian official said Ukraine was "absolutely sure the decision to start accession negotiations can be taken this year."

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