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☆ Russians vote in an election that Putin will win, but the Kremlin is looking for a landslide victory
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Mikhail Svetlov/Getty ImagesThere are no surprises over who will win Russia's presidential election this coming weekend with incumbent, Vladimir Putin, set to win a fifth term in office, keeping him in power until at least 2030. The heavily stage-managed vote taking place from Friday to Sunday is not expected to throw up any nasty surprises for the Kremlin which told CNBC months ago that it was confident Putin would win the vote comfortably. That's particularly the case in a country where Russian opposition figures are not represented on the ballot paper or in mainstream politics, with most activists having fled the country. "According to official data, Putin received 77.5% of valid votes in the 2018 presidential election that saw a turnout of 67.5%. Russian opposition activists, most in self-imposed exile in order to evade arrest, imprisonment or attack, have also condemned the election.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Svetlov, Putin, That's, Alexei Navalny, there's, Vladislav Davankov, Leonid Slutsky, Nikolay Kharitonov, Russia's, Yekaterina Duntsova, Boris Nadezhdin, Andrei Kolesnikov, —, Diego Herrera Carcedo, Andreas Tursa, Russian Federation's, Yulia Navalnaya, Dmitrii, we're Organizations: Kremlin, CNBC, New People, Liberal Democratic Party, Communist Party, Russia's, Commission, Levada, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Putin, Teneo, Russian Democratic Society, Festival Locations: Kremlin, Ukraine, Russia, Klishchiivka, Donetsk Oblast, Europe, Kyiv, Crimea, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, Russian, London, Sirius, Sochi, Stavropolsky Krai, Krasnodar Krai

☆ Civilian death toll in Ukraine tops 10,000 - U.N. Human Rights Office
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A worker inspects a site in a residential area damaged during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine September 21, 2023. REUERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsGENEVA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - More than 10,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022, with about half of recent deaths occurring far behind the front lines, the U.N. Human Rights Office said on Tuesday. The U.N. human rights mission in Ukraine, which has dozens of monitors in the country, said it expects the real toll to be "significantly higher" than the official tally since corroboration work is ongoing. "Ten thousand civilian deaths is a grim milestone for Ukraine," said Danielle Bell, who heads the monitoring mission. Older people who may be unable or unwilling to relocate to safer places make up a disproportionate fraction of those killed in Ukraine, the U.N. data showed.

Persons: Valentyn, Danielle Bell, Emma Farge, Andrew Heavens, Bernadette Baum, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Rights, Human Rights, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia, Moscow

☆ Live updates: Israel-Hamas war rages as crisis in Gaza deepens
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Tara Subramaniam | Seán Federico O'Murchú | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

"By failing to condemn Hamas, Russia is giving cover to a terrorist group that brutalizes innocent civilians. It is outrageous, it is hypocritical, and it is indefensible," US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in justification to the US' vote. She previously compared the attacks executed by Hamas to the "most heinous atrocities committed by ISIS." "We cannot support a resolution which fails to condemn Hamas’ terror attacks," Ambassador Barbara Woodward, the UK's Permanent Representative to the UN, said in her explanation of vote. Russia’s Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya claimed the resolution failed to get adopted because of the western bloc's selfish intentions.

Persons: Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Barbara Woodward, Nicolas de Rivière, UN Vasily Nebenzya, Nebenzya Organizations: United Nations Security, ISIS, UN, France's, UN Security Council, Russian, Novosti Locations: Israel, United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, Gaza, Moscow

☆ Ukraine freezes assets of three Russian tycoons worth $464 million, prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Pavel Golovkin/Pool via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsKYIV, Oct 6 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian court has frozen the Ukrainian assets of three Russian businessmen over their alleged support for Russia's war in Ukraine, prosecutors and the security service said on Friday. The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) said assets owned by Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven and Andrey Kosogov had been frozen. It said the frozen assets included securities and corporate rights of mobile phone operators, a mineral water producer, financial and insurance companies. "The beneficial owners of the companies are three Russian oligarchs who own one of the largest Russian financial and investment consortia," it said. Since the beginning of Russia's military invasion in February 202, Ukraine has repeatedly seized and nationalised property belonging to Russian businessmen involved in financing the aggression.

Persons: Mikhail Fridman, Keren Hayesod, Pavel Golovkin, Pyotr Aven, Andrey Kosogov, Vladimir Putin's, General's, Pavel Polityuk, Timothy Heritage, William Maclean Organizations: Alfa, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Ukrainian Security Service, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Russian

☆ US expels two Russian embassy officials -State Dept
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The United States has expelled two Russian embassy officials after Russia earlier expelled two U.S. diplomats from the American embassy in Moscow, the U.S. State Department said on Friday. "In response to the Russian Federation's specious expulsion of two U.S. Embassy Moscow diplomats, the State Department reciprocated by declaring persona non grata two Russian Embassy officials operating in the United States," a State Department spokesman said. "The Department will not tolerate the Russian government's pattern of harassment of our diplomats," the spokesman said, adding that "unacceptable actions against our Embassy personnel in Moscow will have consequences." Russia said on Sept. 14 that it was expelling two U.S. diplomats whom it accused of working with a Russian national charged with collaborating with a foreign state. Relations between Moscow and Washington have plunged to their worst point in more than 60 years because of the war in Ukraine.

Persons: Washington, Simon Lewis, Ismail Shakil, Elaine Monaghan, Susan Heavey, Katharine Jackson, Sandra Maler Organizations: United, U.S . State Department, Embassy, State Department, Relations, Thomson Locations: United States, Russia, Moscow, U.S, Embassy Moscow, Russian, Washington, Ukraine, The U.S

☆ Russian Agricultural Bank could have SWIFT access within 30 days, UN tells Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsSept 8 (Reuters) - A Russian Agricultural Bank subsidiary in Luxembourg could immediately apply to SWIFT to "effectively enable access" for the bank to the international payments system within 30 days, the United Nations told Russia in a letter, seen by Reuters on Friday. A key Russian demand has been the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank, Rosselkhozbank, to the SWIFT international payments system. "SWIFT has already confirmed that an expedited application process could be possible, bringing the time for effective access within 30 days," Guterres wrote. Russian fertilizer companies would also have to apply to national authorities within the EU for exemptions and the U.N. would engage with the EU on those requests. "The United Nations can help clarify the authorization process for different EU ports and work with Russian counterparts on obtaining the authorizations/permits pre-departure, if required."

Persons: Dado Ruvic, SWIFT, Antonio Guterres, Sergei Lavrov, Guterres, Lavrov, Russia's, RAB, John Neal, Lloyd's, Michelle Nichols, Chizu Organizations: REUTERS, Russian Agricultural Bank, United Nations, Reuters, RSHB Capital S.A, Russian, Black Sea Initiative, Russian Foreign Ministry, UN Secretariat, SWIFT, European Union, UN, RAB, Facility, Lloyd's, RIC, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Bosnia, Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Russia, United, Moscow, Turkey, Ukraine, London, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Netherlands

☆ Russia is massively expanding its arsenal of drones, and Moscow's unmanned attacks on Ukraine are likely to only get bigger
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Experts say Moscow could use its expanded arsenal for bigger drone attacks against Ukraine in the coming months. The Russian drones seen in Ukraine have come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and with varying missions. We can see greater pressure on Ukrainian air defenses and electronic warfare defenses." Larger drone attacks could also be explained by a shift in how Russia carries out its high-volume strikes. And that could, in turn, up the pressure on Ukraine's air defenses.

Persons: Shaheds, George Barros, —, Vladimir Putin's, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Samuel Bendett, Oleksii, Bendett, Barros, It's, ISW Organizations: Service, Ukraine, Institute for, National Police, REUTERS, Research, Russian Federation, Center for Naval, Ukrainian, Kyiv, Getty, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense Drones, Russia Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Wall, Silicon, Ukrainian, Washington, Iran, Russian, Kyiv region, Kyiv, Iranian, Zaporizhzhia

☆ Reddit faces first fine in Russia for not deleting 'banned content' -Interfax
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 19 (Reuters) - Social media site Reddit faces being fined for the first time in Russia for not deleting "banned content" that Moscow says discredits the Russian army, the Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday, citing a Moscow court. Reddit joins a list of sites under scrutiny in Russia for failing to remove content that Moscow deems illegal, including Wikimedia, streaming service Twitch, and Google (GOOGL.O). Reddit could be fined up to 4 million roubles ($43,895) for failing to remove "knowingly false information" about the Soviet Union's actions during World War Two and content that discredits the Russian Federation's armed forces, as well as other "extremist information". Since invading Ukraine last year, Russia has tightened controls over coverage of the conflict by media and bloggers, introducing tougher punishments for "discrediting" the actions of its armed forces or publishing false information about them. ($1 = 91.1275 roubles)Reporting by Caleb Davis; editing by Alexander Marrow and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Reddit, Caleb Davis, Alexander Marrow, Jason Neely Organizations: Wikimedia, Google, Thomson Locations: Russia, Moscow, Russian, Ukraine

☆ Analysis: Where are Russia's top generals? Rumours swirl after mercenary mutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Valery Gerasimov, Russia's top general, has not appeared in public or on state TV since the aborted mutiny on Saturday when mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin demanded Gerasimov be handed over. Gerasimov, 67, is the commander of Russia's war in Ukraine, and the holder of one of Russia's three "nuclear briefcases," according to some Western military analysts. Rybar, an influential channel on the Telegram messaging application run by a former Russian defence ministry press officer, said a purge was underway. Surovikin, Gerasimov's deputy, was last seen on Saturday when he appeared in a video appealing to Prigozhin to halt his mutiny. He had been spoken of by Russian war correspondents as a potential future defence minister.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, Mikhail Kuravlev, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Gerasimov, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Rybar, Wagner, Prigozhin, Michael Kofman, Viktor Zolotov, Shoigu, Alexei Venediktov, vilifying Shoigu, Andrew Osborn, Mike Collett, White, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Staff of Russian Armed Forces, Defence Ministry Board, Sputnik, REUTERS, LONDON, New York Times, Wednesday, Moscow Times, Reuters, Russian Armed Forces, Carnegie Endowment, Twitter, National Guard, Moscow, Tuesday, Western, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Kremlin, Ukraine, Russian, Ukrainian, Moscow's, Chechnya, Syria

☆ Where are Russian generals Gerasimov and Surovikin after Wagner rebellion?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Absent from view too is General Sergei Surovikin, nicknamed "General Armageddon" by the Russian press for his aggressive tactics in the Syrian conflict, who is deputy commander of Russian forces in Ukraine. Rybar, an influential channel on the Telegram messaging application run by a former Russian defence ministry press officer, said a purge was underway. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov attend an annual meeting of the Defence Ministry Board in Moscow, Russia, December 21, 2022. Dara Massicot, an expert in the Russian military at the RAND Corporation think-tank, said that something looked odd about the video, in which Surovikin has an automatic weapon on his lap. "Surovikin (is) a brute but also one of the more capable Russian commanders," Freedman said on Twitter.

Persons: Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Vladimir Putin, Valery Gerasimov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Gerasimov, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Dmitry Peskov, Wagner, Rybar, Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, Mikhail Kuravlev, Prigozhin, Michael Kofman, Viktor Zolotov, Shoigu, Dara Massicot, He’s, he’s, Alexei Venediktov, vilifying Shoigu, Lawrence Freedman, Freedman, Andrew Osborn, Mike Collett, White, Lisa Shumaker, Angus MacSwan, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: New York Times, Wednesday, Staff, Reuters, Moscow Times, Staff of Russian Armed Forces, Defence Ministry Board, Sputnik, REUTERS, Carnegie Endowment, Twitter, National Guard, Moscow, Tuesday, RAND Corporation, Western, King's College London, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Surovikin, Russia, Russian, Moscow, Ukrainian, Kremlin, Moscow's, Lefortovo, Chechnya, Syria

☆ UN body deplores 'grave' rights abuses by Russia in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A flag is seen on a building during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland February 27, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File PhotoGENEVA, April 28 (Reuters) - A United Nations committee said on Friday it was deeply concerned about human rights violations by Russian forces and private military companies in Ukraine, including enforced disappearances, torture, rape and extrajudicial executions. In its findings on Russia, the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination called on the Russian authorities to investigate allegations of human rights violations committed during the invasion of Ukraine. "The Committee was deeply concerned about the grave human rights violations committed during the ongoing armed conflict by the Russian Federation's military forces and private military companies ...," it said in a statement. There was no immediate comment from the Russian permanent mission to the United Nations in Geneva.

That man was the military commandant of Balakliia, a key figure in Russia’s six-month occupation of the eastern Ukrainian town. Town residents knew the commandant only by his call sign of “Granit,” the Russian word for granite, as Reuters reported in an October investigation into Moscow’s withdrawal from the town. One of the documents listed Valery Sergeyevich Buslov as among the Russian officers present in Balakliia, stating his role was military commandant. He has served as the Kaliningrad garrison’s military commandant, responsible for maintaining discipline among troops and sailors stationed there, according to a 2019 military newspaper article. By May, the military commandant had arrived in Balakliia, according to Oleksandr, one of the two female residents and another local woman.

☆ Ukraine says Black Sea grain deal ship inspections are resuming
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, April 19 (Reuters) - Inspections of ships are resuming under a U.N.-brokered agreement on the safe export of grain from Ukrainian Black Sea ports, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Wednesday. He wrote on Facebook that "ship inspections are being resumed, despite the RF's (Russian Federation's) attempts to disrupt the agreement." Kubrakov is in Turkey to discuss the status of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which was agreed by Russia and Ukraine last July to help alleviate a global food crisis. Kyiv says Russian inspectors stopped letting through vessels supposed to ship grain from Ukraine. RIA quoted the Russian foreign ministry as on Wednesday as saying Ukraine and the United Nations were causing difficulties with the ship inspections.

☆ Ukraine live war updates: 'U.S. can cheat at any moment,' Russian foreign minister says, claiming NATO's expansion proves this
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

He wrote on Facebook that "ship inspections are being resumed, despite the RF's (Russian Federation's) attempts to disrupt the agreement." Kyiv says Russian inspectors stopped letting through vessels supposed to ship grain from Ukraine. "Obviously, the Russians could not fail to take advantage of these nuances on the western (Ukrainian) border," Solsky told reporters. RIA quoted the Russian foreign ministry as on Wednesday as saying Ukraine and the United Nations were causing difficulties with the ship inspections. Ukraine and Poland reached an agreement on Tuesday to unblock transit of Ukrainian grain from Friday, but the import bans remain in place in Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.

[1/2] Ukrainian artillery fires towards the frontline during heavy fighting amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 13, 2023. Western countries have in the past pointed to acrimony between the Russian defence ministry (MoD) and the country's main mercenary force Wagner as a major Russian weakness. Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Russian commanders had redirected troops to Bakhmut from other areas. The British update said the Ukrainians still held western districts of the town but had been subjected to particularly intense Russian artillery fire over the previous 48 hours. Moscow says it would open a route to capturing more territory in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, a major war aim.

☆ Russia says Su-35 scrambled over Baltic as 2 US bombers flew towards border
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 20 (Reuters) - Russia's defence ministry said a Russian Su-35 fighter jet was scrambled over the Baltic Sea on Monday after two U.S. strategic bombers flew in the direction of the Russian border, but that it returned to base after they moved away. It said the targets were U.S. Air Force B52H strategic bombers. It said a Su-35 fighter jet took to the air in order to prevent a border violation, and added, "after the foreign military aircraft moved away from the Russian Federation state border, the Russian fighter returned to its base airfield." "No violation of the state border of the Russian Federation was permitted," it said. Reporting by Elaine Monaghan and Ron Popeski; editing by Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Financial crime watchdog FATF suspends Russia's membership over Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Global financial crime watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Friday suspended Russia's membership, saying Moscow's war in Ukraine violated the organisation's principles. "The Russian Federation's actions unacceptably run counter to the FATF core principles aiming to promote security, safety, and the integrity of the global financial system", the Paris-based group said in a statement. "The Russian Federation remains accountable for its obligation to implement the FATF Standards. The Russian Federation must continue to meet its financial obligations," the FATF said. The FATF is an inter-governmental organisation that underpins the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing by setting global standards and checking if countries respect them.

☆ Ukraine imposes 50-year sanctions on Russian financial sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Ukraine's parliament imposed sweeping 50-year sanctions on Thursday on Russian financial institutions including the central bank, all commercial banks, investment funds, insurers and other enterprises. "It is a complete block on financial institutions of the Russian Federation accessing markets and assets in Ukraine. Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the sectoral sanctions would affect hundreds of banks and tens of thousands of financial institutions registered in Russia. The measures include a ban on transactions with assets owned by the Russian Federation's financial institutions, a ban on establishing business relations and a ban on transactions and investments in Russian financial institutions, Svyrydenko said. Ukraine is also urging its Western partners to impose more sanctions on Moscow, including taking steps that target Russia's nuclear sector.

☆ Russia, South Africa and a 'redesigned global order': The Kremlin's hearts and minds machine is steaming ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Pretoria as part of an African tour, his second since the invasion, which will also reportedly take him to Botswana, Angola and Eswatini. On Feb. 24 2022, shortly after the Ukraine invasion, South Africa urged Russia to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine. South Africa was one of 15 African nations to abstain from the subsequent U.N. vote in March to condemn Russia's war of aggression. watch nowShe emphasized the multilateral responsibilities of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) bloc of leading emerging economies in a changing global landscape. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that "the United States has concerns about any country … exercising with Russia as Russia wages a brutal war against Ukraine."

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