DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Russians inflict 'massive attack' on Ukraine's energy network, leaving power plants damaged
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Russia used more than 50 missiles and 20 drones to attack Ukraine's infrastructure overnight, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday morning, with the country's energy network suffering a "massive attack." "The enemy does not abandon plans to deprive Ukrainians of light. Again a massive attack on our energy!" Ukraine's Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on Facebook Wednesday. Power plants and transmission facilities were attacked in a number of regions, he said, including the southern Zaporizhzhia region and Vinnytsia and Lviv in central and western Ukraine.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, German Galushchenko Organizations: Ukraine's Energy, German, Facebook Locations: Russia, Vinnytsia, Lviv, Ukraine

☆ An alleged plot to assassinate Zelenskyy gives an alarming look into how deeply Russia can penetrate his inner circle
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewUkraine's security service, the SBU, said on Tuesday that it had foiled the latest Russian plot to assassinate Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top officials. Among those allegedly involved in the planned assassinations were senior members of Ukraine's government protection service. Last year, the Ukrainian president said he was aware of so many plots against his life since the start of the war he'd lost count. Related storiesAccording to SBU, the men involved in the latest plot were working as part of a network of agents for the Russian FSB security service. It's alleged that the plotters had planned to kill Budanov by Orthodox Easter (May 5) and the mission was "supposed to be a gift to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's inauguration."

Persons: —, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mark Episkopos, he'd, SBU, Artem Dehtiarenko, Vasyl Malyuk, Kyril Budanov, It's, Budanov, Vladimir, Putin's, Maxim Mishustin, Dmytro Perlin, Aleksii Organizations: Service, Business, Eurasia Research, Quincy Institute, Responsible Locations: Eurasia, Russia, Russian

☆ Opinion: Russia can lose this war
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Opinion Timothy Snyder | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And far too many of us, during Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, have believed that. Of its three most consequential foreign wars, the Red Army lost two. And the Russian army of today is not the Red Army. It was disproportionately Ukrainians who fought their war to Berlin in the uniform of the Red Army. Russia can lose this war, and should, for the sake of Russians themselves.

Persons: Timothy Snyder, Richard C, Levin, “, ”, Read, Leonid Brezhnev, Putin, Alexander Nemenov, Brezhnev, Vladimir Putin, Robert Nickelsberg Organizations: Global Affairs, Yale University, CNN, Russia, Getty, Red, Red Army, Soviet, Lease, Russian Empire, Russo, Fascism Locations: Nazi Germany, Russia, Ukraine, AFP, Poland, Afghanistan, USSR, Soviet Ukraine, Berlin, United States, Russian, Crimean, Japanese, Europe, Pacific, Kabul, Soviet Union, Crimea, Japan, Soviet, Ukrainian

☆ Russians are so desperate to see Western pop stars, they are paying to go on 'concert vacations' abroad
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Mikhaila Friel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The company has sold 150 concert vacations since last year, according to The Telegraph. Russian music fans, however, appear to be so desperate to see their favorite artists that they are paying thousands to go on "concert vacations" abroad. A spokesperson for the operator told The Telegraph that it had sold 150 concert vacations since it launched its packages in the fall of last year. One of the packages — a five-day trip to see Ed Sheeran perform in Belgrade, Serbia, in August — costs around $1,123. "Western superstars don't perform in Moscow anymore," Jonny Tickle, a British man living in Moscow, wrote on X.

Persons: Ed Sheeran, James Blunt, —, Snoop, Sheeran, Jonny Tickle, Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, Adele, Tickle, Guy Berryman, hadn't, Coldplay, Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, Elzy, Vakarchuk Organizations: The, Service, Express, The Telegraph, Scorpions, Ukraine, Europa, Coldplay, Russian Express Locations: Russian, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Zagreb, Croatia, Dubai, Belgrade, Serbia, Moscow, British, Dua, Munich, Budapest, Vienna, Ukrainian, Brussels

☆ Journalist sounds alarm on dangers of propaganda, calling it ‘one of the worst crises for American democracy this century’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“I think it is at the center of one of the worst crises for American democracy this century, certainly in recent decades,” Applebaum told me by phone Tuesday. “They don’t believe journalists. They don’t believe independent ombudsman. They don’t believe institutions or science. It is not possible to understand why Trump continues to hold a firm grip over the Republican Party without understanding the propaganda machine at his disposal.

Persons: CNN — Anne Applebaum, ”, Donald Trump, Applebaum, authoritarians —, ” Applebaum, Vladimir Putin’s, Vladimir Putin’s Russia “, Trump, Rupert Murdoch, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Steve Bannon, “, it’s, Steve Bannon’s, that’s, David Muir, Lester Holt, Norah O’Donnell, Carlson, MAGA Organizations: CNN, Trump, Putin, Sputnik, MAGA Media, New York Times, Washington, Fox News, Republican Party Locations: U.S, Vladimir Putin’s Russia, Ukraine

CNN —Vladimir Putin has formally begun his fifth term as Russia’s president in a carefully choreographed inauguration ceremony, in a country he has shaped in his image after first taking office nearly a quarter of a century ago. Putin won Russia’s stage-managed election by an overwhelming majority in March, securing for himself another six-year term that could see him rule until at least his 77th birthday. Attendees wait in the Kremlin as Putin arrives for his inauguration ceremony. Putin waves during his inauguration ceremony. To ensure it has enough drones and missiles to bombard Ukraine, Russia has also entered into deeper partnerships with Iran and North Korea.

Persons: CNN — Vladimir Putin, Putin, – Putin, “, Matthew Miller, Putin’s, Maxim Shemetov, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Alexey Navalny, Navalny, ”, ” Putin Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, US State Department, Reuters, US Embassy, Presidential Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United States, Kremlin, Moscow, Russian, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Iran, North Korea

☆ A Russian helicopter fought an unusual Ukrainian drone armed with heat-seeking missiles, war watchers say
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Ukraine used exploding drone boats to attack Russian naval assets on Monday. AdvertisementUkraine appears to be arming its naval drones with heat-seeking missiles to defend against air attacks, an unusual innovation for Kyiv's growing arsenal of explosive unmanned systems. Equipping the Ukrainian drones with this kind of air-combat munition could help them defend against aerial attacks, war watchers suspect. In the Black Sea, Russian forces spotted a Ukrainian USV armed with a twin rail launcher for R-73 all-aspect IR homing air-to-air missiles. Monday's naval drone attack marked the latest strike on a Russian naval asset.

Persons: —, 🐈🇺 Organizations: Service, br Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Crimean, Moscow, Ukrainian, Crimea, Kherson

☆ Watch an exploding Ukrainian drone boat dodge fire from the air to kill one of the small, high-speed Russian ships still fighting in the Black Sea
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The attack marks Ukraine's latest strike against the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The video cuts just as the Ukrainian drone slams into the vessel. A Magura V5 sea drone destroyed a russian speedboat in temporarily occupied Crimea. Ukrainian forces have heavily relied on their arsenals of Magura V5s and Sea Babies — another type of exploding naval drone — to damage and destroy scores Russian warships in the Black Sea. Still, Kyiv has managed to find success in targeting Russian vessels with its drones.

Persons: —, HUR Organizations: Service, Ukrainian, Directorate of Intelligence, Business, Black, —, Sea, Security Service Locations: Russia, Russian, Bay, Crimean, Moscow, Crimea, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Kyiv, pic.twitter.com

☆ Ukraine will have to wait till 2025 to mount a counteroffensive against Russia, US national security advisor says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia will make advances in the "coming period" even though US aid to Ukraine is coming, he said. "You can't instantly flip the switch," Sullivan said. Sullivan was speaking at The Financial Times Weekend Festival in Washington on Saturday when he offered his assessment of the Ukraine war. AdvertisementA counteroffensive, where Ukraine can "move forward to recapture the territory that the Russians have taken from them," will only take place in 2025, Sullivan said. Advertisement"The severity of this moment cannot be overstated: If we do not continue to support Ukraine, Ukraine could lose," said Cavoli, who is also NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

Persons: Russia isn't, Jake Sullivan, Sullivan, —, didn't, Sullivan's, Christopher Cavoli, Cavoli Organizations: Service, The Financial, BI, GOP, US, Armed, Institute for Locations: Ukrainian, Russia, Ukraine, Washington, Russian, Europe

☆ Thousands of Ukrainians have been sent to Russian prisons. Ukraine says they’re being held as bargaining chips
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +22 min

The Ukrainian government says there are thousands of people like Dima, civilians arrested by Russia who have been held in arbitrary detention for years. In the early weeks of the war, Russian troops took over their home, parking their tank in the garden and stealing anything of value. Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia opened a second pre-trial detention facility in Simferopol, SIZO No. Detained civilians, however, are stuck in limbo. Mariana Checheliuk's photos were among those displayed by relatives of detained civilians at a recent protest in Kyiv.

Persons: Ukraine CNN — “, ”, Vasyl Khyliuk, Dmytro Khyliuk, Dima, –, Ivana Kottasova, Dmytro Lubinets, Lubinets, ” Achille Després, Cross, it’s, Vasyl, ” Vasyl, Halyna, “, Dmytro Khyliuk’s, Russia —, Khyliuk, Anastasiia, MIHR, Pantielieieva, CNN “ We’ve, ” Pantielieieva, Yulia Khrypun, Serhii, ’, Serhii Khrypun, Yulia, ” Yulia, Mariana Checheliuk, Mariana, Natalia Checheliuk, ” Natalia, ’ ” Natalia, Alexander Ermochenko, Mariana –, Mila, Natalia, Volodymyr, Zelensky, Mariana Checheliuk's Organizations: Ukraine CNN, Ukrainian Independent, Agency, Kyiv, CNN, Russian Federation, International Committee, Ukrainian, Organization for Security, Getty, Media Initiative, Human Rights, Penal, Russian Investigative Committee, Russian Prison Service, ICRC, Russian Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, Russian Federal Security Service, Russian National Guard, Directorate, General Staff, Serhii, Crimean Human Rights, Maxar Technologies, Volunteers, Russia, United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, Security Service of Ukraine, Ukraine’s, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Information Bureau, Ministry, “, Headquarters Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Dima, Ukrainian, Kozarovychi, Russia, Geneva, Europe, Novozybkov, Russia’s Bryansk, Russia’s Vladimir, Mordovia, Russian, Moscow, Bryansk, Nove, Tokmak, Melitopol, Olenivka, Kursk, Crimea, Kamensk, Russia’s Rostov, Yulia Khrypun Russia, Chonhar, Kherson, Crimean, Crimean Tatars, Simferopol, SIZO, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, ‘, Mariupol, Zaporizhzhia, Bezimenne, Donetsk People’s Republic, Azovstal, Donetsk, Taganrog, Kamyshin, Russia’s Volgograd, Qatar

☆ The Russian Army may have defeated Ukraine — if it had followed its own manual
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

It is also evidence of a major reason why Russian troops have often fought poorly in the Ukraine war: they are not following their own playbook. Artem Priakhin/Getty ImagesAssessing current Russian doctrine is difficult. However, the problem may not have been Russian doctrine as much as the overall strategy of the Ukraine war. "There are plenty of aspects to their defense that are entirely consistent with their historical practice and doctrine," Boston said. If the Russian military was that bad, then maybe the Ukrainian military wasn't that good?

Persons: Scott Boston, Artem Priakhin, wouldn't, Ukraine's, Michael Peck Organizations: US, RAND Corp, Kyiv, Russian Army, Aerospace Forces, Warsaw, Kyiv —, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Russian, Boston, St . Petersburg, Soviet, Western Europe, Iraq, Forbes

☆ Pentagon races to prop up Ukraine's hard-fighting 47th Mechanized Brigade that's exhausted, report says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Pentagon plans to replenish the powerhouse brigade with Bradley fighting vehicles, Forbes said. AdvertisementUkraine's hard-fighting 47th Mechanized Brigade is battle-weary and urgently needs US support, Forbes reports. Trained by NATO instructors, the 47th Brigade all-volunteer unit is one of Ukraine's powerhouse brigades. Russia's 30th Motor Rifle Brigade took advantage of the rotational lapse as the 47th Brigade withdrew and attacked, capturing a large swathe of territory. AdvertisementBeyond material support and tactical adjustments, the 47th Brigade needs a reprieve from the relentless cycle of conflict.

Persons: Bradley, Forbes, —, Putin, Bradley IFVs, Bradley IFV, ince Organizations: Pentagon, Service, Mechanized Brigade, Forbes, NATO, 47th Brigade, M1, Bradley, Ministry of Defense, 47th Mechanized Brigade, ust Locations: Ukraine, Stepove, Avdiivka

☆ The UK could need an Israeli-style Iron Dome air defense system, says former US national security advisor
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewFormer US National Security Advisor General HR McMaster has said the UK must prepare for possible future conflicts by building an Israeli-style Iron Dome air defense system. Indeed, the UK is considering developing its own Iron Dome air defense system amid growing tensions with Russia and its allies. The Israeli modelMissiles launched from the Iron Dome defense system attempt to intercept a rocket fired from Gaza strip. Related storiesIsrael's short-range Iron Dome is a mobile all-weather air defense system that has been in service since 2011. Aside from internal discussions on an Iron Dome, the UK is in talks to join Europe's aerial defense system.

Persons: —, McMaster, Adm, Sir Tony Radakin, Michael Clarke, Clarke, MAHMUD HAMS, Rishi Sunak, Israel, Aleksey Zhuravlyov, Putin, Vladimir Solovyov, I've, T6GN35UGtG — Anton Gerashchenko Organizations: Service, US National Security, McMaster, LBC, Business, Britain's Armed Forces, Iron, Getty, UK, Newsweek, Design, Sky, UK Ministry of Defense, NATO Locations: United Kingdom, United States, Israel, Russia, Europe, China, Iran, North Korea, Gaza, AFP, London, Ukraine, British, Russian, Baltic

☆ A Ukrainian war reporter's story: Why I refused to make a 'deal with the devil'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

He was a student at Mariupol State University in 2014 when war broke out in the Donbas, and Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula. "I refused to make a deal with the devil. Ponomarenko said he believes the war has "shown what ordinary people are capable of" and has helped reveal "their true selves," pointing to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as evidence. AdvertisementCapturing it would put Russian forces within striking distance of Ukrainian operational and supply centers in the area. "Bucha was the greatest moment for me because it shows that life prevails," Ponomarenko said.

Persons: —, Ponomarenko, Viktor Yanukovych, Libkos, Rushing Organizations: Service, Mariupol State University, Business, Kyiv, Kyiv Independent Locations: Volnovakha, Ukraine's, Donetsk, Russia, Kyiv, Dnipro, Avdiivka, Ukraine

☆ Paris 2024: Ukrainian athletes urged to avoid Russians and Belarusians at Olympics
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Radina Gigova | Svitlana Vlasova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Ukrainian athletes have been urged by the country’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) to avoid contact with Russians and Belarusians during the 2024 Olympics in Paris so that possible “provocative actions” can be prevented. Ukrainian athletes are also asked “not to communicate or discuss on social media with individual neutral athletes from Russia and Belarus” and not to share or respond to their content. Ukrainian athletes are also urged to refrain from “participating in press conferences, live broadcasts, interviews and other promotional events with individual neutral athletes of the Russian Federation and Belarus before and after the competition,” according to the recommendations. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in December that Russian and Belarusian athletes will only be eligible to compete as individual neutral athletes at this year’s Paris Games. Teams of Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be considered, while athletes who actively support the war against Ukraine will also be ineligible.

Persons: ”, “, Dmytro Kuleba, ” Kuleba, Alexander Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin Organizations: CNN, country’s, Olympic Committee, Ministry of Youth, Sports, Belarus ”, Russian Federation, Paris, Games, IOC Locations: Paris, Russia, Belarus, Belarusian, Ukraine

☆ A NATO country says it could join Ukraine's war with Russia if 2 conditions are met
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

AdvertisementFrench President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed that he'd consider sending French troops to Ukraine and spelled out the conditions in which this could place. He added that if Russia defeated Ukraine, it would then probably seek to attack another European country. Related storiesMacron's remarks about sending French troops to defend Ukraine are among the most hawkish by a Western leader. In response to Macron's earlier remarks, the Kremlin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said deploying NATO troops to Ukraine would lead to war between Russia and the alliance. Analysts recently discussed with Business Insider the likelihood of Russia attacking NATO, with the Russian-military expert Ruth Deyermond saying Putin's regime was too weak militarily to risk a direct confrontation with NATO.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, —, Macron, Vladimir Putin, I'm, they've, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Ruth Deyermond Organizations: Service, NATO, Ukraine, Russia, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, Analysts, Business Locations: Ukraine, France, Russian, Europe, Russia, Radio Free Europe

☆ A NATO country said it could join Ukraine's war with Russia if 2 conditions are met
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

His remarks about French soldiers defending Ukraine are among the most hawkish by a Western leader. AdvertisementFrance's President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed that he would consider sending French troops to Ukraine, and spelled out the conditions in which this could place. He added that if Russia defeats Ukraine it would then likely seek to attack another European country. Related storiesMacron's remarks about sending French troops to defend Ukraine were among the most hawkish by a Western leader. The Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, in response to Macron's earlier remarks, said that deploying NATO troops to Ukraine would lead to war between Russia and the alliance.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, —, Macron, Vladimir Putin, I'm, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Ruth Deyermond Organizations: Service, NATO, Ukraine, RFE, RL, Business Locations: Ukraine, France, Russian, Europe, Russia

☆ Ukraine says it's cracking down on satellite images of its territory in case they give away secrets to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine wants to limit companies taking satellite imagery of its territory, according to reports. Russia could access the images through shell companies, a Ukrainian defense official said. AdvertisementUkraine says it is cracking down on satellite images of its territory over fears that they could be used by Russia against it, according to reports. "Every day, satellite companies take images of Ukrainian territory. These images can be used by the enemy," Ukraine's deputy defense minister, Kateryna Chernohorenko, said in a statement relayed by multiple media outlets.

Persons: —, Kateryna Chernohorenko, Chernohorenko, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense didn't, Elon Musk's, Elon Musk Organizations: Service, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, Kyiv Independent, Ukrainska Pravda, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, Business, Bloomberg, Wall Street Locations: Ukraine, Russia, China, Radio Free Europe, Kyiv

☆ Russian forces are operating at same base as US troops in Niger
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Natasha Bertrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The Russians have been using a separate hangar on the base, known as Air Base 101, the sources said, and are not operating in the same space as the Americans. They also raised questions about the future of Air Base 101 and whether it would be ceded to the Russians, CNN previously reported. Reuters first reported that the Russians troops had entered Air Base 101. Russian media reported on April 11 that Russia was sending equipment and 100 military trainers to Niger, though one of the sources said Russian troops were in the country well before April. More than half of the US troops stationed at the French military base in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, have now left the country and relocated to Germany.

Persons: Michael Langley, Celeste Wallander, Sabrina Singh Organizations: CNN, Russian, Air Base, US Africa Command, Nigerien, Pentagon, Reuters, Russia’s Defense Locations: Niger, Ukraine, Russian, Russia, Chad, N’Djamena, Germany

☆ Biden calls US ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with Russia and China
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Arlette Saenz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —President Joe Biden on Wednesday called close US ally Japan “xenophobic” at a Washington, D.C., fundraiser, just weeks after lauding the US-Japan alliance at a state dinner. The president made the remark while arguing that Japan, along with Russia and China, would perform better economically if the countries embraced immigration more. Because we welcome immigrants,” Biden said, according to reporters traveling with the president at a fundraiser with Asian American and Pacific Islander supporters. Immigrants are what makes us strong.”Biden had similarly cast Japan, Russia and China as “xenophobic” during an interview with a Spanish language radio station in March. The latest critique of Japan comes less than a month after he hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a state visit.

Persons: Joe Biden, ” Biden, “, ”, Fumio Kishida, Biden, Jessie Yeung Organizations: CNN, D.C, American, Pacific, Immigrants, Japanese, White House Locations: Japan, Washington, Russia, China

☆ Bulgarian Distrust of Russia Simmers Over a Black Sea Oil Terminal
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The oil terminal’s piers stretch just a few score yards into the Black Sea from the Bulgarian coast. For 25 years, the Russian crude they received fed a sprawling network of economic and political influence that helped keep Bulgaria tethered tightly to the Kremlin. In recent months, however, Russia has steadily lost its grip on the Rosenets Oil Terminal, near the Black Sea port city of Burgas. Bulgaria has taken back control of the piers and has laid plans to take over management of the refinery from its Russian owner, Lukoil, if it balks at processing non-Russian oil. In January, Bulgaria halted shipments of Russian crude.

Locations: Bulgarian, Bulgaria, Russian, Russia, Burgas

☆ US says Russia used choking agents against Ukrainian troops, breaching chemical weapons ban
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident, and is probably driven by Russian forces’ desire to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical gains on the battlefield,” it said. Russia has previously denied using chemical weapons. The US has previously warned Russia against chemical warfare in Ukraine; in March 2022, a month after the invasion began, President Joe Biden said that NATO would respond if Russia used chemical weapons in Ukraine. The use of chemical weapons is banned by international law. Russia has signed those treaties and claims it doesn’t have chemical weapons, but the country has already been linked to the use of nerve agents against critics in recent years.

Persons: Ukraine’s, Chloropicrin, Joe Biden, Mallory Stewart, Sergei Skripal, Alexey Navalny –, Vladimir Putin, Navalny Organizations: CNN, US State Department, Ukrainian, Chemical Weapons Convention, CWC, Russian Embassy, CDC, State Department, United, United Arab Emirates, US, NATO Locations: United States, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Netherlands, China, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Slovakia, Turkey, United Arab, Moscow, Ukrainian, Siberia

☆ A Russian zoo said it sent peacocks to the front to 'inspire' troops. It deleted its post after people used it to mock Putin.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Russian zoo said it sent two peacocks to those fighting in Ukraine. AdvertisementA Russian zoo said it sent two peacocks to Ukraine with the aim of inspiring Russian troops fighting there — but then deleted its post after people mocked Russian President Vladimir Putin in the comments, according to reports. He added that an aviary was being built for the birds, according to Ukrainian outlet Pravda's reporting. The zoo later deleted its announcement post, according to The Daily Beast and Pravda. Putin has also put in place a law that effectively criminalizes any reference to the fighting in Ukraine being a "war" or "invasion."

Persons: Putin, —, Vladimir Putin, It's Organizations: Service, Lipetsk Zoo, VK, Daily, Pravda Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Lipetsk, Russia, Ukrainian

☆ Ex-N.S.A. Employee Who Tried to Sell U.S. Secrets to Russia Gets 22 Years
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Johnny Diaz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A former employee of the National Security Agency who thought that he was selling top secrets to the Russians was sentenced on Monday to nearly 22 years in prison, prosecutors said. The former employee, Jareh Sebastian Dalke, 32, of Colorado Springs, was sentenced to 262 months, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado. He pleaded guilty last year to six counts of attempting to transmit classified national defense information to a foreign agent. “This defendant, who had sworn an oath to defend our country, believed he was selling classified national security information to a Russian agent, when in fact, he was outing himself to the F.B.I.,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. Cole Finegan, the U.S. attorney for the District of Colorado, said Mr. Dalke’s sentence “reflects the seriousness of the actions he took in attempt to injure our country and help a foreign government.”

Persons: Jareh Sebastian Dalke, General Merrick B, Garland, Cole Finegan, ” Organizations: National Security Agency, Attorney’s, District of, ” Locations: Colorado Springs, District of Colorado, Russian, U.S

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Odesa reels from deadly missile attack; 98-year-old walks miles under fire to escape advancing Russians
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Russia has targeted the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv in a missile strike, local officials said Tuesday. Oleh Synehubov, the head of the Kharkiv regional state administration, said on Telegram that two people were killed and six were injured in the strike. "The occupiers hit the city of Kharkiv with two anti-aircraft guns [anti-aircraft guided missiles], the hits to the ground were recorded in the Kyiv district. In one of the residential buildings, the facade and glazing of the windows of the building were damaged," Synehubov said. It's widely believed that Russian forces are aiming to recapture the city of Kharkiv in their forthcoming summer offensive.

Persons: Oleh Synehubov, Synehubov, Ihor Terekhov, Sergei Lavrov, — Holly Ellyatt Organizations: Kharkiv, Russia's Locations: Russia, Ukrainian, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Kholodnohirsky, Moscow

Search resuls for: "Russians"

25 mentions found