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☆ US Marines don skis in joint NATO exercises in the critical Arctic battleground
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Last month, II MEF attended a 10-day training course in the hills near the Norwegian town of Setermoen. "I think that's one of the things that we see with our marines and sailors in this training," said II MEF commander, Lt. AdvertisementThe II MEF, the US military's rapid response group, was ordered to delay the hypothetical enemy so that "reinforcements" had time to arrive. The Arctic is a key locationThe Arctic itself is already a critical region for Russia and NATO. AdvertisementPutin has snapped back at the West following French President Emmanuel Macron's suggestions that NATO could send troops to Ukraine.

Persons: —, Ted Driscoll, David A, JONATHAN NACKSTRAND, Grant Schapps, Pål Jonson, Mark Stephens, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Emmanuel Macron's, Sergei Naryshkin, General Carl, Johan Edstrom, it's Organizations: Service, US Marines, Marine Expeditionary Force, NATO, Marines, Business, NBC News, Nato Nordic, Getty, Reuters, NBC, Norwegian Communication Authority, Brookings Institution, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, BBC Locations: Alaska, Norway, Norwegian, Setermoen, Iraq, Afghanistan, AFP, Russia, Ukraine, Finland, Sweden, North America, Europe, Russian

☆ The Russian pilot who defected to Ukraine was shot 5 times while less than 500 feet away from a police station: WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Maksym Kuzminov was a Russian helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine in August. AdvertisementMaksym Kuzminov, the 28-year-old Russian helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine in August and later moved to Spain, was shot five times while less than 500 feet away from a local police station, The Wall Street Journal reported. A medic found five small-caliber shots, one of which directly hit his heart, revealing the accuracy with which the perpetrator killed Kuzminov, according to the report. Western intelligence officials and a former Russian intelligence officer told The Journal last year that Nikolai Patrushev, a close associate of Putin, orchestrated his death. AdvertisementFollowing reports of Kuzminov's death, Moscow's foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin appeared to support the Russian pilot's fate.

Persons: Maksym Kuzminov, Kuzminov, —, Maksym, Vladimir Putin's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Nikolai Patrushev, Putin, Alexey Navalny, Navalny, Joe Biden, Sergei Naryshkin, Naryshkin Organizations: Service, Street Journal, Russian, Biden Administration, TASS Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Spain, Villajoyosa, Moscow

☆ Russian spy chief who once participated in US-funded program suggests that other Russians who participated in US-funded programs are disloyal
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewThe head of Russia's foreign intelligence service claimed Thursday that the US could meddle in Russia's upcoming presidential election. Washington could do this, SVR chief Sergei Naryshkin baselessly claimed, by creating a "fifth column" in Russia consisting of Russians who participated in US-funded exchange programs. The term "fifth column" refers to a group of people working to undermine a nation's interests from within. Naryshkin was parroting Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has repeatedly warned of a fifth column within the country's borders.

Persons: —, Sergei Naryshkin baselessly, Naryshkin, Anastasia Burakova, Washington, they'll, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Service, Business, USAID, Foreign Relations, Government Locations: Washington, Russia, USAID, Europe, Leningrad Oblast, Russian, masse, Ukraine

☆ Who is in Putin's delegation to China - and who stayed in Moscow?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives for the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, October 18, 2023. Sputnik/Dmitry Azarov/Pool via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently on a visit to China, his second only trip outside the former Soviet Union since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Who is in the Russian delegation with Putin - and who stayed in Russia? Before Putin left for China, he was shown at a meeting with defence and spy chiefs at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow. The following top officials are thought to be in Russia.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Azarov, Alexander Novak, Sergei Lavrov, Yuri Ushakov, Maxim Oreshkin, Dmitry Peskov, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Anton Siluanov, Maxim Reshetnikov, Dmitry Shugaev, Yuri Chikhanchin, Dmitry Chernyshenko, Igor Morgulov, Igor Sechin, Alexei Miller, Alexei Likhachev, Andrei Kostin, Igor Shuvalov, Leonid Mikhelson, Oleg Belozyorov, Kirill Dmitriev, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Nikolai Patrushev, Alexander Bortnikov, Dmitry Medvedev, Anton Vaino, Sergei Kiriyenko, Mikhail Mishustin, Viktor Zolotov, Sergei Naryshkin, Guy Faulconbridge, Muralikumar Organizations: Forum, Sputnik, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Soviet Union, Putin, Kremlin, Central Bank Governor, Federal Service for Military, Gazprom, VEB, Russian, Russian Direct Investment, Russia Security, Federal Security Service, Russia's Foreign Intelligence, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Ukraine, Russia, CHINA, North Korea, China BUSINESSPERSONS, Moscow, Russian

☆ Putin's Spy Master Says Issue of Ukraine Support Turning 'Toxic' in US
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign intelligence chief said on Wednesday that the issue of support for Ukraine was becoming toxic in the United States and that the divisions would deepen ahead of next year's U.S. presidential election. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, the United States and the European Union have made more than $160 billion in commitments to Ukraine, including tens of billions of dollars in weapons. Republican lawmakers' ouster of House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy has raised questions about the future of aid to Ukraine. The United States has also repeatedly urged Kyiv to do more to tackle corruption, CNN reported this month. Naryshkin, who has served as Russia's foreign spy chief since October 2016, said the ouster of McCarthy illustrated the "malignancy" of the Ukraine issue in the U.S. body politic.

Persons: Vladimir Putin's, Joe Biden, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Sergei Naryshkin, Naryshkin, Putin, Kevin McCarthy, McCarthy, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones Organizations: European Union, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, Diplomats, Republican, United, CNN Locations: MOSCOW, Ukraine, United States, Russia, Baku, Washington, Kyiv, U.S, Western, Moscow

Director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergei Naryshkin delivers a speech during a ceremony unveiling the monument to founder of the Soviet secret police Felix Dzerzhinsky at the service's headquarters in Moscow, Russia, September 11, 2023. Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Sept 11 (Reuters) - A bronze statue of "Iron Felix" Dzerzhinsky, the ruthless founder of the Soviet secret police and architect of the Red Terror which followed the 1917 revolution, was unveiled on Monday at the headquarters of Russia's foreign spy service. Sergei Naryshkin, the chief of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), successor to the KGB's famed First Chief Directorate, marked the unveiling of the statue outside its Yasenevo headquarters in southern Moscow. Dzerzhinsky towered above Naryshkin, Putin's 68-year-old spy master, who stood with a group of other men - many of them unknown. The statue at the SVR looks remarkably similar to the one that once stood on Lubyanka Square.

Persons: Sergei Naryshkin, Felix Dzerzhinsky, Felix, Dzerzhinsky, Josef Stalin, Vladimir Putin's, Naryshkin, Nikita Petrov, Vladimir Lenin's, Lenin's, Putin, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Foreign Intelligence Service, Russian Federation, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, Reuters, Russian, Commission, Cheka, State Political Directorate, State Political, NKVD, Internal Affairs, KGB, Federal Security Service, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Vladimir Putin's Russia, Poland, Soviet Union, Dzerzhinsky, Soviet

But he said that for most of the call, lasting about an hour, "we considered and discussed what to do with Ukraine". Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in February 2022, says other countries should not negotiate its future on its behalf, and the United States has repeatedly backed this principle, described as "nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine". TALKS 'SOONER OR LATER'Naryshkin told TASS that negotiations on the war would become possible at some point. Podolyak said Russia was losing the war and there could be no negotiations with people like Naryshkin. "This Russian elite perceives events completely inadequately, so there is nothing to talk about with them."

Persons: Wagner, Naryshkin, Sergei Naryshkin, William Burns, Burns, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Mykhailo Podolyak, Podolyak, Anna Dabrowska, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: CIA, TASS, The New York Times, Wall Street, Moscow, Kremlin, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, United States, Russian, Russia, Moscow, Washington

MOSCOW, July 10 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin has held Kremlin talks with Wagner mercenary group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and his commanders to discuss the armed mutiny Wagner attempted to mount against the army's top brass, Putin's spokesman said on Monday. The meeting was first reported by French newspaper Liberation, which said Prigozhin had met Putin and the head of the National Guard, Viktor Zolotov, and SVR Foreign Intelligence boss Sergei Naryshkin. Peskov told reporters that Putin had invited 35 people to the meeting, including Prigozhin and Wagner unit commanders, and that the meeting had lasted three hours. The brief mutiny led by Prigozhin, in which Wagner fighters took control of the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and a military headquarters building, was defused in a deal brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. Prigozhin was meant to leave for Belarus under the terms of the deal that ended the mutiny.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Putin, Viktor Zolotov, Sergei Naryshkin, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Alexander Lukashenko, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Lukashenko, Andrew Osborn, Mark Trevelyan, Caleb Davis Organizations: French, Liberation, National Guard, SVR Foreign Intelligence, Staff, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Ukraine, Rostov, Russia, Belarus, Moscow, London, Gdansk

☆ CIA director called Kremlin to assure US had no role in aborted mutiny, US media reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - CIA Director William Burns called Russian spy chief Sergei Naryshkin after last week's aborted mutiny in Russia to assure the Kremlin that the United States had no role in it, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. Burns' phone call with Naryshkin, the head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, took place this week and was the highest-level contact between the two governments since the attempted mutiny, the Wall Street Journal said. The boss of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, shocked the world by leading last week's armed revolt, only to abruptly call it off as his fighters approached Moscow. President Joe Biden said on Monday the brief uprising by Russian mercenaries against the Kremlin was part of a struggle within the Russian system and that the United States and its allies were not involved in it. Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Jasper WardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: William Burns, Sergei Naryshkin, Burns, Russia's Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Joe Biden, Kanishka Singh, Jasper Ward Organizations: CIA, New York Times, Wall Street, Wall Street Journal, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Russia, United States, Moscow, Russian, Washington

CNN —Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing the greatest threat to his authority in two decades after Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner paramilitary group and Putin’s former ally, launched an apparent insurrection. Prigozhin has been highly critical of Russia’s military leadership and their handling of the war in Ukraine, but he had always stopped short of criticizing Putin directly. Wagner group also claimed to have seized Russian facilities in a second city, Voronezh, some 600 kilometers (372 miles) to the north of Rostov-on-Don. Alexander Gusev, the governor of the Voronezh region, said the Russian military was engaging in “combat measures” in the area. Stunning escalationSaturday’s dramatic events come off the back of Prigozhin’s very public and months-long feud with Russia’s military leadership.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Prigozhin, Putin, ” Putin, Igor Artamonov, Sergei Sobyanin, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, “, ”, Don “, ” “, ” Prigozhin, Rostov, Don, Alexander Gusev, Shoigu, –, Gen, Vladimir Alekseev, Sergei Naryshkin, Naryshkin, Ramzan Kadyrov, Vladimir Rogov, Rogov saif, ” Wagner, Stringer, Dmytro Kuleba, Serhii Cherevatyi Organizations: CNN, Prigozhin, Moscow, Terrorism, Security, Russian, RIA Novosti, Kremlin, Russian Southern Military Headquarters, Ministry of Defense, Russian Ministry of Defense, Foreign Intelligence Service, Russian Historical Society, Telegram, Southern Military District, Reuters, Russian Foreign, European Union, US State Department, Britain’s Ministry of Defense, Russian National Guard, Ukrainian, Twitter, Ukrainian Armed Forces Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Rostov, Voronezh, Lipetsk, Russia, St . Petersburg, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Prigozhin’s, Prigozhin, Don, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, EU

☆ How mercenary revolt has gathered pace in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

- In a series of subsequent audio recordings posted on Telegram, Prigozhin says the "evil" of Russia's military leadership "must be stopped" and his Wagner mercenary force will lead a "march for justice" against the Russian military. SATURDAY- Prigozhin says his men have crossed the border from Ukraine into Russia and are ready to go "all the way" against the Russian military. - Wagner fighters have entered the southern Russian city of Rostov, Prigozhin says in an audio recording posted on Telegram. - Russian's Defence Ministry issues a statement appealing to Wagner fighters to abandon Prigozhin, saying they have been "deceived and dragged into a criminal adventure". - Russian military helicopters open fire on a convoy of rebel mercenaries already more than half way towards Moscow in a lightning advance after seizing Rostov overnight.

Persons: Wagner, Stringer, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Prigozhin, Sergei Surovikin, Reuters Wagner, Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Sergei Naryshkin, Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Antony Blinken, Pavel Krasheninnikov, Gavin Jones, Giles Elgood, Helen Popper Our Organizations: REUTERS, Moscow, Russian's Defence Ministry, Reuters, TASS, Kremlin, European Union, Ministry, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia's, Voronezh, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, Rostov, Russia's Rostov, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Belarus

☆ Russian spy chief flags 'suspicious' Ukrainian nuclear activity
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 19 (Reuters) - One of Russia's top spymasters said on Monday he hoped that the U.N. nuclear watchdog and the European Union would look into Ukrainian nuclear activity that he said might signal Kyiv was working on a "dirty bomb". Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, did not provide documentary evidence to back his assertions. The Ukrainian defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kyiv has in the past said it takes its responsibilities for nuclear power very seriously while accusing Russia of recklessness when it comes to its control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine. Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: spymasters, Sergei Naryshkin, Naryshkin, Andrew Osborn, Kevin Liffey Organizations: European, Reuters, Russian, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Russia, Ukraine, Rivne, Chornobyl, Moscow

☆ Putin discusses Russia's claim to giant chunk of Arctic Ocean seabed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, Jan 27 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin held talks on Friday with top security officials about the status of Russia's efforts to legally expand the outer boundaries of its continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean. Russia in 2021 filed a submission to the United Nations seeking to redefine its continental shelf, which is believed to contain vast untapped reservoirs of oil and gas. A continental shelf is defined under international law as an area of typically shallow water bordering a country's shoreline that is considered an extension of its territory, allowing the country to exploit its natural resources. "We have several important issues today, colleagues, concerning both the domestic agenda and the issue of the outer limit of Russia's continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean. NATO member states have ramped up Arctic military exercises in recent years, as Russia has expanded and renewed its military infrastructure in the region.

☆ Russia says relations with U.S. at an all-time low
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 20 (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday that relations with the United States were at an all-time low, dismissing the idea the two sides could turn things around halfway through U.S. President Joe Biden's term in office. "Bilateral relations are probably at their lowest point historically, unfortunately," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Already poor U.S.-Russia ties became even more strained last year when Russia invaded Ukraine, prompting Washington and its allies to respond with a barrage of sanctions against Russia's economy. The United States has also provided Kyiv with substantial economic and military support, drawing condemnation from Russian officials who have accused Washington of playing a direct role in the conflict. "The past two years have been, despite initial timid hopes related to Geneva ... very bad for bilateral relations," Peskov said.

☆ Putin says loss of trust in West will make future Ukraine talks harder
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Kevin Liffey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Summary Putin: 'Trust almost at zero'Putin accuses West of betrayal over 2014/15 Minsk agreementsU.S.-Russia intelligence contacts continue, howeverLONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia's near-total loss of trust in the West would make an eventual settlement over Ukraine much harder to reach, although contacts between Russian and U.S. intelligence services were at least continuing. "We thought we would still be able to agree within the framework of the Minsk peace agreements. There is a question of trust," Putin said. "It turns out that no one was going to fulfil all these Minsk agreements," Putin said, "and the point was only to pump up Ukraine with weapons and prepare it for hostilities." Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a news conference following the Eurasian Economic Union summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, December 9, 2022.

Griner arrived in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi by private plane from Moscow as Bout was flown in on a private plane from Washington. Bout, nicknamed the "merchant of death," embraced a Russian official who greeted him and smiled broadly as he was led away. A joint UAE-Saudi statement said the UAE president and Saudi crown prince led mediation efforts that secured Griner's release. Griner was exchanged for Bout, a onetime Russian weapons dealer who had been convicted in the United States and imprisoned for 10 years. During the prisoner swap, Griner was met on the tarmac in UAE by chief U.S. hostage negotiator Roger Carstens.

☆ Russia, U.S. have ways to manage nuclear risks -RIA cites U.S. diplomat
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 28 (Reuters) - Russia and the United States have ways to manage nuclear risks at the level of intelligence agencies, charge d'affaires of the U.S. embassy in Moscow Elizabeth Rood told Russia's state news agency, adding that for now there are no meetings scheduled. Earlier this month, CIA director William Burns met Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russian foreign intelligence, and warned him about the consequences of any Russian use of nuclear weapons, the White House said. Russia has said the issues discussed were "sensitive" and declined to comment on them. read more"The United States has channels for managing risk with the Russian Federation, particularly nuclear risks and that was the purpose of CIA director Burns' meeting with his Russian counterpart," Rood said in a video on RIA's Telegram channel. read moreReporting in Melbourne by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia keeps mum on CIA director's warning over nuclear weapons
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] CIA Director William Burns speaks during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats, in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 15, 2021. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns warned Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, about the consequences of any use of nuclear weapons, a White House official said. It was the first known high-level, face-to-face U.S.-Russian contact since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Zelenskiy said the CIA director had spent time in a bomb shelter before the two men met amid Russian missile strikes. Putin has said Russia will defend its territory with all available means, including nuclear weapons, if attacked.

☆ Morning Bid: Detente and dollars
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Nupur Anand | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan. As investors closely monitor shifting economic sands, signs of some easing of this year's tense geopolitics adds a tailwind to the yearend market bounce. The dollar's ongoing retreat, amid hopes of a downshift in U.S. interest rate rises next month that Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard encouraged late Monday, also riffs off a defusing of at least some extreme political risks. JPMorgan cut its full-year 2022 China growth forecast to 2.9% from 3.1% previously and its 2023 forecast to 4% from 4.5%. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Ukraine hails China's opposition to nuclear threats
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Jonathan Landay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Zelenskiy, who had earlier visited Kherson, the biggest prize his troops have recaptured since the invasion began in February, welcomed Monday's remarks. "It is important that the United States and China jointly highlighted that the threats of using nuclear weapons were unacceptable," Zelenskiy said in a late Monday address. Zelenskiy said Ukraine had gathered evidence of at least 400 war crimes committed by Russian troops during their occupation of the area, including killings and abductions. Mass burial sites have been found in other parts previously occupied by Russian troops, including some with civilian bodies showing signs of torture. Russia says it is waging a "special military operation" in Ukraine to rid it of nationalists and protect Russian-speaking communities.

It cited an unidentified source as saying that Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, would attend the talks. The White House official said Burns, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, was not conducting negotiations of any kind with Naryshkin. Ukraine was briefed in advance about Burns's trip to Turkey, the official said. Burns is not discussing a settlement of the war in Ukraine but is conveying a message on the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons by Russia, the official added. Reporting by Reuters; Additional reporting by Jonathan Spicer in Turkey; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The head of the CIA met with Putin's spy chief to warn Moscow against using a nuke in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

CIA director William Burns warned Putin's spy chief against the use of a nuclear weapon in Ukraine. Burns, a former US ambassador to Russia, met with his Russian counterpart in Ankara on Monday. Burns previously warned that Putin could use a nuke in Ukraine if he feels desperate enough. In April, Burns warned that Putin could use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine if he feels desperate enough. Since those remarks, Russia's fortunes in Ukraine have turned from bad to worse, with Russian forces losing ground to major Ukrainian counteroffensives.

☆ CIA chief in Ankara meeting with Russian counterpart, U.S. official says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns is in Ankara to speak with his Russian intelligence counterpart to convey a message on consequences of any use of nuclear weapons by Russia, a White House official said on Monday. He is not discussing settlement of the war in Ukraine," said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, adding that Burns will also raise the cases of detained Americans in Russia. It cited an unidentified source as saying that Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, would attend the talks. Ties between Washington and Moscow have fallen to their worst in decades since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February. Threats by Russian President Vladimir Putin to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine war have fueled worries about escalation.

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