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☆ Zelensky sacks bodyguard chief after foiled assassination plot
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the head of the the agency responsible for his protection after two of its officers were detained over an alleged assassination plot against him. The sacking of State Guard Service (UDO) chief Serhii Rud was revealed in a decree published on the presidential website. According to Ukrainian state media Ukrinform, Rud was appointed to be Zelensky’s top bodyguard in October 2019. Earlier this week it emerged that Ukraine had detained two security officials allegedly involved in a Russian plot to assassinate Zelensky. The prosecutor’s office said one of the suspects received two drones and ammunition from Russia’s state security service (FSB), which they intended to transfer to another accomplice to carry out an explosion.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, UDO, Serhii Rud, Rud, Zelensky, ”, General’s, Vasyl Maliuk, Kyrylo Organizations: CNN, State Guard Service, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Defence Intelligence Locations: Ukrainian, Ukraine, Russia

☆ Zelensky assassination plot: Two Ukrainian security officials detained over plan to kill president
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Olga Voitovych | Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Two Ukrainian security officials have been detained for planning to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to the country’s State Security Service (SBU). Two Ukrainian government protection unit colonels have been detained and are accused of leaking classified information to Russia, the SBU said Tuesday, after it “exposed a network of agents” belonging to Russia’s state security service (FSB). A woman from the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv was arrested in August 2023 in connection to a plot to assassinate Zelensky. She was accused of gathering intelligence about Zelensky’s planned visit to Mykolaiv in order to plan a Russian airstrike to kill him. The plot was uncovered by Ukrainian authorities and the man was later detained and charged in Poland.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, Zelensky, SBU, Vasyl Maliuk, Kyrylo, Zelensky’s, Prosecutors, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Mitsotakis Organizations: CNN, country’s State Security Service, State, Ukrainian, Defence Intelligence Locations: Russia, “, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Mykolaiv, Russian, Polish, Republic of Poland, Jasionka, Poland, Odesa

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Employees from a Ukrainian arms firm conspired with defense ministry officials to embezzle almost $40 million earmarked to buy 100,000 mortar shells for the war with Russia, Ukraine's security service reported. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected on an anti-corruption platform in 2019, long before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Security officials say that the current investigation dates back to August 2022, when officials signed a contract for artillery shells worth 1.5 billion hryvnias ($39.6 million) with arms firm Lviv Arsenal. However, the goods were never delivered and the money was instead sent to various accounts in Ukraine and the Balkans, investigators said. Ukraine’s prosecutor general says that the funds have since been seized and will be returned to the country's defense budget.

Persons: SBU, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ivan Bakanov Organizations: —, European Union, NATO, State Security Service, Lviv Arsenal Locations: KYIV, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russia, Kyiv, Lviv, Balkans

☆ Ukraine says spymaster's wife is recovering after being poisoned by heavy metals, and an expert believes Russia is a prime suspect
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A top Ukrainian military official's wife was diagnosed with heavy metal poisoning, officials said. An expert said Russia is a prime suspect given the country's penchant for poison. AdvertisementThe wife of Ukraine's top military intelligence official is recovering in a hospital after being poisoned by heavy metals, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday. While the motive and perpetrator behind Budanova's poisoning remains unclear, an expert on Russia and Ukraine said Russia is the obvious suspect. Russia's penchant for poison points to "a precedent and pattern for this type of behavior," Miles told Business Insider.

Persons: Marianna Budanova, —, Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine's Elle, Budanova, Simon Miles, Alexei Navalny, Sergeĭ Skripal, Vladimir Kara, Murza, Miles, Budanov, Kyiv —, Budovna Organizations: Service, Associated Press, Local, AP, Washington Post, Duke University's Sanford School of Public, Soviet Union, Business, Kyiv, Ukrainska Pravda Locations: Russia, Local Ukrainian, Ukraine, Soviet, Russian, Ukrainian

☆ Ukrainian sabotage of Crimea bridge 'overturns' naval operations -intelligence head
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Newly appointed Head of the Ukraine's State Security Service Vasyl Maliuk looks on during a session of Ukrainian parliament, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 7, 2023. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 24 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian sea drone attack on Russia's Crimean bridge in July had "overturned" naval operations and forced Moscow to resort to ferries to move weaponry, the head of Ukraine's main intelligence agency said in a video broadcast on Friday. "We have practically overturned the philosophy of naval operations," Maliuk said in the first of a series of televised documentaries entitled "SBU, the Special Operations of Victory." Traffic has since been operating on the bridge, though Russian officials say repair work is still proceeding. Zelenskiy said this month that Ukraine has seized the initiative from Russia in the Black Sea and, thanks to the use of naval drones, forced Russia's naval fleet and warships to pull back.

Persons: Ukraine's State Security Service Vasyl Maliuk, Vasyl Maliuk, Maliuk, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Ron Popeski, Oleksandr Kozhukhar, Josie Kao Organizations: Ukraine's State Security Service, Presidential Press Service, REUTERS, Security Service of Ukraine, Black, Fleet, Thomson Locations: Ukraine's, Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Moscow, Russia, Russian, Sevastopol

☆ Fact Check: Handcuffed men in video are Karabakh ex-leaders, not Israeli generals
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A video compilation showing the detention of three former leaders of Azerbaijan’s disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region has been falsely claimed online to show the capture of Israeli generals by the Islamist militant group Hamas. The 30-second compilation of three clips shows men in military fatigues removing three individuals in handcuffs from vehicles. Captioning the video, one Facebook user wrote on Oct. 8: “Breaking News Israel: Several high ranking IDF Generals have been seen captured with Hamas Terrorists”. The handcuffed men in the video are former self-styled presidents of Nagorno-Karabakh Arkady Gukasyan and Bako Gukasyan, and ex-parliamentary speaker David Ishkhanyan. The video shows detention of Nagorno-Karabakh former leaders, not Israeli generals.

Persons: Azerbaijan’s, ”, Karabakh Arkady Gukasyan, Bako, David Ishkhanyan, Read Organizations: Hamas, Israel, Facebook, State Security Service, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Republic of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan

☆ 'Loyalty alone is not enough': Kremlin reveals the qualities Russia's Vladimir Putin values the most
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via a video link in Saint Petersburg on October 10, 2022. "But for Vladimir Putin, loyalty alone is not enough. Russia's president Vladimir Putin (R) and his spokesman Dmitry Peskov (L) attend the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting at the Congress Hall in Bishkek on December 9, 2022. Contributor | Getty ImagesDuring Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine, as it calls its invasion, questions have been raised about the strategy and competency of Russia's military leadership. FILE - Businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, left, shows Russian President Vladimir Putin, around his factory which produces school meals, outside St. Petersburg, Russia on Monday, Sept. 20, 2010.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Gavriil Grigorov, Putin, Andrei Kondrashov, it's, Dmitry Peskov, Vyacheslav Oseledko, —, Sergey Lavrov, Sergei Shoigu, Sergei Lavrov, Nikolay Patrushev, Mikhail Mishustin, Sergei Sobyanin, There's, Vladimir Solovyov, Nikolai Patrushev, Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Sergei Medvedev, Dmitry, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Alexander Ermochenko, Sergey Shoigu, Shoigu, Prigozhin, Wagner, Kirill Shamiev, Prigozhin Prigozhin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexei Druzhinin Organizations: Afp, Getty, CNBC, Economic, Kremlin, Security, Moscow, SVR, Russian Security Council, Ukraine, West ., Kyiv, Russian, Luhansk People's, Reuters, Wagner Group, European Council, Foreign Relations Locations: Saint Petersburg, Bishkek, Russian, Yerevan, Armenia, Russia, Ukraine, Kyiv, Luhansk, Luhansk People's Republic, Crimea, Moscow, Belarus, Prigozhin, St . Petersburg

London CNN —Intelligence officers in Belgium are monitoring Alibaba’s logistics hub in Europe for possible espionage on behalf of the Chinese government. Belgium’s state security service VSSE told CNN Thursday it was watching the activities of Alibaba’s (BABA) logistics arm, Cainiao, at the country’s Liège cargo airport. “We strongly deny the allegations [which are] based on prior conjecture,” Cainiao told CNN in a statement. Liège airport announced in 2018 that it had struck a deal with Cainiao to become its European logistics hub. Last month, Alibaba announced a plan to spin off and list Cainiao on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Persons: VSSE, “, ” Cainiao, Cainiao, Eric Lalmand, Alibaba, — Juliana Liu Organizations: London CNN — Intelligence, CNN, Financial Times, Cainiao, Getty, European Union, Hong Kong Stock Exchange Locations: Belgium, Europe, Liège, AFP, Belgian, Berlin, Hamburg

☆ Four Karabakh leaders held in Azerbaijan, three more reach Armenia - agencies
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

However, three other former leaders of Karabakh have arrived safely in Armenia, the Armenian state news agency Armenpress quoted one of the three as saying. Almost all the 120,000 or so inhabitants of Karabakh have since fled to Armenia, fearing for their safety. However, former state minister Artur Arutyunyan, ex-interior minister Karen Sarkisyan and the former head of Karabakh's security service, Ararat Melkunyan, all entered Armenia on Tuesday, Artur Arutyunyan said, according to Armenpress. Karabakh is viewed internationally as part of Azerbaijan but had been run as a breakaway ethnic Armenian statelet since the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Kevin Liffey; Editing by Alison Williams and Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Aziz Karimov, Armenpress, Ruben Vardanyan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, Arkady Gukasyan, Bako, Araik, David Ishkhanyan, Artur Arutyunyan, Karen Sarkisyan, Kevin Liffey, Alison Williams, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Azerbaijan's State Security Service, Press Agency, Soviet Union, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Stepanakert, Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan's, Baku, Armenia, Ararat Melkunyan, Armenpress, Soviet

By 6pm local time on Friday, nearly 98,000 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia, according to Armenian state media, citing the prime minister’s spokesperson Nazeli Baghdasaryan. Azerbaijan should “refrain from taking punitive actions against the current or former political representatives or military personnel of Nagorno-Karabakh,” the Armenian authorities said. Mnatsakanyan, who reportedly served as defense minister from 2015 to 2018, was arrested Friday and taken to the Azebaijani capital of Baku, according to state media. Manukyan, who reportedly served as the former deputy commander of Nagorno-Karbakh’s armed forces, was detained Wednesday, Azerbaijani state media reported. A video published by Azerbaijan’s State Security Service showing Manukyan in Azerbaijani detention could not be independently verified by CNN.

Persons: Nazeli Baghdasaryan, Stéphane Dujarric, ”, David Ghahramanyan, “, Loven, Davit Manukyan, Mnatsakanyan, Ruben Vardanyan, David Babayan, Samvel Shahramanyan, ” Babayan Organizations: CNN, United Nations, UN, Vehicles, International Court of Justice, Azerbaijan’s State Security Service, Karabakh, Azerbaijani State Security Service, State Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Russia, Armenia, “ Republic, Artsakh’s, Baku, “ Republic of Artsakh

"Unless Zelenskiy gets rid of Tatarov, he won't be seen as serious in purging the country of corruption," she told Reuters. "He knew about law enforcement and warned us to be careful about saying almost anything on the phone," Maiboroda told Reuters. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said experts would need to study the material to verify it. "The main thing is that a person is honest," Zelenskiy told reporters several days after Tatarov's appointment. Zelenskiy told Ukrainian television network ICTV in October 2021 that the offshore arrangement was to protect his TV production business from political pressure by the Yanukovych government.

Persons: Oleh Maiboroda, Maiboroda, Oleh Tatarov, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Tatarov, Maiboroda's, Ukraine's, Zelenskiy, Kyiv pollsters, Oleksii Reznikov, Reznikov, Daria Kaleniuk, Nicola Mirto, Mirto, Viktor Yanukovych, Yanukovich's, Maxym Mykytas, Mykytas, Maiborada, NABU, Yanukovych, –, General Iryna Venediktova, Artem Sytnyk, Sytnyk, didn't, Oleksiy Symonenko, Symonenko, Andriy Yermak, Yermak, Denys, Dmytro Shtanko, Liudmyla, Sergey Shefir, Shefir, Vyacheslav Shapovalov, Yaroslav Zheleznyak, Zheleznyak, Zelensky, Ihor, Kolomoisky, Semen Kryvonos, Kaleniuk, ”, Stephen Grey, Dan Peleschuk, Janet McBride Organizations: Reuters, Ukrbud, Prosecutors, Ukraine's, European Union, International Monetary Fund, Kyiv, Kyiv Independent, Tatarov, Ministry, Interior Ministry, Virgin Islands, ICTV, National Agency for, Ministry of Defence, Kiel Institute, NATO, Thomson Locations: VIENNA, KYIV, Vienna, Ukraine, Tatarov, Russia, Europe, European, Kyiv, Italian, Ukrainian, Soviet Ukraine, Zelenskiy's, Switzerland, Spain, Soviet, United States, Irpin

According to Maiboroda, Mykytas used Tatarov for difficult tasks, including bribe payments on behalf of Ukrbud Development. "He knew about law enforcement and warned us to be careful about saying almost anything on the phone," Maiboroda told Reuters. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said experts would need to study the material to verify it. "The main thing is that a person is honest," Zelenskiy told reporters several days after Tatarov's appointment. Zelenskiy told Ukrainian television network ICTV in October 2021 that the offshore arrangement was to protect his TV production business from political pressure by the Yanukovych government.

☆ Georgia accuses ex-official of plotting from Ukraine to oust Tbilisi government
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Men wearing traditional clothes stand next to the Georgian flag during the Independence Day celebrations in Tbilisi, Georgia May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze Acquire Licensing RightsTBILISI, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Georgia on Monday accused a former deputy interior minister of plotting from Ukraine to overthrow the Tbilisi government, testing ties with Kyiv as Georgia deepens its relations with Russia. It did not provide evidence, and in Kyiv, foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said Tbilisi was "trying to demonise Ukraine" for domestic reasons. "The Ukrainian state did not interfere, does not interfere and does not plan to interfere in the internal affairs of Georgia," he wrote on Facebook. The Georgian State Security Service named a former bodyguard to Saakashvili as one of the alleged conspirators, along with the commander of a Georgian unit fighting in Ukraine.

Persons: Irakli, Giorgi Lortkipanidze, Oleg Nikolenko, Andriy Yusov, Russia's, Irakli Garibashvili, Mikheil Saakashvili, Saakashvili, Felix Light, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Georgian, REUTERS, Rights, The State Security Service, Western Georgian, Facebook, European Union, EU, Ukraine, NATO, Georgian State Security Service, Thomson Locations: Tbilisi , Georgia, Rights TBILISI, Georgia, Ukraine, Tbilisi, Kyiv, Russia, Ukrainian, Brussels, Europe, Moscow, Abkhazia, South Ossetia

☆ I Was Attacked by Donald Trump and Elon Musk. I Believe It Was a Strategy To Change What You See Online. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Yoel Roth | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The timing of the campaign targeting me and my alleged bias suggested the attacks were part of a well-planned strategy. But the success of a strategy aimed at forcing social media companies to reconsider their choices may not require demonstrating actual wrongdoing. What happened to me was part of a calculated effort to make Twitter reluctant to moderate Mr. Trump in the future and to dissuade other companies from taking similar steps. of Twitter, overruled Trust and Safety’s recommendation that Mr. Trump’s account should be banned because of several tweets, including one that attacked Vice President Mike Pence. So Twitter only disclosed the campaign over a year later, without fingering the Indian government as the perpetrator.

Persons: Rich Bond, Trump, Jack Dorsey, Mike Pence, Marjorie Taylor Greene, —, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Republican, Capitol, Twitter, Apple, Google Locations: Silicon, TikTok, India, Moscow

☆ Mozambique "tuna bond" case against Credit Suisse can proceed, UK judge rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Kirstin Ridley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But he warned: "At trial, all alternatives, including to strike out and in whole or in part, remain available." Credit Suisse, UAE-Lebanese Privinvest and others argued that a lack of "adequate" disclosure jeopardised a fair trial. Under English litigation rules, each party has to disclose documents on which they rely for their case, those that might damage their own case and those that support the case of others. A spokesperson for Credit Suisse said the bank noted the judgment and "continues to defend itself". Credit Suisse agreed to pay about $475 million to British and U.S. authorities in 2021 to resolve bribery and fraud charges and has pledged to forgive $200 million of debt owed by Mozambique.

Persons: Robin Knowles, SISE, Privinvest, Kirstin Ridley, Rachel Savage, Sam Tobin, Conor Humphries Organizations: Credit Suisse, Privinvest, International Monetary Fund, Mozambican, UBS, Lawyers, Thomson Locations: London, Mozambican, Mozambique, UAE, Lebanese, Swiss, U.S, United States

☆ Russian flyers who disobeyed orders to attack Wagner forces may be caught up in Putin's dragnet
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Sam Fellman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Suspicions of disloyalty seemingly extend far beyond senior officials and generals who had direct ties to Prigozhin. Some pilots and airmen are said to face questions for refusing orders to fire on the Wagner columns during their coup. Some Russian bloggers felt it was hypocritical to punish the aviators when the mutineers were let off. Russian warplanes fired on Wagner Group mercenaries to try to stop their advance over the weekend, but some pilots and airmen face questions for refusing orders to fire. Putin is said to have discussed assassinating Prigozhin and has indicated the Wagner founder is under investigation for stealing from the Russian government.

Persons: Wagner, —, Romanov, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Sergei Surovikin, Putin, Prigozhin Organizations: Service, Wagner Group, Prigozhin Locations: Prigozhin, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Russia, Belarus

☆ U.N. judges expand conviction of Milosevic aides in final Yugoslav tribunal case
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Stephanie Van Den Berg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Former head of Serbia's state security service Jovica Stanisic appears in court at the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) in The Hague, Netherlands May 31, 2023. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/PoolTHE HAGUE, May 31 (Reuters) - U.N. judges on Wednesday expanded the convictions of two former Serbian spymasters who worked for Yugoslav ex-president Slobodan Milosevic and sentenced them to 15 years in the final case before the tribunal in The Hague dating from the Balkan wars of the 1990s. The former head of Serbia's state security service, Jovica Stanisic, and his subordinate Franko "Frenki" Simatovic could be held responsible for crimes in several Bosnian municipalities and one Croatian one due to their role in financing and training Serb militias during the break-up of Yugoslavia, appeals judges said. The Appeal chamber found Stanisic and Simatovic "shared the intent to further the common criminal plan to forcibly and permanently remove the majority of non-Serbs from large areas of Croatia and Bosnia", presiding judge Judge Graciela Gatti Santana said, reading a summary of the verdict expanding their convictions. Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Toby Chopra and Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Stanisic, de, Serbian spymasters, Slobodan Milosevic, Jovica Stanisic, Franko, Frenki, Graciela Gatti Santana, Stephanie van den Berg, Toby Chopra, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: UN, REUTERS, HAGUE, Yugoslav, Thomson Locations: The Hague, Netherlands, Serbian, Bosnian, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Bosnia

☆ Russia wanted a quick victory in Ukraine, and it sent its spies after Ukrainian nuclear power plant workers to make it happen
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Ukraine's nuclear power plants were a central part of Russia's plan to force Kyiv's capitulation. So when Russia started planning its invasion, Ukraine's nuclear energy infrastructure was a top target. According to the RUSI report, Ukraine's nuclear energy infrastructure "played a significant role" in Russia's invasion plan and in the Kremlin's public narratives about the conflict. Moscow's big planRussian military personnel at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in May 2022. Although Russian forces still control the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, that has not won the Kremlin any leverage over Kyiv.

☆ The Saudi crown prince wants to build a trillion-dollar utopia in the desert. His deals with China reveal a darker vision.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

It's part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's modernizing vision of the country. But behind the outlandish plan, developed by Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, is a much darker reality. Crown Prince Mohammed appears keen to replicate those projects on a grander scale. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman announces a zero-carbon city called "The Line" to be built at NEOM in northwestern Saudi Arabia, January 10, 2021. It appeared to be the beginning of a fruitful partnership for Crown Prince Mohammed.

☆ Top Ukraine cleric accused of glorifying Russian invasion appears in court
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The hearing was adjourned to Monday after the cleric, Metropolitan Pavlo of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), complained of ill health. The court appearance came after Pavlo was questioned by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which presented the cleric with a series of accusations on the same issue shortly before. The UOC has been accused of maintaining links to the pro-invasion Russian Orthodox Church, which used to be its parent church but with which the UOC says it all broke ties in May 2022. The UOC is Ukraine's second-largest church, though most Ukrainian Orthodox believers belong to a separate branch of the faith, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, formed four years ago by uniting branches independent of Moscow's authority. In a video posted to the UOC website earlier in the day, Pavlo said he condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

☆ Ukraine cleric accused of glorifying Russia invasion given house arrest
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Kyiv is cracking down on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) on the grounds it is pro-Russian and collaborating with Moscow, a charge the church denies. In a statement, the UOC said a Kyiv court also ordered Metropolitan Pavlo to wear an electronic bracelet. The Interfax Ukraine and Ukrinform news agencies said Pavlo had been given 60 days of house arrest. Prosecutors said the house arrest and electronic bracelet were precautionary measures and that the case against Pavlo would continue. Moscow said last month that Ukraine was "illegally attacking" the UOC, adding this confirmed the need for its military operations in Ukraine.

☆ Russia's Navalny dedicates his part in Oscar movie to those fighting dictatorship
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Evgenia NovozheninaMarch 15 (Reuters) - Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny on Wednesday dedicated his part in an Oscar-winning film about him to those fighting against dictatorship and war. Director Daniel Roher's film "Navalny", about the poisoning that nearly killed Russia's most prominent opposition figure and his detention upon returning to Moscow in 2021, won the Oscar for best feature documentary on Sunday. In the film, Navalny and Grozev pinned responsibility for the poisoning episode on a team of agents from the FSB state security service. After returning from Germany, where he recovered from the poisoning, Navalny was immediately detained. He is now serving time on charges of fraud and contempt of court that he says were trumped up to silence him.

☆ West gains advantage as it vies with Russia for influence in Serbia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Aleksandar Vasovic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

T-shirts with the letter Z, a symbol of Russia's campaign, are sold as souvenirs while far-right groups openly tout support for Russia. Last month, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said that while Serbia had made progress in EU accession negotiations, Brussels required more. A separate CRTA poll found 61% felt Belgrade should preserve good relations with Moscow even at the cost of EU ties. U.S. and EU sanctions mean Serbia can no longer send its fighter jets or helicopters, based on ex-Soviet technology, to Russia for overhauls, nor purchase new weapons from Russia. Cedomir Stojkovic, a Belgrade-based lawyer and activist whose October Group publishes lists of prominent Serbs who are outspoken supporters of Russia, said Serbia was under Russia's "hybrid occupation".

☆ Latvia cancels licence of exiled Russian television station TV Rain
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Andrius Sytas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Russian TV station moved to Latvia after Ukraine invasionLatvian regulator says it poses security threatTV Rain calls accusation "absurd"VILNIUS, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Latvia has cancelled the licence of Russian independent television station TV Rain after the company was branded a threat to national security, the state broadcasting regulator said on Tuesday. TV Rain said it programmes could still be seen on YouTube. Abolins said the regulator was convinced TV Rain did not understand "the essence and gravity" of its alleged violations. TV Rain apologized to its viewers and fired a presenter on Friday after Latvia's State Security Service launched an investigation into comments he made on air. TV Rain editor-in-chief Tikhon Dzyadko called the comments "misleading", tweeting last Friday: "TV Rain did not, does not, and will not act to help supply the Russian army".

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