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☆ The EU agreed to slap sanctions on Iran for supplying Russia drones that it used to bombard Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The EU has agreed to sanction Iran over the drones it has supplied to Russia. Three people and an entity connected to the drones will be sanctioned, the Czech EU presidency said. "After three days of talks, EU ambassadors agreed on measures against entities supplying Iranian drones that hit Ukraine," the Czech Presidency of the EU Council wrote in a tweet. Another four Iranian entities could also receive EU sanctions, it also said. Iran is already under a wide swathe of UN and EU sanctions imposed over the last decades, relating to human rights and the development of nuclear military capabilities.

☆ An officer helping enact Putin's mobilization is the latest in a string of unexplained deaths among high-ranking Russians
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Russian official who oversaw military enlistment was found dead, local officials said. People close to him do not believe that it was a suicide, Meduza reported, without specifying the source of that information. Putin announced the "partial mobilization" of Russians in September, forcing vast numbers of military reservists to join his invasion of Ukraine. Mysterious deathsA number of Russian officials have died in unusual or unexplained ways in the months since the Ukraine invasion began. The former head of a Russian aviation research institute also died, with a source telling Russian media that he fell down the stairs.

☆ Russia's army would be 'annihilated' by the West if Putin uses a nuke in Ukraine, senior EU official predicts
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The EU's tio diplomat said Russia's army would be "annihilated" if Putin used a nuke in Ukraine. Putin has suggested multiple times that he is willing to use Russia's massive nuclear arsenal. Putin and various Kremlin officials have alluded to Russia's nuclear stockpile and threatened dire military when warning the West to keep out of the invasion of Ukraine. Borrell said that the West needs to show "complete determination" in the face of Russia's aggression. He said that the West must not waver in its support for Ukraine and should "continue looking for diplomatic solutions when possible."

☆ Two Finnish guys 'annexed' a Russian diplomat's parking spot by painting it with the Ukrainian flag
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Two Finnish men painted a Russian consul's parking spot with Ukrainian flag colors on Wednesday. The idea first came from Virtala, who told Insider he showed up in a hi-vis jacket to appear more like a maintenance worker. Mattson, whose partner is Ukrainian, wrote on social media: "We held a two-man referendum on annexing the parking spot to Ukraine." Virtala, a self-employed property manager, told Insider that after the paint dried, the diplomat's car returned. "If Ukrainians ask me to, I'd be happy to do my part in washing off the colors," Mattson told Insider.

☆ Russia will run out of arms before Ukraine does because it has isolated itself so much, UK defence secretary says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The UK said on Thursday that Russia will run out of weapons before the West does in Ukraine. Defence Minister Ben Wallace said Russia is isolated and its supply chain broken. "They need a supply chain, and large parts of their supply chain were not in Russia, they came from all over the world including in Europe and including, indeed, even in Ukraine," he said. An assessment in September by the Center for Strategic and International Studies listed the stockpile status of five key weapons — including the famed HIMARS — as "limited." Russia has turned to to such pariah states for weapons supplies, with US intelligence claiming that North Korea had supplied it weapons.

☆ A Trump aide is talking to the FBI about the Mar-a-Lago docs, reports say, appearing to confirm suspicions of an informant
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The rumor of an informant in Trump's orbit was fueled by new reports Wednesday. WaPo and CNN said a Trump employee was talking to the FBI over the Mar-a-Lago documents. On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported that a Trump employee had testified to the FBI of having been ordered by Trump to move boxes of documents to the former president's own residence in the complex. Those people, The Post said, described the witness as a Trump employee who is a key informant who had given multiple interviews to investigators. Some commentators, including aides, Trump's niece Mary Trump and former White House chief of staff under Trump Mick Mulvaney, have suggested that it could even be a member of Trump's own family.

☆ A wrecked Russian tank can be put in front of Moscow's embassy in Germany, court rules
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A German group can put a wrecked Russian tank outside the Russian embassy in Berlin, a court said. Project organizer Enno Lenze said he would pick up a tank himself from Ukraine for the display. The road just outside the embassy likely can't support the weight of a massive tank, the court release said, so the which suggested a nearby crossroads for the display. The Russian Embassy in Berlin on September 3, 2022. On Monday, following intense Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure, Germany announced it would send air defense systems, as Reuters reported.

☆ The UN rejected Russia's push to hold a secret vote on its attempts to annex parts of Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia wanted a UN vote over whether to condemn its actions in Ukraine to be a secret ballot. The UN roundly rejected that on Monday, and the vote is set to be held in public later this week. A secret vote may have made some Russian allies more likely to vote to support it, experts told Insider. Russia's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia had argued that the vote should be a secret one. The resolution was drafted before Russia's bombardment on Monday of numerous cities and regions of Ukraine, including some that had not been attacked in months.

☆ Putin is making strategic mistakes because nobody in the Kremlin can tell him he's wrong, UK intelligence chief says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Putin's strategy is failing because he has "little effective internal challenge," per a UK intel chief. The remarks come after Putin launched a major bombardment of Ukrainian cities and facilities. The Russian leader has surrounded himself primarily with people who share his mindset, making internal challenges to his thinking exceedingly rare. Putin framed this as retaliation for an attack on the Kerch Strait Bridge over the weekend, state media reported. On Saturday, Putin named a notoriously brutal commander, Sergei Surovikin, to lead Russia's assault on Ukraine.

☆ Zelenskyy says Russia used Shahed 'suicide drones' it got from Iran in its barrage of attacks on Ukrainian cities
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine said Russia used Iran-supplied drones in a blitz of attacks on cities on Monday. He said that the number of missiles used was in the "dozens." A screenshot from a video of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, uploaded October 10 2022, after multiple cities in Ukraine were attacked. Iran has supplied Russia with several Shahed-series drones, colloquially known as "suicide" or "kamikaze" drones that have a payload of around 5-30 kg. Russia first took delivery of Shahed drones, as well as the larger Mojaher-6, from Iran in August, as The Washington Post reported.

☆ Ukraine is no longer low on artillery ammo because Russia abandoned so much in recent retreats, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-06 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine's well supplied with artillery ammo taken as Russia retreated, The Wall Street Journal said. The report said that equipment was being turned on Russian forces as Ukraine advances beyond the recently recaptured city of Lyman in the Donbas region. —Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 11, 2022Oryx, a project to document and track military-equipment usage and losses, has counted 442 Russian tanks captured by Ukrainians throughout the war. The Journal's report, citing Oryx, said 320 tanks had been supplied to Ukraine from elsewhere. Armored fighting vehicles and infantry fighting vehicles that Ukraine captured from Russia also outnumbered foreign donations, according to Oryx.

Persons: Russia's, Vitaliy Kim, Birdie Organizations: Street Journal, Service, Street, Lyman, Telegraph, — Locations: Russia, Soviet, Wall, Silicon, Kharkiv, Ukraine, Lyman, Donbas, Russian, Mariupol, Mykolaiv, Ukrainian

☆ The number of Russians fleeing the country to evade Putin's draft is bigger than the original invasion force, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The UK's MOD said the number of fleeing Russians likely exceeds Putin's original invasion force. "Whilst exact numbers are unclear, it likely exceeds the size of the total invasion force Russia fielded in February 2022." According to the Associated Press, as of Wednesday at least 194,000 Russians have fled to Georgia, Kazakhstan and Finland alone. Those conservative estimates already exceed what the US had estimated to be the 190,000-strong invasion force that massed at Ukraine's border just prior to the invasion. The UK's MOD noted on Thursday that "the better off and well educated are over-represented amongst those attempting to leave Russia."

☆ Capitol rioter accused of bringing the stun gun that was used on cop Michael Fanone was given one of the harshest sentences yet
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Capitol rioter was given one of the longest sentences so far, 86 months in prison. Kyle Young, 38, is accused of bringing the stun gun that was used on DC Police Officer Michael Fanone. She said that Young brought the stun gun that another rioter used on then-Officer Michael Fanone, and that he had shown the rioter how to use it. Jackson told the court on Tuesday that Young brought a taser, and that same stun gun was used to tase Fanone, CNN reported. The same stun gun was then used by a rioter on Fanone, the Post reported.

☆ Russians are calling up the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense asking how to surrender, Ukraine says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A hotline set up to allow Russian soldiers to surrender is already getting calls, Ukraine claims. Andrii Yusov, spokesperson for the department, said during a televised briefing on Monday that there had been a strong response to the "I Want to Live" hotline, according to Ukrainian newspaper Ukrainska Pravda. The hotline was announced by Ukraine's Ministry of Defense on September 19, two days before Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the mobilization of reservists to the battlefield. Putin had earlier promised that he would not take this step, which brings the reality of the war to Russians accustomed to civilian life. The hotline echoes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's assurances that surrendered soldiers will be treated according to international humanitarian law.

☆ Russia's former president said nuclear threats are not a bluff, and that NATO won't step in if Russia nukes Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A top Russian official repeated Russia's nuclear threats, saying it "isn't a bluff." Dmitry Medvedev said NATO countries wouldn't step in if Russia fired a nuke on Ukraine. Russia will also "do anything" to prevent the nuclear weapons emerging in the country's "hostile neighbors" such as Ukraine, Medvedev said. Reminding the world about Russia's nuclear arsenal is nothing new among Putin and his allies. After Putin's latest statement, the White House warned Russia would face "catastrophic consequences" if it used tactical nuclear weapons.

☆ Russian state-media stars pushing Putin's official war narrative have been exempted from fighting in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian state media workers have been exempted from Putin's latest military draft. It means the TV stars pushing a distorted image of the war won't have to face its reality. The decision to exempt state-approved journalists ensures that the media figures pushing a distorted state narrative on the war in Ukraine won't have to face its realities themselves. And some Russian media stars have flourished in an environment that rewards blatant propaganda — often going further than the Kremlin itself. Russia-1 host Olga Skabeyeva has played a key role in the Kremlin's propaganda strategy amid the war in Ukraine.

☆ Jared Kushner criticized Ron DeSantis flying migrants to Martha's Vineyard: 'You have to remember these are human beings'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Jared Kushner took aim at Ron DeSantis while discussing the flight of migrants to Martha's Vineyard. Using migrants "as political pawns" is "very troubling," he told Fox News on Tuesday. "Many of them are exploited, put in human trafficking and modern slavery in a lot of ways," Kushner said of the migrants. On September 15, Ron DeSantis flew 48 migrants from Texas to ritzy Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, in a stunt aimed at bringing border and migration issues to a liberal enclave. "It's only when 50 get put into Martha's Vineyard," that outrage follows, DeSantis said in the clip, which host Emily Compagno agreed with.

☆ Ukrainian collaborators who sided with Russian occupation were given top jobs and fancy titles. Now they're being hunted down.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Around half the city has fled since Russia occupied the city in February, according to its elected mayor, Ivan Fedorov. On August 5, both Ukrainian and Russian sources reported that Vladimir Saldo has been put into a medically induced coma, citing a suspected poisoning. Saldo had the head of the government in the occupied city of Kherson. The business was owned by Balitsky and formerly had many Russian and Belarusian contracts, according to the BBC's Russian service. More than 1,300 people are under investigation for aiding the Russians in Ukraine, according to Ihor Klymenko, Ukraine's Head of National Police.

☆ A Kremlin ally died falling down the stairs, report says — the latest in a series of unexplained deaths among prominent Russians
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Moscow Aviation Institute's former rector died in an accident on Wednesday, the facility said. Local media said Anatoly Gerashchenko, 72, died falling down several flights of stairs. It's the latest in a string of accidental or untimely deaths of top Russian figures. The Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) university announced the death of Anatoly Gerashchenko, 72, saying he died "as a result of an accident." An unnamed source told Russian newspaper Izvestia that he died on the university's grounds, by falling "from a great height" down several flights of stairs.

☆ Putin escalated his invasion of Ukraine after a string of his supposed partners snubbed him over the war
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Several world leaders with strong Russian ties have recently rebuked Putin over his war. It declined to sanction Russia, and gave Russia's sanctioned oligarchs safe harbor, even as it condemned the war. ChinaOn September 15, Putin acknowledged at a summit with Xi Jinping that China has "concerns" about Russia's invasion. Public scoldingThe public nature of Putin's conversations with Xi and Modi make them sting more, said former US ambassador to Ukraine Michael McFaul. "Xi and Modi clearly wanted to signal to the world that they don't support Putin's barbaric, reckless, and losing war in Ukraine," he tweeted.

☆ Putin's escalation of Russia's war effort in Ukraine is proof he is failing, say US and UK
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The UK and the US reacted to Putin's speech by saying it points to Russian failure. Ukraine recently repulsed some of Russia's forces, retaking large swathes of territory. Putin announced a mobilization of army reservists towards his war in Ukraine early Wednesday Moscow time, breaking an earlier commitment not to and amping up his warlike rhetoric. He accused parts of the West — which has been supplying weapons and expertise in the defense of Ukraine — of trying to destroy Russia. Putin's threats and broken promises are "an admission his invasion is failing," UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace wrote in a statement moments after the speech.

☆ Separatists in Ukraine announced referendums to lock in Putin's control. Observers say any vote would be a sham.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Pro-Russian officials in occupied Ukraine have announced referendums on joining Russia. The tactic, used after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, has been widely denounced as a sham. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba condemned the announcements on Tuesday, saying: "Sham 'referendums' will not change anything." Following military occupation, pro-Russian officials said 95% of people approved of joining Russia, in a referendum the US and the EU considered illegal, as the BBC reported at the time. Similar attempts to stage referendums in occupied Ukraine have so far failed.

☆ Russian state media airs lawmaker's threat to nuke Britain and Germany
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Russian lawmaker threatened Britain and Germany with nuclear strikes on state TV. The host suggested that Russia should have hit the Queen's funeral, taking out many heads of state. "60 Minutes" is a vehicle for pro-Russian propaganda and frequently airs misleading and false information about the war in Ukraine. Russian talk of nuclear strikes has been dismissed by some experts as irresponsible "saber-rattling," as Insider reported in March. Putin made a veiled threat to the west in his speech at the outbreak of war on February 24.

☆ A COVID-19 quarantine bus overturned on a mountain road in China, killing 27 and sparking anger at draconian isolation policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A bus rolled over on a Chinese mountain highway on Sunday, killing 27 and injuring 20. President Xi Jinping reasserted his commitment to China's strict "zero Covid" policy in June. The bus was an official government vehicle for transporting people to COVID-19 isolation, The Guardian reported, citing local officials. "She didn't go anywhere apart from going out for PCR tests ... but she suddenly got taken to quarantine and died." China has maintained a strict "zero Covid" policy, putting multiple regions in and out of lockdowns over the last two years, as Insider's Hueling Tan reported.

☆ Legendary Russian pop star condemns the invasion of Ukraine, saying it is making Russia a 'pariah'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Iconic Russian singer Alla Pugacheva has condemned the war in Ukraine. She asked to be designated a "foreign agent," like her husband, a comedian who has also spoken out. Russian singer Alla Pugacheva in 1987. Galkin was named a foreign agent under Russian law on Friday, according to independent Russian news site Meduza. Russia's "foreign agent" law was introduced in 2012.

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