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☆ Kremlin says Russia and China must edge closer to counter Western efforts to contain them
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with China's President Xi Jinping at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21, 2023. A senior Kremlin official on Tuesday called for closer policy coordination between Moscow and Beijing to counter what he described as Western efforts to contain them as he hosted China's top diplomat for security talks. The Kremlin has continuously expressed support for Beijing as Russia and China have grown increasingly close while their relations with the West deteriorate. Last month, China helped engineer an expansion of the BRICS partnership, which invited six more countries to join what has been a five-nation bloc that includes China, Russia, Brazil, India and South Africa. China has denounced Western sanctions against Moscow, and accused NATO and the United States of provoking Putin's military action.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Nikolai Patrushev, Wang Yi, Patrushev, Putin, Wang, Joe Biden's, Sergey Lavrov, Lavrov Organizations: Kremlin, Security, Moscow, NATO, U.S, Russian Locations: Moscow, Beijing, Russian, Russia, China, Taiwan, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Tibet, Brazil, India, South Africa, Ukraine, United States, Malta

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a presentation of a Haval F7 SUV produced at the Haval car plant located in Russian Tula region, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, June 5, 2019. Nikolai Patrushev, a close Putin ally and the secretary of Russia's Security Council, said Russia and China should deepen cooperation in the face of the West's attempt to contain them both. Putin will attend the third Belt and Road Forum after an invitation by Xi during a high-profile visit to Moscow in March. Putin has pivoted towards China, and Xi has stood by him. Putin last visited Beijing in February 2022, days before the invasion, where he and Xi announced a 'no limits' partnership.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Maxim Shipenkov, Putin, China's Xi Jinping, Putin's, Nikolai Patrushev, Wang Yi, Xi, Maxim Reshetnikov, Reshetnikov, William Burns, Guy Faulconbridge, Kevin Liffey, Christina Fincher Organizations: Kremlin, ICC, Security, Criminal Court, Cuban Missile Crisis, CIA, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian Tula, Moscow, Russia, China, MOSCOW, Beijing, Ukraine, CHINA, RUSSIA, Russian, United States

☆ China and Russia 'Close' in Views on US and Ukraine as Wang Yi Visits Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) - Moscow's and Beijing's top diplomats noted "closeness" in their positions on Washington's "anti-Russian and anti-Chinese" stance and agreed any bid to resolve the Ukraine crisis must include Moscow, Russia's foreign ministry said early on Tuesday. Wang Yi, Chinese leader Xi Jinping's point man for international dealings, is in Moscow for several days of security and foreign policy talks with Russian officials. Russia's foreign ministry said in a Telegram statement after the Moscow talks that "the closeness of the positions of the parties regarding U.S. actions in the international arena, including those of an anti-Russian and anti-Chinese nature, was noted." The ministry added that Wang briefed Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about "the content of negotiations" with Sullivan. Wang will hold "strategic security" talks later on Tuesday with Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia's Security Council, Russia's Interfax reported, before holding trilateral talks with Mongolian officials.

Persons: Wang Yi, Xi, Jake Sullivan, Wang, Sergei Lavrov, Sullivan, Vladimir Putin, Wang's, Lavrov, Putin, Nikolai Patrushev, Ron Popeski, Lidia Kelly, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Reuters, Russian, White House, White, Forum, Security, Russia's Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Malta, U.S, China, Russia, Washington, Kyiv, Beijing, Russian

☆ China and Russia 'close' in views on US and Ukraine as Wang Yi visits Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and China's Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi attend a meeting in Moscow, Russia September 18, 2023. Wang Yi, Chinese leader Xi Jinping's point man for international dealings, is in Moscow for several days of security and foreign policy talks with Russian officials. Russia's foreign ministry said in a Telegram statement after the Moscow talks that "the closeness of the positions of the parties regarding U.S. actions in the international arena, including those of an anti-Russian and anti-Chinese nature, was noted." The ministry added that Wang briefed Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about "the content of negotiations" with Sullivan. Wang will hold "strategic security" talks later on Tuesday with Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia's Security Council, Russia's Interfax reported, before holding trilateral talks with Mongolian officials.

Persons: Sergei Lavrov, Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi, Wang Yi, Xi, Jake Sullivan, Wang, Sullivan, Vladimir Putin, Wang's, Lavrov, Putin, Nikolai Patrushev, Ron Popeski, Lidia Kelly, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Russia's, Central Foreign Affairs Commission, Russian Foreign Ministry, REUTERS Acquire, Russian, White House, White, Forum, Security, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Malta, U.S, China, Washington, Kyiv, Beijing, Russian

☆ Russia Has 'Neutralised' Hundreds of Foreign Intelligence Agents - Patrushev
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A top Russian security official said in an article published on Friday that Moscow had "neutralised" hundreds of foreign spies in recent years. Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia's Security Council, wrote in Russia's foreign intelligence agency's house magazine:"In recent years, hundreds of employees of foreign intelligence services, as well as other persons involved in organising intelligence and subversive activities against our country and our strategic partners, have been identified and neutralised". Patrushev, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is a former director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and is seen as a key advocate of hardline, hawkish policies within the Kremlin. (Writing by Felix Light; Editing by Andrew Osborn/Guy Faulconbridge)

Persons: Nikolai Patrushev, Vladimir Putin, Felix Light, Andrew Osborn, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: Security, Federal Security Service Locations: MOSCOW, Moscow, Kremlin

☆ Russia wants to recruit 420,000 soldiers despite the country being crippled by labor shortages, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia is hoping to draft 420,000 military personnel by the end of the year, according to UK Intelligence. But Russia has worsening labor workforce shortages back home, one Russian survey said. The UK MOD said Russia's conscription has "negative effects on its industry workforce". The UK MOD pointed out that Medvedev's figure cannot be independently verified. "This shows that mobilization and conscription within Russia has worsened non-defence workforce shortages," it said.

Persons: Dmitry Medvedev Organizations: Intelligence, MOD, Service, Gaidar Institute for Economic, British Ministry of Defence, Russia's Security, Reuters, —, Russian, Kommersant, Washington Post Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Russian

☆ Russia's Medvedev: Japan's 'militarisation' complicates Asia-Pacific
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sputnik/Yekaterina Shtukina/Pool via REUTERS /File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 3 (Reuters) - Japan's "militarisation" complicates the situation in the Asia-Pacific region, the deputy chair of the Russian Security Council and former President Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday. "It is regrettable that the Japanese authorities are pursuing a course towards a new militarisation of the country," the Russian TASS news agency quoted Medvedev as saying. "Troop exercises are taking place near the Kuril Islands, which seriously complicates the situation in the Asia-Pacific region." Russia decided this year to declare Sept. 3 - the day after Japan's surrender in World War Two - a "Day of Victory over Militaristic Japan", spurring a protest from Tokyo. Medvedev said Japan, with help from the United States, was expanding its military infrastructure and increasing its arms purchases.

Persons: Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Lidia Kelly, Ekaterina Golubkova, William Mallard Organizations: Russia's, Scientific, Machine, Sputnik, Russian Security Council, Soviet, Russian TASS, Thomson Locations: Reutov, Moscow, Russia, Asia, Pacific, Japan, Russian, Hokkaido, Northern Territories, Soviet Union, Tokyo, United States, China, North Korea, Melbourne

☆ Wreckage of Prigozhin's plane was scattered across roughly 4 miles, and experts say it looks like an explosion knocked it out of the sky
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Experts are zeroing in on a theory around a plane crash that Russia says killed Yevgeny Prigozhin. According to CNN, fragments of Prigozhin's plane were scattered throughout a 4-mile radius. Analyzing the wreckage"It is very difficult to understand what happened without a proper investigation," Daniel Kwasi Adjekum, an aviation expert at the University of North Dakota, told CNN. So far, flight data from Flightradar24 also paints a patchy picture, showing Prigozhin's plane steeply dropping 8,000 feet in the last 30 seconds of the flight. Robert Schmucker, a rocket expert who works with NATO, also told CNN that the manner in which the plane plummeted down from the sky was highly suspicious.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Putin, Daniel Kwasi Adjekum, Robert Schmucker, Schmucker, Markus Schiller, Anthony Brickhouse, Brickhouse, Prigozhin's Organizations: Aviation, CNN, Service, Wagner Group, Novosti, University of North, Washington Post, NATO, telltale, National Transportation Safety Board, Embry, Riddle Aeronautical University, Russian Telegram, Pentagon, Reuters, AP, New York Times, BBC Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Tver, Moscow, Ukraine, Kuzhenkino, University of North Dakota, Europe

☆ How Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin spent the mysterious 2 months between his failed coup and his plane crash — from strange meetings with Putin to sitting in a tent in his underwear
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | Sebastian Cahill | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was "exiled" to Belarus after staging a short-lived mutiny in Russia. Here's what we know about what he was up to before Russian officials say he was killed in a plane crash. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, who said he talked Putin out of assassinating Prigozhin, said that the Wagner boss had arrived in the country. July 4-6: Back in Russia after raid on St. Petersburg homeThe Russian media outlet Fontanka reported Prigozhin arrived in St. Petersburg on July 4. August 24: Prigozhin was on a private jet that crashed in RussiaAlmost two months to the day since his armed rebellion, Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash, according to Russian officials.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Prigozhin, Simon Miles, Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, Lukashenko, Jake Epstein, Freddy Mapouka Organizations: Service, Russian, Duke University's Sanford School of Public, Soviet Union, Fox News, Putin, Kremlin, Pentagon, New York Times, Central African, Associated Press Locations: Belarus, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Soviet, Ukraine, Moscow, Russian, St, Petersburg, St . Petersburg, Belarusian, Africa, Central African Republic

☆ Russia may annex Georgian breakaway regions -Medvedev
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sputnik/Yekaterina Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreAug 23 (Reuters) - The deputy chair of the Russian security council Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow may annex Georgia's breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia. "The idea of joining Russia is still popular in Abkhazia and South Ossetia," Medvedev, a former Russian president, wrote in an article published early on Wednesday by Argumenty I Fakty newspaper. Moscow recognised their independence in 2008, following Georgia’s attempt to regain control of South Ossetia by force that led to a Russian counter-attack. Georgian officials have repeatedly said they are committed to joining the U.S.-led military alliance that would preserve the territorial integrity of the country. Russia declared the annexations four provinces of Ukraine in September last year, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, but none of the annexations are recognised internationally.

Persons: Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Argumenty, Maria Tsvetkova, Grant McCool Organizations: Russia's, Scientific, Machine, Sputnik, NATO, U.S, Thomson Locations: Reutov, Moscow, Russia, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Russian, Ukraine, Georgia, Soviet Union, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, New York

☆ Putin's invasion of Ukraine was his 'greatest intelligence fiasco,' spy expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's invasion of Ukraine was an "intelligence fiasco," an intelligence expert wrote in The Times. He said that Russia's FSB had failed to adequately prepare for the invasion of Ukraine. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyRussian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine was his "greatest intelligence fiasco," an intelligence expert has claimed. It likely played a role in the FSB's failure to establish well-placed recruits to act as saboteurs and help Russian forces during the invasion, Walton wrote. "The time after the war, with all the expulsions, was a fateful time for the Russian intelligence system," a European intelligence official told the outlet.

Persons: Calder Walton, Vladimir Putin's, Walton, Putin, Celestino Arce, Der Spiegel, Der, Horst Jehmlich Organizations: The, Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, Service, Sunday Times, Intelligence, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Guardian, Red Army Locations: Ukraine, The Times, Wall, Silicon, Russian, Ukraine's Kherson, Slovenia, Greece, Brazil, Norway, Netherlands, Dresden, East Germany, Soviet, West Germany

☆ Seen by the US military as a threat for years, Russia's Yasen-class submarines are now on track to get hypersonic missiles
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Russia's Yasen-class submarines have long been seen as a tough challenge for the US Navy. A Russian shipbuilding official said that work is underway to arm them with Zircon hypersonic missiles. Russia's Yasen-class nuclear-powered cruise-missile submarines are quiet, difficult to track, heavily armed, and able to conduct attacks against land- and sea-based targets. The Russian Yasen-class submarines "are designed to deploy undetected within cruise-missile range of our coastlines to threaten critical infrastructure during an escalating crisis," the commander said a year later in congressional testimony. It may still be some time before Russia's Yasen-class submarines deploy with hypersonic weapons, but the Admiral Gorshkov set sail earlier this year on a deployment that took it into the Atlantic Ocean armed with Zircon hypersonic missiles.

Persons: Russia's, Alexei Rakhmanov, Dave Johnson, Lev Fedoseyev, Glen VanHerck, Gorshkov, Vladimir Putin, Gorshkov —, Putin, Zumwalt Organizations: US Navy, Service, United Shipbuilding Corporation, US, Naval, Systems, Getty, US Air Force, US Northern Command, North American Aerospace Defense Command, NATO, Russian Navy, Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, AP, Army, Navy, Ingalls Shipbuilding Locations: Wall, Silicon, Russian, Severomorsk, Russia, Barents, China, Virginia, San Diego, Pascagoula , Mississippi, Ingalls

Sputnik/Yekaterina Shtukina/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoSummary Medvedev pledges revenge for Black Sea attacksSuggests Russia will hit Ukrainian ports againThreatens ecological disasterMOSCOW, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday suggested Moscow would launch more strikes against Ukrainian ports in response to Kyiv's attacks on Russian ships in the Black Sea, and threatened to hand Ukraine "an ecological catastrophe". Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, a body chaired by President Vladimir Putin, spoke after Ukrainian sea drone attacks on a Russian warship in the port of Novorossiysk, and against a tanker near Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Apparently, the strikes on Odesa, Izmail, and other places were not enough for them," Medvedev said in a post on his official social media accounts. Russia has in recent weeks targeted the Black Sea port of Odesa, where the Ukrainian Navy is headquartered, and Izmail, Ukraine's main inland port across the Danube River from Romania, damaging port infrastructure and grain facilities. Medvedev suggested retaliatory Russian strikes against Ukraine for its sea drone attacks could end any chances of reviving the grain deal.

Persons: Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Andrew Osborn, David Holmes Organizations: Russia's, Scientific, Machine, Sputnik, Saturday, Russia's Security, Security, Russian Navy, Ukrainian Navy, United Nations, Ukraine, Thomson Locations: Reutov, Moscow, Russia, MOSCOW, Russian, Ukraine, Novorossiysk, Crimea, Odesa, Romania, Poland

MOSCOW, July 30 (Reuters) - Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who has sometimes raised the spectre of a nuclear conflict over Ukraine, said on Sunday that Moscow would have to use a nuclear weapon if Kyiv's ongoing counter-offensive was a success. "Imagine if the.. offensive, which is backed by NATO, was a success and they tore off a part of our land then we would be forced to use a nuclear weapon according to the rules of a decree from the president of Russia. They are making sure that a global nuclear fire is not ignited," he said. Medvedev, who has cast himself as one of Moscow's most hawkish voices, appeared to be referring to part of Russia's nuclear doctrine which sets out that nuclear weapons can be used in response to aggression against Russia carried out using conventional weapons which threatens the existence of the Russian state. Kremlin critics have in the past accused Medvedev of making extreme statements in an effort to dissuade Western countries from continuing to supply Ukraine with arms.

Persons: Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Andrew Osborn, Susan Fenton Organizations: Russia's Security, NATO, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russian, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia

☆ 2nd high-profile Russian businessman dies in the space of 48 hours as tech tycoon found dead from 'medical gas,' report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian tech tycoon Anton Cherepennikov, 40, was found dead in his Moscow office, per local reports. A Moscow law enforcement source claimed the businessman overdosed on "medical gas." Anton Cherepennikov, 40, the founder of Russian IT company ICS Holding, was found dead on July 22, his company said, according to the Russian outlet RBC. However, a Moscow law enforcement source said that the businessman overdosed on "medical gas," according to Russian channel RTVI, The Times of London reported. Igor Kudryakov, another high-profile Russian businessman, was also found dead in his Moscow apartment on Friday, The Times reported.

Persons: Anton Cherepennikov, Putin, overdosed, Vladimir Putin, Cherepennikov, Igor Kudryakov Organizations: Service, Russian, ICS Holding, RBC, Citadel, ICS, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, Putin, Novaya Gazeta, Cherepennikov, The Times Locations: Moscow, Wall, Silicon, Russian, London, Radio Free Europe, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Russia says it thwarts Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 24 (Reuters) - Two Ukraine-launched drones attacked Moscow early on Monday, but were intercepted and destroyed, Russia's defence ministry said. State news agencies reported that drone fragments were found 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) away from the ministry's buildings. Calling it a "terrorist attack," the defence ministry said on its Telegram messaging app that there were no casualties in the attack. Neither the defence ministry nor the mayor said where the drones were intercepted. Russia's defence ministry television channel Zvezda published a short video on its Telegram channel showing a high-rise building with missing windows on top floors and damaged structure.

Persons: Sergei Sobyanin, Lidia Kelly, Kim Coghill, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Zvezda, Russian Telegram, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, State, Moscow's, Russia's, Kyiv, Russia, Melbourne

☆ Putin new bodyguard incudes thousands of elite special forces, tanks and warplanes to make him 'coup-proof,' analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Putin has reinforced his National Guard with elite special forces, arming them with tanks and warplanes. The move is seen as making the Kremlin "coup-proof," an analyst told The Telegraph. The National Guard, created by Putin in 2016, has 320,000 men and reports directly to him rather than the Ministry of Defense. An MP for Putin's United Russia party Alexander Khinshtein said that Putin has personally ordered the Interior Ministry's 7,000-men-strong Grom special forces unit to move under its command. "Putin is straightening the special forces' command and control after Prigozhin's mutiny," he said.

Persons: Putin, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, It's, Putin's, Viktor Zolotov, Alexander Khinshtein, Ben Noble, Andrei Soldatov, John Hardie, Zolotov, Grom Organizations: National Guard, Telegraph, Service, British, The Telegraph, Ministry of Defense, Putin's United, Interior, Praetorian Guard, Politics, University College London, Foundation for, Defense of Democracies Locations: Russian, Wall, Silicon, Putin's United Russia, Russia, Belarus

☆ Putin Warns That Ukraine Could Be Invaded and Occupied by Poland
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed Friday that Poland wants to seize Western Ukraine. Russia has often deflected from its own invasion by claiming Poland has its own imperial ambitions. "Emboldened by the current circumstances, Poland has decided that the chance to absorb the remnants of Ukraine is to be taken now, or never," he wrote on Twitter. Speaking Friday, Putin — who launched the 2022 invasion with the hope of overthrowing Kyiv's government — claimed he would not "interfere" in internal Ukrainian affairs. But he accused Poland of also desiring parts of Belarus, a close Russian ally.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Kevin Rothrock, Dmitry Medvedev, Putin —, Kyiv's, — Organizations: Security Council, Service, Sputnik, Russia's Security, Twitter Locations: Western Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Crimea, —, Lithuania, Warsaw, Ukrainian, Lviv, Russian, Belarus

VILNIUS, July 11 (Reuters) - Washington will move ahead with the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey in consultation with Congress, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday, a day after Ankara gave the green light for Sweden to join NATO. He intends to move forward with that transfer," Sullivan told reporters, without giving any details on the timing. Both Turkish officials and the Biden administration have rejected any suggestion that Ankara's approval of Sweden's NATO accession was being linked to the F-16 sale in the months of talks to address Turkish opposition. Russian officials said Sweden's expected accession to NATO would have "negative implications" for Russia's security and that Moscow would have to respond. TIMING UNCERTAINThe timing of both the F-16 transfer and Sweden's NATO entry remains unclear.

Persons: Jake Sullivan, Sullivan, Joe Biden, Bob Menendez, Biden, Tayyip Erdogan, Camille Grand, Erdogan, Gerard Araud, Sweden's, Peter Szijjarto, Jens Stoltenberg, Steve Holland, Justyna, John Irish, Nick Macfie, Heather Timmons, Devika Organizations: U.S . National, NATO, Lockheed Martin Corp, Senate Foreign Relations, Democrat, Turkish, European Council, Foreign Relations, Twitter, Kurdistan Workers Party, EU, Monday, Finland's, Nordic, Thomson Locations: VILNIUS, Washington, Turkey, U.S, Ankara, Sweden, Lithuanian, Vilnius, NATO, French, Swedish, United States, Turkey's, Moscow, Hungary, Finland, Ukraine

☆ A little-known Russian spy agency left feces in the suitcases of diplomats as its calling card, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A mysterious Russian spy agency left unsettling calling cards for US targets, the Journal reported. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. The Russian Department for Counterintelligence Operations, or DKRO, is a secretive organization that operates under the FSB, Russia's security agency. They know us extremely well," Dan Hoffman, a former Central Intelligence Agency station chief in Moscow, told the Journal. American officials told the Wall Street Journal the DKRO was likely behind the arrest of Gershkovich, who has now been imprisoned in Russia for more than 100 days.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, They've, Dan Hoffman, Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Trevor Reed, Whelan, Reed Organizations: Service, Wall Street Journal, Russian Department for Counterintelligence Operations, Central Intelligence Agency, Wall Street, Journal, American Locations: Russian, Wall, Silicon, American, America, Moscow, Russia

☆ Wagner fighters preparing to move to Belarus, senior commander quoted as saying
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File PhotoJuly 8 (Reuters) - Mercenary fighters of Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner group are preparing to move to Belarus under the terms of a deal that defused their mutiny against Russia's military leadership, a senior commander of the group was quoted as saying. Since the June 23-24 mutiny, which saw Wagner fighters briefly seize a southern Russian city and march towards Moscow, the exact whereabouts of Prigozhin and his mercenaries have been unclear. He has not posted on his previously preferred Telegram channel - Yevgeny Prigozhin Press Service - since June 26, when he defended his fighters' mutinous actions. Yelizarov said there had been no attempt by Russia's security forces to "hit" Wagner fighters since the mutiny. The attempt would fail, he said, because Prigozhin himself had created and moulded the Wagner fighters "when the state did not need us".

Persons: Wagner, Alexander Ermochenko, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner, Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Anton Yelizarov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Yevgeny, Lukashenko, Yelizarov, King Arthur, Gareth Jones, Alison Williams Organizations: Southern Military District, REUTERS, Yevgeny Prigozhin Press Service, General Staff, Knights, Prigozhin's St, Thomson Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, Belarus, Russian, Moscow, Ukraine, Prigozhin's, Prigozhin's St Petersburg

Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Tuesday: "We will closely watch currency market moves with a strong sense of urgency and will respond appropriately if the moves become excessive." Japan intervened to boost the yen last year when it weakened past the 145 per dollar level. "Euro-dollar is a bit stronger this morning, we had probably a bit of help from hawkish ECB (European Central Bank) comments this morning," said ING's Pesole. Latvian central bank governor and ECB official Martins Kazaks said in Portugal on Tuesday that the central bank will likely keep hiking interest rates after July. China's central bank set its daily yuan fixing stronger than market expectations for a second day in a row on Tuesday.

Persons: paring, Shunichi Suzuki, Francesco Pesole, ING's Pesole, Martins Kazaks, Kazaks, Christine Lagarde, Jerome Powell, Andrew Bailey, Kazuo Ueda, Lagarde, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Sterling, Harry Robertson, Rocky Swift, Barbara Lewis, Conor Humphries, Chizu Organizations: Central, . Finance, Bank of Japan, ING, hawkish ECB, European Central Bank, ECB, Federal, Bank of England, Wednesday, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Japan, Sintra, Portugal, Latvian, Russian, China, China's, London, Tokyo

☆ Russia seeks calm after aborted mutiny, West sees cracks in Putin's power
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"We've seen more cracks emerge in the Russian facade," Blinken told NBC's "Meet the Press" programme on Sunday. It was unclear if his visit to Russia's strongest ally was precipitated by the Wagner mutiny. It vouched support for Russia's efforts to maintain national stability, referring to the tension as Russia's "internal affairs". Biden and Trudeau both expressed support of Ukraine as it pursues a counteroffensive to recover territory seized by Russia, according to official statements. Giving its daily morning roundup on Monday, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said Russian forces had conducted unsuccessful operations around Bakhmut.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Sergei Shoigu, Putin, groping, Antony Blinken, Blinken, NBC's, Andrei Rudenko, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Biden, Trudeau, Zelenskiy, Lukashenko, Antonio Tajani, Dmitry Peskov, Prigozhin, Hanna Maliar, Serhiy Nayev, ” Nayev, Simon Cameron, Moore, Lincoln Organizations: Wagner Group, Defence, Press, Russia's, Russian Federation, U.S, Canadian, Twitter, Russia's Security, Defence Ministry, Russia's TASS, RIA, Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Russian, Ukraine's Joint Forces, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Russian, Rostov, Belarus, Beijing, China, Bolshevik, Lyman, Donetsk, Bakhmut

☆ Wagner fighters almost certainly aim to march on Moscow, UK intel says. What happens next depends on the loyalty of Russia's security forces.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Wagner Group fighters entered the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don in an apparent armed rebellion. What happens next will largely depend on the loyalty of Russia's security forces, the department said. "With very limited evidence of fighting between Wagner and Russian security forces, some have likely remained passive, acquiescing to Wagner," the department said. The loyalty of Russia's security forces, particularly the Russian National Guard, will be "key to how the crisis plays out," it added. Unverified videos have circulated on social media appearing to show Wagner fighters moving through the Voronezh region toward Moscow.

Persons: Wagner, —, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Sergei Sobyanin, Yevegny Prigozhin Organizations: Wagner Group, MoD, Service, Group, UK Department of Defense, Russian National Guard, Guardian Locations: Russian, Rostov, Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Voronezh Oblast, Voronezh

☆ Turmoil in Russia: Reactions from foreign governments
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"With very limited evidence of fighting between Wagner and Russian security forces, some have likely remained passive, acquiescing to Wagner." LITHUANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER GABRIELIUS LANDSBERGIS"For 100 years Lithuanians have lived on the edge of Moscow's brutal banditocracy, knowing it's only a matter of time before the next chaotic implosion. CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER JAN LIPAVSKY"We are closely following the situation in the Russian Federation. ESTONIAN PRIME MINISTER KAJA KALLAS"Estonia is closely following the development of the situation in Russia and exchanging information with allies. The instructions of Russian security authorities should be followed at all costs," it said in its updated travel advice.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, Wagner, JAMES, OANA, GABRIELIUS, it's, JAN LIPAVSKY, ANDRZEJ DUDA, Emmanuel Macron, GIORGIA, Meloni, Frances Kerry, Hugh Lawson Organizations: MINISTRY, Russian National Guard, Wagner Group, NATO, Ukraine, Russian Federation, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Russian, Britain, Ukraine, Rostov, Voronezh Oblast, Moscow, EU, Estonia

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