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☆ Factbox: Kremlin drone incident: What do we know?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] A still image taken from video shows a flying object approaching the dome of the Kremlin Senate building during the alleged Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow, Russia, in this image taken from video obtained by Reuters May 3, 2023. Ostorozhno Novosti/Handout via REUTERSMay 3 (Reuters) - Here's a look at what we know about the alleged overnight drone attack on the Kremlin, and the questions it raises. Russia called the incident a terrorist attack and an attempt to assassinate President Vladimir Putin, for which it said it reserved the right to retaliate. "We don't attack Putin, or Moscow, we fight on our territory," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told a press conference in Helsinki. The incident comes at a moment of high tension and a potential turning point in the war, as Ukraine prepares to mount a long-anticipated counter-offensive.

☆ Putin ally accuses Western leaders of blood on their hands for supporting Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 4 (Reuters) - Russia's parliament speaker said on Tuesday that Western leaders have blood on their hands for supporting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and that support has led to the creation of a "terrorist state" in Europe's centre. Vyacheslav Volodin, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, said that the killing of prominent war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in St Petersburg over the weekend was a "terrorist act" committed by Kyiv. "The support of Washington and Brussels for the Kyiv authorities has led to the creation of a terrorist state in the centre of Europe," Volodin said on the Telegram messaging app. "The blood of the dead and wounded is on the hands of (U.S. President Joe) Biden, (President Emmanuel) Macron, (German Chancellor Olaf) Scholz and other heads of state who support the Zelenskiy regime." Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Putin ally proposes banning ICC in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's parliament speaker on Saturday proposed banning the activities of the International Criminal Court (ICC) after the court issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crimes. Vyacheslav Volodin, an ally of Putin's, said that Russian legislation should be amended to prohibit any activity of the ICC in Russia and to punish any who gave "assistance and support" to the ICC. Any assistance or support for the ICC inside Russia, he said, should be punishable under law. The ICC issued an arrest warrant earlier this month accusing Putin of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. The Kremlin says the ICC arrest warrant is an outrageously partisan decision, but meaningless with respect to Russia.

March 25 (Reuters) - Russia's parliament speaker on Saturday proposed banning the activities of the International Criminal Court (ICC) after the court issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crimes. Vyacheslav Volodin, an ally of Putin's, said that Russian legislation should be amended to prohibit any activity of the ICC in Russia and to punish any who gave "assistance and support" to the ICC. Any assistance or support for the ICC inside Russia, he said, should be punishable under law. The ICC issued an arrest warrant earlier this month accusing Putin of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. The Kremlin says the ICC arrest warrant is an outrageously partisan decision, but meaningless with respect to Russia.

☆ Reactions to ICC's arrest warrant for Putin citing Ukraine war crimes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Roman Baluk/File PhotoMarch 17 (Reuters) - Following are reactions to the news on Friday that the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegal deportation of children from Ukraine. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes." RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN MARIA ZAKHAROVA"The decisions of the International Criminal Court have no meaning for our country, including from a legal point of view. Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and bears no obligations under it." I welcome the decision of the International Criminal Court."

☆ Russia tries to close ring on Bakhmut as Ukrainians mount 'furious resistance'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Yevhen Titov | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The leader of Russia's Wagner mercenary group said the Ukrainians were putting up "furious resistance" trying to hold the city at all costs. That came a day after Moscow accused Kyiv of launching a series of drone strikes on targets in Russia itself. [1/4] Ukrainian service members ride BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukraine February 27, 2023. After losing extensive territory in the second half of 2022, Russian forces have been replenished by hundreds of thousands of reservists. Fighting near Bakhmut has been led by Wagner, which has recruited tens of thousands of convicts from prisons.

☆ Russian law amendments punish 'discrediting' military, including voluntary formations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Igor RussakSummary This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. MOSCOW, March 1 (Reuters) - Russia brought new law amendments to parliament on Wednesday that further strengthen the country's censorship laws, envisaging up to 15 years in jail for discrediting the armed forces and voluntary military organisations such as the Wagner Group. "As well as public actions aimed at discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, volunteer formations, organizations and persons who are facilitated in the implementation of tasks assigned to the ... Armed Forces," would be punishable, Volodin wrote on the Telegram messaging platform. "This initiative will protect everyone who today is risking their lives to ensures the security of the country and our citizens ... ($1 = 75.1 roubles)Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia's parliament prepares to approve suspension of New START
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Russian officials on Wednesday blamed the United States and the West for President Vladimir Putin's decision to suspend Moscow's participation in the New START treaty, as Russia's parliament was set to rubber-stamp the move. "This decision was forced on us by the war declared by the United States and other NATO countries on our country. It will have a huge resonance in the world overall and in the United States in particular," Medvedev said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. Russia's parliament is expected to rubber-stamp the move to suspend the treaty, possibly as early as Wednesday. The head of Russia's Duma, the lower house of parliament, also blamed the United States for the breakdown.

[1/4] A Russian police officer stands in front of a branch of the Raiffeisen Bank in Moscow, Russia, February 27, 2016. It made a net profit of roughly 3.8 billion euros last year, thanks in large part to a 2 billion euro plus profit from its Russia business. Of UniCredit's more than 20 billion euro total revenue last year, Russia accounted for more than 1 billion euros. Meanwhile, Russian savers lodged more than 20 billion euros with the bank, which offers a place to deposit funds with fewer sanctions risks. It banned investors from so-called unfriendly countries from selling shares in banks, unless the Russian President grants an exemption.

☆ Russia calls for international probe into Nord Stream blasts after blogger report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Feb 9 (Reuters) - A blog by a U.S. investigative journalist alleging the United States was behind the explosions that ruptured the Nord Stream gas pipelines should become the basis for an international investigation, Russia's top lawmaker said on Thursday. Volodin said the United States should pay "compensation to countries affected by the terrorist attack." Moscow, without providing evidence, has repeatedly said the West was behind the explosions affecting the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines last September - multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects that carried Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. President Vladimir Putin has accused "Anglo-Saxon" powers of blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines, a Kremlin-designed project to circumvent Ukraine in exporting its gas directly to Germany and further to Europe. Russia's foreign ministry said on Wednesday the United States had questions to answer over its role in explosions on the undersea Nord Stream gas pipelines last year.

Russia, without providing evidence, has repeatedly said the West was behind the blasts affecting the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines last September - multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects that carried Russian gas to Germany. In his blog post, entitled "How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline", Hersh said a plan was hatched in 2021 at the highest levels in the United States to destroy the pipelines. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier this month that Washington was directly involved in the sabotage of the pipelines. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said there would be "consequences" for Washington, adding the report was not a surprise for Russia as it had long considered the United States and possibly other NATO members were behind the blasts. The United States should pay "compensation to countries affected by the terrorist attack", Volodin added.

☆ A Russian graveyard reveals Wagner’s prisoner army
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +18 min

The resting places were adorned with simple wooden crosses and brightly coloured wreaths that bore the insignia of Russia’s Wagner Group - a feared and secretive private army. The news agency matched the names of at least 39 of the dead here and at three other nearby cemeteries to Russian court records, publicly available databases and social media accounts. He said gravediggers told him the bodies had come from the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, close to Russia’s border with Donetsk region. According to Russian court documents, Kochas and another man burst into the apartment of an acquaintance while drunk in an attempted robbery. But he refused, so he’s a fool.”A Russian graveyard reveals Wagner’s prisoner army By Felix Light and Filipp Lebedev in Tbilisi and Reade Levinson in London Photo editing: Simon Newman Graphics: Fielding Cage Art direction: Eve Watling Edited by Janet McBride

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Germany promises a decision on tanks; Russian official warns Ukraine allies risk own destruction
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Sunday that he expected a decision soon on the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, meanwhile, said Berlin would not block Poland from sending its own Leopard 2s to Ukraine. The comments on Sunday suggest a change in Berlin's position regarding the tanks after months of pressure to either offer Ukraine some of its own Leopard 2s or at least allow other allies with their own German-made tanks to export them to the war-torn country. Last Friday, defense chiefs from Ukraine's allied nations met in Germany to discuss the issue but no decision was reached. In other news, a high-profile Russian official has said countries that offer offensive weapons to Ukraine risk their own destruction, saying it could lead to a "global catastrophe."

☆ Germany signals shift in veto on Leopard tanks for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Leopard tanks, which are held by an array of NATO countries but whose transfer to Ukraine requires Berlin's approval, are seen by defence experts as the most suitable for Ukraine. Western allies pledged billions of dollars in weapons for Ukraine last week but they failed to persuade Germany to lift its veto on providing the tanks. French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, said he did not rule out the possibility of sending Ukraine Leclerc tanks. Ukraine has never publicly said that the town was taken by Russian forces. On Sunday, the general staff of its armed forces said in a daily update that Russian forces had fired on Ukrainian positions in the area.

☆ Putin ally says West's deliveries of new weapons to Kyiv will lead to global catastrophe
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 22 (Reuters) - A close ally of President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that deliveries of offensive weapons to Kyiv that threaten Russia's territories will lead to a global catastrophe and make arguments against using weapons of mass destruction untenable. "If Washington and NATO countries supply weapons that will be used to strike civilian cities and attempt to seize our territories, as they threaten, this will lead to retaliatory measures using more powerful weapons," Volodin said on the Telegram messaging app. "Arguments that the nuclear powers have not previously used weapons of mass destruction in local conflicts are untenable. Volodin's comments followed a similar threat last week by Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's former prime minister and president. "Deliveries of offensive weapons to the Kyiv regime will lead to a global catastrophe," he said.

☆ Russia official warns countries supplying Ukraine with more powerful weapons risk their own destruction
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The speaker of Russia's parliament warned Sunday that countries supplying Ukraine with more powerful weapons risked their own destruction, a message that followed new pledges of armored vehicles, air defense systems and other equipment but not the battle tanks Kyiv requested. "Supplies of offensive weapons to the Kyiv regime would lead to a global catastrophe," State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said. "If it requires our sending some Abrams tanks in order to unlock getting the Leopard tanks from Germany, from Poland, from other allies, I would support that." Since invading Ukraine, Russia also has increased both the scope and the number of its joint military drills with China. Ukraine is asking for more weapons as it anticipates Russia's forces launching a new offensive in the spring.

☆ Putin ally suggests seizing property of war critics who fled Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 13 (Reuters) - A close ally of President Vladimir Putin suggested on Friday confiscating the property of Russians who have left the country and who "insult" the state and its armed forces from abroad. The proposal from Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the lower house of parliament, was clearly aimed at opposition figures - many already designated as "foreign agents" - who have condemned the Ukraine war after fleeing the country to avoid arrest. "Their goal is clear - to curry favour and try to maintain their well-being abroad," he wrote on his Telegram channel. At the same time, they allow themselves to publicly pour dirt on Russia, insult our soldiers and officers. Volodin, 58, has been speaker of the lower house, the State Duma, since 2016, having previously held a senior role in the presidential administration.

☆ Russia risks causing new-year IT worker flight with remote working law
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Alexander Marrow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. The government estimates that 100,000 IT specialists currently work for Russian companies overseas. Now, legislation is being mooted for early next year that could ban remote working for some professions. Product designer Yulia, 26, estimated that a quarter of her team would rather quit than return to Russia under duress. Professional online poker player Sasha, 37, also living in Argentina, said he had now stopped paying Russian taxes.

☆ Duma prepares higher taxation for Russians who left country - speaker
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 25 (Reuters) - Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Duma, said the Russian lower house of parliament was preparing a law to introduce higher taxation for people who have left the country, as many have since the war in Ukraine began in February. "It is right to cancel preferences for those who have left the Russian Federation and to introduce an increased tax rate for them," Volodin wrote on the Telegram messaging app. The number of Russians who have left since the start of the war is unclear. Russians working abroad who are Russian tax residents must pay the tax independently, according to the Federal Tax Service of Russia. "It's completely understandable why they fled," Volodin said.

But they fear a harsh new anti-gay law passed by Russian lawmakers will leave them little choice. As the Kremlin prepared to finalize the expansion of the 2013 discriminatory anti-gay law, members of the LGBTQ community in Russia told CNN they feared the uncertain future ahead. Activists say a new legislative package that beefs up an existing anti-gay law is a threat to LGBTQ people in Russia. And it’s just reducing the space within which a non-heterosexual existence can comfortably take place in Russia,” Healey told CNN. Yulia Alyoshina, Russia's first transgender politician, said the new law was discriminatory and would make life tougher for Russia's LGBTQ community.

☆ Russia to bar foreigners from using its surrogate mothers - lawmaker
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 27 (Reuters) - Russia will soon adopt a law barring foreigners from using Russian surrogate mothers, Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the lower house of parliament said on Sunday, the nation's Mother's Day. Paid surrogacy is legal in Russia, but the practice has been criticised by religious groups as commercializing the birth of children. "Everything must be done to protect children by prohibiting foreigners from using the surrogacy service," Volodin said on the Telegram messaging app. He said some 45,000 babies born by surrogate mothers have been taken abroad in the past few years. Russia denies forced deportations, saying the movement of people into Russia from Ukraine has been to protect civilians from Ukrainian soldiers.

☆ Putin's supporters call for the liquidation of Ukraine as 'genocidal rhetoric' swells
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Alexander Nemenov | Afp | Getty ImagesProminent supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin are using increasingly "genocidal rhetoric" when discussing and demonizing Ukrainians, analysts note, with some pro-war commentators cheering the concept of the "liquidation" of the modern state of Ukraine. "To be a 'Ukrainian' one does not even have to speak the Ukrainian language (which is also still being formed). "All this can be stopped only through the liquidation of Ukrainian statehood in its current form," Medvedev said. Another popular motif being used by pro-war, pro-Putin bloggers is characterizing Ukraine and Ukrainians as "evil" or "sadists" or "Satanists." "As ISW has previously reported, Russian President Vladimir Putin has similarly employed such genocidal language in a way that is fundamentally incompatible with calls for negotiations."

☆ Russian and Cuban leaders meet in Moscow, hail 'traditional friendship'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday met with his Cuban counterpart in Moscow, where the two unveiled a monument to Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and hailed the “traditional friendship” between their sanctions-hit nations. We have always supported Cuba on the international stage and we see that Cuba takes the same position towards Russia,” Putin said. Other top Russian officials struck similar tones in their meetings with Díaz-Canel, who arrived in Moscow on Saturday. Cuban state media reported that Díaz-Canel’s agenda will focus on the energy sector, very sensitive for the island as it battles shortages of food, medicines and fuel. Havana’s main regional political ally, Venezuela, has sold the island the oil Cuba needed for the past two decades.

The U.S. Air Force dispatched two F-16 fighter jets to intercept a pair of Russian bombers that flew close to Alaska on Monday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a statement. Air Defense Identification Zones are areas of airspace that require all aircraft to be identified, located and have their flight plan controlled "in the interest of national security," according to the Federal Aviation Administration. NORAD, a combined air defense organization of the United States and Canada, said the Russian activity was "not seen as a threat nor is the activity seen as provocative." The appearance of Russian bombers and their interception by U.S. fighter jets does come at a fraught time in the relationship between the two countries, however. He noted that his deputy, Pyotr Tolstoy, had previously proposed holding a referendum in Alaska, RBC reported.

☆ Russian ex-president Medvedev on Kyiv wanted list
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has been on a list of wanted persons compiled by Ukrainian security officials for more than half a year, Ukraine's SBU security service said on Monday. The statement said Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia's Security, was wanted under a section of the criminal code dealing with attempts to undermine Ukraine's territorial integrity and the inviolability of its borders. Most of the Russian Security Council's members are on the list. It was not immediately clear why the Ukrainian authorities have not released the information sooner or why they made it public now. "The Security Service of Ukraine confirms that Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia's Security Council and former president of the aggressor state, is declared a wanted person," the SBU said in a statement.

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