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☆ Russia to Hold Drills on Tactical Nuclear Weapons in New Tensions With West
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Anton Troianovski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Russia said on Monday that it would hold military exercises with troops based near Ukraine to practice for the possible use of battlefield nuclear weapons, ratcheting up tensions with the West after two European leaders raised the prospect of more direct Western intervention in the war. Such weapons, often referred to as “tactical,” are designed for battlefield use and have smaller warheads than the “strategic” nuclear weapons meant to target cities. Russia’s Defense Ministry said that President Vladimir V. Putin had ordered an exercise for missile, aviation and naval personnel to “increase the readiness of nonstrategic nuclear forces to carry out combat missions.”Russian officials claimed the order was in response to comments from the West about the possibility of more direct Western involvement in the war in Ukraine. And it came at the start of a week of extensive publicity for the Russian leader, with his inauguration scheduled for Tuesday, followed on Thursday by the annual Victory Day celebration, which commemorates the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. The announcement of the exercise was Russia’s most explicit warning in its more than two-year invasion of Ukraine that it could use tactical nuclear weapons there.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: Russia’s Defense Ministry Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Nazi Germany

☆ The UK could need an Israeli-style Iron Dome air defense system, says former US national security advisor
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewFormer US National Security Advisor General HR McMaster has said the UK must prepare for possible future conflicts by building an Israeli-style Iron Dome air defense system. Indeed, the UK is considering developing its own Iron Dome air defense system amid growing tensions with Russia and its allies. The Israeli modelMissiles launched from the Iron Dome defense system attempt to intercept a rocket fired from Gaza strip. Related storiesIsrael's short-range Iron Dome is a mobile all-weather air defense system that has been in service since 2011. Aside from internal discussions on an Iron Dome, the UK is in talks to join Europe's aerial defense system.

Persons: —, McMaster, Adm, Sir Tony Radakin, Michael Clarke, Clarke, MAHMUD HAMS, Rishi Sunak, Israel, Aleksey Zhuravlyov, Putin, Vladimir Solovyov, I've, T6GN35UGtG — Anton Gerashchenko Organizations: Service, US National Security, McMaster, LBC, Business, Britain's Armed Forces, Iron, Getty, UK, Newsweek, Design, Sky, UK Ministry of Defense, NATO Locations: United Kingdom, United States, Israel, Russia, Europe, China, Iran, North Korea, Gaza, AFP, London, Ukraine, British, Russian, Baltic

☆ US-Russia collaboration has long endured in space. The Ukraine war could ruin it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Tom Porter | Mikhaila Friel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

The International Space Station has long been a symbol of international cooperation. AdvertisementSince the end of the Cold War, the International Space Station (ISS) has been a symbol of international cooperation. By 1988, 15 nations had agreed to participate in the project, then known as Space Station Freedom. Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesThe Soviets had long-standing expertise in aerospace technology, having launched the world's first space station, "Salyut," in 1971. China has completed several unmanned Moon landings, has its own space station, and has developed a sophisticated commercial and military satellite program.

Persons: —, Peggy Whitson, Vladimir Putin, Jill Stuart, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Terry Virts, Anton Shkaplerov, Marco Tacca, Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, Sergey Korsakov, Virts, Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Alexander Grebenkin, Jeanette Epps, Stuart, Verts, Musk Organizations: Astronauts, Service, Space, Veteran, ISS, Imperial College London, Politics, NASA, European Space Agency, ESA, Inter, Soyuz, Keystone, Hulton, Roscosmos, Reuters, Anadolu, Getty, Imperial College, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Elon Musk's SpaceX, The Independent, CNBC Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Europe, China, Japan, loggerheads, Hollywood, Canada, Soviet Union, Milan, Italy, Luhansk, Luhansk People's Republic, Russian, Baikonur, Kazakhstan, The, Soviet Russia

☆ New UK laser weapon could be used against Russian drones in Ukraine, British defense secretary says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The UK's new laser weapon could be used in Ukraine, the UK defense secretary said. Grant Shapps hopes to speed up the roll out so it could be put to use on Ukraine's frontlines. AdvertisementA new high-tech laser weapon developed by the UK that is capable of shooting down enemy drones and missiles could be sent to Ukraine. AdvertisementFollowing the release of a video showing it in action in March, Ukrainian politician Oleksiy Goncharenko told Newsweek his country was "ready to test" DragonFire on the battlefield . Britain's Ministry of Defense has shown footage from tests of the DragonFire long-range laser weapon.

Persons: Grant Shapps, —, Shapps, Oleksiy Goncharenko, Anton Gerashchenko, …, EI11lr0gRZ — Anton Gerashchenko, DragonFire, Tim Kendall, they've Organizations: Service, Newsweek, Britain's Ministry of Defense, Telegraph, Defence Science, Technology Laboratory, MoD Locations: Ukraine, Salisbury, England, Europe, Ukrainian

☆ The US Navy's grappling with another Ford-class supercarrier delay that could run into the next decade
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewThe US Navy's third Ford-class aircraft carrier is facing delays that might push its delivery to 2030. The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford transits the Strait of Gibraltar, Jan. 5, 2024. Nick Guertin, the Navy's acquisition executive, attributed the shipbuilding delays to "common issues from lingering COVID impacts across the national workforce and supply chain landscape with industry reticent to invest." Related storiesThe following Ford-class carrier, USS Doris Miller (CVN-81), is currently on schedule thanks to the Navy buying both the Enterprise and Miller at the same time. AdvertisementA T-45C Goshawk training aircraft attached to Training Air Wing (TAW) 1, lands aboard the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) during flight operations, Sept. 12, 2020.

Persons: —, Carlos Del Toro, Gerald R, Navy Petty, Jacob Mattingly, Nick Guertin, Doris Miller, Miller, Adm, Downey, Seaman Anton Wendler, Ford, Michael Gilday, Brian Glunt Organizations: Service, Ford, USS Enterprise, Business, Enterprise, Navy, BI, Newport News, Training Air, US Navy, Communication, Department of Defense, Army's, Force Locations: Virginia, Gibraltar, Jan, Oslo, China, Washington ,, Pacific

☆ Ukraine ‘will lose the war’ if US aid not approved, says Zelensky
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Christian Edwards | Maria Kostenko | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Ukraine “will lose the war” if the United States Congress does not approve military aid to help it resist Russia’s invasion, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. “It’s important to specifically address the Congress: if the Congress doesn’t help Ukraine, Ukraine will lose the war,” Zelensky said Sunday during a video meeting of the Ukrainian fund-raising group UNITED24. “If Ukraine loses this war, other countries will be attacked. Zelensky previously told CNN that “millions” could die in Ukraine’s war with Russia if US lawmakers do not approve the aid package. There’s certain weapons systems, certain logistical support which the European countries simply cannot provide to Ukraine” such as air defense systems, he said.

Persons: Ukraine “, Volodymyr Zelensky, “, ” Zelensky, ”, Mike Johnson, Zelensky, Ukraine’s, Russia –, –, Anton Shtuka, Franz, Stefan Gady, Gady, UNITED24 ’ Organizations: CNN, United States Congress, Senate, Getty, International Institute for Strategic Studies Locations: Ukraine, “, Kyiv, Russia, Israel, Moscow, Avdiivka, Kharkiv, AFP, ”, Washington, Ukrainian

☆ A double dose of hell: The Bataan Death March and what came next
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

The Death MarchThat surrender site in Balanga doesn’t mark the beginning of the Bataan Death March. “It looked like they were really trying to kill us all.”White markers along a highway on the Bataan Peninsula show the route from the 1942 Bataan Death March. A boxcar used during the infamous 1942 Bataan Death March, displayed at the Capas National Shrine in Tarlac Province, north of Manila. All but Meyer also survived the Bataan Death March. A relief depicts the 1942 Bataan Death March on the Death March Memorial in Capas, Philippines.

Persons: Philippines CNN —, Edward P, King, Franklin Roosevelt, Douglas MacArthur, Edward King, “, …, ”, Matoo Nakayama, Masaharu Homma, Camp O'Donnell, AP Survivor James Bollich, ” Bollich, Brad Lendon, Tillman R, Rutledge, O’Donnell, defecated …, –, Manuel Abrazado, Emilio Aquino, Romeo Gacad, MacArthur’s, Robert Overbeck, Calvin Graef, Avery Wilber, Donald Meyer, Anton Cichy, Meyer, Overbeck, They’d, Charles, ” Overbeck, Arisan Organizations: Philippines CNN, Museum, Balanga Elementary, Bataan, Bettmann, US Army, US Navy, Gen, Army, AP Survivor, Air Force News Service, CNN, US Clark Air Base, Kyodo, Heritage Command, US Defense, Agency, Disabled, Getty, Mount, 14th Air Force, former Flying Tigers Locations: Philippines, Philippine, Bataan, American, Corregidor, Bataan As, Harbor, Hawaii, Luzon, Manila, Gen, Marileves, Mariveles, Capas, San Fernando, Tarlac Province, …, O’Donnell, ., Balanga, Tarlac province, AFP, Japan, China, Bashi, Taiwan, South China, Kunming, Asia, Washington, North Africa, Geneva, Arisan Maru

☆ Worries Over Ethnic Tensions Have Kremlin Treading Carefully on Massacre
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Anton Troianovski | Milana Mazaeva | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At a memorial service this week outside the concert hall where Islamist extremists are suspected of carrying out a deadly terrorist attack, one of Russia’s most popular pro-Kremlin rappers warned “right-wing and far-right groups” that they must not “incite ethnic hatred.”At a televised meeting about the attack, Russia’s top prosecutor, Igor Krasnov, pledged that his service was paying “special attention” to preventing “interethnic and interfaith conflicts.”And when President Vladimir V. Putin made his first comments on the tragedy last weekend, he said he would not allow anyone to “sow the poisonous seeds of hatred, panic and discord in our multiethnic society.”In the wake of the assault near Moscow that killed 139 people last Friday, there has been a recurring theme in the Kremlin’s response: a fear that the tragedy could spur ethnic strife inside Russia. While Mr. Putin and his security chiefs are accusing Ukraine — without evidence — of having helped organize the killing, the fact that the four detained suspects in the attack are from the predominantly Muslim Central Asian country of Tajikistan is stoking anti-migrant rhetoric online.

Persons: “, ”, Igor Krasnov, “ interethnic, Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: Kremlin, Ukraine, Central Locations: Moscow, Russia, Central Asian, Tajikistan

☆ In its latest terror response, Russia is no longer attempting to disguise the brutality of its state security
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Their state appeared designed to create an impression of aggression and brutality, showing the consequences of crossing the Russian authorities. Though the brutality of Russia's security services has long been known, never has it been so brazenly paraded, say analysts. "It was no secret that Russian security agencies torture people, mutilate suspected terrorists and generally practice all known ways of extracting information. AdvertisementThe abuse of terror suspects in Russia has been documented before. But the treatment of the Moscow terror suspects seems to mark a new milestone in the normalization of brutality by officials in Putin's Russia.

Persons: —, Mukhammadsobir Faizov, Dalerdzhon, Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, Shamsidin, Vladimir Putin, Mirzoyev, Rajabalizoda, Fariduni, mutilate, Anton Barbashin, Akram Azimov, Abror, lionized, Andrei Soldatov, Russia's Wagner, Kenneth Roth Organizations: Service, Business, CNN, Nazi, RFE, Human Rights Watch, St, New York Times, UN, Moscow ISIS, Kremlin, Human Rights Locations: Moscow, Tajikistan, Russia, St Petersburg, Ukraine, Putin's Russia

Listen and follow The DailyApple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicWarning: this episode contains descriptions of violence. More than a hundred people died and scores more were wounded on Friday night in a terrorist attack on a concert hall near Moscow — the deadliest such attack in Russia in decades. Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The Times, discusses the uncomfortable question the assault raises for Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin: Has his focus on the war in Ukraine left his country more vulnerable to other threats?

Persons: Anton Troianovski, Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: Spotify, The Times Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine

The reason for the reports of a deteriorating service in Ukraine are unclear, and Starlink, SpaceX and Musk declined to comment. Even with the Starlink devices that are firmly in the Ukrainian military’s control, there is a concern among Ukrainian officials that Russians may hijack their communications or hack them. Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service claimed last year that Russian military hackers were trying to steal battlefield communications sent from Ukrainian soldiers’ mobile devices to Starlink terminals. She promised 30 at a later date, and also posted images of a stack of 20 apparent donated Starlink units. Ukrainian units have also been posting footage of multiple drone strikes against Russian trenches where Starlink terminals have been spotted.

Persons: Elon Musk, SpaceX, Misha, “, ”, John Moore, Anton, Oleg Kutkov, Jeff Jurgensen, Musk, Starlink, crowdfunders, Katya Valya, CedarWoods Organizations: CNN, Elon, SpaceX, 65th Mechanised Brigade, Russian, Pentagon, Ukraine, CedarWoods Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Ukraine, Donbas, “, Kyiv, Poland, Russia, Moscow

☆ Deadly Moscow Attack Shatters Putin’s Security Promise to Russians
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Anton Troianovski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Just days later came a searing counterpoint: His vaunted security apparatus failed to prevent Russia’s deadliest terrorist attack in 20 years. The assault on Friday, which killed at least 133 people at a concert hall in suburban Moscow, was a blow to Mr. Putin’s aura as a leader for whom national security is paramount. “The election demonstrated a seemingly confident victory,” Aleksandr Kynev, a Russian political scientist, said in a phone interview from Moscow. “And suddenly, against the backdrop of a confident victory, there’s this demonstrative humiliation.”Mr. Putin seemed blindsided by the assault. When he did, the Russian leader said nothing about the mounting evidence that a branch of the Islamic State committed the attack.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, “, ” Aleksandr Kynev, ” Mr, Mr, ” Organizations: Islamic State Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Beslan

☆ In First Remarks on Attack, Putin Tries to Link Assailants to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Anton Troianovski | More About Anton Troianovski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia laid the groundwork on Saturday for blaming Ukraine for the Moscow concert hall attack. And in making his first remarks on the assault more than 19 hours after it began, he pledged to punish the perpetrators, “whoever they may be, whoever may have sent them.”Mr. Putin, in a five-minute televised address, claimed that someone in Ukraine had tried to help the attackers escape across the border from Russia before they were apprehended by Russian security services. He did not definitively pin the attack on Ukraine; nor did he refer to the assessment by American officials that a branch of the Islamic State was behind it. “They were trying to hide and were moving toward Ukraine,” Mr. Putin said, referring to the four men who carried out the attack and who the Kremlin said had been captured in western Russia. “Based on preliminary information, a window for crossing the border was prepared for them by the Ukrainian side.”

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, “, ” Mr, ” Organizations: Ukraine, Islamic Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Islamic State, Ukrainian

☆ Russia blew apart a neighborhood during a massive strike on Ukraine that included wildly inaccurate missiles built to sink aircraft carriers
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-22 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia launched a massive missile and drone strike on Ukraine on Friday. Ukraine said five Kh-22 missiles were launched among the barrage. The Kh-22 is a massive missile designed to hit NATO aircraft carriers that's wildly inaccurate for hitting land targets. Ukraine said the attack included the use of Russia's Kh-22 anti-ship missile, among others, and destroyed a residential area. The aftermath of a massive missile strike by Russian troops is being seen in Zaporizhzhia, southeastern Ukraine, on March 22, 2024.

Persons: —, Mykola Oleshchuk, Anton Gerashchenko, Ivan Fedorov Organizations: Friday, NATO, Service, Getty, Ukraine's Air Force, Business, AS Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Odessa, Ukrainian, Soviet, Russian, Dnipro, Kremenchuk

The warning was related to the attack on Friday, according to people briefed on the matter. Pro-Kremlin voices immediately seized on the U.S. Embassy’s warning to paint America as trying to scare Russians. And he has been quick to accuse Ukraine of acts of terrorism to justify his invasion of the country. But I would disabuse you at this early hour of any connection to Ukraine.”“Our thoughts obviously are going to be with the victims of this terrible, terrible shooting attack,” he also said. Mykhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to Ukraine’s presidential office, said in a video statement that “Ukraine has absolutely nothing to do” with the attack.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, ”, John Kirby, Maria Zakharova, Washington, Mykhailo Podolyak, Aishvarya Kavi Organizations: U.S, Embassy, State Department, Kyiv, Biden’s National Security Council, White, Reuters, “ Locations: Moscow, America, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, U.S, Washington

☆ Why ‘Uncle Vanya’ Is the Play for Our Anxious Era
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-21 | by ( Jon Robin Baitz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

IN WATCHING MIXED-BREED dogs play, I’ve often thought that mutts are more dog than the purest purebred. This brings me to Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” (1897), a singularly psychologically destabilizing piece of theater that’s now being seen anew as a study of post-Covid paralysis, not to mention the existential dread of watching your life slip away by the spoonful. The pandemic and the boorish political and public discourse that followed drove us inward, unable to fight back, going nuts like poor Vanya. For Uncle Vanya, this situation becomes intolerable, especially after Serebryakov insists that the property be sold and the profits set aside for his comfort. Equally unbearable: the professor’s new wife, Yelena, a detached beauty years his junior who’s driving Vanya and the alcoholic Dr. Astrov, another visitor, batty with lust.

Persons: I’ve, William Shakespeare’s “, Edward Albee’s “, Virginia Woolf ”, —, Anton Chekhov’s “, Vanya ”, that’s, you’re, Vanya, Plotwise, Serebryakov, “, ”, he’s, he’s sponged, Uncle Vanya, Yelena, Astrov, batty, you’d Locations: Moscow

☆ War, reforms and a possible successor? Here's what we could see from 6 more years of Putin
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Analysts share their views on what we can expect now that Putin has strengthened his grip on power, with the Ukraine war, domestic economic reforms and a possible government reshuffle key factors to watch. Having cleared more of a procedural hurdle than a real test of his policies and popularity in the election, Putin will have more freedom to advance contentious reforms at home, analysts note. Russian President Vladimir Putin delivering an annual address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, at Moscow's Gostiny Dvor, in Moscow on Feb. 29, 2024. MOSCOW, RUSSIA - JANUARY 8: (RUSSIA OUT) A woman eats hot corn while walking along the Red Square near the Kremlin, as air temperatures dropped to -18 degrees Celcius, January,8 2024, in Moscow, Russia. However, with the dynamics of the war now shifting in Russia's favor, Putin might feel more confident with the reshuffle.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Natalia Kolesnikova, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, embolden Putin, Liam Peach, Jose Colon, Anton Siluanov, Tursa, Adeline Van Houtte, Donald Trump, Dmitry Peskov, Peach, he's, Sergei Shoigu, Sergei Lavrov, Mikhail Mishustin, Dmitry Medvedev, Gavriil Organizations: Afp, Getty, Kremlin, Commission, Analysts, U.S, Capital Economics, Anadolu, Anadolu Agency, Economist Intelligence Unit, Federal Assembly, Russian Federation, New, Putin, Security Council, Sputnik Locations: Crimea, Red, Moscow, Russia, Russian, Central, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, Eastern Europe, Europe, U.S, Russia's, MOSCOW, RUSSIA

His most beloved crooner sang a nationalistic ballad with an appeal to Russians: “The Motherland is calling. Don’t let her down.”His favorite band belted out a moody song about wartime sacrifice. And then he took the stage, under a banner celebrating the 10th anniversary of Crimea’s seizure from Ukraine, to remind thousands of Russians gathered on Red Square that his fight to add territory to Russia wasn’t over. President Vladimir V. Putin, a day after declaring victory in a performative election, signaled on Monday that the war against Ukraine would continue to dominate his rule and called for unity in bringing the people of eastern Ukraine “back to their home family.”“We will move on together, hand in hand,” Mr. Putin told the crowd, boasting of a restored railroad line that he said would soon connect to Crimea through territory taken from Ukraine. “And this is precisely what really makes us stronger — not words, but deeds.”

Persons: Don’t, ”, Vladimir V, Putin, Mr Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Crimea

☆ Remote Island near Antarctica overrun with a million mice that eat rare seabirds
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Mouse-Free Marion project plans to eradicate the rodents with rodenticide. They've got to all sorts of places," Anton Wolfaardt, the Mouse-Free Marion project manager, told The AP. Conservationists on Marion Island photographed a mouse sitting on the bloodied head of a wandering albatross chick feeding. "Marion Island's seabirds are members of a regional seabird community innately connected to the functioning and health of the sub-Antarctic region," he said. There are estimated to be over a million mice on Marion Island, The AP report said.

Persons: —, Prince Edward Islands, They've, Anton Wolfaardt, Marion, Wolfaardt, Keith Springer Organizations: Marion, Service, Associated Press, AP, BirdLife International, Guardian Locations: Marion Island, Antarctica, Cape Town , South Africa, Marion, South Africa

“All of us decent people are hostages here.” Like other voters interviewed, she declined to provide her last name, for fear of reprisal. “It is so important to see people who think like you, who don’t agree with what is happening,” she said. More broadly, the muted, purely symbolic form of civil disobedience envisioned by the initiative underscores just how little the Russian opposition can do to influence events in the country amid the pervasive repression. Noon Against Putin has been expected to be particularly large-scale abroad, because dissident voters faced lower risks outside Russia. Ms. Navalnaya was seen standing in a long line outside the Russian Embassy in Berlin on Sunday afternoon.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Aleksei A, Navalny, Mr, Navalny’s, ”, Lena, Noon, Yulia Navalnaya, “, ” Leonid Volkov, Nanna Heitmann, Volkov, Kristina, Navalnaya, Valerie Hopkins, Tomas Dapkus, Anton Troianovski Organizations: Sunday, The New York Times, YouTube, Russian Embassy Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Lithuania, Lane, Berlin, Riga, Latvia

☆ With New Six-Year Term, Putin Cements Hold on Russian Leadership
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Anton Troianovski | Nanna Heitmann | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Vladimir V. Putin on Sunday extended his rule over Russia until 2030, using a heavily stage-managed presidential election with no real competition to portray overwhelming public support for his domestic dominance and his invasion of Ukraine. Some Russians tried to turn the undemocratic vote into a protest, forming long lines at polling stations at a predetermined time — noon — to register their discontent. At the same time, Ukraine sought to cast its own vote of sorts by firing a volley of exploding drones at Moscow and other targets. But the Kremlin brushed those challenges aside and released results after the polls closed claiming that Mr. Putin had won 87 percent of the vote — an even higher number than in the four previous elections he participated in. Afterward, Mr. Putin took a lengthy, televised victory lap, including a swaggering, after-midnight news conference at which he commented on the death of the imprisoned opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny for the first time, referring to it as an “unfortunate incident.”

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, Aleksei A, ” Organizations: Sunday Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow

☆ Putin Breaks Silence on Navalny’s Death, Calling It an ‘Unfortunate Incident’
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Anton Troianovski | More About Anton Troianovski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Vladimir V. Putin described the death of the imprisoned opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny as an “unfortunate incident” and claimed he had been ready to release him in exchange for Russian prisoners held in the West. Mr. Putin, in a news conference after Russia’s presidential election, said that “some people” had told him before Mr. Navalny’s death “that there was an idea to exchange Mr. Navalny for some people held in correctional facilities in Western countries.”“I said, ‘I agree,’” Mr. Putin said. “Just with one condition: ‘We’ll trade him but make sure that he doesn’t come back, let him stay over there.’”He added: “But this happens. That’s life.”The comments, in response to a question from NBC News, were Mr. Putin’s first about Mr. Navalny’s death at a penal colony in the Arctic— and a rare moment, if not the first, when the Russian president uttered Mr. Navalny’s name in public.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Aleksei A, ”, Navalny, “, ‘, ’, Mr, Putin’s, Navalny’s Organizations: NBC News Locations: West, Russian

☆ Fox News sued by family of Ukrainian journalist killed while covering war over ‘reckless and negligent conduct’
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Fox News is the subject of yet another explosive lawsuit. The mayor of Irpin had barred journalists from the city and Thomson, the security contractor, had vetoed the idea of reporting from the area, according to the lawsuit. “The absence of the security contractor was vital, as the crew made fatal mistakes,” the lawsuit said. The Fox News crew ultimately stopped at an abandoned checkpoint where they were attacked. In the aftermath of the tragedy, the lawsuit alleged that Fox News has tried to cover up its failures and hide them from the public.

Persons: CNN —, Pierre Zakrzewski, Oleksandra, Sasha ” Kuvshynova, ”, Shane Thomson, Kuvshynova’s, Thomson, Rupert Murdoch, Suzanne Scott, Benjamin Hall, Scott, Anton Gerashchenko, “, Sasha, ” Zakrzewski, ” Hall, Fox News “, “ Shane, Fox, Shane, Pierre, “ Sasha Kuvshynova’s, Kyiv — Organizations: CNN, CNN — Fox, Fox News, New York State, Fox Corporation, Thomson, New York Times, The Fox News, HarperCollins, Fox, Russian, Kyiv Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, New York, Russian, Irpin, Ukrainian

21 Saint Mary's led nearly the entire way to beat No. 17 Gonzaga 69-60 on Tuesday night and interrupt the Bulldogs' stranglehold on the West Coast Conference Tournament title. Also for Saint Mary's, Saxen produced a double-double despite battling foul trouble, and WCC player of the year Augustas Marciulionis scored 13 points. The game was close throughout — Saint Mary's largest lead was 11 points — but the Gaels managed to stay in front almost throughout. Saint Mary's now has won 23 of 25 games, and the Gaels ended Gonzaga's nine-game winning streak.

Persons: — Aidan Mahaney, Mitchell Saxen, Saint Mary's, Gonzaga, Mahaney, Saxen, Marciulionis, Anton Watson, Ryan Nembhard, Graham Ike, ___ Organizations: LAS VEGAS, West Coast, Bulldogs, NCAA, Gaels, Saint, AP Locations: — Saint Mary's, Saint

☆ Ukraine said it sank a $65 million warship that Russia planned to use for an antiaircraft missile system
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine said it destroyed another Russian ship in the Black Sea using sea drones. The Sergei Kotov patrol vessel, part of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, cost $65 million, Ukraine said. AdvertisementUkrainian military intelligence said a $65 million Russian warship was the latest to be sunk in the Black Sea. It added that a Ukrainian special unit attacked the Black Sea Fleet vessel in cooperation with Ukraine's navy and the Ministry of Digital Transformation. In December, the UK's defense minister said that "over the past 4 months 20% of Russia's Black Sea Fleet has been destroyed."

Persons: Sergei Kotov, —, Andrii, Russian Sergey Kotov, 3KPMpgxXD8, 4LGiEYQaEY — Anton Gerashchenko Organizations: Service, Directorate of Intelligence, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Digital, Kyiv, Radio Free, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, Ukraine, Kyiv Independent Locations: Ukraine, Russia's, Russia, Ukrainian, Kerch, Radio Free Europe, Russian, Sevastopol, Crimea

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