DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Their City Has a Plaque From Putin. They Want Zelensky to Tear It Down.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Lara Jakes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A small copper plaque mounted across the piazza from the Basilica of St. Nicholas in Bari, Italy, pledges “friendship and cooperation” between the city and the Russian people. It is signed by someone who, for the past two years in Europe, has pursued anything but: President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. The plaque is a replica of a letter Mr. Putin sent in 2003, nearly two decades before his invasion of Ukraine, and for years it drew little notice from Bari’s residents or the tens of thousands of pilgrims who visit the site annually to venerate the saint, whose remains are interred there. But a growing number of people now see it as sign of Mr. Putin’s hypocrisy — particularly among a diaspora of local Ukrainians who want it taken down. For the many residents of Bari who have wanted the plaque removed since the war began, the gathering nearby is seen as a chance to enlist Mr. Putin’s fiercest international critics to their cause.

Persons: Nicholas in, Vladimir V, Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky Locations: Nicholas in Bari , Italy, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Italy, Bari

☆ Biden Will Link Fight for Ukraine With Allied Effort on D-Day
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Michael D. Shear | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

NORMANDY — President Biden will observe the 80th anniversary of D-Day on the beaches of Normandy on Thursday by asserting that the allied effort to stand up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a direct extension of the battle for freedom that raged across Europe during World War II. Mr. Biden, 81, who was a toddler when Americans stormed the beaches here in 1944, will almost certainly be the last U.S. president to speak at a Normandy remembrance who was alive at the time Allied forces began to push Adolf Hitler out of Europe. Now, eight decades later, Mr. Biden is leading a coalition of European and other nations in a very different war on the continent, but for a very similar principle — pushing back against the attempted seizure of Ukraine by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. In remarks at the Normandy American Cemetery, the president will draw a direct line between the two, connected by the defense of a rules-based international order.

Persons: Biden, Mr, Adolf Hitler, Vladimir V, Putin Locations: NORMANDY, Normandy, Ukraine, Europe, Russia

☆ Moscow Could Target Countries Supplying Weapons to Ukraine, Putin Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Neil Macfarquhar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia warned on Wednesday that Western nations supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles and allowing them to be used to attack inside Russia was a “dangerous step” that could prompt Moscow to reciprocate against Western targets. “If someone thinks it possible to send such weapons to a war zone to strike our territory and create problems for us,” Mr. Putin said at a news conference, “then why do we not have the right to send our weapons of the same class to those regions of the world where strikes can be made on sensitive facilities of the countries that do this against Russia?”Mr. Putin singled out Germany, saying that its supply of battle tanks to Ukraine had been an initial blow to Russian-German relations, but its permission to use missiles in Russia was even worse. “Now, when they say that some missiles will appear that will strike targets on Russian territory, this, of course, is ultimately destroying Russo-German relations,” he said.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, ” Mr, “, Mr, ” Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow

☆ Opinion | America’s Military Is Not Prepared for War — or Peace
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Roger Wicker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“To be prepared for war,” George Washington said, “is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.” President Ronald Reagan agreed with his forebear’s words, and peace through strength became a theme of his administration. It is far past time to rebuild America’s military. President Vladimir Putin of Russia has thrown Europe into war and mobilized his society for long-term conflict. Iran and its proxy groups have escalated their shadow war against Israel and increased attacks on U.S. ships and soldiers. Iran has provided Russia with battlefield drones, and China is sending technical and logistical help to aid Mr. Putin’s war.

Persons: ” George Washington, “, Ronald Reagan, America’s, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin Organizations: U.S . Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S . Navy Locations: American, China, Russia, Europe, Iran, Israel, Korea

☆ Why a Prosecutor Went Public With Arrest Warrant Requests for Hamas and Israeli Leaders
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Amanda Taub | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The decision of Karim Khan, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, to publicly seek arrest warrants for the leaders of Hamas and Israel this week will be one of the most significant and contentious of his career. Khan accused three Hamas leaders of war crimes and crimes against humanity relating to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and hostage taking. He also accused Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and its defense minister, Yoav Gallant, of war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s military operation in Gaza, including the starvation of civilians. Khan didn’t have to announce the warrant applications publicly. He could have waited until they were granted, as with the warrant for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia last year — a process that can take weeks or months.

Persons: Karim Khan, Court’s, Khan, Israel’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, —, Khan didn’t, Vladimir V, Putin Locations: Israel, Gaza, United States, Russia

☆ Russian Forces Close In on Ukrainian Town in Northeast
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Russian forces on Tuesday inched closer to the central part of Vovchansk, a town in Ukraine’s northeast that they have been attacking for the past 10 days as part of a new offensive in the region. Roman Semenukha, the deputy head of the military administration in the northeastern Kharkiv region, said on television on Monday that Ukrainian forces had lost about 40 percent of the town, with Russian troops pushing from the north. Open-source maps of the battlefield compiled by independent groups also show that Russia now controls the northern part of the town, which had a prewar population of 17,000. Vovchansk, which lies just five miles from the Russian border, has been a prime target of Moscow’s new offensive. Both U.S. officials and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia have said the offensive is part of an effort to establish a buffer zone.

Persons: Roman Semenukha, Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: U.S Locations: Vovchansk, Ukraine’s, Roman, Kharkiv, Russia, Russian

☆ The Technocrat Who’s Taking Control of Putin’s War Effort
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Paul Sonne | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In more than two years of war against Ukraine, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has found that the technocrats he assembled to manage the Russian economy have turned out to be his most reliable foot soldiers. The Russian leader has now tapped one of them, Andrei R. Belousov, who has no military experience, to become his next defense minister. Mr. Belousov, however, has been a true believer. His rise shows how Mr. Putin is fully redirecting Russia’s economy toward the war effort and suggests that the Kremlin may grow even more deeply involved in mobilizing industry for the fight. Mr. Putin cast his new defense chief, who joined him on a trip to China in recent days, as a much-needed coordinator for a rapidly changing Russian military industrial complex that is critical to success in the war.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Andrei R, Belousov, Rembrandt, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Carl Jung, Mr Organizations: Ukraine Locations: Russia, China

☆ In Talks With Putin, Xi Hails ‘Powerful Driving Force’ of Cooperation
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( David Pierson | Ivan Nechepurenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Putin, whose economy remains largely isolated because of Western sanctions over his invasion of Ukraine, relies on Mr. Xi, China’s leader, for diplomatic cover and a financial lifeline, including huge purchases of Russian oil. But Mr. Putin will need more help to sustain his war machine, especially now as his military makes a push near Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, before billions of dollars’ worth of arms arrives from the United States to shore up Ukraine’s depleted forces. In Beijing, Mr. Putin sought to show that Moscow was deepening its ties with Beijing as a bulwark against Western attempts to contain their countries. “We are working in solidarity on the formulation of a more just and democratic multipolar world order,” he said. He also said the leaders discussed working more closely in energy and nuclear power research, though made no mention of a proposed natural gas pipeline to China that Moscow would like to see built.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin of, ” Xi, Mr, Putin, Xi, ” Organizations: Russian Locations: Ukraine, Putin of Russia, Beijing, Kharkiv, Ukraine’s, United States, Moscow, China

The Biden administration is increasingly concerned that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is gathering enough momentum to change the trajectory of the war in Ukraine. Credit... Nanna Heitmann for The New York Times

Persons: Biden, Vladimir V, Putin, Nanna Heitmann Organizations: The New York Locations: Russia, Ukraine

☆ To Talk With Putin or Iran, the West Turns to the World’s Nuclear Inspector
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( David E. Sanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Rafael Grossi slipped into Moscow a few weeks ago to meet quietly with the man most Westerners never engage with these days: President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Mr. Grossi is the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, and his purpose was to warn Mr. Putin about the dangers of moving too fast to restart the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been occupied by Russian troops since soon after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But as the two men talked, the conversation veered off into Mr. Putin’s declarations that he was open to a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine — but only if President Volodymyr Zelensky was prepared to give up nearly 20 percent of his country. A few weeks later, Mr. Grossi, an Argentine with a taste for Italian suits, was in Tehran, this time talking to the country’s foreign minister and the head of its civilian nuclear program. At a moment when senior Iranian officials are hinting that new confrontations with Israel may lead them to build a bomb, the Iranians signaled that they, too, were open to a negotiation — suspecting, just as Mr. Putin did, that Mr. Grossi would soon be reporting details of his conversation to the White House.

Persons: Rafael Grossi, Vladimir V, Putin, Grossi, Mr, Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, United Nations Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Argentine, Tehran, Israel

☆ Who is Robert Fico, the Slovakian Prime Minister?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Matthew Mpoke Bigg | More About Matthew Mpoke Bigg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Robert Fico, 59, has played a pivotal role in Slovakian politics in the years since it gained independence in 1993 and has served as prime minister longer than any other leader. The country gained independence amid the so-called Velvet Revolution, a series of popular and nonviolent protests against the Communist Party in what was at that time still Czechoslovakia. Mr. Fico, who had been a Communist Party member while it was in power, founded the Smer party in the late 1990s and began the first of his three terms as prime minister in 2006. The Smer party, which started out on the political left but has increasingly embraced right-wing views on immigration and cultural issues, has always governed as part of a coalition. Much of the international focus on Mr. Fico’s leadership in recent years has focused on his ties to President Vladimir Putin of Russia and to Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, Slovakia’s southern neighbor.

Persons: Robert Fico, Fico, Vladimir Putin of, Viktor Orban of Hungary Organizations: Communist Party Locations: Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, Vladimir Putin of Russia

☆ What to Know About the Summit Between Putin and Xi in China
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( David Pierson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, hosts President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia this week, the two leaders are expected to present a united front. Mr. Putin is trying to escalate his war in Ukraine before Ukrainian forces can receive a replenishment of arms from the United States, and likely wants to know he can rely on China. Mr. Xi will seek to bolster his strategic partner and “old friend,” but is also under pressure to avoid further alienating the West over his support for Russia. Mr. Putin will most likely seek more help from Beijing, which has provided a lifeline to the Kremlin ever since Western sanctions were imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago. China purchases huge quantities of Russian oil and provides technologies that help Moscow withstand its economic isolation and sustain its war machine.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, Xi, Putin’s Organizations: West, Russia, Kremlin Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, United States, China, Beijing, Harbin

☆ Putin Will Visit Xi, Testing a ‘No Limits’ Partnership
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( David Pierson | Paul Sonne | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, hosts President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in China this week, it will be more than two years since the two autocratic leaders declared a “no limits” partnership to push back against what they consider American bullying and interference. Growing challenges from the West have tested the limits of that partnership. Mr. Xi is walking a narrowing tightrope, coming under increasing diplomatic and economic pressure to curtail Chinese support for Russia and its war in Ukraine. “China sees Russia as an important strategic partner and wants to give Putin proper respect, but it also wants to maintain sound relations with Europe and the United States for economic reasons and beyond. It is a very difficult balancing act,” said Shen Dingli, a Shanghai-based international relations scholar.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Vladimir V, Putin, ”, Shen Dingli Locations: Russia, China, Ukraine, Europe, Beijing, United States, Shanghai

☆ Putin’s New War Weapon: An Economist Managing the Military
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Anton Troianovski | Anatoly Kurmanaev | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

To President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, appointing a new defense minister provides a new building block toward fighting a long war. That was evident in Moscow on Monday when Andrei R. Belousov, the economist who was Mr. Putin’s surprise pick to lead Russia’s sprawling defense ministry, made his first public appearance in his new role and spoke about bureaucracy rather than the battlefield. It reflects an acknowledgment that the military production that is supplying Russia’s war, and heating its economy, must be carefully managed to sustain a war of attrition with Ukraine. At the same time, Russia is playing the long game on the battlefield. In northeastern Ukraine, Russian forces mounting a new offensive are pushing forward slowly rather than attempting major breakthroughs to big cities, as they did at the beginning of the war — with disastrous results.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Andrei R, Putin’s Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia replaced his minister of defense on Sunday as he shook up his national security team for the first time since his invasion of Ukraine. Mr. Putin kept the minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, in his inner circle, tapping him to run the country’s security council. Andrei R. Belousov, an economist who served as first deputy prime minister in the last government and previously was the economic development minister, was nominated to become the new defense chief. It is unclear how much authority over the war effort Mr. Shoigu will retain. colleague of Mr. Putin who has headed the Russian security council for 16 years, would be moved to another position to be announced in the coming days.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Sergei K, Andrei R, Shoigu, Nikolai P, Mr Locations: Russia, Ukraine

☆ In Meeting With Xi, E.U. Leader Takes Tough Line on Ukraine War
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Roger Cohen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, put pressure Monday on China to help resolve the war in Ukraine, saying Beijing should “use all its influence on Russia to end its war of aggression against Ukraine.”She spoke after accompanying President Emmanuel Macron of France in a meeting with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, who began his first visit to Europe in five years on Sunday. Ms. von der Leyen has persistently taken a stronger line toward China than has Mr. Macron. With President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia again suggesting he might be prepared to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine, she said Mr. Xi had played “an important role in de-escalating Russia’s irresponsible nuclear threats.” She was confident, Ms. von der Leyen said, that Mr. Xi would “continue to do so against the backdrop of ongoing nuclear threats by Russia.”Whether her appeal would have any impact on Mr. Xi was unclear, and describing the conflict as Russia’s “war of aggression” in Ukraine seemed likely to irk the Chinese leader. Beijing has forged a “no limits” friendship with Russia and provided Moscow with critical support for its military effort, including jet fighter parts, microchips and other dual-use equipment.

Persons: Ursula von der Leyen, ”, Emmanuel Macron, Xi Jinping, von der Leyen, Macron, Vladimir V, Putin, Xi Organizations: European Commission Locations: China, Ukraine, Beijing, Russia, France, Europe, Moscow

☆ Putin’s War Will Soon Reach Russians’ Tax Bills
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Paul Sonne | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is about to institute a rare tax increase on corporations and high earners, a move that reflects both the burgeoning costs of his war in Ukraine and the firm control he has over the Russian elite as he embarks on a fifth term in office. Financial technocrats in Mr. Putin’s government are searching for new ways to fund not just an expensive war in Ukraine but also a broader confrontation with the West that is likely to remain costly for years. Russia is allocating nearly a third of its overall 2024 budget to national defense spending this year, a huge increase, adding to a deficit that the Kremlin has taken pains to keep in check. The proposed tax increase underscores Mr. Putin’s rising confidence about his political control over the Russian elite and his country’s economic resilience at home, showing that he is willing to risk alienating parts of society to fund the war. It would represent the first major tax overhaul in over a decade.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin Locations: Russia, Ukraine

How the House Voted on Foreign Aid to Ukraine, Israel and TaiwanVotes on the Foreign Aid Bills Source: Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of RepresentativesThe House passed a long-stalled foreign aid package on Saturday that gives funding to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, with a majority of lawmakers backing money for American allies across the globe. A majority of Republicans voted against Ukraine aid on Saturday, in a reflection of the stiff resistance within the G.O.P. to continuing to aid Ukraine against President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia’s invasion. While all Democrats voted in favor of aid to Ukraine and all but Ms. Tlaib supported funding to Taiwan, 37 left-leaning Democrats defected to vote against the Israel aid bill. The opposition to the Israel aid represented a minority of Democrats, but reflected the deep resistance to unconditional aid and the divisions in the party on Gaza.

Persons: Mike Johnson, Kevin McCarthy’s, Mr, McCarthy, Vladimir V, Putin, Elise Stefanik, Rashida Tlaib, Bob Good, Good, “, Tlaib, Jamie Raskin, Donald S, Beyer Jr, Earl Blumenauer of, John Garamendi of Organizations: Foreign Aid, Foreign, House, Senate, House Progressive Caucus, Fund, Caucus, Republican, Republicans, ”, Maryland, Democrats Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, New York, Michigan, Virginia, Gaza, Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, John Garamendi of California, United States

☆ Before He Died in Prison, Aleksei Navalny Wrote a Memoir. It’s Coming This Fall.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

During the years leading up to his death in a Russian prison, Aleksei A. Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, was writing a memoir about his life and work as a pro-democracy activist. Titled “Patriot,” the memoir will be published in the United States by Knopf on Oct. 22, with a first printing of half a million copies, and a simultaneous release in multiple countries. Navalny, who rose to global prominence as a fierce critic of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, resisted the Kremlin’s repeated attempts to silence him through physical harm, arrests and imprisonment in a remote Arctic penal colony, where he died in February, at age 47. The book, telling his story in his own words, comes as a final show of defiance, his widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said in a statement, and could have a galvanizing effect on his followers.

Persons: Aleksei A, Vladimir V, Putin, Yulia Navalnaya Organizations: Knopf Locations: Russian, United States, Russia

☆ Xi Meets With Russia’s Foreign Minister, Reaffirming Ties
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( David Pierson | Ivan Nechepurenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, and Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, met in Beijing on Tuesday, in a session seen as laying the groundwork for an expected visit to China by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and pushing back against mounting pressure from the United States and its allies. Mr. Lavrov’s visit came just days after Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen warned of “significant consequences” if Chinese companies provided material support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. It also took place as President Biden was set to host the leaders of Japan and the Philippines on Wednesday to boost economic and security ties to counter China’s growing assertiveness in Asia. Earlier in the day, Mr. Lavrov met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, and said the two sides had talked about deepening security ties to resist the West's “anti-Chinese” and “anti-Russian orientation.” In a sign of the Kremlin’s continued deference to China, Mr. Lavrov reaffirmed Russia’s rejection of any “outside interference” over Beijing’s claims to the de facto independent island of Taiwan. “There is no place for dictatorships, hegemony, neocolonial and colonial practices, which are now being widely used by the United States and the rest of the ‘collective West,’” Mr. Lavrov said.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Sergey V, Lavrov, Vladimir V, Putin, Lavrov’s, Janet L, Yellen, Biden, Wang Yi, ’, Mr Locations: Beijing, China, Russia, United States, Ukraine, Japan, Philippines, Asia, Taiwan

☆ Putin Offers Both Reassurance and Threat on a Wider War
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Ivan Nechepurenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has warned that if F-16 fighter jets supplied to Ukraine by its Western allies operated from airfields in other countries, the bases would be “legitimate targets” for attack. In a speech to Russian Air Force pilots late Wednesday, however, Mr. Putin rejected suggestions from some Western leaders that Russia is planning to invade NATO countries as “complete nonsense.”The threat that Russia might move against other countries has become one of the main arguments used by the Ukrainian government and its supporters to try to persuade the U.S. to dispatch more military aid to the country. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said again in an interview with CBS News published on Thursday that war “can come to Europe, and to the United States of America.”

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Organizations: Russian Air Force, CBS Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, U.S, Europe, United States of America

☆ Vowing the U.S. Will ‘Do Our Job,’ Johnson Searches for a Path on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Catie Edmondson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Speaker Mike Johnson opened the floor for questions at a closed-door luncheon fund-raiser in New Jersey last month, Jacquie Colgan asked how, in the face of vehement opposition within his own ranks, he planned to handle aid for Ukraine. What followed was an impassioned monologue by Mr. Johnson in which he explained why continued American aid to Kyiv was, in his view, vital — a message starkly at odds with the hard-right views that have overtaken his party. He invoked his political roots as a Reagan Republican, denounced President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as a “madman” and conceded the issue had forced him to walk a “delicate political tightrope.”Reminded by Ms. Colgan, a member of the American Coalition for Ukraine, a nonprofit advocacy group, of the adage that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil was for good people to do nothing, Mr. Johnson replied that he kept a copy of the quotation framed in his office. “That’s not going to be us,” he assured her. “We’re going to do our job.”The exchange reflects what Mr. Johnson has privately told donors, foreign leaders and fellow members of Congress in recent weeks, according to extensive notes Ms. Colgan took during the New Jersey event and interviews with several other people who have spoken with him.

Persons: Mike Johnson, Jacquie Colgan, Mr, Johnson, Vladimir V, Putin, ”, Ms, Colgan, “ That’s, “ We’re Organizations: Reagan Republican, American Coalition for Ukraine Locations: New Jersey, Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia, Jersey

☆ Ukrainians Shun Kremlin Suggestions Their Country Was Behind Moscow Attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ukrainians have reacted with a mixture of concern and mockery to the narrative pushed by the Kremlin and Russian state media that Ukraine was behind the terrorist attack Friday on a Moscow concert hall, a claim made despite the Islamic State’s claim of responsibility. “This is a typical provocation,” Iryna Blakyta, 24, a resident of Kyiv, said on Monday. “It’s typical for Russia.” She said President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia would use the attack to create a rally-around-the flag effect directed against Ukraine, after more than two years of war have worn down the Russian population. “He needs to mobilize people,” Ms. Blakyta said, “he needs to show who the enemy is.”That worry was palpable Monday morning in Kyiv, which was targeted by two ballistic missiles in broad daylight, the third air assault against the Ukrainian capital in five days. A university building in a central part of the city was reduced to rubble in the attack, and officials said at least 10 people were injured.

Persons: Iryna, “, ”, Vladimir V, Putin, Ms, Blakyta Organizations: Kremlin, Ukraine Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Kyiv, Russia

☆ Moscow Concert Hall Shooting Russia Begins Day of Mourning for Victims
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

The terrorist attack outside Moscow a few days later was a blow to his aura as a leader for whom national security is paramount. Just days later came a searing counterpoint: His vaunted security apparatus failed to prevent Russia’s deadliest terrorist attack in 20 years. Inside Russia, the election — and its predetermined outcome — underscored Mr. Putin’s dominance over the nation’s politics. The area is closed as part of increased security measures after the terrorist attack on Friday. Before Friday, the most recent mass-casualty terrorist attack in the capital region was a suicide bombing at an airport in Moscow in 2011 that killed 37 people.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, “, ” Aleksandr Kynev, ” Mr, Mr, ”, Nanna Heitmann, Aleksei A, ” Ruslan Leviev, Olga Skabeyeva, Margarita Simonyan, Russia’s, Aleksandr Dugin, Dugin, Dugin’s, Andriy Yusov, Putin’s, Shamil Zhumatov, Kynev, Vladimir Putin’s, Constant Méheut Organizations: Kremlin, Islamic State, Passengers, The New York Times, Terrorism, Islamic, ., Reuters Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Beslan, United States

☆ 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

Search resuls for: "Putin of Russia"

25 mentions found