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☆ Reaction to Gabon army officers announcing coup
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Below are reactions to what appeared to be the eighth military coup in West and Central Africa since 2020. FRENCH GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON OLIVIER VERAN"We condemn the military coup and recall our commitment to free and transparent elections." EU HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND SECURITY POLICY JOSEP BORRELL"If this is confirmed, it is another military coup which increases instability in the whole region. RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON MARIA ZAKHAROVA"Moscow has received with concern reports of a sharp deterioration in the internal situation in the friendly African country. U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES"The Secretary-General is following the evolving situation in Gabon very closely.

Persons: Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, Ali Bongo, Moussa Faki Mahamat, BOLA TINUBU'S, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GENERAL PATRICIA SCOTLAND, OLIVIER VERAN, WANG WENBIN, Bongo, JOSEP BORRELL, MARIA ZAKHAROVA, JOHN KIRBY, It's, GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES, Nellie Peyton, Sofia Christensen, Alexander Winning, Sharon Singleton, Andy Sullivan Organizations: REUTERS, Central African, AU, H.E, WEST, BLOC ECOWAS, GENERAL, Commonwealth Secretariat, MINISTRY, EU HIGH, Thomson Locations: Libreville, Gabon, West, Central Africa, Gabonese Republic, Republic, NIGERIA, African Union, CHINA, China, Central African Republic, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Moscow

☆ Russia vows retaliation for Ukraine's 'terrorist attack' on Crimean Bridge
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Aug 12 (Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Ministry condemned on Saturday what it called Ukraine's "terrorist attack" on the Crimean Bridge, saying it put innocent civilians' lives at risk, and vowed retaliation. "There can be no justification for such barbaric actions and they will not go unanswered," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. Earlier, Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had thwarted a Ukrainian rocket attack on the 12-mile (19 km) bridge, which links Russian-annexed Crimea to Russia across the Kerch Strait. The ministry said Russian forces had also shot down a number of Ukrainian drones targeting the peninsula. Reporting by Gareth Jones; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Maria Zakharova, Gareth Jones, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Foreign, Russia's Defence Ministry, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Crimea, Russia, Kerch

Two Ukrainian missiles were shot down on Saturday afternoon, the Russia-appointed Head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov wrote in a post on Telegram, adding that the bridge was undamaged. “Another enemy missile was shot down over the Kerch Strait. Meanwhile, traffic has resumed on the Crimean bridge, according to the Crimean bridge operative information Telegram account, after it was temporarily blocked. The Kremlin was quick to blame Kyiv for that explosion, and Putin alleged that it was an act of “sabotage” by Ukrainian security services. The bridge was also hit by two strikes in July in an attack a Ukrainian security official told CNN Kyiv was responsible for.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Crimea Sergey Aksyonov, Aksyonov, Oleg Kryuchkov, ” “, Maria Zakharova, ” Zakharova, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Vasyl Maliuk, ” Maliuk, ” Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian, Kyiv, CNN Kyiv, Ukrainian Security Service Locations: Crimea, Russia, Kerch, Ukraine, Russian, Moscow, Ukrainian

Kyiv last week replaced the Soviet hammer and sickle symbol with a trident – the Ukrainian coat of arms – on the shield of the Motherland Monument, which dominates the capital’s skyline. Its construction began in 1979, and it depicted a woman holding a sword and a shield emblazoned with the Soviet hammer and sickle symbol. Workers remove the Soviet-era emblem from the motherland monument in Kyiv on August 1, 2023. And they don’t know how.”Putin’s desire to undermine Ukrainian national identity and autonomy has remained a key motivation for the conflict. Kudrya, meanwhile, was a Soviet spy and a leader of a sabotage group in Kyiv during World War II.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Valentyn Ogirenko, Pilipey, ” “, ’, Maria Zakharova, Putin, Andrei Ivanov, Andriy Ivanov, Ivan Kudrya, John McCain, Andreyi, “, McCain, Kudrya, ” “ McCain, Ukraine …, Pobigay Organizations: CNN, Getty, Russian Foreign, Kremlin, UNESCO, ” Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Soviet, Ukrainian, Kyiv's, AFP, Kiev, Russian Kiev, Moscow, Latvian, Pavlenko, Russia

☆ Russia says JPMorgan stops processing its grain payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Turkish-flagged bulker TQ Samsun, carrying grain under UN's Black Sea Grain Initiative, is pictured in the Black Sea, north of Bosphorus Strait, off Istanbul, Turkey July 17, 2023. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik/File PhotoUNITED NATIONS, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday that U.S. bank JPMorgan (JPM.N) had this week stopped processing payments for the Russian Agricultural Bank as Moscow demanded action, not promises, from Washington to help Russian grain and fertilizer reach global markets. Under a related pact - also brokered in July 2022 - U.N. officials agreed to help facilitate Russian food and fertilizer exports. As a workaround to that demand, JPMorgan had been processing some Russian grain export payments with reassurances from Washington. Russia may export at least 55 million tonnes of grain in the 2023/24 marketing season, slightly less than the estimated record-breaking 57 million tonnes in the 2022/23 season, Russia's Grain Union said last month.

Persons: Yoruk, Dmitry Peskov, Antony Blinken, Maria Zakharova, James O'Brien, O'Brien, Michelle Nichols, Daphne Psaledakis, Simon Lewis, Jane Merriman Organizations: REUTERS, UNITED NATIONS, JPMorgan, Russian Agricultural Bank, SWIFT, European Union, United Nations, U.S . State Department, Russia's, Ministry, Thomson Locations: Samsun, Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey, Russia, Moscow, Washington, Ukraine

☆ In Urgent Need of Ammunition, Ukraine Speeds Its Own Production
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Gaya Gupta | Alina Lobzina | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

When an office building next to her gleaming glass residential skyscraper in Moscow was hit by a drone filled with explosives early on Sunday, Mari Kletanina seemed worried. “People are consciously or unconsciously ignoring it,” wrote Aleksandr Kynev, a Russian political analyst. “This is the time of сonflict, a conflict of interests, so this is a natural procedure,” Mr. Yzakov said. “We live in a difficult time.”Russian government officials seemed to be more serious about the threat. “If attacks continue, then there will be no new sales at the current prices.”

Persons: Mari Kletanina, Kletanina, ”, Aleksandr Kynev, “, Mirlan Yzakov, Mr, Yzakov, Maria Zakharova, Dmitri S, Peskov, ” Andrei Perla, Vladimir V, Putin, Maksim Khodyrev, Khodyrev Organizations: Russian Foreign Ministry Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Kremlin

☆ Russian embassy in Moldova to suspend consular appointments
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Alexander Tanas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CHISINAU, July 30 (Reuters) - Russia's embassy in Moldova has announced it will temporarily stop providing appointments for consular matters in what Moldovan officials say is a situation linked to the order by the country's authorities to reduce staff. A statement issued by the embassy late on Saturday said consular appointments would be suspended from Aug. 5 "for technical reasons." Moldovan officials say the order to reduce staff at the Russian embassy to 25 from the current level of more than 80, to take effect from Aug. 15, will establish parity with Moldova's embassy in Moscow. Much of the embassy's consular work concerns the pro-Russian separatist enclave of Transdniestria, which broke away from Moldova before the collapse of Soviet rule and where 200,000 Russian passport holders live. Embassy staff were previously able to travel to the enclave on the Ukrainian border to conduct consular affairs, but authorities in the separatist region say the reductions will make that arrangement much more difficult.

Persons: Maia Sandu, Igor Zakhahrov, Maria Zakharova, Ron Popeski, Chris Reese Organizations: Russian Foreign, Embassy, Thomson Locations: CHISINAU, Moldova, Soviet Moldova, Ukraine, Moscow, Russian, Transdniestria

☆ Russia says it shot down Ukrainian missile over southern city with 14 injured
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Uliana Pavlova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Russia said it shot down a Ukrainian missile over the southern Russian city of Taganrog and that fragments from the blast injured several civilians. Vasily Golubev also said on Friday in a Telegram post that there was a rocket explosion in the middle of the city. The Russian Ministry of Health later said 14 people had been injured. Russian air defense systems intercepted the missile, fragments of which fell on the city and damaged buildings, the defense ministry said. There were no victims or severe damage reported at the site, Khinshtein said.

Persons: It’s, Ukraine —, Vasily Golubev, ”, Maria Zakharova, “, ” Zakharova, Alexander Khinshtein, Khinshtein Organizations: CNN, Russian Ministry of Defense, Regional Gov, Russian Ministry of Health, Russian Foreign Ministry, Foreign Ministry, Duma Locations: Russia, Ukrainian, Russian, Taganrog, Ukraine, Rostov Region, Rostov, Moscow, Kiev, Samara

☆ Russia accuses Ukraine of 'terrorism' after drone strike near Moscow army HQ
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The drone attack, though not serious in terms of its human cost or damage, was the most high-profile of its kind since two drones reached the Kremlin in May. [1/5]A member of the security services investigates the damaged building following a reported drone attack in Moscow, Russia, July 24. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the RTVI TV channel Ukraine was guilty of what she called "an act of international terrorism." Citing emergency services, Russian state news agencies reported that drone fragments had been found near a building on Komsomolsky Avenue, which runs through Moscow. After May's drone attack on the Kremlin, U.S. drone experts concluded they might have been launched from inside Russia.

Persons: Nobody, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Maxim Shemetov, Mykhailo Fedorov, Fedorov, Maria Zakharova, Sergei Sobyanin, Andrew Osborn, Lidia Kelly, Simon Cameron, Moore, David Holmes, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Defence Ministry, Defence, Russian, Reuters, Kremlin, Russian Defence Ministry, Odesa, REUTERS, ACT, Foreign Ministry, Moscow, Thomson Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, MOSCOW, Crimea, Russian, Ukrainian, U.S, Melbourne

☆ War reporter's death prompts Russian outrage over Ukraine's alleged use of cluster bombs
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Rostislav Zhuravlev, correspondent for Russia's RIA news agency, poses for a picture at an unknown location in this picture released July 22, 2023. Cluster bombs are in the spotlight after Ukraine received supplies of them from the United States this month. The dead Russian journalist was named as Rostislav Zhuravlev, a war correspondent for state news agency RIA. The entire measure of responsibility will be shared by those who supplied cluster munitions to their Kyiv protégés," she said. Ukraine has pledged to use cluster munitions only to dislodge concentrations of enemy soldiers.

Persons: Rostislav Zhuravlev, Yevgeny Shilko, Maria Zakharova, John Kirby, Konstantin Kosachyov, Leonid Slutsky, Mark Trevelyan, Caleb Davis, Olena, Frances Kerry Organizations: RIA, RIA Novosti, REUTERS, Deutsche Welle, Reuters, Russian Foreign Ministry, Kyiv, House, Russian, Rights Watch, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Moscow, German, United States, Zaporizhzhia, Russian, . U.S

☆ Russia axes landmark Ukraine grain deal just hours before deadline
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

First inked in July 2022, the U.N.-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative has been repeatedly elongated in short increments, amid increasing discontent from Russia over perceived restrictions that limit the full dispatch of its own grain and fertilizer exports. The Black Sea grain initiative was set up to abate a global food crisis, after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of fellow key grain exporter and neighbor Ukraine. "The Black Sea agreements ceased to be valid today. Unfortunately, the part relating to Russia in this Black Sea agreement has not been implemented so far. "I strongly condemn Russia's cynical move to terminate the Black Sea Grain Initiative, despite UN & Türkiye's efforts," European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen said on Twitter on Monday.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Cyril Ramaphosa, Dmitry Peskov, Maria Zakharova, Peskov, Ursula van der Leyen Organizations: Initiative, South, Russian Federation, Google, Foreign Ministry, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Facebook, European, UN, Twitter Locations: Odessa, Ukraine, Russia, Russian, Moscow, Istanbul, Ankara, Kyiv

☆ Kremlin says it won't cut ties with West, dialogue channels still needed
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"In the most acute moments, we need channels for dialogue," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "We know very well how deep the coordination is between the Kyiv regime, Washington, a number of European capitals and NATO," Peskov said. "We know perfectly well how much information comes from NATO and Washington to Kyiv on a permanent basis. But a reporter's question about the possibility of cutting diplomatic relations with the West was "not quite correct" because of the need to keep dialogue channels open, he said. Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Maria Zakharova, Hugh Lawson Organizations: NATO, Foreign Ministry, Reuters, Thomson Locations: United States, Ukraine, Russia, Crimea, Britain, Washington, Kyiv

☆ Russia demands release of Orthodox cleric detained in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 15 (Reuters) - Russia on Saturday demanded the immediate release of a senior Orthodox cleric detained in Kyiv on suspicion of inflaming religious hatred and justifying Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A Kyiv court ordered pre-trial detention on Friday for Metropolitan Pavlo, a senior figure in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church who had been under house arrest since April. Ukraine has been cracking down on the Moscow-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church, claiming it is pro-Russian and collaborating with Moscow. Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, on Saturday appealed to Pope Francis, the head of the United Nations and other religious and political figures to show support for the detained cleric. "I urge you to pay attention to the ongoing persecution of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine and to take all possible measures to protect Metropolitan Pavlo ... from lawless persecution," Kirill said.

Persons: Pavlo, Maria Zakharova, Kirill, Pope Francis Organizations: Saturday, Kyiv, Metropolitan Pavlo, Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Russian Foreign Ministry, Church, Moscow, Russian Orthodox Church, United Nations, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Kyiv, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian, Moscow

☆ Russia says West is sponsoring 'nuclear terrorism' after Ukrainian drone strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MOSCOW, July 14 (Reuters) - Russia accused the West on Friday of sponsoring "nuclear terrorism" after authorities said a Ukrainian drone had struck the western Russian town of Kurchatov, where a nuclear power station similar to the ill-fated Chernobyl plant is located. "A drone crashed in the town of Kurchatov overnight," Starovoit said on the Telegram messaging app. There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine, which is regularly subjected to massed Russian drone attacks and seldom comments on its own suspected drone and sabotage attacks inside Russia. "People in NATO countries should realise that their governments are sponsoring nuclear terrorism by the Kyiv regime." Russia and Ukraine have long accused each other of risking a nuclear catastrophe at another facility - the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Russian-controlled territory in southern Ukraine - through shelling.

Persons: Roman Starovoit, Starovoit, Maria Zakharova, Dmitry Peskov, Alexei Likhachev, Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones, Peter Graff Organizations: RUSSIAN, Kremlin, Russian Foreign Ministry, Foreign, NATO, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Ukrainian, Russian, Kurchatov, Roman, Russia's Kursk, Ukraine, Soviet, Kyiv

☆ NAFO: The pro-Ukraine internet 'fellas' using Shiba Inu memes to fight Russian propaganda
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Jill Dougherty | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“NAFO” stands for the North Atlantic Fellas Organization and is a decentralized online volunteer organization that is waging its own social media war against Russia and its invasion of Ukraine. Over the weekend, the group held its own summit in Lithuania’s capital, which was opened by the country’s foreign minister. A cartoon Shiba Inu, wearing the blue and yellow colors of Ukraine's flag, pops up behind Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas in a video she shared on Twitter. Some fellas are Ukrainian soldiers, who are fighting on the front lines and provide pictures from the battlefield, mocking the incompetence of the Russian military or praising Ukrainian bravery. After identifying Russian propaganda or pro-Russian sympathizers, fellas pile on their posts with memes, humor, wry logic, and dismissive comments.

Persons: Kaja Kallas, Kallas, Petras Malulas, NAFO, Kamil Dyszewski, Gabrielius Landsbergis, Keir Giles, Matt Moores, you’ve, Maria Zakharova, ’ ”, Defense Oleksii Reznikov, ”, Shiba, Shiba Inu, Ben Wallace, Adam Kinzinger Organizations: CNN, Estonian, Atlantic Fellas Organization, Twitter, Getty, Georgian Legion, Center for Strategic, International, Russian Foreign, Union, Ukraine’s, Defense, United Kingdom’s, Ukraine Locations: Vilnius, Lithuania, Estonian, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania’s, AFP, Russian, Egypt

While NATO members agree Kyiv cannot join during the war, they have disagreed over how quickly it could happen afterwards and under what conditions. Negotiations have also focused on what conditions Ukraine would have to meet to join NATO and how its progress should be tracked, diplomats say. "I am absolutely certain that we will have unity and a strong message on Ukraine," Stoltenberg told reporters. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year prompted Nordic neighbours Finland and Sweden to abandon decades of military non-alignment and apply to join NATO. Sweden, backed by Stoltenberg and many NATO members, said it had kept all its undertakings to Turkey on the issue.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, General Stoltenberg, Stoltenberg, Maria Zakharova, Tayyip Erdogan, Ulf Kristersson, Erdogan, Kristersson, Ronald Popeski, Lidia Kelly, Stephen Coates Organizations: NATO, Diplomats, Alliance, Twitter, Russian Foreign, Nordic, Kurdistan Workers Party, EU, European Union, Thomson Locations: VILNIUS, Vilnius, Sweden, Lithuanian, Ukraine, Moscow, Eastern Europe, Russia, United States, Germany, NATO, Finland, Turkey, Ankara, Swedish

☆ Russia's war in Ukraine: Live updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Christian Edwards | Ed Upright | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

A view shows Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant from the bank of Kakhovka Reservoir near the town of Nikopol after the Nova Kakhovka dam breach in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, on June 16, 2023. Zakharova responded by calling Ukraine “a terrorist regime.”“Now they have embarked on a plan for ‘their own salvation’ - systematic damage to the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The NATO summit should have focused on this very subject. After all, the vast majority of the Alliance members will find themselves in the direct hit zone,” she said. However, Zakharova’s claim that the “majority” of NATO members will find themselves in the hit zone is false.

Persons: Alina Smutko, Maria Zakharova, Zakharova, Hanna Maliar, Ukraine “, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, Vladimir Putin, ” William Alberque, Zakhorova, Read Organizations: Reuters Russia's Foreign, NATO, Zaporizhzhia NPP, Alliance, Ukrainian, Technology, International Institute for Strategy Studies, CNN Locations: Kakhovka, Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, Russian

☆ Russia calls on NATO to discuss Ukraine nuclear plant at summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 9 (Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday that the leaders of the U.S.-led transatlantic NATO defence alliance should discuss Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant at their summit this week. Accusing Ukraine of "systematic infliction of damage" to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Zakharova said that "the NATO summit's key attention should be devoted to it." "After all, the vast majority of the alliance members will be in the direct impact zone" (if something were to happen at the plant), Zakharova said on the Telegram messaging app. Vilnius is some 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from the nuclear plant, Europe's largest. Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of planning to attack the plant, which is located on Russian-held territory in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, near the front line of Russia's conflict with Ukraine.

Persons: Maria Zakharova, Zakharova, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Lidia Kelly, Kim Coghill Organizations: Foreign, NATO, Ukraine, International Atomic Energy Agency, Thomson Locations: U.S, Vilnius, Ukraine, Russia, Russian, Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia, Melbourne

☆ Ukraine vows it won't use cluster bombs in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov attends a session of the Ukrainian parliament dedicated the Constitution Day, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 28, 2023. The U.S. announced on Friday it would supply Ukraine with widely banned cluster munitions for its counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces. Cluster munitions are prohibited by more than 100 countries. "We recognize that cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance," Sullivan told reporters. Russia, Ukraine, and the United States have not signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the production, stockpiling, use, and transfer of the weapons.

Persons: Oleksii Reznikov, Reznikov, Maria Zakharova, Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden's, Sullivan, Margarita Robles, Rishi Sunak, Olena Harmash, Vladimir Soldatkin, Ros Russell, Mark Potter Organizations: Ukraine's Defence, Presidential Press Service, REUTERS, The U.S, Twitter, Foreign, Cluster Munitions, Spanish, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, REUTERS KYIV, Russia, The, Russian, Moscow, U.S, Washington, United States, Spain, Madrid, Britain

☆ Russia: US access to detained reporter Gershkovich on reciprocal basis
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

July 6 (Reuters) - Russia will allow the U.S. ambassador to Moscow to visit detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich "on a reciprocal basis", Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday. Ambassador Lynne Tracy was able to visit Gershkovich this week for only the second time since he was detained in March on espionage charges, which he, his employer and Washington all deny. Russian embassy staff were given access on the same day to Vladimir Dunaev, a Russian national in pre-trial detention in Ohio on cybercrime charges. The Kremlin said this week there were "certain contacts" with the United States over Gershkovich's case but "they must be carried out and continued in complete silence". Reporting by ReutersOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Maria Zakharova, Lynne Tracy, Vladimir Dunaev Organizations: Wall Street, Foreign, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, U.S, Moscow, Washington, Russian, Ohio, United States

☆ Russia rejects bank compromise as Black Sea grain expiry looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

With 13 days remaining until expiry of the deal that has allowed Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports despite Russia's invasion, Moscow said there had been no progress on any of its key demands, including the banking issue. She also rejected a U.N. attempt to create an alternative payment channel between Rosselkhozbank and U.S. bank JP Morgan (JPM.N). Russia says the severing of the bank's access to SWIFT is one of the obstacles facing its own exports of food and fertiliser, and that it cannot keep renewing the Black Sea deal unless those issues are addressed. The United Nations says the deal has so far allowed the export of more than 32 million metric tons of food from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports to 45 countries on three continents. Its foreign ministry said the Black Sea initiative had delivered Ukrainian grain to "well-fed" countries but failed to help those that needed it most in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Persons: Maria Zakharova, JP Morgan, SWIFT, Zakharova, Felix Light, Mark Trevelyan, David Goodman Organizations: Financial Times, European Union, Foreign Ministry, SWIFT, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Rosselkhozbank, Africa, Asia, Latin America, Ethiopia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia

☆ Moscow attacked by drones, Russia says, forcing authorities to temporarily close international airport
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An apparent drone attack on Moscow led to flights being delayed at one of the city's international airports. The defense ministry said all the drones were disabled, and no injuries were reported. But in May, after a previous drone attack on Moscow, one expert told Insider it looked to be a case of the Ukrainian government giving Russia "a taste of its own medicine." Ukraine has acknowledged carrying out drone strikes against military targets in its own internationally recognized territory. Earlier this year, a Ukrainian military intelligence official said one of his government's drone strikes had targeted a Russia oil facility in occupied Crimea.

Persons: —, Sergei Sobyanin, Maria Zakharova, Russia's, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Moscow, Vnukovo Airport, TASS, Kyiv Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Kubinka, Russia, Ukrainian, Crimea

Four Ukrainian drones were shot down by Moscow air defences while a fifth was jammed and crashed into the Odintsovo district of the Moscow region, the Russian defence ministry said. Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine. High-profile drone attacks deep inside Russia, the world's largest country, have increased over recent months with attacks on the Kremlin in May and on Russian oil infrastructure last month. After May's drone attack on the capital, President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine was trying to scare and provoke Russia, adding that the capital's air defences would be strengthened. "At this moment, the attacks have been repelled by air defence forces," Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on his Telegram messaging channel.

Persons: Maria Zakharova, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Sobyanin, Lidia Kelly, Guy Faulconbridge, Robert Birsel Organizations: Kyiv, United Arab, UN Security, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Moscow Russia, Kyiv MOSCOW, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Odintsovo, Kaluga, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Kubinka, United States, Britain, France, Kyiv, Melbourne

☆ Poland arrests Russian ice-hockey player on spying charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WARSAW, June 30 (Reuters) - Poland has detained a Russian professional ice-hockey player on spying charges, prosecutors said on Friday, describing him as the 14th person that had been arrested from one espionage network. The player for a first division Polish team was taken into custody in the southern Polish region of Silesia, prosecutors said in a statement. "Russian spies are falling in one by one!" Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow had demanded an explanation from Poland over its arrest of Russian citizens, state news agency RIA reported. In April it said it was introducing a temporary 200 metre exclusion zone around its Swinoujscie Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal, citing concerns about Russian espionage.

Persons: Zbigniew Ziobro, Maria Zakharova, Alan Charlish, Pawel Florkiewicz, Felix Light, Peter Graff Organizations: WARSAW, Polish, Prosecutors, Twitter, Russian Foreign Ministry, Thomson Locations: Poland, Russian, Polish, Silesia, Ukraine, Moscow, Warsaw

In the video, a Central African Republic rebel fighter says "the French want to drive Wagner out of Africa". Russia and Wagner have a track record of media manipulation and disinformation, which Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin has admitted to. The European Union sanctioned Wagner in February for alleged rights abuses and spreading disinformation, including in Africa. The foreign ministry unit doesn’t promote or generate fake news, the two diplomats said. However, the foreign ministry unit, and the broader strategy, will face an uphill battle to convince people in Africa that France has changed, seven analysts and diplomats said.

Persons: Ibrahim Traore, Vincent Bado, Wagner, Catherine Colonna, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Maria Zakharova, Meta, Anne, Sophie Ave, Lakhta, Prigozhin, Viginum, Faustin, Archange Touadera, “, Michael Shurkin, I'm, Jean Gaspard Ntoutoume Ayi, John Irish, Elizabeth Pineau, Bate Felix, Michel Rose, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: REUTERS, Russia, Central, Facebook, Kremlin, Reuters, Quai D'Orsay, Vigilance, Protection, European Union, West, Central African, Twitter, Democratic, Internet Research Agency, Meta, Global, National Union, Gabonese, Thomson Locations: Burkina, French, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Russia, PARIS, DAKAR, Central African Republic, France, Russian, Africa, Paris, France's, Ukraine, Moscow, Central, West Africa, Quai, Kinshasa, Mali, Sahel, Europe, Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, U.S, Togo, Libreville, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Dakar

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