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MOSCOW, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Russia on Friday dismissed new U.S. sanctions over the war in Ukraine, saying that the United States would never defeat Moscow, while the boss of Russia's fastest growing natural gas company quipped the sanctions were a badge of success. The United States on Thursday targeted Russia's future energy capabilities, sanctions evasion and a suicide drone that has been a menace to Ukrainian troops and equipment, among others, in sanctions on hundreds of people and entities. The Arctic-2 LNG project - targeted by the new sanctions - had been expecting to start exporting soon and it is uncertain how much Russian LNG will now be blocked. The largest Russian LNG producer Novatek NVTK.MM said in September it would start shipments from Arctic-2 LNG early next year. Leonid Mikhelson, the head of Russian natural gas producer Novatek(NVTK.MM), told a conference in the Uzbek city of Samarkand that the U.S. sanctions were a badge "of our professionalism".

Persons: Maria Zakharova, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Novatek NVTK.MM, Leonid Mikhelson, Novatek, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn Organizations: Monetary Fund, Russian LNG, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Ukraine, United States, Moscow, Russian, U.S, Europe, Uzbek, Samarkand

☆ This biotech developing a cholesterol drug has a chance to triple, RBC predicts
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

NewAmsterdam Pharma 's latest drug treatment could lead investors to a windfall, according to RBC Capital Markets. Timashev believes obicetrapib, a cholesterol-lowering treatment, "can succeed where others have failed" due to the drug's specific and idiosyncratic properties. Additionally, the drug has a history of success, consistently demonstrating a 40% to 50% LDL reduction in patients. The analyst added that while current use cases for the drug involve lowering cardiovascular events, there's also potential upside for other applications. Specifically, there's a relationship between higher cholesterol levels and Alzheimer's disease, which could be an avenue for NewAmsterdam to explore for future treatment opportunities.

Persons: Leonid Timashev, Timashev, obicetrapib, there's, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: NewAmsterdam Pharma, RBC Capital Markets

SINGAPORE, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose by over $1 on Friday as reports that the U.S military struck Iranian targets in Syria raised concerns of a widening of the Israel-Hamas conflict that could impact supply from the key Middle East producing region. Though the strike did not directly impact supply, it increases fears that the conflict in the Gaza Strip between Israel, backed by the U.S., and Hamas may spread and disrupt supply from major crude producer Iran, which backs Hamas. A wider war could also impact shipments from Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, and other large producers in the Gulf. Both Brent and WTI are on track to post their first weekly drop in three weeks as the geopolitical premium built on these fears has ebbed as there has been no disruption of oil supply outside of the immediate region of the fighting. Israeli forces carried out their biggest Gaza ground attack in their 20-day-old war with Hamas overnight, angering the Arab world.

Persons: Brent, WTI, Kelvin Yew, Benjamin Netanyahu, Helima Croft, Goldman Sachs, Florence Tan, Sam Holmes, Christian Organizations: U.S, Brent, U.S . West Texas Intermediate, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Pentagon, Ocean, Investments, RBC Capital, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Syria, Israel, U.S, Iraq, Gaza, Iran, Saudi Arabia, United States, Hormuz, Russia

☆ Oil set for first weekly drop in three as Mideast situation holds
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In an aerial view, oil storage tanks are shown at the Enterprise Sealy Station on August 28, 2023 in Sealy, Texas. Oil prices rose on Friday, regaining ground after tumbling more than $2 a barrel in the previous session as concerns of a wider Middle East conflict eased while the United States, the world's biggest oil consumer, showed signs of weakening demand. Both contracts are on track to post their first weekly drop in three weeks as the geopolitical premium built on fears that the Israel-Gaza conflict could involve more countries in the Middle East and disrupt oil supply has eased. Israeli forces carried out their biggest Gaza ground attack in their 20-day-old war with Hamas overnight, angering the Arab world. Prices could jump 20% in the less likely scenario of an interruption of trade through the Strait of Hormuz where 17% of global oil production transit, they said in a note.

Persons: Kelvin Yew, Benjamin Netanyahu, Helima Croft, Goldman Sachs, Brent Organizations: Enterprise, Brent, West Texas, Ocean, Investments, RBC Capital Locations: Sealy , Texas, United States, Israel, Gaza, Hormuz, Saudi Arabia, Russia

☆ Ukrainian ‘Artifacts’ Seized in Spain May Not Be Treasures, Experts Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Eduardo Medina | More About Eduardo Medina | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To the police in Spain, the artifacts possessed an ancient and golden allure. The five individuals were arrested and charged with money laundering, and the national police released images and video of the stolen items, saying that their value was around 60 million euros, or $64 million. But two experts in Greco-Scythian artifacts said in interviews that the items seized are most likely modern imitations of those crafted by ancient Greeks for Scythian nomads who, in the 4th century B.C., traversed what is now Ukraine and southern Russia. Leonid Babenko, an archaeologist at the M.F. Sumtsov Kharkiv Historical Museum in Kharkiv, Ukraine, said in an email that the items were “clumsy fakes” and had most likely been created for private collectors.

Persons: Leonid Babenko Organizations: Sumtsov Kharkiv Historical Museum Locations: Spain, Ukraine, Madrid, Russia, Sumtsov Kharkiv, Kharkiv

☆ Who is in Putin's delegation to China - and who stayed in Moscow?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives for the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, October 18, 2023. Sputnik/Dmitry Azarov/Pool via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently on a visit to China, his second only trip outside the former Soviet Union since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Who is in the Russian delegation with Putin - and who stayed in Russia? Before Putin left for China, he was shown at a meeting with defence and spy chiefs at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow. The following top officials are thought to be in Russia.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Azarov, Alexander Novak, Sergei Lavrov, Yuri Ushakov, Maxim Oreshkin, Dmitry Peskov, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Anton Siluanov, Maxim Reshetnikov, Dmitry Shugaev, Yuri Chikhanchin, Dmitry Chernyshenko, Igor Morgulov, Igor Sechin, Alexei Miller, Alexei Likhachev, Andrei Kostin, Igor Shuvalov, Leonid Mikhelson, Oleg Belozyorov, Kirill Dmitriev, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Nikolai Patrushev, Alexander Bortnikov, Dmitry Medvedev, Anton Vaino, Sergei Kiriyenko, Mikhail Mishustin, Viktor Zolotov, Sergei Naryshkin, Guy Faulconbridge, Muralikumar Organizations: Forum, Sputnik, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Soviet Union, Putin, Kremlin, Central Bank Governor, Federal Service for Military, Gazprom, VEB, Russian, Russian Direct Investment, Russia Security, Federal Security Service, Russia's Foreign Intelligence, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Ukraine, Russia, CHINA, North Korea, China BUSINESSPERSONS, Moscow, Russian

Navalny aides said lawyers Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin and Alexei Liptser were being investigated on suspicion of belonging to an "extremist group". Later on Friday, a Moscow court remanded all three in investigative custody until Dec. 13, according to a statement posted by the court on Telegram. Navalny told the judge on learning of the investigations against his lawyers. REUTERS/Yulia Morozova/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights"As in Soviet times, not only political activists and political prisoners but also their lawyers are being persecuted." Navalny aide Leonid Volkov posted on the X social media platform that the three lawyers faced up to six years in prison if found guilty of belonging to an extremist group, "just for being Navalny's lawyers".

Persons: Navalny Putin, Alexei Navalny, Navalny, Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin, Alexei Liptser, Vladimir Putin, Kobzev, Yulia Morozova, Putin, Leonid Volkov, " Volkov, they’re, Volkov, Alexander Marrow, Maxim, Peter Graff, Diane Craft Organizations: IK, REUTERS, Kremlin, U.S . Central Intelligence Agency, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Vladimir Region, Basmanny, Germany, Siberia

☆ Oil Futures Surge on Concern Israel-Hamas Conflict to Escalate
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Oil prices surged after the conflict between Israel and Hamas intensified, and traders are watching for spillover effects on oil supply in the region. Futures for Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose about 4% to $87.97 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 4.3% to $86.36 a barrel on Monday in Asia. The moves were a knee-jerk response from the market, said Kelvin Yew, a senior oil trader at the commodity-trading firm Ocean Leonid Investments. “There is very little oil production in that region, but the market is pricing in the possibility of an escalation,” Yew said. Iranian security officials helped plan Hamas’s attack on Israel, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

Persons: Kelvin Yew, ” Yew, Yew Organizations: Brent, West Texas, Investments Locations: Israel, Asia, U.S, Iran

☆ As Azerbaijan claims final victory in Nagorno Karabakh, arms trade with Israel comes under scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Max Saltman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

Israeli ‘realpolitik’Young ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh in the town of Goris during evacuations to Armenia on October 1. Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure/AP Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh drive to Goris on September 28. Vahan Stepanyan/PAN Photo/AP Volunteers distribute food to ethnic Armenians arriving in Goris from Nagorno-Karabakh on September 28. Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh line up to receive humanitarian aid at a temporary camp in Goris on September 26. Wezeman, the researcher at SIPRI, said Israel could come under pressure from its Western allies to reconsider arms sales to Azerbaijan.

Persons: CNN —, Marut Vanyan, “ I’m, ”, “, Vanyan, Leonid Nersisyan, Rishon Le, Jack Guez, …, Pieter Wezeman, ” Wezeman, Emmanuel Dunand, Efraim Inbar, ” Inbar, Israel ’, Inbar, LORA, ” Hikmet Ajiyev, Ilham Aliyev, realpolitik, Diego Herrera Carcedo, Sergey Astsetryan, Aziz Karimov, Hayk, Vahan Stepanyan, Vasily Krestyaninov, Alain Jocard, Anatoly Matlsev, David Harapetyan, Irakli Gedenidze, Reuters Greta, Anthony Pizzoferrato, Samantha Power, Power, Astrig Agopian, Novlet, David Ghahramanyan, Israel Organizations: CNN, Azerbaijan, Applied Policy Research Institute, Israel Aerospace Industries, IAI, Autonomous Robotics, Getty, Haaretz, Artsakh Defense Army –, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense, Israeli Ministry of Defense, Ovda Airport, Israel, Jerusalem Institute for Strategy, “, APRI, Artsakh Defense Army, Reuters, AP, Erebuni, PAN, AP Volunteers, Karabakh, Technologies, US Agency for International Development, Volunteers, Vehicles, Red Cross, People, Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Stepanakert, Karabakh’s, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Rishon, Tel Aviv, AFP, Israel’s, Artsakh, Israel, Stockholm, Baku, Lachin, Iran, Iranian, Jerusalem, Ottoman, Turkey, Ottoman Empire, APRI Armenia, Syunik, Nakhchivan, Republic of Armenia, Goris, Yerevan, Kornidzor, Russia, United States

Navalny, 47, now faces a transfer to a "special regime" prison colony, the harshest grade in Russia's penal system, with the prospect of staying there until he is in his mid-70s. Daniel Kholodny, a TV technician who worked for Navalny, was sentenced to eight years in jail in August as part of the same trial. "For all of us - their colleagues and friends - this is constant pain," Navalny aide Leonid Volkov posted on X, formerly Twitter. The Kremlin has tried to portray Navalny as politically irrelevant, and Putin makes a point of never speaking his name. Moscow has cast him as an extremist and, without providing evidence, as a puppet of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

Persons: Alexei Navalny, Viktor Rogov, Vladimir Putin, Daniel Kholodny, Alexei, Kholodny, Navalny, Leonid Volkov, Putin, Russia's, Nelson Mandela, Vladimir Kara, Murza, PUTIN, scoundrels, Mark Trevelyan, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: IK, Navalny, U.S . Central Intelligence Agency, Kremlin, U.S . State Department, European Union, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Vladimir, Navalny, Moscow, Ukraine, Siberia, Melekhovo, Russia, Germany

☆ The Russian weapons Ukrainian soldiers most fear, according to an expert
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russian artillery launches missiles during military exercises on September 27, 2011 in Chebarkul, Chelyabinks region, Russia. AdvertisementAdvertisementRussian artillery gunners have played a crucial role in destroying or pinning down Ukrainian units seeking to advance through Russian defenses. AdvertisementAdvertisementDubbed "Putin's vultures" by Ukraine's military, the Ka-52 is highly maneuverable, fitted with tough armor, and can fire tank-busting missiles. The UK's military said that the helicopters give Russia a key battlefield advantage, and have imposed a "heavy cost" on Ukraine. "Ka-52 crews have been quick to exploit opportunities to launch these weapons beyond the range of Ukrainian air defenses," Britain's Ministry of Defence said.

Persons: Gian Gentile, Rand, Sasha Mordovets, Gentile, DJI, SERGEI SUPINSKY, Matt Dimmick, Kamov, Leonid Faerberg, Ukraine's Organizations: Service, US Army, Getty, US National Security Council, of, NGO, BBC . Russian Air Force, Ministry of Defence Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Ukrainian, Russian, Chebarkul, Chelyabinks, Kyiv, AFP

☆ Inside the Elaborate, Enviable Design of Three New York Homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +34 min

If You Can Make It Here Great design for a great city (New York, of course — where else?) In the oak-paneled living room of Justinian Kfoury’s apartment in a townhouse on Washington Square Park, an Audubon-style print and a Hans Wegner Papa Bear chair. “She was eccentric, grand, but not afraid of making weird decisions about design.” In the living room, a 1975 Leonid Berman painting of the Venice Lagoon hangs between the French doors. A view of the double-height living room from the curved balcony on the third floor. A sculpture by Huma Bhabha and a configuration of five Isamu Noguchi L7 pendants in the landing that separates the primary suite from the living room.

Persons: it’s, Mishan, there’s, —, Justinian, Hans Wegner Papa Bear, Paavo, Marc Hundley, that’s, Adriana Lara, Nicholas Krushenick, ”, Justinian Kfoury, downtowners, He’d, Trish Goff, Kfoury, “, Leonid Berman, Jelto ”, Tomma Abts, Paul Cadmus, Edith Wharton, Henry James, Paul van der, ” Kfoury, Joe Roberts, Mary Cameron Goodyear, Kfoury’s, He’s, Wolfgang Tillmans, they’d, It’s, Lorna Simpson, Mario Bellini, Misha Kahn, Michael Anastassiades, Glenn Ligon’s, Frank Bowling, Piet Hein Eek, Miriam Cahn, Paul Pfeiffer’s, Leah Panlilio, Tal Schori, Rustam Mehta, Adam Pogue, Constantino Buccolieri, Michael Kirkland, Alvar Aalto, Cy Twombly’s, Ho, Huma Bhabha, Isamu Noguchi, Nairy Baghramian, Coco Fusco, Robert Vinas Jr, Duro Olowu, Mark Ellison, Adam Marelli, Bob Chan, Isamu Noguchi Akari, Danh Vo, Nairy, ‘, Laura Mac Donald, Theaster Gates, Frank Lloyd, Kirkland, Ettore, Parsons, Jasper Johns, Merce Cunningham, Julianne Moore, Bart Freundlich’s Montauk, Bart Freundlich’s, Moore, Tom Volk, Oliver Freundlich, Anne’s, Pierre Jeanneret, Willy Van Der, Ori Gersht, she’s, ” It’s, Bart Freundlich, Tomas Maier, Bottega, Andrew Geller, Norman Jaffe, Freundlich, ” Moore, Moore’s, Liv, Caleb, Robert Gurr, Pierre, Noguchi, Alma Allen, Joseph Dirand, Oliver, “ I’m, ” Oliver, grins, MOORE, Anne Love Smith, Massimiliano Locatelli, Daniel Romualdez, Vincent Van Duysen, Charlotte Perriand, Pierre Chapo, Willy Van Der Meeren, Friedrich Kunath, Mark Wilson, Donald Judd, Wilson, Karl Springer, Rogan Gregory, Nancy Pearce, Oscar, Alice ”, Alexander Calder, Andrea Zittel, JB Blunk, AFTRA, Hope, ‘ You’re, ’ ” Organizations: Manhattan’s, Yorkers, that’s, Audubon, Washington, East Village, brac, AS, Fifth, Fort Standard, GRT Architects, Architects, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Soane Britain, Hamptons, WHO, Writers Guild of America, SAG, “ Locations: New York, Paris, London, Rome , New York, It’s, Washington, Manhattan, Harlem, Montauk, American, Chinatown, York, New York’s Washington, Kennebunkport, England, East, Boston, Lebanon, Maine, Vermont, Venice, Moroccan, North, Kfoury’s, New York’s Harlem, Westchester County, N.Y, Brooklyn, Italian, Finnish, Rome, Los Angeles, Korean, Berlin, Iranian, Chicago, North Carolina, California, Summerhill, Long, Fort Pond, New York City, Pond, Morentz, Scottish, Japanese American, Belgian, East Hampton, Japan, “, Swiss

☆ Julianne Moore’s Montauk Sanctuary
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Nick Haramis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +34 min

— HANYA YANAGIHARASpeak Softly In a wild meadow by the sea, Julianne Moore and Bart Freundlich’s Montauk house uses just a few materials to say many things. In Moore’s office, a Pierre Jeanneret desk and chair, an Alvar Aalto stool and a Willy Van Der Meeren cabinet. In the oak-paneled living room of Justinian Kfoury’s apartment in a townhouse on Washington Square Park, an Audubon-style print and a Hans Wegner Papa Bear chair. A view of the double-height living room from the curved balcony on the third floor. A sculpture by Huma Bhabha and a configuration of five Isamu Noguchi L7 pendants in the landing that separates the primary suite from the living room.

Persons: it’s, Mishan, there’s, —, Julianne Moore, Bart Freundlich’s Montauk, Bart Freundlich’s, Moore, Tom Volk, Oliver Freundlich, Anne’s, Pierre Jeanneret, Alvar Aalto, Willy Van Der, Ori Gersht, she’s, ” It’s, ”, “, Bart Freundlich, Tomas Maier, Bottega, Andrew Geller, Norman Jaffe, Freundlich, ” Moore, Moore’s, Liv, Caleb, Robert Gurr, Isamu Noguchi, Pierre, Noguchi, Alma Allen, Joseph Dirand, Oliver, “ I’m, ” Oliver, grins, MOORE, Anne Love Smith, Massimiliano Locatelli, Daniel Romualdez, Vincent Van Duysen, Charlotte Perriand, Pierre Chapo, Willy Van Der Meeren, Friedrich Kunath, Mark Wilson, Donald Judd, Wilson, Mario Bellini, Karl Springer, Rogan Gregory, Nancy Pearce, Oscar, Alice ”, Alexander Calder, Andrea Zittel, JB Blunk, AFTRA, Hope, It’s, ‘ You’re, ’ ”, Justinian, Hans Wegner Papa Bear, Paavo, Marc Hundley, that’s, Adriana Lara, Nicholas Krushenick, Justinian Kfoury, downtowners, He’d, Trish Goff, Kfoury, Leonid Berman, Jelto ”, Tomma Abts, Paul Cadmus, Edith Wharton, Henry James, Paul van der, ” Kfoury, Joe Roberts, Mary Cameron Goodyear, Kfoury’s, He’s, Wolfgang Tillmans, they’d, Lorna Simpson, Misha Kahn, Michael Anastassiades, Glenn Ligon’s, Frank Bowling, Piet Hein Eek, Miriam Cahn, Paul Pfeiffer’s, Leah Panlilio, Tal Schori, Rustam Mehta, Adam Pogue, Constantino Buccolieri, Michael Kirkland, Cy Twombly’s, Ho, Huma Bhabha, Nairy Baghramian, Coco Fusco, Robert Vinas Jr, Duro Olowu, Mark Ellison, Adam Marelli, Bob Chan, Isamu Noguchi Akari, Danh Vo, Nairy, ‘, Laura Mac Donald, Theaster Gates, Frank Lloyd, Kirkland, Ettore, Parsons, Jasper Johns, Merce Cunningham Organizations: Manhattan’s, Yorkers, that’s, Hamptons, WHO, Writers Guild of America, SAG, “, Audubon, Washington, East Village, brac, AS, Fifth, Fort Standard, GRT Architects, Architects, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Soane Britain Locations: New York, Paris, London, Rome , New York, It’s, Washington, Manhattan, Harlem, Montauk, American, Chinatown, York, N.Y, Summerhill, Long, Fort Pond, New York City, Pond, North Carolina, Morentz, Scottish, Japanese American, Belgian, East Hampton, Japan, “, California, Swiss, New York’s Washington, Kennebunkport, England, East, Boston, Lebanon, Maine, Vermont, Venice, Moroccan, North, Kfoury’s, New York’s Harlem, Westchester County, Brooklyn, Italian, Finnish, Rome, Los Angeles, Korean, Berlin, Iranian, Chicago

☆ A Russian pilot landed a Mi-8 helicopter on a Ukrainian airbase in a daring defection, Ukrainian official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Russian pilot has defected to Ukraine with a Mi-8 helicopter, Ukraine's intelligence service said. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyAdvertisementAdvertisementA Russian helicopter pilot landed on a Ukrainian air base in what Ukrainian officials claimed was a planned defection. The pilot landed a Russian Mi-8 AMTSh at the Poltava military air base in Kharkiv on Wednesday, taking the staff by surprise, the Kyiv Post reported. Pro-Russian social-media channels reported that the helicopter landed at the airfield by accident after the crew became "disoriented," according to the paper. It's unclear whether this Russian pilot, who has not been named, will be compensated.

Persons: Andriy Yusov, Yuriy Butusov, Butusov, Leonid Faerberg, 30SM Organizations: Service, Kyiv Post, Pravda, Getty Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Ukrainian, Russian, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Russia

SummaryCompanies Russia moon mission failsLuna-25 crashes into the moonFailure is a blow to Russian space prestigeSoviet space veteran: Luna-25 was my last hopeMOSCOW, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Russia's first moon mission in 47 years failed when its Luna-25 space craft spun out of control and crashed into the moon after a problem preparing for pre-landing orbit, underscoring the post-Soviet decline of a once mighty space programme. Russia's state space corporation, Roskosmos, said it had lost contact with the craft at 11:57 GMT on Saturday after a problem as the craft was shunted into pre-landing orbit. Though moon missions are fiendishly difficult, and many U.S. and Soviet attempts have failed, Russia had not attempted a moon mission since Luna-24 in 1976, when Communist leader Leonid Brezhnev ruled the Kremlin. Russian officials had hoped that the Luna-25 mission would show Russia can compete with the superpowers in space despite its post-Soviet decline and the vast cost of the Ukraine war. "This was perhaps the last hope for me to see a revival of our lunar program," he said.

Persons: Luna, Roskosmos, Yuri Gagarin, Leonid Brezhnev, Anatoly Zak, Zak, Mikhail Marov, Marov, Guy Faulconbridge, Christina Fincher, Frances Kerry Organizations: Kremlin, India, Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, YP Rajesh, Thomson Locations: Russia, MOSCOW, Moscow, Soviet, Europe, Tenerife, China, United States, Handout, Ukraine, Soviet Union, India, Delhi

Russia's state space corporation, Roskosmos, said an "abnormal situation" occurred as mission control tried to move the craft into a pre-landing orbit at 11:10 GMT on Saturday, ahead of a planned touchdown slated for Monday. "During the operation, an abnormal situation occurred on board the automatic station, which did not allow the manoeuvre to be performed with the specified parameters," Roskosmos said in a short statement. Russia has not attempted a moon mission since Luna-24 in 1976, when Leonid Brezhnev ruled the Kremlin. Luna-25 was supposed to execute a soft landing on the south pole of the moon on Aug. 21, according to Russian space officials. It was not immediately clear from official sources how serious the "abnormal situation" was - and whether or not Moscow could save the situation.

Persons: Luna, Roskosmos, Yuri Gagarin, Leonid Brezhnev, Alexander Ivanov, Guy Faulconbridge, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Kremlin, India, Thomson Locations: Handout, MOSCOW, Moscow, Soviet, Russia, China, United States, Ukraine

☆ Factbox: Russia's Luna-25 moon mission fails: what you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LUNA-25It was Russia's first moon mission since the Soviet Union's Luna-24 returned with samples from the moon in 1976. The lander was boosted out of Earth's orbit toward the moon a little over an hour later. Russia had not attempted a moon mission since Luna-24 in 1976, when Leonid Brezhnev ruled the Kremlin. Luna-25 was supposed to execute a soft landing on the south pole of the moon on Aug. 21, according to Russian space officials. Eventually, in the early 2010s, Russia settled upon the idea of the Luna-25 mission to the south pole of the moon.

Persons: Luna, Roskosmos, Yuri Gagarin, Leonid Brezhnev, Vladimir Putin, Guy Faulconbridge, Philippa Fletcher, Christina Fincher Organizations: 2.1b, Vostochny, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Soyuz, Luna, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Amur, Russia, Soviet, Vostochny cosmodrome, Moscow, RUSSIA, Soviet Union

☆ Vladimir Putin Can’t Count on Chinese Support Forever - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Sergey Radchenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mao Zedong warned, “You piss on my head, and I shall retaliate!” The Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev called Mao “treacherous.” An alliance that Moscow and Beijing previously billed as unbreakable quickly unraveled. So Mao reached out to his avowed foe the United States. Mao, a scathing critic of what he called American imperialism, suddenly referred to President Richard Nixon as “the No. 1 good fellow as the two countries make common cause against the United States. Mao’s abrupt turn to the United States showed just how quickly Chinese loyalties can crumble when the usefulness of a strategic partner wanes.

Persons: Mao Zedong, Leonid Brezhnev, Mao, Richard Nixon, Nixon, Vladimir Putin, Xi, —, Wagner, Mikhail Kapitsa Organizations: Communist Locations: China, Soviet, Moscow, Beijing, United States

☆ 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

☆ Ukrainians looking for missing troops are finding Nazi bullets, World War II-era trenches, and the bones of German soldiers on the battlefield
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ukraine is finding Nazi bullets, WWII trenches, and the bones of German soldiers on the battlefield, the New York Times reported. Ukrainian groups trying to locate lost soldiers have found Nazi bullets, old weaponry, and even human remains from World War II, according to The New York Times. Already, the group has found more than 200 bodies from World War II, sometimes in the same trenches where the fighting is happening now, according to the outlet. "When you dig into a trench, you find a trench from World War II," director Leonid Ignatiev told the Times. More World War 2 remnants were unearthed after the Kakhovka dam was destroyed last month.

Persons: it's, Leonid Ignatiev, — Organizations: New York Times, Service, The New York Times, Times, Nazi, Ukraine's Ministry, Internal Affairs Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Soviet Union, Soviet

MOSCOW, July 12 (Reuters) - Russia is decaying in a potent brew of absurdity and repression that is comparable to the Leonid Brezhnev-era of the Soviet Union, Oleg Orlov, one of the Russia's most respected human rights campaigners, told Reuters. One of the leaders of the Memorial rights group, which won a share of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 a year after being banned and dissolved in Russia, Orlov stood by his articles and cast Russia as a country gripped by the demons of history. "Russia is going backwards," Orlov told Reuters in his Moscow flat over a glass of the traditional fermented kvas. "For Putin, war is his political technology," Orlov said. Current Russian levels of repression, he said, could be compared to the Brezhnev era of the Soviet Union after the arrest of writers Andrei Sinyavsky and Yuli Daniel in 1965.

Persons: Leonid Brezhnev, Oleg Orlov, Orlov, Wagner, Russia, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Brezhnev, Andrei Sinyavsky, Yuli Daniel, unpatriotic, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's, William Faulkner, Fyodor Dostoevsky's, Tatiana, Guy Faulconbridge, Filipp Lebedev, Nick Macfie Organizations: Reuters, Memorial, Solidarity, West, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Soviet Union, Moscow, Ukraine, Soviet, Afghanistan, Chechen, Russian, Tbilisi

☆ No one from Wagner has visited barracks offered by Belarus, ministry adviser says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TSEL, Belarus, July 7 (Reuters) - No one from the Russian Wagner mercenary group has yet visited a disused military camp that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has offered for Wagner's use, an adviser to the Belarus defence minister told reporters on Friday. Asked if Wagner had come to look at the site, the adviser, Leonid Kasinsky, said: "They have not come, they have not looked." [1/3]A view shows a tent camp, which, according to the Belarusian Defence Ministry, was set up for exercises at a disused military base near the village of Tsel in the Asipovichy District, Belarus July 7, 2023. Lukashenko said Belarus had offered Wagner the disused Soviet-era military quarters near Tsel, but added that "Wagner has a different vision for deployment", on which he declined to elaborate. Kasinsky said around 300 tents at the camp had been put up for an exercise, and were not connected to Wagner.

Persons: Russian Wagner, Alexander Lukashenko, Lukashenko, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Leonid Kasinsky, Maxim Shemetov Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Kasinsky, Guy Faulconbridge, Kevin Liffey, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Russian Defence Ministry, Belarusian Defence Ministry, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: TSEL, Belarus, Russian, Tsel, Asipovichy District, Russia

Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is not even in Belarus, Lukashenko told CNN – he is in Russia, Lukashenko claimed. Available satellite imagery has also not shown any signs of the kind of preparations and security that would be standard at a Russian nuclear facility. Russia has the world’s largest arsenal of nuclear weapons, with 4,477 deployed and reserve nuclear warheads, including around 1,900 tactical nuclear weapons, according to the Federation of American Scientists. “Putin does not need tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus to use those weapons,” Bergmann added. “But it is concerning to the US that tactical nuclear weapons could potentially be co-located in Belarus with Wagner fighters.

Persons: Wagner, Alexander Lukashenko, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Lukashenko, CNN –, Alexander Zemlianichenko, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ”, Max Bergmann, “ Putin, ” Bergmann, Lukashenko’s, Alexander Nemenov, Angela, Prigozhin, Leonid Kasinsky, ” Lukashenko Organizations: CNN, Wagner Group, Wagner PMC, Federation of American Scientists, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Directorate of, Ministry of Defense, Soviet Union, Experts, NATO, European Union, Lithuanian President’s Communication, Georgetown University, Kremlin, Wagner, Russian Ministry of Defense Locations: Russia, Europe, Belarus, Russian, Minsk, Belarusian, Tsel, Soviet, Vilnius, Lithuania, AFP, Poland, Belarus US, St . Petersburg

NUCLEAR WEAPONS? Amid today's Ukraine war, the biggest land war in Europe since 1945, the town is again being enclosed by the tentacles of distant tumult. "No one is ever going to tell you where the tactical nuclear weapons are stationed - you should understand that," Kasinsky said. He repeatedly refused to confirm or deny whether the nuclear weapons were outside Osipovichi. "You should not try to make some sort of horror story out of the tactical nuclear weapons," said Kasinsky.

Persons: Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Gorbachev, Alexander Lukashenko, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Leonid Kasinsky, Kasinsky, Osipovichi, Hans Kristensen, Vladimir Lenin, Ilya Petrov, Lukashenko, Guy Faulconbridge, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Putin, Town, Bolshevik, Foreign, Belarus OSIPOVICHI, Red Army, U.S . Central Intelligence Agency, Federation of American Scientists, CIA, Communist, Thomson Locations: Belarus, Belarusian, Russia, Osipovichi, Tsel, Russian, Minsk, Ukrainian, Grand Duchy, Lithuania, Nazi Germany, Ukraine, Europe, Moscow, West

☆ Opinion: Whatever happened to Mutually Assured Destruction?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( David A. Andelman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

On June 14, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko announced that his country had taken delivery of the first of a collection of tactical nuclear weapons from Russia. Belarus has both a nuclear arsenal and a president who for decades has quietly played the role of Putin’s lap dog. And indeed, in a press conference Thursday in Minsk, he did claim to being in lockstep with Putin — adding that the nuclear weapons were for defensive purposes only. In the same press conference, Lukashenko nodded to the fact that those nuclear weapons were under Russia’s control. “In the early ’60s American officials worried that the Soviet Union would launch a less-than-all-out attack, reasoning that the US would not respond in a way that might trigger Armageddon,” he said.

Persons: David A, David Andelman, Bill Clinton, Boris Yeltsin, Ukraine’s Leonid Kuchma, Alexander Lukashenko, Putin, Lukashenko nodded, “, Joe Biden, Jens Stoltenberg, Kaja Kallas, Stoltenberg, nukes, Izumi Nakamitsu, Donald Trump, Biden, Vladimir Putin, Antony Blinken, crouch, ” Michael Mandelbaum, ”, Mandelbaum, – Vladimir Putin, hewing Organizations: CNN, French Legion of, The New York Times, CBS News, Soviet Union, Warsaw, David Andelman CNN, NATO, Belarus, Ukraine, Security Council, Nuclear Forces, Treaty, Twitter, Facebook, Johns Hopkins School, International, American Foreign, Power, MAD Locations: Russia, Europe, Soviet, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Crimea, Belarus, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Minsk, lockstep, Vilnius, Lithuania, Brussels, Moscow, Russian

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