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☆ Russian army deserter sentenced to seven years in prison
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 3 (Reuters) - A Russian soldier has been sentenced to seven years in prison for twice escaping from his army unit, a military court in the Siberian city of Tomsk said on Monday. Siberia.Realities, a local project of U.S. government-funded news outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, identified the soldier as Ivan Klester. Last month a military court in Russia’s Far East sentenced a soldier to nine years for deserting three times. The man pleaded guilty, saying that he had to care for his sick wife, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported. President Vladimir Putin signed a law last September to toughen punishments for a host of crimes such as desertion, damage to military property and insubordination if they are committed during military mobilisation or combat situations.

Persons: Ivan Klester, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, General Andrei Kartapolov, Lucy Papachristou, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Radio Free, Radio Liberty, Russia’s Far, Kommersant, Ukrainian, TASS, Thomson Locations: Siberian, Tomsk, Siberia.Realities, U.S, Radio Free Europe, Russia’s, Russian

☆ Prigozhin-controlled Russian media group shuts amid mutiny fallout
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 2 (Reuters) - Yevgeny Prigozhin's media holding group is to shut down, the director of one of its outlets said, highlighting the mercenary chief's worsening fortunes a week after the collapse of a brief mutiny staged by his Wagner Group fighters. Patriot Media, whose most prominent outlet was the RIA FAN news site, had taken a strongly nationalist, pro-Kremlin editorial line, while also providing positive coverage of Prigozhin and his Wagner Group. Russian newspaper Kommersant reported on Friday that the country's communications watchdog Roskomnadzor had blocked media outlets linked to Prigozhin, without elaborating. Despite the abortive mutiny, Russian authorities have not officially outlawed the Wagner Group, but Putin said on Tuesday the finances of Prigozhin's catering firm would be investigated. Under Prigozhin's leadership, the group has grown into a sprawling international business with mining interests and fighters in Africa and the Middle East.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Zubarev, Zubarev, Roskomnadzor, Prigozhin, Putin, Alexei Navalny, Felix Light, Gareth Jones Organizations: Wagner Group, Patriot Media, Kremlin, Russian, Kommersant, Patriot, Wagner, Russia, Thomson Locations: Belarus, United States, Russia, Ukraine, Africa, Ukraine's Crimea, Donbas

☆ There's blood in the water after Prigozhin's revolt shattered the façade of Putin's invincibility
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Jason Corcoran | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

It represented the most significant affront to President Vladimir Putin's 23-year reign. It has also fed paranoia and put a spotlight on Aleksey Dyumin, Putin's ex-bodyguard turned governor. A brief and ultimately aborted attempt at a coup d'état by Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin represented the most significant affront to President Vladimir Putin's 23-year reign. President Vladimir Putin (L) and Aleksey Dyumin, the governor of Tula and Putin's former personal bodyguard, in Moscow in 2016. Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Tula Governor Aleksey Dyumin visit Russian writer Lev Tolstoy's former home in 2016.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Aleksey Dyumin, Putin's, —, Vladimir Putin —, Prigozhin, Vladimir Fesenko, trundling, Sergey Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, There's Prigozhin, Wagner, Putin, Belarus —, defenestration, Dyumin, Shoigu, Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Svetlov, Igor Girkin, Alexander Lukashenko —, Dyumin's, Dmitry Peskov, Boris Yeltsin, Viktor Yanukoyvch, Girkin, Andrei Gurulyov, Russia's, Lev Tolstoy's, Tatiana Stanovaya, Alexandra Prokopenko, Prokopenko, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Viktor Zolotov, Zolotov, Alexander Lukashenko, Chris Weafer Organizations: Service, Kremlin, Kommersant, Angry Patriots, Russia's First Channel, Prigozhin, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Central Bank, Washington Post, New York Times, Defense Ministry, Moscow Times, National Guard, Ministry, Macro Locations: Russian, Russia, Rostov, Ukraine, Moscow, Voronezh, Lipetsk, St, Petersburg, Minsk, Belarus, Russia's Tula, Kremlin, Tula, Dyumin's Tula, St Petersburg, Prigozhin, Crimea, Berlin, Novosibirsk, Osipovichi, Africa, Syria

☆ Russia's mutiny case against Prigozhin remains open - Russian media
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, June 26 (Reuters) - A Russian criminal case against mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin for mutiny remains open and is still being investigated, the Kommersant newspaper and Russia's three main news agencies reported on Monday, citing unidentified sources. Under a deal mediated by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko that defused the crisis late on Saturday, the Kremlin said a criminal case against Prigozhin would be dropped and he would move to Belarus. However, Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported on Monday that the criminal case remained open and that the Federal Security Service (FSB) was continuing its investigation as part of the case. Russia's three main news agencies - TASS, RIA and Interfax - also reported that the criminal case against Prigozhin remained open and that the investigation was continuing. "The criminal case against Prigozhin has not stopped," TASS cited a source close to the prosecutor's office as saying.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin, Wagner, Alexander Lukashenko, Putin, Guy Faulconbridge, Kevin Liffey, Gareth Jones Organizations: Kommersant, Wagner Group, Kremlin, Russia's Kommersant, Federal Security Service, TASS, RIA, Rostov, Defence Ministry, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Rostov, Moscow, Russian, Belarus, Ukraine

☆ GE stops servicing gas power turbines in Russia - Kommersant
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

June 20 (Reuters) - General Electric (GE.N) has stopped servicing gas turbines at thermal power plants in Russia, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported on Tuesday, citing sources in power generating companies. General Electric suspended its operations in Russia after Moscow invaded Ukraine, with the exception of providing essential medical equipment and supporting existing power services in the region. Kommersant reported that General Electric "without explanation" stopped servicing gas turbines at Russian thermal power plants on Monday. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Lidia Kelly, Kim Coghill Organizations: General, Kommersant, General Electric, Thomson Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Melbourne

☆ 'Moscow is becoming a front line city' – The Ukraine War has finally come home to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Dominik Kalus | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

For weeks now, attacks by Ukraine within Russia have been increasing. Dead civilians, villages cleared out, and a seemingly overworked government: Moscow's war on Ukraine has finally hit home in Russian society. A woman waits at a bus stop next to a poster promoting Russian army service, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, in Moscow, Russia April 12, 2023. "The attacks in Belgorod are busting the myth of Putin's military being invincible," said political scientist Abbas Galljamow to the DPA news agency. Because these attacks within Russia are making even initially neutral Russians care about the war – and they're starting to approve of it.

Persons: —, Schapscha, Moscow's, Sergej Markow, Michail Rostowski, Alexander Dugin, Yulia Morozova, Jens Siegert, who's, Savva Tutunow, Putin, Abbas Galljamow, There's, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Konstantin Satulin, Russia hasn't, –, Putin's, Dmitry Peskov, They're, Peskov, Alarmism Organizations: Service, Putin, Pictures, REUTERS, Novaya Gazeta, Wagner Group, Russia, Publicly Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Kherson, South Ukraine, Belgorod, Strelkovka, Kaluga, Moscow, Voronezh, Russian

☆ Putin has postponed his annual marathon phone-in as Ukraine starts re-taking territory in its counteroffensive: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Vladimir Putin's annual phone-in has been postponed, Kommersant reported. The "Direct Line" phone-in usually runs for hours and involves Putin fielding questions from ordinary Russian citizens about a range of social and policy issues. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media agency Tass that no date had been set for the event. If held in December, the phone-in would be timed for just before the likely launch of Putin's 2024 presidential campaign. But on Thursday Ukraine launched its much-anticipated counteroffensive to drive Russian forces back from territory in east and south Ukraine.

Persons: Vladimir Putin's, —, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Dmitry Peskov Organizations: Kommersant, Service, Tass, Ukraine Locations: Ukraine, Moscow

"The FSB has uncovered an intelligence action of the American special services using Apple mobile devices," the FSB said in a statement. The FSB said the plot showed "close cooperation" between Apple and the National Security Agency (NSA), the U.S. agency responsible for cryptographic and communications intelligence and security. The FSB provided no evidence that Apple cooperated with, or had any awareness of, the spying campaign. "The hidden data collection was carried out through software vulnerabilities in U.S.-made mobile phones," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said all officials in the presidential administration knew that gadgets such as iPhones were "absolutely transparent."

Persons: Russia Apple, NSA Kaspersky, Apple, Eugene Kaspersky, Igor Kuznetsov, Kaspersky, Dmitry Peskov, Guy Faulconbridge, Raphael Satter, James Pearson, Zeba Siddiqui, Mark Potter, Andrew Heavens, Matthew Lewis, Diane Craft Organizations: NSA, Apple, Federal Security Service, FSB, Apple Inc, Soviet, National Security Agency, Twitter, Reuters, NATO, Harvard University's, Federal Guards Service, Kremlin, Kommersant, San, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, MOSCOW, Soviet Union, U.S, Israel, Syria, China, States, United Kingdom, Australia, Washington, London, San Francisco

The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said that several thousand Apple phones had been infected, including those of domestic Russian subscribers. "The FSB has uncovered an intelligence action of the American special services using Apple mobile devices," the FSB said in a statement. 'SOFTWARE VULNERABILITIES'The FSB said the plot showed the close relationship between Apple and the NSA, the U.S. agency responsible for U.S. cryptographic and communications intelligence and security. "The hidden data collection was carried out through software vulnerabilities in U.S.-made mobile phones," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement. Officials in Russia, which Western spies says has constructed a very sophisticated domestic surveillance structure, have long questioned the security of U.S. technology.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Sergei Kiriyenko, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones, Mark Potter Organizations: NSA, Apple, Russia Apple, Russia, Federal Security Service, . National Security Agency, FSB, Soviet, NATO, U.S, Harvard University's, Officials, Kremlin, KGB, Kommersant, Thomson Locations: Russia, Russian, Soviet Union, Israel, Syria, China, U.S, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Ukraine

☆ Ukraine targets Russian oil pipeline installations with drones, Russian media reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ukrainian serviceman operates a reconnaissance unmanned aerial device over the outskirts of Bakhmut town, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near a frontline Donetsk region, Ukraine May 25, 2023. Ukraine struck oil pipeline installations deep inside Russia on Saturday with a series of drone attacks including on a station serving the vast Druzhba oil pipeline that sends Western Siberian crude to Europe, according to Russian media. Ukraine has not publicly acknowledged launching attacks against targets inside Russia. The Telegram channel Baza, which has good sources among Russia's security services, said the drones attacked a station serving the Druzhba pipeline. Russia's oil pipeline operator Transneft said earlier this month that a filling point on Druzhba in a Russian region bordering Ukraine had been attacked.

SummarySummary Companies Drones attack Druzhba pipeline infrastructure, Russian media sayDrones strike far inside RussiaOne killed in shelling near Ukraine borderRussian forces intercept British Storm Shadow missilesMOSCOW, May 27 (Reuters) - Ukraine struck oil pipeline installations deep inside Russia on Saturday with a series of drone attacks including on a station serving the Druzhba pipeline, while shelling from Ukraine killed at least two, Russian officials and media said. Ukraine has not publicly acknowledged launching attacks against targets inside Russia. The Telegram channel Baza, which has good sources among Russia's security services, said the drones attacked a station serving the Druzhba pipeline. Russia's oil pipeline operator Transneft (TRNF_p.MM) said earlier this month that a filling point on Druzhba in a Russian region bordering Ukraine had been attacked. Kyiv officials have previously said that Western-supplied weapons would be used exclusively against Russian forces inside Ukraine.

☆ Factbox: Who are the three Russian scientists accused of state treason?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Lucy Papachristou | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

May 18 (Reuters) - Three Russian scientists who have worked on hypersonic missile technology face "very serious accusations" of state treason, the Kremlin says. Maslov was detained early in the morning of June 28 last year in Novosibirsk, according to an interview that his sons Nikolai and Alexei gave to local media. He declined to tell them anything about the possible reasons for his arrest, and they learned from his lawyer that he was being charged with state treason. Kommersant newspaper reported that Maslov was accused of divulging state secrets related to hypersonics, but provided no further details. Born in Siberia, he studied in the aircraft engineering department at Novosibirsk State Technical University.

☆ Belarus president and Putin ally Alexander Lukashenko appears to confirm that 4 Russian military aircraft were shot down. The Kremlin has not yet acknowledged the downed aircraft.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed that the four downed Russian aircraft were "shot down." According to Reuters, Lukashenko addressed Belarusian troops on Monday at the border with Ukraine. The Belarusian leader decisively claimed that the four aircraft were shot down — but did not say by whom. "Three days after the events near us — I mean in the Bryansk region, when four aircraft were shot down, we are forced to respond," Lukashenko said, according to Reuters. The crash signified the most Russian aircraft lost in a single day since March 2022, according to the pro-Russia Telegram channel Fighterbomber.

☆ Belarus PM replaces Lukashenko at ceremony, sparks speculation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Lukashenko also did not speak at an event in Minsk marking the anniversary for the first time in his long presidency. According to the opposition news outlet Euroradio, Lukashenko was taken to an elite Minsk clinic on Saturday. Russian media rarely publish stories about the health of the leaders of Russia or its allied neighbours. Belarus' foreign minister Sergei Aleinik is expected on Monday to start this three-day visit to Moscow, Russia's foreign ministry said last week. Reporting by Ron Popeski and Lidia Kelly; Writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Zelenskiy in Germany after meeting pope
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

May 14 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was in Germany early on Sunday as he seeks to shore up support from key allies against Russia's invasion of his country. FIGHTING* Ukrainian troops are advancing in two directions in the eastern city of Bakhmut, but the situation in the city centre is more complicated, deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar said on Saturday. * Russia's Defence Ministry said on Saturday that Ukrainian aircraft had struck two industrial sites in the Russian-held city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine with Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles supplied by Britain. * Germany on Saturday announced 2.7 billion euro ($3.0 billion) of military aid to Ukraine, its biggest such package since Russia's invasion, and pledged further support for Kyiv for as long as necessary. * The head of Russia's federal crime agency suggested on Saturday that key sectors of the economy should be returned to state ownership to support Moscow's war in Ukraine.

☆ 4 Russian military aircraft 'ambushed' and shot down near Ukrainian border, Russian media reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Four Russian aircraft have been shot down near the Ukrainian border, per a Russian news outlet. It may be the most Russian aircraft lost in a single day during the war, a pro-Russia blog said. Kommersant did not provide evidence that the four aircraft had been downed, but several Russian pro-war military bloggers made the same claim, Reuters reported. Regional Russian authorities have confirmed the crash of one helicopter, per Russian state news agency Tass. A pro-Russia Telegram channel with close links to Russia's air force, called Fighterbomber, said it was the highest number of Russian aircraft lost in a single day "since March last year."

CNN —Russia’s air force may have just suffered one of its worst days since the Ukraine war began. Some analysts believe Ukrainian air defenses may have been pushed forward as the Russian air force uses more “glide munitions” that can fire at targets from distance. They are using these bombs “from a distance that is unreachable for Ukrainian air defense,” he said. Mykola Oleshchuk, the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, has also suggested that the nature of the threat has changed. That may be as of much concern in Russia as the loss of four aircraft over Russian territory

☆ Four Russian military aircraft shot down near Ukraine, Russian daily reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Russian state news agency TASS said a Russian Su-34 warplane had crashed in that region but did not specify a cause. Comments accompanying the video, which Reuters could not immediately verify, said it showed a Mi-8 being shot down by a missile. It said the downed helicopters appeared to be Mi-8MTPR-1 electronic warfare craft able to jam enemy radio and targeting signals. There was no official response from Ukraine, which usually declines to comment on reports of attacks inside Russia. However, in a tweet, Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, called the incident "Justice ... and instant karma".

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Ukraine's Zelenskiy meets the pope
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Ukrainian leader, on a visit to Rome, also met Italy's leaders, who promised full military and financial backing for Ukraine and reiterated support for its EU membership bid. * South Africa's presidential security advisor said on Saturday the country was "actively non-aligned" in Russia's war against Ukraine, after U.S. allegations that it had supplied weapons to Moscow led to a diplomatic crisis this week. * A draft communique from a meeting of Group of Seven finance chiefs reiterated the group's condemnation of Russia's "illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression" against Ukraine. INSIDE RUSSIA* The head of Russia's federal crime agency suggested on Saturday that key sectors of the economy should be returned to state ownership to support Moscow's war in Ukraine. * Police in the Russian city of St. Petersburg said on Friday they have created an anti-drone unit to detect unmanned aerial vehicles following a purported drone attack on the Kremlin this month.

☆ A woman left a note on the grave of Putin's parents calling him a 'freak.' She was convicted of desecrating the site.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Russian woman who left an insulting note on the grave of Putin's parents was convicted Thursday. The note, left last October, called Putin a "freak and a killer," per the Associated Press. The note, left by 60-year-old Irina Tsybaneva last October, read: "Parents of a maniac, take him to your place." She may not leave the city or move house for two years without notifying authorities, according to Russian newspaper Kommersant. She said she intended the note to be secret, concealing it in the grass, the paper earlier reported.

☆ Russian court seizes four Danish-owned tugboats in Sakhalin
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, May 10 (Reuters) - A Russian court on the Pacific island of Sakhalin has ordered the seizure of four tugboats belonging to Denmark's Svitzeroperator at the request of a Russian energy company. A court ruling dated April 24 said it had ordered the tugboats seized in response to a request by Sakhalin Energy, a new Russian legal entity which oversees the production of oil and liquefied natural gas on the island. The document said Svitzer Sakhalin had written to the Russian company on April 19 confirming plans to suspend a contract for use of the tugboats. According to Maersk, after the court ruling, all Svitzer's employees in Russia have resigned and Svitzer was no longer operating the four tugs. Sakhalin Energy did not respond to requests for comment.

☆ A Russian army commander has been accused of stealing engines from Putin's prized T-90 tanks, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Russian colonel has been accused of stealing seven engines meant for T-90 battle tanks. The V-92C2 engines were intended to be installed in T-90 tanks, investigators said. Reports of rampant corruption have long plagued the Russian military. The allegations of corruption in the Russian military are not new. Retreating Russian troops have been reported to have left behind T-90 tanks, which are among Moscow's most advanced.

☆ Kremlin plays down idea that Russia is preparing a nuclear weapons test
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, April 28 (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Friday played down the idea that Russia might be preparing to carry out a nuclear weapons test, saying all nuclear states were abiding by a moratorium on the testing of nuclear weapons. President Vladimir Putin said in February, without citing evidence, that some in Washington were considering breaking a moratorium on nuclear testing and that Russia should be ready to act in kind. If the United States conducts tests, then we will. When asked about Tracy's comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov played down the idea that Moscow was planning its own nuclear test. Nuclear tensions between Russia and the United States have increased since the start of the conflict with Ukraine with Putin repeatedly warning that Russia is ready to use its nuclear arsenal if necessary to defend its "territorial integrity".

☆ Son of Vladimir Putin's spokesman says he served with Wagner in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MOSCOW, April 23 (Reuters) - The son of Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said in an interview published on Saturday that he had served in Ukraine under an assumed name as an artilleryman in the Wagner mercenary force, the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper reported. Nikolai Peskov, the 33-year-old son of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, told the privately-owned newspaper that he had served in Ukraine, a rare, public example of the son of a senior Russian official fighting in the war. "It was on my initiative," Peskov, whose father has served as Putin's spokesman since 2008, said in an interview. Wagner's founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said Dmitry Peskov had approached him and asked him to take his son on as an artilleryman. Peskov told him that he would not be going anywhere and would solve the situation at a different level, according to a recording of the call posted online.

☆ China smartphone sales rise to more than 70% of Russian market
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A girl uses her smartphone on the street in Moscow, Russia August 1, 2022. REUTERS/Evgenia NovozheninaApril 17 (Reuters) - Chinese smartphones made up more than 70% of the Russian market in the first quarter of 2023, consumer electronics retailer M.Video-Eldorado (MVID.MM) said, up from around 50% last year. "Demand for brands from China in quantity terms increased by 42% relative to last year, and their total share was over 70%," M.Video added in a statement on Monday. The Kremlin has also moved to allow Russian companies to ship in some products, including smartphones, without the license holder's permission in so-called parallel imports. Last year, M.Video and mobile operator MTS (MTSS.MM) began selling discounted and used smartphones, offering Russian consumers cheaper alternatives as Western sanctions contributed to economic contraction and falling wages.

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