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☆ German minister promises Ukraine weapons, EU accession help on surprise trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In a statement ahead of a meeting with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Baerbock expressed Germany's solidarity with Ukrainians living through Russia's invasion and harsh winter conditions. After Germany last week promised to send Marder fighting vehicles to Ukraine as part of increased military support, Baerbock promised more weapons, without specifying which ones. Senior Russian legislator Leonid Slutsky, echoing Moscow's line that it launched the war to "denazify" Ukraine, said history would harshly judge the comments by Baerbock. Baerbock also said it was important not to lose sight of Ukraine's place in Europe and its desire to join the EU. She said Germany would provide 20 million euros ($21.47 million) for demining efforts and another 20 million euros to boost Ukraine's access to Starlink internet terminals.

☆ Russia's Medvedev snaps back after U.S. appeal over Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered one of the most deadly wars in Europe since World War Two and the deepest crisis in Moscow's relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Medvedev said the missiles could be placed 100 miles (160 km) off the U.S. coast, adding: "So rejoice! He was speaking after the U.S. embassy to Russia released a video that it called an "an appeal to the people of Russia". The 50-second video included images of the impact of bombing in Ukraine, saying what was happening there "is not worthy of you". Since the war began, Medvedev's rhetoric has become increasingly vitriolic though his published views sometimes chime with thinking at the top levels of the Kremlin elite.

☆ Final farewell: From Sidney Poitier to Pope Emeritus Benedict a look back at the influential figures who died in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +55 min

Other world leaders who died in 2022 include former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who died in August. The final days of 2022 saw the loss of some exceptionally notable figures, including Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2022 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___Dan Reeves, 77. A Cuban-born artist whose radiant color palette and geometric paintings were overlooked for decades before the art world took notice. A prolific character actor best known for playing villains and tough guys in “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Ocean’s Eleven” and other films.

☆ Ukraine weighs heavy on minds in Moscow as New Year holiday nears
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Summary This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. Asked if the 10-month conflict in Ukraine was affecting her mood, one woman, Maria, replied without hesitation. "A holiday remains a holiday. New Year's Day is Russia's main seasonal holiday, while Orthodox believers also celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7. Jewellery maker Evgeniya, however, said her sales at a seasonal market had sharply increased from last year.

REUTERS/Clodagh KilcoyneKVIV/MOSCOW, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Russian forces bombarded scores of towns in Ukraine on Christmas Day as Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was open to negotiations, a stance Washington has dismissed as posturing because of continued Russian attacks. Ukraine has traditionally not celebrated Christmas on Dec. 25, but Jan. 7, the same as Russia. That range reaches deep into neighbours of Belarus: Ukraine and NATO member Poland, which has very strained relations with Minsk. The S-400 system is a Russian mobile, surface-to-air missile (SAM) interception system capable of engaging aircraft, UAVs, cruise missiles, and has a terminal ballistic missile defence capability. Blasts were heard at Russia's Engels air base, hundreds of kilometres (miles) from the Ukraine frontlines, Ukrainian and Russian media reported on Monday.

☆ Belarus says Russia-deployed Iskander missile systems ready for use
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 25 (Reuters) - The Iskander tactical missile systems and the S-400 air defence systems that Russia has deployed to Belarus are fully prepared to perform their intended tasks, a senior Belarusian defence ministry official said on Sunday. "These types of weapons (Iskander and S-400 systems) are on combat duty today and they are fully prepared to perform tasks for their intended purpose." It is not clear how many of the Iskander systems - which are capable of carrying nuclear weapons - have been deployed to Belarus after Russian President Vladimir Putin said in June that Moscow would supply Minsk with them and the air defence systems. The Iskander-M, a mobile guided missile system code named "SS-26 Stone" by NATO, replaced the Soviet "Scud". The S-400 system is a Russian mobile, surface-to-air missile (SAM) interception system capable of engaging aircraft, UAVs, cruise missiles, and has a terminal ballistic missile defence capability.

[1/3] Ukrainian territorial defence member Leonid Onyshchenko, 63-year-old, speaks to his family during a festive Christmas dinner, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kostiantynivka, Ukraine, December 24, 2022. Holding her three-month-old son Yaroslav with one hand, Maryna took a Christmas cake out of oven with the other. Vitalii helped two other sons, Petro and Tais, get dressed before the festive Christmas dinner. In the past, Ukrainian Christians mostly celebrated Christmas in early January. As the family gathers around the table, Maryna calls her father to wish him merry Christmas.

Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark echoed that sentiment in a interview: "Our exit will be complete. "This will allow us to organise modern production of telecoms equipment in Russia," he said, without naming the operators or producers. Government programs to promote Russian equipment have helped telecoms operators become less reliant on Nokia and Ericsson over the past several years and Russian producers have increased their market share this year to 25.2% from 11.6% in 2021. Russian telecom operators stockpiled foreign-made parts in February and March ahead of sanctions, two of the industry sources said, but inventory will drop after Nokia and Ericsson pull the plug Dec. 31. Consolidation between Russian operators at the behest of the government might also allow them to share equipment and resources to make the networks last longer, industry sources added.

☆ A Russian tank unit deliberately attacked another Russian position in Ukraine, report says, illustrating vicious rivalries within Putin's army
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Russian tank unit attacked another Russian position in Ukraine following an argument, the NYT said. The incident demonstrates the vicious in-fighting that has plagued Vladimir Putin's military. A Russian drone operator who said he witnessed the episode told the paper that a Russian tank commander drove his T-90 tank toward a group of Russian national guard troops, fired at their checkpoint and blew it up. The Russian military appears to have limited coordination with any of them, officials said, according to the paper. Prigozhin echoed the sentiment, the paper said, commenting about Russian military generals: "Send all these pieces of garbage barefoot with machine guns straight to the front."

☆ Russian troops have turned to Wikipedia to find instructions on handling weapons and used 1960s-era maps in the country's invasion of Ukraine: NYT
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A New York Times investigation detailed Russia's blunders as they launched an invasion of Ukraine. "Never in its history has Russia made such stupid decisions," a retired Russian general told The NYT. Russian President Vladimir Putin displayed a high degree of confidence in the country's military when he launched the invasion of Ukraine in late February. But nearly ten months later, Russia has been unable to defeat the Ukrainian military and has found itself shunned and isolated from the West. The Russian military, which was seen as a formidable force before the conflict, in actuality had been "severely compromised" by longstanding corruption, per the report.

Since the early days of the invasion, Mr. Putin has conceded, privately, that the war has not gone as planned. “I think he is sincerely willing” to compromise with Russia, Mr. Putin said of Mr. Zelensky in 2019. To join in Mr. Putin’s war, he has recruited prisoners, trashed the Russian military and competed with it for weapons. To join in Mr. Putin’s war, he has recruited prisoners, trashed the Russian military and competed with it for weapons. “I think this war is Putin’s grave.” Yevgeny Nuzhin, 55, a Russian prisoner of war held by Ukraine, in October.

☆ Viktor Bout praises Putin, enjoys celebrity status after Griner exchange
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Mithil Aggarwal | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

He has since given high-profile interviews to state media and on Monday appeared on stage at a political event as he joined an ultranationalist party. Viktor Bout on a plane in Abu Dhabi before departing for Russia on Thursday. Russian media also showed him walking off a plane in Moscow, where relatives waiting with flowers embraced him. AFP - Getty ImagesSince his return home, Bout has given a pair of interviews to Maria Butina on the state-run TV channel RT. Like Butina, who was elected to the State Duma last year, Bout spared no time kicking off a potential political career.

☆ Freed Russian arms dealer Bout joins Kremlin-loyal ultranationalist party
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer freed on Thursday after 14 years in U.S. custody in exchange for U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, has joined the Kremlin-loyal ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), its leader said on Monday. In a video posted on Telegram, LDPR leader Leonid Slutsky, standing on a stage beside Bout, said: "I want to thank Viktor Anatolievich (Bout) for the decision he has made and welcome him into the ranks of the best political party in today's Russia." Despite its name, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) has since its founding in 1991 espoused a hardline, ultranationalist ideology, demanding Russia reconquer the countries of the former Soviet Union. Its founder and long-time leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky gained a reputation as a political showman for his outrageous stunts and eccentric behaviour before his death in April. It has a history of recruiting controversial personalities into Russian politics.

A Russian lawmaker announced Saturday that he invited freed arms dealer Viktor Bout to be in "broad cooperation" with a government committee that he leads. The legislator, Leonid Slutsky, is head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs. Slutsky said Bout could help the committee on "issues of assistance to Russian citizens who find themselves in a difficult life situation abroad." "And the experience of interaction during the release of Victor will certainly be useful,” Slutsky said in a post on his Telegram account. The Russian official said Bout is holding up well for "all the trials he had gone through."

☆ Putin's war in Ukraine looks more and more like a failure. Past Russian leaders haven't survived similar mistakes.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Joy Neumeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Instead, Russia's failing war effort has raised doubts about Putin's hold on power. For now, Putin looks secure, but past Russian leaders have suffered at home for blunders abroad. By the following summer, the Germans had taken huge swathes of Russian-controlled territory and a million Russian soldiers were dead. Captured Russian soldiers after the defeat at Tannenberg, in present-day Poland, on August 30, 1914. After an ineffectual troop surge, Gorbachev gave up on trying to improve the situation, and the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989.

☆ Dutch prosecutors won't appeal in MH17 case, making verdicts final
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMSTERDAM, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Dutch prosecutors said on Thursday they would not file an appeal regarding the outcome in the trial over the 2014 downing of Flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine, making the verdicts final although the suspects remain at large. A Dutch court last month convicted three men and sentenced them to life in prison for the shooting-down of the Malaysian airliner as it flew over eastern Ukraine on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014. The three convicted were former Russian intelligence agents Igor Girkin and Sergey Dubinskiy, and Leonid Kharchenko, a Ukrainian separatist leader. Prosecutors said on Thursday they were satisfied with the "clarity" the case had brought to relatives of the victims about what had happened to MH17. Reporting by Bart Meijer Editing by Mark Heinrich and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Navalny's top aide says Ukraine war shows Putin is crazier than previously thought, warning the Russian leader is not 'in touch with reality'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Navalny's top aide told the Guardian that Ukraine shows Putin is crazier than they thought. But Navalny's top aide, Leonid Volkov, told the Guardian that Putin's handling of the Ukraine war has changed their view of the Russian leader. The war in Ukraine has largely made Putin an international pariah, while isolating Russia both economically and politically. But if Putin ever turns to negotiations to end the war, Volkov is hopeful that Navalny could be seen as a bargaining chip. In tweets via an intermediary, Navalny urged people to campaign against the Ukraine war and Putin "at every opportunity."

☆ Staff at a hospital in occupied Ukraine resisted a takeover from Russian troops by faking a COVID-19 outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"Our hospital couldn't become a Russian hospital," the lead physician told The Wall Street Journal. Kherson, a southern port city, was the first major Ukrainian city taken by Russian forces after the invasion in February. "Our hospital couldn't become a Russian hospital," Chief Physician Dr. Leonid Remiga told the Journal. Within days of the Russian forces invading the city, soldiers showed up to the hospital with the intention of converting it into a military hospital. Remiga told them the hospital was dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak.

☆ Ukrainian Hospital Stymied Russians With Defiant Doctors and a Fake Covid Outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Ian Lovett | Photographs Virginie Nguyen Hoang For The Wall Street Journal | Virginie Nguyen Hoang For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

KHERSON, Ukraine—The first time Russian soldiers came to Tropinka Hospital, they told Leonid Remiga , the hospital’s chief physician, to take down the blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag hanging over the main entrance. He refused. “You can shoot me if you want,” 68-year-old Dr. Remiga recalls saying, “but I’m not going to do it.”

☆ OnlyFans is launching online stores so content creators can start selling branded products such as clothing and stickers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

OnlyFans is launching a shopping feature for its content creators to let users buy branded products. Creators can design and create "custom-branded products" through the Spring Store such as water bottles, stickers, puzzles and apparel. Spring will handle packaging, storage and shipping of products, OnlyFans' blog says. OnlyFans creators can also add products they've produced themselves to the Spring Store, according to the blog post. Last year it launched the streaming platform OnlyFans TV, or OFTV, where series or other videos can be viewed by subscribers.

☆ MH17 verdict: 2 Russians, 1 Ukrainian convicted of murders
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A Dutch court on Thursday convicted two Russians and a pro-Moscow Ukrainian separatist in absentia of the murders of 298 people who died in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine. None of the defendants appeared for the trial that began in March 2020 and if they are convicted, it’s unlikely they will serve any sentence anytime soon. “The truth on the table — that is the most important thing,” said Anton Kotte, who lost his son, daughter-in-law and his 6-year-old grandson when MH17 was shot down. The most senior defendant convicted is Igor Girkin, a 51-year-old former colonel in Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB. Oleg Pulatovis the only one of the suspects who was acquited represented by defense lawyers at the trial.

☆ Judges to rule in murder trial for 2014 downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MH17 was a passenger flight shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 passengers and crew. At the time, the area was the scene of fighting between pro-Russian separatist and Ukrainian forces, the precursor of this year's conflict. Moscow denies any involvement or responsibility for MH17's downing and in 2014 it also denied any presence in Ukraine. They were charged with shooting down an airplane and with murder in a trial held under Dutch law. Judges will begin reading the verdict at 1:30 p.m. local time (1230 GMT) at the high-security court next to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.

☆ Leonid meteor shower: Fast, bright meteors light up the night sky
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Known as some of the fastest meteors around, the Leonids blaze across the night sky annually during the month of November. Historically, they are considered to be one of the most impressive meteor showers on record, largely due to the meteor storm they form roughly every 33 years, causing thousands of meteors to rain down in the night sky. On Thursday night, the shower is expected to peak at 7 p.m. The Leonid meteor shower is active through December 2, alongside the tail end of the North Taurid meteor shower. Around their peak, sky gazers could potentially observe 10 to 15 meteors per hour.

☆ 3 men were just given life sentences over the downing of passenger jet MH17 and the murder of 298 people, but they may never be caught
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Dutch court sentenced three men to life in prison over the downing of passenger jet MH17 in 2014. The plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine by a Russian-made missile, and nearly 300 people were killed. Two Russians and a pro-Moscow Ukrainian separatist were convicted, but they're fugitives. Given that the convicted are currently fugitives, the three men may never be apprehended and serve their time in prison, the report said. The missile was provided by Russia's military to pro-Moscow separatist forces, the Dutch court confirmed.

☆ Dutch court convicts 2 Russians, 1 Ukrainian of murder in 2014 Malaysian jet downing over Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

President of the court Steenhuis (2ndL) talks prior to verdict in the trial of four men prosecuted for their involvement in the MH17 downing case, in Badhoevedorp on November 17, 2022. A Dutch court on Thursday convicted two Russians and a pro-Moscow Ukrainian separatist in absentia of the murders of 298 people who died in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine and sentenced them to life imprisonment. Outside the court, planes could be heard taking off and landing nearby on a cold, gray day. Oleg Pulatovis the only one of the suspects who was acquited represented by defense lawyers at the trial. They accused prosecutors of "tunnel vision" in basing their case on the findings of an international investigation into the downing while ignoring other possible causes.

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