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☆ Russia says NATO should hold emergency summit over Nord Stream blasts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 12 (Reuters) - NATO should hold an emergency meeting to discuss recent findings about September explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said late on Saturday. The White House dismissed as "utterly false and complete fiction" the claim that the United States was behind explosions of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which send Russian gas to Germany. The United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have called the incident "an act of sabotage." "So when will an emergency NATO summit meet to review the situation?" NATO did not immediately respond to Reuters request for a comment.

☆ The claim by a discredited journalist that the US secretly blew up the Nord Stream pipeline is proving a gift to Putin
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Once-celebrated journalist Seymour Hersh made unproven claims the US blew up the Nord Stream pipelines. In Russia, Hersh's story was immediately greeted with a sense of vindication. Biden had said he opposed opening the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and saying the US could "bring an end to" it if Russia invaded Ukraine. The invasion did take place, and officials in Germany — where the pipeline was due to pump its gas — axed the project before Nord Stream 2 moved any gas. Nord Stream 1 kept pumping until the explosion.

☆ Russia: U.S. has questions to answer over Nord Stream explosions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Gazprom PAO FollowFeb 8 (Reuters) - Russia's foreign ministry said on Wednesday the United States had questions to answer over its role in explosions on the undersea Nord Stream gas pipelines last year. Reuters was unable to verify the report, published by U.S. investigative journalist Seymour Hersh on his blog, alleging U.S. involvement in the explosions. The White House said on Wednesday that Hersh's account was "utterly false and complete fiction". Moscow, without providing evidence, has repeatedly said the West was behind the explosions affecting the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines last September - multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects that carried Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. Russia said the countries "have something to hide" and are purposefully blocking Russia out from the investigation.

☆ Iran says drones attacked military factory amid Israel tensions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Aina J. Khan | Aina Is A Freelance Reporter With Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

'Defensive traps'The Iranian defense ministry confirmed one of its workshop complexes had come under attack Saturday from a number of Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs), but said the complex’s air defenses had successfully repelled the attack. Three quadcopters equipped with bombs were used in the attack, Iran’s defense ministry said in a statement shared with IRIB. Israel is widely believed to be behind a growing list of incidents like the drone attack that have hit Iranian military and nuclear targets in recent years. Russia’s foreign ministry on Monday condemned Sunday’s drone strike against its burgeoning ally and warned against “unpredictable consequences” that could escalate an already precarious situation. “Such destructive actions could have unpredictable consequences for peace and stability in the Middle East,” foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

☆ Zelenskiy adviser: IOC promotes 'Russian anti-human policy'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

That's why it insists Russian athletes should participate in contests as real 'ambassadors of death'," Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter. "Sport doesn't exist outside politics – sport promotes it. Thus, the IOC promotes the Russian anti-human policy." President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that Ukraine would launch an international campaign to prevent Russian athletes from being allowed to compete in the 2024 Games. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday that any attempt to squeeze Moscow out of international sport was "doomed to fail".

☆ Russia's deputy foreign minister to meet new U.S. envoy early next week - RIA
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 28 (Reuters) - Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov will hold a meeting with Lynne Tracy, the new U.S. ambassador to Moscow, early next week, the RIA news agency reported on Saturday. Tracy arrived in Moscow earlier this week. Relations between Washington and Moscow have been at rock bottom since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last February. According to Ryabkov, the traditional presentation of copies of credential by Tracy is already agreed upon. It is expected that the transfer of copies of credentials by Ambassador Tracy will be made to me," he said.

☆ Germany accuses Russia of twisting minister's war comments for 'propaganda'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Russia has twisted comments by Germany's foreign minister about the war in Ukraine for propaganda purposes, a German foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday, stressing Berlin's position that NATO must not become party to the conflict. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock riled Moscow with comments at an event in Strasbourg on Tuesday, when, speaking in English, she said that "we are fighting a war against Russia, and not against each other". Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in a post on her Telegram messaging channel cited by state TASS news agency on Wednesday, seized on Baerbock's comments as evidence the West was waging a "premeditated war against Russia". This concern was part of the reason for Germany's delay in agreeing to send the Leopard tanks to Ukraine. "Russian propaganda continually takes statements, sentences, stances, positions of the government, our partners and uses them to serve their purposes," said the German foreign ministry spokesperson.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a Telegram post that the move was confirmation of Germany's involvement in "a war planned in advance" against Russia. "This extremely dangerous decision takes the conflict to a new level of confrontation," Ambassador Sergei Nechayev said. 'HISTORICAL RESPONSIBILITY'Germany's decision on tanks followed weeks of agonising by the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, prompted by concerns about escalating the war and provoking Russia. Russia has repeatedly said foreign tanks will "burn" in Ukraine. It says they will only extend the war and prolong Ukrainian suffering, and that the West is "deluded" to think otherwise.

☆ Factbox: Russia decries German tanks decision, Ukraine 'sincerely grateful'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the German decision confirmed what she said was a "pre-planned war" against Moscow. UKRAINEUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was "sincerely grateful" to Germany and Chancellor Olaf Scholz for Berlin's "important and timely" decision to provide Kyiv with battle tanks. "The right decision by NATO Allies and friends to send main battle tanks to Ukraine. FRANCEThe French presidency welcomed Berlin's decision to send tanks to Ukraine and allow other states to do the same. NETHERLANDSThe Netherlands is prepared to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine if needed, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.

☆ Russia downgrades relations with NATO member Estonia, expels envoy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Russia said on Monday it was downgrading diplomatic relations with NATO member Estonia, accusing Tallinn of "total Russophobia". The Russian Foreign Ministry said it had told the Estonian envoy he must leave next month, and both countries would be represented in each other's capitals by an interim charge d'affaires instead of an ambassador. It said this was in response to an Estonian move to reduce the size of the Russian embassy in Tallinn. "In recent years, the Estonian leadership has purposefully destroyed the entire range of relations with Russia. Commenting on the downgrading of ties, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: "The Estonian regime has got what it deserved."

☆ Russia says Britain's foreign minister yet to answer for supporting Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 17 (Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said late on Monday that British Foreign Minister James Cleverly, who has been sanctioned by Moscow over Ukraine, is yet to answer for his support of Kyiv. Cleverly said on Monday he had been sanctioned by the Russian government and added that if that were the price for supporting Ukraine - he was happy to be sanctioned. But you still have to answer for the support of the Kyiv regime and neo-Nazism." Russia framed its invasion of Ukraine as a battle against Nazism but Kyiv and its allies say this is a lie used to justify an unprovoked, imperialist land grab. Reporting in Melbourne by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia criticises Reuters story on Russian hackers targeting U.S. nuclear scientists
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Ministry on Thursday criticised Reuters for spreading what it said was poorly sourced anti-Russian propaganda with a story about a Russian hacking team which targeted three nuclear research laboratories. Reuters on Jan. 6 reported the Russian hacking team, known as Cold River, had targeted three nuclear research laboratories in the United States this past summer, according to internet records reviewed by Reuters and five cyber security experts. "The latest pseudo investigation was unfortunately published by Reuters news agency," Maria Zakharova, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, told reporters. A Reuters spokesperson said: "We stand by our reporting, which was fair, accurate and in keeping with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles." Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Jon BoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia suggests Sweden has 'something to hide' in Nord Stream blast probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Gazprom PAO FollowJan 12 (Reuters) - Russia questioned on Thursday whether Sweden had "something to hide" over explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines last year, as it slammed Stockholm for not sharing information in the ongoing investigations into the blasts. Swedish and Danish authorities are investigating four holes in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines which link Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea and have become a flashpoint in the Ukraine crisis. Zakharova said Sweden was "concealing" facts about what it had discovered in the investigation, suggesting that "the Swedish authorities have something to hide". Sweden and other European investigators say the attacks were carried out on purpose, but they have not said who they think was responsible. Construction of Nord Stream 2, designed to carry Russian gas to Germany, was completed in September 2021, but was never put into operation after Berlin shelved certification just days before Moscow sent its troops into Ukraine in February.

☆ Massive Russian missile barrage pummels cities across Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

After earlier attacks, the Ukrainian military reported shooting down incoming Russian missiles and explosive drones, but some still reached their targets, damaging power and water supplies and increasing the suffering of the population amid freezing temperatures. Ukrainian authorities in several regions said some incoming Russian missiles were intercepted. Efrem Lukatsky / APFragments from downed Russian missiles damaged two private buildings in the Darnytskyi district of Kyiv, the city administration said. Earlier this month, the United States agreed to give a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine to boost the country’s defense. Russian officials have said that any peace plan can only proceed from Kyiv’s recognition of Russia’s sovereignty over the regions it illegally annexed from Ukraine in September.

☆ Ahead of Zelenskiy address, U.S. Senate backs new ambassador to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lynne Tracy as President Joe Biden's nominee to be ambassador to Russia, hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was to give a rare wartime address to a joint meeting of Congress. Tracy, a career diplomat and current ambassador to Armenia, will be the first woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to Russia. It was not immediately clear when she will assume the post, because Russia must agree to accept her. Washington has been sending a steady supply of weapons and economic assistance to Zelenskiy's government as Ukraine fights Russian troops. Moscow has an ambassador in Washington, Anatoly Antonov.

☆ Ahead of Zelenskyy address, U.S. Senate backs new ambassador to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during her confirmation hearing to be the next ambassador to Russia in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on November 30, 2022 in Washington, DC. The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lynne Tracy as President Joe Biden's nominee to be ambassador to Russia, hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was to give a rare wartime address to a joint meeting of Congress. Tracy, a career diplomat and current ambassador to Armenia, will be the first woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to Russia. It was not immediately clear when she will assume the post, because Russia must agree to accept her. Washington has been sending a steady supply of weapons and economic assistance to Zelenskyy's government as Ukraine fights Russian troops.

☆ Russia denounces Moldova's ban of TV channels as 'political censorship'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Summary This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in UkraineMOSCOW, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Russia on Saturday denounced a decision by neighbouring Moldova to temporarily ban six television channels as "political censorship". The small ex-Soviet state of Moldova accused the channels of airing "incorrect information" about the country and Russia's military operation in Ukraine. Shor, in exile in Israel, has backed protests in Chisinau demanding that Sandu's government resign. The ban will start on Monday and last for the duration of a state of emergency that Moldova declared after Russia sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 on what Moscow calls a "special military operation" to "denazify" the country. Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Nick MacfieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Moscow says Vatican apologised over Pope's comments about 'cruel' Russian ethnic minorities
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Summary This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. MOSCOW, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday it had received an apology from the Vatican over Pope Francis' comments last month that Russian soldiers from some ethnic minority groups were the "cruellest" fighters in the Ukraine conflict. At a briefing in Moscow, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia now considered the matter closed and hoped for a constructive dialogue between Russia and the Vatican. Reporting by ReutersOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The visit by a team from Global Rights Compliance, an international legal practice headquartered in The Hague, has not previously been reported. More than 50,000 alleged incidents of international crimes have been reported by Ukraine's prosecutor general since Russia's full-scale invasion. Widespread or systematic sexual violence could amount to crimes against humanity, generally seen as more serious, legal specialists said. He added that more than half said they had been subjected to various forms of sexual violence. UNIQUE CHALLENGESElderfield said sexual violence was not always given the prominence it should have in national and international investigations.

☆ Pentagon now more likely to support Ukrainian long-range missile attacks on Russia, The Times reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Pentagon is now more likely to supply Kyiv with longer-range weapons, according to The Times. Putin has warned that the US would be "crossing a line" if they were to supply Ukraine with long-range missiles. It is now more likely to supply Kyiv with longer-range weapons to strike deep into Russia, according to The Times. The Times also suggested that the US could supply Ukraine with hi-tech long-range weapons, including missile launchers and heavily-armed drones. President Putin has warned that the US would be "crossing a line" if they were to supply Ukraine with long-range missiles.

[1/3] Suspected Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout is escorted by members of a special police unit after a hearing at a criminal court in Bangkok October 5, 2010. "Everyone will forget about Griner tomorrow," Russian state television host Yevgeny Popov wrote on Telegram on Thursday. "Bout's life is only beginning." Bout arrived in Moscow late on Thursday after Russia and the United States swapped the arms dealer for Griner at Abu Dhabi airport. U.S. anger at Bout's release has been widely covered in the Russian media, with the pro-Kremlin tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets claiming that Department of Defense officials were "disturbed" by the exchange, citing U.S. media reports.

☆ The US secretly put limitations on its HIMARS rocket launchers before letting Ukraine have them, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Kit Gillet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The US modified HIMARS rocket launchers it sent to Ukraine, according to The Wall Street Journal. Instead, the launchers work with shorter-range munitions that can strike Russian forces occupying Ukrainian territory, but not reach far into Russia itself. Since June, the US has supplied Ukraine with at least 20 HIMARS launchers. Rockets fired from HIMARS have been used to strike Russian ammunition depots, logistics supplies and command centers on Ukrainian territory, according to the Journal. The Biden administration has so far proved reluctant to provide the weapons, according to an earlier report by The Wall Street Journal, over fears that sensitive technology could end up in the hands of US adversaries.

☆ Putin takes war to new level of 'barbarism,' U.S. diplomat says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is not sincere about peace talks with Ukraine while he is taking the war to a new level of "barbarism" by trying to turn off the lights of civilians, a top U.S. diplomat said on Saturday. "And it's very clear, whether it's the energy attacks, whether it's the rhetoric out of the Kremlin and the general attitude, that Putin is not sincere or ready for that." U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday he was prepared to speak to Putin if the Russian leader was interested in ending the war. "Putin has taken this war to a new level of barbarism, taking it into every single Ukrainian home as he tries to turn off the lights and the water and achieve what he couldn't on the battlefield," Nuland said. "Ukraine's victory, which we are sure of, will be our joint victory," Zelenskiy's office quoted him as telling Nuland.

CNN —Ukraine’s foreign minister has accused Russia of being behind a series of more than a dozen letters containing explosives or animal parts that were sent to Ukrainian diplomats around the world. “This campaign is aimed at sowing fear,” Dmytro Kuleba told CNN’s Matthew Chance in an exclusive interview in Kyiv on Friday. CNN was shown an image of one of the letters containing what officials said was the eyeball of a pig inside a padded envelope. ‘Who benefits?’Kuleba earlier urged foreign governments to guarantee maximum protection of Ukrainian diplomatic institutions in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Nikolenko also stated that the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States received a letter with a photocopy of a critical article about Ukraine.

☆ Heaviest Ukraine fighting rages in the east, NATO seeks to sustain support against Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

This brutalization of Ukraine’s people is barbaric,” Blinken told a news conference in Bucharest following a two-day NATO meeting. At the NATO foreign ministers meeting, allies Wednesday pledged to help Moldova, Georgia and Bosnia-Herzegovina as they face pressure from Russia, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and ministers said. Russia invaded Ukraine in February in what it calls a “special military operation” to rid Ukraine of nationalists it considers dangerous. “We are analyzing the intentions of the occupiers and preparing countermeasures — tougher countermeasures than is now the case,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address Wednesday evening. “We haven’t seen these Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles for about two weeks ... the first batch has probably already run out,” he told Ukraine’s main television network.

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