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☆ Zakhar Prilepin: Russia says bombing of military blogger is 'a terrorist act'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Russia has blamed the “Kyiv regime” and several Western nations for the bombing of military blogger Zakhar Prilepin’s car on Saturday. The claim was made by a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, but she provided no proof for the allegation. The incident follows the death of another Russian military blogger last month. The Russian Investigative Committee called the latest incident “a terrorist act” and said it plans to investigate the blast as such. Russian pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia reported that Prilepin had surgery earlier on Saturday and is at the hospital in stable condition.

☆ Car Bombing Injures Prominent Russian Nationalist, State Media Reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A car bombing has wounded a prominent Russian nationalist writer and killed his driver, state media reported on Saturday. The state-run Tass news agency said that the writer, Zakhar Prilepin, was wounded but conscious. Preliminary information showed that an explosive device had been planted under Mr. Prilepin’s car in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, Tass reported, but did not say who was believed to be behind the attack. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, called it a “terrorist bombing,” saying in a statement on the Telegram messaging app that Mr. Prilepin’s driver had been killed. The governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Gleb Nikitin, said that Mr. Prilepin suffered minor fractures.

The novelist is an outspoken champion of Russia's war in Ukraine and has boasted of taking part in military combat there. He was the third prominent pro-war figure to be targeted by a bomb since Moscow's full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022. [1/2] A view shows a destroyed vehicle, which transported Russian writer Zakhar Prilepin allegedly wounded in a car bombing in the Nizhny Novgorod region, Russia, May 6, 2023. On Wednesday, Russia accused Ukraine of trying to kill President Vladimir Putin with a night-time drone attack on the Kremlin. TASS quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as declining to comment on Saturday's car bomb in the absence of information from investigators.

☆ Russian nationalist writer wounded in car bombing, one dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 6 (Reuters) - A prominent Russian nationalist writer, Zakhar Prilepin, was wounded in a car bombing on Saturday that Russia immediately blamed on Ukraine and the West. It separately quoted a source in the emergency services as saying the writer was wounded but conscious after the explosion. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram: "The fact has come true: Washington and NATO fed another international terrorist cell - the Kyiv regime." Zakhar is OK."Two leading pro-war Russian propagandists have been killed in bombings since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. Darya Dugina, the daughter of a nationalist ideologue, died in a car bombing near Moscow in August, while military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in a bomb attack in a St Petersburg cafe last month.

The Ukrainian president cited prior examples of battlefield successes that were followed by Ukraine being granted new types of military aid. I would rather it was the other way round, as it would be easier for us, but it is like it is, and we are grateful for everything," the Ukrainian president said. "But we like your aircraft, just so you know Mr President," Zelenskiy quipped. "We need security guarantees today, while we are not in NATO," Zelenskiy said. A spokesperson for Zelenskiy in a statement said the Ukrainian government expected the summit to result in a joint statement.

☆ From the Soviet Union to Putin’s Russia, American Journalists Have Navigated Clampdowns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Brett Forrest | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Four weeks after Russia’s arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich , Moscow has taken aim at other American reporters working in the country, the latest sign of how once-collegial ties between the Russian government and foreign correspondents have frayed under Russian President Vladimir Putin. The U.S. denial of visas to two Russian journalists seeking to cover last week’s United Nations meeting in New York prompted Moscow to threaten retaliation against American reporters. Citing privacy concerns, a State Department spokeswoman said the agency couldn’t comment on individual visa applications. The Russian Foreign Ministry warned that “such sabotage, aimed at preventing normal journalistic work, will not remain unanswered.”

☆ Russia demands full implementation of Black Sea grain deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, April 27 (Reuters) - Only its full implementation can save the Black Sea grain deal from collapse, Russia's foreign ministry said on Thursday, reaffirming Moscow's dissatisfaction with an accord that aims to prevent a global food crisis. The deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July, allows Ukrainian grain trapped by the conflict to be safely exported from the country's Black Sea ports. But Russia has repeatedly said it will not allow the deal to be extended beyond May 18 unless the West removes obstacles to Russian grain and fertiliser exports. Russia and Ukraine are major grain producers, but Moscow says parts of the deal that are meant to allow it to export its own agricultural goods via the Black Sea are not being honoured. One of Russia's main demands in negotiations is the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) to the SWIFT payments system.

Zelensky, who has long expressed interest in speaking with Xi, said he had “a long and meaningful phone call” with the Chinese leader. Wednesday’s phone call is the first time Xi has spoken to Zelensky since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. China’s positioning as a mediator was also viewed critically as Xi visited Moscow but had still yet to speak with Zelensky. “Xi Jinping doesn’t want to put political capital behind an effort that then blows up in his face. In this case, this could mean Putin indicated to Xi that he was willing to talk to Kyiv, Menon added.

☆ Russia responds in kind to mass expulsion of its Berlin diplomats
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, April 22 (Reuters) - Russia is responding in kind to mass expulsion of its diplomats from Berlin, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. "The German authorities took a decision on another mass expulsion of employees of Russian diplomatic missions in Germany. We strongly condemn these actions of Berlin, which continues to defiantly destroy the entire array of Russian-German relations," the ministry said. It did not reveal the number of diplomats involved. "As a reaction to the hostile actions of Berlin, the Russian side decided to mirror the expulsion of German diplomats from Russia, as well as to significantly limit the maximum number of employees of German diplomatic missions in our country," the ministry said.

☆ Russia advising citizens to avoid traveling to Canada, citing attacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 22 (Reuters) - Russia is advising citizens to avoid travel to Canada, citing what it calls numerous cases of discrimination against Russians, including physical violence, its foreign ministry said on Saturday. "Due to the numerous instances of discrimination against Russian citizens ... in Canada, including physical violence, we recommend you refrain from traveling to this country for the purposes of tourism, education, and in the context of business relations," the Russian foreign ministry said in an advisory. "If you are already in Canada, we urge you to be vigilant, especially in public places." The Canadian foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment. Shortly after the war started last year, Canada advised citizens to avoid all travel to Russia.

☆ Russia´s Lavrov in Havana on Latin America drive to shore up support
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Dave Sherwood | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez in Havana, Cuba April 20, 2023. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERSHAVANA, April 20 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met on Thursday with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez in Havana, the latest in a series of visits to shore up support among Russia's closest allies in Latin America. Lavrov told reporters that Russia and Cuba, both facing sanctions from the United States, understood one another. Russia´s foreign minister earlier this week visited Brazil, Venezuela and Nicaragua, meeting with the presidents and top officials in each country. Lavrov told reporters in Havana that another such deal to provide wheat to Cuba was in the works.

April 19 (Reuters) - Russia on Wednesday accused Ukraine of sabotaging the Black Sea grain deal by demanding bribes from ship owners to register new vessels and carry out inspections under the cover of a deal the United Nations hopes could ease a global food crisis. There was no immediate comment on the allegation, levelled by Russia's Foreign Ministry, from Ukraine which has blamed Moscow for problems with the agreement. Russia and Ukraine both say the deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July, is in danger of collapsing just as Poland, Hungary and Slovakia have imposed import bans on Ukrainian grain. The problems were caused "solely as a result of the actions of Ukrainian representatives, as well as U.N. representatives, who, apparently, do not want or cannot resist them," she said. Russia and Ukraine are two of the world's key agricultural producers, and major players in the wheat, barley, maize, rapeseed, rapeseed oil, sunflower seed and sunflower oil markets.

☆ Ukraine says Black Sea grain deal ship inspections are resuming
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, April 19 (Reuters) - Inspections of ships are resuming under a U.N.-brokered agreement on the safe export of grain from Ukrainian Black Sea ports, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Wednesday. He wrote on Facebook that "ship inspections are being resumed, despite the RF's (Russian Federation's) attempts to disrupt the agreement." Kubrakov is in Turkey to discuss the status of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which was agreed by Russia and Ukraine last July to help alleviate a global food crisis. Kyiv says Russian inspectors stopped letting through vessels supposed to ship grain from Ukraine. RIA quoted the Russian foreign ministry as on Wednesday as saying Ukraine and the United Nations were causing difficulties with the ship inspections.

☆ Ukraine live war updates: 'U.S. can cheat at any moment,' Russian foreign minister says, claiming NATO's expansion proves this
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

He wrote on Facebook that "ship inspections are being resumed, despite the RF's (Russian Federation's) attempts to disrupt the agreement." Kyiv says Russian inspectors stopped letting through vessels supposed to ship grain from Ukraine. "Obviously, the Russians could not fail to take advantage of these nuances on the western (Ukrainian) border," Solsky told reporters. RIA quoted the Russian foreign ministry as on Wednesday as saying Ukraine and the United Nations were causing difficulties with the ship inspections. Ukraine and Poland reached an agreement on Tuesday to unblock transit of Ukrainian grain from Friday, but the import bans remain in place in Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.

☆ Finnish embassy in Moscow receives letter containing unknown powder
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 14 (Reuters) - Finland's embassy in Moscow has received a letter containing an unknown powder and has reported the matter to the Russian authorities, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday. Relations between Moscow and Helsinki have deteriorated sharply since Finland formally joined NATO on April 4, becoming the 31st member of the U.S.-led military alliance. The embassy informed Russia's foreign ministry that it had received three letters on Thursday, at least one of which contained a powder, Zakharova said. "The embassy of Finland will be informed of the results of the inquiry." Finland's decision to join NATO ended seven decades of strategic non-alignment which began after the country repelled an attempted Soviet invasion during World War Two.

OSLO, April 13 (Reuters) - Norway is expelling 15 Russian embassy officials that the foreign ministry said on Thursday were intelligence officers operating under the cover of diplomatic positions, a move which Moscow said it would respond to. The expulsions amount to a quarter of Russian diplomats currently accredited in Oslo, the Norwegian government said. It is the latest instance of a Western nation expelling Russian diplomats since the beginning of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. So far this year, Estonia, the Netherlands and Austria have also expelled Russian diplomats. The Nordic country still seeks to maintain normal diplomatic relations with Russia, and Russian diplomats are welcome in Norway, Huitfeldt said.

The chart showed that Serbia declined to provide training to Ukrainian forces, but had committed to sending lethal aid or had supplied it already. It also said Serbia had the political will and military ability to provide weapons to Ukraine in the future. The Pentagon also did not immediately respond to Reuters questions about the document's reference to Serbia and has previously declined to comment on any of the leaked documents. Vucic's government has professed neutrality in the Ukraine war, despite the country's deep historic, economic and cultural ties with Russia. "We didn't export any weapons or ammunition to Russia or Ukraine," he said during a March 5 visit to Qatar.

☆ Canadian Olympians among 333 banned from entering Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 12 (Reuters) - Some of Canada's best known athletes, including Olympic gold medallists Tessa Virtue and Hayley Wickenheiser, have been included on a list of 333 Canadians banned from entering Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Most of the athletes on the list are retired Canadian Olympians who signed a letter last month urging the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) to support a ban of Russia and Belarus from taking part at the 2024 Paris Summer Games unless Russia withdraws from Ukraine. The sanctions are mostly symbolic, with Russia banned from hosting major sporting events and Canadian athletes having no reason to travel to the country. Others on the list barred from entering Russia include the Governor General of Canada Mary Simon and members of the Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia provincial legislatures. Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto, editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Moldova outdoor assembly to confirm pro-European orientation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Alexander Tanas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries wedged between Ukraine and Romania, has been buffeted by Russia's war in Ukraine which President Maia Sandu has repeatedly denounced. Moldova and its population of 2.5 million, Sandu said, stood at a crossroads, with collective action needed for its future. Big decisions are taken by people during Great National Assemblies," she said. ... We are Europeans and at the Great National Assembly on 21st May, we will show that this is the path we have chosen." Moldova, like Ukraine, has formally sought to become a member of the European Union, a process which normally takes several years.

☆ 'It was heartbreaking': Ukraine children back home after alleged deportation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Anna Dabrowska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

But once in Crimea, Russian officials said the children would be staying for longer. Dasha's mother Natalia said she had travelled from Ukraine to Crimea via Poland, Belarus and Moscow to get her daughters. "It was heartbreaking to look at children left behind who were crying behind the fence," she said. The children were taken to what Russians called stays in summer camps from occupied parts of Ukraine's Kharkiv and Kherson regions, Kuleba said. Save Ukraine said they came home on a previous mission last month that returned 18 children in total.

☆ Hundreds attend Moscow funeral of pro-war blogger
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russia charged Darya Trepova, 26, on Tuesday with terrorist offences over the killing of Tatarsky in the St Petersburg cafe where he had been due to talk. [1/5] People attend the funeral of Russian military blogger Maxim Fomin widely known by the name of Vladlen Tatarsky, who was recently killed in a bomb attack in a St Petersburg cafe, in Moscow, Russia, April 8, 2023. Tatarsky made extensive reporting trips to the front lines in Ukraine and had ties to Wagner group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who on Saturday thanked the blogger on behalf of his fighters. The Wagner group has been spearheading efforts in recent months to capture the city of Bakhmut in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Ukraine has not taken responsibility for the cafe bomb blast and instead blamed "domestic terrorism" in Russia.

☆ Ukraine gets back 31 children from Russia after alleged deportation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Olena Harmash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Kyiv estimates nearly 19,500 children have been taken to Russia since Moscow invaded in February last year, in what it condemns as illegal deportations. It was special regarding the number of children we managed to return and also because of its complexity," said Mykola Kuleba, the founder of the Save Ukraine humanitarian organisation. Kuleba said that all the children who have been brought back to Ukraine by Save Ukraine had said that no one in Russia was trying to find their parents in Ukraine. The children were taken to what Russians called stays in summer camps from occupied parts of Ukraine's Kharkiv and Kherson regions, Kuleba said. Save Ukraine said they were returned to Ukraine on a previous rescue mission last month that returned 18 children in total.

☆ Bomb kills Russian pro-war blogger in St. Petersburg café
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A leading Russian military blogger was killed on April 2, 2023 in an explosion in Russia's second-largest city of St. Petersburg, the interior ministry said. Olga Maltseva | AFP | Getty ImagesWell-known Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed by a bomb blast in a St Petersburg café on Sunday in what appeared to be the second assassination on Russian soil of a figure closely associated with the war in Ukraine. The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on Sunday he would "not blame the Kyiv regime" for it. Vladlen Tatarsky Russian blogger, speaking last SeptemberBut another leading Russian official pointed the finger at Ukraine, without providing evidence. The Kyiv regime is a terrorist regime.

☆ Russia complains its journalists are under attack and facing 'witch hunts' just days after arresting an American reporter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia said its journalists face attacks and "witch hunts" after the death of blogger Vladlen Tatarsky. The claims come days after Russia arrested WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich for alleged espionage. The comments follow abuse of journalists in Russia and come just days after the widely-condemned arrest by Russian authorities of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich for alleged espionage. In her comments on Tatarsky's death, Zakharova also assessed the international reputation of Russian journalists, making broad claims about the discrimination they face that ignore Russian actions at home. These criticisms of how Russia's journalists are treated sharply contrast with the treatment of journalists in Russia, where reporters have been killed or jailed.

☆ Russia claims its journalists are under attack and facing 'witch hunts' just days after arresting an American reporter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

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