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☆ UK says a supersonic Russian bomber likely to have been destroyed in drone attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Host Photo Agency/RIA Novosti/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 22 (Reuters) - British military intelligence said on Tuesday that a weekend drone attack on an airfield deep inside Russia which Moscow blamed on Ukraine is highly likely to have destroyed a TU-22M3 supersonic long-range bomber. Kyiv, which on Monday claimed to have attacked another Russian military airfield, says Russia has used the TU-22M3 to bomb targets across Ukraine. Russia's Defence Ministry said on Saturday that a military airfield in the Novgorod region where such planes are stationed had been attacked by a Ukrainian drone and one plane had been damaged. 'SUCCESSFUL ATTACK'In one of its regular updates on Ukraine, British military intelligence said that "a Tu-22M3 BACKFIRE medium bomber of Russia's Long Range Aviation (LRA) was highly likely destroyed at Soltsy-2 Air base in Novgorod Oblast, 650 km (403 miles) away from Ukraine’s border". Russia has often used supersonic TU-22M3 planes to bomb Ukraine, it added, criticising what it called the "notoriously inaccurate" heavy anti-ship missiles which the plane fires.

Persons: Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones, Giles Elgood Organizations: Tupolev, REUTERS, Agency, RIA, Moscow, Russia's Defence, Aviation, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Kyiv, Novgorod, Ukrainian, British, Soltsy, Novgorod Oblast, Ukraine’s

☆ Race for moon resources has begun, says Russia's space chief after failed lunar mission
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The race to explore and develop the moon's resources has begun and Russia must remain a player despite the failure of its first lunar mission in 47 years, the head of Russia's space agency Roskosmos said on Monday. Russia's Luna-25 space craft spun out of control and crashed into the moon on Saturday after a problem preparing for pre-landing orbit, underscoring the post-Soviet decline of a once mighty space programme. "Today it is also of a practical value because, of course, the race for the development of the natural resources of the moon has begun. And in the future, the moon will become a platform for deep space exploration, an ideal platform." Russia has said it will launch further lunar missions and then explore the possibility of a joint Russian-China crewed mission and even a lunar base.

Persons: Roskosmos, Russia's Luna, Yury Borisov, Vladimir Soldatkin, Gareth Jones Organizations: NASA, Artemis Accords, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Handout, Russian, China, United States

☆ Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft produces first results, space agency says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A picture taken from the camera of the lunar landing spacecraft Luna-25 shows the Zeeman crater located on the far side of the moon, August 17, 2023. Roscosmos/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 19 (Reuters) - The Russian spacecraft on a mission to the moon's south pole has produced its first results and they are being analysed, Russia's national space agency Roskosmos said on Saturday. The agency also posted images of the moon's Zeeman crater taken from the Luna-25 spacecraft, which is scheduled to make a landing on the south pole on Monday after circling the Earth's only natural satellite for five days. The Zeeman crater is the third deepest in the moon's southern hemisphere, the agency said, measuring 190 km in diameter and eight km in depth. The Luna-25 entered the moon's orbit on Wednesday, the first Russian spacecraft to do so since 1976.

Persons: Roskosmos, Luna, Gareth Jones, Jane Merriman Organizations: REUTERS, NASA, Thomson Locations: Handout, Russian

☆ Moscow says warplane damaged in Ukrainian drone attack on airfield
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Aug 19 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian drone targeted a military airfield in Russia's Novgorod region, causing a fire and damaging one warplane, Russia's Defence Ministry said on Saturday. In a separate statement cited by Russian news agencies, the Defence Ministry said a Ukrainian plane-type drone had been shot down over the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine. Drone air strikes deep inside Russia have increased in recent months. One smashed into a building in central Moscow on Friday after Russian air defences shot it down, disrupting air traffic at all civilian airports of the Russian capital. Overnight, Russia's air defence forces also shot down a Ukraine-launched missile over the Crimean peninsula, the Defence Ministry said earlier.

Persons: Gareth Jones, Frances Kerry, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Russia's Defence, Defence Ministry, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Ukrainian, Russia's Novgorod, Novgorod, Moscow, Russia's, Ukraine, Belgorod, Russia, Crimea

☆ Russian spacecraft adjusts moon orbit in preparation for landing
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] A picture taken from the camera of the lunar landing spacecraft Luna-25 shows the Zeeman crater located on the far side of the moon, August 17, 2023. Roscosmos/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsAug 18 (Reuters) - Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft adjusted its orbit on Friday as it prepared to attempt the first landing near the south pole of the moon, space agency Roscosmos said. "Today at 09:20 Moscow time (0620 GMT), the propulsion system of the automatic station performed an orbit correction lasting 40 seconds. Its goal is to provide the best conditions for the subsequent construction of a pre-landing orbit," Roscosmos said in a statement. Russian space chief Yuri Borisov said last week that Luna-25 aimed to land on Aug. 21.

Persons: Russia's Luna, Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, Luna, Mark Trevelyan, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Thomson Locations: Handout, Moscow, Ukraine

The need to reintroduce stringent capital controls comes as Russian authorities grapple with a sharply weakening rouble, which tumbled past 100 to the dollar on Monday. One source at an exporting firm said the discussions concerned the forced conversion of up to 90% of exporters' revenues. Exporters who fail to return revenues to Russia could lose government support measures, too. One Russian banking source told Reuters that about $39 billion is stuck in Indian banks, which oil companies are unable to return to Russia. The high-level source said a minimal level of revenues was held in rupees, with even less in roubles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Elena Fabrichnayaand Anastasia Lyrchikova, Gleb Stolyarov, Alexander Marrow, Gareth Jones, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, RBC, FX, Central Bank Governor, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine MOSCOW, Ukraine, Russia's, Moscow, India, Tbilisi

☆ Tumbling rouble claws back ground as central bank to meet
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Putin's economic adviser Maxim Oreshkin earlier said the central bank could ensure that the pace of lending drops to sustainable levels with higher rates. "The central bank has all the tools to normalise the situation in the near future." Asked earlier whether it might make an emergency hike from the current 8.5%, the central bank declined to comment. "The central bank is not fully in control," independent Moscow-based economist Ian Melkumov told Reuters. "The central bank doesn't want to kill the economy and businesses in the same way it had to last year," he said.

Persons: Rouble, Vladimir Putin's, rouble, Putin, Maxim Oreshkin, Oreshkin, Denis Popov, Popov, Matt Vogel, REUTERS Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Vladimir Solovyev, Ivan, Timothy Ash, Ian Melkumov, Alexander Marrow, Marc Jones, Gareth Jones, Philippa Fletcher, Christina Fincher Organizations: TASS, of Russia's, FIM, Moscow News Agency, Handout, REUTERS Central Bank Governor, Popular, Kremlin, Reuters, BlueBay Asset Management, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, London

☆ Russian rouble sinks, Kremlin blames loose monetary policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"The main source of rouble weakening and accelerating inflation is soft monetary policy," Oreshkin wrote. "The central bank has all the tools to normalise the situation in the near future and ensure that lending rates are reduced to sustainable levels. Last week, Russia effectively abandoned its budget rule, with the central bank halting the finance ministry's FX purchases to try and reduce volatility. "The central bank is not fully in control," independent Moscow-based economist Ian Melkumov told Reuters, although it has aggressive tools that it is currently reluctant to use. "(But) the central bank doesn't want to kill the economy and businesses in the same way it had to last year."

Persons: Kremlin, Rouble, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Maxim Oreshkin, Oreshkin, Timothy Ash, Ian Melkumov, Alexander Marrow, Gareth Jones Organizations: TASS, Kremlin, of Russia, Moscow News Agency, Handout, REUTERS, Reuters, BlueBay Asset Management, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, London

☆ Kremlin blames loose monetary policy as rouble slides past 100 vs dollar
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"The main source of rouble weakening and accelerating inflation is soft monetary policy," Oreshkin wrote. "The central bank has all the tools to normalise the situation in the near future and ensure that lending rates are reduced to sustainable levels. "It is in the interests of the Russian economy to have a strong rouble." The central bank hiked rates by 100 basis points in July to 8.5%, having held them steady since September. Last week, Russia effectively abandoned its budget rule, with the central bank halting the finance ministry's FX purchases to try and reduce volatility.

Persons: Kremlin, Rouble, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Maxim Oreshkin, Oreshkin, Timothy Ash, Alexander Marrow, Felix Light, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones Organizations: Moscow News Agency, Handout, TASS, Kremlin, Bank of, BlueBay Asset Management, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, MOSCOW, Ukraine, Bank of Russia, London

☆ Russian c.bank to hold emergency rate meeting as rouble tumbles
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A Russian rouble banknote is seen in front of a descending and rising stock graph in this illustration taken March 1, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoMOSCOW, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Russia's central bank will hold an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday to discuss the level of its key interest rate, it said on Monday, as the sharply weakening rouble prompted calls for higher borrowing costs. President Vladimir Putin's economic adviser rebuked the central bank on Monday as the rouble slid past 101 per U.S. dollar, blaming loose monetary policy in a sign of growing discord among Russia's monetary authorities. The bank, whose key rate is currently 8.5%, had been scheduled to hold its next meeting on rates on Sept. 15. The rouble pared its losses and firmed back to below 100 per U.S. dollar after the central bank announced Tuesday's meeting.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Vladimir Putin's, Alexander Marrow, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Moscow

☆ Russia vows retaliation for Ukraine's 'terrorist attack' on Crimean Bridge
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Aug 12 (Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Ministry condemned on Saturday what it called Ukraine's "terrorist attack" on the Crimean Bridge, saying it put innocent civilians' lives at risk, and vowed retaliation. "There can be no justification for such barbaric actions and they will not go unanswered," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. Earlier, Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had thwarted a Ukrainian rocket attack on the 12-mile (19 km) bridge, which links Russian-annexed Crimea to Russia across the Kerch Strait. The ministry said Russian forces had also shot down a number of Ukrainian drones targeting the peninsula. Reporting by Gareth Jones; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Maria Zakharova, Gareth Jones, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Foreign, Russia's Defence Ministry, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Crimea, Russia, Kerch

☆ Russia says it thwarts Ukrainian rocket attack on Crimean Bridge, downs drones
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aug 12 (Reuters) - Russia's Defence Ministry said on Saturday that Ukraine had tried unsuccessfully to strike the Crimean Bridge across the Kerch Strait with S-200 rockets, but that no damage or casualties had been caused. The 12-mile (19-km) bridge, which links Russian-annexed Crimea to Russia, has come under repeated attack from Ukrainian forces since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. "The Ukrainian missile was detected in a timely manner and was intercepted in the air by Russian air defence systems. Separately, Russian forces destroyed 20 Ukrainian drones launched onto the Crimean Peninsula earlier on Saturday, Russia's Defence Ministry said. It was not immediately clear what was targeted in those reported attacks on the Black Sea peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Persons: Sergei Aksyonov, Vladimir Putin, Lidia Kelly, Felix, Gareth Jones, William Mallard, Helen Popper Our Organizations: Russia's Defence, Ukrainian, Russian, Russia's Defence Ministry, Reuters, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kerch, Russian, Crimea, Russia, Ukrainian, Moscow

☆ EU starts preparing sanctions against Niger junta - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Gabriela Baczynska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An EU official involved in sanctions work and an EU diplomat said the bloc has started discussing the criteria for punitive measures. "The next step would be sanctions against individual members of the junta" deemed responsible, the EU diplomat said. National officials were discussing the matter on Wednesday, said the official and another EU diplomat. "The EU is ready to support ECOWAS's decisions, including the adoption of sanctions," said Peter Stano, the EU executive's spokesman on foreign policy. EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss the Niger situation, including sanctions, at a meeting in Toledo, Spain, on Aug. 31.

Persons: Niger's, Mohamed Bazoum, Peter Stano, Gabriela Baczynska, Andreas Rinke, Crispian Balmer, Angus MacSwan, Gareth Jones Organizations: Union, Reuters, United, EU, Economic, West African States, ECOWAS, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Niger, United Nations, EU, Toledo, Spain, Berlin, Rome

☆ Belarus opposition march in Warsaw on anniversary of contested election
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WARSAW, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Hundreds of opponents of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko marched through the Polish capital Warsaw on Wednesday to mark the third anniversary of their unsuccessful attempt to unseat him in an election they say was rigged. Protests dragged on for months after Lukashenko claimed victory in the Aug. 9, 2020 presidential election. Western countries backed the protesters' demand for a peaceful transfer of power and slapped economic sanctions on Belarus. [1/5]People take part in Belarusians' march through Warsaw on the third anniversary of the 2020 presidential election which was followed by mass protests over alleged electoral fraud, in Warsaw, Poland, August 9, 2023. Exiled opponents of Lukashenko met in Warsaw on Sunday to display unity and plan strategy including the issuance of "New Belarus" passports.

Persons: Alexander Lukashenko, Lukashenko, Sviatlana Mishurova, Kacper, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Kuba Stezycki, Alan Charlish, Gareth Jones Organizations: WARSAW, Warsaw, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Belarus, Poland, Warsaw

REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File PhotoSummary Funds were meant to narrow socio-economic gapsSmotrich says money would go to criminals, militantsLawmakers, colleges criticise decision as racistJERUSALEM, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has frozen funds for Arab towns and Palestinian education programmes in East Jerusalem, citing crime and safety fears and prompting accusations of racism. "Arab citizens are entitled to those funds, which were meant to close the gaps between Arab and Jewish communities," he told Reuters. 'HATRED AND RACISM'Smotrich said a separate 200 million shekels for encouraging academic studies among Palestinians from East Jerusalem would also be frozen until what he described as "extremist Islamic activity" on campus was eradicated. Smotrich said the new East Jerusalem plan would have a total increased budget but that although encouraging academic studies among the city's Palestinians was a worthy cause, this also had unwelcome consequences. Reporting by Henriette Chacar and Maayan Lubell; Editing by James Mackenzie and Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Amir Cohen, Bezalel Smotrich, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Kan, Moshe Arbel, Mansour Abbas, Yair Lapid, Smotrich, Ameer Bisharat, Israel, Netanyahu, Henriette Chacar, James Mackenzie, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Israeli, Reuters, National Committee of, Facebook, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Thomson Locations: Rahat, Israel, JERUSALEM, East Jerusalem, Smotrich, Arab, Jerusalem, Gaza

☆ West Africa bloc pins hopes on Niger coup mediation ahead of summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Members of a military council that staged a coup in Niger attend a rally at a stadium in Niamey, Niger, August 6, 2023. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has scheduled the summit to discuss its standoff with the Niger junta, which seized power on July 26 and ignored an Aug. 6 deadline to stand down. In a sign of the United States' interest in the country, U.S. acting deputy secretary of state Victoria Nuland flew to Niamey on Monday. MILITARY ACTION PLANThe 15-nation ECOWAS bloc has taken a harder stance on the Niger coup than it did on other recent government overthrows. "It is fundamentally not in the interests of regional states."

Persons: Mahamadou, Mohamed Bazoum, Antony Blinken, Victoria Nuland, Bazoum, Ben Hunter, Alessandra Prentice, Nellie Peyton, Alexander Winning, Gareth Jones, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, West African States, French, RFI, ACTION, ECOWAS, Thomson Locations: Niger, Niamey, NIAMEY, West, Central Africa, United States, Europe, China, Russia, Africa

☆ Ukraine says three killed in Russian shelling of Kherson, Kharkiv region
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Aug 7 (Reuters) - A woman was killed early on Monday when Russian forces shelled the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, while two other people were killed in Russian shelling of border areas of the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine, officials said. Both the city of Kherson and parts of the Kharkiv region are directly adjacent to the front line. The Ukrainian military has reported increased Russian attacks in the Kharkiv region in recent days. Ukraine recaptured Kherson city and parts of the Kherson region in November after months of Russian occupation, but Russian forces regularly shell the city and surrounding areas from across the Dnipro River. This month a doctor was killed and five medical workers were wounded in Russian shelling of a Kherson hospital.

Persons: Oleksandr Prokudin, Prokudin, Andriy Yermak, Pavel Polityuk, Robert Birsel, Gareth Jones Organizations: Ukrainian, Ukraine, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Kherson, Kharkiv, Ukraine, Dnipro, Russia

☆ Jailed Russian opposition politician Navalny gets 19 more years in prison, says his team
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is seen on a screen via video link from a penal colony in the Vladimir Region during a hearing at the Basmanny district court in Moscow, Russia April 26, 2023. REUTERS/Yulia Morozova/File PhotoMELEKHOVO, Russia, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was sentenced on Friday to an additional 19 years in prison after being found guilty on a series of new charges, Navalny's supporters said on social media. In a video feed from a court hearing at a penal colony east of Moscow, Navalny could be seen wearing a black prison uniform and standing with his arms folded as he listened to the verdicts. Navalny, the most prominent opponent of President Vladimir Putin, is already serving 11-1/2 years in the penal colony on charges including fraud that he says were trumped up to silence him. Reporting by Reuters, writing by Mark Trevelyan Editing by Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Alexei Navalny, Yulia Morozova, Navalny's, Navalny, Vladimir Putin, Mark Trevelyan, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Vladimir Region, Basmanny, Moscow, Russia, Russian

☆ What are Russia's new charges against jailed Putin foe Navalny?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Yulia Morozova/File PhotoAug 4 (Reuters) - Russian state prosecutors have asked a court to sentence jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny to a further 20 years in a penal colony on various criminal charges including extremism, with a verdict expected on Friday. Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's fiercest and most vocal domestic opponent, is already serving sentences totalling 11-1/2 years on fraud and other charges, which he says were trumped up to silence him. Navalny says the charges, like all those before them, have been fabricated to keep him out of public life and politics. It was not clear what the terrorism case could relate to, but Russia's Federal Security Service has said that Ukraine and Russian opposition figures, including Navalny supporters, were involved in the killing of a prominent Russian war blogger. Terrorism carries a sentence in Russia of up to 35 years.

Persons: Alexei Navalny, Yulia Morozova, Navalny, Vladimir Putin's, Dmitry Peskov, Filipp Lebedev, Lucy Papachristou, Gareth Jones, Conor Humphries Organizations: REUTERS, Nazism, Federal Security Service, Terrorism, Thomson Locations: Vladimir Region, Basmanny, Moscow, Russia, Russian, Ukraine

Navalny, 47, President Vladimir Putin's fiercest domestic critic, is already serving sentences totalling 11-1/2 years on fraud and other charges that he says are also bogus. What is called 'Stalinist'," said Navalny, who is able to post on social media via his supporters and lawyers. Who expect it and who are willing to make sacrifices for its birth," Navalny said, according to a text supplied by his aides. Putin, in power since 1999, is expected to run for another six-year presidential term in 2024. His supporters cast Navalny as a Russian version of South Africa's Nelson Mandela who will one day be freed from prison to govern the country.

Persons: Alexei Navalny, Evgenia, Vladimir Putin's, Navalny, Putin, Africa's Nelson Mandela, Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones, Conor Humphries Organizations: IK, REUTERS, Prosecutors, MOSCOW, Russia, West, CIA, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Pokrov, Moscow, Russia, Melekhovo, Ukraine, Germany, Soviet

☆ Russia fines Apple for not deleting 'inaccurate' content on Ukraine conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An Apple logo is seen at the entrance of an Apple Store in downtown Brussels, Belgium March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File PhotoSummaryCompanies This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in UkraineMOSCOW, Aug 3 (Reuters) - A Moscow court fined Apple (AAPL.O) 400,000 roubles ($4,274) on Thursday for not deleting "inaccurate" content about what Russia calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine, Russian news agencies reported. The TASS news agency said it was the first time Apple had been fined for that offence. The company paused all product sales in Russia shortly after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, and limited its Apple Pay service in Russia. Moscow has clashed with Big Tech for years over content, censorship, data and local representation in disputes that escalated after Russia sent its armed forces into Ukraine.

Persons: Yves Herman, Apple, Alexander Marrow, Gareth Jones Organizations: Apple, REUTERS, Russia, TASS, Big Tech, Federal Antimonopoly Service, FAS, Wikimedia Foundation, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Russia, Ukraine MOSCOW, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian

☆ Russia targets neighbour Kazakhstan with army recruitment ads
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Filipp Lebedev | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic bordering Russia, is home to over 3 million ethnic Russians and has traditionally been one of Russia's closest allies. Clearly targeting Kazakhs, ads seen by Reuters feature Russian and Kazakh flags and the slogan "Shoulder to shoulder". The ads lead to a website that offers potential recruits a chance to join the Russian army in the Sakhalin region in Russia's Far East. Joining military conflicts abroad for pay is illegal under Kazakh law. In Kyrgyzstan, a local man was sentenced to 10 years in prison in May for joining Russian proxy forces in Ukraine's Luhansk region.

Persons: Russia's, Wagner, Mariya Gordeyeva, Gareth Jones Organizations: Russian, Astana, Moscow, Reuters, Human Capital Development Agency of, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Information, Social Development, Soviet Central, Thomson Locations: Kazakhstan, Soviet, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakh, Russian, Sakhalin, Russia's Far, Lysychansk, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine's Luhansk, Moscow, Bishkek

☆ Turkmen airline suspends Moscow flights over safety concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A man checks the debris next to a damaged office building in the Moscow City following a reported Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow, Russia, August 1, 2023. REUTERS/Evgenia NovozheninaASHGABAT, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Turkmenistan's flagship airline has suspended flights to Moscow, it said on Wednesday, citing safety concerns after Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian capital. "Due to the situation in the Moscow air zone, and based on a risk assessment in order to ensure flight safety, all Turkmenistan Airlines flights on the Ashgabat-Moscow-Ashgabat route will be suspended," the airline said in a statement. Turkmenistan Airlines said it would now fly instead to Kazan, which is more than 700 km (440 miles) east of Moscow. The drone attacks prompted Vnukovo, one of Moscow's airports, to close briefly but it later resumed full operations.

Persons: Vnukovo, Marat Gurt, Olzhas, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Turkmenistan Airlines, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Ukrainian, Russia, Evgenia, ASHGABAT, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Kazan, Ukraine

☆ Lukashenko taunts Poland again over Wagner troops near border
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg, Russia July 23, 2023. Sputnik/Alexei Danichev/Kremlin via REUTERS/File Photo License this content on Reuters ConnectAug 1 (Reuters) - Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday taunted Poland over the presence of Russian Wagner mercenaries near the NATO country's border, saying Warsaw should thank him for keeping them in check. State news agency Belta quoted him on Tuesday as saying that the Poles "should pray that we're holding onto (the Wagner fighters) and providing for them. Rzeszow is a city in southeast Poland near the Ukrainian border. On Saturday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said a group of 100 Wagner fighters had moved closer to the Belarusian city of Grodno near the Polish border, describing the situation as "increasingly dangerous".

Persons: Alexander Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin, Alexei Danichev, Russian Wagner, Wagner, Belta, Mateusz Morawiecki, Lukashenko, Putin, Mark Trevelyan, Gareth Jones Organizations: Sputnik, REUTERS, Reuters, Tuesday, NATO, Polish, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, Kremlin, Poland, Warsaw, Belarus, Lukashenko, Rzeszow, State, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Grodno, Brest, Ukraine

☆ Kremlin seeks more info about talks in Saudi, Ukraine says Moscow unwelcome
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The meeting was first reported last Saturday in the Wall Street Journal, which said Saudi Arabia would invite Western states, Ukraine and major developing countries to talks focusing on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's peace plan. The paper said Kyiv and Western countries hoped that the talks could lead to international backing for peace terms favouring Ukraine. Peskov, however, also restated Moscow's position that it currently saw no grounds for peace talks with Kyiv. "If there's acceptance from both Ukraine and Russia to look for solutions to achieve peace, we'll participate," he told reporters in Mexico City. Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy's chief of staff, said Ukraine would be "boundlessly happy if West, East, South and North work in this format towards renewing a system of world security".

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy's, Dmitry Peskov, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrado, we'll, Andriy Yermak, Yermak, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Vladimir Putin, Gareth Jones, Ron Popeski, Stephen Coates Organizations: Press, State Emergency Service of, REUTERS, Street, Ukraine, Kyiv, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Kryvyi Rih, State Emergency Service of Ukraine, Handout, REUTERS MOSCOW, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kyiv, Western, Mexico City, East, South, Saudi

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