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☆ What is Georgia’s ‘foreign agents’ bill, and why is Europe so alarmed?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Georgia’s parliament is set to pass a highly controversial so-called “foreign agents” bill that has triggered widespread protests across the former Soviet republic nestled in the Caucasus Mountains. Here’s what you need to know about the proposed law and the uproar it has caused. The bill would require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “agents of foreign influence” or face crippling fines. About 50,000 protesters gathered in Tbilisi to protest the proposed legislation on Sunday. The proposed law is modeled after a similar one in Russia that the Kremlin has used to increasingly snuff out opposition and civil society.

Persons: CNN —, Salome Zourabichvili, Irakli Kobakhidze, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Vano Shlamov, Ivanishvili, they’ve, Georgia’s, Kobakhidze, Mirian, Jake Sullivan, ”, Dmitry Peskov, “, Ursula von der Leyen, Anna Chernova Organizations: CNN, Getty, European, House, Washington, Georgian, EU, “ Locations: Soviet, Caucasus, Tbilisi, Here’s, Georgian, Georgia, AFP, Russia, Europe, Ukraine, Soviet Union, European Union, Georgia’s, Didn’t Georgia, Anadolu, backsliding, George, Brussels, “ Georgia

☆ Sergei Shoigu: Putin replaces Russia’s defense minister with a civilian, citing rising military costs and need for innovation
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Anna Chernova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Russian President Vladimir Putin has replaced his defense minister Sergei Shoigu with a civilian, Andrey Belousov, citing the country’s rising military spending and the need for “innovation.”Shoigu had been “relieved” of his post of Minister of Defense by presidential decree and been appointed Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday night local time. Shoigu would also become Putin’s deputy in Russia’s Military-Industrial Commission, Peskov said, while Nikolai Patrushev, the previous Secretary of the Security Council, would “transfer to another job.”Belousov, who previously served as first deputy prime minister, is a civilian. “Today on the battlefield, the winner is the one who is more open to innovation,” Peskov said. Peskov added that the new appointment did not signal a shift in Russia’s current military system. In his new role, Shoigu will oversee Russia’s military industrial complex, Peskov said.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Andrey Belousov, ” Shoigu, ”, Dmitry Peskov, Shoigu, Peskov, Nikolai Patrushev, ” Belousov, Putin, ” Peskov, It’s, Valery Gerasimov, Shoigu’s, Timur Ivanov, Ivanov, Ukraine –, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin Organizations: CNN, Defense, Russia’s Security, Russia’s, Industrial Commission, Security, Russian Ministry of Defense, of Economic, Staff Locations: Ukraine, Russia

CNN —Vladimir Putin has formally begun his fifth term as Russia’s president in a carefully choreographed inauguration ceremony, in a country he has shaped in his image after first taking office nearly a quarter of a century ago. Putin won Russia’s stage-managed election by an overwhelming majority in March, securing for himself another six-year term that could see him rule until at least his 77th birthday. Attendees wait in the Kremlin as Putin arrives for his inauguration ceremony. Putin waves during his inauguration ceremony. To ensure it has enough drones and missiles to bombard Ukraine, Russia has also entered into deeper partnerships with Iran and North Korea.

Persons: CNN — Vladimir Putin, Putin, – Putin, “, Matthew Miller, Putin’s, Maxim Shemetov, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Alexey Navalny, Navalny, ”, ” Putin Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, US State Department, Reuters, US Embassy, Presidential Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United States, Kremlin, Moscow, Russian, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Iran, North Korea

☆ Putin orders tactical nuclear weapons drills in response to Western ‘threats’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Anna Chernova | Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian forces to rehearse deploying tactical nuclear weapons, as part of military drills to respond to what he called “threats” by the West. Since invading Ukraine in 2022, Putin has repeatedly made veiled threats to use tactical nuclear weapons against the West, but Monday marked the first time Russia has publicly announced drills. “During the exercises, a set of measures will be carried out to practice the issues of preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons,” Russia’s defense ministry said. Non-strategic, or “tactical,” nuclear weapons can be used in battlefield situations, carrying less power than strategic nuclear weapons, which have the potential to level entire cities. Putin said Russia would not be the first to test nuclear weapons, but would do so in the event of a US test.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Emmanuel Macron, I’m, ” Macron, Ludovic Marin, David Cameron, ” Cameron, Macron, “, Joe Biden, ” Organizations: CNN, Russia, Economist, Getty, United, Ukraine, Kyiv, State Department, US, military’s, Staff, Southern Military District Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Western, Europe, AFP, United Kingdom, United States, Moscow, Hiroshima, Nagasaki

☆ ‘Ghostly’ city: How Russia’s war in Ukraine is taking a toll on its own Belgorod region
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Anna Chernova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

In recent weeks, the Belgorod region has been subject to almost daily shelling and drone attacks. Russian authorities blame Ukraine and report having repelled the attacks, while also admitting destruction and casualties caused by them. The Belgorod region has borne the brunt of the war compared to more distant Russian regions, which have been relatively untouched. The governor of Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on March 23 that 24 people had been killed and 152 injured in the span of less than two weeks. Following a major air attack on Ukraine by Russia overnight into December 29, Kyiv retaliated a day later by targeting the Belgorod region.

Persons: Vyacheslav Gladkov, ‘, Timur Khaliullin, ” Khaliullin, “, Khaliullin, Natalia Izotova, ”, Izotova, Gladkov, Kyiv's, Emil Leegunov, we’ve, It’s, ” Elizaveta, Yevhen Titov, Vasily, we’re, ” Vasily, Vladimir Putin, ” Izotova Organizations: CNN, Belgorod Philharmonic, Kyiv, Getty, Victory, Nazi, Reuters, Belgorod Locations: Belgorod, Russia’s, Ukraine, Russia, ”, Russia, Russian, Anadolu, Elizaveta, Kharkiv, Ukraine’s, St, Petersburg, Bryansk, Makhachkala, Grayvoron, Nazi Germany, Ukrainian

CNN —A Polish man has been charged over claims he assisted an alleged Russian plot to assassinate Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to authorities in Poland and Ukraine. Prosecutors said the man agreed to provide information to Russian spies about security at Rzeszów-Jasionka airport, in southeastern Poland, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the border with Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities said they uncovered the plot and handed key evidence to Polish officials, who then detained the accused on Polish territory. “Our security authorities have prevented possible explosive detonations that were intended to affect and undermine our military aid to Ukraine. The Russian Embassy in Berlin dismissed the accusations as an “outright provocation,” Russian state news agency TASS reported.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, “, Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Prosecutors, Zelensky, Nancy Faeser Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian Security Service, Federal Public Locations: Poland, Ukraine, Jasionka, Zelensky, Ukrainian, Europe, Russia, Mykolaiv, Russian, Bavarian, Bayreuth, Karlsruhe, Germany, Berlin

CNN —Floods have swamped parts of Russia and Kazakhstan after Europe’s third-longest river burst its banks, forcing more than 100,000 people to evacuate and sparking protests against the authorities. The Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin would on Wednesday receive reports from the governors of the three seriously affected regions: Orenburg, Kurgan and Tyumen. Video posts on social media showed hundreds of protesters gathering outside the city hall in Orsk, Orenburg, chanting “Shame! Shame!” and “Putin, help!” Other footage showed demonstrators accusing the state of “doing nothing” and criticizing the city’s mayor, Vasily Kozupitsa. In one video, Orenburg governor Denis Pasler tells a news conference he should be on vacation rather than responding to the floods.

Persons: Kassym, Jomart Tokayev, ”, Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin, Kurgan, Putin, Peskov, ” Peskov, “ Putin, Vasily Kozupitsa, Yulia Navalnaya, Alexey Navalny, Evgeniy Lukyanov, Navalnaya, unsympathetically, Denis Pasler, “, ” Navalnaya, Aleksandr Kurenkov, Yerassyl, Kazinform Organizations: CNN, Europe’s, AP, Residents, Getty, Kazakh Emergencies Ministry, Kazakh Locations: Russia, Kazakhstan, Russia’s Orenburg, Orenburg, Kurgan, Tyumen, Orsk, Kazakh, Petropavl, AFP, Soviet Union

☆ Russian nature reserve wants volunteers to help toads cross busy road
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Issy Ronald | Anna Chernova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Why did the toad cross the road? And this is why a Russian nature reserve is looking for people to help its local toads traverse a busy road later this year. The toads have to cross the road to reach a lake where they lay their eggs. So, in order to preserve the population, the reserve seeks the help of volunteers every year to help the toads safely reach their spawning grounds. The reserve requires volunteers to complete registration as well as training before they can help the toads cross the road, and it urges citizens who aren’t trained in toad-marshalling not to touch the creatures as this could harm them.

Persons: aren’t Organizations: CNN, Petersburg’s, Environmental Management, Environmental Locations: Russian, ” St, St . Petersburg

CNN —Ukraine launched a major drone attack on an airbase in Russia’s Rostov region, killing Russian servicemen and destroying fighter jets, according to a Ukrainian source with knowledge of the operation. According to the ministry, air defense systems intercepted 44 UAVs over the Rostov region, six UAVs over the Krasnodar region, and one each over the Saratov, Kursk and Belgorod regions. The region of Rostov, which borders Ukraine in Russia’s south, has previously been impacted by Kyiv’s strategic aerial strikes. In September 2023, a drone attack caused an explosion near Russia’s military headquarters in the city of Rostov-on-Don. Ukraine is showing increasing willingness to launch targeted strikes across the border, in an apparent attempt to slowly wear down domestic Russian support for the war and degrade Russian infrastructure.

Persons: Vasily Golubev, Roman Busargin, Vyacheslav Gladkov, Don, Wagner Organizations: CNN —, Security Service, CNN, Ministry of Defense, Russian Armed Forces, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Don Locations: CNN — Ukraine, Russia’s Rostov, Ukraine, Rostov, Russian, ”, Russia, Morozovsky, Krasnodar, Saratov, Kursk, Belgorod, Engels, Ukrainian, Russia’s

☆ One of the largest FTX creditors is trying to recoup millions for victims
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Bruch is one of the largest individual FTX creditors and has been tapped by the US Department of Justice to serve as one of nine on the FTX Creditors’ Committee, where he is working to recoup the funds lost by customers. DOJ-appointed creditor committees ordinarily consist of people and companies who hold the seven largest unsecured claims against the debtor (in this case, FTX), according to the agency. Before the Bell spoke with Bruch about Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX, MyPrize and the future of crypto. I feel for all of the creditors and am doing everything I can to help recoup what was taken from us. I’ve worked at some of the largest crypto trading desks in the world and then also started trading my own book of capital and grew to become one of the largest individual crypto traders.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Zach Bruch, Bruch, MyPrize, Bell, Sam Bankman Fried, —, ”, Sam Bankman Fried’s, Bitcoin, I’ve, Elisabeth Buchwald, Jerome Powell wasn’t, ” Powell, Powell, Christopher Waller, Evan Gershkovich, Evan Gershkovich’s, Radina Gigova, Anna Chernova, Antonina Favorskaya, Alexey Navalny, Favorskaya, Gershkovich Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, US Department of Justice, ’, DOJ, Arrington Capital, Department of Justice, Federal, Commerce Department, San Francisco Fed, ” Fed, CNN, Wall Street Locations: New York, Russia, Yekaterinburg

CNN —The four men suspected of carrying out a brutal attack at a Moscow concert hall that killed at least 137 people have appeared in court on terror charges, as the Kremlin defended its security services criticized for failing to prevent the massacre. Shamil Zhumatov/ReutersOn Monday, three days after the attack, rescuers were still searching among the ruins of the collapsed concert hall and trying to clear rubble. CNN has geolocated the 90-second video to the concert hall, where bodies and blood can be seen on the floor as fire rages above. Despite ISIS appearing to provide evidence that its fighters had carried out the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been keen to point the finger elsewhere. Firefighters respond to the burning Crocus City Hall on March 22.

Persons: Dalerdzhon, Saidakrami, Shamsidin, Faizov, Shamil Zhumatov, Reuters Rachabalizoda, Fariduni, ”, Dmitry Peskov, Mukhammadsobir, Vladimir Putin, – Putin, Maria Zakharova, Maxim Shemetov, Adrienna Watson, –, Peskov, Alexander Matveev, ” Matveev Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Court, ISIS, Novosti, Crocus City Hall, Reuters, Ministry, Emergency, Saturday, Russian Foreign Ministry, ”, Firefighters, US National Security, US, Moscow Locations: Moscow, Soviet, Tajikistan, Russia, Crocus, Ukraine, Kyiv, Siberian, Novosibirsk, Basmanny, Podolsk, Krasnogorsk, Russian, ” Ukraine, Washington, United States, ”

“Special services and law enforcement agencies in the Bryansk region, near the border with Ukraine, detained four suspects from among those who committed a terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall concert hall,” the committee said. The terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall was carefully planned.”Neither agency specified the nature of the alleged contacts. Suspects detainedVideo footage from the Crocus City Hall showed the vast complex, which is home to both a music hall and shopping center, on fire with smoke billowing into the air. A person places flowers at a makeshift memorial in front of the Crocus City Hall. On Friday, following reports of the Crocus City Hall attack, it advised US citizens not to travel to Russia.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, “, ”, ” “, Maria Zakharova, Andrey Vorobyov, Rescuers, Putin, Stringer, Adrienne Watson, Washington Organizations: CNN, ISIS, Crocus City, Novosti, FSB, Security Service, Russian Federation, RIA Novosti, Tass, Russian Foreign Ministry, Renault, CNN State, ”, Telegram, Russian Emergencies Ministries, Kremlin, Getty, US National Security, State Department Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Bryansk, Crocus, Crocus City, responsibiliity, Russia, ” Moscow, AFP, Russian, ”, Khorasan, Afghanistan

CNN —Several Russians poured dye into ballot boxes in protest as the three-day presidential vote got underway, near certain to extend Vladimir Putin’s long grip on power. But videos released Friday from several polling stations across Russia showed protesters pouring what authorities described as dye into ballot boxes to spoil the votes cast. CCTV video from a polling station in Moscow showed a young woman pouring what appeared to be green dye into a ballot box. She was immediately detained and faces criminal charges for obstructing the election, according to Russian state media RIA Novosti. In St. Petersburg, Putin’s hometown, a woman threw a Molotov cocktail at the signboard of a polling station in the Moskovsky district, RIA reported.

Persons: Vladimir, Putin, Alena Bulgakova, Bulgakova, Putin’s, Molotov, Ella Pamfilova, ”, Alexey Navalny, Evgeny Feldman, Navalny, “, Navalny’s, Yulia Navalnaya Organizations: CNN, Novosti, Kremlin, Russian Civic Chamber Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Voronezh, Rostov, Karachay, St . Petersburg, Moskovsky

☆ Russian overseas voters have mixed views on whether their ballots are worth casting
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Anna Chernova | Lauren Kent | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Russia’s Central Election Commission said that overseas voting will take place at 288 polling stations in 144 countries, Russian state media TASS reported. During the 2018 presidential elections, 401 polling stations operated abroad and more than 475,000 people voted, according to the Central Election Commission as quoted by RIA Novosti. But this year, many overseas polling stations that operated in 2018 have been closed. Russian citizens at the Russian embassy in Berlin, Germany, look at a list of candidates in the 2018 Russian presidential election. A mourner lays flowers on the grave of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny at the Borisovo cemetery in Moscow on March 2, 2024, the day after Navalny's funeral.

Persons: Sergey Kulikov, Kulikov, ”, Vladimir Putin, –, Putin –, Joerg Carstensen, Luba Zakharov, ” Zakharov, Boris Nadezhdin, – Vladislav Davankov, Nikolai Kharitonov, Leonid Slutsky –, Alexey Navalny, Navalny’s, Yulia Navalnaya, Zakharov, “, Olga Maltseva, Anna, Putin, ” Anna, Putin …, ” Putin, Callum Fraser, Fraser, ” Fraser, Alexey Navalny’s, Ilya Yashin, Vladimir Kara, Boris Nemtsov, Anna Politkovskaya, ’, ” Kulikov Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, European, Human Rights, Russian Foreign Ministry, Russia’s, Commission, TASS, RIA Novosti, “, Central, Putin, Getty, Royal United Services Institute Locations: Russia, Dubai, Ukraine, Russian, Berlin, Germany, Hamburg, Moscow, AFP, Sheva, Israel

Moscow CNN —Thousands of mourners gathered in Moscow for the funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny despite a heavy police presence and the threat of detention. APAround 20 minutes before Navalny’s funeral began, the live signal of the CNN team on the ground appeared to be blocked. The live feed organized by Navalny’s team also dropped. Mourners gather around the casket of Alexey Navalny during his funeral in Moscow on March 1, 2024. as the Kremlin critic's coffin is carried to the Moscow church hosting his funeral.

Persons: Alexey Navalny, clapped, “ Putin, ” Navalny, Vladimir Putin’s, Navalny’s, Frank Sinatra’s, ”, Dmitry Peskov, ” Maria Pevchikh, Navalny, CNN’s Matthew Chance, Putin, Lyudmila Navalnaya –, –, ” Marina, “, …, ’ ”, Tatiana, ” Tatiana, Yulia Navalnaya, “ I’m Organizations: Moscow CNN —, Kremlin, of, Police, AP, CNN, Navalny’s, Reuters Locations: Moscow, Russian, Moscow’s Maryino, Borisov, Russia, Ukraine, Siberia, St . Petersburg, Siberian, Novosibirsk –, Yekaterinburg, Germany

Moscow CNN —Crowds of mourners have gathered at a Moscow church for the funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny despite a heavy police presence and the threat of detention, a CNN team on the ground reports. Navalny’s team encountered difficulty in retrieving his body from Russian authorities and hiring a venue for his funeral, which began at 2 p.m. local time (6 a.m. Around 20 minutes before Navalny’s funeral was set to begin, the live signal of the CNN team on the ground appeared to be blocked. The feed organized by Navalny’s team was also not showing live coverage of the scene. APBut Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny’s widow, had said ahead of the funeral that she is concerned police will crack down mourners.

Persons: Alexey Navalny, Navalny, Vladimir Putin’s, Navalny’s, Dmitry Peskov, ”, clapped, “, ” Maria Pevchikh, ” Marina, …, ’ ”, Tatiana, ” Tatiana, Yulia Navalnaya, “ I’m Organizations: Moscow CNN, CNN, Kremlin, of, Police Locations: Moscow, Russian, Moscow’s Maryino, St . Petersburg, Russia, Germany

CNN —Attempts to hire a hearse to take the body of Alexey Navalny body to his funeral have been thwarted by unknown people, the Russian opposition leader’s team said Thursday. ET) Friday at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in Moscow’s Maryino district, where the opposition leader lived. The Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in Moscow, where Navalny's funeral will be held. “On his orders, Alexey was tortured for three years,” she added, a reference to the time Navalny spent in prison. Even after that, they abused his body,” she said, as Navalny’s team alleges the body was held in order to pressure the family into agreeing to hold a private funeral.

Persons: Alexey Navalny, Kira Yarmysh, ” Yarmysh, ”, God, Olga Maltseva, Yarmysh, Ivan Zhdanov, Navalny’s, Navalnaya, Putin, Navalny, Navalny “, –, Yulia Navalnaya, Vladimir Putin, “ Putin, “, Alexey, Anna Chernova Organizations: CNN, of, Getty, Corruption Locations: Moscow’s Maryino, Moscow, AFP, Siberia, Russia, Germany, Soviet, Russian

CNN —Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West of the risk of nuclear war if they send their own troops to fight for Ukraine, saying Moscow had the weapons to strike Western targets. In his annual state of the nation address to Russia’s elite on Thursday, Putin said claims that Russia intends to attack Europe are “nonsense” but warned that his country might strike Western countries with nuclear weapons. Putin referenced an idea floated by French President Emmanuel Macron, who on Monday said the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine “cannot be ruled out.” Several European leaders swiftly rejected the suggestion. Putin has raised the nuclear specter on several occasions since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago. Russia transferred tactical nuclear weapons to neighboring Belarus last year, and CNN reported this month that Russia is attempting to develop a nuclear space weapon that could destroy satellites.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Emmanuel Macron, ” Putin, “ Organizations: CNN, TASS, NATO Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Europe, Belarus, Avdiivka, Finland, Sweden

☆ A breakaway region in Europe is asking Russia for protection. Here’s what to know
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Christian Edwards | Anna Chernova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

No country officially recognizes Transnistria, where Russia has kept a steadily dwindling military presence for decades, now standing at around 1,500 troops. Before Wednesday, the congress’ most recent meeting was in 2006, when it passed a referendum calling to join Russia. When Transnistrian politicians unexpectedly announced a new meeting, analysts suggested this could lead to fresh calls for unification with Russia. Russia’s war in Ukraine has had a profound effect on Transnistria’s economy. Minzarari said the dispute had created opportunities for Russian authorities to “fish in troubled waters.”Why is Russia interested in Moldova?

Persons: Vladimir Putin, ”, Daniel Voda, “, Maia Sandu, Dumitru Minzarari, ” Minzarari, Minzarari, Gen, Rustam Minnekaev, Lenin, Anton Polyakov, Putin, Vadim Kranoselsky, ” Ben Dubow Organizations: CNN —, European Union, Kremlin, Novosti, Moldova’s, Transnistria’s, Deputies, Russia, Moldovan, Russia’s, Ministry, CNN, EU, Carnegie Endowment, International, Baltic Defense College, Military Region, Institute for, RIA Novosti, Center for Locations: Moldova, Transnistria, Soviet Union, Ukraine, Moscow, Soviet, Moldovan, Russia, Tiraspol, Odesa, Maj, Kherson, Russian, US, Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kyiv, Transnistrian

☆ Tourists have returned to North Korea for the first time since the pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Lilit Marcus | Mayumi Maruyama | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

American college student Otto Warmbier was detained on a North Korea trip in 2016, allegedly for stealing a propaganda poster. Courtesy Elena BychcovaRussia and North Korea’s relationshipBefore the pandemic, the largest source of inbound tourists to North Korea wasn’t Russia – it was China. The Russian ski trippers were the first tourists allowed into the hermit kingdom since the pandemic, a sign of Russia’s increasing popularity in North Korea. Now, both say they would consider going to North Korea again someday – but only if the political situation changes. “I hope traveling will save the world.”Another Russian ski trip in North Korea is slated for March 2024.

Persons: Lena Bychcova couldn’t, —, kingdom’s, Kim Jong Un, Otto Warmbier, Bychcova, Ilya Voskresensky, grandpa, Voskresensky, “, KIM, JIN, Kim Won Jin, Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, ” Bychcova, Lena Bychcova, Elena Bychcova, Vladimir Putin, –, Bychcova doesn’t, ”, Kim, Putin, Anna Chernova, Mariya Knight Organizations: CNN, Koryo, ”, Getty, Intelligence, Ukraine, Korean, United, Russia, North Locations: Korea, Russian, North Korea, Tourism, United States, Pyongyang, Korean, Vladivostok, Soviet Russia, AFP, Elena Bychcova Russia, North, Russia, China, United Nations, Ukraine, Yekaterinburg, Ukrainian

Paris CNN —French President Emmanuel Macron openly discussed the possibility of sending European troops to Ukraine to help Kyiv win the war against Russia, a potential major escalation to the largest ground war Europe has seen since World War II. Macron did, however, announce that a new coalition would be created to supply Ukraine with medium-range and long-range missiles. Macron pointed out that Western democracies have gradually increased their support to levels unthinkable when the war began. Macron warned at the start of the summit that Russia would likely attack beyond Ukraine in the coming years, threatening Europe’s collective security. “This is a European war,” Macron said.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Macron, ”, “, Olaf Scholz, ” Scholz, ” Macron, Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, ‘, Dmitry Peskov, ” Peskov, Sergey Lavrov, Donald Trump, It’s, Anna Chernova, Vasco Cotovio Organizations: Paris CNN —, Kyiv, Ukraine, Russia, Republicans, CNN, European Union, Kremlin, EU Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Europe, Hungary, Slovakia, Russian, Ukrainian, Washington, Germany, Kyiv, ”, Moscow, “, United Kingdom, EU

CNN —Negotiations to release Russia’s opposition leader Alexey Navalny in a prisoner swap had reached their “final stage” just before his sudden death, a top aide to Navalny has said. “Navalny was supposed to be free in the coming days because we had achieved a decision on his exchange,” Pevchik said. Putin had recently signaled his interest in a prisoner exchange with the West involving Krasikov and Gershkovich. Pevchik claimed that Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich had served as “an informal negotiator” and delivered the prisoner swap proposal to Putin. Navalny’s body was returned to his mother on Saturday, more than a week after his death.

Persons: Alexey Navalny, ”, Navalny, Vadim Krasikov, Maria Pevchik, ” Pevchik, “, ” Navalny, CNN’s Matthew Chance, Dmitri Peskov, Ebrahim Noroozi, Matthew Miller, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Putin, Tucker Carlson “, Navalny “, Lyudmila Navalnaya, Pevchik, nodded understandingly, Henry Kissinger, Kissinger, Abramovich, Navalnaya, Alexey, ” Peskov, ” Kira Yarmysh, Alexey ” Organizations: CNN, YouTube, CNN’s, State Department, Wall Street, Fox News, Kremlin, “ Locations: Russian, Germany, Chechen, Berlin, Russia, Krasikov, Siberia, Ukraine, “

☆ Navalny’s mother told to agree to secret funeral or have her son buried at penal colony, spokesperson says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Christian Edwards | Anna Chernova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

CNN —The mother of the late Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny was given an ultimatum to either agree to a secret funeral for her son without a public farewell, or have him buried at the penal colony where he was imprisoned, his spokeswoman said Friday. The claim came a week after Navalny’s death was announced on February 16, sparking criticism of the Kremlin from Western leaders, including US President Joe Biden. This is a developing story and will be updated.

Persons: Alexey Navalny, Joe Biden Organizations: CNN, Kremlin Locations: Western

CNN —The mother of Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny, who died in an Arctic penal colony last week, said Thursday she had seen her son’s body and was being pressured to hold a secret funeral. Looking into my eyes they say that if I don’t agree to a secret funeral they will do something with my son’s body,” she said. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told CNN’s Matthew Chance that he had not seen the comments from Navalny’s mother regarding her son’s body and the issues she claims she is experiencing with investigators. The Russian prison service said Navalny “felt unwell after a walk” in his Siberian penal colony and “almost immediately” lost consciousness. He was initially imprisoned in a penal colony about 150 miles east of Moscow, but his lawyers in December said they had lost contact with him for nearly three weeks.

Persons: Alexey Navalny, Lyudmila Navalnaya, Navalny, Kira Yarmysh, Yulia Navalnaya, Vladimir Putin, Alexey, ”, Navalnaya, Voropayev, “, Dmitry Peskov, CNN’s Matthew Chance, ” Peskov, ” Navalny’s, Joe Biden, Sergey Lavrov, ” Lavrov, Navalny’s, ” Navalny, Putin, Kirill Kudryavtsev, –, Navalny “ Organizations: CNN, YouTube, Russian Investigative, Getty, IK Locations: Salekhard, Kremlin, ” Russia, Russian, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, California, Russia, Germany, AFP, Soviet, Moscow, Kharp

☆ Biden calls Putin a ‘crazy S.O.B.’ and criticizes Trump’s Navalny comments during fundraiser
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Samantha Waldenberg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin “a crazy S.O.B.” in a fundraiser Wednesday in San Francisco, according to the pool reporters traveling with the US president. But the existential threat to humanity is climate,” Biden told those gathered at the fundraiser. Biden also criticized former President Donald Trump’s comments likening his legal troubles to the death of Russian opposition leader and Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny. Where the hell does this comes from,” Biden said, according to reporters in the room. These guys do not believe in basic democratic principles,” Biden said according to the pool traveling with him.

Persons: Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin “, “, Putin, ” Biden, Biden, Donald Trump’s, Alexey Navalny, ”, Navalny, …, Trump, ” Trump, Dmitry Peskov, Strom Thurmond, “ I’ve, I’ve, “ You’ve, ‘ You’ve, Nancy Pelosi, John Doerr, CNN’s Kate Sullivan, Kaanita Iyer, Anna Chernova Organizations: CNN, Republican, NATO, Putin, Russia, Kremlin, Republicans, ”, White Locations: San Francisco, United States, Russia, U.S, United States of America, South Carolina, Los Altos Hills , California

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