DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

“Thank you, America!” Zelensky wrote on his Telegram on Saturday, shortly after the House of Representatives passed the long-delayed Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act by a vote of 311-112. The bill was part of a wider $95 billion package providing foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific region. Meanwhile, the House passed the Israel Security Supplemental with a vote of 366-58. Lawmakers wave Ukrainian flags after the House passed the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act. “For people who want to defeat the enemy, this news is a great morale booster.”He went on: “To win, we need ammunition … we really need artillery shells because we have an artillery hunger.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Benjamin Netanyahu, ” Zelensky, Zelensky, ”, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, Mahmoud Abbas, Joe Biden, “, Dmytro Kuleba, Vladimir Putin, ” Kuleba, Maria Zakharova, Dmytro Kurylovich, Bankir Organizations: CNN, Israel, Palestinian, Senate, Getty, Russian Foreign, 110th, National Guard, Artillery, “ Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Russia, Europe, United States, “, Taiwan, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Avdiivka, Russian

☆ Russia-Ukraine war updates: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant struck by drones; Zelenskyy calls for more support amid Kharkiv bombardment
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on June 15, 2023. The United Nations' atomic energy watchdog sounded the alarm Sunday after drones struck a nuclear reactor at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine. The International Atomic Energy Agency said the serious incident "endangered nuclear safety and security" as Europe's largest nuclear plant was directly targeted by military strikes for the first time since November 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday called for greater international support for his country's air defense systems, as Russia continues its aerial bombardment of Kharkiv and surrounding regions. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in China on Monday for talks over Ukraine and the situation in Asia-Pacific.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sergei Lavrov Organizations: United Nations, International Atomic Energy Agency Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Kharkiv, China, Asia, Pacific, Odesa

☆ The Kremlin is demanding that Ukraine arrest its security chief and send him to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Russia is demanding that Ukraine arrest its own security chief and extradite him to Moscow. The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Vasyl Malyuk of being involved in terrorist acts. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementRussia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded on Sunday evening that Ukraine arrest the head of its own security services and extradite him to Russia. The ministry issued a statement blaming Vasyl Malyuk, the chief of the Security Service of Ukraine, for an explosion at a bridge in Crimea that Russia said killed five people in October 2022.

Persons: Vasyl Malyuk, Malyuk, — Organizations: Russian Foreign Ministry, Service, Russia's, of Foreign Affairs, Security Service, Business Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Crimea

☆ Kate, Princess of Wales conspiracies peddled by Russian disinformation group, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The motive of such campaigns, Innes said, is to “destabilize” Russia’s Western antagonists and “undermine trust” in their institutions. The pattern of behavior was one his team recognized from a group of Russian actors his team had studied before. It is a commercial firm contracted to run disinformation campaigns, Innes said. Aaron Chown/Press Association/APMeta said it disrupted the group, but its disinformation campaigns have since grown more sophisticated. The timing of the Kate conspiracies was also propitious for the Kremlin – coming just as Putin secured a fifth term in power in a stage-managed election devoid of credible opposition.

Persons: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Kate, “, ” Martin Innes, ” Innes, Emmanuel Macron, Innes, Princess, Wales, ”, Instagram –, Doppelganger, Aaron Chown, King Charles III, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, ” Anna George, Timothy Snyder, Vladimir Putin’s, Henry Nicholls, Prince William, ’ ”, Putin Organizations: CNN, Cardiff University, –, Soviet, Meta, Facebook, Press Association, AP Meta, US Treasury, British Embassy, Reuters Institute for, Journalism, Oxford University, Oxford Internet Institute, Yale, Russian Foreign, ” Police, London Clinic, Getty, CNN’s Royal, Kremlin Locations: Wales, Ukraine, ”, Russia, Soviet Union, London, Moscow, Cardiff, Russian, United States, Europe, British, Kensington, Britain, AFP, Windsor

☆ American journalist Evan Gershkovich marks one year in Russian detention
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

American journalist Evan Gershkovich marked the grim milestone of one year in Russian detention on Friday as US efforts have yet to secure his release. “This has been a really difficult year for our family,” Gershkovich’s sister, Danielle Gershkovich, said at an event last week. Gershkovich is the first journalist to be arrested on such charges since the Cold War, and the Russian government has yet to provide any evidence to support its claim. “This verdict to further prolong Evan’s detention feels particularly painful, as this week marks one year since Evan was arrested and wrongfully detained,” US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy said Tuesday. But it is time for the Russian government to let Evan go.”In the past several years, Russia has detained a number of other Americans.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, ”, Danielle Gershkovich, “ It’s, Gershkovich, Evan, Lynne Tracy, “, “ Evan, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, Ksenia Karelina, Marc Fogel, Roger Carstens, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Carstens, Matthew Miller, Paul, Moscow, ’ Gershkovich Organizations: Street, Gershkovich, US State Department, ”, Philadelphia Inquirer Locations: Russian, Yekaterinburg, Moscow’s, Russia, American, Moscow

For Evan Gershkovich, the dozen appearances in Moscow's courts over the past year have fallen into a pattern. Guards take the American journalist from the notorious Lefortovo Prison in a van for the short drive to the courthouse. The periodic court hearings give Gershkovich’s family, friends and U.S. officials a glimpse of him, and for the 32-year-old journalist, it’s a break from his otherwise largely monotonous prison routine. Friends and family say Gershkovich is relying on his sense of humor to get through the days. Every day, Milman said, “I wake up and look at the clock.”“I think about if his lunchtime has passed, and his bedtime," she said.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, He’s, Gershkovich, it’s, “ It’s, ”, Ella Milman, Milman, Nicholas Daniloff, Emma Tucker, ” Milman, Evan, Francesca Ebel, Josef Stalin's, he’s, Polina Ivanova, He's, Pjotr Sauer, ” Sauer, Mikhail Gershkovich, doesn't, “, Biden, Lynne Tracy, Gershkovich “, Vladimir Putin, Vadim Krasikov, ” Ebel, Journal's Tucker, I’m, Tracy Organizations: Wall, Journal, Federal Security Service, U.S, Associated Press, Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, Arsenal, British, Guardian, West Locations: Lefortovo, Yekaterinburg, Washington, Russia, Ukraine, “, New Jersey, Moscow, Russian, Germany, Berlin, Georgian

☆ Russia knew of Moscow terrorist attack plot weeks ago, Ukraine's military spy chief says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Law enforcement officers stand guard near the Crocus City Hall concert venue following a reported shooting incident, near Moscow, Russia. Chief of the Military Intelligence of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, attends the Kyiv Stratcom Forum 2024 in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 27, 2024. Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesThe Islamic State (IS) militant group claimed it was behind the Moscow attack last Friday in which 143 died. Global Images Ukraine | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesBudanov claimed Russia knew where the combat groups would come from, and which countries the attackers would travel through to reach Russia. The damaged Crocus City Hall concert venue near Moscow, Russia, following an attack by gunmen.

Persons: Maksim Blinov, Budanov, Ukrinform, Kyrylo Budanov, Putin, Dmytro Kotsiubailo, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Bortnikov, Nikolai Patrushev —, —, Patrushev, Maria Zakharova, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Vyacheslav Oseledko Organizations: Crocus City Hall, Sputnik, AP Russia, Hall, Russian Federation, Kyiv Stratcom, Military Intelligence, Nurphoto, Islamic, Kremlin, Directorate of Intelligence, Getty, Russia, concertgoers, Russia's Federal Security Service, Russian Ministry of Emergencies, Anadolu, Security, RIA Novosti, Russian Foreign, U.S, CNBC, Economic, Afp Locations: Crocus, Moscow, Russia, Syria, Ukraine, Kyiv, U.S, Russian, Bishkek

☆ Russia claimed the West, Kyiv ordered the Moscow terror attack. Now it has the problem of proving it
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin at an expanded Prosecutor General's Office meeting on March 26, 2024, in Moscow. An investigation into the attack is ongoing, but the latest, outlandish accusations give Moscow a problem: It now has to find the evidence to back up its unsubstantiated claims. What's particularly awkward for the Kremlin is that the Islamic State militant group has already claimed responsibility for the attack. Ukraine denies any involvement in the attack, saying it was "absolutely predictable" that Moscow would look to blame it. The White House said Ukraine had "no involvement whatsoever" in the attack and that any claim to the contrary was "Kremlin propaganda."

Persons: Vladimir Putin, It's, Andrius, Putin, David Cameron, concertgoers, Alexander Bortnikov, Nikolai Patrushev, Sergei Karpukhin, Nikolai Patrushev —, —, Patrushev, Maria Zakharova, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Moscow, Margarita Simonyan, Putin's, Alexander Lukashenko, Rachabalizoda, Barotovich, Muhammadsobir, Shamsidin Fariduni, Tatyana Makeyevaolga Maltseva, Max Hess Organizations: General's, Getty, Ukraine, Crocus City Hall, Islamic State, West, Kremlin, Russia's Federal Security Service, Russian Security, AFP, Security, Islamic, RIA Novosti, Russian Foreign, U.S, Kremlin's, CNBC Wednesday, Institute for, Afp, Analysts, Foreign Policy Research Institute, CNBC, CIA Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Crocus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ukrainian, Europe, Russian, U.S, Kyiv, Belarusian, Belarus, Basmanny, Soviet Union

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, ”

☆ A UPenn student started a YouTube channel. In weeks, her face was stolen on China's social media.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

That message included a link to a video on Xiaohongshu, a social media platform rapidly gaining steam in China. The student started her self-empowerment channel in November and has so far published eight videos and seven YouTube Shorts. The Xiaohongshu deepfakes of other YouTubers do the same. In a matter of about 10 minutes, BI found deepfake videos of at least five caucasian women on Xiaohongshu. But at least one Chinese deepfake version of Blakely has a different agenda to share on Xiaohongshu.

Persons: —, Olga Loiek, Loiek, Vladimir Putin, Loeik, Weibo, someone's, Lyu Siwei, it's, Haibing Lu, they've, Xiaohongshu, Natasha, she's, Annie, Sophia Elena, Katyusha, China, Lana Blakely, Blakely, Elizabeth Filips, Serbia, Filips, Lyu, Vincent Conitzer, Conitzer, Lu, Lyu who's, he's, Roy, Ari Lightman, she'll Organizations: Service, Business, Kremlin, YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook, Media, University at Buffalo, Santa Clara University, University of Pennsylvania, BI, Russia, Institute for, Oxford University, Social, Carnegie Mellon University Locations: Munich, China, Moscow, Ukraine, Santa, China's Heilongjiang, Germany, Xiaohongshu, Russian, Russia, Stockholm, Xiaohongshu London, Pakistan

“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

☆ What we know about the Moscow concert hall attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Lauren Said-Moorhouse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Nearly a dozen people have been detained in connection with the attack, which saw armed assailants storm a popular concert venue complex on the outskirts of the capital, killing more than 130 people. An unnamed male witness who survived the attack said the gunmen entered the concert hall and “started shooting everyone.”“I was sitting in the hall upstairs where the balconies were. Law enforcement officers outside the burning Crocus City Hall concert venue following the attack on Friday. The United States had previously warned Moscow that ISIS militants were determined to target Russia in the days before assailants stormed the concert hall. Video Ad Feedback ISIS claims responsibility for attack in busy Moscow-area concert hall 05:22 - Source: CNNWhat else is Russia saying?

Persons: “, ”, Molotov, Yulia Morozova, Andrey Vorobyov, ” Vorobyov, Olga Maltseva, Amaq, Adrienne Watson, Putin, people’s, Alexander Bortnikov, Maria Zakharova, David Cameron, Olaf Scholz, Emmanuel Macron, Narendra Modi, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Xi Jinping, Antonio Guterres Organizations: CNN, Attackers, Ostorozhno Novosti, Reuters, Crocus City, Russian Emergencies Ministry, Hall, Russia’s, Authorities, Getty, ISIS, SITE Intelligence Group, Islamic, SITE, United, US National Security, RIA Novosti, RIA, Russian Security Service, Russian Foreign, ”, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Kremlin, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, British, India’s, Saudi Arabia’s Crown, United Nations Security Council Locations: Russia, Crocus, Moscow, AFP, Islamic State, United States, ”, Ukraine, ” Ukraine

☆ Putin scores a resounding win, but what’s next for Russia?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Nathan Hodge | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Sovfoto/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Putin poses for a picture with his wife, Lyudmila, and daughters, Yekaterina and Maria. Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images Putin rides a horse during a vacation in Southern Siberia in August 2009. Dmitry Astakhov/RIA Novosti/AFP via Getty Images Putin plays with his dogs Yume, left, and Buffy at his home in Novo-Ogaryovo, Russia, in March 2013. Chris McGrath/Getty Images Putin and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attend the G20 summit in Buenos Aires in November 2018. Getty Images Putin speaks with American right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson during an interview in February 2024.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, ”, Dmitry Kiselyov, Mikhail Mishustin, Ukraine –, Kiselyov, “, Maria Putina, Archivio GBB, ZUMA Press Wire Putin, Laski, Maria, Vladimir, Anatoly Sobchak, Lyudmila, Yekaterina, Boris Yeltsin, Yeltsin, Fidel Castro, Reuters Putin, George W, Bush, Stephen Jaffe, Camp David, Brooks Kraft, Alexey Druzhinin, Alexey Nikolsky, Mikhail Metzel, Ivan Sekretarev, AP Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, Dmitry Astakhov, Buffy, Angela Merkel, Jochen Lübke, Thomas Bach, Medvedev, Vladimir Konstantinov, Alexei Chalyi, Sergei Aksyonov, Sergei Ilnitsky, Kirill Kudryavtsev, Alexander Lukashenko, Merkel, Francois Hollande, Petro Poroshenko, Mykola Lazarenko, Barack Obama, Ban, Chip Somodevilla, Turkey Andrei Karlov, Karlov, Donald Trump, Chris McGrath, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, LUDOVIC MARIN, Emmanuel Macron, Volodymyr Zelensky, Eliot Blondet, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Biden, Sergey Lavrov, Denis Balibouse, Macron, Sergey Ponomarev, Mikhail Gorbachev, —, Alexander Nemenov, Alexey Danichev, Xi Jinping, Pavel Byrkin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Pavel Bednyakov, Kim Jong Un, Kim, Tucker Carlson, Zuma Press Putin, Maxim Shemetov, – what’s, Alexey Navalny, Navalny, ” Putin Organizations: CNN, coy, Kremlin, Getty, Russian, ZUMA Press, Putin, KGB, ZUMA Press Wire, Getty Images, Reuters, US, White House, Camp, Brooks, Brooks Kraft LLC, RIA Novosti, AP, AFP, International Olympic, Crimean, Ukrainian, United Nations, UN, Assembly, Russian Foreign Ministry, Sputnik, World, Saudi Arabia's Crown, Macron, SPUTNIK, New York Times, Central Clinical Hospital, AP Putin, Belarus, State Russian Museum, AP North Korean, Vostochny, Tucker Carlson Network, Zuma Press Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Putin Russia, Russian, Bakhmut, St . Petersburg, Leningrad, Germany, Moscow, AFP, Kazan, Cuba, Soviet Union, Southern Siberia, Russia's Tver, Novo, Ogaryovo, Hanover, Sevastopol, Crimea, Belarusian, Minsk, Belarus, France, Turkey, Helsinki, Finland, Buenos Aires, Ukrainian, Paris, Geneva, Switzerland, Taganrog, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Tsiolkovsky, Russia's, North Korea, United States

☆ Western special ops activity is on the rise around a new US partner in a strategic but unstable area of the Mediterranean
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewA former Russian partner who has drawn closer to the US in recent years has lately become something of a hub for Western special operations activity. The country's proximity to Israel, Gaza, and the Red Sea is important for special operations training. Naval Special Warfare Operators (SEALs) and Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen (SWCC) conduct live fire weapons training with Cypriot Underwater Demolition Command (MYK) forces near Limassol, Cyprus on Jan. 29, 2024. In 2015, Nicosia signed a deal with Moscow allowing Russian warships to access its ports for replenishment. AdvertisementFollowing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Cyprus barred Russian warships from its ports and scrapped the 2015 agreement, something the US had demanded.

Persons: —, Bill Gallagher, Bill Carlisle, Jeff Butler, Butler, Gallagher Organizations: Service, US Navy SEALs, Warfare, Cypriot, Business, Naval, Craft, Cypriot Underwater, Command, US Navy, Navy, NFL, Super, White House, Cypriot National Guard, Turkish, New Jersey National Guard, Navy SEAL Locations: Russian, Cyprus, Gaza, Germany, Netherlands, Akrotiri, Yemen, Limassol, Levant, North Africa, Asia, Israel, East Coast, Russia, Nicosia, Moscow, Greece, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Turkey, Ukraine, Cypriot

☆ 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

☆ Exclusive: US prepared ‘rigorously’ for potential Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine in late 2022, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Jim Sciutto | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Russian officials alleged Ukraine would build and detonate a dirty bomb against Russian forces and then blame the attack on Russia. Western intelligence agencies had received information that there were now communications among Russian officials explicitly discussing a nuclear strike. “It’s never a cut-and-dry, black-and-white assessment,” the first senior administration official told me. Secretary of State Antony Blinken communicated US concerns “very directly” with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, according to senior administration officials. “We conducted a number of quiet conversations with core allies to go through our thinking,” the first senior administration official told me.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, Powers, “, ” “, Chris McGrath, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, “ It’s, NurPhoto, Antony Blinken, Sergey Lavrov, Mark Milley, General Valery Gerasimov, Joe Biden, Bill Burns, Sergey Naryshkin, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, Alexandr Demyanchuk, ”, … Organizations: CNN, US, National Security Council, Kherson City, “, UN, United Nations, Russian, Russian Armed Forces, CIA, Indian, Shanghai Cooperation Organization Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, “, Russian, Kherson, Ukrainian, France, Turkey, ”, Kyiv, India, China, Samarkand

☆ Russia can't reach a pro-Russian region in Moldova easily — but there are ways it can cause trouble
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Mikhail Svetlov/Getty ImagesMoscow is continuing its saber-rattling over the pro-Russian region of Transnistria in Moldova, and analysts are saying that while Russian authorities would find it hard to physically reach the breakaway region to annex it, there are still ways it can stir up pro-Russian unrest — and trouble for Moldova. All U.N. members consider the region to be part of Moldova, which has expressed a desire to reintegrate the region. Similarly to Ukraine, Moldova has a pro-Western government and wants to join the European Union. Problematically for Russia, Moldova and Transnistria are landlocked, sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine. CNBC has asked the Kremlin to comment on concerns that Moscow could look to destabilize Moldova and is awaiting a response.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Svetlov, Russia, Problematically, it's, Ian Bremmer, doesn't, Maia Sandu, Putin, Sergei Lavrov, Abdoulaye Diop, Maxim Shipenkov, Lavrov, Bogdan Tudor Organizations: Getty, Moldovan, Kremlin, Russia's Defense Ministry, European Union, Eurasia Group, Gazprom, Western, CNBC, Foreign Affairs, Cooperation of, Reuters, Russian, West, RIA Novosti, Google, Russian Federation, Institute for, EU, Afp Locations: Kremlin, Moscow, Russian, Transnistria, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Moldovan, Romania, Cooperation of Mali, Reuters Russia, Central Asia, USSR, Sochi, Donetsk, Luhansk, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Georgia

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Russia threatens to expel reporters, accuses ambassadors of meddling; Ukraine strikes Black Sea Fleet ship
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Russian Foreign Ministry building is seen behind the Army billboard reading "Our Defenders! Zakharova said Tuesday that Western ambassadors in Moscow were interfering in Russian affairs and questioned their business in Russia. "They devote all their time - I mean the Western part of the ambassadors, the ambassadors of Western countries, NATO - to only one thing ... Zakharova also said that Russia would expel German journalists working in the country if Berlin decided to "touch" Russian reporters. Zakharova claimed that Germany intended to expel Russian journalists and to not renew their visas or accreditation to work in the country.

Persons: Maria Zakharova, Zakharova, Sergei Lavrov, Holly Ellyatt Organizations: Russian, Ministry, Russia's, Russian Foreign, NATO, RIA Novosti, CNBC Locations: Moscow, Berlin, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Russian

☆ Leaked audio obtained by Russian spies reveals Germany considered giving Ukraine missiles to destroy key Crimean bridge: WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The officials were discussing plans to send Ukraine missiles that could destroy the Crimean bridge. AdvertisementLeaked audio obtained by Russian spies and later broadcast by the Russian state-controlled news network RT on Friday shows that top German officials were discussing plans to possibly send Ukraine long-range missiles that can take out the key Crimean bridge. Senior German officials confirmed the authenticity of the audio to The Wall Street Journal. The leaked audio does not confirm that Germany was definitively going to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine. "We demand explanations from Germany," Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson, told TASS, the Russian state news agency.

Persons: —, Ingo Gerhartz, it's, Olaf Scholz, Scholz, Gerhartz, Maria Zakharova Organizations: Ukraine, Service, Senior, Wall Street, The, Associated Press, Taurus, Russia —, Russian Foreign, TASS Locations: Germany, Russian, Ukraine, Kerch, European

☆ Germany to investigate after leaked recording emerges of secret army talks on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Sophie Tanno | Xiaofei Xu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Germany says it will investigate after a recording leaked of a conversation between several top-ranking German officers on the country’s Ukraine war strategy. A spokesperson of the German Defense Ministry confirmed to CNN the recording was authentic. “According to our assessment, a conversation in the air force sector has been intercepted. The Kerch bridge has been a targeted for Ukraine throughout the conflict. Alexey Pavlishak/ReutersGermany has been resisting sending the weapons to Kyiv, fearing they could be used for attacks on Russian territory.

Persons: CNN —, Margarita Simonyan, Olaf Scholz, ” Scholz, Alexey Pavlishak, Maria Zakharova, Roberich, ” Organizations: CNN, German Defense Ministry, Ukraine, Reuters, Russian Foreign, Christian Democratic Union, ZDF, Deutsche Welle Locations: CNN — Germany, Ukraine, Kerch, Crimean, Russia, Rome, Reuters Germany, Moscow, Germany, Russian

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Putin delivers State of the Nation address to Russian lawmakers, troops and journalists
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's Elections Commission said that the pro-Kremlin United Russia part had won local elections in four regions of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces, in a vote dismissed by Kyiv. Germany, the U.K., Spain, Poland and NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg were among those denying that sending ground troops into Ukraine was an option. The Kremlin had warned earlier Tuesday that such a move would lead to an "inevitable" conflict between NATO and Russia. Since then, state-run Russian media has been dominated by Russian officials relishing the obvious division in NATO, and Macron's apparent misreading of the NATO mood music. She claimed NATO countries' denials that they planned to send their ground troops into Ukraine showed the West had "betrayed Ukraine and will continue to use and betray it," repeating Moscow's baseless claims that Western countries are using Ukraine to destroy Russia.

Persons: Alexander NEMENOV, ALEXANDER NEMENOV, Emmanuel Macron, Jens Stoltenberg, Macron, Vyacheslav Volodin, Volodin, Maria Zakharova, — Holly Ellyatt Organizations: Commission, Kremlin, Kyiv, Getty Images, NATO, NATO's, Foreign Ministry, Ukraine —, Russian Foreign, Sputnik, Tass Locations: St, Basil's, Moscow, Russia's, Kremlin United Russia, Ukraine, AFP, Germany, Spain, Poland, Russia, NATO, Russian

☆ Russia relishes NATO disarray after hasty denials of plan to deploy ground troops to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The United States, Germany, the U.K., Spain, Poland and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg were among those denying that sending ground troops into Ukraine was an option. She claimed NATO countries' denials that they planned to send their ground troops into Ukraine showed the West had "betrayed Ukraine and will continue to use and betray it," repeating Moscow's baseless claims that Western countries are using Ukraine to destroy Russia. After the conference, Macron said discussions had also covered the possibility of deploying ground troops, although he said there was no agreement on the issue. France was left looking increasingly isolated throughout the day Tuesday, with the White House also distancing itself from Macron's comments. When asked about Macron's comments, Kirby said "well, that's a sovereign decision that every NATO ally would have to make for themselves.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Mikhail Metzel, Emmanuel Macron, Jens Stoltenberg, Dmitry Medvedev, Macron, Vyacheslav Volodin, Volodin, Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon, Maria Zakharova, Macron's, Stephane Sejourne, John Kirby, Kirby, General Stoltenberg, —, Biden, Timothy Ash, Ash Organizations: Defence, Sputnik, Reuters, NATO, Russian, Russia's Foreign Ministry, Ukraine —, Russian Foreign, Tass, Chesnot, Getty, White, . National Security, Kremlin Russia, Kremlin, Russia, BlueBay Asset Management Locations: Nazi Germany, Moscow, Russia, Reuters Russia, Ukraine, United States, Germany, Spain, Poland, NATO, Russian, France, Canada, Paris, France's, Republic, U.S

☆ NATO countries scramble to deny ground troops will go into Ukraine after Moscow warns of 'inevitable' conflict
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

France's suggestion that Ukraine's allies could potentially send ground troops into Ukraine has caused indignation and outrage in Russia, with officials warning that it could provoke a direct conflict between Russia and NATO member states. Eyebrows were raised Monday when French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that European heads of state and Western officials, who met in Paris on Monday, had talked about the possibility of sending ground troops into Ukraine. "There is no consensus today to officially, openly, and with endorsement, send troops on the ground. Moscow was quick to seize on the comments, with the Kremlin's Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov telling reporters Tuesday that if European NATO members sent troops to fight in Ukraine it would make a conflict between Russia and NATO inevitable. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also weighed in, advising any countries considering sending troops to Ukraine to "use their heads," news agency TASS added.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Dmitry Peskov, Sergei Lavrov, Lavrov Organizations: NATO, Kremlin's, TASS Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Western, Paris, Moscow, Europe

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

☆ Russian pilot who defected to Ukraine is dead: Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Victoria Butenko | Al Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Maxim Kuzminov, a Russian pilot who dramatically defected to Ukraine by flying his helicopter across the border, is dead, according to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR). A source at Ukraine’s GUR confirmed to CNN the body of the man found in Spain was that of Kuzminov, but would not comment on how he had died. The shooting took place in a neighborhood where some Russian and Ukrainian expatriates have settled since the war began, according to the Villajoyosa city hall press office. When Kuzminov flew into Ukraine, the two other Russian service members on board the Mi-8 helicopter with him did not know what was happening. “I contacted representatives of Ukrainian intelligence, explained my situation, to which they offered this option: ‘Come on, we guarantee your safety, guarantee new documents, guarantee monetary compensation, a reward,’” the pilot said.

Persons: CNN — Maxim Kuzminov, Ukraine’s GUR, Dmitry Peskov, Sergey Naryshkin, Russia Legion –, Kuzminov, ” “, Maxim, ‘, ’ Kuzminov, Kyrolo Budanov, Budanov, “, ” Budanov, GUR, ’, I’m, ”, ” Kuzminov, Victoria Butenko, Andrew Carey, Al Goodman, Madrid Organizations: CNN, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, Spanish Civil Guard, Civil Guard, Ukraine’s, Russian Foreign Intelligence, RIA Novosti, Russian TV, Russia Legion, Armed Forces of, EU, Legion, Kyiv, Radio Liberty Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Alicante, Villajoyosa, Spain, Alicante province, Russia, Moscow, ” “ Ukraine, Armed Forces of Ukraine, Kyiv

Search resuls for: "Russian Foreign"

25 mentions found