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The diplomatic ripple effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine played out on Monday from the Middle East to the Baltics and northern Europe as leaders jockeyed to cement new alliances in a scrambled world. On the fourth stop of a tour aimed at securing more weaponry to repel Russian forces, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine arrived in Athens for meetings with the leaders of Greece and other Balkan nations to discuss common security concerns and better integration with Europe. “Thank you for your readiness to help us fight for our freedom,” Mr. Zelensky told Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis after the two men met privately. As Mr. Zelensky was making his way to Athens after securing commitments of F-16 fighter jets from Denmark and the Netherlands, an Iranian military delegation was visiting Russia, a sign of how deep ties between Moscow and Tehran have become since the war began.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr, Zelensky, Kyriakos Mitsotakis Locations: Ukraine, Europe, Athens, Greece, Denmark, Netherlands, Iranian, Russia, Moscow, Tehran

The group of nations known as BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — represents 40 percent of the world’s population and a quarter of the world’s economy. Now it is considering expanding, in a push to be seen as a credible counterweight to Western-led forums like the G7 group of advanced nations. It comprises the world’s largest authoritarian state (China) and its largest democracy (India), economies big and small, and relations with the United States that run the gamut, from friend to foe. China, under Xi Jinping, wants to expand BRICS, seeing in it a platform to challenge American power. India, locked in a territorial dispute with China, is wary of Beijing’s dominance in the club.

Persons: Xi Jinping Organizations: South Africa — Locations: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Western, United States, Moscow, Ukraine

The Russian ruble slumped past 100 per U.S. dollar on Monday, its lowest level since March 2022, immediately after President Vladimir V. Putin launched Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The bank’s announcement appeared to briefly slow the ruble’s descent. After weakening to about 102 to the dollar, it fell back to just under 101. The ruble’s value is down by more than 25 percent against the dollar since the start of the year. Its decline has led to fears of rising inflation, and prompted Kremlin cheerleaders to lash out at the country’s financial authorities in state news media.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: Russian, Kremlin Locations: Ukraine, Russian

☆ Russia Tries to Bolster Ruble as Inflation Adds to Economic Woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Paul Sonne | More About Paul Sonne | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Russian central bank took measures on Thursday to stabilize the currency, amid the latest squall of financial volatility unleashed by Mr. Putin’s war against Ukraine. This time, the challenges are seen in both a struggling ruble that is fueling inflation, but also in government budget deficits that raise concerns about the sustainability of Russia’s intense spending on the war. The weakening ruble neared an exchange rate of 100 per U.S. dollar earlier this week, down by roughly 25 percent since the start of the year. The decline prompted the Bank of Russia on Thursday to halt purchases of foreign currency for the remainder of the year “to reduce volatility.”The central bank’s move should help shore up the ruble, because when the bank spends rubles to buy foreign currency, it increases the supply of rubles in circulation, lowering their value. The ruble was roughly flat in trading on Thursday.

Persons: Vladimir V Organizations: U.S ., Ukraine, Bank of Russia Locations: Russian

Russia shot down two drones near Moscow overnight, officials said on Wednesday, the 12th time in the past three weeks they have reported intercepting such aerial assaults in the heart of the capital. The attacks suggest that the effort to push Russia’s war deep into its own territory was picking up pace amid Ukraine’s marathon counteroffensive to take back occupied territory. There were no casualties or damage, and air defenses destroyed the drones, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said on the Telegram messaging app. Ukrainian officials did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack, but in the past they have acknowledged orchestrating or supporting strikes in Russia and made clear that the war’s devastation would not be limited to Ukrainian soil. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has said that taking the war to Russia is “an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process.”The drone attacks came on the same day that a powerful explosion ripped through a warehouse outside Moscow, killing one person and injuring at least 60 others, some seriously, according to a post on Telegram by local officials.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: Ministry of Defense Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine

☆ Man of the People? Jolted by a Mutiny, Putin Works the Crowds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Paul Sonne | More About Paul Sonne | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He worked a throng of screaming fans in Dagestan. He hoisted a young girl onto his hip in Kronstadt. He posed shoulder-to-shoulder with seven young siblings, shaking their father’s hand after a naval parade. The isolation persisted until well after politicians elsewhere had dispensed with such precautions amid receding fears about Covid-19. And once Russia invaded Ukraine, Mr. Putin’s distance stood in stark contrast to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who made regular visits to frontline positions, crowded ceremonies and cramped hospital rooms.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky Locations: Dagestan, Kronstadt, Russia, Ukraine

Shunned in the West, his authority tested by a failed mutiny at home, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia needs to project normalcy and shore up support from his allies. So on Thursday, he will host African leaders at a flashy summit in St. Petersburg, part of his continuing outreach to a continent that has become critical to Moscow’s foreign policy. But if Mr. Putin sought to move closer to African leaders as he prosecuted his war, the 17-month-old conflict is now straining those ties. The summit comes against the backdrop of escalating tensions in the Black Sea over Mr. Putin’s recent decision to terminate a deal allowing Ukraine to ship grain to global markets. Russia’s withdrawal has caused food prices to spike, adding to the misery of the world’s poorest countries, including some of those attending the Russia-Africa summit.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Mr Organizations: United Nations, Central African, Kremlin Locations: West, Russia, St . Petersburg, Ukraine, Central African Republic, United States, Africa

☆ A man snatched up a website matching the name of Elon Musk's 'Burnt Hair' cologne — and traded it for a family tour of The Boring Company
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Twitter user Jeromy Sonne said The Boring Company struck a deal with him over a website domain. In exchange for the domain, The Boring Company gave him a tour and company swag, Sonne told Insider. But, when Musk announced The Boring Company planned to sell "Burnt Hair" cologne, Jeromy Sonne said he saw an opportunity. Now, the website domain redirects to The Boring Company's main website. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that the billionaire is in the process of building a company town for SpaceX, Tesla, and The Boring Company employees in Bastrop.

Persons: Jeromy Sonne, Sonne, Elon Musk, swag, It's, Musk, Daypart.AI, they'd, —, we've Organizations: Boring, Elon, The Boring Company, Boring Company, burnthair.com, Twitter, Hair, Street, SpaceX, Tesla Locations: cologne, Austin, Bastrop , Texas, Hair cologne, Bastrop

A top Russian general in Ukraine has lashed out at his bosses after being fired from his command, accusing them of undermining the war effort with dishonesty and politicking, in the latest sign of turmoil within the Kremlin’s military leadership. In a four-minute recording released late Wednesday night, Maj. Gen. Ivan Popov addressed his troops, accusing his superiors of inflicting a blow on his forces by removing him from his post in retaliation for voicing the truth about battlefield problems to senior leadership behind closed doors. His firing, and the unusual public airing of his grievances, reflected the disarray that has roiled Russia’s military command since a failed mutiny three weeks ago. While the 58th Combined Arms Army he commanded has been holding off a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Zaporizhzhia region, “we were hit in the rear by our senior commander, who treacherously and vilely decapitated our army at the most difficult and tense moment,” General Popov said — an apparent reference to Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, chief of the armed forces. Since the mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group and its boss, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, several senior officers have been detained or pushed out of their posts, according to a person close to the Russian military, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

Persons: Ivan Popov, vilely, General Popov, —, Valery V, Gerasimov, Wagner, Yevgeny V Organizations: Arms Army Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Zaporizhzhia

☆ A Missing Russian General Is ‘Taking a Rest’ a Top Lawmaker Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Paul Sonne | More About Paul Sonne | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Gen. Sergei Surovikin of Russia, a onetime ally of the Wagner chief who hasn’t been seen publicly since a short-lived mutiny last month, is “taking a rest,” one of the country’s top lawmakers said Wednesday, when pressed by a reporter. “He is unavailable right now,” the lawmaker, Andrei Kartapolov, the head of the Russian Duma’s defense committee, added in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app before hurrying away from the reporter. General Surovikin, the chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, was considered to be an ally of Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary company, whose forces mounted the brief insurrection in June aimed at toppling Russia’s military leadership, before standing down in a deal with the Kremlin. In the days since then, intense speculation has surrounded General Surovikin, who skillfully pulled out Russian forces from Kherson amid Ukraine’s counteroffensive last year and has often been dubbed “General Armageddon” for his ruthless tactics.

Persons: Sergei Surovikin, Wagner, hasn’t, Andrei Kartapolov, General Surovikin, Yevgeny V, Surovikin, ” Organizations: Russian Aerospace Forces Locations: Russia, Russian, Kherson

☆ Putin Met With Mercenary Leaders He Had Called Traitors During Mutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Paul Sonne | More About Paul Sonne | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia held a lengthy meeting with Yevgeny V. Prigozhin and commanders of his Wagner private military company just days after they had launched a mutiny that put the nation on the brink of a civil conflict, the Kremlin disclosed on Monday. Mr. Putin had denounced the leaders of the June 23-24 rebellion as traitors, so the startling revelation that he played host to them on June 29 suggests that for all his bluster, he saw a continued use for the mercenary group and its boss. The meeting is the first known contact between the two men since the uprising, which posed the most dramatic challenge to Mr. Putin’s authority in his 23 years in power. News of the meeting added to the mystery of what will become of Mr. Prigozhin and his force after the insurrection. Mr. Putin invited 35 people to the three-hour meeting, including Mr. Prigozhin and all of Wagner’s top commanders, and gave his assessment of the company’s efforts on the battlefield in Ukraine, as well as its actions in the mutiny, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitri S. Peskov said.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Wagner, Mr, Dmitri S, Peskov Organizations: Kremlin Locations: Russia, St, Petersburg, Ukraine

☆ Mutiny Provided Glimpse of a Post-Putin Russia. Is the Window Still Open?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Paul Sonne | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For a millisecond, it seemed possible. Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the Russian caterer turned warlord — armed with tanks and a private army— showed Russia and the world what an alternative to President Vladimir V. Putin might look like. It was only the second time in Mr. Putin’s 23 years in power that a rebelling leader with populist appeal had flashed a vision of a conceivable Russia after Mr. Putin. The other occasion was in 2011, when Aleksei A. Navalny led a pro-democracy uprising on the streets of the capital. Mr. Prigozhin, whose mercenaries have been accused of indiscriminate killings and other crimes, made clear that those forces could be equally if not more grim.

Persons: Yevgeny V, Russian caterer, —, Vladimir V, Putin, Putin’s, Aleksei A, Navalny, Prigozhin Locations: Russian, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine

☆ His Glory Fading, a Russian Warlord Took One Last Stab at Power
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Paul Sonne | Anatoly Kurmanaev | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Well before Yevgeny V. Prigozhin seized a major Russian military hub and ordered an armed march on Moscow, posing a startling and dramatic threat to President Vladimir V. Putin, the caterer-turned-mercenary-boss was losing his own personal war. Mr. Prigozhin’s private army had been sidelined. The commander he most admired in the Russian military had been removed as the top general overseeing Ukraine. Mr. Putin sided publicly with Mr. Prigozhin’s adversaries, affirming that all irregular units fighting in Ukraine would have to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense. That included Mr. Prigozhin’s private military company, Wagner.

Persons: Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Vladimir V, Putin, Sergei K, Shoigu, Mr, Wagner Organizations: Ukraine, Ministry of Defense Locations: Russian, Moscow, Ukraine

And they clearly had little interest in helping Mr. Putin avoid a major, embarrassing fracturing of his support. While it is not clear exactly when the United States first learned of the plot, intelligence officials conducted briefings on Wednesday with administration and defense officials. Still, American officials concluded that Mr. Prigozhin’s public statements were not controlled by Mr. Putin. But it was only in recent days that intelligence officials got the initial warnings that Mr. Prigozhin might take action. President Biden, speaking in October, talked of the dangers that Mr. Putin would pose if he felt cornered and said the United States was looking for “off ramps” for Mr. Putin.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, Prigozhin’s, “, ”, Sergei K, Valery Gerasimov, Wagner ., Tatiana Stanovaya, Shoigu, Stanovaya, Gerasimov, Biden, Donald J, Trump Organizations: Wagner Group, United, CNN, United States, Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Associated Press, Intelligence, Russian, Ukrainian, Mr, Ministry of Defense, Defense Ministry, Carnegie Endowment, International Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, United States, Ukraine, St . Petersburg, Moscow, Belarus, United, U.S, Russian, Bakhmut, Wagner . Russia

In the war-torn Chechnya region, Mr. Kadyrov built up a private fiefdom while professing loyalty to no official but Mr. Putin himself. A judo sparring partner from Mr. Putin’s youth became a construction billionaire and built Mr. Putin’s landmark bridge to Crimea. And then there was Mr. Prigozhin, who has said that he met Mr. Putin in 2000 as a St. Petersburg restaurateur. In Ukraine, as Mr. Prigozhin tells it, Wagner troops were only called in after Mr. Putin’s initial invasion plan failed. But Mr. Putin seemed to vacillate on his own support for Mr. Prigozhin.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Putin’s, “, ”, —, “ Putin, Tatiana Stanovaya, ” Mr, Ramzan Kadyrov, Aleksandr G, Lukashenko, Mr, Wagner, tycoons, Boris N, Yeltsin, Kadyrov, Prigozhin’s, K.G.B, Donald J, Trump, Weeks, ’, Putin “, Andrei Soldatov, Prigozhin “, ” Mark Galeotti, ” Neil MacFarquhar, Valerie Hopkins Organizations: Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, ., Reuters, Federal Security Service, Kremlin, Television, Defense, Defense Ministry, Center for Locations: Russia, Moscow, Russian, Rostov, Chechnya, Belarus, Russia’s, Don, Ukraine, Putin’s, Crimea, St, Petersburg, United States, Syria, Africa, Ukrainian, Bakhmut

☆ Behind a Birthday Message, the Delicate Duet of Putin and Xi
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Chris Buckley | Paul Sonne | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Birthday best wishes rarely come freighted with so much significance. But when it is Russia’s embattled president, Vladimir V. Putin, flattering his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, even seemingly small gestures send a message to the world, not least to their Western rivals. Mr. Putin sent Mr. Xi a congratulatory telegram when the Chinese leader turned 70 on Thursday, wishing his “dear friend” good health, happiness and success, further cementing the image of a personal bond between the two authoritarian leaders. “It is difficult to overestimate the effort that you have made over many years to strengthen our comprehensive partnership and the strategic interaction between our countries,” Mr. Putin wrote. But it risks growing fraught over the long term, as Russia becomes increasingly reliant on China, while China takes a more measured approach to Moscow and seeks to win back some European support.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Xi Jinping, Xi, Mr Locations: Ukraine, Russia, China, Moscow

KHERSON, Ukraine — Thousands of people escaped inundated homes in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, including many rescued from rooftops, a day after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam gave rise to another humanitarian disaster along the front lines of the 15-month war. Floodwaters engulfed streets and houses and sent residents fleeing with what meager belongings they could carry from dozens of communities on both sides of the Dnipro River, which divides the warring armies in much of southern Ukraine. The U.S. State Department estimated that about 20,000 people would have to be resettled. It was still unclear what caused the dam’s failure. Experts said a deliberate explosion inside the dam, which has been under Russian control since early in the war, most likely caused the massive structure of steel-reinforced concrete to crumble.

Organizations: U.S . State Department Locations: KHERSON, Ukraine, Dnipro

☆ Russia warns that the dam’s destruction is a risk to Crimea’s water supply.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Paul Sonne | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The destruction of the Kakhovka dam potentially poses problems for a canal supplying water to Crimea that has for years been a point of geopolitical tension between Kyiv and Moscow, Russian officials warned on Tuesday. The canal, the Northern Crimean Canal, runs approximately 250 miles from the reservoir above the dam down to Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed illegally in 2014. For years, it served as Crimea’s main water resource, but shortly after the annexation, Ukraine blocked the flow of water. The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said in a briefing on Tuesday that water levels in the reservoir were falling as a result of the dam’s destruction, reducing supply to the canal. Only a small portion of the canal’s water supply is used for drinking water.

Persons: Dmitri S, Peskov Locations: Crimea, Kyiv, Moscow, Northern Crimean, Russia, Ukraine

Registering for aid and receiving instructions after arriving in Mykolaiv from Kherson, Ukraine, on Tuesday following damage to the Kakhovka dam. Evacuees, who fled after the Kakhovka dam was destroyed, exiting a train in Mykolaiv on Tuesday. In Mykolaiv, the southern port city, an emergency train pulled out of the station to collect people fleeing the rising waters in Kherson, about 40 miles to the east. The city of Kherson straddles the Dnipro River, which has become a front line in the war, dividing the warring armies. It mostly sits on elevated land but there are some neighborhoods close to the river bank where flooding has already been reported.

Persons: ”, don’t, “, Brendan Hoffman, The New York Times Alim, Chupyna, Olha Napkhanenko, Serhiy Prytula, ” Svitlana, Sitnik Organizations: Volunteers, Red Cross, ., The New York Times, Foundation, Telegram, “ Local Locations: Mykolaiv, Kherson, Ukraine, Dnipro, Vasyl, Ostriv, ”, Ukrainian, Russian, Oleshky, Crimea

☆ Barely Noting War in Public, Putin Acts Like Time Is on His Side
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Anton Troianovski | Paul Sonne | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Pro-Ukrainian fighters stormed across the border into southwestern Russia this past week, prompting two days of the heaviest fighting on Russian territory in 15 months of war. Yet President Vladimir V. Putin, in public, ignored the matter entirely. He handed out medals, met the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, hosted friendly foreign leaders and made televised small talk with a Russian judge about how Ukraine was not a real country. In managing Russia’s biggest war in generations, Mr. Putin increasingly looks like a commander in chief in absentia: In public, he says next to nothing about the course of the war and betrays little concern about Russia’s setbacks. Instead, he is telegraphing more clearly than ever that his strategy is to wait out Ukraine and the West — and that he thinks he can win by exhausting his foes.

☆ As Ukrainian Attack Looms, Putin Faces Setbacks and Disunity in Russian Forces
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Paul Sonne | Anton Troianovski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Russian military aircraft are crashing before they even reach Ukrainian airspace. A Russian mercenary boss is releasing one profanity-laced tirade after another, claiming that corrupt Russian generals who “all reek of expensive perfume” are sending soldiers to their deaths. These would seem to be bad weeks for President Vladimir V. Putin, a time when the problems that have plagued his 15-month war since its beginning are only worsening: stretched resources, disorganized defenses and disunity in the ranks. Those problems are now threatening to derail what just weeks ago had seemed finally to be a rare military success in Russia’s grasp: victory in the long-running, bloody battle for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Russian forces, while still fighting fiercely within the city limits, have retreated from positions on the edges of Bakhmut and according to the Russian Defense Ministry lost two colonels to combat there.

☆ As Putin Bides His Time, Ukraine Faces a Ticking Clock
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Paul Sonne | Andrew E. Kramer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Both armies have tanks, artillery and tens of thousands of soldiers ready to face off on the battlefields of Ukraine in a long-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia. But one thing clearly sets the two sides apart: time. If the Ukrainians fall short of expectations, they risk an erosion of Western support. As a result, there is a sense in Ukraine that its war effort faces a ticking clock. “In countries that are our partners, our friends, the expectation of the counteroffensive is overestimated, overheated, I would say,” Ukraine’s defense minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, said in an interview this past week in Kyiv, the capital.

☆ Emilian Galaicu-Păun, 22 octombrie 2020
▼ + stars: | 2020-10-26 | by ( ) moldova.europalibera.org time to read: +8 min

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