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☆ Putin is desperate for North Korea's stockpile of weapons, but they're outdated and unreliable, say experts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russia's Vladimir Putin will host North Korea's Kim Jong Un in Vladivostok, reports say. But North Korea's shoddy weapons may not be effective, say analysts. Ben Wallace, the former UK defense secretary, meanwhile accused Putin of "begging" for outdated North Korean weapons in his desperation to secure new weapons supplies. But analysts believe that North Korea's weapons are in a shoddy state, and are unlikely to make a decisive impact in Ukraine. AdvertisementAdvertisement"Russia is looking to North Korea for a large quantity of conventional weapons rather than sophisticated ones," said Go.

Persons: Russia's Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Kim, John Everard, Ben Wallace, meanwhile, Michael Kofman Organizations: Service, North, BBC, UN, Financial Times, Asan Institute, Policy Studies, Russia, CNA Locations: Vladivostok, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, Moscow, Iran, Korea, Korean, Yeonpyeong, US, Seoul

☆ US says North Korea will 'pay a price' for any weapons supplies to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Providing weapons to Russia "is not going to reflect well on North Korea and they will pay a price for this in the international community," U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House. "We will continue to call on North Korea to abide by its public commitments not to supply weapons to Russia that will end up killing Ukrainians," Sullivan said. As Russia's isolation over its war in Ukraine has grown, it has seen increasing value in North Korea, according to political analysts. The United States in August imposed sanctions on three entities it accused of being tied to arms deals between North Korea and Russia. North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests since 2006 and had been testing various missiles over recent years.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong, Alexander Zemlianichenko, Kim Jong Un, Jake Sullivan, Kim, Sullivan, Adrienne Watson, Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Sergei Shoigu, Keir Giles, Andrei Lankov, Trevor Hunnicutt, Andrew Osborn, Heather Timmons, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, U.S, White, . National Security, New York Times, Russia's, Chatham House's, Eurasia, Russia, Seoul's Kookmin University, The, China, . Security, Thomson Locations: Vladivostok, Russia, MOSCOW, North Korea, Ukraine, Moscow, Soviet Union, PYONGYANG, Korean, Pyongyang, North, Chatham House's Russia, Russian, Korea, The United States, U.S

Watson did not say when and where a potential meeting between Kim and Putin in Russia might take place. North Korea does not currently have any nuclear-powered submarines, according to an assessment from Nuclear Threat Initiative, a think-tank focused on reducing nuclear threats. Earlier this month, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on three entities it accused of being tied to arms deals between North Korea and Russia. Apart from North Korea, Russia has also received drones and artillery from Iran. These are our neighbors,” Shoigu told reporters, referring to North Korea by its official name.

Persons: Kim Jong, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, “, Kim Jong Un, Adrienne Watson, Watson, Kim, Putin, ”, Dmitry Peskov, John Kirby, Wagner, Kirby, ” Kirby, Biden, ” Shoigu, Xi Jinping, Li Zhanshu, China’s, Xi Organizations: CNN, North, National Security, ”, Russian, National Intelligence Service, ” CNN, Korean Central News Agency, Nuclear Threat Initiative, New York Times, Eastern Economic, US, Russian Defense, Democratic People’s, Economic, Communist Party, Group Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, North Korea, Pyongyang, Russian, Washington, Korea, North, Vladivostok, “, Iran, China, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, East, Beijing, India

Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, plans to travel to Russia this month to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin to discuss the possibility of supplying Russia with more weaponry for its war in Ukraine and other military cooperation, according to American and allied officials. Mr. Kim could possibly go to Moscow, though that is not certain. Mr. Putin wants Mr. Kim to agree to send Russia artillery shells and antitank missiles, and Mr. Kim would like Russia to provide North Korea with advanced technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines, the officials said. Mr. Kim is also seeking food aid for his impoverished nation. Mr. Kim also plans to visit Pier 33, where naval ships from Russia’s Pacific fleet dock, they said.

Persons: Kim Jong, Vladimir V, Putin, Kim Organizations: Mr, Eastern Federal University, Eastern Economic, Russia’s Locations: North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Pyongyang, North, Vladivostok, Moscow, Korea

☆ North Korea hints at tourism reopening, but doubts remain
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

When North Korea slammed its already tight borders closed in 2020, he was one of many travel industry professionals left out in the proverbial cold. One of Cockerell’s business concerns, he says, is that a lack of search engine interest in North Korea trips could hurt his website’s visibility on Google. In 2017, the United States banned its passport holders from traveling to North Korea and has renewed this ban through at least 2024. The 2017 ban on American travel to North Korea came shortly after the death of Otto Warmbier, a recent college graduate from Ohio who participated in a Young Pioneer Tours group trip to North Korea. Warmbier was detained in North Korea in 2016 for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster and held for 17 months.

Persons: Simon Cockerell, ” Cockerell, ”, Cockerell, Kim, Otto Warmbier, Warmbier, CNN’s Paula Hancocks, Irene Nasser, Kate Springer, Yoonjung Seo Organizations: CNN, Air Koryo, of Tourism, United, DPRK, Tours, North Koreans, North Korean Locations: North Korea, North, Pyongyang, Beijing, China, Vladivostok, Russia, Koryo, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Tourism, United States, Ohio

☆ US accuses Russia of intimidation after ex-consulate worker charged with spying
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A woman uses her mobile phone in front of the Federal Security Service (FSB) building on Lubyanka Square in Moscow, Russia, June 24, 2023. The FSB said it planned to question U.S. embassy employees who were in contact with Shonov, who has been under arrest since May. "We strongly protest the Russian security services' attempts - furthered by Russia's state-controlled media - to intimidate and harass our employees," said Miller. The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reporting by Reuters; additional reporting by Simon Lewis in Washington; editing Mark Heinrich and Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Maxim Shemetov, Moscow, Robert Shonov, Shonov, Matthew Miller, Washington, Miller, Simon Lewis, Mark Heinrich, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Federal Security Service, REUTERS, Washington, U.S . Consulate, State, U.S, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, United States, U.S, Ukraine, Russian, Vladivostok, Washington

☆ North Korea is finally reopening after Covid. And it still requires a one-week quarantine
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Irene Nasser | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —North Korea has announced it will allow its citizens living abroad to return home in an easing of its coronavirus-era border controls. Recent moves by North Korea, which closed its borders in early 2020 in response to the pandemic, have signaled that the country is reopening, but Pyongyang will still require even returning citizens to quarantine on arrival. “Those who return will be put under proper medical observation at quarantine wards for a week,” it said in the announcement. The news comes after a North Korean flight from Pyongyang arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, in what was the first known international commercial flight to leave North Korea since January 2020. Flights between North Korea and Russia are also set to resume, with four flights between Pyongyang and Vladivostok this month.

Organizations: CNN, Epidemic, North Korean Taekwondo, 22nd, North Locations: Korea, China, North Korea, Pyongyang, Korean, Beijing, Russia, Vladivostok, Kazakhstan’s, Astana, North Korean

☆ North Korean plane lands in China for first time in three years
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Mihir Melwani | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Air travel between the Hermit Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom is possible once again. Air Koryo flight JS151 from Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, arrived at Beijing’s PEK airport on Tuesday at 9:17 a.m. local time, according to the Beijing Capital International Airport website. The resumption of North Korean flag carrier Air Koryo’s regular flights between China and the DPRK was approved by Chinese authorities amid the changes in Chinese covid travel restrictions in January, according to a statement by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Meanwhile, regular flights between North Korea and Russia are set to resume on Friday, August 25, for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, as previously reported by CNN. The one-hour flights travel between Pyongyang and the southeastern Russian city of Vladivostok, where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for a summit in 2019.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, CNN’s Paula Hancocks, Lilit Marcus, Yoonjung Seo Organizations: CNN, Air, Beijing Capital International, Air Koryo’s, DPRK, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, North Locations: Hermit, Kingdom, Pyongyang, North, Beijing’s PEK, North Korea, Korean, China, Russia, Russian, Vladivostok

BEIJING/SEOUL, Aug 22 (Reuters) - An Air Koryo flight from Pyongyang landed in Beijing early on Tuesday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began in 2020, as North Korea cracks open its border to some passenger travel. Cargo train and ship traffic has slowly increased over the past year, but North Korea has only just begun to allow some international passenger travel. Since the end of 2019, U.N. Security Council resolutions have required that all countries deport North Korean workers. The current Chinese ambassador to North Korea, Wang Yajun, had to wait 15 months after being named for the job before he could enter the country this March to take up his role. The Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday that Beijing had approved North Korea's state carrier Air Koryo resuming flights to China.

Persons: lockdowns, Koryo, Simon Cockerell, Kim Jong, Wang Yajun, Sophie Yu, Brenda Goh, Laurie Chen, Tian, Josh Smith, Jacqueline Wong, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: North, Association of Asian Studies, Air Koryo, Civil Aviation Administration, China, Air China, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, SEOUL, Pyongyang, Beijing, North Korea, China, Russian, Kazakhstan, Vladivostok, Russia, U.N, Korea's, Koryo, Seoul

☆ North Korea-Russia flights due to take off for first time since the pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Lilit Marcus | Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Flights between North Korea and Russia are set to resume for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic. Air Koryo, North Korea’s national airline, is operating four flights between Pyongyang and Vladivostok, in southeast Russia, this month for the first time since 2020, a Vladivostok airport official confirmed to CNN. North Korea, which already has some of the world’s most tightly controlled borders, essentially sealed off the country during the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, several Russian diplomats had to take drastic measures to leave their posts in North Korea during the pandemic. According to information shared by the Russian embassy at the time, the pushcart ride was only one part of a two-day journey to leave North Korea.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, pushcart, Korea’s Organizations: CNN, Koryo, Air, Pyongyang International Airport, pushcart Locations: North Korea, Russia, North, Pyongyang, Vladivostok, Air Koryo, North Korea’s, Russian, Khasan

☆ Russia's Far East suffers flooding in Khanun's wake, over 2,500 people evacuated
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Aug 14 (Reuters) - Floods in Russia's Far East had forced the evacuation of more than 2,500 people by Monday, the ministry of emergency situations said, after Russia joined the list of countries battered by rainstorms in the wake of Typhoon Khanun. Russian Emergencies Ministry/Handout via REUTERS/File photoIn the Russian Far East, 28 settlements were cut off by Monday. Large stretches of roads and 4,620 houses were flooded in 15 municipalities, the ministry said on the Telegram channel. The ministry said floodwaters had begun to recede in most parts of Primorye, and the worst flooding was on the Malinovka river near the village of Rakitnoye. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Warsaw; Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Khanun, Lidia Kelly, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Russian Emergencies Ministry, REUTERS, Telegram, Thomson Locations: Russia's Far, Russia, Japan, China, Liaoning, Ussuriysk, Russian, Vladivostok, Primorye, Rakitnoye, Warsaw

☆ Russia cleans up after Typhoon Khanun floods thousands of homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Aug 13 (Reuters) - Russia sent a task force to oversee cleanup of parts of the country's Far East on Sunday after Typhoon Khanun passed through the Primorye region, the emergencies ministry in Moscow said. Russia's TASS news agency quoted the ministry as saying the number of flooded homes stood at 4,368 while 5,654 adjoining plots and 7 apartment buildings also were flooded. It said most of the affected homes were in the cities of Ussuriysk and Spassk-Dalny, and in the Oktyabrsky municipal district, in the region of Primorye, where the port of Vladivostok is the administrative center. The ministry said in its Telegram channel that the task force would "coordinate the work to eliminate the consequences of the flood." It added there were no reports of casualties and that it had avoided more serious damage by sending units in early.

Persons: Khanun, Sandra Maler Organizations: Russia's TASS, TASS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ussuriysk, Oktyabrsky, Primorye, Vladivostok

☆ Emergency, evacuations in parts of Russia's Far East in typhoon aftermath
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Strong winds and waves caused by Typhoon Khanun crash against a structure off the coast of the southeastern port city of Busan in South Korea on August 10, 2023. A state of emergency was declared and evacuations ordered in parts of Russia's Far East on Saturday after heavy downpours flooded villages in the aftermath of Typhoon Khanun that pummelled Japan earlier this week, local authorities said. In the Russian Far East, a region in the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent, 32 settlements were cut off, 543 houses and large stretches of roads were flooded by Saturday morning, said authorities in the Primorye region. Evacuations were in place in the cities of Ussuriysk and Spassk-Dalny in Primorye, the region of which the port of Vladivostok is the administrative centre. The Spassovka and Kuleshovka rivers cross the territory of Spassk-Dalny, a city of just over 44,000 people.

Persons: Typhoon Khanun, Khanun Locations: Busan, South Korea, Russia's, Japan, North Korea, Russian, Russia, Primorye, Ussuriysk, Vladivostok, Spassk

☆ Exploding drone boats aren't hard to beat, but Russia's weak defenses are letting Ukraine blow up its ships
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Ukraine's recent waterborne drone attacks have shed light on weaknesses in Russian defenses. Prior to the hits on Olenegorsky Gornyak and Sig, previous naval drone attacks have terrorized Russian ships in the Black Sea. United 24/Ukrainian government'Too many to take out'With the drone attacks showing no sign of stopping, the questions become how Russia will respond. And if Russia does ramp up its defenses, it's likely that Ukraine will scale up the number of its drone boats. Operating a group of drone boats, Clark added, is more difficult given water conditions, weather, and the potential to ram into unintended targets.

Persons: Sutton, Gornyak, haven't, they're, Bryan Clark, Ulf Mauder, Clark, Shaposhnikov, Peter the, KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV Organizations: Service, Sig, US Navy, Hudson Institute, Russia's, Getty, intel Locations: Wall, Silicon, Russian, Russia, Novorossiysk, Ukraine, Sevastopol, Ukrainian, US, Persian, Israel, Peter the Great, Japan, Vladivostok, AFP, Crimea

☆ Kim Jong Un has plastered his walls with bizarre, giant portraits of Putin, images from North Korean state media reveal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Photos released by North Korean state media show Kim Jong Un's huge portraits of Vladimir Putin. The images show the leader giving Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu a personal tour. The portraits were visible as the North Korean leader gave a personal tour to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. In the bizarre images, Kim and Shoigu can be seen walking down a corridor while huge portraits of Putin and Kim loom over them from either side. Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attends a reception for the Russian military delegation hosted by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on July 27, 2023.

Persons: Kim Jong, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Shoigu, Kim Jong Un, Kim, Putin, Simon Miles, Miles, Biden Organizations: North, Russian, Service, North Korean, Russian Defense, Central Committee of, Workers ' Party, Daily, Russia's, Reuters, Mail, Korean Central News Agency, Associated Press, Duke University's Sanford School of Public, Soviet Union, AP Locations: North Korean, Wall, Silicon, Pyongyang, Vladivostok, Russia, North Korea, Soviet, North Koreans, Ukraine, Moscow, Russian

☆ China hosts Russian warships that passed by Taiwan, Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, July 6 (Reuters) - China hosted two Russian warships that had earlier sailed past Taiwan and Japan, and the vessels are expected to hold a joint drill with the Chinese navy during their visit, demonstrating the enduring military cooperation between the two countries. The two frigates - Gromkiy and Sovershenniy - made port at the financial hub of Shanghai on Wednesday, Chinese state television reported. The same ships, which belong to the Pacific fleet of the Russian Navy, passed through waters near democratically governed Taiwan at the end of June. China and Russia have pledged stronger military ties, and on Monday, China's Defence Minister Li Shangfu met with the head of the Russian navy, Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, in Beijing. Gerasimov was quoted by Tass news agency as saying that the two sides will continue to expand their military cooperation.

Persons: Xi Jingping's, Vladimir Putin, Li Shangfu, Nikolai Yevmenov, Commission Liu Zhenli, Valery Gerasimov, Gerasimov, Albee Zhang, Ella Cao, Ryan Woo, Ben Blanchard, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Fleet, Pacific, Russian Navy, NATO, China's, Commission, Tass, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Taiwan, Japan, Shanghai, Vladivostok, Okinawa, U.S, Moscow, Washington, Asia, Pacific, Russia, Russian, Beijing

☆ Russia is caught between using its military to fight attacks within its own borders and invading Ukraine, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The UK MOD said it shows how Russia caught in a "dilemma" about how to use its strength. The UK Ministry of Defence said in an update on Friday that recent attacks in the Russian region of Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, left Russia's military with hard choices to make. The UK MOD said "partisan groups" attacked the city on Thursday, for the second time in 10 days, though it didn't name any. That shows the decision Russia's military now has about where to use its weaponry. The Liberty of Russia Legion says it cooperates with Ukraine's military, though Ukraine denied any involvement with attacks in Russia and said the group is made up entirely of dissident Russians.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, Putin, they've Organizations: MOD, Service, UK Ministry of Defence, Russia, Liberty of Russia Legion, Putin, Russian Volunteer Corps, Russia Legion Locations: Russia, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Russian, Belgorod, Russia's, Liberty, Vladivostok, Putin Russian

☆ Anti-Putin dissident fighters say they will launch another attack on Russian soil, and pledge to 'liberate the whole of Russia'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Liberty of Russia Legion said it will soon reenter Russia, to bring "freedom, peace, and calm." In a Telegram post on Thursday, the Liberty of Russia Legion said that it was "near the border of our homeland," according to CNN's translation. The Liberty of Russia Legion has described Putin as a dictator leading a tyrannical regime, and as someone who kills Russians who oppose him. The group claimed responsibility last week for an attack on the Russian border region of Belgorod, alongside the Russian Volunteer Corps. The Liberty of Russia Legion said on May 22 that it had carried out the "liberation" of several villages in the area.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Vyacheslav Gladkov, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Russia Legion, Putin, Service, Liberty of Russia Legion, Russian Volunteer Corps, Nazi, Reuters Locations: Russian, Russia, Liberty, Belgorod, Vladivostok, Russia's Belgorod, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russians, Kyiv

☆ The Russian navy's biggest warships are becoming its biggest headaches
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Ongoing problems with the Russian navy's biggest warships illustrate that trend. This seems most evident with Russia's largest surface warships: its Kirov-class nuclear-powered battlecruisers, Admiral Nakhimov and Pyotr Velikiy, and the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia's sole aircraft carrier. Admiral Kuznetsov in a floating dry dock in a shipyard in Murmansk in August 2010. Other Russian navy sources quickly denied the report to another state media outlet. Izvestia has also reported that the Russian navy is reforming the Kuznetsov's crew, which was mostly disbanded when the ship began its refit.

CNN —A Russian politician died of – as of yet – unknown causes after falling ill on a plane on Saturday, the latest in a string of mysterious deaths among Russian elites. Russia’s Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education, Pyotr Kucherenko, 46, died while returning from a trip to Cuba on Saturday, according to the ministry. “Kucherenko was feeling ill while on a plane with a Russian delegation that was returning from a business trip to Cuba. Russia's Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education Pyotr Kucherenko died while returning from Cuba. Mysterious deaths pile upKucherenko’s demise is not the first unexplained Russian death to spark interest.

☆ The US Navy has its eyes on a new submarine base that will help it keep track of China's growing undersea fleet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

As part of the AUKUS agreement, US and British subs will operate out of western Australia by 2027. The deal on the base comes as rivals, mainly China, increase their submarine activity in the region. Ray Mabus, then US navy secretary, departs a Chinese Yuan-class submarine in Ningbo in November 2012. The Defense Department report also says China's six operational Jin-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile subs are likely already conducting "near-continuous at-sea deterrence patrols," a sign that China's submarine force continues to improve its operational capabilities. For the US Navy, those developments make the ability to base subs closer to the Western Pacific a greater priority.

☆ Russia Charges Former U.S. Embassy Employee With Helping a Foreign State
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Alan Cullison | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Russian authorities arrested a former supply manager for the U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok, state news agencies reported. Photo: Yuri Smityuk/Zuma PressMoscow has charged a former employee of the U.S. Embassy in Russia with collaborating with a foreign state, Russia news services reported, amid a broadening Kremlin campaign against Western influence that has complicated work of the U.S. mission there. Russian state news agencies identified the employee as Robert Shonov , 62 years old, a longtime supply manager for the U.S. Consulate in the far eastern provincial city of Vladivostok, which closed two years ago.

☆ U.S. Condemns Russia’s Arrest of Embassy Contractor
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Alan Cullison | Daniel Nasaw | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Robert Shonov worked for more than 25 years for the U.S. Consulate General in Vladivostok, Russia. Photo: Yuri Smityuk/Zuma PressThe U.S. condemned Moscow’s jailing of a Russian contractor for the American Embassy there, describing the arrest as a “blatant use of increasingly repressive laws against its own citizens.”Robert Shonov, 62 years old, was charged under a statute penalizing Russians who help a foreign state undermine Russia’s interests, Russian news agencies reported. The U.S. said the allegations were “wholly without merit.” He was arrested in March, and is now being held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, whose cells are typically reserved for suspects in high-profile espionage cases, and faces eight years in prison, the agencies reported.

☆ A former U.S. Embassy employee is being held in Moscow, according to Russia’s state news agency.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Daniel Victor | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Robert Shonov, identified as a former employee of the U.S. Embassy in Russia, was arrested in the Russian city of Vladivostok and charged with conspiracy, according to the Russian state news agency Tass. Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesman, told reporters at a briefing on Monday that he had seen the report but that “I don’t have anything additional to offer at this time.”Tass, quoting an anonymous law enforcement official, said that Mr. Shonov was accused of “collaboration on a confidential basis with a foreign state or international or foreign organization.” He has been taken to Lefortovo Prison in Moscow, Tass reported, and no court date has been set. Being held in isolation is commonplace at Lefortovo, a notorious high-security prison whose inmates currently include Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal correspondent who was accused of espionage in March, charges that his employer and American officials have strongly denied. Also being held at the prison is Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who is serving a 16-year sentence on what the United States has said are fabricated charges of espionage.

☆ Moscow's 'special' forces: An inside look at how Russia's famed Spetsnaz really operate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Mark Galeotti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +24 min

Russia's Spetsnaz forces are often depicted as a kind of Russian super troops. Osprey PublishingMost countries' special forces emphasize physical fitness, determination and aggression. Special people, for special tasksMembers of the Russian military's 16th Separate Special Purpose Brigade during an exercise in 2018. Even so, being better than most of the Soviet army's miserable and recalcitrant conscript forces did not make most of them truly special, special forces. The special operations commandMembers of Russian's 22nd Separate Guards Special Purpose Brigade during an exercise in November 2017.

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