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Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, denies the espionage charges. When asked by the judge if he needed translation, Gershkovich said in Russian that he understood everything. The Kremlin has said Gershkovich, the first U.S. journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War, was caught "red-handed". "He is reading a lot in prison - Russian literature in the original Russian," Nozhkina told Reuters, adding that he was reading Leo Tolstoy's masterpiece "War and Peace" about the French invasion of Russia in 1812. Asked about the prison food, Nozhkina said Gershkovich was being given porridge in the mornings and that the food was normal.

☆ Deutsche Bank says cutting risks from Russian IT operations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 12 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) is looking for ways to minimise business disruption as it reduces risks from its Russian technology operations in line with the law, Germany's biggest lender said on Wednesday. The comments by a bank spokesperson followed a report in the Financial Times that the bank was winding down its remaining software technology operations in Moscow and St Petersburg as it looks to end its decades-long reliance on Russian IT expertise. "We continue to de-risk our operations in the Russia technology centre," the spokesperson told Reuters in an email. "This process is being conducted in a way that minimises business disruption and is in full compliance with relevant Russian legislation." Deutsche Bank has not yet made the formal decision to completely shutter its Russian IT operations, but the move is considered a done deal internally, the Financial Times added.

☆ Deutsche Bank to close down remaining Russian IT operations - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 12 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) is winding down its remaining software technology operations in Russia's Moscow and St Petersburg as the German lender looks to end its two decades of reliance on Russian IT expertise, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. The lender subsequently started relocating several hundred Russian IT experts to Berlin with Handelsblatt reporting that a mid-three-digit number of the IT experts having moved as of June last year. Deutsche Bank has not yet made the formal decision to completely shut down its Russian IT operations but the move is considered a done deal internally, the report said. Deutsche Bank did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia's Wagner claims it controls most of Bakhmut; Kyiv says forces holding firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Yulia Morozova/File PhotoApril 11 (Reuters) - The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group on Tuesday said his forces controlled more than 80% of the devastated eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut after some of war's heaviest and bloodiest fighting. Senior Ukrainian military officials did not address the claims directly, but said their forces were holding firm against fierce attacks in what once was a city of 70,000 and keeping Russian forces in check. The Russian-installed head of Donetsk region, one of four areas declared annexed by Moscow last September, said Russian forces had backed Ukrainian defenders into a corner. But Russian forces, she said, "are generally losing to us in street battles so they are simply destroying all buildings and structures". Russian forces have made only incremental gains in their advance through eastern Ukraine.

☆ Hundreds attend Moscow funeral of pro-war blogger
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russia charged Darya Trepova, 26, on Tuesday with terrorist offences over the killing of Tatarsky in the St Petersburg cafe where he had been due to talk. [1/5] People attend the funeral of Russian military blogger Maxim Fomin widely known by the name of Vladlen Tatarsky, who was recently killed in a bomb attack in a St Petersburg cafe, in Moscow, Russia, April 8, 2023. Tatarsky made extensive reporting trips to the front lines in Ukraine and had ties to Wagner group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who on Saturday thanked the blogger on behalf of his fighters. The Wagner group has been spearheading efforts in recent months to capture the city of Bakhmut in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Ukraine has not taken responsibility for the cafe bomb blast and instead blamed "domestic terrorism" in Russia.

☆ Russia protests to Canada over envoy's remarks about dead blogger
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 7 (Reuters) - Moscow formally protested to Canada on Friday after the country's U.N. envoy described a murdered Russian blogger as "a vitriolic propagandist" and a hate-monger, the foreign ministry said. In a statement, Russia's foreign ministry said it summoned a senior Canadian diplomat to strongly protest about Rae's remarks, which it described as "yet another manifestation of the Russophobia being fomented in Canada." He was a vitriolic propagandist, a spreader of hate and misinformation with a criminal record. Russian investigators have charged Darya Trepova, a 26-year-old St Petersburg resident, with terrorist offences over the killing of Tatarsky. Russia's health ministry said 42 others were injured in the blast.

☆ A Russian war fanatic was planning to buy military drones, hackers said. They made him buy $25,000 worth of sex toys instead.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Hackers said they bought sex toys with money a Russian war supporter was going to spend on drones. The Cyber Resistance group said on Telegram on Monday that it hacked Mikhail Luchin's AliExpress account, and used it to buy $25,000 worth of sex toys. It said the money was going to be spent on drones for the Russian army, according to Politico's translation. Luchin also said in a post that he will open a sex shop, make a 300% profit, and buy three times more drones. Ukrainian hackers and hackers from other countries have helped Ukraine since Russia's invasion in February 2022.

☆ In Russia's St Petersburg, locals say Finland 'making problems' with NATO accession
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ST PETERSBURG, April 4 (Reuters) - Citizens of St Petersburg, the Russian city closest to Finland, on Tuesday accused their neighbour of turning its back on them by joining the Western military alliance NATO, following their government's line that the accession was a hostile act. "I don't think anything will change for us," said St. Petersburg resident Yevgeny, who like others declined to give his surname. Another resident, Nikolai, said Finland was "making problems for itself". "We have always had good neighbourly relations with Finland." Another citizen, Alexei, had a recommendation for Finland: "If they wanted to unite with Russia against NATO, then I would be glad."

☆ Russia charges St Petersburg bomb suspect with terrorism
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. April 4 (Reuters) - Russian investigators on Tuesday charged Darya Trepova, a 26-year-old woman, with terrorism offences over the killing of pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in a bomb blast in St Petersburg. Tatarsky, a cheerleader for Russia's military campaign in Ukraine whose real name was Maxim Fomin, was killed on Sunday in a cafe where he was due to talk. Trepova was transferred from St Petersburg to Moscow, where prosecutors were due to ask the Basmanny district court to remand her in pre-trial detention. Footage of the St Petersburg event had Tatarsky showing the figurine off to his audience before it exploded.

"I feel it's a good thing that Finland is joining NATO. In Virolahti, near the Russian border due east of Helsinki, retired Finnish combat engineer Ilkka Lansivaara had hung his own NATO flag from the side of his house. Memories of Finland's close relations with Moscow to preserve independence - a tactic known as "Finlandisation" - run deep for many Finns. Finland brings a sizable, well-trained military into NATO and Russia has said it will have to take "counter-measures" to ensure Russian security in response. Meanwhile, Finland's close partner Sweden continues to wait for ratification of its NATO membership bid in the face of opposition from Turkey and Hungary.

☆ Putin ally accuses Western leaders of blood on their hands for supporting Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 4 (Reuters) - Russia's parliament speaker said on Tuesday that Western leaders have blood on their hands for supporting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and that support has led to the creation of a "terrorist state" in Europe's centre. Vyacheslav Volodin, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, said that the killing of prominent war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in St Petersburg over the weekend was a "terrorist act" committed by Kyiv. "The support of Washington and Brussels for the Kyiv authorities has led to the creation of a terrorist state in the centre of Europe," Volodin said on the Telegram messaging app. "The blood of the dead and wounded is on the hands of (U.S. President Joe) Biden, (President Emmanuel) Macron, (German Chancellor Olaf) Scholz and other heads of state who support the Zelenskiy regime." Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia's ultranationalists appear increasingly vulnerable after pro-war blogger's killing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The blast killed Tatarsky and injured at least 30 others, the authorities said, before detaining a woman on suspicion of involvement in what they described as a "high-profile murder." The death also sent shockwaves through Russia's pro-war commentariat which has burgeoned since Russia invaded Ukraine over a year ago. Tatarsky was one of Russia's more prominent and outspoken pro-war bloggers, with 572,000 followers on the popular messaging app Telegram. Unsettling ultranationalistsTatarsky's death is the second apparent assassination of a prominent Russian pro-war commentator on home soil. A leading Russian military blogger was killed on April 2, 2023 in an explosion in Russia's second-largest city of St. Petersburg, the interior ministry said.

☆ Russia says it arrests woman suspected of blowing up war blogger in cafe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The woman arrested - Darya Trepova - was a Russian citizen who had previously been detained for protesting against the war in Ukraine, the state news agency TASS said. Some Russian commentators saw the bombing as the latest sign that violence related to the war in Ukraine is increasingly spilling onto Russian territory. Russian investigators said they had arrested Trepova, a 26-year-old, who they said was suspected of bringing the explosives into the St Petersburg cafe. Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist ideologue, was killed in a car bomb attack outside Moscow last summer that Russia blamed on Kyiv. Simonyan, like other hawkish commentators, made it clear on Telegram that she wanted Russia to hit back hard against whoever had killed Tatarsky.

☆ Factbox: Who was Vladlen Tatarsky and why was he targeted?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

April 3 (Reuters) - Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in a bomb attack in a St Petersburg cafe on Sunday in which some 30 other people were wounded. Tatarsky – real name Maxim Fomin - was among the best-known members of an influential group of military bloggers who have provided a running commentary on Russia’s war in Ukraine. Tatarsky, 40, was among those who publicly demanded that Russia pursue the war even more aggressively. Tatarsky was the second high-profile war propagandist to be assassinated in Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Tatarsky also had ties to Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group fighting for Russia in Ukraine and also the former owner of the cafe.

☆ Bomb that killed Russian war blogger wounded 32, RIA reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 3 (Reuters) - The number of people wounded in the bomb blast that killed a prominent Russian military blogger in St Petersburg on Sunday has risen to 32 from 25 reported earlier, Russia's RIA sate news agency reported. Citing the ministry of health, RIA reported on Monday that 10 of the people were in a serious condition. [1/3] Investigators and members of emergency services work at the site of an explosion in a cafe in Saint Petersburg, Russia April 2, 2023. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov 1 2 3Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in a St Petersburg cafe in what appeared to be the second assassination on Russian soil of a figure closely associated with the war in Ukraine. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bomb kills Russian pro-war blogger in St. Petersburg café
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A leading Russian military blogger was killed on April 2, 2023 in an explosion in Russia's second-largest city of St. Petersburg, the interior ministry said. Olga Maltseva | AFP | Getty ImagesWell-known Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed by a bomb blast in a St Petersburg café on Sunday in what appeared to be the second assassination on Russian soil of a figure closely associated with the war in Ukraine. The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on Sunday he would "not blame the Kyiv regime" for it. Vladlen Tatarsky Russian blogger, speaking last SeptemberBut another leading Russian official pointed the finger at Ukraine, without providing evidence. The Kyiv regime is a terrorist regime.

[1/6] A well-known Russian military blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky, is seen in this undated social media picture obtained by Reuters on April 2, 2023. Telegram @Vladlentatarskybooks/via REUTERSApril 2 (Reuters) - Well-known Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in a bomb blast in a cafe in St Petersburg on Sunday, Russian news agencies reported. They quoted the interior ministry as confirming the death of Tatarsky and saying that 16 people had been wounded. If Tatarsky was deliberately targeted, it would be the second assassination on Russian soil of a high-profile figure associated with the war in Ukraine. Reporting by Reuters Writing by Mark Trevelyan Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan's Toyota hands St Petersburg plant over to Russian state
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Toyota's production site in St Petersburg has... been transferred to the state," Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a statement. The company said in September it had decided to stop vehicle production in Russia due to the interruption in supplies of key materials and parts. "Toyota confirms that it has concluded the transfer of its vehicle production plant to NAMI effective from March 31, 2023," Toyota said in a statement. Neither party disclosed a fee for the transaction, and Toyota declined to give any further details of the deal. NAMI, Russia's Central Automobile and Engine Research and Development Institute, has already taken plants from Renault and Nissan.

☆ Russia host Iraq in first home match since invasion of Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 26 (Reuters) - Russia's men's team will host their first match on home soil since November 2021 on Sunday, a friendly against Iraq in St Petersburg, having been kicked out of international competition because of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Russia's men have played four friendlies since the invasion, all away from home. Russia won 2-1 away in Kyrgyzstan last September, before draws against Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Iran. The RFU and four Russian clubs had appeals against the bans dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last July. Most international sports federations have excluded athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus since the invasion, but some are now starting to allow them back into competition.

☆ Xi snubbed Putin after their summit, calling a meeting of Central Asian countries as part of an audacious power play
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China's President Xi Jinping has made a power move timed with his visit to Russia. He set up a new meeting of Central Asian countries the week, muscling in on Russia's backyard. Xi invited the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to the first China-Central Asia summit Wednesday, the AFP news agency reported. Analysts say that China has secured significant leverage over Russia in return for its diplomatic and economic support, and that in calling the meeting of Central Asian nations it is seeking to exploit that advantage. China in recent years has increased its economic and security ties with Central Asian nations, which have abundant mineral resources and lie on ancient trade routes between east and west.

☆ Russia says it may take over Toyota plant in St Petersburg -TASS
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, March 16 (Reuters) - Japanese car maker Toyota's (7203.T) St Petersburg plant may be transferred to the Russian state entity NAMI, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said on Thursday, according to the state-run TASS news agency. "The transfer of Toyota's Russian asets to NAMI is being considered," Manturov was quoted as saying on the sidelines of a business congress. A spokesperson for Toyota said on Friday it was considering what to do regarding the plant, after having already decided last year to end vehicle production in Russia after suspending production in St Petersburg last March. "While it's true that we're considering various options, nothing has been decided at this point," the spokesperson said. Toyota said in September it had decided to stop vehicle production in Russia due to the interruption in supplies of key materials and parts.

☆ Wagner’s convicts tell of horrors of Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

They are identified as pardoned former convicts, returned from the front in Ukraine after joining Wagner from prison. Four of the men said they were personally recruited by Yevgeny Prigozhin as he toured Russia’s prison system to bolster his private army. I wish all real men would join Wagner.”The war in Ukraine is straining Russia’s military capacity. One of the convict recruits told Reuters he travelled to a Wagner training camp in the Russian-controlled part of eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk region. According to the United States, by mid-February Wagner had suffered more than 30,000 casualties in Ukraine, including 9,000 dead, almost all of them convicts.

☆ Russian internet speeds drop on hardware shortage, research finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Alexander Marrow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The country's largest telecoms operators, including MTS (MTSS.MM) and Megafon disputed the research, saying they had noted increased speeds in February, both in Moscow and beyond. It also said a fall in mobile internet traffic in Moscow had contributed to a rise in speeds there. MTS said it had noted increased traffic and mobile internet speeds in the regions, recording no decrease. "MTS is constantly working to expand network capacity, and telecoms operators and regulators are engaged in dialogue aimed at removing administrative barriers and stimulating the industry's development," it said. Rival Megafon said the median mobile internet speed on its network in regions excluding Moscow was 14% higher in February year-on-year, and up 18.5% in the capital.

☆ Russia's St Petersburg suspends, then restarts flights due to 'unknown object'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Russia's Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg temporarily and briefly suspended all flights on Tuesday morning before restarting them amid unconfirmed Russian media reports of an unidentified object such as a drone in the area. The RIA Novosti news agency had earlier reported, citing a source in the city's emergency services, that an unidentified object had been spotted, prompting the initial closure. There was no official comment on what caused the disruption or on how the alleged unknown object was investigated. Data from the FlightRadar24 website showed a number of flights headed for St Petersburg turning back to their destinations early on Tuesday, while the airspace closure also affected flights en route to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which requires planes to fly over St. Petersburg. By 1200 local time, flights had resumed flying towards St. Petersburg, the FlightRadar24 website showed, and aircraft had recommenced landing and taking-off at the airport.

☆ Brawling with elite, Russian mercenary boss wishes politician shot
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"During the 1941-45 war, which is now being repeated, Stalin simply shot people like you. I think we're going to return to those times soon," he told Sverdlovsk governor Yevgeny Kuivashev, according to his press service. Earlier this week, he accused various regional governors of refusing to bury Wagner fighters with military honours, labelling them as lawless, corrupt bureaucrats. From eastern Ukraine, Prigozhin replied that he had stopped being a businessman a year ago and was now devoting his life to leading his fighters. "There is a ceiling (of growth) and mechanisms in place," said the source, who declined to provide more details.

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