DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Russia's Medvedev raises spectre of nuclear strike on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Maxim ShemetovSept 27 (Reuters) - One of President Vladimir Putin's allies on Tuesday explicitly raised the spectre of a nuclear strike on Ukraine, saying that the U.S.-led military alliance would still stay out of the conflict for fear of a nuclear apocalypse. According to Russia's nuclear doctrine, the president may use nuclear weapons if the state faces an existential threat, including from conventional weapons. Around 90% of the world's nuclear warheads are held by Russia and the United States, who remain by far the world's biggest nuclear powers. Russia has the right to use nuclear weapons if necessary," Medvedev said, adding that it would do so "in predetermined cases" and in strict compliance with state policy. Medvedev, who cast himself as a liberalising president from 2008-2012, has regularly issued hawkish statements about the war in Ukraine.

☆ Russia's former president said nuclear threats are not a bluff, and that NATO won't step in if Russia nukes Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A top Russian official repeated Russia's nuclear threats, saying it "isn't a bluff." Dmitry Medvedev said NATO countries wouldn't step in if Russia fired a nuke on Ukraine. Russia will also "do anything" to prevent the nuclear weapons emerging in the country's "hostile neighbors" such as Ukraine, Medvedev said. Reminding the world about Russia's nuclear arsenal is nothing new among Putin and his allies. After Putin's latest statement, the White House warned Russia would face "catastrophic consequences" if it used tactical nuclear weapons.

☆ Putin expected to proclaim annexation of Ukraine territory within days
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Jonathan Landay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Russian-backed authorities claim to have carried out the referendums over five days on territory that makes up around 15% of Ukraine. "This farce in the occupied territories cannot even be called an imitation of a referendum," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in video address overnight. Russian officials have said any attack on annexed territory would be an attack on Russia itself. Russia's planned annexation of Ukrainian territory has been rejected globally, with even traditional allies of Moscow such as Serbia and Kazakhstan saying they will not recognise it. For now, Russian officials at the checkpoint were letting some people leave.

Russia on Friday launched referendums in four eastern ukrainian regions aimed at annexing territory it has taken by force. Asked if Russia would have grounds for using nuclear weapons to defend annexed regions of Ukraine, Lavrov said Russian territory, including territory "further enshrined" in Russia's constitution in the future, "is under the full protection of the state." Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Lavrov's comments, and Putin's earlier statement when he said he was not bluffing about using nuclear weapons, were "irresponsible" and "absolutely unacceptable." The likely annexation of Ukrainian territory raises the question of how Russia might respond to the use of Western weapons in those regions. Lavrov sought to portray opposition to Russia's war in Ukraine as limited to Washington and countries under its influence.

☆ Moscow "not threatening anyone" with nuclear weapons - Russia's Ryabkov
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Friday that Moscow was not threatening anybody with nuclear weapons, and that open confrontation with the United States and NATO was not in Russia's interests, state news agencies reported. "We are not threatening anyone with nuclear weapons," the Interfax agency quoted Ryabkov as saying at a conference on Friday. President Vladimir Putin this week told the West he was "not bluffing" when he said would use nuclear weapons if Russia's territorial integrity was threatened. Under Russia's nuclear doctrine, this could permit the use of nuclear weapons if Moscow feels it faces as "existential threat". Medvedev said it had the option of using strategic - long-range - nuclear weapons.

☆ Putin's 'incredibly dangerous' nuclear threats raise the risk of an unprecedented disaster
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Putin’s threats increase the risk of escalation to a nuclear conflict drastically. Beatrice Fihn, Nobel laureate and executive director of the International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons, urged political leaders to renew efforts to get rid of all nuclear weapons by signing and ratifying the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Beatrice Fihn, Nobel laureate and executive director of the International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons, told CNBC that Putin's "incredibly dangerous and irresponsible" threats drastically increase the risk of escalation to a nuclear conflict. Fihn called for the international community to "unequivocally condemn any and all nuclear threats" and urged political leaders to renew efforts to get rid of all nuclear weapons by signing and ratifying the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. 'No going back'Max Hess, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute think tank, described Putin's nuclear threats as a "very significant announcement."

☆ Russia's Medvedev: new regions can be defended with strategic nuclear weapons
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sputnik/Konstantin Zavrazhin/Pool via REUTERSLONDON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that any weapons in Moscow's arsenal, including strategic nuclear weapons, could be used to defend territories incorporated in Russia from Ukraine. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterMedvedev said the protection of all the territories would be significantly strengthened by the Russian armed forces, adding:"Russia has announced that not only mobilisation capabilities, but also any Russian weapons, including strategic nuclear weapons and weapons based on new principles, could be used for such protection." If formally admitted to the Russian Federation, the occupied territories, where Ukrainian counteroffensives have gathered pace in recent weeks, will under Moscow's nuclear doctrine be entitled to protection from Russian nuclear weapons. Moscow does not fully control any of the four regions it is expected to try to annex, with only around 60% of Donetsk and 66% of Zaporizhzhia regions held by the Russian army. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterWriting by Caleb Davis; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the partial mobilization of his country’s military Wednesday, calling up military reservists in a significant escalation of his war in Ukraine after a series of setbacks that led to growing pressure on the Kremlin to act. Until now, Putin had resisted calls from nationalist supporters and pro-military bloggers for a general mobilization since launching his full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. The Kremlin has insisted that what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine is going according to plan, but military observers have said Russian forces are depleted and increasingly dispirited. It wasn’t clear if the proposed annexation would cover the entire territory of the provinces or only the areas currently occupied by Russian forces. “We are aware of reports that President Putin may be preparing to enact mobilization measures.

CNN —Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the immediate “partial mobilization” of Russian citizens on Wednesday, a move that threatens to escalate his faltering invasion of Ukraine following a string of defeats that caused recriminations in Moscow. US President Joe Biden condemned the mobilization and the Kremlin’s planned votes, during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday. “Putin claims he had to act because Russia was threatened, but no one threatened Russia – and no one other than Russia sought conflict,” Biden added. A billboard promoting contract army service, with the slogan "Serving Russia is a real job," in St. Petersburg. On Tuesday, Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, amended the law on military service, toughening the punishment for violation of military service duties – such as desertion and evasion from service – according to state news agency TASS.

☆ Medvedev says Moscow-backed separatists must hold referendums to join Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File PhotoSept 20 (Reuters) - Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that it is "essential" for Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine to carry out referendums that would see their regions join Russia. On Monday, separatist leaders in the DPR and LPR agreed to "synchronise" efforts to stage referendums on joining Russia after local Russian-appointed officials stepped up their calls to hold the votes. "Encroachment onto the territory of Russia is a crime which allows you to use all self-defence forces," Medvedev said. Russia's proxies in the Donbas have been talking about joining Russia since they first tried to break away from Kyiv's control in 2014. Large swathes of the territory claimed by the DPR are still under Ukraine's control and Ukraine still holds territory in both Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

☆ Russian-backed separatists in Kherson say they will hold vote on joining Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | 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. MOSCOW, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Russian-installed officials in the Kherson region of Ukraine said they have decided to hold a referendum on joining Russia and have urged the Kremlin to give its permission as soon as possible, the separatist head of the region said on Tuesday. In a post on the Telegram messaging app, Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-appointed head of Kherson, said he hoped Kherson would become "a part of Russia, a fully-fledged subject of a united country." Saldo said Kherson joining Russia would "secure our region" and be a "triumph of historical justice." read moreShortly after Saldo's announcement about plans for a vote in Kherson, the head of Russia's parliament said he would support the regions joining Russia.

Search resuls for: "Dmitry Medvedev"

11 mentions found