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☆ Dnipro river should return to its banks by June 16 after dam collapse, Russian-backed official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The flood has inundated towns and villages below the dam, trapping residents and sweeping away entire houses on both sides of the Dnipro, which separates Ukrainian-controlled Kherson province from the southern section that Russian forces control. He said preliminary calculations by the Russian hydroelectricity producer RusHydro indicated the Dnipro would return to its usual course below the now-destroyed Kakhovka power station by June 16. Saldo also accused Ukraine of shelling temporary refuges for those displaced by the flood, saying one woman had died as the result of the attacks. Reuters could not independently verify the assertion of shelling, which echoes similar allegations made in recent days. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv, which has accused Moscow's forces of shelling civilians located on flooded territory that it controls.

Persons: Vladimir Saldo, Hola, RusHydro, Saldo, Moscow's, Vladimir Soldatkin, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Nova Kakhovka, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine MOSCOW, Dnipro, Russian, Kherson, Nova, Oleshky, Ukraine, Kyiv, Moscow, Crimea, Ukrainian

☆ Putin says Ukrainian offensive has begun, but failed so far
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MOSCOW, June 9 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine had begun a major offensive against Russia's army but that Ukrainian forces had failed to achieve their objectives despite intense fighting over at least three days. "We can state for sure that this offensive has begun. This is evidenced by the use of strategic reserves of the Ukrainian army," Putin told Russian reporters in Sochi. Putin said fighting had been very intense over the past three days but that "the enemy did not have success" in any of the battles. Writing by Kevin Liffey and Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Toby Chopra and Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Kevin Liffey, Guy Faulconbridge, Toby Chopra Organizations: Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Ukraine, Russian, Sochi

[1/3] Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speak during a meeting at the Bocharov Ruchei residence in Sochi, Russia June 9, 2023. Putin announced in March he had agreed to deploy such weapons in Belarus, pointing to U.S deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in a host of European countries over many decades. It is still unclear where the Russian nuclear warheads - which will remain under Russian control - will be kept in Belarus. RANGEPutin, who is the ultimate decision maker on any nuclear launch, said Iskander mobile short-range ballistic missiles, which can deliver nuclear warheads, had already been handed over to Belarus. Putin has repeatedly raised the issue of U.S. B61 tactical nuclear warheads deployed at bases in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Turkey.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, Lukashenko, Putin, Moscow's, Vladimir Vladimirovich, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Su, Guy Faulconbridge, Kevin Liffey, Andrew Osborn, Frances Kerry Organizations: Belarusian, Sputnik, NATO, United, Sukhoi, B61, Cuban Missile Crisis, Thomson Locations: Sochi, Russia, Kremlin, Belarus, Europe, Putin MOSCOW, Soviet Union, Russian, Black, United States, Ukraine, Moscow, China, Washington, Minsk, Berlin, Stockholm, Soviet, Kazakhstan, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Nevada

☆ Russia's Shoigu: Ukraine's counter-offensive has been thwarted
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Unusually, Sergei Shoigu read a statement himself rather than leaving it to the ministry's regular spokesman. Ukraine has maintained deliberate ambiguity about whether its long-expected counter-offensive is under way, and Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield claims. "In the past three days, the Ukrainian regime launched a long-promised offensive in different sectors of the front," Shoigu said. In its daily briefings, Russia's Defence Ministry often enumerates the losses of men and material that it says Ukraine has suffered, without providing evidence. On Monday, Russia's Defence Ministry said Ukraine had begun its counter-offensive by attacking Russian lines at different points in the south of the Donetsk region, and that all the attacks had been repelled.

Persons: Sergei Shoigu, Shoigu, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russian Wagner, Guy Faulconbridge, Kevin Liffey, William Maclean Organizations: Reuters, Russia's Defence, Ukraine's Defence Ministry, Russia's Defence Ministry, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, MOSCOW, Ukrainian, Russia, Donetsk, Russian, Moscow, Dnipro, Kyiv, Crimea

☆ Russia says it sees 'no prospects' for further grain deal renewal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 5 (Reuters) - Russia's foreign ministry said on Monday that it saw no prospects for extending the Black Sea grain export deal, which is set to expire in mid-July, Russian news agencies reported. TASS news agency quoted the ministry as saying that it was continuing consultations with the United Nations, and that ship inspections had resumed. To help convince Russia to back the deal, a three-year pact was also struck last July in which the U.N. agreed to help Moscow carry out its food and fertiliser shipments. Russia has repeatedly threatened to quit the deal, complaining that obstacles still remain to its own exports of food and fertiliser. The agreement last came up for renewal on May 18 and Russia agreed at that point to extend it for 60 more days, to July 17.

Persons: Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: TASS, United Nations, RIA, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Geneva, Turkey, Ukraine, Moscow, Ukrainian, Pivdennyi

☆ Ukraine retakes part of village near Bakhmut, head of Russia's Wagner says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] View of military vehicles as Ukrainian forces destroy Russian positions in direction of Bakhmut, near Klischiivka, Donetsk Region, Ukraine, in this screengrab taken from a video released on June 4, 2023. 3rd Assault Brigade / Ukrainian Armed Forces Press Service/Handout via REUTERSJune 5 (Reuters) - Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Monday that Ukrainian forces had retaken part of the village of Berkhivka, north of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, calling it a "disgrace". Prigozhin's private Wagner militia captured Bakhmut last month after the longest battle of the war and handed its positions there to regular Russian troops. Ukrainian forces have continued to attack areas north and south of the city including Berkhivka, whose seizure Wagner had claimed on Feb. 24. The village lies about 3 km (1.9 miles) northwest of Bakhmut.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Bakhmut, Wagner, Prigozhin, Denis Pushilin, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, you'll, Shoigu, Mark Trevelyan, Felix Light, Kevin Liffey Organizations: 3rd Assault Brigade, Ukrainian Armed Forces Press Service, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Bakhmut, Klischiivka, Donetsk Region, Ukraine, Russian, Berkhivka, Moscow, Donetsk

☆ Kremlin: fake Putin address broadcast on Russian radio stations after 'hack'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 5 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said a purported radio address by President Vladimir Putin heard on Monday on Russian stations in regions bordering Ukraine was fake and the result of a hack, Russian news agencies reported. The state-owned news agency RIA said a number of radio stations had carried the hoax address. "All of these messages are an utter fake," it cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. Independent Russian media reported that the announcement had told residents of the Rostov, Belgorod and Voronezh regions, all of which adjoin Ukraine, that Kyiv's forces had crossed the border with Russia. In a statement posted on Telegram, the Voronezh regional government confirmed that a hack had taken place, and said local radio stations were under the control of law enforcement agencies and local authorities.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, RIA, Dmitry Peskov, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Independent, Moscow, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Rostov, Belgorod, Voronezh, Russia

☆ Belarusian blogger arrested on Ryanair flight pardoned - state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, May 22 (Reuters) - Roman Protasevich, the Belarusian opposition blogger arrested in 2021 after his Ryanair overflight was forced to land in Minsk, was pardoned on Monday, the Belarusian state news agency BelTA reported. "I have literally just signed all the relevant documents stating that I have been pardoned," BelTA quoted Protasevich as telling reporters. Protasevich had been sentenced to eight years in prison this month for offences including inciting terrorism, organising mass disturbances and slandering Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. A clampdown around the time of the election resulted in all significant opposition figures being jailed or driven into exile. After his arrest, Protasevich was shown on state television tearfully confessing to involvement in anti-government protests and plotting to topple Lukashenko.

☆ Russian regional governor says Ukrainian 'sabotage group' crossed border
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 22 (Reuters) - The governor of Russia's Belgorod region said on Monday that a Ukrainian army 'sabotage group' had entered Russian territory in the Graivoron district, which borders Ukraine. In a statement on Telegram, Vyacheslav Gladkov said that the Russian army, border guards, presidential guards and the FSB security service were taking measures to repel the incursion. Earlier, the Telegram channel Baza, which is linked to Russia's security services, had published footage apparently showing a Ukrainian armoured vehicle advancing on the Graivoron border checkpoint. Ukrainian media cited Ukrainian military intelligence as saying the Liberty of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps, both consisting of Russian citizens, were behind the attack. Earlier on Monday, the group released a video showing five heavily armed fighters: "We are Russians, like you.

☆ Russia's Putin and Iran's Raisi oversee railway deal signing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MOSCOW, May 17 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday oversaw, via video-link, the signing of a deal on financing and construction of an Iranian railway line to facilitate regional trade. The Rasht-Astara railway is seen as an important link in the broader international North–South Transport Corridor, connecting India, Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan and other countries via railways and sea. Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia confirms Black Sea grain deal renewed for two months
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 17 (Reuters) - Russia confirmed on Wednesday that a deal to allow Ukraine to export its grain safely across the Black Sea, despite Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, had been extended for two months. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the deal had been extended to help countries in need, but added that Russia's overall assessment of the situation regarding the deal had not changed. "The extension of the grain deal is for two months. Thus, there is a chance, not in words, but in deeds, to help ensure global food security. First of all, to help the most needy countries," Zakharova told reporters in a video briefing.

In 2012, Maslov and Shiplyuk presented the results of an experiment on hypersonic missile design at a seminar in Tours, France. In 2016, all three were among the authors of a book chapter entitled "Hypersonic Short-Duration Facilities for Aerodynamic Research at ITAM, Russia". The cases showed that "any article or report can lead to accusations of high treason", the open letter said. It said such cases were having a chilling effect on young Russian scientists. Asked about the letter, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said: "We have indeed seen this appeal, but Russian special services are working on this.

☆ Factbox: What do we know about Kinzhal, Russia's hypersonic missile?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

He has said these weapons could penetrate both existing and any future missile defence systems. - Russia sent fighter jets armed with Kinzhal missiles to Syria for the first time in 2021, military analysts say. - Russia's defence ministry claimed to have fired a Kinzhal missile at a munitions dump in southwestern Ukraine on March 19, 2022, the first known use of the weapon in combat. It has since fired Kinzhal missiles on several other occasions in Ukraine. - On May 6, Ukraine said for the first time that it had shot down a Kinzhal, using a Patriot system.

May 16 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Tuesday its agencies were tracking Western spy activity after the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency published a video encouraging Russians to make contact via a secure internet channel. Published nearly 15 months into Moscow's war with Ukraine, the video invites Russians to take a colossal risk. Asked about the video, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had not paid attention to it, but added: "I am convinced that our special services are monitoring this space in the necessary way." Some Russians reacted sceptically to the video on social media, saying it looked like a "provocation" by Russia's FSB security service. "The CIA wants to know the truth about #Russia, and we are looking for reliable people who know and can tell us this truth," it said.

☆ Georgia to resume flights to Russia this week, drawing EU and Ukrainian criticism
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 16 (Reuters) - Georgian Airways will resume direct flights to Russia from Saturday, the country's civil aviation authority said, drawing criticism from Ukraine and the European Union. "The world is isolating Russia to force it to stop the war, but Georgia is welcoming Russian airlines and sending its own to Moscow. All while 20% of Georgian territory remains occupied by Russia with impunity," Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said on Twitter. The EU said it regretted that Georgia was resuming flights to Russia at a time when the bloc has closed its airspace to Russian planes in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. "This latest decision by Georgia's authorities raises concerns in terms of Georgia's EU path," EU foreign affairs spokesman Peter Stano said.

☆ Belarus state media publish photo of Lukashenko following health speculation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 15 (Reuters) - A Belarusian state news channel on Monday published a photo of President Alexander Lukashenko at what it said was a military command centre in what would be his first public appearance in almost a week, following speculation over the health of the 68-year-old leader. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia April 6, 2023. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERSThe Pul Pervovo Telegram channel, a state outlet that reports on Lukashenko's activities, said the president was working at a central air force command base. Lukashenko was last seen in public on May 9 at Victory Day events in both Moscow and the Belarusian capital Minsk. His failure to appear in public since then had prompted reports, not confirmed officially, that he had been taken to a medical facility.

☆ Russia says Ukraine used Storm Shadow missiles from Britain to attack Luhansk
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Russian ministry said the missiles had hit a plant producing polymers and a meat-processing factory in Luhansk on Friday. "Storm Shadow air-to-air missiles supplied to the Kyiv regime by Britain were used for the strike, contrary to London's statements that these weapons would not be used against civilian targets," the ministry said. It also said Russia had downed two Ukrainian warplanes - an Su-24 and a MiG-29 - that had launched the missiles. "The units of the Airborne Forces provided support to the assault units and pinned down the enemy on the flanks," it said. The ministry often uses the term "assault units" to denote the Wagner private militia, which has been spearheading the assault on Bakhmut at great cost in casualties.

☆ Head of Russia's crime agency suggests nationalising key parts of economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 13 (Reuters) - The head of Russia's federal crime agency on Saturday suggested that key sectors of the economy should be returned to state ownership to support Moscow's war in Ukraine. "Let's go along the path of nationalising the main sectors of our economy." Russia's economy and government coffers rely heavily on production of oil, gas and metals. Gazprom (GAZP.MM), Russia's largest natural gas producer, is already controlled by the state. Its largest oil company, Rosneft (ROSN.MM), is not formally under government control but is headed by Igor Sechin, a long-standing ally of Putin.

☆ Four Russian military aircraft shot down near Ukraine, Russian daily reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Russian state news agency TASS said a Russian Su-34 warplane had crashed in that region but did not specify a cause. Comments accompanying the video, which Reuters could not immediately verify, said it showed a Mi-8 being shot down by a missile. It said the downed helicopters appeared to be Mi-8MTPR-1 electronic warfare craft able to jam enemy radio and targeting signals. There was no official response from Ukraine, which usually declines to comment on reports of attacks inside Russia. However, in a tweet, Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, called the incident "Justice ... and instant karma".

"In three days of counter-offensive activity, the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Bakhmut sector have liberated 17.3 sq. miles) of territory," Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesman for the "east" group of Ukrainian forces, said on the Telegram messaging app. Ukrainian servicemen ride atop of a tank on a road to the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine May 12, 2023. Prigozhin, whose fighters have been battling to push Ukrainian forces out of Bakhmut's Western outskirts, has said the north and south flanks, guarded by regular Russian troops, were crumbling. Prigozhin called that deceptive and said the Bakhmut advances amounted to the start of Kyiv's campaign.

☆ Japan MOF Kanda: G7 to invite Ukrainian finance minister to G7 meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO, May 9 (Reuters) - The Group of Seven finance ministers will invite their counterpart from Ukraine to participate in a session on the global economy, Japan's top financial diplomat Masato Kanda said on Tuesday. The biggest challenge regarding sanctions against Russia is circumvention, Kanda told reporters, adding that the G7 will keep up sanctions against Russia. Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russian ex-deputy defence minister joins Wagner as feud escalates, war bloggers report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 5 (Reuters) - Former Russian deputy defence minister Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev has joined the Wagner Group private militia as a deputy commander, Russian pro-war social media channels reported on Thursday. In two videos posted by war correspondent Alexander Simonov on Telegram, Mizintsev - clad in Wagner-branded combat gear - was shown visiting a training camp and touring Russian positions in the east Ukrainian town of Bakhmut. While Prigozhin has regularly accused the mainstream military including Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu of incompetence, he has singled out individual commanders for praise. On April 29, Prigozhin's press service said he had offered to take on Mizintsev, the day after his reported sacking by the Defence Ministry. Mizintsev, who orchestrated the siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in the early months of the war last year, had only been made deputy defence minister in charge of logistics and supplies last September.

☆ Russian theatre director accused of 'justifying terrorism' remanded in custody
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Russian playwright Svetlana Petriychuk, detained on suspicion of justifying terrorism, attends a court hearing in Moscow, Russia May 5, 2023. REUTERS/StringerSummary This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in UkraineMOSCOW, May 5 (Reuters) - A prominent Russian theatre director was remanded in custody for two months on Friday after being accused of justifying terrorism with an award-winning play about Russian women who married Islamic State fighters, the state news agency TASS reported. Investigators opened a case this week against Yevgenia (Zhenya) Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk, alleging that Petriychuk's "Finist, the Brave Falcon", which premiered in 2020 under Berkovich's direction, had broken the law. "Finist, the Brave Falcon" won two "Golden Mask" national theatre awards last year, and Berkovich also received a nomination for best director. The detention of the two women has drawn condemnation from several prominent Russian artists and cultural figures.

A day after blaming Ukraine for what it called a terrorist attack, the Kremlin administration shifted the focus onto the United States, but without providing evidence to support its accusation. He said the United States was "undoubtedly" behind the alleged attack and added - again without stating evidence - that Washington often selected both the targets for Ukraine to attack, and the means to attack them. Russia has said with increasing frequency that it sees the United States as a direct participant in the Ukraine war, intent on inflicting a "strategic defeat" on Moscow. CALLS TO KILL ZELENSKIYHowever, Peskov's allegation that the United States was behind a plot to kill Putin went further than previous Kremlin accusations against Washington. He said Russia had an array of options and the response, when it came, would be carefully considered and balanced.

☆ Russian economy shrank estimated 2.2% year over year in first quarter, economy ministry says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 3 (Reuters) - Russia's economy contracted by 2.2% in the first quarter of 2023 in annual terms, the economy ministry estimated on Wednesday, down from growth of 3% in the same period last year. The ministry estimated that gross domestic product (GDP) fell 1.1% year-on-year in March, an improvement on a revised 2.9% drop in February. Russia's GDP is expected to rebound marginally this year from a 2.1% annual decline in 2022, the result of Western sanctions against Moscow after it despatched troops to Ukraine in February 2022. Blunting the impact of sanctions are rising military production and huge state spending, allowing Moscow to plough on with what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine. Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya and Jake Cordell; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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