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☆ Man Convicted in Russian Journalist’s Murder Is Pardoned After Serving in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Ivan Nechepurenko | More About Ivan Nechepurenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Vladimir V. Putin has pardoned one of the convicted organizers of the murder of the journalist Anna Politkovskaya in return for his service in Ukraine, his lawyer said on Tuesday, the latest in a series of such reprieves for high-profile criminals in Russia. Her murder caused shock waves in Russia and abroad as it highlighted the growing dangers of anti-Kremlin reporting in the country. The news of Mr. Khadzhikurbanov’s pardon was first reported by Baza, a Russian news outlet, and RBC, a Russian business daily. Mr. Mikhalchik said that he did not know when the decree had been signed. Activists said this year that the Russian government had started a mass campaign to pardon convicts in return for fighting in Ukraine.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Anna Politkovskaya, Sergei G, Ms, Politkovskaya, Aleksei V, Mikhalchik, Khadzhikurbanov’s, Baza Organizations: Mr, RBC, Activists Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Chechnya, Moscow, Russian

Four former Russian inmates who fought with Wagner in eastern Ukraine said they had received calls and messages offering new military contracts in recent weeks, confirming recent reports by Russian military bloggers. Three former fighters said they were specifically urged to join Rosgvardia, Russia’s militarized national guard. Originally envisioned as a rear-guard force, Rosgvardia has gained prominence since the invasion of Ukraine under the leadership of Victor Zolotov, a former bodyguard of President Vladimir V. Putin. “Wagner is officially becoming a unit of Rosgvardia,” read a recruitment text received by a former Wagner fighter last week and seen by The New York Times. “The entire structure, methods of work and commanders remain the same.”

Persons: Wagner, Rosgvardia, Victor Zolotov, Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, “ Wagner, ” Organizations: Kremlin, Rosgvardia, The New York Times Locations: Ukraine

☆ Biden Confronts the Limits of U.S. Leverage in Two Conflicts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( David E. Sanger | More About David E. Sanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

After four weeks of terror and retaliation in Israel and Gaza, and 20 months of war in Ukraine, President Biden is confronting the limits of his leverage in the two international conflicts defining his presidency. Mr. Netanyahu rebuffed Mr. Biden’s push for greater efforts to avoid civilian casualties in a phone call on Monday. Many of Mr. Biden’s aides agree that Ukraine and Russia are dug in, unable to move the front lines of the battle in any significant way. In both cases, Mr. Biden’s influence over how his allies prosecute those wars seems far more constrained than expected, given his central role as the supplier of arms and intelligence. “Hamas and Putin represent different threats,” he said that evening, “but they share this in common: They both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy — completely annihilate it.”

Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Mr, Biden’s, ”, Valery Zaluzhny, Zaluzhny’s candor, Vladimir V, Putin, Donald J, Trump, Ukraine’s, Seth Moulton, “ Hamas, — Organizations: Massachusetts Democrat, Marine Locations: Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, Russia, United States, Massachusetts, Iraq, “

☆ Frustrated Zelensky Says Ukraine’s War Effort Is Being Underestimated
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Constant Méheut | More About Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has expressed frustration over what he has labeled unrealistic expectations for rapid success on the battlefield amid concerns that slow progress against entrenched Russian forces will discourage Kyiv’s allies from sustaining military aid. “The modern world quickly gets accustomed to success,” Mr. Zelensky said in his nightly address on Tuesday, complaining that Ukrainian troops’ achievements “are perceived as a given.”Mr. Zelensky’s comments came as the Biden administration seeks congressional approval for a $105 billion aid package that includes assistance for both Israel and Ukraine. But some Republicans oppose sending more aid to Ukraine — and have moved to separate the funding request from aid for Israel. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III warned American senators on Tuesday that if they cut off funding to Ukraine, as some Republicans have vowed to do, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia would win the war.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Mr, Zelensky, “, Mr, Zelensky’s, Biden, Lloyd J, Austin III, Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: Ukraine —, Israel . Defense Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Israel, Russia

The government in the predominantly Muslim republic said that the outburst had been calmed and vowed to prevent further clashes. Russian aviation authorities said that the airport, in Makhachkala, the republic’s capital, would reopen on Tuesday. Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, said on Monday that Mr. Putin had been receiving reports about the events in Dagestan. Some people in the videos held Palestinian flags and carried signs opposing the war in Gaza, and some chanted “God is great” in Arabic. The local authorities in Dagestan blamed “extremist” outlets administered by “Russian enemies” for inciting the unrest.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Dmitri S, Peskov, “, ”, Sergei Melikov, Ilya Ponomaryov, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Aric Toler Organizations: The New York Times, Red Wings, The Times, Telegram, Kremlin Locations: Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russian, Tel Aviv, Russia, Kremlin, Israel, North Caucasus, Ukraine, Gaza, ”, Caucasus, Khasavyurt

Speaking in Parliament to lawmakers from his Justice and Development Party, Mr. Erdogan accused Israel of deliberately attacking civilians in Gaza and killing large numbers of children, women and older people. Mr. Erdogan also criticized Western countries for their strong backing of Israel and for branding Hamas, the armed Palestinian group that controls Gaza, as a terrorist organization. But recently, Mr. Erdogan made steps at rapprochement with the Jewish state. On Wednesday, Mr. Erdogan said all plans to visit Israel had been scrapped. “We clearly mentioned that we never excuse any acts targeting civilians, including Israeli civilians, regardless of the perpetrator,” he said.

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Israel, ”, Mr, mujahedeen, Erdogan’s, Isaac Herzog, Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Ergodan’s, Lior, Russia’s, Vladimir V, Putin, ” Mr, Nadav Gavrielov Organizations: NATO, Development Party, Hamas, European Union, Ministry, Israel’s, Turkish, Turkish Presidency Press, Agence France, United Nations General Assembly, ISIS Locations: Turkey, Israel, United States, Gaza, Ankara, Israeli, New York, Turkish, Russia, Ukraine, “, Seoul

☆ Biden’s Moment: A President Convinced of America’s Role in the World
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( David E. Sanger | More About David E. Sanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

President Biden could very well go down in history as the last American president born during World War II and shaped by a view of American power nurtured in the Cold War. To Mr. Biden’s mind, this has been the moment he has trained for his entire political career, a point he often makes when challenged about his age. In the past eight months, he has visited two countries in the midst of active wars. He has married his public embraces with private cautions, and kept American troops out of both conflicts — so far. Whether Mr. Biden can bring the American population along, however, is a more unsettled question than at any moment in his presidency, and the backdrop of his rare Oval Office address on Thursday night.

Persons: Biden, Golda Meir, Mikhail Gorbachev, Hamas —, “, ”, Michael Beschloss, Vladimir V, Putin, Peter the Great, Republicans —, Donald J, Trump Organizations: States —, Hamas, Ukraine, Republicans, Republican Party Locations: States, Ukraine, Israel, United States, America

They took swipes at the United States and depicted themselves as building a “fairer, multipolar world.” And they marveled at their countries’ “deepening” trust. And he gave a prominent role to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, underscoring how central their relationship is to Mr. Xi’s vision. Mr. Putin was treated as the guest of honor and often pictured by Mr. Xi’s side. While Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi huddled, President Biden landed in Israel on a visit aimed at preventing the war between Israel and Hamas from spreading. Though Mr. Xi did not publicly remark on the war, Mr. Putin, at a news briefing, blamed the United States for increasing tensions in the Middle East by sending warships to the region.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, Xi, Biden, ” Locations: China, Russia, United States, Beijing, Ukraine, Gaza, Israel, Russo

☆ New Global Divisions on View as Biden Goes to Israel and Putin to China
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Steven Erlanger | More About Steven Erlanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As President Biden lands in Israel on Wednesday, seeking to display steadfast American support for the country, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is in Beijing, seeking to display his “no limits” partnership with China’s top leader, Xi Jinping. Russia, China and Iran were already forming a new axis over Ukraine, one they have pursued diplomatically, economically, strategically and even ideologically. Russia relies on weapons from Iran and diplomatic support from China to fight in Ukraine. Iran has been isolated and only too happy to have new trading partners and some source of international legitimacy. China, whose economy is ailing, has saved billions of dollars by importing record amounts oil from countries under Western sanctions, like Russia and Iran.

Persons: Biden, Vladimir V, Putin, China’s, Xi, Russia’s Organizations: West Locations: Israel, Russia, Beijing, Ukraine, Gaza, China, Iran, United States

☆ Putin Offers Muted Response to Attack on Israel. That Speaks Volumes.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Anton Troianovski | More About Anton Troianovski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has long cast himself as a friend of Israel and the Jewish people. But amid the worst attack on Israel in 50 years, the high regard that Mr. Putin has shown for Israel in the past appears remarkably absent. More than three days after the start of the incursion by Hamas, there has been no message of condolence from the Kremlin, even though Mr. Putin previously published such notes of sympathy in the wake of terrorist attacks in Israel. And he has not yet called Mr. Netanyahu, even though he spoke with Israeli leaders at least 11 times in 2022 and developed a close relationship with Mr. Netanyahu over more than a decade of meetings and phone calls. Instead, Mr. Putin’s spokesman on Monday struck a neutral stance, saying that Russia was “extremely concerned” and calling for an immediate halt to the fighting.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Putin’s Organizations: Moscow Jewish Museum, Kremlin Locations: Russia, Israel, Moscow, Jerusalem, Nazi, Leningrad

☆ Putin ally suggests postponing March presidential election, or excluding rivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 7 (Reuters) - Ramzan Kadyrov, head of Russia's Chechnya region and close ally of President Vladimir Putin, proposed on Saturday that a presidential election due next March should either be postponed due to the war in Ukraine or limited to one candidate - Putin. However, Russia's failures in the war, which Moscow calls a "special military operation", have made events less predictable. "I propose now, while the 'special military operation' is under way, to unanimously decide that we will have one candidate in the elections - Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin," Kadyrov was quoted as saying. He has also ruptured relations with the West, which has imposed sweeping economic sanctions, armed Ukraine at huge cost, and expanded and reinforced the U.S.-led NATO alliance. Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Kevin Liffey; Editing by Ros RussellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ramzan Kadyrov, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Kadyrov, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Kevin Liffey, Ros Russell Organizations: Kremlin, NATO, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Chechnya, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Chechen, Grozny, U.S

From the first hours of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the famous port city of Odesa has largely been without a working port. Once bustling with cargo vessels, cruise ships, sailboats, yachts and fishing trawlers, the harbor is now a vast expanse of open water. Sophia Dobrovolska, a 16-year-old aspiring merchant marine at the Odesa Sea Academy, lives on that empty sea. “When the full-scale war started, my mom thought of leaving, but I told her: ‘No, my college is here. I will not go.’”President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has long made clear that he wants to capture Odesa, a goal that looks increasingly less likely.

Persons: Sophia Dobrovolska, ”, “, ’, Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: Sea Academy, Odesa Locations: Ukraine, Odesa, Russia

“The president will talk about how those steps — how all of those steps he’s taken so far ladder up to a larger vision.”After a long career in the Senate and as vice president, Mr. Biden enjoys a strong reputation among his peers and is seen as a committed internationalist fighting the tide of isolationism. He has also managed to stitch together a series of partnerships in the Indo-Pacific in the face of aggressive moves by China. At the same time, America’s two major rivals appear weakened. President Xi Jinping of China looks less potent internationally as his country’s four-decade streak of economic growth flattens while President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia cannot even travel to the United Nations meeting or other major international gatherings because of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for war crimes in Ukraine. But with his approval ratings mired in the low 40s and Mr. Trump threatening to take his job back in the November 2024 elections, Mr. Biden’s domestic troubles loom large over this year’s gathering at the United Nations.

Persons: ”, Jake Sullivan, “, Biden, Xi Jinping, Vladimir V, Putin, Trump Organizations: Washington, United Nations Locations: Afghanistan, Ukraine, China, Australia, India, Philippines, United States, Japan, South Korea, Camp, Vietnam, Hanoi, Russia

“Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence,” Mr. Biden said as President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine watched from the audience. I respectfully suggest the answer is no.”“We have to stand up to this naked aggression today to deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow,” Mr. Biden continued. “Ask Prigozhin if one bets on Putin’s promises.”Both Mr. Biden and Mr. Zelensky received strong applause from some of the delegations in the hall, but many others did not clap. On Tuesday evening, Mr. Biden and Jill Biden were to host a reception for other world leaders at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “This is clearly a genocide,” Mr. Zelensky said.

Persons: Biden, Mr, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, Vladimir V, Moscow, ”, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, “, Biden’s, Kevin McCarthy, we’ve, Lloyd J, Austin III, Ukraine’s, Xi Jinping, Jill Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Netanyahu, “ Slava Ukraini Organizations: appeasing Moscow, United Nations General Assembly, Republicans, United Nations, International Criminal Court, . Security, Mr, White, Pentagon, Capitol, Defense, General, appeasing, United, Soviet Union —, Turkmenistan —, Metropolitan Museum of Art, United Nations ’ Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United States, Washington, New York, Russia’s, Germany, China, Beijing, Libya, “, United Nations, Soviet Union, Soviet Union — Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, China’s, Brazil, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Moldova, Georgia, Syria, Belarus, Baltic

☆ Finland’s President, No Stranger to Russia, Warns Europe About Complacency
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Steven Erlanger | More About Steven Erlanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The president of Finland, Sauli Niinisto, is the person considered most responsible for bringing his country into the NATO alliance — and Sweden, too, which is awaiting ratification — following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. President Biden has consulted him about Russia and its president, Vladimir V. Putin, whom Mr. Niinisto has met numerous times. The war in Ukraine will last a long time, he said, and wars can take unexpected paths, even toward the use of nuclear weapons. The invasion, Mr. Niinisto said, was “a wake-up call” for Europe and NATO. That might be a good question — whether all Europeans realize that this is a European issue.”

Persons: Sauli, —, Biden, Vladimir V, Putin, Niinisto, ” Organizations: NATO, Mr, Ukraine Locations: Finland, Sweden, Ukraine, Russia, Helsinki, Europe

☆ Putin and Kim’s Embrace May Place Xi in a Bind
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( David Pierson | More About David Pierson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To challenge the power of his chief rival, the United States, China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, has linked arms with two anti-Western states, declaring a “no limits” partnership with Russia and pledging “unswerving” support for North Korea. Closer ties between Pyongyang and Moscow could result in both countries being less reliant on Beijing. That might diminish China’s perceived clout in global negotiations over ending Russia’s war in Ukraine and curtailing North Korea’s nuclear program. “I doubt Xi is overjoyed to see the Kim-Putin love-fest unfolding across China’s border,” said John Delury, a professor of Chinese studies at Yonsei University in Seoul. Mr. Kim and Mr. Putin, he said, have reasons to seek more autonomy and leverage from China, the “dominant power in the triangle,” by strengthening their bilateral ties.

Persons: Xi Jinping, “, Vladimir V, Putin, Kim Jong, Xi, Kim, ”, John Delury Organizations: North Korean, Yonsei University Locations: United States, Russia, North Korea, Pyongyang, Moscow, Beijing, Ukraine, Seoul, China

☆ As Kim Inspects Russia’s Military, Putin Cultivates ‘Axis of the Sanctioned’
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Paul Sonne | More About Paul Sonne | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, peeked his head into the cockpit of a fighter jet at a factory in the Russian Far East on Friday as he pressed ahead on a multiday tour of Russia that is enticing him at each stop with off-limits military technology. Although Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, hasn’t promised Mr. Kim any of the weaponry and has vowed to abide by U.N. sanctions banning their transfer, the tour carried an implicit threat — an example of what analysts say is a growing danger posed by Mr. Putin’s increasingly warm relationship with authoritarian leaders who can pose problems for the West. At the same time, according to U.S. officials, Mr. Putin is cultivating new sources of arms and munitions for his war against Ukraine. “I think it’s really serious,” said Andrea Kendall-Taylor, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, who previously led analyses of Russia by the U.S. intelligence community.

Persons: Kim Jong, Vladimir V, Putin, hasn’t, Kim, Putin’s, “, ”, Andrea Kendall, Taylor Organizations: West, Ukraine, Center, New, New American Security Locations: Russian, Russia, New American, U.S

☆ Russia Repels Attack on Ship in Crimea: Live Ukraine War Updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Andrés R. Martínez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

News AnalysisA photograph released by North Korean state media showing President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia on Wednesday. The Korean War never officially ended after the guns fell silent in a cease-fire in 1953. North Korea, though isolated and impoverished, has prioritized a military buildup, with its propaganda machines urging constant vigilance against American invasion. Image At the border between North Korea and South Korea. “Trust is so low among Russia, North Korea and China that a real alliance of the three isn’t credible or sustainable.”

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Kim Jong, Matthew Miller, , Putin “ , Chang W, Lee, ”, Yang Uk, Yoon Suk Yeol, It’s, ” Mr, Yang, Michael Park, Kim, “, Siemon, Mr, Wezeman, Hong Min, Hong, David Guttenfelder, Leif, Eric Easley Organizations: North, North Korean, Vostochny, United Nations, State Department, New York Times, Asan Institute, Policy Studies, ” Artillery, ., The New York Times, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, NATO, Korea Institute for National Unification, Russian, Mr, Ewha Womans University Locations: North Korean, Russia, . Washington, Moscow, South, United States, Ukraine, Russia’s, North Korea, Pyongyang, Washington, South Korea, Soviet, Syria, Iran, Korea, “, Seoul, Changwon, Stockholm, Sweden, North, , Zaporizhzhia, Komsomolsk, Vladivostok, China

☆ U.S. Aims New Sanctions at Russian Military Supply Chains
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Gaya Gupta | More About Gaya Gupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The sanctions are part of the U.S. effort “to target Russia’s military supply chains and deprive Putin of the equipment, technology, and services he needs to wage his barbaric war on Ukraine,” Janet L. Yellen, secretary of the Treasury, said in a statement. “Today’s actions show our global reach in imposing severe costs on Putin’s oligarchs,” she added. The Treasury Department’s sanctions targeted nearly 100 Russian military-linked elites and individuals — including some in Turkey, Georgia, Finland and the United Arab Emirates — involved with Russia’s industrial, financial and technology industries. One individual, Vitalij Victorovich Perfilev, was identified as an official with the Wagner mercenary group who served as the national security adviser to the Central African Republic’s president. Among the other targets were a Georgian-Russian oligarch, Otar Anzorovich Partskhaladze, and a Russian intelligence officer, Aleksandr Vladimirovich Onishchenko.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, ” Janet L, Yellen, “, ”, Victorovich, Wagner, Pavel Pavlovich Shevelin, Anzorovich, Aleksandr Vladimirovich Onishchenko Organizations: Kremlin, Treasury, United, United Arab Emirates, Central African Locations: States, Ukraine, U.S, Turkey , Georgia, Finland, United Arab, State, North Korea, Russia, Georgian, Russian

They gazed into the workings of a rocket launchpad. They tucked into crab dumplings, sturgeon and entrecôte. And they lifted their glasses at a flower-lined table in the conference room of a remote Russian spaceport, toasting the Kremlin’s “sacred struggle” against a “band of evil,” otherwise known as the West. Russia, nearing the 19-month mark in its brutal war of attrition against Ukraine, arrived requiring more ammunition and military equipment for the battlefield, which Pyongyang keeps in abundance. North Korea came looking for food, fuel and cash, according to analysts, in addition to technological help for its missile and satellite programs, and parts for its old, Soviet-era military and civilian aircraft.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Kim Jong, Kim Organizations: North Korean, Vostochny Locations: Russian, Russia, Moscow, Pyongyang, Ukraine, North Korea, Komsomolsk, Vladivostok

☆ Kim and Putin Meet in Russia: Ukraine War Live Updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | Anushka Patil | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Mr. Kim and Mr. Putin, the Russian president, are both pariahs, isolated from the West, but the war in Ukraine has elevated the North Korean leader’s significance to the Kremlin. Mr. Putin told reporters before the start of the summit that the meeting was being held at the cosmodrome because Mr. Kim “shows great interest in rocket technology,” RIA journalists reported on Telegram. Mr. Kim arrived in Russia on Tuesday from North Korea, having traveled to the meeting on his armored train, a trip that took days. North Korea also has one of the largest fleets of tanks in the world, though most are Soviet-era models. Earlier Wednesday, South Korea reported that North Korea had launched two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Kim Jong, Kim, Kim “, Kim’s, Dmitri S, Peskov Organizations: Vostochny Cosmodrome, Sputnik, North, Vostochny, Kremlin, United Nations Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russian, North Korea, Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia’s, Amur, Pyongyang, Khasan, Korea, Soviet, Moscow, South Korea, North Koreans

☆ A Theater Troupe That’s Also a Support Network for Exiles
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the two founders of the renowned Belarus Free Theater claimed political asylum in Britain in 2011, they found themselves homeless, with few possessions and facing a bureaucratic labyrinth before they could work. Twelve years later, the company’s founders, Natalia Kaliada and Nicolai Khalezin, are using that experience to help other artists fleeing political repression. The Belarus Free Theater’s political productions have often criticized Lukashenko’s authoritarian leadership and its troupe was long at risk of arrest. But as repression increased, the company decided it was no longer feasible for its other members to remain in Minsk. Since then, Kaliada said, she and Khalezin had been helping the actors to find housing, therapy and visas.

Persons: Natalia Kaliada, Nicolai Khalezin, Ukraine —, Aleksandr G, Lukashenko, Vladimir V, Putin, Kaliada, Khalezin Organizations: Belarus Free Theater, Skype, Belarus —, Belarus Free Locations: Belarus, Britain, British, Minsk, Belarus’s, East, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Putin says the cases against Donald Trump show the ‘rottenness’ of the U.S. system.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Paul Sonne | More About Paul Sonne | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Vladimir V. Putin called the criminal cases against Donald J. Trump good for Russia and an indication of the American system’s “rottenness,” in wide-ranging remarks Tuesday that also touched on the war in Ukraine, China and Elon Musk. The comments came as Mr. Putin prepared to meet with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, who arrived in Russia on Tuesday, the Kremlin said. Russian news reports have speculated that the meeting could take place at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a space launch center in the Amur region. Mr. Putin confirmed on Tuesday that he would visit the facility but did not say he would host Mr. Kim there. Here is some of what the Russian leader said:

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Donald J, Elon Musk, Kim Jong, Kim Organizations: Trump, Elon, North Korean, Vostochny Locations: Russia, Ukraine, China, Vladivostok, Amur

☆ Kim-Putin Meeting Nears, but Where?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Daniel Victor | More About Daniel Victor | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Kim Jong-un arrived in Russia on Tuesday, the Kremlin confirmed, traveling aboard his slow-moving armored train to a meeting with President Vladimir V. Putin that could see the two nations increasing military cooperation. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency published photographs on Tuesday of Mr. Kim and other officials on the train, which is his preferred method of travel during his rare trips out of the country. The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, confirmed Mr. Kim’s arrival in Russia later on Tuesday. Russian state media shared video that purported to show Mr. Kim disembarking his train in Primorsky Krai, in Russia’s Far East, on Tuesday. Mr. Kim and Mr. Putin will discuss bilateral cooperation — including trade and economic ties — and have an “intensive exchange of opinions on the situation in the region,” Mr. Peskov said.

Persons: Kim Jong, Vladimir V, Putin, Kim, Dmitri S, Peskov, Alexander Kozlov, Khasan, Mr Organizations: Kremlin, Korean Central News Agency, — Locations: Russia, Primorsky Krai, Russia’s Far, Khasan, Russian

☆ Ukraine War Live Updates: North Korea's Kim Jong-Un Heads to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Paul Sonne | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

When the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia four years ago in their only previous meeting, it was mostly for diplomatic show. But this week he will meet Mr. Putin with the ability to supply something the Kremlin desperately needs: munitions that could help Russian forces fighting in Ukraine. Russia’s defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, visited North Korea in July on a trip that U.S. officials at the time said was aimed at setting up an armaments deal. North Korea has one of the world’s largest armies, despite having a population of only about 26 million people. Analysts believe that North Korea has a surplus of ammunition since it has not fought a war since 1953, when the Korean Armistice was signed.

Persons: Kim Jong, Vladimir V, Putin, ”, Fyodor Tertitskiy, Tertitskiy, Kim, Ali Khamenei, Iran’s, Aleksandr G, Lukashenko, Sergei K, Shoigu, Petr Akopov, “, ” Mr, Akopov Organizations: North Korean, Mr, Kookmin University, Russian, Pentagon, South Korea, Analysts, RIA Novosti, . Security Locations: Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, Seoul, Vladivostok, Iran, Moscow, Belarus, South, Korea, Pyongyang

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