DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

The setting was an economic conference in far eastern Russia, with discussion of the ruble and domestic investment, but that didn’t stop President Vladimir V. Putin from wading into American politics on Tuesday, branding the criminal cases against Donald J. Trump political persecution and praising the billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. For years, the Russian leader has demonstrated an ability to exploit political divisions within Western nations, often by signaling to conservatives abroad that he is aligned with them in a global fight against liberal values. Mr. Putin’s remarks on Tuesday, made at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, appeared aimed at lending firepower to the Republican outcry over the prosecutions of Mr. Trump, who has long expressed public admiration for the Russian leader and has helped encourage a sizable Moscow-friendly contingent within his party. The cases against Mr. Trump — who faces 91 felony counts in four jurisdictions — represent the “persecution of one’s political rival for political motives,” Mr. Putin said. He predicted that the entire affair would help Russia by exposing American domestic problems for the world to see and revealing the hypocrisy of American democracy.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Donald J, Elon Musk, Putin’s, Trump, Mr Organizations: Trump, Eastern Economic, Republican, Trump — Locations: Russia, Western, Vladivostok, Moscow

☆ North Korea’s Leader Arrives in Russia as Nations Seek Closer Military Ties
▼ + 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. In return, Russia could give North Korea some of what it needs — food, oil or hard currency — and turn a relationship long limited to modest trade and public displays of cooperation into something more substantive. 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

When North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, visited President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia four years ago, it was mostly for diplomatic show. But this week he will visit Mr. Putin a second time with the ability to supply something the Kremlin desperately needs: munitions that could help Russian forces fighting in Ukraine. The meeting, announced by both governments on Monday, comes as Mr. Putin is courting support for his standoff against the United States and NATO from other leaders opposed to Western dominance. In a brief statement, the Kremlin said Mr. Kim would “pay an official visit to the Russian Federation in the coming days” at Mr. Putin’s invitation. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency confirmed that Mr. Kim would soon visit Russia for a summit meeting with Mr. Putin, but provided no further details.

Persons: Kim Jong, Vladimir V, Putin, Kim, Mr Organizations: North, Mr, NATO, Russian Federation, Korean Central News Agency Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United States, Iran, India, Kremlin

One such train was spotted on Monday heading north, near where the borders of North Korea, Russia and China meet. It was moving in the direction of Vladivostok, where Mr. Putin is attending an economic forum. On Tuesday, North Korean state media confirmed that Mr. Kim had indeed left Pyongyang, the North’s capital, for Russia by train. South Korean officials said soon afterward that he had crossed the border. The green train that officials look for is the special bulletproof one that Mr. Kim — and his father and grandfather, who ruled North Korea before him — have used to visit China, Russia or the former Soviet Union.

Persons: Kim Jong, —, Vladimir V, Putin —, Putin, Mr, Kim, Kim —, Kim’s Organizations: Soviet Union Locations: Russia, North Korea, China, Vladivostok, North Korean, Pyongyang

☆ Russia’s ‘Merchant of Death’ Is Looking to Forge a New Life in Politics
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Valerie Hopkins | More About Valerie Hopkins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As an arms trafficker, he operated in some of the world’s most dangerous places, becoming one of the world’s most wanted men and earning the nickname “Merchant of Death,” not to speak of a 25-year prison sentence in the U.S. But now, nine months after returning to Russia in a prisoner exchange, Viktor A. “I’ve been for 15 years locked up in your federal system,” he said in an interview conducted in somewhat stilted English at his party’s Moscow headquarters. “So what do you expect for me, that I have to take time to take vacation? He was long suspected of having links to Russia’s military intelligence agency, the G.R.U.

Persons: Merchant of, ”, Viktor, Vladimir V, “ I’ve, I’ve Locations: U.S, Russia, Ulyanovsk, Moscow, Thailand, Manhattan

☆ G20 Declaration Omits Criticism of Russia, Notes Ukrainians’ ‘Suffering’
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Katie Rogers | More About Katie Rogers | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The declaration also underscored the potential of digital technologies to increase inclusion in global economies. The president joined other leaders in announcing a project to create a rail and shipping corridor linking India to the Middle East and, eventually, Europe. It was a promise of new technological and trade pathways, they said, in a part of the world where deeper economic cooperation was overdue. The project lacked key details, including a time frame or budget. Even so, it represented much softer than usual rhetoric about Russia from Mr. Biden and other Western leaders, who have spent the better part of two years spending billions on arming Ukraine and burning untold domestic political capital building support for the war.

Persons: ” Jake Sullivan, Oleg Nikolenko, ” Mr, Biden, Xi Jinping, Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, Facebook, Bank, African Union, Mr Locations: India, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, China

President Biden is set to arrive in New Delhi on Friday for a global summit meeting where he will present the United States as an economic and strategic counterweight to China and Russia, taking advantage of the absence of leaders from those two countries, who are skipping the gathering. Mr. Biden is bringing with him the promise of up to $200 billion in new development funds for climate change, food security, public health and other infrastructure needs in less developed countries through revamped international financing institutions like the World Bank, leveraged by a relatively small investment by the United States. Mr. Biden’s plan would match only a fraction of the Chinese investments in recent years but offers an alternative to Beijing’s presence as an omnipresent and often unforgiving creditor. The president will have an important opportunity at the Group of 20 meeting thanks to the decisions by President Xi Jinping of China and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to not attend. Mr. Biden will have room to present a case to a large group of important world leaders that they should align with the United States on matters that include condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine and curbing China’s increasing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.

Persons: Biden, Biden’s, Xi Jinping, Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: World Bank, Group Locations: New Delhi, United States, China, Russia, American, Ukraine

☆ Blinken, in Kyiv, Says U.S. Will Send $1 Billion More in Aid
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

The aid will also include demining assistance to clear Russian land mines and prevent the remnants of war from causing further harm to civilians, Mr. Blinken said. It includes ammunition made with depleted uranium for Abrams tanks, which are scheduled to arrive in Ukraine this fall, Mr. Blinken said. Mr. Blinken traveled by train to Kyiv with Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, according to a State Department statement. He was replaced by Rustem Umerov, who has been the chairman of Ukraine’s State Property Fund. A senior State Department official told reporters traveling with Mr. Blinken that the effort was aimed at “putting global support on a long-term, sustainable path.

Persons: Antony J, Blinken, Biden, Dmytro Kuleba, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Mr, Zelensky, ”, “, Lynsey Addario, Mr, Mette Frederiksen, Blinken’s, Oleksii, Rustem Umerov, Umerov’s, Tyler Hicks, Putin, Vladimir V, Russia, Erin Mendell, Anushka Patil Organizations: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kyiv, United, Pentagon, The New York Times, Ukraine’s, Department, Property Fund, 22nd Mechanized Brigade, State Department Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, U.S, United States, matériel, Kostyantynivka, Ukrainian, ”, Russia, “, Denmark, Ukraine’s, Bakhmut, Israel

☆ 3 Bullets, 2 Wars, 1 Village
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Thomas Gibbons-Neff | More About Thomas Gibbons-Neff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the spring of that year German forces counterattacked around Izium and the city of Kharkiv to the northwest. The Soviet and German forces arrayed against each other, on just a portion of World War II’s sprawling eastern front, involved hundreds of thousands of men more than the Ukrainian and Russian armies fighting today. The roughly two-week battle resulted in roughly 300,000 casualties on both sides and a crushing Soviet defeat. But World War II’s relevance is not just buried in the soil of Ukraine, it also serves as an undercurrent of Russia’s present-day invasion. He falsely claimed the country was overrun by the same type of adversaries millions of Soviet soldiers had died fighting during World War II, or what Russians call the Great Patriotic War.

Persons: ” Mr, Glantz, Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: Soviet, denazify Locations: Izium, Kharkiv, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Russia, Nazi Germany, Soviet Union, Germany

☆ North Korea Finds New Leverage in the Ukraine War
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | More About Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, a rare trip to Russia this month to discuss military aid for President Vladimir V. Putin’s Ukraine war effort could provide two things the North has wanted for a long time: technical help with its weapons programs, and to finally be needed by an important neighbor. North Korea has not been used to getting a lot of attention other than global condemnation for its nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests. But Russia’s urgency to make new gains in the war is offering Mr. Kim a bit of the geopolitical spotlight — and a new way to both irk the United States and draw closer to Moscow and Beijing. Though Russia has long been a crucial ally for the isolated North, relations between the two countries have at times grown tense since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. And Russia accounts for very little of the economic trade that North Korea needs; China alone provides nearly all of that.

Persons: Kim Jong, Vladimir V, Kim Locations: North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, United States, Moscow, Beijing, Soviet Union, Korea, China

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

☆ Russian and Turkish Leaders to Meet Amid Push to Revive Grain Deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Gaya Gupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Image Grain stored in a warehouse in the village of Moloha, in Ukraine’s Odesa region, in July. The meeting was announced after talks on Thursday between the countries’ top diplomats in Moscow ended with no apparent progress in resurrecting the deal, which Russia withdrew from in July. Moscow complained that the deal was being carried out unfairly, and has since repeatedly bombarded Ukrainian grain facilities and threatened civilian ships heading to Ukrainian ports. On Monday, the two leaders also are expected to discuss a proposal to build a gas distribution hub in Turkey that Russia could use to reroute its gas exports. Establishing a gas hub in Turkey could make Ankara a powerful player in international gas markets and give Russia an intermediary through which to reach European buyers.

Persons: Emile Ducke, Vladimir V, Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russia’s, António Guterres, Guterres, Erdogan, Mr Organizations: The New York Times, Turkish, Initiative, United Nations, NATO Locations: Moloha, Ukraine’s Odesa, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Ukrainian, Ukraine’s, Turkey, Kyiv, New York, Sochi, Russian, Turkish, Ankara

☆ New Russian High School Textbooks Seek to Justify War in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Valeriya Safronova | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The book follows a singular and standardized version of history approved by the highest echelons of power in Russia, and it appears to be the latest push in the Kremlin’s youth-targeted propaganda campaign to justify its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The text devotes 28 pages to Russia’s war in Ukraine, which the authors frame as a response to an increasingly aggressive West that intended to use Ukraine as a “battering ram” to destroy Russia. Revised history textbooks for younger students will be released next year, according to a report from RIA Novosti, a Russian state media outlet. One of the book’s authors, Vladimir Medinsky, is a former culture minister and an adviser to President Vladimir V. Putin. Echoing Mr. Putin’s own words, the authors accused the United States of spreading what they call “Russophobia” in former Soviet republics and of escalating the war in Ukraine, leaving Russia with “no other alternatives” than to call for a partial mobilization that aimed to press 300,000 men into service in the conflict in 2022.

Persons: ”, Vladimir Medinsky, Vladimir V, Putin, Putin’s, “ Organizations: RIA Novosti Locations: Russian, Ukraine, United States, Russia, Soviet

☆ Russia and North Korea in ‘Actively Advancing’ Talks on Weapons, U.S. Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The White House has accused North Korea of supplying rockets and missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine, which Pyongyang has denied. North Korea and Iran are largely cut off from international commerce because of American and international sanctions, meaning neither country has much to lose by making deals with Russia. “What we’re seeing in this counteroffensive is it’s a gunfight and both sides are blazing away with artillery,” Mr. Kirby said. Putin has achieved — let me count it — zero of his strategic goals in Ukraine,” Mr. Kirby said. Also on Wednesday, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea, apparently a reaction to joint military drills by the United States and South Korea.

Persons: John F, Kirby, Vladimir V, Putin, Kim Jong, ” Mr, “, Mr, Kirby’s, Iran —, Biden, Kim, “ Mr, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, ” Organizations: National Security Council, North Korean, ”, United, United States, Slovakian, United Nations Locations: States, Russia, North Korea, Moscow, Ukraine, Pyongyang, United States, Iran, U.S, Korea, China, Beijing, Ukrainian, South Korea, Japan, Britain

☆ Russia Reports Widespread Drone Attacks on Country
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The police presence was heavy on Tuesday at the Porokhovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia, where the press service of Yevgeny V. Prigozhin said he had been buried. “Those wishing to say goodbye can visit the Porokhovskoye cemetery” in St. Petersburg. The secrecy reflected the sensitivities surrounding Mr. Prigozhin, a longtime ally of Mr. Putin who launched a failed mutiny against Moscow’s military leadership in June. Video People paid tribute to Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the Russian mercenary chief, and Dmitri Utkin, a longtime lieutenant. That left room for days of speculation about whether Mr. Prigozhin was really on the plane.

Persons: Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Vladimir V, Putin, “, ”, Porokhovskoye, Mr, Wagner, Dmitri Utkin, Nanna Heitmann, Valery Chekalov, ” Farida Rustamova, Safronova, Jesus Jiménez Organizations: Russian, Video, Credit, The New York Locations: St . Petersburg, Russia, Moscow, Russian, Northern

☆ Rumors and Misdirection Keep Crowds Away From Prigozhin Burial
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Valerie Hopkins | More About Valerie Hopkins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

All that could be seen of the grave from a bridge over the cemetery were a large Russian flag, a Wagner flag, and the top of a wooden cross. Then in June he led a brief mutiny against the Russian military leadership, leading to widespread speculation that his days were numbered. On Aug. 23, a business jet carrying Mr. Prigozhin fell, smoking, from the sky northwest of Moscow. All ten people aboard were killed, including the three top figures in Wagner, leaving the group’s future in doubt. The confusion about his burial and heavy security presence at Porokhovskoye ensured that the throng of supporters expected to attend never materialized.

Persons: Wagner, Prigozhin, Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: Times Locations: Russian, Ukraine, East, Africa, Moscow

☆ Russia-Ukraine War: Latest News
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Daniel Victor | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

Hundreds of people have placed flowers, photographs, candles and flags — including some bearing the private military group’s skull design — at a small sidewalk memorial near Red Square in Moscow. Like many who agreed to be interviewed, Alyona did not want to give her last name because of the political sensitivity surrounding Mr. Prigozhin, who frequently criticized how the war was conducted and launched a brief rebellion against the military’s leadership two months ago. “No one ever abandoned me; they helped me, they did everything that was necessary and provided me with everything that was needed,” said Prapor, who added that he had personally met Mr. Prigozhin. But in a country where little is said about the casualties, the sidewalk memorial became a rare place for people to mourn publicly. Mr. Prigozhin, Alyona said, was unique in his generation in his ability and willingness to openly discuss the issues plaguing Russian society.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny V, ”, Alyona, Prigozhin, didn’t, Dmitri Utkin, Nanna Heitmann, “, Prapor, Dmitri Utkin —, —, Kirill, Mr, Prigozhin’s, “ Wagner, Natalia, Sergei K, Shoigu —, Vladimir V, Putin, “ Evgeny Prigozhin, Shoigu, Sergei, ” Sergei, Aleksei A, Elena, “ I’ve, Vladlen Tatarsky, Daria Dugina, Lenin, Stalin, Milana Mazaeva Organizations: ” Volunteers, The New York Times, The New York, ., Kremlin, Police, Wagner Group, Ministry of Defense Locations: Red, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Prigozhin ., Mariupol, Russia, St . Petersburg, Washington

☆ Russia Officially Confirms Prigozhin’s Death
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Constant Méheut | More About Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Russian authorities have officially confirmed the death of the Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, with investigators saying on Sunday that genetic testing showed that the victims of a plane crash last week matched all the names on the jet’s manifest. Mr. Prigozhin was presumed to have died in the crash on Wednesday, an incident that came two months after he launched a failed mutiny against Russia’s military leadership and which U.S. and Western officials believe was the result of an explosion on board. However, the Russian authorities had said they were awaiting the results of an investigation before confirming the identities of those on board. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Thursday, in his first comments on the crash, spoke obliquely of Mr. Prigozhin’s death, referring to him in the past tense, but did not confirm it. “He made some serious mistakes in life, but he also achieved necessary results,” Mr. Putin said.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Svetlana Petrenko, Vladimir V, Putin, Prigozhin’s, ” Mr Locations: Russia

☆ Russian Confirms Prigozhin’s Death: Live Updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Image An informal memorial for Wagner leader Yevgeny V. Prigozhin next to the former ‘PMC Wagner Centre’ in St. Petersburg, Russia. However, the Russian authorities had said they were awaiting the results of an investigation before confirming the identities of those on board. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Thursday, in his first comments on the crash, spoke obliquely of Mr. Prigozhin’s death, referring to him in the past tense, but did not confirm it. “He made some serious mistakes in life, but he also achieved necessary results,” Mr. Putin said. Some European leaders, many Western news outlets and people close to Mr. Prigozhin’s Wagner paramilitary force have speculated that Mr. Putin had Mr. Prigozhin killed in retaliation for his brief mutiny in June — suggestions the Kremlin on Friday dismissed as an “absolute lie.”Show more

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Anton Matrosov, Svetlana Petrenko, Vladimir V, Putin, Prigozhin’s, ” Mr, Prigozhin’s Wagner, Mr Organizations: PMC Wagner Locations: St . Petersburg, Russia

☆ A Former French President Gives a Voice to Obstinate Russian Sympathies
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Roger Cohen | More About Roger Cohen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS — Nicolas Sarkozy, the former French president, was once known as “Sarko the American” for his love of free markets, freewheeling debate and Elvis. Of late, however, he has appeared more like “Sarko the Russian,” even as President Vladimir V. Putin’s ruthlessness appears more evident than ever. “European interests aren’t aligned with American interests this time,” he added. His statements, to the newspaper as well as the TF1 television network, were unusual for a former president in that they are profoundly at odds with official French policy. They provoked outrage from the Ukrainian ambassador to France and condemnation from several French politicians, including President Emmanuel Macron.

Persons: PARIS — Nicolas Sarkozy, Elvis, Vladimir V, Mr, Sarkozy, ”, me Vladimir Putin isn’t, I’ve, Le Figaro, Emmanuel Macron Organizations: European Union, NATO, TF1 Locations: Crimea, Ukraine, Russia, France, Ukrainian

☆ Ukraine Is Still Grappling With the Battlefield Prigozhin Left Behind
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Paul Sonne | More About Paul Sonne | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

As the Russian military reeled on the battlefield in Ukraine last autumn, a foul-mouthed, ex-convict with a personal connection to President Vladimir V. Putin stepped out of the shadows to help. Yevgeny V. Prigozhin for years had denied any connection to the Wagner mercenary group and operated discreetly on the margins of Russian power, trading in political skulduggery, cafeteria meals and lethal force. Now, he was front and center, touting the Wagner brand known for its savagery and personally recruiting an army of convicts to aid a flailing Russian war operation starved for personnel. The efforts that Mr. Prigozhin and a top Russian general seen as close to him, Gen. Sergei Surovikin, would undertake in the subsequent months would alter the course of the war.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Wagner, Sergei Surovikin Locations: Russian, Ukraine

The Kremlin is considering options on bringing the private military group Wagner under its direct control after the presumed death of its leader, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, according to U.S. and Western officials. Among those possibilities, officials say, are absorbing Wagner into the Defense Ministry or its military intelligence arm. The Kremlin could also install a Russian general or other government ally as its new chief, according to people briefed on the preliminary intelligence. Still, U.S. officials said the Kremlin believes the organization’s military prowess, experienced operators and ties to African governments are too valuable to give up or allow to wither away. A plane believed to be carrying Mr. Prigozhin crashed on Wednesday, Russian, U.S. and European officials have said.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Vladimir V, Putin, Prigozhin’s Organizations: Defense Ministry, Kremlin, U.S Locations: Russian, Russia, Ukraine, U.S, Moscow

☆ Russia-Ukraine War U.S. Officials Say It Appears Likely Putin Ordered Prigozhin Killed
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Mr. Putin himself is under an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children, as is his commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova. Seven of the people targeted by the new sanctions are Russian officials, and the other four, including Ms. Kadyrova, have ties to the camps. “Children are literally being ripped from their homes in the year 2023 by a country sitting in this very chamber,” Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said. Some are pressured into accepting Russian citizenship, and others have been adopted by Russian families, Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said. “You will hear Russian officials say that their transfers of children are part of humanitarian evacuations,” Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said on Thursday.

Persons: Ramzan Kadyrov, Aymani Nesievna, Kadyrova, reeducation, Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, Maria Lvova, Biden, ”, “ It’s, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Ms, Thomas, ARTEK, AKF, Galina Anatolevna Pyatykh, Irina Anatolyevna Ageeva, Irina Aleksandrovna Cherkasova, Mansur Mussaevich Soltaev, Magomedovich Khuchiev, Konstantin Albertovich Fedorenko, Alievich, Olena Oleksandrivna Shapurova, Vladimir Vladislavovich Kovalenko, Vladimir Dmitrievich Nechaev, “ Organizations: State Department, Kremlin, International, Court, Ukraine, Security, U.S ., Federal, Educational Institute International Children Center, Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation, The State Department, Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Youth Army Locations: Russia, Russian, United States, Ukraine, Chechen, Chechen Republic ., U.S, Crimea, Chechen Republic of Russia, Belgorod, Russia’s Kaluga, Russia’s Rostov, Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia, Sevastopol, Crimean

The Kremlin on Friday heatedly denied blame for the presumed death of the mercenary chief Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, dismissing the idea that the Russian government had destroyed a business jet reportedly carrying Mr. Prigozhin as Western propaganda aimed at smearing President Vladimir V. Putin. The denials were repeated in various forms throughout the day by Russia’s foreign minister, state-controlled broadcasters and Mr. Putin’s closest foreign ally, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, president of Belarus. Some European leaders, many Western news outlets and people close to Mr. Prigozhin’s Wagner paramilitary force have speculated that Mr. Putin had Mr. Prigozhin killed in retaliation for his brief mutiny against Russia’s military leadership in June. U.S. officials so far have been more cautious about assigning blame, but President Biden said on Thursday: “There’s not much that happens in Russia that Putin’s not behind. But in the two months after the Wagner rebellion, many Russians as well as people abroad expressed surprise that Mr. Prigozhin was alive and free.

Persons: heatedly, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Vladimir V, Putin, “, ”, Dmitri S, Putin’s, Aleksandr G, Lukashenko, Prigozhin’s Wagner, Mr, Biden, Peskov, Wagner Organizations: Kremlin Locations: Belarus, Russia, Moscow

Just as the news broke on Wednesday of the presumed death of the mercenary chief Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was presiding over a televised World War II anniversary ceremony on a dark stage lit dramatically in red. He held a moment of silence, flanked by service members in dress uniforms, while a metronome’s beats sounded, like the slow ticking of a clock: Tock. The eerie split screen — the reported fiery demise of the man who launched an armed rebellion in June and the Russian president telegraphing the state’s military might — may have been coincidental. But it underscored the imagery of dominance and power that Mr. Putin, 18 months into his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, appears more determined than ever to project. His internet “troll farm” helped the Kremlin interfere in the 2016 American presidential election, while his mercenary empire helped Russia exert influence across Africa and the Middle East.

Persons: Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Vladimir V, Putin, telegraphing Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Africa

Search resuls for: "Vladimir V"

25 mentions found