~theguardian-world | Bookmarks (48)

Joe Biden declines to give details but says sanctions will coincide with second anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine The US will announce a major package of sanctions against Russia on Friday prompted by the death of political opposition leader Alexei Navalny but also devised as retaliation for the two-year war Vladimir Putin initiated against Ukraine, Joe Biden said on Tuesday.The US president...

Ilya Yashin says Vladimir Putin ordered murder of Alexei Navalny, as Russian state opens new criminal case against latter’s brotherA jailed member of Russia’s opposition has said he fears for his life after the death of Alexei Navalny, as the Putin critic’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, demanded the Kremlin release his body so he can be “buried with dignity”.Yet as the appeals came, the Russian...

Widow of Alexei Navalny says she wants to ‘build a free Russia’ and says she will reveal why ‘Putin killed him’Yulia Navalnaya has published a video address in which she vowed to continue her late husband’s political work and called on Russians to rally around her as Alexei Navalny’s family were told they would not get access to his body for another two weeks.“I...

With Ukraine retreating and western sanctions having little impact, the Russian president is growing bolder and may embark on more reckless moves Vladimir Putin smiled and looked unusually festive on Friday as he praised factory workers and joked with state reporters at an industrial plant in the Ural city of Chelyabinsk.Putin’s confidence was unmistakable – a sign of his full belief that he would...

In Russia, the battle to eradicate the opposition leader and his legacy will continue long after his deathIn Russia, it is not enough to kill an opposition leader. His ageing mother must travel to the Arctic Circle to search a prison colony and a morgue for his body. Russians with the temerity to lay carnations in his memory must be detained.Even a preliminary cause...

Retreat from Avdiivka deals military blow and hands initiative to Putin as war’s second anniversary loomsVolodymyr Zelenskiy issued a desperate plea for fresh arms on Saturday as his army commanders announced that Ukrainian troops were pulling out of the key eastern city of Avdiivka, handing Moscow its first major military victory since last May, just days before the second anniversary of the Russian invasion.Ukraine’s...

Demonstrators from Berlin to Vilnius, London to Rome chant slogans against Russian president and demand accountability over deathWestern leaders point finger at Putin after Navalny’s death in jailLong opposed to exile, Navalny dies in dark and dangerous RussiaHundreds of protesters, many of them Russian émigrés, gathered in cities across Europe and beyond on Friday to express their outrage over the death of Kremlin critic...

US president says ‘I hope to God’ death of anti-Putin critic spurs lawmakers to approve critical $60bn aid package for UkraineAlexei Navalny death: live updatesThe apparent death of Russian anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny has brought new urgency to the need for Congress to approve tens of billions of dollars of aid for Ukraine, Joe Biden said on Friday.The US president put the blame for...

Russian president says Biden is ‘more predictable’, in remarks likely to be attempt to make mischief in US electionVladimir Putin has said he would prefer a Joe Biden presidency to a Donald Trump one and mocked the former Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson for a “lack of sharp questions” during their interview at the Kremlin last week.Asked by a Russian state journalist on Wednesday...

Wide-eyed former Fox host tagged along as Russian president steered the conversation through Russian history and justifications for war“Are we having a talkshow or a serious conversation?” Vladimir Putin asked Tucker Carlson at the start of their interview on Thursday.By the end of the two-hour conversation, the answer was clear: neither. Continue reading...

Former Belgian PM Guy Verhofstadt says Tucker Carlson’s interview ‘is the best thing that ever happened’ to PutinVille Cantell, a director at the Finnish ministry of foreign affairs, has a viewing suggestion instead of the Tucker Carlson interview.President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s decision to replace his most senior military commander may solve a political problem, but it is not clear how it can improve Ukraine’s weakening...

Russian president’s rambling, two-hour talk with commentator is his first interview with western media since the Ukraine invasionTucker Carlson and Vladimir Putin were in the spotlight on Thursday night, as the divisive, Trump-supporting rightwing commentator interviewed the reclusive Russian autocrat.The rambling, two-hour interview, filmed in Moscow, was Putin’s first with a western media outlet since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Continue reading...

Former Fox host was spotted in the Russian capital, where he says he was to interview Putin about Ukraine war for X/Twitter showThe far-right pundit and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson confirmed on Tuesday he was in Moscow to interview Vladimir Putin, and said he would air his conversation with Russia’s president to counter what he described as pro-Ukraine “fawning pep sessions” by...

Military says no casualties immediately apparent, while strike on industrial site in Kremenchuk sparks fireRussia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 704Russian forces attacked eight communities in the Sumy oblast overnight, causing more than 24 explosions, the Sumy regional military administration said.Shellings of the border territories and settlements of the Sumy oblast brought the Bilopolska, Shalyginska, Esmanska and Druzhbivska communities under fire. Russian mortar...

Unable to match Putin’s military might, Ukraine is engaging in ‘smart warfare’ to attack the enemy’s oil and gas supply linesLast week, a motorist driving in Russia’s Leningrad region came across something unusual. Men had blocked off the road. In front, a large olive-green military vehicle with cigar-shaped missiles on the back was reversing and then parked up on a snowy verge. “Fuck! It’s...

Cause of fire unknown but drones were reported in area; North Korea’s state media KCNA says Vladimir Putin wants to visit PyongyangSee all our Ukraine war coverageRussian forces have taken control of the village of Krokhmalne in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday, reports Reuters.No other information has been reported on this story by the news agency. We will update with...

Ukrainian leader invited Trump to Ukraine but says if he returns to White House he could make unilateral concessions to RussiaThe Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, fears that if Donald Trump returns to the White House next year he could make unilateral concessions to Russia that override Ukraine’s interests and branded the former US president’s claims he could stop the war in 24 hours as...

The surprise visit to the Baltic Nato member country will see Zelenakiy travel to Tallinn and Riga after VilniusZelenskiy has posted an update via his X account. In the statement, he calls Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania “reliable friends and principled partners” to Ukraine.He has confirmed that while in Vilnius he will hold talks with the president, prime minister, speaker of the Seimas, as well...

Local governor says relocation of some Belgorod residents has already begunRussia says it downed four Ukrainian missiles over Moscow-annexed Crimea overnight, AFP reportsThe attack came a day after Russia said it repelled a Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea, downing 36 drones over the peninsula.Air defence on duty intercepted and destroyed four Ukrainian missiles over the Crimea peninsula.I see several appeals on social media where...

Breach of UN sanctions on Kim regime will be taken to security councilGermany has delivered more air defence for Ukraine, as well as ammunition and infantry fighting vehicles.The latest British defence intelligence update on Ukraine notes that “over the last week, ground combat has continued to be characterised by either a static front line or very gradual, local Russian advances in key sectors.” Continue...

Ukraine’s cyber spy chief says attack on Kyivstar should serve as a ‘big warning’ to the westPolish farmers blockaded the Medyka border crossing with Ukraine on Thursday, private broadcaster Polsat News reported, resuming a protest intended to secure government subsidies for corn and prevent tax increases.The farmers, who are demanding a written agreement with the government, had suspended their protest at the crossing in...

Russia’s presidential is a foregone conclusion, but the appearance of democracy still matters greatly to its leaderIn news that likely shocked no one, Vladimir Putin last month announced that he will seek a fifth presidential term in the upcoming March elections.In a country where Putin, 71, has come to dominate Russia’s political system and the media over the past two decades, the outcome will...

Explosions echo across capital a day after Russian president warned of retaliation over Belgorod strikeRussia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesKyiv has come under heavy attack as at least 10 people were injured in a missile strike a day after Vladimir Putin warned that Russia would “intensify” its assault on Ukraine.Explosions were heard in all districts of the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday morning, as two...

Putin says Russia will ‘intensify’ strikes on military targets in Ukraine; Zelenskiy says Moscow is suffering major lossesRussian president Vladimir Putin said that his forces would intensify strikes on military targets in Ukraine, after an unprecedented Ukrainian attack over the weekend on the Russian city of Belgorod. “We’re going to intensify the strikes. No crime against civilians will rest unpunished, that’s for certain,” Putin...