G7 leaders urge additional support after defiant Zelenskiy hosts western leaders; Navalny’s body handed over to his mother
Continue reading...Category Archives: Russia
Alexei Navalny’s body given to mother by Russian authorities
Remains handed to Lyudmila Navalnaya nine days after Putin critic’s death in Arctic prison, say supporters
The body of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been handed over to his mother nine days after he died in an Arctic prison, his spokesperson announced on Saturday.
In a post on X, Kira Yarmysh thanked “all those who had demanded” the return of his body, but added that she did not know if the authorities would allow a public funeral to be held.
Continue reading...‘More deaths are coming’: fears over fate of other Russian political prisoners after Navalny’s death
Critics of Ukraine war among dozens who may be at risk in penal system, say campaigners and journalists
Just days after the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a prison colony, human rights activists and journalists are warning that dozens of other political prisoners may be at risk of death from deliberate abuse of ill convicts in the Russian prison system.
Dmitry Muratov, the Nobel-prize winning editor of Novaya Gazeta, told the Observer that Navalny’s death had sent a clarion call for the world to save the Russian political prisoners who could die next.
Continue reading...Navalny’s body released to his mother, says spokesperson
Spokesperson for the Russian opposition politician, who died in prison last week, said funeral arrangements are still to be determined
King Charles III praises the “determination and strength” of the Ukrainian people in a message marking the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion. The monarch said he was “greatly encouraged” by the UK’s efforts to support Ukraine and commended their “true valour”. He has said:
The determination and strength of the Ukrainian people continues to inspire, as the unprovoked attack on their land, their lives and livelihoods enters a third, tragic, year.
Despite the tremendous hardship and pain inflicted upon them, Ukrainians continue to show the heroism with which the world associates them so closely.
Right now, it looks as though Russia will not take part in a first round of the conference.
We’re in the process of starting off with a very broad alliance consisting of the BRICS countries, countries from the Arab world, as well as from the global south.
Continue reading...Home Office accused of cover-up over ‘golden visas’ for super-rich Russians
Government refused to publish review of system that allowed Russians now sanctioned due to Ukraine war to live in Britain
The government has been accused of a cover-up for refusing to publish a review of the so-called golden visa scheme that allowed wealthy investors, including at least 10 sanctioned Russian oligarchs, to take up residency in the UK.
The Tier 1 visa scheme, whereby super-rich individuals could buy the right to live in the UK by investing in British-registered companies, was closed in February 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, amid concerns that the system was being abused.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 730
Ukrainian military claims it shot down Russian spy plane; Ukraine marks second anniversary of war; Russian drones kill one in Odesa attack
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war: US sanctions three Russian officials over Alexei Navalny’s death – as it happened
This live blog is now closed. For more on US sanctions against Russia, read our full report:
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday announced a fresh wave of more than 500 sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine and the death of Alexei Navalny, the White House said.
More information to come …
Continue reading...Ukraine appeals to Australia and France for more ammunition as it marks two years since Russian invasion
Ukrainian ambassador to Australia also urges west not to succumb to ‘fatigue’ in its support for Ukraine
Ukraine is appealing to Australia and France to deliver more ammunition to the country as it marks the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The Ukrainian ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, also urged western leaders not to succumb to “fatigue” over the protracted war, saying: “I think the only country which can feel fatigue can be Ukraine, actually, because we are the ones who are being killed.”
Continue reading...US to impose sanctions on 500 Russia-linked targets to mark Ukraine war anniversary
Military industrial complex and companies aiding Moscow in third countries will be targeted, treasury says
The US will impose sanctions on more than 500 targets on Friday in action marking the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, deputy US treasury secretary Wally Adeyemo has said.
The action, taken in partnership with other countries, will target Russia’s military industrial complex and companies in third countries that facilitate Russia’s access to goods it wants, Adeyemo told Reuters news agency, as Washington seeks to hold Russia to account over the war and the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Continue reading...Biden met with Alexei Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya, White House says
US to impose over 500 new sanctions on Russia after Navalny, main opposition leader to Putin, died after being imprisoned by Kremlin
Joe Biden met with Alexei Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, and the activist’s daughter, Dasha Navalnaya, in California on Thursday.
Navalny, the main opposition leader to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, died in an Arctic penal colony last Friday after being imprisoned by the Kremlin.
Continue reading...Ex-FBI informant charged with lying about Bidens arrested again
Alexander Smirnov, who claims to have Russian intelligence links, taken into custody after meeting at lawyers’ offices in Las Vegas
The former FBI informant who is charged with lying about a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving Joe Biden’s family was again taken into custody in Las Vegas, two days after a judge released him, his attorneys said.
Alexander Smirnov was arrested during a meeting on Thursday morning at his lawyers’ offices in downtown Las Vegas. The arrest came after prosecutors appealed the judge’s ruling allowing 43-year-old Smirnov, who holds dual US-Israeli citizenship, to be released with a GPS monitor ahead of trial. He is charged with making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record.
Continue reading...Navalny’s mother shown body and ‘blackmailed by authorities’ over funeral
Lyudmila Navalnaya says she was told to agree to secret burial as Kremlin appears to fear funeral turning into political action
Alexei Navalny’s mother has said she has been shown the body of her son but that the authorities were “blackmailing” her into burying him in a secret ceremony without mourners.
In a video message on Thursday, Lyudmila Navalnaya said she was driven to a morgue on Wednesday evening where authorities showed her the body.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war live: Zelenskiy downplays loss of Avdiivka to Russian forces
President points to Ukrainian victories in Kharkiv and Black Sea since invasion began and questions the value of Russia capturing eastern city
Italy hopes to sign a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine “in the coming days”, foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Thursday.
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni is negotiating the agreement with Ukrainian authorities, Tajani said during a parliamentary hearing.
We count on being able to finalise [it] in the coming days.
The use of such language against the head of another state by the president of the United States is unlikely to infringe on our president, President Putin.
But it debases those who use such vocabulary.
Has Mr. Putin ever used one crude word to address you? This has never happened. Therefore, I think that such vocabulary debases America itself.
Continue reading...‘I hope he got the extended warranty’: US jokes about Russian car Putin gave to Kim Jong-un
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington he ‘didn’t know there was such a thing as a Russian luxury car’
A US spokesperson has mocked president Vladimir Putin’s gift of a Russian car to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, as he accused Moscow of violating UN resolutions.
North Korean state media said on Tuesday that Kim was “presented with a car made in Russia for his personal use by Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, president of the Russian Federation.”
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war: head of Germany’s far-right AfD condemns ‘theatrics’ over Navalny’s death – as it happened
Tino Chrupalla says it is ‘unbearable’ the extent to which Putin has been blamed, with similar comments from Italian deputy PM Matteo Salvini
The Republican senator Lindsey Graham, a key ally of Donald Trump, has been added to a list of “terrorists and extremists” kept by Russia’s state financial monitoring agency.
Tass, the state-run news agency, first reported the move by Rosfinmonitoring, which allows authorities to freeze Russian bank accounts, though in Graham’s case is likely to be chiefly symbolic.
Continue reading...Ursula von der Leyen vows never to work with Europe’s far-right parties
European Commission president seeks a second term and says there’s no place for ‘Putin’s friends’ in bloc
The chief of the European Commission has vowed to never work with extremist parties such as the far-right Alternative für Deutschland, no matter how big a vote they get in the European elections in June.
Ursula von der Leyen, officially launching her campaign for a second term in Brussels’s top job against a backdrop of rising concern over security and Russia, said on Wednesday she would only work with “pro-European, pro-Nato, pro-Ukrainian, clear supporters of our democratic values”.
Continue reading...Russia adds Republican senator Lindsey Graham to ‘terrorists and extremists’ list
South Carolina lawmaker is one of more than 12,000 individuals on list kept by Russia’s state financial monitoring agency
The Republican senator Lindsey Graham, a key ally of Donald Trump, has been added to a list of “terrorists and extremists” kept by Russia’s state financial monitoring agency.
Tass, the state-run news agency, first reported the move by Rosfinmonitoring, which allows authorities to freeze Russian bank accounts, though in Graham’s case is likely to be chiefly symbolic.
Continue reading...US to unveil major Russia sanctions in wake of Alexei Navalny death
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 spoke to reporters on the south lawn of the White House as he headed for a campaign fundraising trip to California, starting with a flight to Los Angeles.
Continue reading...Russia arrests US dual national over alleged $51 Ukrainian charity donation
Ksenia Khavana faces up to 20 years in prison for treason amid Kremlin crackdown
The White House has said it is seeking information after Russia announced it had arrested a dual US-Russian citizen on treason charges, accusing her of collecting funds for Ukrainian organisations and openly opposing the Russian war in Ukraine.
A Russian legal NGO, First Dept, said the woman, named by the media in Russia as Ksenia Khavana, may stand accused of transferring $51 (£40) to a Ukrainian charity on 24 February 2022, the day Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine. She faces up to 20 years in prison.
Continue reading...Jailed Russian activist says he fears for his life after death of Navalny
Ilya Yashin says Vladimir Putin ordered murder of Alexei Navalny, as Russian state opens new criminal case against latter’s brother
A 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 state opened a new criminal case on Tuesday against Navalny’s brother, Oleg, signalling it would continue the pressure on his family and supporters as they seek to mourn the late opposition leader.
Continue reading...