Tag: Russia

Putin’s daughters, sanctioned by US, hidden from public eye

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Little is known publicly about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s daughters, sanctioned on Wednesday by the US government over Moscow’s “atrocities in Ukraine.” The US Treasury identified the daughters as Katerina Tikhonova, “a tech executive whose work supports … the Russian defense industry” and Maria Vorontsova, who leads state-funded genetics research programs “personally overseen by Putin.” A senior US official said Washington believes “Putin’s assets are hidden with family members.” […]

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‘Small number’ of Ukraine soldiers get drone training in US

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Ukrainian soldiers are being trained in the United States to operate the deadly Switchblade drones that Washington is supplying to Kyiv, a Pentagon official said Wednesday. Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said it was a “very small” number of Ukrainian troops who were already present in the US before Russia invaded their country. “We took the opportunity, having them still in the country, to give them a couple of days’ […]

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US slaps sanctions on Putin’s daughters, Russia’s biggest banks

  The White House announced sanctions Wednesday targeting Russia’s top public and private banks and two daughters of Vladimir Putin, adding pressure on the country’s economy and its elite over the invasion of Ukraine. The new sanctions targeted Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova, two adult daughters of Putin’s with his former wife Lyudmila Shkrebneva. Also hit with new sanctions were the wife and daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and members of Russia’s Security […]

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Dutch seize 14 yachts over Russia sanctions: minister

  THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Dutch customs authorities have impounded 14 yachts in shipyards, including 12 still under construction, as part of Western sanctions imposed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the government said Wednesday. European and US authorities have seized several yachts with links to Russian tycoons under the unprecedented sanctions that followed the February 24 invasion. “Given the current measures, these vessels cannot be delivered, transferred or exported for the moment,” Foreign Minister […]

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‘TikTok is having a bad war,’ say disinformation experts

  by Eric RANDOLPH Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — The war in Ukraine has rapidly positioned TikTok as the number one source of misinformation thanks to its gigantic number of users and minimal filtering of content, experts say. Every day, Shayan Sardarizadeh, a journalist with the BBC’s disinformation team, ploughs through a hallucinatory mix of fake and misleading information about the war being spewed out on the video-sharing site. “TikTok is really not […]

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US to announce new sanctions on Russia over Ukraine killings

  by Joe STENSON with Philippe RATER at the United Nations Agence France Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — The United States was expected to announce tough new sanctions on Russia Wednesday, including a ban on new investments, a day after Ukraine’s president showed the UN Security Council harrowing images of violence and accused Moscow of widespread atrocities. The sanctions come after an outcry over the discovery of dozens of bodies in civilian clothing in areas […]

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Spain to expel around 25 Russian diplomats

Spain will expel around 25 Russian diplomats and embassy staff over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, following similar moves by Germany and France, Spain’s foreign minister said Tuesday. “The unbearable images we have seen of the massacre of civilians in the town of Bucha after the withdrawal of the Russian army deeply outrage us,” Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said in a reference to a town outside Kyiv. The Russian diplomats and staff “represent a […]

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Germany closes Russian darknet marketplace Hydra

  by Femke COLBORNE Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German police said Tuesday they have taken down Russian-language illegal darknet marketplace Hydra, the largest such network in the world, and seized bitcoins worth 23 million euros ($25 million). Founded in 2015, Hydra sold illegal drugs but also stolen credit card data, counterfeit currency and fake identity documents, masking the identities of those involved using the Tor encryption network. The marketplace had around 17 […]

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Italy expels 30 Russian diplomats

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said Tuesday that Rome has expelled 30 Russian diplomats as part of a joint European action after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “We have expelled 30 Russian diplomats for national security reasons,” Di Miao told Italy’s Rai television in Berlin, in news confirmed by the ministry in Rome. Di Maio said Russia’s ambassador to Italy, Sergey Razov, had been summoned earlier Tuesday “to notify him of the Italian government’s decision […]

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Chinese, Ukrainian foreign ministers discuss Russia invasion

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China and Ukraine’s foreign ministers have spoken for the first time in over a month, with Beijing maintaining its push for peace talks even as allegations of Russian atrocities in towns around Kyiv grow. International condemnation of Moscow has intensified in recent days with the discovery of dozens of bodies in areas around the Ukrainian capital from which Russian troops have withdrawn, though they have denied involvement in the deaths. China […]

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Japan minister brings Ukrainians from Poland on government plane

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Twenty Ukrainians arrived in Tokyo Tuesday on a government plane with Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi after his trip to Poland, as Japan cautiously welcomes those fleeing Moscow’s invasion. Japan typically accepts just a few dozen refugees a year from thousands of applicants, and while it has cracked open its doors to Ukrainians, it calls them “evacuees” rather than refugees. The 20 Ukrainians flew with Hayashi from Poland, where he was on […]

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US, Britain to seek Russia’s suspension from UN Rights Council

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The United States and Britain announced plans Monday to seek Russia’s suspension from the UN Human Rights Council following allegations that Russian troops systematically executed civilians in Bucha, Ukraine. “The images out of Bucha and devastation across Ukraine require us to now match our words with action,” US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a tweet Monday. “We cannot let a member state that is subverting […]

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