Tag: Russia
Seoul says N Korea has shipped 7,000 arms containers to Russia
SEOUL (AFP) – North Korea has shipped around 7,000 containers of arms to Russia to use in its war with Ukraine since the transfers began around last July, South Korea’s defence minister said Monday. Historical allies Russia and North Korea are both under a raft of global sanctions — Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine and Pyongyang for its testing of nuclear weapons. Their leaders Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un held a summit in […]
Putin vows Russia cannot be held back in victory speech
MOSCOW, March 17, 2024 (AFP) – Vladimir Putin said Russia would not be “intimidated” as he hailed an election victory that paves the way for the former spy to become the longest-serving Russian leader in more than 200 years. All of the 71-year old’s major opponents are dead, in prison or exiled, and he has overseen an unrelenting crackdown on anybody who publicly opposes his rule or his military offensive on Ukraine. “I want to […]
Deadly Ukrainian strikes rock Russia as vote cements Putin’s grip
MOSCOW, March 16, 2024 (AFP) – Ukrainian bombardments killed two people and set an oil facility ablaze in Russia on Saturday, the second day of showpiece elections guaranteed to cement President Vladimir Putin’s hardline rule. Presidential polls opened this week but voting has been marred by a surge in fatal Ukrainian aerial attacks and a series of incursions into Russian territory by pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups. Fresh bombardments Saturday prompted authorities to close schools and shopping […]
Russia orders more firepower against Ukraine naval drones
MOSCOW, March 17, 2024 (AFP) – Russia on Sunday ordered increased firepower and training for the navy to counter the threat of Ukrainian air and naval drones after a series of strikes on Russian warships. “There must be training for personnel every day. Training on how to repel attacks from the air and by uncrewed boats,” Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a statement during a visit to the Black Sea fleet in southern Russia. […]
Finland seeks to block asylum seekers from Russia
HELSINKI, March 15, 2024 (AFP) – Finland’s government on Friday said that it wanted to adopt a temporary law to curb “instrumentalised migration”, following a spike in migrant crossings that Helsinki labelled a Russian hybrid attack. A draft of the legislation, which would enable the government “to restrict the reception of applications for international protection in a limited area on Finland’s national border and in its immediate vicinity”, was sent out for comments on Friday, […]
Polls open in Russian vote to extend Putin’s reign
MOSCOW, March 15, 2024 (AFP) – Russians started voting on Friday in a three-day presidential election that is set to hand veteran leader Vladimir Putin another six-year term as the raging conflict in Ukraine spreads further into Russian territory. In power as president or prime minister since the final day of 1999, the former KGB agent is casting the election as a show of Russians’ loyalty and support for his military assault on Ukraine, now […]
Russia says three children killed in eastern Ukraine shelling
MOSCOW, March 15, 2024 (AFP) – A Moscow-installed official on Friday said Ukrainian shelling of the Russian-held city of Donetsk killed three children. Russia claims to have annexed the Donetsk region, even though it does not have full control of it and the frontline regional capital comes under frequent shelling attacks. “As a result of barbaric overnight shelling … a direct hit was recorded on a house in the residential sector,” Alexey Kulemzin, the Russian-appointed […]
German defence firm Rheinmetall plans Ukraine arms factories
German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall said Thursday it plans to set up at least four factories in Ukraine, as it targets a record 10 billion euros ($10.9 billion) in sales this year. The Ukraine war has boosted Germany’s weapons industry as countries seek to re-arm in the face of the growing threat from Russia, and soaring demand last year propelled Rheinmetall onto the blue-chip DAX index. The company said the factories in Ukraine — which has […]
Putin says Russian nuclear weapons ‘more advanced’ than in US
MOSCOW, March 13, 2024 (AFP) – President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday lauded Moscow’s nuclear arsenal and warned that he was ready to deploy the weapons if Russia’s sovereignty was threatened. The Kremlin has touted its nuclear prowess throughout its two-year offensive in Ukraine, last month warning Western countries there was a “real” risk of nuclear catastrophe if they escalated the conflict. The United States, however, said it had seen no sign Russia was planning to […]
Russia shuts schools in city of Kursk after border incursions
MOSCOW, March 12, 2024 (AFP) – Russia on Tuesday shut schools temporarily in the city of Kursk near the Ukraine border, after attacks on the region by pro-Kyiv militias and an increase in Ukrainian drone strikes. The news that schools would close until the end of the week followed an announcement by Moscow that it had deployed warplanes, rockets and artillery to fend off an attack on its territory from Ukraine. “In connection with recent […]
Pro-Ukraine militias attack Russian border regions
By Stanislav DOSHCHITSYN KYIV, Ukraine, March 12, 2024 (AFP) – Pro-Ukrainian militias staged a brazen cross-border raid on Tuesday, claiming to take control of a Russian village, as Kyiv launched one of its largest drone attacks since the start of the war. Groups of pro-Kyiv volunteer fighters, made up of Russians who oppose the Kremlin, said that they had broken into the Kursk and Belgorod regions, while Moscow said it had fired rockets and artillery […]
