Tag: Russia

EU chief urges China to push Moscow to respect international law

Phnom Penh, Cambodia | AFP | EU chief Charles Michel said Saturday the bloc expected China to use “all the means at its disposal” to push Moscow to respect international law, days before a G20 summit expected to be dominated by the conflict in Ukraine. The European Council president was speaking on the sidelines of a regional summit in Cambodia, where Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged Southeast Asian leaders to support Kyiv. While China […]

Russia denies Sergei Lavrov hospitalised

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia on Monday denied “as the highest level of fake” reports that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had been hospitalised on his visit to Indonesia for the G20 summit. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova posted a video of the 72-year-old diplomat in a T-shirt and shorts along with her. They were shown laughing in the video after several media reported that he was in hospital. “We’re here with Sergei Viktorovich (Lavrov) […]

Russia says US driving Southeast Asian militarisation

  Phnom Penh, Cambodia | AFP | Russia’s foreign minister on Sunday accused the United States of driving increased militarisation in Southeast Asia, saying that Washington was trying to contain Beijing and Moscow’s influence in the region. Sergei Lavrov was speaking to reporters at Phnom Penh’s airport after attending the East Asia Summit in Cambodia — and before flying to Bali for the G20 summit where China’s leader Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden […]

Why Putin is staying away from G20

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) – The last time Russian President Vladimir Putin found himself isolated at a G20 summit was in 2014, soon after he seized Crimea — and he was so shunned that he left early. Eight years later, after launching a full-scale offensive in Ukraine in February and threatening the West with nuclear weapons, the 70-year-old Russian leader chose to skip this week’s G20 meeting on the tropical island of Bali altogether. Observers say the […]

Russian hackers behind medical record theft: Australian police

Sydney, Australia | AFP | Russian hackers were behind a cyberattack on a major Australian healthcare company that breached the data of 9.7 million people, including the country’s prime minister, police said Friday. The hackers started leaking the data earlier this week after Medibank — the country’s largest health insurer — refused to pay a US$9.7 million (Aus$15 million) ransom. Australian Federal Police commissioner Reece Kershaw blamed the attack on Russia-based “cyber criminals”. “We believe […]

Ukraine says dozens of villages recaptured amid Russian retreat

by Dmitry ZAKS with Daphne ROUSSEAU in Kyiv Agence France-Presse MYKOLAIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Kyiv forces have recaptured over 40 towns and villages in southern Ukraine, President Zelensky said Thursday, as Moscow signaled its army had begun retreating from the strategic city of Kherson. The United States meanwhile announced a new $400 million security assistance package for Kyiv, which will include defense systems and surface-to-air missiles as Ukraine is reeling from massive recent Russian airstrikes […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not go to G20 summit

https://youtu.be/cEj05-XqIbI Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been shunned by the West over his offensive in Ukraine, will not travel to Indonesia for the G20 leaders’ summit next week, officials said Thursday. The Kremlin, which has been mired in a protracted conflict in Ukraine and threatened the West with nuclear weapons, will instead send Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Putin may take part in the November 15-16 summit by video link, […]

Mazda pulls out of Russia joint venture over Ukraine war

  Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Japanese carmaker Mazda said Thursday it is pulling out of its joint venture in Russia because of the war in Ukraine, having ceased operations in the country earlier this year. Mazda stopped shipping parts to Russia in March and ended operations the following month “due to the situation in Ukraine that arose in February 2022”, it said in a statement. The company said it signed an agreement last month […]

Ukraine cautious as Russia orders troops out of Kherson

  Kyiv, Ukraine | AFP | Kyiv has reacted sceptically to Russia announcing its retreat from the southern city of Kherson, urging continued resistance until Ukraine liberates all of its occupied cities. Moscow’s decision to withdraw troops from the regional capital it had seized earlier in the war came as the United States estimated more than 100,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or wounded in Ukraine. Kyiv’s forces have likely suffered similar casualties, according […]

Russia orders troops out of Kherson in major reversal

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia ordered its troops to withdraw from the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine on Wednesday in a further major blow to its campaign amid a Ukrainian counter-offensive. Officials in Kyiv reacted with caution, saying the Russian army was unlikely to leave the strategic city without a fight, while US President Joe Biden suggested the retreat was evidence Moscow has “real problems” on the battlefield. “Begin to pull out troops,” Russian […]

Kremlin says ties with US will remain ‘bad’ after midterm elections

Moscow, Russia | AFP | The Kremlin said Wednesday that Moscow’s ties with Washington were likely to remain at rock bottom regardless of the results of US midterm elections, with relations at a historic low over the conflict in Ukraine. “These elections won’t have any significant impact,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies, adding: “Our existing ties are bad and they will remain bad.” US President Joe Biden, who […]