Tag: Russia
Ukraine, media falsely report that Jewish Babyn Yar memorial was bombed by Russia
As reported by Times of Israel and X, Ukranian President Zelensky said that “Uman was brutally bombed where hundreds of thousands of Jews come every year to pray,” referring to the Hasidic pilgrimage site in central Ukraine. “Then Babyn Yar, where hundreds of thousands of Jews were executed.” And despite reports, the rocket that damaged the Kyiv TV tower did not…
“Hostile” countries must now pay for Russian gas in Russian currency, Rubles, Putin says
According to Russian state media, RT, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Western sanctions against his country have dealt a large blow to public trust in th4e U.S. Dollar and the Euro. Putin argued that the penalties showed it “makes no sense anymore” to sell Russian goods in the US and the EU while receiving payment in dollars or euros….
U.S. Accuses Russia of War Crimes in Ukraine
The U.S. government accused Russian forces in Ukraine of committing war crimes, an action that will formalize continuing investigations into alleged atrocities. (WSJ) In a statement on Wednesday, Blinken said there have been numerous credible reports of “indiscriminate attacks and attacks deliberately targeting civilians” in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began late last month. “Today, I can announce that, based on…
Biden’s warning to China Friday March 18, 2022
U.S. President Joe Biden warned Chinese President Xi Jinping in a video conference on Friday of “implications and consequences” should China support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Xi told Biden that his country does not want the war. The brief White House statement described the conversation as “focused” on Ukraine. But much lengthier summaries released by the China side portrayed a…
79 HMTreasury entries amended – consolidated list
79 entries have been amended on the consolidated list and remain subject to an asset freeze. On 18 March 2022 the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office updated the UK Sanctions List on GOV.UK. The following provides details of those designated under regulations made under the Sanctions Act. Amendments have been made to entries under the following financial sanctions regimes: Belarus; Chemical Weapons; Cyber, Russia and Zimbabwe. The relevant notices…
Sanctions Updates: Russia
Feb 26, 2022. (3:31 a.m. CET) SWIFT Preparing to Comply With Russian Measures “We are engaging with European authorities to understand the details of the entities that will be subject to the new measures,” the organization said in an email. “We are preparing to comply upon legal instruction.” Feb 26, 2022. (2:12 a.m. CET) Elon Musk Activates Starlink Satellites for…
Battle Updates: Ukraine
Ukraine ‘hits airfield in Russia’ with missile strike in latest blow to Putin’s forces after shooting down six helicopters and killing or capturing 800 troops around 10am local time (8am GMT) with several buildings on the site engulfed in flames. (DailyMail) Ukraine claims it has RECAPTURED airport on outskirts of Kyiv from Russian special forces, claims defense minister, as President…
Global Russia Sanctions Update
A number of states and international actors have unveiled further sanctions measures on Russia in relation to its activities in or in relation to Ukraine. In a previous post, we outlined the initial measures imposed by the US and UK on Russia in relation to its recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk. We consider below the further actions taken by the…
Trump campaign & admin officials indicted on federal criminal charges
Named: Tom Barrack, Paul Manafort, George Papadopoulos, Rick Gates, Michael Flynn, Michael Cohen, Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, Donald Trump
Ukraine’s Constitutional Crisis
Ukrainians’ distrust of the courts is higher than of any other government body. The Kyiv District Administrative Court has become the epitome of injustice and corruption in Ukraine.
The Intercept Discloses Top-Secret NSA Document on Russia Hacking Aimed at US Voting System
On Monday, the Intercept published a classified internal NSA document noting that Russian military intelligence mounted an operation to hack at least one US voting software supplier—which provided software related to voter registration files—in the months prior to last year’s presidential contest. It has previously been reported that Russia attempted to hack into voter registration systems, but this NSA document provides details of how one such operation occurred.
According to the Intercept:
The top-secret National Security Agency document, which was provided anonymously to The Intercept and independently authenticated, analyzes intelligence very recently acquired by the agency about a months-long Russian intelligence cyber effort against elements of the US election and voting infrastructure. The report, dated May 5, 2017, is the most detailed US government account of Russian interference in the election that has yet come to light.
While the document provides a rare window into the NSA’s understanding of the mechanics of Russian hacking, it does not show the underlying “raw” intelligence on which the analysis is based. A US intelligence officer who declined to be identified cautioned against drawing too big a conclusion from the document because a single analysis is not necessarily definitive.
The report indicates that Russian hacking may have penetrated further into US voting systems than was previously understood. It states unequivocally in its summary statement that it was Russian military intelligence, specifically the Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate, or GRU, that conducted the cyber attacks described in the document:
Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate actors … executed cyber espionage operations against a named U.S. company in August 2016, evidently to obtain information on elections-related software and hardware solutions. … The actors likely used data obtained from that operation to … launch a voter registration-themed spear-phishing campaign targeting U.S. local government organizations.
Go read the whole thing.