Tag: Russia

A businessman is due to appear in court in Latvia on Saturday in a murder plot trial that could shed light on the murky past of its banking system. Mihails Ulmans and his associate, co-defendant Aleksandrs Babenko, are alleged to have paid the killer of insolvency lawyer Martins Bunkus. Mr Bunkus is said to have uncovered evidence of money-laundering at…

Leaders of the Group of Seven advanced economies are generally united in voicing concern about China. The question is how to translate that worry into action. Over the past two years, President Joe Biden’s administration has sought to reframe the relationship with Beijing and build support among like-minded nations for a strong response to what officials in Washington and some…

The Russian branch of environmental group Greenpeace on Friday said it would shut down after authorities declared the group an “undesirable organization”, effectively banning it from operating. In a statement, Russia’s Prosecutor General said Greenpeace had tried to “interfere in the internal affairs of the state” and was “engaged in anti-Russian propaganda” by calling for sanctions against Moscow. The label…

WASHINGTON – The United States on Friday announced sanctions on more than 300 targets as Group of Seven leaders met in Japan, aiming to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and intensifying one of the harshest sanctions efforts ever implemented. The move, which targets Russia’s sanctions evasion, future energy revenues and military-industrial supply chains, marks the latest sanctions and…

MOSCOW – Russia has issued an arrest warrant for the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor who in March prepared a warrant for President Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges, Russian media reported on Friday. The British prosecutor, Karim Khan, was added to the Interior Ministry’s wanted list, state-owned news agency TASS said, citing the ministry’s database. Moscow opened cases against…

LONDON – Britain on Friday published plans to ban imports of Russian diamonds, copper, aluminium and nickel and slap a new wave of sanctions against Russia, targeting companies connected to the alleged theft of Ukrainian grain. Along with the United States, Britain and other Group of Seven (G-7) major economies are set to unveil sanctions and export controls targeting Russia…

New developments: Air raid alerts were declared throughout Ukraine early Friday, with some areas reporting explosions. The U.S. overcounted the total of U.S. military aid provided to Ukraine by about $3 billion, a senior defense official and a military official said. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba discussed “ways to stop Russian aggression” in talks with Chinese envoy Li Hui, Ukraine…

The office of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak outlined the measures in a statement on Thursday, voicing hopes that new restrictions would curtail Russia’s multi-billion dollar diamond trade and a range of other exports, including copper, aluminum and nickel.  “Alongside these trade measures, the government is also preparing new individual designations – targeting an additional 86 people and companies from [Russian…

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia fired 30 cruise missiles against different parts of Ukraine early Thursday in the latest nighttime test of Ukrainian air defenses, which shot down 29 of them, officials said. One person was killed and two were wounded by a Russian missile that got through and struck an industrial building in the southern region of Odesa, according to…

Vladimir Putin had a massive underground lair built beneath his secret palace by the Black Sea, according to plans posted online by the engineering firm behind the project. The Russian president was said to have ordered the construction of tunnels, which lie about 50 metres below the surface, out of concern for his survival in the event of a revolution…

A cache of classified US documents online last month has shed light on American intelligence gathered about other countries. The documents consist of an elaborate timeline, dozens of military acronyms, including some items marked “top secret,” which give a detailed picture of the conflict in Ukraine, raging since February 24, 2022. “Top secret” is the highest level of classification. Some…

  WASHINGTON – The Pentagon overestimated the value of the ammunition, missiles and other equipment it sent to Ukraine by around US$3 billion (S$4.05 billion), a Senate aide and a defense official said on Thursday, an error that may lead the way for more weapons being sent to Kyiv for its defense against Russian forces. The error was the result…

  LONDON – Ukraine has rejected a Chinese suggestion to consider an immediate ceasefire in the country’s war with Russia. In a statement issued on Wednesday after a day of closed-door meetings with Ambassador Li Hui, China’s special mediator in the conflict, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said: “Ukraine does not accept any proposals that would involve the loss of…

Without approval from Washington, the best that Ukrainian airmen can hope for are lessons on technical language and tactical training on the ground, the outlet said on Wednesday. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has been pressing his Western backers for fourth generation F-16 warplanes for months, arguing they are crucial for defending the country’s airspace amid a massive Russian missile campaign…

As Cyprus braces for an almost inevitable new wave of sanctions to hit soon, the government conceded on Wednesday the effect on Cyprus’ services sector has been detrimental. The impact goes beyond just the service sectors. Scores of people have lost their jobs, and companies shut down, but more controversially – clients of sanctioned entities have also seen their bank…

Russia has frozen the bank accounts of Finland’s diplomatic representations in Moscow and St. Petersburg, disrupting money flow and forcing the Nordic country’s missions to resort to cash payments, the Finnish foreign minister said Wednesday. Pekka Haavisto said Moscow’s move at the end of April breached the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and Helsinki had delivered a diplomatic note on…