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Tag: Moscow

  • No evidence Ukraine involved in Concert Hall attack near Moscow – U.S

    No evidence Ukraine involved in Concert Hall attack near Moscow – U.S

    Washington sees no evidence that Kiev had a hand in a terrorist attack on a concert hall near Moscow, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said.

    Harris claimed in an interview with the ABC News broadcaster that a branch of the Islamic State terrorist group known as ISIS-Khorasan (banned in Russia) was behind the massacre.

    “No, there is no, whatsoever, any evidence (of Ukrainian involvement).

    “And in fact, what we know to be the case is that ISIS-K is actually by all accounts responsible for what happened,” she said.

    She also described the attack as “an act of terrorism.”

    “The number of people who have been killed is a tragedy, and we should all send our condolences to those families,” the U.S. vice president added.

    Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov told Sputnik that there was no need to jump to conclusions, commenting on recent U.S. statements about the ISIS involvement in the terrorist attack, as Russian special services were conducting investigations to find those responsible for the incident.

    A shooting occurred on Friday evening in the Crocus City Hall concert venue in the city of Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, followed by a massive fire.

    A Sputnik correspondent who witnessed the attack reported that at least three men in camouflage had broken into the music hall, shooting people point-blank and throwing incendiary bombs.

    The Russian authorities said that at least 137 people were killed in the attack, while Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of RT and the Rossiya Segodnya media group, said the death toll had reached 143 people.

    Eleven people were detained in connection with the attack, including four who were directly involved, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said.

    All four suspected gunmen were detained in the Russian region of Bryansk, which borders Belarus and Ukraine, the FSB added.

    The four suspects were charged with terrorism and ordered to be held in pretrial custody until May 22, Moscow’s Basmanny District Court said.

    All of them are from Tajikistan and risk a life sentence in prison.

    The Moscow-area concert hall shooting became the deadliest attack in Russia in nearly 20 years.

  • US reacts as 40 people killed in Moscow mass shooting

    US reacts as 40 people killed in Moscow mass shooting

    Washignton has reacted to the shocking shooting attack on a Moscow concert hall which claimed the lives of over 40 persons.

    The US government on Friday ruled out the possibility of Ukrainian role in the attack.

    Recall that about four men dressed in camouflage invaded the Crocus City Hall in Moscow and opened fire on innocent persons.

    According  information briefed that the shooting which occurred at the administrative center of the Moscow region started when the music band Picnic was performing a concert.

    However, in a  video clip sighted by pressmen,  it was observed that one of the suspects has been arrested by the Russian security forces.

    In its reaction to the shocking shooting in Moscow, the US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said “there’s no indication” that Ukraine was involved in the “terrible” attack, stating quickly after the news broke that he “would disabuse you at this early hour of any connection to Ukraine.”

    “The images are just horrible and just hard to watch and our thoughts obviously going to be with the victims of this terrible, terrible shooting attack,” he told reporters.

    “There are some moms, and dads, and brothers, and sisters, and sons, and daughters that haven’t gotten the news yet. And this is going to be a tough day. So our thoughts are with them,” he added.

  • Moscow says it shot down drones, cruise missile over Crimea

    Moscow says it shot down drones, cruise missile over Crimea

    The Russian military said it had shot down two drones and a cruise missile over Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Moscow’s forces in 2014.

    “Today at 11:30 a.m. (0930 GMT), another attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack on objects of the Russian Federation was thwarted,’’ the Russian Defence Ministry said.

    The minister added that a cruise missile was destroyed over the Black Sea off the Crimean coast.

    Earlier, the ministry said two drones had been shot down.

    They were reconnaissance Tekever drones, made in Portugal, according to the Russian military blog Rybar.

    Both were shot down north of Crimea, he said, although the information could not be independently verified.

    Ukraine had recently stepped up its attacks on Crimea and also deployed a commando unit to the peninsula last week.

    All in attempts to disrupt Moscow’s supply routes to its occupying forces in southern of Ukraine and hit ammunition and fuel depots.

    Moscow had been using Crimea as a supply base for its military since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

     

  • Moscow has taken 700,000 children out of Ukraine conflict zones- Russian lawmaker

    Moscow has taken 700,000 children out of Ukraine conflict zones- Russian lawmaker

    Russia has brought some 700,000 children from the conflict zones in Ukraine into Russian territory, Grigory Karasin, head of the international committee in the Federation Council, Russia’s upper house of parliament, said late on Sunday.

    “In recent years, 700,000 children have found refuge with us, fleeing the bombing and shelling from the conflict areas in Ukraine,” Karasin wrote on his Telegram messaging channel.

    Russia launched a full-scale invasion on its western neighbor Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow says its programme of bring children from Ukraine into Russian territory is to protect orphans and children abandoned in the conflict zone.

    However, Ukraine says many children have been illegally deported and the United States says thousands of children have been forcibly removed from their homes.

    Most of the movement of people and children occurred in the first few months of the war and before Ukraine started its major counter offensive to regain occupied territories in the east and south in late August.

    In July 2022, the United States estimated that Russia “forcibly deported” 260,000 children, while Ukraine’s Ministry of Integration of Occupied Territories, says 19,492 Ukrainian children are currently considered illegally deported.

  • EU plans to begin talks on possible confiscation of Russia’s frozen assets on Nov. 30

    EU plans to begin talks on possible confiscation of Russia’s frozen assets on Nov. 30

    European Union (EU) permanent representatives plan to start discussions on the possible confiscation of Russian assets and their potential use for the reconstruction of Ukraine at a meeting in Brussels on Nov. 30, according to the event’s provisional agenda.

    On Monday, the EU Council approved the decision to include circumvention and violation of European sanctions in the list of EU criminal offenses.

    This measure will pave the way for the confiscation of Russian assets in the European Union, EU Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders said in October.

    The “use of frozen assets to support Ukraine’s reconstruction” is included for the first time among the foreign affairs issues which the EU permanent representatives intend to discuss with the European Commission on Nov. 30.

    In addition, the list of themes to be raised at the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council includes the “Directive on asset recovery and confiscation. Policy debate.”

    Western countries have frozen Russia’s foreign currency reserves and halted international payments from Russian banks as part of sanctions against Moscow after it launched a special military operation in Ukraine on Feb. 24.

    In total, the EU member states have frozen 17.4 billion euros (or 18 billion dollars) of Russian assets, with funds distributed unevenly throughout the union, according to Reynders.

    In October, EU leaders instructed the European Commission to prepare proposals on the use of Russia’s frozen assets to finance the restoration of Ukraine.

    Moscow has repeatedly said that the EU’s attempts to confiscate frozen Russian assets are an expropriation of property, a violation of the European Constitution and international law.

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told Sputnik that Russia will do everything possible to return the seized assets, given their illegal seizure.

  • Putin vows to press on with military action in Ukraine

    Putin vows to press on with military action in Ukraine

    Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has vowed to press on with Moscow’s military action in Ukraine until it achieves its goals.

     

    He threatened to completely cut energy supplies to the West if it tries to cap prices of Russian exports.

     

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, had said with the ongoing war between two European countries, Russia and Ukraine, his nation is set to fill the natural gas gaps in Europe.

     

    Speaking at an annual economic forum in the far-eastern port city of Vladivostok, Wednesday, Putin scoffed at the EU plans for a cap on Russian oil and gas prices as a “stupid” idea that “will only lead to a hike in prices.

     

    “An attempt to limit prices by administrative means is just ravings, it’s sheer nonsense,” Putin said. “If they try to implement that dumb decision, it will entail nothing good for those who will make it.”

     

    He warned that such a move by the EU would represent a clear breach of the existing contracts, saying that Russia could respond by turning off the faucets.

     

    “Will they make political decisions violating the contracts?” he said. “In that case, we will just halt supplies if it contradicts our economic interests. We won’t supply any gas, oil, diesel oil or coal.”

     

    The Russian leader charged that Russia will easily find enough customers in Asia to shift its energy exports away from Europe. “The demand is so high on global markets that we won’t have any problem selling it,” he said.

     

    Putin added that “those who try to force something on us aren’t in a position today to dictate their will,” pointing at protests in the West against rising energy prices.

     

    Just hours before it was due to resume natural gas deliveries to Germany on Friday after a three-day stoppage for repairs, Russia’s state-controlled Gazprom gas giant claimed it couldn’t do so until oil leaks in turbines are fixed. German officials and engineers refuted that claim.

     

    The Kremlin blamed the suspension of supplies on Western sanctions against Gazprom, charging that they hamper normal maintenance of the pipeline’s equipment and signaling that supplies may not resume until the restrictions are lifted. EU officials rejected the claim as a cover for a political power play.

     

    Putin dismissed the EU’s argument that Russia was using energy as a weapon by suspending gas supplies via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to Germany, charging that the sanctions made the pipeline turbine unsafe to operate. “They have driven themselves into deadlock with sanctions,” he said.

     

    He repeated that Moscow stands ready to start pumping gas “as early as tomorrow” through the Nord Stream 2, which has been put on hold by the German authorities.

     

    Turning to Ukraine, Putin declared again that the main goal behind sending troops into Ukraine was protecting civilians after eight years of fighting in the country’s east.

     

    “It wasn’t us who started the military action, we are trying to put an end to it,” Putin said, repeating his long-held argument that he ordered the military action to protect Moscow-backed separatist regions in Ukraine, which have fought Ukrainian forces in the conflict that erupted in 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

     

    “All our action has been aimed at helping people living in the Donbas, it’s our duty and we will fulfill it until the end,” he said. “In the longer run, it will help strengthen our country both domestically and internationally.”

     

    Putin emphasized that Russia will keep protecting its sovereignty in the face of what he described as an attempt by the U.S. and its allies to preserve their global domination, saying that “the world mustn’t be founded on the diktat of one country that deemed itself the representative of the almighty or even higher and based its policies on its perceived exclusivity.”

     

    The Russian leader acknowledged that the national economy will shrink by 2% this year, but said that the economic and financial situation in Russia has stabilized, consumer prices inflation has slowed down and unemployment has remained low.

     

    “Russia has resisted the economic, financial and technological aggression of the West,” Putin said. “There has been a certain polarization in the world and inside the country, but I view it as a positive thing. Everything unnecessary, harmful, everything that has prevented us from going forward will be rejected.”

     

    Commenting on scores of critical media outlets being forced to shut down after the start of the military campaign in Ukraine following the passage of a new law that criminalized any reporting on military action that differs from the official line, Putin said their reporters were happy to leave the country.

     

    “They were always working against our country while they were here, and now they happily moved out,” he said.

     

    Russia’s top independent newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, was among the outlets that were forced to shut down under official pressure. On Monday, a court in Moscow upheld a motion from Russian authorities to revoke its license.

     

    Dmitry Muratov, Nobel Peace Prize-winning editor-in-chief of the newspaper, called the ruling on Monday “political” and “not having the slightest legal basis.”

     

    Putin sought to slight Muratov’s prize, describing it as politically driven and, in a side jab, compared it to the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Barack Obama while he was the U.S. president.

     

    “We had business-like relations with President Obama, but what did they give him the Nobel prize for?” Putin said. “What did he do to help protect peace? I mean, those military operations in some regions of the world that the president conducted.”

     

    Commenting on the European Union’s decision to make it harder for Russian citizens to enter the 27-nation bloc, Putin said that Russia won’t respond in kind and will continue to welcome visitors.

     

    “We aren’t going to halt contacts, and those who do it, they isolate themselves and not us,” he said.

  • Moscow offers ceasefire in Ukraine as talks continue

    Moscow offers ceasefire in Ukraine as talks continue

    Russia is offering a fresh Ukraine ceasefire for Tuesday, Moscow’s Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said, amid efforts to get civilians to safety.

    Speaking at the UN Security Council in New York, Nebenzya read from a statement from the authorities in Moscow.

    It offered a ceasefire from 10 am Moscow time (0700 GMT) on Tuesday to open a humanitarian corridor or corridors to evacuate citizens from Kiev, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol.

    It also included an offer to evacuate Ukrainian cities to the west of Kiev.

    There were small but positive steps in improving logistics for the humanitarian corridors in embattled cities, Ukrainian official, Mykhailo Podolyak said after a third round of negotiations with Moscow.

    Representatives of the two countries met for a new round of peace talks in Belarus on Monday, on the 12th day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    Russian negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky said there should be a new attempt on Tuesday to get people to safety via the corridors.

    However, he expressed overall disappointment after the meeting.

    “The expectations were not met,’’ Medinsky told Russian state television.

    The Russian side brought a number of prepared documents to the negotiations.

    The Ukrainians did not want to sign anything, but took the papers for examination.

    According to Medinsky, another round of negotiations is expected soon, during which the agreements can be put in writing.

    The head of the Ukrainian delegation, David Arakhamia, on Sunday had rejected Russia’s central demand for any peace agreement as not acceptable in an interview with Fox News.

    Russia demanded that the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed in 2014, be formally ceded to Russia.

    In addition, it wanted the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, controlled by pro-Russian separatists, recognised as independent states by Kiev.

    Moscow was also demanding the complete “demilitarisation’’ of Ukraine and that it became a neutral buffer state.

    Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba confirmed plans that would meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Turkey this week.

    “Currently the March 10, is planned. Let’s see if he flies to Antalya, then I’ll fly too. Let’s sit down, let’s talk,’’ Kuleba said in a video message.

    Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu had previously said both sides were expected in the Turkish city of Antalya on Thursday.

    The talks were likely to take place with Cavusoglu in a three-way format.

    Meanwhile, the Ukrainian ambassador to Israel said that Jerusalem could be a venue for high-level talks between the two sides to end the war, telling reporters in Tel Aviv that Ukraine saw Israel as a close friend.

    Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to remain in the country’s capital in spite of the ongoing fighting there.

    “I am staying in Kiev,’’ he said in a video message.

    He said he would not hide and wasn’t afraid of anyone.

    “Today is the twelfth night of our struggle, our defence. We are all on site, everyone is working. Everyone where he has to. I’m in Kiev, my team is with me,’’ Zelensky added.

    As the fighting in Ukraine continued, at least 13 civilians were killed during a Russian airstrike to the west of Kiev on Monday.

    Russian troops were stationed to the north-west of Kiev and are trying to advance on the capital from the west.

    Authorities in Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv announced that 133 civilians were known to have died in the city since the start of the war.

    A further 76 Ukrainian military personnel had also died in fighting in the city.

    The total number of civilians killed in the Ukraine had risen to at least 406, according to UN figures announced on Monday.

    In spite of the evidence to the contrary, Russia maintained that no civilian targets in Ukraine were being attacked by its troops.

    Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russian troops took control of the airport in the southern city of Mykolaiv on Monday but was back in Ukrainian hands just a few hours later, according to Mykolaiv Oblast Governor Vitaly Kim.

    Meanwhile, a senior U.S. Defence Department official said Washington would be sending another 500 soldiers to Germany, Greece, Poland and Romania to reinforce its presence in Europe.

    Among other things, their task would be to support efforts to protect NATO airspace.

    In New York, the U.S. ambassador to the UN told an emergency meeting on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine that the United States expected an ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

    “We are concerned that the world needs to be prepared for very long and very difficult road ahead,’’ Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.

    In Washington, the World Bank said it had mobilised some 720 million dollars in loans and aid to help the Kiev government provide critical services to Ukrainian people amid Russia’s war on the country.

    The bank’s board of executive directors on Monday, approved a supplemental budget support package including a supplemental loan for 350 million dollars and 139 million dollars in guarantees.

  • Australia’s sanctions against Moscow may affect 300 Russian lawmakers – Morrison

    Australia’s sanctions against Moscow may affect 300 Russian lawmakers – Morrison

    Australia is imposing a new set of sanctions against Russia, with further rounds potentially targeting 300 Russian lawmakers, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday.

    “There will be further waves of sanctions as we identify those responsible for these egregious acts.

    “This includes the discussion had this afternoon with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, moving on around over 300 members of the Russian Parliament,” Morrison told a press conference.

    The “second phase” of adopted sanctions includes punitive measures on additional 25 Russian individuals, including army commanders, defence officials, and Russian mercenaries.

    As well as four entities engaged in military production, according to the prime minister.

    On Wednesday, he announced sanctions against eight members of the Russian Security Council.

    A ban on cooperation with five Russian banks in addition to restrictions of Australian investments to the Russian state development corporation VEB, the prime minister recalled.

    The sanctions come as Russia launched a military operation in the Donbas region of Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday in response to requests for help from the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk republics.

    Moscow said that there is no threat to civilians as the army targets military facilities and not Ukrainian cities.

  • Moscow court fines Google over storage of user data

    Moscow court fines Google over storage of user data

    A court in Moscow on Thursday fined Google for failing to store the data of users who are based in Russia in that country.

    A judge imposed a fine of 3 million roubles (40,000 dollars) on Google, the first time the company has faced a penalty of this kind in Russia.

    However, LinkedIn, an employment networking platform, has been completely blocked in Russia since 2016 for the same reason.

    Russia recently fined Google and other major Information Technology providers including Facebook and TikTok some 10 million roubles for allegedly refusing to delete illegal content.

    Earlier, Twitter’s services were slowed down for several weeks in Russia, after the social media platform failed to remove banned content including calls to join demonstrations in support of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

    Critics called the penalty an attempt to restrict the right to freedom of speech on social networks.

    Thousands of websites are blocked in Russia, including those run by government opponents.

  • Navalny arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport

    Navalny arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport

    Russian dissident Alexei Navalny has been detained at Sheremetyevo airport near Moscow, according to a post on Navalny’s Telegram channel.

    He was detained while going through passport control, according to the post.

    Navalny’s plane from Berlin was originally due to land at Vnukovo airport on Sunday evening but diverted to Sheremetyevo at the last minute, according to a dpa reporter.

    The plane was originally due to land at Vnukovo airport but display boards there said the plane had been diverted to the capital’s larger international airport.

    The flight from Berlin, operated by Pobeda airline, was circulating above Vnukovo before it changed its course.

    Opposition politician Ilya Yashin called the diversion a “hysterical reaction” of the Russian government.

    Russian authorities previously said they planned to arrest Navalny, 44, immediately upon return to his home country, accusing him of breaking the terms of a suspended sentence and probation.