Germany and France promise new Russia sanctions
Germany and France are to impose new sanctions on Russia over the UK gas attack, with some measures due as early as Monday (26 March).
Russia
‘Lone DNC Hacker’ Guccifer 2.0 Slipped Up and Revealed He Was a Russian Intelligence Officer
Guccifer 2.0, the ‘lone hacker’ who took credit for providing WikiLeaks with stolen emails from the Democratic National Committee, was in fact an officer of Russia’s military intelligence directorate (GRU), The Daily Beast has learned. It’s an attribution that resulted from a fleeting but critical slip-up in GRU tradecraft.
White House national security team fingered in Trump’s Putin call leak
The White House national security team, already facing calls for the ouster of top adviser H.R. McMaster, was tagged by a key lawmaker with leaking confidential notes ordering President Trump not to congratulate Russian President Vladimir Putin for his election win.
Senators suspect Comey lied and plotted to double-cross Trump, seek second special counsel
A plan of action for how a second special counsel can investigate the FBI and Justice Department is spelled out in a point-by-point letter submitted by two Republican senators.
Putin Overwhelmingly Wins Another 6 Years as Russian Leader
Vladimir Putin rolled to a crushing re-election victory Sunday for six more years as Russia’s president, and he told cheering supporters in a triumphant but brief speech that ‘we are bound for success.’
Mueller Broadens Russia Probe, Demands Documents from Trump Organization
Special counsel Robert Mueller is broadening his investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, subpoenaing the Trump Organization to hand over documents.
US, Germany and France blame Russia for nerve agent attack
The leaders of the US, France, Germany have joined Britain’s prime minister in blaming Russia for the attempted murder of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in a nerve agent attack earlier this month.
U.S. Sanctions Russian Intelligence Services
The Trump administration on Thursday imposed economic sanctions on 19 Russians and two Russian intelligence agencies for their role in the 2016 election meddling and costly cyber attacks and penetrations.
Trump administration blames Russian hackers with targeting energy grid, critical infrastructure
Russian government hackers have spent the last two years waging cyberattacks against U.S. government entities and multiple critical infrastructure sectors, the Trump administration said Thursday, marking the first time the White House has officially accused the Kremlin of attempting to breach its power grid amid rising tensions between Washington and Moscow.
With ‘new mandate,’ emboldened Putin to expand Russia’s adventurism abroad
There’s little suspense about Sunday’s Russian presidential election, but a lot of questions — and concerns — over what Vladimir Putin might do next with another six-year term in his pocket and a string of unresolved confrontations with the West.
U.K. expels 23 Russian diplomats over spy poisoning
Britain will expel nearly two dozen Russian diplomats, sever high-level bilateral contacts with Moscow and take both open and covert action against Kremlin meddling after the poisoning of a former spy, the prime minister said Wednesday, plunging U.K.-Russian relations into their deepest freeze since the Cold War.
Rep. Trey Gowdy splits with Republicans on Russian targeting of Clinton campaign
Rep. Trey Gowdy, South Carolina Republican, has broken from his GOP colleagues on the House Intelligence Committee regarding their conclusion that Russia didn’t prefer President Trump over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton during the 2016 White House race.
Russia says U.S. plans to strike Damascus, pledges military response
Russia said on Tuesday it had information that the United States planned to bomb the government quarter in Damascus on an invented pretext, and said it would respond militarily if it felt Russian lives were threatened by such an attack.
An Israel-Hezbollah war could easily draw in Iran, US intel official warns
A top Trump administration intelligence official warned of the ‘real potential’ of war between Israel and Hezbollah that could bring in Iran and embroil the region in conflict.
Major Networks Give Less than a Minute to House Committee’s ‘No Collusion’ Findings
On Monday, the House Intelligence Committee closed its inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, much to the chagrin of the liberal media. The committee confirmed that the Russians were indeed trying to cause chaos in the election, claimed they weren’t out to help candidate Donald Trump specifically and that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. But during their evening broadcasts, ABC and CBS downplayed the findings while NBC ignored them.
House Intel releases verdict in Russia probe: No collusion
The House Intelligence Committee has released findings from its upcoming report on the Trump-Russia affair — and its main conclusion is that it has discovered no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Syrian jets hit south in first such attacks since truce
Syrian jets struck rebel-held towns in the country’s south on Monday, the first aerial attacks on the area since the United States and Russia brokered a deal making it a ‘de-escalation zone’ last year, rebels and residents said.
Poisoned Russian spy Sergei Skripal was close to consultant who was linked to the Trump dossier
A security consultant who has worked for the company that compiled the controversial dossier on Donald Trump was close to the Russian double agent poisoned last weekend, it has been claimed.
Iran’s Russian Anti-Aircraft Missile Now Operational, U.S. Says
Iran tested and deployed a Russian-made anti-aircraft missile system last year that has long worried U.S. and Israeli military officials because it gives the Islamic Republic a ‘generational improvement in capabilities,’ the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency disclosed.
China’s hypersonic weapons could sink US aircraft carriers, Pentagon official says
The era of the American aircraft carrier as the premier embodiment of military might could be ending unless the U.S. develops defenses for the next generation of highly maneuverable, super-fast hypersonic weapons under development by Russia and China, the Pentagon’s top weapons researcher said Tuesday.