Thousands have rallied across Russia against the detention of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny amid concerns about his health. More than 1,000 people were reportedly arrested after defying a ban on demonstrations.
Satellite photos show that Russia has deployed warplanes to Crimea and bases near Ukraine, bolstering its readiness for military action and political intimidation, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Russia has concentrated more than 150,000 troops on Ukraine’s border and in annexed Crimea, the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Monday after EU foreign ministers were briefed by Ukraine’s foreign minister.
Top advisers to the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany have begun consultations on holding a possible summit aimed at easing tensions over the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The United States had warned Russia of “consequences” if jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny dies amid mounting concerns about his health.
Pope Francis appealed for peace in eastern Ukraine, where growing violations of a ceasefire trigger rising tensions between Kyiv and Moscow agreed between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists. It comes while a massive Russian military buildup is underway near Ukraine’s borders and British warships preparing to sail for the Black Sea next month in support of Ukraine.
Russia expelled 20 Czech diplomats after the Czech Republic ordered 18 Russian diplomats to leave on Saturday.
Russia will block foreign warships and non-commercial vessels from transiting the Kerch Strait to access the Black Sea, according to reports from Ukrainian media. The strait lies between Crimea and Russia, and connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday expelled 10 Russian diplomats in retaliation to Moscow’s interference in last year’s presidential election and the hacking of federal agencies.
Political tensions are rising in Hungary over government plans to build the European Union’s first Chinese university campus in Budapest, the capital, despite security and social concerns.
The United States will soon announce new sanctions against Russian individuals and entities for alleged election interference and malicious cyber activity, Voice of America reports. It is expected that thirty organizations will be blacklisted and that some 10 Russian officials in the US will be issued with orders to leave the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reason for a major military buildup on Ukrainian borders remains a mystery, U.S. intelligence officials told lawmakers.
In its annual survey of United States national security threats, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) reported Tuesday that China and Russia currently pose the greatest danger to America, the Washington Times reports.
US President Joe Biden has offered to have a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, amid rising tensions over Russia’s buildup of troops close to Ukraine’s eastern border and Crimea, the Washington Times reports. Moscow has acknowledged the offer of a summit.
Britain, France and Germany criticized Iran on Wednesday for increasing enrichment of uranium to levels banned by the 2015 nuclear deal.
NATO leaders and Russia traded sharp threats Tuesday over a military standoff in Ukraine, with President Biden pressing the Kremlin to de-escalate the situation and suggesting it was time for him and Russian President Vladimir Putin to have a face-to-face talk about Russian provocations.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Tuesday that the US is an “adversary” which works to “undermine Russia’s position on the world stage,” Reuters reports. Ryabkov made his statement while two US warships prepare to sail into the Black Sea this week, an event which Russia says is “provocative.”
The recent deployment of Russian troops along Ukraine’s border and Moscow’s indication that it could intervene in the event of a full-scale war in eastern Ukraine are dimming hopes for a peaceful resolution of the conflict that has festered for seven years and cost thousands of lives.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says severe coronavirus vaccine shortages in scores of impoverished nations undermines its global coronavirus jabs plan.
Iran will “definitely” respond to a recent attack on an Iranian ship in the Red Sea, a spokesman for the Islamic Republic’s military said Thursday.