Page 3 - Russia

Ageing shadow fleet carrying Russian oil poses disaster risk: Report

The aftermath of European Union sanctions on Russia mean that the Turba has been enlisted into a vast shadow fleet carrying Moscow's oil around the globe

Russian campaign including cash bonus tries to entice men to fight Ukraine

Advertisements promise cash bonuses and enticing benefits. Recruiters are making cold calls to eligible men. Enlistment offices are working with universities and social service agencies to lure students and the unemployed. A new campaign is underway this spring across Russia, seeking recruits to replenish its troops for the war in Ukraine. As fighting grinds on in Ukrainian battlegrounds like Bakhmut and both sides prepare for counteroffensives that could cost even more lives, the Kremlin's war machine badly needs new recruits. A mobilisation in September of 300,000 reservists billed as a partial call-up sent panic throughout the country, since most men under 65 are formally part of the reserve. Tens of thousands fled Russia rather than report to recruiting stations. The Kremlin denies that another call-up is planned for what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine, now more than a year old. But amid widespread uncertainty of whether such a move will eventually happ

Russia to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, says Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans on Saturday to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus. Putin said the plan was in response to Britain's decision this past week to provide Ukraine with armour-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium. Russia falsely claimed these rounds have nuclear components. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has long asked for the weapons, Putin said, speaking in an interview on Russian state television. He said construction of storage facilities for the weapons in Belarus would be completed by July 1. Russia used the territory of Belarus as a staging ground to send troops into Ukraine, and Moscow and Minsk have maintained close military ties.

Russia 'largely stalled' in Bakhmut, moving to defensive strategy, says UK

The top commander of Ukraine's military said on Saturday that his forces were pushing back against Russian troops in the long and grinding battle for the town of Bakhmut, and British military intelligence says Russia appears to be moving to a defensive strategy in eastern Ukraine. The Bakhmut direction is the most difficult. Thanks to the titanic efforts of the defence forces, the situation is being stabilized, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi said in a post on Telegram giving a synopsis of a telephone call with Adm. Sir Tony Radakin, Britain's chief of defence staff. The seven-month fight for Bakhmut, where Russian forces have closed in on three sides, is the longest battle of the war, with Russia deploying both regular soldiers and fighters of the mercenary Wagner Group. Russian forces must go through Bakhmut to push deeper into parts of the eastern Donbas region, though Western officials say the capture of the city would have limited impact on the course of the war. Britain's Defence ...

Credit Suisse, UBS among banks under scrutiny in Russia sanctions probe

The Swiss banks were included in a recent wave of subpoenas sent out by the US government, the people said. The information requests were sent before the crisis

Canara Bank sells stake in Russian joint venture to SBI for Rs 121 crore

Canara Bank on Thursday said it has sold its stake in Russian joint venture Commercial Indo Bank LLC (CIBL) to the other venture partner State Bank of India (SBI) for about Rs 121.29 crore. CIBL, incorporated in 2003, is a joint venture in Russia between SBI (60 per cent) and Canara Bank (40 per cent). Canara Bank, in a regulatory filing, said it has received the entire consideration amount equivalent to Rs 121.29 crore on Thursday for the sale of its stake. The Bengaluru-based state-owned bank entered into the agreement for sale on November 11, 2022.

Russia's security chief blasts German minister, dangles nuclear threats

A top Russian security official warned on Thursday about the rising threat of a nuclear war and blasted a German minister for threatening Russian President Vladimir Putin with arrest, saying that such action would amount to a declaration of war and trigger a Russian strike on Germany. Dmitry Medvedev, the 57-year-old deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council chaired by Putin, said in video remarks to reporters that Russia's relations with the West have hit an all-time bottom. Asked whether the threat of a nuclear conflict has eased, Medvedev responded: No, it hasn't decreased, it has grown. Every day when they provide Ukraine with foreign weapons brings the nuclear apocalypse closer. Medvedev has issued a barrage of such strongly-worded statements in the past, blasting the US and its NATO allies for what he described as their efforts to break up and destroy Russia. In Thursday's comments, Medvedev denounced the International Criminal Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant

IOC's Thomas Bach defends Russia's stance amid pro-Ukraine protest

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach defended his organization's efforts to create a pathway for Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to competition in a speech in his home country of Germany which took place amid a pro-Ukraine protest. Bach reiterated the IOC's position that it would be discriminatory to exclude Russians and Belarusians based on citizenship alone and argued the Olympics can help promote dialogue at a tense time. Public broadcaster WDR reported nearly 200 pro-Ukraine protesters gathered outside the venue calling for Russia to be excluded entirely from the Olympics. The IOC recommended excluding Russia and Belarus on safety grounds soon after the invasion last year but now argues for letting the two countries' athletes compete as neutrals without national symbols ahead of a packed calendar of qualification events for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Bach said he opposed political influence on sports and any suggestion that Russians should be treated as

China, Russia to jointly counter the Indo-Pacific strategy pursued by US

Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded his state visit to Moscow on Wednesday and vowed to build an equal, open and inclusive security system with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to counter the Indo-Pacific strategy pursued by the US. Xi held an intense round of discussions with Putin after which the leaders signed two joint statements to deepen their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination for the New Era and Pre-2030 Development Plan on Priorities in China-Russia Economic Cooperation''. Xi embarked upon the 3-day Moscow trip ostensibly to broker a peace deal and end the raging conflict in Ukraine, as he sought to push a peace talks plan that elicited a frigid response from the US, Kyiv's key ally. The trip, described by Xi as "one of friendship, cooperation and peace," marked his ninth visit to Russia since he first became the Chinese President in March 2013. The joint statement issued in Chinese and Russian languages said the two sides expressed serious concer

Russia ready to switch to yuan in foreign trade, says Vladimir Putin

Russia is ready to increase settlements in yuan in its foreign trade, President Vladimir Putin said during talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping

China's Xi Jinping, Japan's Fumio Kishida end visits to Russia and Ukraine

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has left Moscow, wrapping up a three-day visit, shortly after Japanese PM Fumio Kishida left Kyiv. Kishida made a surprise visit Tuesday to Kyiv, stealing some of the attention from Xi's trip to Moscow where he promoted Beijing's peace proposal for Ukraine, which Western nations have already dismissed. Xi's visit gave a strong political boost to Russian President Vladimir Putin just days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader on charges of alleged involvement in abductions of thousands of children from Ukraine. After the talks, Putin and Xi issued joint declarations pledging to further bolster their strategic cooperation, develop cooperation in energy, high-tech industries and other spheres and expand the use of their currencies in mutual trade to reduce dependence on the West. They said they would develop military cooperation and conduct more joint sea and air patrols, but there was no mention of Chinese wea

China's Xi aligns with Putin against US, but hesitates on big gas deal

Xi saw an opportunity to push back at the US and buttress his image as a global statesman after helping to broker a Saudi-Iran deal, while Putin can show he has the support

Ukraine clinches $15.6 billion IMF loan, a first for nation at war

The program will be divided into two phases. In the first, lasting 12-18 months, Ukraine will take measures to strengthen fiscal, external, price and financial stability

In Putin and Russia, Xi sees a counterweight to American influence: WH

In President Vladimir Putin and Russia, the Chinese President Xi Jinping sees a counterweight to the American and NATO influence in the world, the White House said Tuesday. The statement by John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House, came as Putin hosted the Chinese leader. "I think you've seen over the years that these two countries are growing close together. I wouldn't go so far to call it an alliance. (it's) a marriage of convenience, because that's what I think it is. In President Putin and Russia, President Xi sees a counterweight to American influence and NATO influence, certainly on the continent and elsewhere around the world," Kirby told reporters at a daily news conference here. "In President Xi, President Putin sees a potential backer here. This is a man who doesn't have a whole lot of friends on the international stage. They can count them on one hand mostly. He really needs and wants President Xi's support for wha

China, Russia should push for more 'practical' cooperation: Xi to Putin

Russia wants Chinese businesses to replace Western firms; Japan PM Kishida visits Ukraine in a show of solidarity

Putin welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping to Kremlin amid Ukraine war

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the Kremlin on Monday, in a visit that sent a powerful message to Western leaders allied with Ukraine that their efforts to isolate Moscow have fallen short. As he greeted Xi, Putin also said he welcomed his plan for settlement of the acute crisis in Ukraine. Xi's visit showed off Beijing's new diplomatic swagger and gave a political lift to Putin just days after an international arrest warrant was issued for the Kremlin leader on war crimes charges related to Ukraine. The two major powers have described Xi's three-day trip as an opportunity to deepen their no-limits friendship. China looks to Russia as a source of oil and gas for its energy-hungry economy, and as a partner in standing up to what both see as U.S. domination of global affairs. The two countries, which are among the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, also have held joint military drills. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said tha

Japan's Kishida may seek India's aid to get tough on Russia for Ukraine war

"As leaders of the G-7 and G-20, I want us to communicate closely in an effort to strengthen cooperation," Kishida said March 10 when announcing the trip

How new tanker giants are sprouting from nowhere to keep Russian oil moving

Almost 1,200 miles away in Dubai, a small office in a run down industrial estate, offers no clues that it, too, is a small cog in Russia's vast new petroleum supply chain

Facing arrest warrant, Russia's Putin visits annexed Crimea Rains, high

Russian President Vladimir Putin travelled to Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of the Black Sea peninsula's annexation from Ukraine on Saturday, the day after the International Criminal Court' issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader accusing him of war crimes. Putin visited an art school and a children's centre, locations that appeared to have been chosen in response to the court's action on Friday. The court specifically accused him on Friday of bearing personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine during Russia's full-scale invasion of the neighboring country that started almost 13 months ago. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that most of the world denounced as illegal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has demanded that Russia withdraw from the peninsula as well as the areas it has occupied since last year. Putin has shown no intention of relinquishing the Kremlin's gains. Instead, he stressed on Friday the importance of

India needs to ensure China, Russia, G7 nations come together: Shringla

Polarization in the world is also reflected among the members of G20 but India, during its presidency, needs to ensure that they all come together to work on global issues such as climate change, former foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Saturday. Shringla, who is the Chief Coordinator for India's G20 Presidency, was speaking at 'G20 University Connect' at Symbiosis International University here. The theme or motto of G20 summit under India's presidency, 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (one world, one family) "exemplifies the Indian foreign policies outreaching the whole world," he said. "The polarisation that exists in the world also cuts cross the G20 membership, so you have on the one hand the G7, the (United States of) America, Europe, Japan and Australia. On the other hand we have also got Russia and China," the former diplomat said. "We, as part of G20 presidency, need to work to make sure that Russia and China come together with G7 to work for issues which are importan