Russia

EU leaders met on Thursday to discuss Ukraine's bid to join the bloc, even as tensions between Brussels and Moscow deepened over gas and Russia closed in on key cities in the embattled Donbas."This is a decisive moment for the European Union...
A choice must be made today that will determine the future of the union, our stability, our security and our prosperity," EU council president Charles Michel told journalists ahead of the talks.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he conducted a "telephone marathon" ahead of the meeting, and approval is likely even though actual membership in the bloc remains years away."We are waiting for the green light, Ukraine has earned candidate status," the head of the Ukrainian presidency Andriy Yermak said on Telegram.But the potential consequences for Ukraine's allies loomed large over the talks, and ahead of the G7 and NATO meetings in the following days.Western officials denounced Moscow's "weaponizing" of its key gas and grain exports in the conflict, with a United States official warning of further retaliatory measures at the G7 summit in Germany starting Sunday.Germany ratcheted up an emergency gas plan to its second alert level, just one short of the maximum that could require rationing in Europe's largest economy after Russia slashed its supplies."Gas is now a scarce commodity," Economy Minister Robert Habeck told reporters, urging households to cut back on use.A Kremlin spokesman called Berlin's statements "strange," insisting that the supply cut was to carry out maintenance and that necessary equipment from abroad had not arrived.In Ankara meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of "weaponizing hunger" by preventing grain shipments from leaving Ukraine ports, raising the specter of shortages worldwide."We are very clear that this grain crisis is urgent, that it needs to be solved within the next month.
Otherwise we could see devastating consequences," Truss said after talks with her Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.Moscow and Ankara have negotiated for weeks on getting millions of tonnes of desperately needed grain out of the war zone and on to Africa and the Middle East, so far to no avail.Russia presses gainsOn the ground in the Donbas, the situation was becoming increasingly urgent as Russian forces tightened their grip on the strategically important cities of Severodonetsk and twin Lysychansk across the Donets river.Taking the two cities would give Moscow control of the whole of Lugansk, allowing Russia to press further into Donbas and potentially farther west.Ukraine acknowledged Thursday that it had lost control of two areas from where it was defending the cities, with Russian forces now closer to encircling the industrial hubs.Britain's defense ministry said some Ukrainian units had probably been forced to withdraw "to avoid being encircled" as troops advanced slowly but steadily toward Lysychansk."Russia's improved performance in this sector is likely a result of recent unit reinforcement and heavy concentration of fire," it said in its latest intelligence update.A representative of pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine told AFP the resistance of Ukrainian forces trying to defend Lysychansk and Severodonetsk was "pointless and futile.""At the rate our soldiers are going, very soon the whole territory of the Lugansk People's Republic will be liberated," said Andrei Marochko, a spokesman for the army of Lugansk.'Only grannies left'After being pushed back from Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine in the initial weeks of the invasion launched on Feb.
24, Moscow is seeking to seize a vast eastern swathe of the country.But daily bombardments also continue elsewhere.The northeastern city of Kharkiv near the Russian border was near empty on Wednesday, AFP reporters said, a day after shelling by Moscow's forces killed five people there."Last night the building next to mine collapsed from the bombardment while I was sleeping," said Leyla Shoydhry, a young woman in a park near the opera house.Roman Pohuliay, a 19-year-old in a pink sweatshirt, said most residents had fled the city."Only the grannies are left," he said.Zelensky again pressed allies Wednesday for the rapid supply of more arms, having earlier accused the Russian army of "brutal and cynical" shelling in the eastern Kharkiv region, where the governor said 15 people had been killed in a day.In the central city of Zaporizhzhia, meanwhile, women were training to use Kalashnikov assault rifles in urban combat as Russian forces edged nearer."When you can do something, it's not so scary to take a machine gun in your hands," said Ulyana Kiyashko, 29, after moving through an improvised combat zone in a basement.Lithuania in cross-hairsAway from the battlefield, Moscow this week summoned Brussels' ambassador in a dispute with EU member Lithuania over the country's restrictions on rail traffic to the Russian outpost of Kaliningrad.The coastal territory, annexed from Germany after World War II, is about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from Moscow, and borders Lithuania and Poland but has no land border with Russia.By blocking goods arriving from Russia, Lithuania says it is simply adhering to European Union-wide sanctions on Moscow.The United States made clear its commitment to Lithuania as a NATO ally, while Germany urged Russia not to "violate international law" by retaliating.





Unlimited Portal Access + Monthly Magazine - 12 issues


Contribute US to Start Broadcasting - It's Voluntary!


ADVERTISE


Merchandise (Peace Series)

 


[Russia] - Russian Gold Mining Tycoon Barred From Leaving Country Amid Nationalization Efforts


Putin Sacks Transportation Minister Roman Starovoit


[Russia] - Ukraine Says 4 Killed, Over 30 Wounded in Russian Strikes


Russia Says Captured 2 More East Ukraine Settlements in Donetsk and Kharkiv Regions


UN Condemns Russia's Largest Drone Assault on Ukraine


Trump Says He’s ‘Very Unhappy’ With Putin Call, Hints at New Sanctions


Russia Removes Peace Symbol from School Textbook Cover


[Russia] - Head of Moscow Region's Azerbaijani Diaspora Stripped of Russian Citizenship


Russia Adds 14-Year-Olds to ‘Terrorists and Extremists’ List


[Russia] - What Ukraine Is Missing as U.S. Holds Back Air Defense and Battlefield Weapons


[Russia] - Russian Firms Seek North Korean Translators to Support Influx of Workers


[Russia] - Dutch and German Intelligence Say Russia Increasingly Uses Chemical Weapons in Ukraine


[Russia] - Russia Carries Out 8th Prisoner Exchange With Ukraine Since Istanbul Talks


[Russia] - Professionals: Russia Recognizing Taliban Rule in Afghanistan Largely a Symbolic Move


Storm Batters St. Petersburg With High Winds, Rising Water Levels


St. Petersburg Naval Parade Canceled Over Security Concerns – Fontanka


[Russia] - Russian Car Market Expected to Contract by 24% This Year


[Russia] - Transneft Vice President Dies in Apparent Fall From Window, Reports Say


Russia Launches Largest Air Attack Since Invasion as Ukrainian Drone Strike Kills Woman in Rostov


Russia Becomes First Country to Recognize Taliban Government


Chechnya's Dependence on Federal Funding Hits New High


No Way Home: The Exiled Russian Speakers Fighting Their Own War in Syria


[Russia] - Russian Tycoons Earn Record $20 Billion in Dividends Amid Recession Worries


[Russia] - Russians Report Nighttime Police Raids in Azerbaijan as Tensions Flare


Former Kremlin-Backed Mayor of Luhansk Killed in Explosion


Putin Congratulates Trump on U.S. Independence Day During Hourlong Call


[Russia] - Russian-Made Jet Prices Soar as Moscow Struggles to Ditch Boeing and Airbus


Teen Facing Death Threats From Family Disappears in Ingushetia, Rights Group Says


Britain Links Azerbaijani Traders With Rosneft Ties to Russia’s Shadow Fleet


[Russia] - Russian Deputy Navy Commander Killed in Kursk Region


Russia Moves to Nationalize Country’s Third-Largest Gold Mining Firm


Orenburg Mayor Resigns to Continue Military Service in Ukraine


Durov Hints at Anti-Telegram Smear Campaign as Russia Readies Homegrown Competitor


FSB Arrests Woman Who Tried to Place Bomb Under Defense Worker’s SUV


[Russia] - Elderly Woman Killed in Ukrainian Drone Strike on Lipetsk Region


Emergency Contraceptives Disappear from Russian Pharmacies – Vyorstka


[Russia] - Putin Signs Decree Seeking to Lure Foreign Investors Into Russian Stock Market


Khakassia Governor Vetoes Local Government Reform Bill


[Russia] - From Plane Crash to Deadly Arrests: What's Behind the Russia-Azerbaijan Standoff


[Russia] - Kids of Russian Soldiers Increasingly Placed in State Care, Regional Officials Say


Russian Companies See Sharp Rise in Wage Arrears


Putin Praises Kyrgyzstan for ‘Special Status’ of Russian Language


Azerbaijani and Russian Investigators in ‘Constant Contact’ Amid Diplomatic Crisis


Russia’s Natural Gas Exports to Europe Plunge to Historic Lows


Security Forces Raid Russia's Third-Largest Gold Producer Over Environmental, Safety Violations


[Russia] - Kremlin Welcomes Halt in U.S. Arms Shipments to Ukraine


Fatal Car Crash Sparks Anti-Roma Protests in Saratov Region


Foreign Automakers Scale Back New Model Launches in Russia


Anti-War University Student in St. Petersburg Released From Prison


Russia Eyes Industrial Levy to Shield Domestic Producers and Plug Budget Gaps


[Russia] - Yekaterinburg Court Places 6 Azerbaijanis in Pre-Trial Detention Amid Cold-Case Probe


[Russia] - Macron Urges Ukraine Ceasefire in First Call With Putin Since 2022


[Russia] - Taliban Diplomat to Take Role as Moscow Ambassador


Russia’s VTB Reports Increase in Overdue Retail Loans


[Russia] - Kremlin Launches Online Bot Campaign to Defend Steep Utility Rate Increases


[Russia] - Su-34 Crashes During Training Flight in Central Russia


[Russia] - Russia to Disconnect Foreigners Who Have Not Submitted Biometric Data From Mobile Internet


[Russia] - Ex-Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison


Kremlin Dismisses Trump Envoy’s Claim That It Is Stalling Peace Talks


[Russia] - Russian Manufacturing Activity Sees Sharpest Decline Since Early Months of Ukraine Invasion


[Russia] - Azerbaijan Launches Murder Probe After Autopsy Finds Brothers Died From Beatings in Russian Police Custody


[Russia] - Russia's Top Ferroalloy Producer to Cut Workweek Amid Metallurgy Crisis


[Russia] - Russia Now Occupies All of Ukraine's Luhansk Region, Kremlin-Installed Official Says


[Russia] - Ukrainian Drone Attack on Izhevsk Kills 3 and Wounds Dozens More


[Russia] - Ukrainian Drone Attack on Izhevsk Kills and Wounds Multiple People


[Russia] - Kim Jong Un Honors North Korean Soldiers Killed Fighting for Russia


[Russia] - Significant Kuzbass Coal Mine Halts Operations, Leaving Hundreds Without Pay


Financial Insecurity Is Russians' Top Reason Not to Start a Family & Poll


[Russia] - Leading Russian Coal Producer to Receive State Support Amid Deepening Industry Crisis


Mariupol Children Undergo Pro-Russian Indoctrination at St. Petersburg ‘Wellness Camps’


Prosecutors Seek Criminal Charges Against YouTuber Yury Dud Over ‘Foreign Agent’ Law Violations


[Russia] - Sberbank Approves Record $10Bln Dividend Payout


[Russia] - Government Price Caps Put Russia's Breadmakers in Jeopardy, Producer Warns


‘Jesus of Siberia’ Cult Leader Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison


FSB Recruits Ukrainian Teenagers for Espionage and Sabotage – FT


[Russia] - Samara Region Police Open 'Nazi Rehabilitation' Probe After Teenagers Sing Ukrainian Song


Russian Advances Toward Sumy Continue – WSJ


Russia Moves to Limit Exemptions for Military Conscripts


[Russia] - Lavrov Warns West Against Backing 'Color Revolution' in Serbia as Protests Heat Up


[Russia] - Azerbaijan-Russia Rift Deepens After Deaths of Azeri Men in Police Arrests