Russia

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Russia Sentences US Citizen to 12 Years for $52 Donation

Ksenia Karelina was charged with treason over donation to pro-Ukrainian charity

(Newser) - Another US citizen has received a long sentence from a Russian court. Dual US-Russian citizen Ksenia Karelina was sentenced to 12 years on Tuesday on a treason charge connected to a donation of around $52 she made to a US charity providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine in 2022. Russian prosecutors...

Russia Jails American for 'Petty Hooliganism'

Joseph Tater has already been hit with 15 days behind bars; another possible sentence looms

(Newser) - An American in Moscow has been given 15 days behind bars, with Reuters reporting that a charge of "petty hooliganism" is behind the sentence. A Moscow district court handed down Joseph Tater's fate on Wednesday, accusing him of minor disorderly conduct after an incident at a ritzy hotel...

Russia Pulls Some Troops From Ukraine to Defend Home

Ukrainian forces said to have gained control of 74 Russian towns and villages

(Newser) - Ukraine's surprise attack on Russian soil has done more than boost morale. Russia has withdrawn forces from Ukraine to respond to what's described as the biggest invasion of the country since World War II, checking off one Ukrainian objective, US officials tell the Wall Street Journal . The exact...

Russia Declares Emergency After Daring Ukraine Attack

Moscow institutes 'federal level' emergency in Kursk after incursion on its soil

(Newser) - Russia declared a "federal level" emergency in the Kursk region following a large-scale incursion from Ukraine and sent reinforcements there on Friday, four days after hundreds of Ukrainian troops poured across the border in what appeared to be Kyiv's biggest attack on Russian soil since the war began....

Russian Chess Player Accused of Poisoning Rival

Surveillance video allegedly catches Amina Abakarova in the act

(Newser) - The world of chess has had some bizarro controversies of late. This one tops them all. A 40-year-old Russian player has been accused of poisoning a rival by smearing mercury on her chess board, reports NBC News . Surveillance video purports to show Amina Abakarova wandering into a mostly empty room...

It May Be a Novel Move in Russia-Ukraine War

Russia says Ukrainian troops have attacked within its borders

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin is calling it a "major provocation." NBC News refers to it as an "unprecedented cross-border incursion." Russia on Tuesday said as many as 300 Ukrainian troops had attacked the Kursk region in southern Russia with support from tanks and armored vehicles. The details remain...

Freed Dissidents Aren't Thrilled With All Terms of Their Release

Ilya Yashin, Andrei Pivovarov say they want to return home to Russia, probably can't

(Newser) - With last week's historic prisoner swap, Russian President Vladimir Putin did more than secure the release of his assassin friend . He also appears to have conveniently "rid himself of some of his most persistent critics," Politico reports, noting several Russian dissidents whisked from prisons inside Russia have...

Russia: Ukraine Slammed Us With 'Drone Barrage'

Nation's Defense Ministry says it destroyed 75 drones in various regions near border with Ukraine

(Newser) - Russian officials on Saturday said Ukrainian forces overnight targeted multiple Russian regions with a massive drone barrage. Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement that its air defense systems "intercepted and destroyed" a total of 75 drones over a number of regions that lie on the border with...

Neutral Athlete Wins Group's First Gold

Russia, Belarus competitors will not hear their national anthems at Games

(Newser) - The neutral collective of athletes won its first gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Friday. Ivan Litvinovich was not allowed to float down the River Seine on a boat during the Games' opening ceremony a week ago—just like all 32 athletes from Russia and Belarus whose Olympic team...

Ex-Iran Captive Speaks on Gershkovich, Others
Ex-Iran Captive
Speaks on
Gershkovich,
Others
OPINION

Ex-Iran Captive Speaks on Gershkovich, Others

Journalist Jason Rezaian says US government should help Americans set free by Russia to readjust

(Newser) - It's been more than eight years since Iran released Jason Rezaian in a prisoner swap with the United States, but if anyone understands what Evan Gershkovich , Paul Whelan , and Alsu Kurmasheva have ahead of them after arriving back in the US , it's the Washington Post columnist. In his...

At Olympics, Griner 'Head Over Heels' About Prisoner Swap

'It's a great day,' WNBA star says of Gershkovich, Whelan

(Newser) - It's been more than a year since Brittney Griner was released from a Russian prison, but Russia was definitely on her mind Thursday as news trickled in about the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, ex-Marine Paul Whelan, and US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. "It's a...

&#39;There Was No Deal to Be Had&#39; Without Vadim Krasikov
'There Was No Deal to Be
Had' Without Vadim Krasikov
the rundown

'There Was No Deal to Be Had' Without Vadim Krasikov

A look inside the unprecedented prisoner swap that was months in the making

(Newser) - It was the biggest prisoner swap in recent history , involving 24 people and seven countries. Sixteen journalists, pro-democracy activists, and others held by Russia and Belarus were exchanged Thursday for eight Russians jailed for espionage, murder, hacking, and other crimes in the US, Norway, Germany, Slovenia, and Poland. Here's...

Gershkovich, Whelan Are Back on US Soil

They arrive, along with 3rd freed American, after massive prisoner swap

(Newser) - The United States and Russia completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history on Thursday, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free. Gershkovich, Whelan, and Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist with...

Putin's Flouting of Norms Brings Biggest Payoff Yet

Robyn Dixon writes in the Washington Post that Russia's long-term strategy works

(Newser) - US officials and families led by President Biden celebrated the prisoner exchange that was bringing three Americans home, but Russia's leader had a victory to savor as well. President Vladimir Putin secured the release of spies, hackers, and an assassin, while seeing his long-pursued strategy succeed. "It was...

It&#39;s the Biggest Prisoner Swap Since the Cold War
It's the Biggest Prisoner
Swap Since the Cold War
the rundown

It's the Biggest Prisoner Swap Since the Cold War

3 US citizens freed by Russia, while a Russian hit man gets his freedom, too

(Newser) - The deal that resulted in the biggest and most complex prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War took more than a year of secret negotiations, reports Reuters . The most well-known names involved are Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, but 22 other prisoners also were in the mix,...

Russia Frees Americans Gershkovich, Whelan in Swap

About 2 dozen prisoners on both sides are involved in the deal

(Newser) - Russia has freed Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan as part of a large prisoner swap with the West, reports the AP . Turkish officials confirmed the swap on Thursday after reports emerged at Bloomberg and the Daily Beast , among other outlets. Details were still emerging.
  • Two big names: Gershkovich, a
...

Iran Trying to Undermine Trump Ahead of Election

US spy agencies suggest Iran thinks a Trump win would be worse for US-Iran relations

(Newser) - Iran is using a covert influence campaign in an attempt to undermine Donald Trump's candidacy ahead of the US presidential election in November, according to intel from US spy agencies. Tehran reportedly believes a Trump win would be worse for US-Iran relations than the alternative, the Wall Street Journal...

More Russian Warships Dock in Port of Havana

Cuban officials and onlookers call the visit a sign of friendship

(Newser) - Fishermen watched and authorities fired shots into the air as Russian warships again sailed into the Port of Havana on Saturday—the second such deployment in two months. The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces described the arrival of the patrol ship Neustrahimiy, training vessel Smolniy, and support vessels from the Baltic...

Russian, Chinese Bombers Intercepted Near Alaska

It's the first time they've been intercepted while operating together

(Newser) - Russian and Chinese military aircraft flying near Alaska on Wednesday were intercepted by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the first time those countries have been intercepted while working together, according to a US defense official who spoke to CNN . Two Russian and two Chinese bombers were spotted in...

Russia Sentences Another US Journalist

RFE/RL chief calls Alsu Kurmasheva conviction a 'mockery of justice'

(Newser) - A court has convicted Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian American journalist for the US government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, of spreading false information about the Russian army and sentenced her to 6.5 years in prison after a secret trial, court records and officials said Monday.
  • RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen
...

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