Month: September 2023

Росія тримає на бойовому чергуванні у Чорному морі п’ять кораблів – ВМС

«В Азовському морі перебуває один ворожий корабель, ракетоносіїв немає. У Середземному морі перебувають вісім російських кораблів, з них два носії «Калібрів», загальним залпом до 24 ракет» …

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Ukraine Shoots Down 22 Drones Launched from Russia

Ukraine shot down 22 of the 25 Iranian-made Shahed drones Russia launched into the southern Odesa region early Sunday, Ukraine’s Air Force posted on Telegram early Sunday. Odesa houses ports that are vital for Ukraine’s grain shipments, following the collapse of U.N.-brokered deal that allowed Ukraine to ship its grain through the Black Sea. It was not immediately clear whether one of the ports had been hit in the Russian attack on Ukraine. There were no immediate comments from Russia. One of Ukraine’s richest men was taken into custody Saturday on suspicion of fraud and money laundering. Ihor Kolomoisky’s arrest …

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Russian Parents Send Children for Patriotic School Year

Girls with big white hair bows and boys in blazers held hands as they lined up for their first day back to school in Moscow, with parents watching proudly and, for some including Sergei Angelov, anxiously. Like children across Russia, Angelov’s 12-year-old daughter will study the country’s new militarized curriculum, amid Moscow’s grinding assault in Ukraine that has seen increasingly frequent strikes on the Russian capital. “We are living in difficult times,” the 39-year-old driver said.  “All sorts of things are happening and can happen.” Nineteen months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his troops in Ukraine, drones now hit …

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Zelenskyy Touts Ukrainian Counteroffensive: ‘We Are on the Move’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy touted Ukraine’s steady advances against Russian forces Saturday and derided Western criticism of Ukraine’s grinding counteroffensive.   “Ukrainian forces are moving forward. Despite everything, and no matter what anyone says, we are advancing, and that is the most important thing. We are on the move,” Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app.  Zelenskyy’s comments come amid U.S. concerns about the slow pace of the operation and Western reports questioning Ukrainian strategy in the three-month counteroffensive.   Ukrainian forces have retaken about a dozen villages but no major settlements. Their advances are being impeded by myriad Russian …

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Italy Says China Trade Deal Not Meeting Expectations

A controversial investment deal with China has failed to meet Italy’s expectations, Rome’s top diplomat said Saturday ahead of a visit to Beijing, as speculation mounts that Italy will withdraw.  In 2019, the highly indebted economy became the only nation from the G7 club of industrialized countries to take part in China’s Belt and Road Initiative.  Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ambitious program, consisting of massive investments in infrastructure such as ports, railways and airports, aims to improve trade ties between Asia, Africa and Europe.  Critics say the plan is a Trojan horse to increase Beijing’s influence.  The deal is due …

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More Cargo Ships From Ukraine Use Civilian Corridor Despite Russian Threats

Two cargo vessels have left Ukraine despite Russian threats and are in the Black Sea, maritime officials said Saturday. The Anna-Theresa, a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier holding 56,000 tons of pig iron, left the Ukrainian port of Yuzhny on Friday and is now close to Bulgarian territorial waters, said Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov. A second vessel — the Ocean Courtesy, traveling under a Marshall Islands flag — left the same port on Friday with 172,000 tons of iron ore concentrate. That ship arrived at the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta shortly before noon on Saturday, according to the global …

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Ukraine Names Powerful Businessman Suspect in Fraud Probe

Ukrainian state security officials named powerful businessman Ihor Kolomoisky as a suspect in a fraud and money laundering case, the SBU security service said on Saturday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made cracking down on corruption a priority as Ukraine battles Russia’s 18-month-old invasion. Kolomoisky, one of Ukraine’s richest men, is the most prominent figure to have become a target. Zelenskyy, who rose to prominence as a comedian and played the role of president on a show aired on a Kolomoisky-owned TV channel, has denied having personal ties to the businessman. “It was established that during 2013-2020, Ihor Kolomoisky legalized more …

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Russia Declares Nobel-Winning Editor Dmitry Muratov a Foreign Agent

Russian authorities on Friday declared journalist Dmitry Muratov, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, to be a foreign agent, continuing the country’s moves to suppress critics and independent reporting. Russian law allows for individuals and organizations receiving funding from abroad to be declared foreign agents, a pejorative term that potentially undermines their credibility with the Russian public. The status also requires designees to mark any publications with a disclaimer stating they are foreign agents. Muratov was chief editor of Novaya Gazeta, which was widely respected abroad for its investigative reporting and was frequently critical of the Kremlin. Muratov was …

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