#Ukraine is to start recruiting prisoners to fight against #Russia under a new law designed to bolster its frontline forces, including with men convicted of murder or fraud.
Using a tactic #Moscow has relied on to fill ranks since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, #Kyiv would begin to offer certain convicts a path to freedom if they are willing to join a combat unit.
#Ukraine said on Wednesday it was producing the same number of deep strike drones as #Russia, claiming to have reached parity on a key type of weapon that #Moscow has used for long-range attacks for much of its invasion.
"In 2024, Ukraine caught up with Russia in terms of the production number of kamikaze drones similar to the #Shahed-131 and Shahed-136," said Herman #Smetanin, head of Ukraine's state arms manufacturer.
Ukraine’s Security Service has detained two Ukrainian officials suspected of plotting to assassinate President Volodymyr #Zelenskyy and other top figures in a plan coordinated by #Russia, reports Semafor.
Two colonels in the State Guard of #Ukraine were detained on suspicion of working with Russia’s Federal Security Service to carry out the plot.
Six member states of the #EU sent representatives to the inauguration ceremony of Russian President Vladimir #Putin today. They include #France, #Hungary and #Slovakia, Radio Liberty reported.
The presidential inauguration is standard in #Russia, despite this being Putin's third consecutive term in office. 20 EU countries did not send officials, showing splits in the bloc over relations with #Moscow.
The #EU is proposing to ban political parties, think tanks and other groups from accepting funding from #Russia as part of its next round of sanctions aimed at punishing #Moscow over its war on #Ukraine.
The proposal, which would also ban four additional media outlets from broadcasting in Europe.
The Novatek PJSC-led Arctic LNG 2 facility, on the icy Kara Sea, is a key part of #Moscow’s plans to boost exports and replenish coffers. For months now, it has been ready to ship liquefied natural gas to new markets, alternatives to the once-lucrative European pipeline trade.
And yet, the vast new $25 billion operation is sitting virtually idle, the first piece of #Russia’s energy production complex to be effectively curbed by #US restrictions.
Despite Western #sanctions Russia's weapons stockpile continues to replenish unrelentingly. As of March, the country was producing three times more artillery shells than the United States and Europe for #Ukraine. #Moscow has managed to bypass traditional checks and balances during its invasion, importing basic materials and components instead of weapons, Jean-Emile Jammine takes a look at the loopholes benifiting the Kremlin and how the West could be complicit.
Police in #Georgia 's capital used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters who rallied outside the parliament to protest a foreign influence bill. They denounced it as “the Russian law” because #Moscow uses similar legislation to stigmatize independent news media and organizations critical of the #Kremlin. Regis Gente reports from #Tbilisi.
"We are witnessing a historic process -- Russians are leaving for the first time in two centuries," independent Azerbaijani analyst Elhan Shahinoglu told AFP.
#Berlin recalled Alexander Graf Lambsdorff on Monday, three days after accusing #Moscow of #cyberattacks on the governing #SocialDemocraticParty (SDP) and the country’s defence, aerospace, and IT companies. The envoy’s return was ordered just a day before the inauguration of Russian President Vladimir #Putin. #Ukraine
I never thought I'd hashtag Ukraine & the South China Sea in the same post 😬
#Russia is the top supplier of weapons to #Vietnam and also plays a crucial role in the exploitation of Vietnam's gas reserves in the #SouthChinaSea, in waters that #China claims as its own.
The #EU, an important trading partner for Vietnam, has imposed wide-ranging sanctions on #Moscow over its war in #Ukraine.