Moscow will begin legal proceedings if it is declared in non-remittance by the West, finance minister Anton Siluanov said on Monday, after Russia was declared in “selective” non-remittance over the weekend. Russia the previous week paid its foreign dollar dues in rubles after it was not able to process the payment in international currency due … Read more
KRAMATORSK, Ukraine: Austria’s chancellor on Monday will become the first European leader to visit Moscow since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as Kyiv steels itself for a huge Russian offensive in the country’s east. Karl Nehammer said he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and is expected to raise alleged war crimes in devastated areas around … Read more
According to a Russian editor, he was attacked on a train by a guy who sprayed red paint on him because of his newspaper’s stance on Ukraine. Dmitry Muratov, a Nobel Laureate, told Novaya Gazeta Europe that “my eyes are burning severely” as a result of the attack, which he said occurred on a train … Read more
With the civilians shot in northern Ukraine by the Russian forces, Meta Platforms restricted hashtags for a brief time, company spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed on Monday. With the rising number of deaths in the small town of Bucha on the outskirts of Kyiv, there has been an increase in pledges of further sanctions against Moscow. … Read more
Following Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi’s travel to Poland, twenty Ukrainians arrived in Tokyo on a government jet on Tuesday, as Japan cautiously welcomes those escaping Moscow’s incursion. While it has opened its doors to Ukrainians, it refers to them as “evacuees” rather than refugees. Japan generally takes only a few dozen refugees per year from … Read more
Former war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte has urged the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for his activities in Ukraine as soon as possible. “Putin is a war criminal,” Del Ponte, who rose to notoriety prosecuting war crimes in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, said in an … Read more
In the latest in a spate of heavy losses for Moscow, twin Russian brothers were slain on the same day while fighting in Ukraine. Sergeants Alexei and Anton Vorobyov, both 29, were killed three weeks after Moscow’s forces invaded Ukraine on February 24. The signalmen of the 150th Rifle Division, a World War II-era regiment … Read more
MOSCOW: Russia’s health watchdog expressed concern on Wednesday about the online re-selling of pharmaceutical drugs after some ran out due to shortages and price increases caused by Western sanctions. While international sanctions do not include imported medicines, media reports have warned that Russian pharmaceutical companies could be left without the necessary raw materials and components. … Read more
MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Wednesday played down hopes of a breakthrough following peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegates in Istanbul a day earlier. “We cannot state that there was anything too promising or any breakthroughs,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “There is a lot of work to be done,” Peskov said. He added that … Read more
BEIJING: Beijing and Moscow advanced a vision of a new world order Wednesday as Russia’s foreign minister made his first visit to key ally China since the invasion of Ukraine. Sergei Lavrov landed in the eastern city of Huangshan early Wednesday for a series of meetings about the future of Afghanistan. But Russia’s bloody assault on Ukraine … Read more
WARSAW: Poland on Wednesday urged the EU to impose a tax on Russian energy imports and said it planned to end its own purchases this year, calling the dependence on Moscow a “stupidity”. The EU has so far avoided following the United States in banning Russian oil and gas, with Germany opposed as it relies heavily on … Read more
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Algeria on Wednesday, a Moscow ally and big gas producer under pressure to increase shipments to Europe after prices surged after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On his first visit to the North African country as the top US diplomat, Blinken landed at Boumediene Airport and proceeded to … Read more
Rishi Sunak, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, was questioned on Thursday about Infosys, the Indian software services firm in which his wife Akshata Murty owns a stake. The Indian-origin finance minister, who is the son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, was challenged on-air why his counsel to businesses was not being followed within his … Read more
As shelling was reported in Kyiv, air raid sirens sounded, but there is also optimism after President Volodymyr Zelensky stated peace negotiations with Russia were now looking more “realistic.” In the suburbs of Kyiv, four buildings were allegedly damaged within an hour, and a 35-hour curfew has been enforced following shelling that killed five people. … Read more
BEIJING: China’s foreign minister has said his nation does not want to be impacted by Western economic sanctions on Russia, state media reported Tuesday, as pressure grows on Beijing to withdraw support from an isolated Moscow. “China is not a party to the crisis, still less wants to be affected by the sanctions,” Wang Yi said, … Read more
KYIV – Russia and Ukraine agreed on Wednesday to a day-long truce centred on a network of evacuation routes to allow people to flee the conflict, according to Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk. Vereshchuk stated that Moscow has agreed to observe the cease-fire from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. in six areas that have been … Read more
PARIS – Almost two weeks into the Russian invasion of their country, Ukrainian forces have managed to hold up the advance of their foes with resistance that has won plaudits from Western allies. Analysts say their performance against a numerically far superior army has been fuelled by a combination of good preparation, national solidarity and Russian mistakes. … Read more
HONG KONG – Asian markets mostly fell again Tuesday as investors try to assess the economic impact of the Ukraine war, while oil prices extended gains after rocketing to a near 14-year high. As Russia’s invasion of its neighbour continues, commodity prices have been sent to record or multi-year highs, forcing observers to re-evaluate their outlook … Read more
BEIJING: Chinese exports in January and February rose a combined 16.3 per cent on surging global demand and a spike in trade with Russia in the run-up to the war in Ukraine, according to the customs data released on Monday. The growth rate exceeded economists’ expectations of a 15.7 per cent gain from a year … Read more
SEOUL: South Korea said on Monday it will halt all transactions with the Russia’s central bank in the latest series of punitive actions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. The foreign ministry said in a statement it had decided to ban all financial dealings with the Central Bank of Russia “considering the international community’s … Read more
MOSCOW – Over 1,100 people in cities across Russia have been detained at protests on Sunday against Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine, a monitor said, more than a week after the assault began. OVD-Info, which monitors detentions at opposition protests, said that by around 2:20 pm Moscow time (1120 GMT) on Sunday, 1,103 people had … Read more
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday to discuss the Ukraine issue, according to spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, who added that Turkey was ready to assist in resolving the problem. Read More: The evacuation of Mariupol has been put on hold Speaking to reporters in Istanbul, Kalin restated Turkey’s … Read more
Russian military establishes a truce in the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha to let humanitarian routes exit. According to a top official in Mariupol, the truce will extend until 4 p.m. (14:00 GMT). Several news organisations have announced that they would halt operations in Russia, citing a new regulation that may result in jail … Read more
MOSCOW – Russian lawmakers approved legislation Friday to impose fines and harsh jail terms for publishing “fake news” about the army — the latest move to silence dissent one week after Moscow launched the invasion of Ukraine. The bill sets out jail terms of varying lengths and fines against people who publish “knowingly false information” … Read more
TOKYO – Japan will freeze assets held by four more Russian banks in another round of sanctions in response to Russia’s military operations in Ukraine, Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said Thursday. Japan’s latest round of sanctions followed the announcement by members of the European Union (EU) on Wednesday to exclude seven Russian banks from the … Read more
NEW YORK: US credit card giants Visa, Mastercard and American Express said they were blocking Russian banks from their payment networks following international sanctions in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “As a result of sanction orders, we have blocked multiple financial institutions from the Mastercard payment network,” Mastercard Chief Executive Michael Miebach said in … Read more
MOSCOW: Russia’s largest lender Sberbank said on Wednesday it was leaving the European market after coming under pressure from Western sanctions levelled against the state bank in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “In the current environment, Sberbank has decided to withdraw from the European market,” the lender said in a statement carried by Russian news … Read more
HONG KONG: Crude surged past $113 a barrel Wednesday and equities sank with investors growing increasingly fearful about the Ukraine war’s impact on global energy supplies and the economic recovery. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of his neighbour has sent world markets into a spiral over the past week, further fraying nerves on trading floors … Read more
