Russia

Moscow court arrests U.S. national for ‘espionage’ -Russian news agencies

A Moscow court has arrested an already imprisoned Russia-born U.S. citizen on charges of espionage, Russian news agencies reported on Thursday. The businessman, Gene Spector, is serving a 3.5-year sentence…

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Russia detains leader of election monitoring group

Russia detained Grigory Melkonyants, the co-chair of prominent independent vote-monitoring group Golos (Voice), the organisation said on its website on Thursday night.Law enforcement officers arrived in Melkonyants' apartment early in…

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Russia’s FSB foils attack in Siberian uranium-enriching town

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday it had thwarted a planned attack on communications stations in the uranium-enriching town of Zelenogorsk in Siberia's Krasnoyarsk region, Russian news agencies reported.…

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Ex-FBI agent pleads guilty over illegal work for Russian oligarch under US sanctions

A former FBI agent admitted to working for Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska while he was under U.S. sanctions and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy in a New York…

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Russia to equip new nuclear submarines with hypersonic missiles

Russia is in the process of equipping its new nuclear submarines with hypersonic Zircon missiles, the head of Russia's largest shipbuilder told the RIA state news agency in an interview…

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Russian warship fires warning shots on cargo ship in Black Sea

MOSCOW, Aug 13 (Reuters) - A Russian warship on Sunday fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the southwestern Black Sea as it made its way northwards, the first…

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Navalny admonishes ‘corrupt’ Russian elite after being handed 19 more years in jail

Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny admonished the Russian elite on Friday for its venality, expressing hatred for those who squandered a historic opportunity to reform after the 1991 fall…

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Russia to launch lunar spacecraft in race to find water on moon

Russia made its final preparations on Thursday for the launch of its first lunar landing spacecraft in 47 years as it races to be the first power to make a…

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Two dead after Russian attack on Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia -minister

Two people were killed and seven injured in an apparent missile attack by Russia on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said. A Reuters reporter at the scene saw…

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Russia shoots down two Ukrainian drones near Moscow – defence ministry

Russia said it had shot down two Ukrainian drones near Moscow on Wednesday, one near a major airport to the south of the city and one to the west of…

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Russia shoots down two Ukrainian drones near Moscow – defence ministry

MOSCOW, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Russia said it had shot down two Ukrainian drones near Moscow on Wednesday, one near a major airport to the south of the city and one to…

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Russia doubles 2023 defence spending plan as war costs soar-document

LONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Russia has doubled its 2023 defence spending target to more than $100 billion - a third of all public expenditure - a government document reviewed…

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UPDATED: Russian warship damaged after Ukraine attacks the Novorossiysk naval base – sources

Russia accuses Ukraine of naval drone attack on port Says it has destroyed two Ukrainian sea drones Russian warship was damaged in the attack, two sources say Ship movements at…

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Kremlin says it needs to understand aims of Ukraine talks reportedly planned in Saudi Arabia

MOSCOW, July 31 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday it needed to find out the purpose of upcoming talks reportedly planned in Saudi Arabia about the war in Ukraine.…

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Russia’s Prigozhin says Wagner is not recruiting now, may do so in future

July 31 (Reuters) - Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a voice message published on Monday that his Wagner group was not currently recruiting fighters but was likely to…

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Russia’s Medvedev: We’d have to use a nuclear weapon if Ukrainian offensive was a success

By Andrew Osborn MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who has sometimes raised the spectre of a nuclear conflict over Ukraine, said on Sunday that Moscow would have…

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Four African heads of state to join Putin at Russia’s Navy Day Parade -Kremlin

MOSCOW, July 29 (Reuters) - Four African heads of state will attend Russia's annual Navy Day Parade in St. Petersburg on Sunday, the Kremlin said on Saturday, with five more…

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Wagner ready to increase Africa presence, Prigozhin tells local media

(Reuters) - Russia's Wagner mercenary group is ready to increase its presence in Africa, its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin told an African news outlet in an audio interview published online earlier…

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African leaders press Putin on grain deal and peace plan for Ukraine

By Mark Trevelyan July 28 (Reuters) - African leaders pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to move ahead with their peace plan to end the Ukraine war and renew…

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Russia says downs Ukrainian drone near Moscow

July 28 (Reuters) - Russian air defences downed a Ukrainian military drone before it could attack its targets near Moscow on Friday, the RIA news agency cited Russia's defence ministry…

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Odesa region port infrastructure hit by overnight Russian attack -governor

Russia hit port infrastructure in Ukraine's Odesa region in overnight missile attack, killing a security guard and damaging a cargo terminal, the region's governor said on Thursday. Odesa's ports have…

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Russia talks of retaliation after ‘Ukrainian drone strike’ near Moscow army HQ

Russia spoke of taking harsh retaliatory measures against Ukraine after two drones damaged buildings in Moscow early on Monday, including one close to the Defence Ministry's headquarters, in what it…

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Russia attacks Ukraine’s Danube export route in widening air strikes

Russia destroyed Ukrainian grain warehouses on the Danube River and wounded six people in a drone attack on Monday, expanding the target area of an air campaign that it launched…

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Black Sea shipping traffic slowing after Russia, Ukraine warnings

By Jonathan Saul LONDON, (Reuters) - The number of ships looking to pick up grain cargoes from the Black Sea area has fallen 35% this week versus the previous week…

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UPDATED: Putin hosts Lukashenko, says Ukraine counter-offensive has failed

July 23 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine's counteroffensive "has failed" as he hosted Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, his close ally, for talks in St Petersburg on Sunday.…

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Russia to expand number of men liable for compulsory military service

By Caleb Davis Russia will keep compulsory military service for 18-year-olds, state media reported, permanently increasing the number of young men liable to conscription, after lawmakers dropped a proposal not…

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Putin tells Poland any aggression against Belarus is attack on Russia

MOSCOW (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused NATO member Poland of having territorial ambitions in the former Soviet Union, and said any aggression against Russia's neighbour and close ally…

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UPDATED: Putin says Moscow would regard any aggression against Belarus as attack on Russia

MOSCOW, July 21 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused NATO member Poland of having territorial ambitions in the former Soviet Union, and said any aggression against Russia's neighbour…

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Russian navy rehearses firing rockets in Black Sea after warning to Ukraine

Russia's Defence Ministry said on Friday that its Black Sea Fleet had practised firing rockets at surface targets in a live fire exercise, two days after it warned that ships…

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Russia to deem Ukraine-bound ships ‘potential carriers of military cargo’ from Wednesday eve

Russia's Defence Ministry said on Wednesday it would deem all ships travelling to Ukrainian ports to be potential carriers of military cargo and their flag countries to be parties to the…

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Russia extends eligibility for military call-up by at least five years

(Reuters) - Russia's parliament on Tuesday extended the maximum age at which men can be mobilised to serve in the army by at least five years - in the case…

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EU condemns Russia’s termination of Ukraine grain deal, vows help

European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday called Russia's decision to suspend a Black Sea grain export deal a "cynical move", adding that the EU would continue…

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Kremlin says it won’t cut ties with West, dialogue channels still needed

July 17 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that it knew "very well" that NATO and the United States were providing intelligence to Ukraine but this was not a…

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Warning of powerful solar flare activity on Monday

July 17 (Reuters) - Powerful solar flare activity is forecast for Monday which may interfere with short-wave communications, Russian scientists said after three flares were observed on the sun on…

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Putin says Russia has ‘sufficient stockpile’ of cluster bombs and will use them if necessary

July 16 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said that Russia has a "sufficient stockpile" of cluster bombs and that Moscow reserves the right to use them if such munitions are used against…

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Russia’s Putin snubs Prigozhin, Biden jokes about poison

Putin offered Wagner fighters a future Putin: Wagner no longer exists Putin suggested command change, snubbed Prigozhin Biden on Prigozhin: be careful what you eat By Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW, July…

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Friction and confusion among Russian leadership since mutiny -U.S. general

By Idrees Ali ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT, July 13 (Reuters) - Russia's leadership is suffering a significant amount of "friction and confusion" since the Wagner mercenary group's mutiny last…

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Russian general dismissed after accusing top brass of failing soldiers

MOSCOW, July 13 (Reuters) - A Russian general said he had been dismissed as a commander after telling the military leadership about the dire situation at the front in Ukraine…

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Russia intercepts Norwegian plane near border

Russia said it had dispatched a MiG-31 fighter jet on Wednesday to prevent a Norwegian military plane from violating its border over the Barents Sea. The Russian crew identified the…

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Kremlin says Putin trip to China is ‘on the agenda’

This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. MOSCOW, July 12 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a visit…

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Kremlin says Western security assurances for Ukraine would be a dangerous mistake

RMOSCOW, July 12 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Wednesday that security assurances the West is considering for Ukraine would be a dangerous mistake that would impinge on Russia's own…

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Kremlin dismisses Ukraine’s assertion on Wagner seeking nuclear devices

MOSCOW, July 12 (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Wednesday dismissed as misinformation an assertion by Ukrainian military intelligence that members of Russia's Wagner mercenary group had intended to acquire nuclear…

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Russian billionaire Abramovich challenges EU sanctions against him

MOSCOW, July 12 (Reuters) - Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich on Wednesday will challenge European Union sanctions imposed on him after the Ukraine war, arguing that the restrictions were imposed simply…

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Number of houses in village near Moscow on fire

July 12 (Reuters) - A number of houses in the small village of Krivtsovo near Moscow were on fire over an area of 3,200 sq m (34,400 sq ft) early…

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Russian drones attack Kyiv and Odesa hours before NATO summit

Russia launched 28 kamikaze drones on the southern port of Odesa and Kyiv in early hours on Tuesday, Ukraine's military said, just hours before the start of a NATO summit in…

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Russian attack on humanitarian aid point killed five, Ukraine says

The death toll from a Russian attack on a humanitarian aid distribution point in southeastern Ukraine rose to five on Monday, and two people were killed by Russian shelling in…

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NATO allies agree regional plans for defence against Russian attack -sources

NATO allies on Monday reached agreement on regional plans detailing how the alliance would respond to a Russian attack, overcoming a Turkish blockage one day before leaders meet for a…

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Four civilians killed, 11 wounded in Russia strikes on Zaporizhzhia town – Ukraine

Four people died and 11 were injured in Russia's bombing of a residential area of the frontline town of Orikhiv in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region when distribution of humanitarian aid was…

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Russia seeks UN Security Council meeting on Nord Stream blasts

MOSCOW, July 8 (Reuters) - Russia has requested a new meeting of the U.N. Security Council for July 11 to discuss last September's explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, a senior…

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Belarus leader Lukashenko says Prigozhin back in Russia, Wagner deployment unclear

The mutinous head of Russia's Wagner group is no longer in Belarus and it is not clear if his fighters will move there, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday,…

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Putin says Russian economy faring better than expected

By Lidia Kelly July 5 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said late on Tuesday that the Russian economy was performing better than expected after Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin reported to him that…

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Prominent female Russian journalist and lawyer brutally attacked in Chechnya

Armed masked men attacked and seriously injured a prominent female Russian journalist and a lawyer in the Russian region of Chechnya on Tuesday morning after forcing their car to stop,…

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Russia says Ukraine attacked Moscow with at least five drones

Russia said on Tuesday that Ukraine had attacked Moscow with at least five drones that were all either shot down or jammed, though one of the capital's main airports had…

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EU weighs concession to Russian bank over Black Sea grain deal

The European Union is considering a proposal for the Russian Agricultural Bank to set up a subsidiary to reconnect to the global financial network as a sop to Moscow, the…

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Elections in Russian-controlled Ukraine could be cancelled, official says

Russia's top election official said on Monday that if the situation worsened in four Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine, local elections scheduled there for September would be cancelled. Russia controls just…

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Russian ex-arms dealer freed for Brittney Griner to run for far-right party in local vote

A Russian arms dealer freed last December in a prisoner swap for U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner has been chosen as the candidate of a far-right party for a seat…

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Putin to attend SCO virtual meeting on July 4, Russian President invited to Cuba

July 3 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in a videoconference meeting of the heads of states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on July 4, the TASS…

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