Page 8 - Vladimir Putin

Russia sliding back toward Stalinist times, says human rights advocate

A human rights activist since the 1980s, Oleg Orlov thought Russia had turned a corner when the Soviet Union collapsed and a democratically elected president became leader. But then Vladimir Putin rose to power, crushing dissent and launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Finally, the 71-year-old Orlov was himself thrown in prison for opposing the war. Freed last week in the largest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War, he was forced into exile -- just like the Soviet dissidents of his youth. In an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday in Berlin, Orlov decried t he scale and severity of repressions under Putin, with people imprisoned for merely criticizing the authorities, something unseen since the days of dictator Josef Stalin. And he's vowing to continue his work to free the many political prisoners in Russia and keep their names in the spotlight. We're sliding somewhere into Stalin times, said Orlov, who at times showed signs of fatigue from a hectic schedul

Putin accuses Ukraine of a provocation with its raid in southwestern Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday described a Ukrainian incursion into the country's southwestern Kursk region as a large-scale provocation as his officials asserted that they were fighting off cross-border raids for a second day. Ukrainian officials remained silent about the scope of the operation. Putin met with his top defense and security officials to discuss what he called the indiscriminate shelling of civilian buildings, residential houses, ambulances with different types of weapons. He instructed the Cabinet to coordinate assistance to the Kursk region. The fighting is about 500 kilometers (320 miles) from Moscow. Army chief of staff Valery Gerasimov told Putin at the meeting via video link that about 100 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the battle and more than 200 wounded, Russian news agencies reported. The Ukrainian shelling, meanwhile, killed at least two people a paramedic and an ambulance driver and injured 24, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson

Putin, US on same page: Iran's Israel attack may not be as severe as feared

Blaming Israel for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran, Iran had vowed it would respond 'severely', raising fears of a broader regional conflict

Mexico invites Putin to Oct 1 presidential inauguration of Sheinbaum

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Putin in 2023, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine

Putin ally holds talks in Iran as West Asia teeters on brink of wider war

Russia has condemned the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Iran last week

Russia offers disaster aid to N Korea for flood damage, hails strong bond

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered humanitarian assistance to help North Korea cope with damages from recent floods, both countries said, in another sign of expanding relations between the two nations. In a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday, Putin extended deep sympathy and support and conveyed his willingness to provide immediate disaster aid to help North Korea recover from the floods, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported Sunday. Russia's state news agency Tass carried a similar report, saying that Putin told Kim in the message: You can always count on our assistance and support. Ties between North Korea and Russia have been improving significantly amid widespread outside beliefs that North Korea has supplied conventional weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine in return for military and economic assistance. During a meeting in Pyongyang in June, Kim and Putin signed a pact stipulating mutual military assistance if either country is

Russia releases US journalist, other Americans in massive prisoner swap

The trade followed years of secretive back-channel negotiations despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since Cold War after Russian President's invasion of Ukraine

Russia's 'nuclear doctrine' governing use of atomic weapons. What is it?

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, President Vladimir Putin and other Kremlin voices have frequently threatened the West with its nuclear arsenal. On Day 1 of the war, Putin said whoever tries to impede us, let alone create threats for our country and its people, must know that the Russian response will be immediate and lead to consequences you have never seen in history. Over nearly 2 1/2 years of fighting, the West has given Ukraine billions of dollars of advanced weapons, some of which have struck Russian soil. And while there have been more Kremlin threats and even the deployment of battlefield nuclear weapons in Belarus, just over the border from Ukraine so far it has remained only a blunt message. What could finally trigger a nuclear response? Asked that in June by international news agencies, Putin pointed to Russia's so-called nuclear doctrine. Look what is written there, he said at the St. Petersburg session. If somebody's actions threaten our sovereignty and territo

Putin warns US of Cold War-style crisis if missiles deployed to Germany

Earlier this month, the US said it would start deploying long-range missiles in Germany from 2026

India, Ukraine explore possibility of PM Modi's visit to Kyiv next month

India and Ukraine are looking at the possibility of a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kyiv next month amid renewed global efforts to bring peace to the eastern European nation, multiple diplomatic sources said on Saturday. Modi might visit Kyiv around the Ukrainian National Day on August 24 and is expected to travel to Poland after concluding the trip to Ukraine, the sources said. The prime minister held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy's Apulia. If Modi travels to Poland, it would be the first by an Indian prime minister to that country in more than four decades. India and Ukraine are looking at Modi's visit to Kyiv in the later half of August, the sources said, adding that there is no finality on the trip yet as massive preparations would be required in terms of logistics and related issues. The prime minister's two-nation visit might begin around August 23-24, the sources said. There is no officia

Agreement with Russia is 'deal with devil,' adviser to Ukrainian prez says

Signing an agreement with Russia to stop the war with Ukraine would amount to signing a deal with the devil, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as pressure mounts on the country to seek an end to more than two years of fighting. A deal would only buy time for Russian President Vladimir Putin to strengthen his army and usher in another, potentially more violent chapter in the war, Mykhailo Podolyak told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday. If you want to sign a deal with the devil, who will then drag you to hell, well, go for it. This is what Russia is, Podolyak said when asked about the prospects for a peace deal for Kyiv, whose forces are locked in a bloody war of attrition with Moscow's troops in eastern Ukraine. If you sign anything today with Russia, that will not lose the war and will not be legally responsible for mass crimes, this will mean that you have signed yourself a ticket to continue the war on a different scale, with other ...

Russia-Ukraine war: Putin offers $22,000 bonus for citizens to join war

Moscow authorities are also offering $59,600 in the first service year for new recruits, with other benefits for those injured in the battle in a bid to bolster ground troops in Ukraine

Donald Trump has 'very good call' with Zelenskyy over Ukraine conflict

In a post on X describing the call, Zelenskyy said he congratulated Trump on his nomination and condemned the "shocking assassination attempt in Pennsylvania"

Russia has irrefutable evidence journalist Evan Gershkovich is spy: Lavrov

Russia's foreign minister has said that Moscow has irrefutable evidence that imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is guilty of espionage, one day before Gershkovich is scheduled to appear in court. Sergey Lavrov blamed American journalists for helping delay US-Russia talks regarding a possible prisoner exchange by publicizing the confidential negotiations, which he said are still ongoing. Lavrov told a UN news conference on Wednesday that Gershkovich's case has nothing to do with any attacks on journalism. I would like to assure you that, just as much as you do, we are in favor of journalism and freedom of speech, Lavrov said in answer to a reporter's question. On March 29, 2023, Gershkovich was arrested while on a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Ural Mountains. Russian authorities did not offer any evidence that he was gathering secret information for the United States. Last month, the Russian Prosecutor General's office accused Gershkovich of .

US urges India to utilise its relations with Russia to end Ukraine war

The spokesperson of the US State Department, Matthew Miller, in a press briefing on Monday not only noted the strong Delhi-Moscow ties but also urged India to tell Putin to respect the UN Charter

Amid Ukraine war, Russia upgraded to 'high-income' nation; here's why

Thriving in a war economy: Amid heavy sanctions, Russia's economy defied expectations, achieving a high-income status for the first time since 2014, according to the World Bank

Vladimir Putin signs bill increasing income taxes for wealthy in Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday endorsed a bill that raises income taxes for the rich, part of efforts to help fill government coffers during the fighting in Ukraine. Putin signed the bill into law two days after it was approved by both houses of parliament. The legislation, which envisages a progressive tax on personal income, is a major change from the flat-rate tax that was widely credited with improving revenue collections after it was introduced in 2001. The new law imposes a 13 per cent tax for incomes of up to 2.4 million rubles (USD 27,500) a year. For incomes over that amount, a steadily higher tax rate would apply, with the maximum rate of 22 per cent for incomes exceeding 50 million rubles (USD 573,000). Putin has said that the tax increase would affect no more than 3.2 per cent of Russia's taxpayers. The bill also calls for an increase in the company income tax rate from 20 per cent to 25 per cent. The tax reform is estimated to bring 2.6 trillion rubles (U

Joe Biden mistakenly refers to Zelenskyy as Putin before correcting himself

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a press conference of his own, repeatedly avoided answering the question as to whether Biden was fit enough to run for the US presidency

'Ukrainian Prez Putin, vice-prez Trump': Biden's new gaffe is viral. WATCH

Experts and leaders of his own Democratic Party have pointed out that Joe Biden may not be a good fit to helm the office on account of his declining cognitive abilities

President Joe Biden says 'no good reason' to talk to Putin right now

US President Joe Biden has said that he has "no good reason" to talk to Vladimir Putin at the moment unless the Russian leader changes his behaviour. The 81-year-old president made these remarks on Thursday at a highly-anticipated solo press conference at the end of the NATO Summit in Washington. I have no good reason to talk to Putin right now. There's not much that he is prepared to do in terms of accommodating any change in his behaviour, but there isn't any world leader I'm not prepared to deal with, Biden told reporters when asked if he is ready to talk to Putin. But I understand your generic point is, is Putin ready to talk? I'm not ready to talk to Putin unless Putin's ready to change his behaviour and the idea -- look, Putin's got a problem," Biden said, dismissing concerns about his health despite a growing list of Democratic leaders urging him to step aside from the 2024 presidential election following last month's disastrous debate with his Republican rival, Donald ...