Russian journalists detained in Azerbaijan
The agency has confirmed that the head of the editorial office Igor Kartavykh and Editor-in-Chief Evgeny Belousov were detained during the raid. According to local media reports, the journalists have been accused of being agents of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). Sputnik has described the allegations as 'absurd.'
DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
34 minutes ago
- Russia Today
Germany announces deployment of warships to Arctic
Germany will send navy ships to patrol Arctic waters in response to Russia's growing military presence in the region, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced on Monday. Russia has insisted that it is mirroring NATO moves in the far north to maintain balance. Earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized that Moscow is closely monitoring the situation in the region and is implementing an appropriate response strategy to potential encroachments on the country's sovereignty. Russia's Arctic coastline stretches over 24,000km. 'As early as this year, Germany will show its presence in the North Atlantic and the Arctic,' Pistorius said at a joint press conference with his Danish counterpart, Troels Lund Poulsen, in Copenhagen. The minister added that the deployment operation, dubbed 'Atlantic Bear', would come in response to mounting maritime threats, claiming 'Russia is militarizing the Arctic.' Pistorius specified that one of Germany's support ships would 'go from Iceland to Greenland and then on to Canada' to take part in joint military drills with NATO allies, including Denmark, Norway, and Canada. 'In addition, we will deploy our maritime patrol aircraft, submarines, and frigates to demonstrate our commitment to that region,' he added. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said in April that members of the US-led military bloc are 'working together' in the Arctic to 'defend this part of NATO territory.' The Kremlin has insisted that NATO's continuing militarization of the region is unwarranted, and that Russia will mirror the moves taken by the bloc. In March, Putin reiterated that Moscow is 'concerned by the fact that NATO countries as a whole are more frequently designating the far north as a bridgehead for possible conflicts.' 'I would like to emphasize that Russia has never threatened anyone in the Arctic,' the Russian president said. He stressed, however, that Moscow would 'reliably protect' its interests in the region by reinforcing its military contingent in response to Western actions.
Russia Today
an hour ago
- Russia Today
Polish president-elect voices opposition to Ukraine joining EU
Ukraine must meet specific conditions before joining the European Union and cannot currently become a NATO member, Polish President-elect Karol Nawrocki said in an interview with national media on Monday. Nawrocki restated his stance on Kiev's membership aspirations on Polsat News channel, as he prepares to take over presidential duties in early August. He confirmed that he intends to meet with Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky after his inauguration. 'I am against Ukraine's unconditional accession to the European Union,' Nawrocki said. It made strategic sense for Ukraine to join the 27-strong bloc, he said, but stressed that such a partnership must be grounded in equality. Nawrocki recalled that Poland itself had to spend years meeting the EU's entry requirements. He mentioned friction between the two nations regarding Ukraine's access to the Polish agricultural market and Kiev's glorification of historical figures responsible for atrocities against Poles during World War II. 'Today, there is no possibility for Ukraine to join NATO,' Nawrocki added. He argued that Ukraine's active conflict with Russia means that all NATO countries would be dragged in, in such a case. Russia has long cited NATO's pledge to admit Ukraine, first formally declared in 2008, as a core threat to its national security. Moscow has said deepening NATO-Ukraine ties since the 2014 coup in Kiev were a key factor underlying the current conflict. The EU, originally established for economic integration, is increasingly seen in Moscow as a hostile military power in its own right. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently described it as 'essentially a branch, or rather an appendage of NATO.' Brussels has advocated a rapid military buildup across EU member states, projecting hundreds of billions of euros in defense spending as a deterrent to Moscow. Russian officials have dismissed these efforts as fear-based tactics meant to divert funding from social programs.
Russia Today
an hour ago
- Russia Today
Russia should abolish diaspora groups
Ethnic diaspora groups should be banned in Russia, Marina Akhmedova, a member of the presidential human rights сouncil, has said amid a flare-up with neighboring Azerbaijan. Tensions between Moscow and Baku spiked after police raids last week on an alleged organized crime group in the Russian city of Ekaterinburg. The group is composed of Russian nationals of Azerbaijani origin and is accused of a string of gang assassinations and contract killings dating back to the early 2000s. Two elderly male suspects died during the police operation, with the preliminary assessment indicating that at least one of them suffered heart failure. The incident sparked outrage in Baku, which accused Moscow of deliberately targeting people of Azerbaijani descent and claimed that the two men had been murdered while in custody. On Tuesday, the head of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Ekaterinburg, Shakhin Shikhlinski, was detained in relation to the case but was swiftly released after questioning, according to his son. Akhmedova reacted to the development in a post on Telegram on Wednesday, saying 'it is time to abolish diasporas' in Russia. 'These are illegal entities. No government agency should have anything to do with them,' she wrote. All such ethnic groups must be prohibited, not only among the Azerbaijani diaspora, the human rights expert insisted. According to the results of a 2002 census, more than 621,040 people of Azerbaijani descent are currently living in Russia. On Monday, Azerbaijani police raided the offices of Sputnik Azerbaijan, with a court in Baku ordering a four-month pre-trial detention of two Russian journalists who hold senior positions in the news agency. The Azerbaijani authorities claimed that the outlet has been operating 'through illegal financing' – allegations which Sputnik has dismissed as 'absurd.' Baku has also arrested eight other Russian nationals, accusing them of being members of a group involved in cybercrime and the trafficking of drugs from Iran. Russian media, however, have identified two of the suspects as IT specialists, while describing another one as a tourist. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharov said on Wednesday that the Azerbaijani authorities have not yet provided Moscow's consular staff with access to the detained Russians. She advised Russian citizens who are planning trips to Azerbaijan to 'take the current situation into account.' Zakharova also noted that there is a 'strategic partnership' between Moscow and Baku, urging Azerbaijan to take steps aimed at returning bilateral ties to the proper level.
