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Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Donald Trump warned of nuclear war by Russia over new Ukraine arms supply
US president Donald Trump has been hit with a scathing warning after he supplied weapons to Ukraine. It comes after his failed pleas for the two countries to agree to a ceasefire Donald Trump has been issued a chilling warning after supplying Ukraine with a barrage of weapons to protect themselves against Russia. The American president confirmed he has given US -made Patriot air defence missiles as support in the raging war. His main ally, Republican senator Lindsey Graham, said the leader has shown a growing interest in helping Ukraine fight back. 'In the coming days, you'll see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves,' he said on Sunday. Trump's actions has sparked a furious response from Moscow, with state TV propagandist Aleksandr Sladkov stressing that the president "should be scared." The war pundit added: 'Trump is trying to scare us with missiles, but this is difficult to do. Trump should be scared. Everyone is trying to push us to turn Kyiv and Lviv into Hiroshima and Nagasaki.' The new Trump deal green lights the supply of possible $10 billion ( £7,408,500,000.00 ) worth of defensive and offensive missiles and other arms, to be paid for by US allies in Europe along with Canada, as well as the threat of sledgehammer sanctions if Putin refuses to negotiate in 50 days. Sladkov declared: 'Imagine our country under attack by American cruise missiles, like Yugoslavia, Iraq, etc. I am sure that the Yars should go in response.' Yars are Russia's main land-based strategic nuclear weapons - each missile typically carries three or four nuclear warheads. Each has a yield estimated between 100 and 300 kilotons, making each warhead between seven and 20 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Frothing Putin TV propagandist Vladimir Solovyov claimed the arming of Ukraine by NATO meant a full scale war. 'The question is about the survival of our country,' he fumed on Kremlin-funded state TV. 'We are already at war. It cannot be avoided. The [Western] task is to destroy our country. We are not fighting in Ukraine, we are fighting with NATO. Understand this already.' This came as it was claimed the US president had quizzed Volodymyr Zelensky on why he did not heap pressure on Vladimir Putin by attacking capital city Moscow, a disclosure likely to further infuriate Moscow. 'We can if you give us the weapons,' Zelensky replied, according to the Washington Post. It has emerged the US considered approving long range Tomahawk cruise missiles for Kyiv, but for now has not done so, but evidently has approved using American-supplied ATACMS missiles inside Russia to a fuller range of almost 200 miles. Ultranationalist politician Leonid Slutsky, leader of the hardline Liberal Democratic Party, said: 'As for the talk about preparations for resuming the process of missile deliveries to the Ukrainian junta: this will certainly be a step back, but will not fundamentally change the situation on the front for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The goals of the [war] will be achieved in any case - either through negotiations or on the battlefield.'
American Military News
06-07-2025
- Business
- American Military News
Russia's War Economy Is Heading To Recession. It Probably Won't Slow Down The War.
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission. At Russia's annual marquee event for business investment, a Kremlin-funded bubbly celebration of promise and opportunity, the country's top economic minister poured cold war on the party. 'According to the numbers, yes, we've got a cooling down now,' Maksim Reshetnikov said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. 'Based on current business sentiment, it seems to me we are on the brink of transitioning into recession.' If that wasn't enough of a damper, the head of the Russian Central Bank seconded the downbeat sentiment. 'We have been growing for two years at a fairly high rate due to the fact that free labor resources were used,' Elvira Nabiullina said during the same panel discussion on June 19. 'But we need to understand that many of these resources have really been exhausted. We need to think about a new model for growth.' And there was also this from German Gref, the head of the state-owned banking giant Sberbank, on the sidelines of the forum: 'We are colliding with a large number of problems, which today we can call a perfect storm.' For more than 40 months now, since the start of the all-out invasion of Ukraine, Russia's economy has been on a war footing, growing at a robust — at times torrid — rate, and showing resilience — unexpected to many Western experts — in the face of punishing sanctions. People walk past an exchange office screen showing the exchange rates of the U.S. dollar to the Russian ruble in St. Petersburg, Russia, in April ALSO: In Russia's War Economy, The Warning Lights Are Blinking The Kremlin has retooled the economy to power its war, pouring money into defense industries to churn out guns, tanks, drones, and uniforms. It's poured money into wages for defense industry workers and paid soldiers sky-high salaries and benefits to entice them to fight in Ukraine. That's transformed local economies in many of the country's poorer, remote regions, and also bought support for the conflict. But high wages have fueled inflation, and Nabiullina hiked the key interest rate to 21 percent in October to try and tamp it down. Despite public complaints from the country's industrial lobby, she has held firm, committed to slowing inflation and downshifting the economy. It's working, and now Russia is facing the first significant economic slowdown since the start of the full-scale war. 'I think a lot of indicators point to growth stopping, or close to it,' said Iikka Korhonen, head of research at the Bank of Finland's Institute for Emerging Economies. 'Manufacturing is still growing, but most other things are not.' 'For two years [the] Russian economy was overheated and growing at a pace way above its normal growth rate,' said Alexander Kolyandr, an economics expert with the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington. 'So what's happening now is the economy returns to where it should be. For the moment it stands as a correction, coming back to the long-term growth rate.' 'The main challenge for the government at this point is to make this a soft landing, rather than a complete collapse,' he said. With the Russian war effort now in full flow, millions of Russians have been working in factories, manning around-the-clock shifts. (file photo)SEE ALSO:For Some In Russia's Far-Flung Provinces, Ukraine War Is A Ticket To ProsperityWhat Comes Next? Russia's gross domestic product grew by 1.4 percent in the first three months of the year, compared with the same period in 2024, according to government statistics. In the last six months of 2024, however, the economy was humming along — with average growth of around 4.4 percent. Official estimates now forecast GDP growth at around 2 percent in 2025. The International Monetary Fund predicts even lower growth — 1.5 percent. The unemployment rate stands at a historic low of around 2.3 percent, underscoring how distorted the labor market has become as men are drawn away from civilian jobs to fight in Ukraine. Faced with inflation running at over 10 percent in the first half of 2025, Nabiullina has warned repeatedly about an 'overheated economy.' In early June, she engineered a small rate cut, to 20 percent, which experts called largely symbolic. But the impact of the high interest rate is showing up in official statistics, according to data and forecasts from the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting, a government-linked research group. For some in the Kremlin, a soft landing would be a welcome correction to the two torrid previous years. The danger is if it becomes a hard landing. 'By keeping the key rate very high, despite the state continuously pumping money into the economy, they have been able to achieve economic slowdown,' said Maria Snegovaya, a senior fellow in the Russia program at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. The Kremlin has sought to avoid any mass mobilization of Russian men to fight in Ukraine. A September 2022 order for a partial mobilization was widely ALSO: More War, Less Money: What A Cut In Signing Bonuses May Reveal About Russia's Fight In Ukraine 'It's unclear how sustainable the situation is for the Kremlin if the economy is actually declining. It's not something that they want either,' she said during an online discussion on June 17. 'In general, the Russian macroeconomic team seems to be quite concerned.' What this means politically is harder to predict. So far, President Vladimir Putin has given Nabiullina and other top economic officials his blessing for their handling of the economy. A day after the panel discussion at the St. Petersburg forum, Putin weighed in himself, with a cautionary note in a speech at the business forum: 'Some specialists, experts, point to the risks of stagnation and even recession,' he said. 'Of course, this should not be allowed under any circumstances.' 'Our most important task this year is to transition the economy to balanced growth,' Putin said. President Vladimir Putin applauds during a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June Vladimir Putin applauds during a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 20. With other parts of the economy crimped by sanctions, Kremlin coffers are even more heavily dependent on oil and gas revenues than they have been in the past. But oil prices have fallen since the beginning of the year, and the Finance Ministry has lowered its forecast for oil-linked revenues for 2025. 'Unless we see a decline in oil prices, [or] some significant increase in sanctions enforcement, and an overall decline in civilian production, then I think there will be a soft landing,' Kolyandr said. Balanced — or slower — growth will ripple through the economy, putting a brake on wage growth. It will also crimp household budgets at a time when Russians have been accustomed to fatter wallets, which could fuel discontent. A growing number of companies and factories are also falling behind in wage and salary payments to workers, according to the newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta. And a growing number of regions have started cutting recruitment bonuses for new volunteer soldiers — a trend that reflects worsening economic conditions on a local level. Still, Putin seems determined to push forward in the war — even faced with eyewatering casualty rates that are approaching 1 million men killed or wounded. The government plans on spending about 13.1 trillion rubles ($144 billion) on defense- and security-related expenditures in 2025. That's 6.3 percent of its GDP, one of the highest levels since the Soviet era. 'Unfortunately, yes, this war will not stop for economic reasons, and Russia can continue to produce [weaponry] at the current level for quite a while,' Korhonen said. 'The only economic factor that could really hamper Russia's war effort is the price of oil.'
02-07-2025
- Politics
Azerbaijan detains 7 linked to a Russian media outlet as a rift between Baku and Moscow deepens
BAKU, Azerbaijan -- Seven people linked to a Kremlin-funded media outlet in Azerbaijan's capital have been detained after a raid on its office, the Interior Ministry was quoted by local media as saying Tuesday, in the latest sign of the rift between Moscow and Baku over the deaths of two ethnic Azerbaijanis in Russian custody. Tensions have been growing since December, when an Azerbaijani passenger jet was attacked as it approached Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, It later crashed, killing 38 of 67 people aboard, and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev blamed Moscow and said Russian President Vladimir Putin had tried to 'hush up' what happened. On Monday, masked police stormed the offices of Sputnik Azerbaijan. The Interior Ministry said the Kremlin-backed media outlet had continued operating via 'illegal financing,' despite having its accreditation revoked in February. Detained in the raid were Sputnik Azerbaijan's editor-in-chief Yevgeny Belousov, and editorial board director Igor Kartavykh. Five others linked to the media outlet also were detained and under investigation for alleged fraud, illegal entrepreneurship and acquiring property by criminal means. Belousov and Kartavykh were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, which carries a maximum prison sentence of up to 12 years. They also were charged with conspiracy to launder funds or other property, and conspiracy to carry out an illegal enterprise. Both were arrested and ordered held for at least four months in pre-trial detention. Sputnik's parent company, Rossiya Segodnya, said Tuesday it was 'deeply concerned' by the raid and that Azerbaijani staff members were among those detained. Diplomats from the Russian Consulate have not been grated access to its citizens who were detained, it said, and that Kartavykh's apartment had been searched and computer equipment seized. 'All these actions have no basis and have led to the blocking of Sputnik Azerbaijan,' the statement said. 'We call on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately resolve this unacceptable situation and release our colleagues.' The Kremlin also called for their release. 'Such measures against members of the media are absolutely not in line with generally accepted rules and norms and, of course, do not match the spirit and nature of Russian-Azerbaijani relations,' spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday. The detentions followed Russian police raids Friday on the homes of ethnic Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg, Russia, as part of an investigation into a number of killings dating back decades. Two brothers, Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov, died while in police custody and several others were seriously injured in the raids, officials said, with nine people detained. Sayfaddin Huseynli, a brother of the two dead Azerbaijanis, told The Associated Press the raids were 'an inhumane, cruel act by Russia against migrants — an act of intimidation.' Migrants from Muslim-majority countries that once were part of the Soviet Union frequently complain of discrimination at the hands of Russians. On Tuesday, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan said it would launch a criminal investigation into the two deaths. It said Azerbaijani citizens and others of Azerbaijani descent who were 'practically helpless and unable to defend themselves,' were subjected to beatings and other physical abuse by Russian officials. It attributed the deaths of 60-year-old Huseyn Safarov and 55-year-old Ziyaddin Safarov to 'post-traumatic shock caused by multiple injuries.' Huseyn had also suffered post-hemorrhagic shock, it said. Russia's Investigative Committee said Monday that one of the deaths had been caused by heart failure. It did not provide details on the second victim, but said a medical examination would be conducted to determine the cause of death for both. Azerbaijan protested the deaths by canceling a scheduled trip to Moscow by government officials, citing the 'targeted extrajudicial killings and violence against Azerbaijanis on the basis of their nationality' by Russian law enforcement. It also called off a visit to Baku by a Russian deputy prime minister, and the Culture Ministry canceled concerts, exhibitions and other events by Russian state and private institutions. Ties between Moscow and Baku have been strained since the December crash of an Azerbaijani passenger jet. The plane eventually crashed as it tried to land in nearby Kazakhstan. Aliyev said it was attacked over Russia, albeit unintentionally, and rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare measures amid allegations that Russian air defense systems were trying to fend off a Ukrainian drone strike near Grozny. Putin apologized to Aliyev for what he called a 'tragic incident' but stopped short of acknowledging responsibility. In May, Aliyev declined to attend Russia's Victory Day parade in Moscow. Later that month, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha visited Azerbaijan, signaling closer ties between Baku and Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Aliyev to express his condolences on the two deaths in Yekaterinburg, Azerbaijan's presidential press service said.
Winnipeg Free Press
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Azerbaijan detains 7 linked to a Russian media outlet as a rift between Baku and Moscow deepens
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Seven people linked to a Kremlin-funded media outlet in Azerbaijan's capital have been detained after a raid on its office, the country's Interior Ministry said Tuesday, in the latest sign of the rift between Moscow and Baku over the deaths of two ethnic Azerbaijanis in Russian custody. Tensions have been growing since December, when an Azerbaijani passenger jet was attacked as it approached Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, It later crashed, killing 38 of 67 people aboard, and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev blamed Moscow and said Russian President Vladimir Putin had tried to 'hush up' what happened. On Monday, masked police stormed the offices of Sputnik Azerbaijan. The Interior Ministry said the Kremlin-backed media outlet had continued operating via 'illegal financing,' despite having its accreditation revoked in February. Detained in the raid were Sputnik Azerbaijan's editor-in-chief Yevgeny Belousov, and editorial board director Igor Kartavykh. Five others linked to the media outlet also were detained and under investigation for alleged fraud, illegal entrepreneurship and acquiring property by criminal means. 2 Russians ordered held for up to 4 months in Azerbaijan Belousov and Kartavykh were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, which carries a maximum prison sentence of up to 12 years. They also were charged with conspiracy to launder funds or other property, and conspiracy to carry out an illegal enterprise. Both were arrested and ordered held for at least four months in pre-trial detention. Sputnik's parent company, Rossiya Segodnya, said Tuesday it was 'deeply concerned' by the raid and that Azerbaijani staff members were among those detained. Diplomats from the Russian Consulate have not been grated access to its citizens who were detained, it said, and that Kartavykh's apartment had been searched and computer equipment seized. 'All these actions have no basis and have led to the blocking of Sputnik Azerbaijan,' the statement said. 'We call on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately resolve this unacceptable situation and release our colleagues.' The Kremlin also called for their release. 'Such measures against members of the media are absolutely not in line with generally accepted rules and norms and, of course, do not match the spirit and nature of Russian-Azerbaijani relations,' spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday. A police raid in Yekaterinburg, Russia The detentions followed Russian police raids Friday on the homes of ethnic Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg, Russia, as part of an investigation into a number of killings dating back decades. Two brothers, Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov, died while in police custody and several others were seriously injured in the raids, officials said, with nine people detained. Sayfaddin Huseynli, a brother of the two dead Azerbaijanis, told The Associated Press the raids were 'an inhumane, cruel act by Russia against migrants — an act of intimidation.' Migrants from Muslim-majority countries that once were part of the Soviet Union frequently complain of discrimination at the hands of Russians. On Tuesday, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan said it would launch a criminal investigation into the two deaths. It said Azerbaijani citizens and others of Azerbaijani descent who were 'practically helpless and unable to defend themselves,' were subjected to beatings and other physical abuse by Russian officials. It attributed the deaths of 60-year-old Huseyn Safarov and 55-year-old Ziyaddin Safarov to 'post-traumatic shock caused by multiple injuries.' Huseyn had also suffered post-hemorrhagic shock, it said. Russia's Investigative Committee said Monday that one of the deaths had been caused by heart failure. It did not provide details on the second victim, but said a medical examination would be conducted to determine the cause of death for both. Azerbaijan protests the deaths in custody Azerbaijan protested the deaths by canceling a scheduled trip to Moscow by government officials, citing the 'targeted extrajudicial killings and violence against Azerbaijanis on the basis of their nationality' by Russian law enforcement. It also called off a visit to Baku by a Russian deputy prime minister, and the Culture Ministry canceled concerts, exhibitions and other events by Russian state and private institutions. Ties between Moscow and Baku have been strained since the December crash of an Azerbaijani passenger jet. The plane eventually crashed as it tried to land in nearby Kazakhstan. Aliyev said it was attacked over Russia, albeit unintentionally, and rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare measures amid allegations that Russian air defense systems were trying to fend off a Ukrainian drone strike near Grozny. Putin apologized to Aliyev for what he called a 'tragic incident' but stopped short of acknowledging responsibility. In May, Aliyev declined to attend Russia's Victory Day parade in Moscow. Later that month, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha visited Azerbaijan, signaling closer ties between Baku and Kyiv.
The Hill
01-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Azerbaijan detains 7 linked to a Russian media outlet as a rift between Baku and Moscow deepens
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Seven people linked to a Kremlin-funded media outlet in Azerbaijan's capital have been detained after a raid on its office, the country's Interior Ministry said Tuesday, in the latest sign of the rift between Moscow and Baku over the deaths of two ethnic Azerbaijanis in Russian custody. Tensions have been growing since December, when an Azerbaijani passenger jet was attacked as it approached Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, It later crashed, killing 38 of 67 people aboard, and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev blamed Moscow and said Russian President Vladimir Putin had tried to 'hush up' what happened. On Monday, masked police stormed the offices of Sputnik Azerbaijan. The Interior Ministry said the Kremlin-backed media outlet had continued operating via 'illegal financing,' despite having its accreditation revoked in February. Detained in the raid were Sputnik Azerbaijan's editor-in-chief Yevgeny Belousov, and editorial board director Igor Kartavykh. Five others linked to the media outlet also were detained and under investigation for alleged fraud, illegal entrepreneurship and acquiring property by criminal means. Belousov and Kartavykh were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, which carries a maximum prison sentence of up to 12 years. They also were charged with conspiracy to launder funds or other property, and conspiracy to carry out an illegal enterprise. Both were arrested and ordered held for at least four months in pre-trial detention. Sputnik's parent company, Rossiya Segodnya, said Tuesday it was 'deeply concerned' by the raid and that Azerbaijani staff members were among those detained. Diplomats from the Russian Consulate have not been grated access to its citizens who were detained, it said, and that Kartavykh's apartment had been searched and computer equipment seized. 'All these actions have no basis and have led to the blocking of Sputnik Azerbaijan,' the statement said. 'We call on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately resolve this unacceptable situation and release our colleagues.' The Kremlin also called for their release. 'Such measures against members of the media are absolutely not in line with generally accepted rules and norms and, of course, do not match the spirit and nature of Russian-Azerbaijani relations,' spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday. The detentions followed Russian police raids Friday on the homes of ethnic Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg, Russia, as part of an investigation into a number of killings dating back decades. Two brothers, Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov, died while in police custody and several others were seriously injured in the raids, officials said, with nine people detained. Sayfaddin Huseynli, a brother of the two dead Azerbaijanis, told The Associated Press the raids were 'an inhumane, cruel act by Russia against migrants — an act of intimidation.' Migrants from Muslim-majority countries that once were part of the Soviet Union frequently complain of discrimination at the hands of Russians. On Tuesday, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan said it would launch a criminal investigation into the two deaths. It said Azerbaijani citizens and others of Azerbaijani descent who were 'practically helpless and unable to defend themselves,' were subjected to beatings and other physical abuse by Russian officials. It attributed the deaths of 60-year-old Huseyn Safarov and 55-year-old Ziyaddin Safarov to 'post-traumatic shock caused by multiple injuries.' Huseyn had also suffered post-hemorrhagic shock, it said. Russia's Investigative Committee said Monday that one of the deaths had been caused by heart failure. It did not provide details on the second victim, but said a medical examination would be conducted to determine the cause of death for both. Azerbaijan protested the deaths by canceling a scheduled trip to Moscow by government officials, citing the 'targeted extrajudicial killings and violence against Azerbaijanis on the basis of their nationality' by Russian law enforcement. It also called off a visit to Baku by a Russian deputy prime minister, and the Culture Ministry canceled concerts, exhibitions and other events by Russian state and private institutions. Ties between Moscow and Baku have been strained since the December crash of an Azerbaijani passenger jet. The plane eventually crashed as it tried to land in nearby Kazakhstan. Aliyev said it was attacked over Russia, albeit unintentionally, and rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare measures amid allegations that Russian air defense systems were trying to fend off a Ukrainian drone strike near Grozny. Putin apologized to Aliyev for what he called a 'tragic incident' but stopped short of acknowledging responsibility. In May, Aliyev declined to attend Russia's Victory Day parade in Moscow. Later that month, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha visited Azerbaijan, signaling closer ties between Baku and Kyiv.
