Latest news with #Russia
Al Jazeera
an hour ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,220
Here is how things stand on Saturday, June 28: Fighting Ukraine's military has said it struck four Russian Su-34 warplanes at the Marinovka base outside Russia's city of Volgograd, some 900km (550 miles) from the Ukrainian border. A Russian missile attack has killed at least five people and wounded more than 20 in Samar in Ukraine's southeast, in the second strike on the industrial city in three days. Russian troops have captured the village of Nova Kruhlyakivka in Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region, Russia's state news agency TASS reported. A Russian attack has damaged an 'important power facility' in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, causing power cuts in some settlements in the region, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. A Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Kursk region injured a war correspondent from Chinese news outlet Phoenix TV, Russian authorities said, as they urged the United Nations to respond to the incident. Ukraine's air force said it downed 359 out of 363 drones and six of eight missiles launched by Russia in an overnight attack. Russia's drone production jumped by 16.9 percent in May compared with the previous month, data from a think tank close to the government showed, after President Vladimir Putin called for output to be stepped up. Ceasefire deal United States President Donald Trump said he thinks something will happen in Russia's war in Ukraine that would get it 'settled', citing his recent call with Putin but offering no other details. Putin said relations between Russia and the US were beginning to stabilise, attributing the improvement to efforts by President Trump. Putin reiterated that he had 'great respect' for the US leader and was willing to meet him. Putin also said Moscow was ready to hold a new round of peace negotiations with Ukraine, potentially in Istanbul, although the time and venue have yet to be agreed. NATO Lithuania has notified the UN that it is leaving the treaty banning antipersonnel landmines. It joins Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Poland – all NATO and European Union members bordering Russia – in withdrawing from the treaty, citing the increased military danger from their Russian neighbour. The Kremlin said Estonia's stated readiness to host NATO allies' US-made F-35A stealth jets, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, posed a direct threat to Moscow. Putin said Russia was looking to cut its military expenditure from next year, contrasting that with NATO's plan to raise its collective spending goal to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the next 10 years. Sanctions Senator Ron Wyden, the top Senate Finance Committee Democrat, pressed US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to commit to enforcing Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia and to clarify comments about Russia rejoining an international bank payments network. Wyden also sought answers on how the US-Ukraine critical minerals deal and investment agreement would help improve Ukraine's post-war security and not benefit any entity or country that aided Russia's war effort. Ukraine plans to ask the EU to sanction Bangladeshi entities it says are importing wheat taken from Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia, after its warnings to Dhaka failed to stop the trade, a top Ukrainian diplomat in South Asia said.
Wall Street Journal
an hour ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Why Shouldn't Europe Seize Russia's Assets?
Your editorial 'Trump Wins the Battle of NATO' (June 26) notes the good news: Our European allies are finally going to pony up more for their security. But when it comes to Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, our treaty allies shouldn't only commit additional billions to defense. They should also seize frozen Russian sovereign assets as a powerful form of deterrence. Having immobilized an estimated €210 billion of Russian funds, Europe can impose additional costs on Moscow through confiscation, diverting many of these resources to Ukraine's defense. I co-authored the REPO Act, which allows for the seizure of Russian sovereign assets in the U.S. Though President Biden signed the bill in April 2024, the White House chose not to use it for months. With President Trump at the helm, we can end the Biden-era policy of hesitation and move swiftly to implement the law—starting by transferring $5 billion in immobilized Russian funds held in the U.S. to Ukraine. If NATO countries are making the significant choice to spend more on defense, using Russia's frozen assets should be an easy decision. How can NATO members urge their taxpayers to chip in more while letting Vladimir Putin off the hook?
NHK
2 hours ago
- Politics
- NHK
Russian ambassador to attend Nagasaki peace ceremony
Russia's ambassador to Japan is set to attend an annual peace ceremony this August in Nagasaki. It's the first time Russia has been invited since invading Ukraine. The event will take place on August 9, exactly 80 years since the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city in western Japan. The Russian Embassy in Tokyo says Ambassador Nikolay Nozdrev will attend. The city had not invited Russia and ally Belarus since 2022. But officials say they plan to invite all countries and regions with diplomatic missions in Japan this year. Russian Embassy officials told NHK that the ambassador decided to attend after receiving an invitation signed by the Nagasaki mayor. They also say they received an explanation about previous circumstances. The embassy says Ambassador Nozdrev will not attend a ceremony on August 6 in the city of Hiroshima. NHK has learned that Norwegian Nobel Committee Chair Joergen Frydnes plans to make a four-day visit to both cities starting July 21. He is expected to exchange opinions with atomic bomb survivors, known as hibakusha. The committee awarded last year's Nobel Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyo, an organization that represents survivors of the atomic bombings and calls for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Democrat Wyden presses Bessent to commit to US sanctions on Russia
WASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) - The top Senate Finance Committee Democrat pressed U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday to commit to enforcing Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia and to clarify comments about Russia rejoining an international bank payments network. In a letter to Bessent, Senator Ron Wyden also sought answers on how the U.S.-Ukraine critical minerals deal and investment agreement would help improve Ukraine's post-war security and not benefit any entity or country that aided Russia's war effort. Wyden cited Bessent's comments during his confirmation hearing that he was prepared to strengthen Russian sanctions, including on oil majors, if Trump requested this to help end the Ukraine war, which Bessent called "one of the greatest tragedies of my adult life." "I ask that you reaffirm your commitment to stringently enforce these sanctions and answer questions about how you envision other measures pursued by this administration, including agreements with Ukraine, potentially working in conjunction with these sanctions," Wyden wrote. The Oregon Democrat, who has opposed most of Trump's trade and tax agenda advanced by Bessent, asked the Treasury chief to explain comments he made to Fox News Channel in which he did not rule out bringing Russia back into the SWIFT international banking network. Russia was expelled from the payments messaging system after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. "Would Treasury allow Russian banks to rejoin SWIFT absent a comprehensive peace agreement with Ukraine that fully addresses Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine?" Wyden asked in a series of questions for Bessent to answer. Wyden also asked whether Bessent would continue the U.S. Treasury's implementation of commitments by G7 leaders to curtail Russia's use of the international financial system to support its war against Ukraine. A Treasury spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wyden's letter.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Spy chiefs probed ‘Russian double agent' at the heart of MI6 in huge 20-year global operation – and never caught ‘mole'
SPY chiefs probed a suspected "Russian double agent" at the heart of MI6 in a 20-year global operation. An investigation launched into the alleged mole, dubbed Operation Wedlock, sent surveillance officers around the world. 6 6 6 It included a team of over 30 MI5 officers, as reported by the Guardian, whose work spanned up to two decades. One on occasion, they were sent to the Middle East and sheltered in a CIA safe house. It is understood they were sent on the mission under terms that would have been illegal according to international law. Despite their work, MI5 were unable to conclude whether there had been a mole spying for Russia. A source told the Guardian: "We thought we had another Philby on our hands". Kim Philby was a prominent member of the notorious Cambridge Five, a ring of spies who passed information to the Soviet Union. With fascism plaguing Europe, Philby headed for Austria where he became active in helping the oppressed working class socialists. Alongside his wife, Jewish socialist Litzi Friedmann, the couple helped the anti-fascist cause in Vienna but later fled to London to escape the Nazis. Philby's life changed when he was introduced to a resident Soviet agent, code-named "Otto", at Regents Park. Along with four other Cambridge students, they were persuaded to start double lives as spies for the Soviets. Through the help of the KGB they worked their way into government jobs and passed on state secrets to the Russians. Philby was so good at his job he even secured a high-level job with MI6. In 1949 he was sent to Washington where be became a liaison intelligence officer 'combating Soviet subversion in Western Europe'. However, after two members of the Cambridge Five defected, suspicion grew over Philby and he resigned from the Foreign Office. Cleared of treason allegations, MI6 posted him to Beirut, where he worked as a correspondent for The Observer. In 1962, his cover was blown during a conversation with a MI5 officer at a party and he later made a 'sham' confession to be granted immunity. A year later a KGB guide smuggled him into Russia where he lived out the remainder of his life and was treated as a 'hero'. MI6 is the intelligence agency which supplies the Government with foreign intelligence (as opposed to MI5 which deals with domestic security threats). Its existence was not formally acknowledged until 1994. It is regarded as one of the best spy agencies in the world. Describing its work on its official website, the agency says: 'Our mission is to provide Her Majesty's Government with a global covert capability. 'We collect secret intelligence and mount operations overseas to prevent and detect serious crime, and promote and defend the national security and economic wellbeing of the United Kingdom.' Meanwhile, MI5 is widely understood to focus its intelligence efforts inside the UK but that isn't always the case. With threats to Britain's security often coming from abroad, the agency says it does "work outside the UK where it's necessary to protect the UK's national security or to counter security threats". It describes itself as a "publicly accountable civilian intelligence organisation", not a "secret police force", as it does not have the power to arrest people. Reporting to the Home Office, it was formed in 1909 under British army captain Vernon Kell to identify and counteract German spies in the country, according to the Britannica. The MI5 probe into an alleged mole was sparked in the 1990s and continued to at least 2015. It was launched after a tip off from the CIA in America, where they believed a British intelligence officer was working for Russia. Vladimir Putin was in charge of the FSB, Russia's secret intelligence service, at one point in the investigation. A source said: '[We were told] the target was a Russian spy. The US believed he was leaking information to the Russians. "He was suspect 1A. The job was taken more seriously than any other [MI5] was involved in. Wedlock eclipsed them all.' As reported by the Guardian, it has been revealed the UK believed they had identified the alleged spy. MI5 specialists were put in charge of tracking him down, although they did not operate from the Westminster HQ. The mission was so top secret, one insider claimed the officer in charge was briefed about the task in a church. Instead, the team were based in Wandsworth, south London, which was near an MI6 base. The officers were told the suspected mole held a senior role at MI6 and listening devices were planted inside his home, as well as secret cameras. He was tracked across the world, with officers travelling as far as Asia and the Middle East. The agents were given authentic passports, but fake names, and told they would be "on their own" if caught. A source also claimed the suspect was not thought to have been working by himself, but aided by two other people. The insider added how Wedlock was a 'highly unusual operation, the longest in recent memory and probably the most expensive'. 'MI5 never got the conclusive proof it was looking for,' they added, and MI6 "still [potentially] has a mole to find". 6 6 6
