All posts tagged: Putins

EU sanctions more Russian banks to squeeze Putin’s war economy – POLITICO

EU sanctions more Russian banks to squeeze Putin’s war economy – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The sanctions also include four banks from Kyrgyzstan, Laos and Azerbaijan, in a bid to crack down on sanction-busting strategies and efforts to pay for Russian oil and gas through the back door. EU businesses are also banned from dealing with Russian companies that handle or exchange cryptocurrencies. The list of sanctioned Russian banks now extends to 70 lenders. The sanctions make it much harder for foreign banks to handle international trade, especially as they will be prohibited from using SWIFT, a financial messaging system used to communicate payment instructions across the world. The EU is also curbing exports of a few high-tech goods to Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian country with strong economic and political ties to Russia. Metal-working machines and radio equipment may no longer be shipped to Kyrgyzstan after customs data showed clear evidence of circumvention. It is the first time the EU is using the so-called anti-circumvention tool. The Kyrgyz government has vowed it will, in turn, ban some exports to Russia. The two sides will monitor trade in other sensitive goods …

Russia and Ukraine Accuse Each Other of Violating Putin’s Easter Ceasefire

Russia and Ukraine Accuse Each Other of Violating Putin’s Easter Ceasefire

Published by Sam Flores

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia and Ukraine accused each other of violating a Kremlin-declared Easter ceasefire Sunday, as Orthodox Christians gathered to celebrate the holiday despite Moscow’s 4-year-long war against its neighbor. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday declared a 32-hour ceasefire over the Easter weekend, ordering Russian forces to halt hostilities from 4 p.m. on Saturday until the end of Sunday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised to abide by the ceasefire, but warned there would be a swift military response to any violations. The General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said in a statement Sunday that it had recorded 2,299 ceasefire violations by 7 a.m., including assaults, shelling and small drone launches. It said that the use of long-range drones, missiles or guided bombs had not been reported. A Ukrainian military officer told The Associated Press on Saturday that Russian forces had continued to attack their positions. Russia’s Defense Ministry also said Sunday it had recorded 1,971 ceasefire violations by Ukrainian forces, including drone strikes. The head of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said …

How Viktor Orbán became Vladimir Putin’s best friend in the EU – POLITICO

How Viktor Orbán became Vladimir Putin’s best friend in the EU – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Metamorphosis Molnár, now an academic and a slam poetry champion, highlights an unremitting drive for success in his college-mate. Over lunch in an old-fashioned Hungarian bistro near the U.S. embassy in Budapest’s historic fifth district, the 62-year-old chose his words carefully, plucking out the adjective “diligent” to describe the young Orbán’s determination, capacity for hard work and attention to detail. Not that he couldn’t be fun in his college days, Molnár added. The young Orbán went to illicit underground dances — a form of youth rebellion frequently surveilled by the state’s security police. And despite little interest in art and literature, he was keen to get involved in a performance of German-born writer Peter Weiss’ “How Mr. Mockinpott Was Cured of His Sufferings” — a satire about an ordinary man’s struggles in an oppressive society. Like Szelényi, Molnár said there was nothing back then to give any hint of Orbán’s subsequent political journey from liberalism to MAGA’s European darling. “Except, the overwhelming ambition was there,” he observed.  “I think it’s what drives him to go …

After Putin’s Guarded Iran War Comments, Medvedev Enters The Chat

After Putin’s Guarded Iran War Comments, Medvedev Enters The Chat

Published by Jenni Sidey

Earlier this week President Putin weighed in on America’s Iran operations, and as we detailed his comments were predictably a bit guarded. He had compared the war and the Hormuz Strait closure – and subsequent impact on global energy – to the massive widescale impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. But fundamentally he highlighted the “unpredictable” nature of the conflict in terms of where it’s headed, as Washington appears to be searching for an offramp on its terms. On Friday Dmitry Medvedev weighed in, and as expected the former Russian president and current Deputy Chairman of the Security Council was much less guarded in his assessment. He warned at a moment thousands of US Marines and Airborne troop are en route to the Middle East that if the US enters a ground war in Iran it will be another “Vietnam”. American boots on the ground so far from US shores “threatens roughly the same consequences as what happened in Vietnam,” Medvedev said as quotes in NBC and others. “When Washington intervened in a foreign country, located a thousand …

How Ukraine killed Putin’s plan to make billions from Iran war

How Ukraine killed Putin’s plan to make billions from Iran war

Published by Sam Flores

The wall of fire at Russia’s prized Ust-Luga oil port sent plumes of smoke into the air so high that they could be seen from Finland. Ukraine’s biggest strike on Russia this year engulfed crude oil and petroleum storage tanks, as well as loading equipment, turning the skies above the Baltic Sea port orange on Wednesday. Drones had slipped through successive layers of Russian air defences spanning Bryansk, Smolensk, Pskov and St Petersburg on their 620-mile voyage, before scoring what appeared to be direct hits. The second strike on a key oil facility in days was not only an embarrassing defence failure for Russia. As flames raged through the terminal, they also burned through the Kremlin’s coffers, with Ukraine draining a critical revenue source when Vladimir Putin needed it most. In a sign of Putin’s fears about the country’s volatile economy, the Russian president was reported to have called oligarchs to a closed-door meeting on Thursday night to ask them for donations to prop up the defence budget. At least two businessmen indicated they would …

Starmer gives green light for UK forces to intercept Putin’s shadow fleet – POLITICO

Starmer gives green light for UK forces to intercept Putin’s shadow fleet – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

British efforts to counter the rogue vessels have so far mostly focused on tracking, monitoring and providing intelligence to allies. But Downing Street announced the U.K. would be able to lead more active operations, as Starmer travels to Finland for a meeting of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) on Thursday. Starmer stressed ahead of the trip that Ukraine’s allies need to be even more vigilant about policing sanctions against Russia in light of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. He said in a statement: “Putin is rubbing his hands at the war in the Middle East because he thinks higher oil prices will let him line his pockets. That’s why we’re going after his shadow fleet even harder, not just keeping Britain safe but starving Putin’s war machine of the dirty profits that fund his barbaric campaign in Ukraine.” Several JEF members – including Finland, Sweden and Estonia – have already conducted actions against suspected shadow fleet ships in the Baltic Sea, targeting what they see as a growing sanctions-evasion network operating on their doorstep. By extending similar powers …

Putin’s Aide Blames British Specialists Over Ukraine Strike

Putin’s Aide Blames British Specialists Over Ukraine Strike

Published by Sam Flores

Russia has blamed “British specialists” for helping Ukraine execute a deadly missile strike on a munitions factory. Kyiv said it had struck one of Russia’s “most important military factories” on Tuesday, known as the Kremniy El plant, using British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles. The site is the second-largest microelectronics manufacturer in Russia. According to Russian authorities, at least seven civilians were killed and 42 injured in what it called a “terrorist missile attack”. The Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters: “It is obvious that the launch of these missiles was impossible without British specialists. “We are aware of this, we know it well, and we naturally take it into account. “In order to prevent such barbaric actions by the Kyiv regime from continuing, the special military operation is being conducted.” Russia’s foreign ministry also claimed the attack was premeditated. It said: “Western states bear full responsibility for the consequences of this strike, which resulted in civilian casualties. “Britain has gone beyond the norms of international law and is ready… to take the conflict to a fundamentally …

Putin’s ‘Hidden Hand’ Likely Aiding Iran In Its War Against Trump

Putin’s ‘Hidden Hand’ Likely Aiding Iran In Its War Against Trump

Published by Sam Flores

Vladimir Putin’s “hidden hand” may be helping Iran respond to its ongoing war against Donald Trump and Israel, according to the UK’s defence secretary. John Healey was speaking from the UK’s military headquarters in London hours after drones hit a base used by western forces in Iraq. He said British officers told him drone pilots from Iran and Iranian proxies were adopting tactics “from the Russians”, and telling them how to fly them. Iran has been supplying Russia with Shahed drones – long-range weapons Moscow has regularly deployed against Ukraine – for years. The chief of joint operations, Lt Gen Nick Perry, told the defence secretary that it looked like Russia had advised its allies to fly the drones at a much lower height, making them more effective when hitting targets. That had “proven problematic” according to Perry, because the drones were rapidly becoming Iran’s most effective weapon in its fight against the US and Israel. Healey said: “I think no one will be surprised to believe that Putin’s hidden hand is behind some of …