Eastern Europe

A collection of 51 posts

Kremlin Critic Jailed For 25 Years

Vladimir Kara-Murza, a prominent Kremlin critic who has previously survived two suspected poisoning attempts, was on Monday sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment after publicly condemning Moscow's war in Ukraine. He was detained last year and charged with treason, spreading fake news about the Russ...

Russia

Poland, Hungary Ban Grain Imports From Ukraine

Poland and Hungary have imposed a temporary ban on imports of grain and food products from Ukraine, citing the need to protect struggling local farmers after a flood of supply depressed prices across the region....

Ukraine

US Rep. Greene Under Fire for Defending Alleged Ukraine Doc Leaker

US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) came under fire this week after defending 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, the suspect in the criminal case over leaked Pentagon documents that surfaced on social media platforms in the last few weeks....

Ukraine

Ukraine Bans Athletes from Competing Against Russia and Belarus

Ukraine’s Ministry of Youth and Sports on Friday banned its country's athletes and national teams from competing in any tournament where Russian and Belarusian athletes are also taking part. The ban applies to Olympic and non-Olympic sports, as well as competitions for sporting events for disab...

Ukraine

Russia Won't 'Tolerate' US Pressure Over WSJ Reporter, Says Deputy Foreign Minister

Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister, said on Wednesday that Russia was considering granting US diplomats consular access to Evan Gershkovich — the Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia on espionage charges — but warned that Moscow 'will not tolerate' any attempts from t...

Weapons

US Arrests Suspect in Connection to Ukraine Doc Leak

On Thursday, the US arrested 21-year-old Air National Guard Jack Teixeira in connection to a leak of dozens of classified US military documents detailing intelligence on the war in Ukraine and other sensitive information. The Massachusetts resident is reportedly due to appear in court Friday....

Russia

Leaked US Document: Egypt Secretly Planned to Supply Rockets to Russia

Egypt, a key US ally in the Middle East, sought to supply Russia with 40K rockets in addition to artillery shells and gunpowder, according to a leaked US intelligence document acquired by the Washington Post this week....

Weapons

Ukraine Alters Military Plans in Wake of Pentagon Leaks

In the wake of classified US documents being leaked and circulated on the internet in the past several days, Ukraine has modified some of its war plans, a source close to Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy told CNN on Monday....

Ukraine

Second Batch of Leaked US Documents Surface Online

A day after leaked military documents revealing US and NATO war planning in Ukraine surfaced online, a second batch was circulated on Friday — this time said to contain more than 100 documents revealing military secrets on Ukraine and additional areas of US interest, including China and the Mid...

Ukraine

Pentagon Investigating Ukraine War Plans Leak

Classified documents detailing American and NATO plans to build up Ukraine's military ahead of a spring counteroffensive were this week leaked on social media. The Pentagon was reportedly investigating the matter while Biden officials told the New York Times they were working to get the documents...

Ukraine

Zelenskyy Travels to Poland Amid Farmers' Dispute on Ukrainian Grain

Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Poland on Wednesday amid a dispute among local farmers who say the lifting of tariffs on Ukrainian grain has flooded the local market, driving down the prices of Polish equivalents. Neighboring Poland has typically been one of Ukraine's staunchest b...

Ukraine

US Think Tank: Russia Continues to Make Gains in Bakhmut

On Monday, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US military think tank, confirmed Russian advances in the city of Bakhmut after Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian mercenary force Wagner PMC, claimed to have captured its center and raised the Russian flag over its city hall on Sunday ni...

Terrorism

St Petersburg Blast Kills Russian Blogger, Injures 32 More

A blast in a St Petersburg café on Sunday killed a prominent Russian military blogger and injured 32 other civilians — 10 of whom remain in serious condition, Russian authorities said on Monday....

Ukraine

Ukraine Rails Against Russia's UN Security Council Presidency

Russia took up the monthly presidency of the United Nations Security Council on Saturday, which Ukrainian Pres. Zelensky characterized it as an 'absurd and destructive' move....

Russia

Biden Calls on Russia to Release US Journalist

In making his first remarks on the case, US Pres. Joe Biden on Friday called on Russia to release Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter arrested on espionage charges earlier this week....

Russia

4 Bankers Convicted For Helping Putin's Friend

Four unnamed bankers at the Zurich branch of Russia’s Gazprombank who allowed a friend of Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin to deposit huge sums in Swiss bank accounts have been found guilty of lacking due diligence....

Ukraine

Kyiv Suburb of Bucha Marks One Year Since Liberation

The Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where Ukraine alleges Russian forces committed scores of atrocities in their short-lived occupation of the town in the first weeks of the war, marked the first anniversary of its liberation on Friday....

Ukraine

US: Russia Offering Food to N. Korea for Weapons

US national security spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for weapons. The US has previously accused North Korea — and other regimes like Iran — of backing Russia's campaign in Ukraine....

Ukraine

Russia Detains WSJ Reporter on Espionage Charges

Russia's Federal Security Service — the successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB — said on Thursday that it had arrested Evan Gershkovich, a 31-year-old US citizen and Wall Street Journal reporter, on espionage charges....

Ukraine

Evicted Kyiv Monks Refuse to Leave Complex

Tensions ran high at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra complex — also known as the Monastery of the Caves — after representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) refused to leave the premises despite an eviction order set to go into force on Wednesday....

Ukraine

Xi Arrives in Moscow for State Visit

In what both countries described as a deepening of their bilateral ties, Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Russia on Monday for a three-day visit. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Xi and Russian Pres. Putin would hold informal talks on Monday before dining together — formal talks on a ra...

Russia

Putin Makes Surprise Trip to Mariupol

Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin made a 'working visit' to the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Saturday night, following an unannounced trip to Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of Russia's takeover of the Black Sea peninsula....

Russia

Biden and Zelenskyy Welcome Putin Arrest Warrant Issued by ICC

US and Ukrainian leaders Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskyy both welcomed a decision from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant against Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin on Friday. Putin, as well as Russia’s commissioner for children's rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, are accus...

Ukraine

US Shows Russian Jet Footage in Black Sea Drone Encounter

On Thursday, the US European Command released declassified video footage from the encounter between a US surveillance drone and Russian fighter jets over the Black Sea earlier in the week....

Russia

Day 385: Russian Ambassador to US Summoned Over Black Sea Drone Crash

Russia's ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, was summoned to a meeting with the State Dept. on Tuesday after a US surveillance drone crashed into the waters of the Black Sea, near the Crimean peninsula which Russia annexed in 2014...

Russia