Kremlin

Russia President Vladimir Putin (File Image: Reuters) Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a cease fire in Ukraine over Orthodox Christmas, the Kremlin said on Thursday. Russian troops must hold fire for 36 hours from 1200 on Jan. 6, the Kremlin said. Many Orthodox Christians, including those living in Russia and Ukraine, celebrate Christmas on Jan. 6-7. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, called on Thursday for both sides of the war in Ukraine to observe a Christmas truce, a step dismissed by Kyiv as a cynical trap. "Taking into account the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instruct the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation to introduce a ceasefire regime along the entire line of contact of the parties in Ukraine from 12.00 on January 6, 2023 to 24.00 on January 7, 2023," Putin said in the order. … [Read more...] about Putin orders cease fire in Ukraine over Orthodox Christmas – Kremlin

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Russian forces have stolen thousands of pieces of Ukrainian artwork and damaged hundreds of cultural sites since the beginning of the Kremlin’s invasion nearly 11 months ago—from ancient gold, to paintings and bones—in one of the biggest mass looting events since the Nazis plundered Europe during World War II. Key Facts In May, local officials in Mariupol said Russian forces had looted more than 2,000 pieces of art from three museums and took them to the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk, after troops captured the city, including paintings by Ukrainian artist Arkhip Kuindzhi and Russian romantic painter Ivan Aivazovsky. Three Kuindzhi paintings—“Elbrus,” “Autumn, Crimea” and a sketch of the painting “Red Sunset on the Dnieper”—were removed from the Kuindzhi Art Museum in Mariupol before the building was hit by an airstrike in March, although they were later handed to Russian forces, according to Petro … [Read more...] about These Are Some Of The Most Famous Ukrainian Works Of Art Looted By Russia

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 324. As Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues and the war rages on, reliable sources of information are critical. Forbes gathers information and provides updates on the situation. By Daria Dzysiuk. Kharkiv Region. Russian forces continue to fire rockets at the towns of Kupiansk, Strilecha, Ohirtseve, Ridkodub in Ukraine's Kharkiv region – a border area, says governor Oleh Synegubov. A 5-story residential building, private homes and several household facilities were damaged in the shelling of Kupiansk on January 12. A 75-year resident was injured and subsequently hospitalized in critical condition. Meanwhile, according to preliminary info, two women, aged 59 and 64, were killed in today's attack on Dvorichna, while a 63 year-old woman was injured. Ukraine's Kherson region was attacked by Russian Army artillery, mortars, tanks, and MLRS rockets 49 times over the past 24 hours, … [Read more...] about Friday, January 13. Russia’s War On Ukraine: Daily News And Information From Ukraine

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Key Takeaways During the Coca-Cola earnings call on Monday, the beverage company reported quarterly numbers that topped expectations Net revenues grew 16% to $10.5 billion, while per-share earnings grew 23% to 64 cents Coca-Cola plans to expand the distribution of cheaper returnable and refillable bottles in emerging and existing markets The company reiterated full-year organic growth outlook of 7-8%, including a 1-2% revenue decline due to suspending business in Russia During Coca-Cola’s earnings call on Monday, the company reported blowout quarterly numbers that topped expectations across the board. The reasons behind the company’s results are twofold. First, as Covid-19 restrictions lifted, consumers largely returned to their pre-pandemic purchasing behaviors. Second, the company’s price/mix metric—which measures product price increases—raised 7% globally. Latin America saw one of the largest … [Read more...] about Investors Are Eyeing Coca-Cola After A Blowout Quarterly Earnings Report

(CTN NEWS) – On Wednesday, Ukrainian fo rces destroyed 13 Russian drones above the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, according to officials, and 5 administrative buildings were also damaged. Washington was considering deploying its cutting-edge Patriot air defense system to Ukraine. Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, claimed that Iranian-made Shahed drones had been shot down and that there had been explosions in the district of Shevchenkivskyi. 13 drones were destroyed, according to Serhii Popko, chief of the city’s military administration in Kyiv. Already 13 kamikaze drones shot down over Kyiv “Thanks to the effective work of the air defense & electronic warfare units, 13 kamikaze drones have already been destroyed," said Serhii Popko, Head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, the KCMA posted” https://t.co/K410S6b1bI — David Soiza (@SoizaDavid) December 14, 2022 According to a witness who spoke to Reuters , one strike in a residential neighborhood … [Read more...] about 13 Russian Drones Strikes In Kyiv Damage 5 Buildings

The U.S. Department of Justice alleges that Eduard Khudainatov, the ex-CEO of state-owned oil giant Rosneft, acts as the "straw owner” for three superyachts held by Vladimir Putin and two Russian oligarchs—but Khudainatov has a multibillion dollar fortune of his own, thanks to his ties to the Kremlin’s inner circle. E duard Khudainatov is one of Russia’s most mysterious oligarchs. A former CEO of Russia’s state-owned oil company Rosneft and a longtime associate of Igor Sechin—Rosneft’s current boss and Putin’s right-hand man —the 61-year-old Khudainatov was largely unknown outside of his home country until last month. His Independent Petroleum Company, known by its Russian initials NNK, was a relatively small player in Russia’s oil industry until a blockbuster deal with Khudainatov’s former employer Rosneft in December 2020. But Khudainatov’s obscurity ended in May, when U.S. authorities identified him as the proxy owner of two megayachts: the 459-foot Scheherazade , … [Read more...] about Meet The Russian Billionaire Who’s The Proxy Owner Of Putin’s $500 Million Yacht

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Just two weeks after the administration of U.S. president Joe Biden announced it would donate 50 M-2 Bradley fighting vehicles, a Ukrainian army brigade has begun training on the vehicles. And not just any brigade—the 47th Assault Brigade. A new, all-volunteer unit that’s hastening the Ukrainian army’s evolution into a NATO-style force. Not just with the M-2s, but also American rifles and ex-Slovenian tanks armed with British guns. A video purporting to depict 47th Assault Brigade troopers inside an M-2 circulated on social media on Sunday. The troopers apparently have traveled to the U.S. Army’s training range in Grafenwoehr, Germany in order to learn how to operate the 25-ton vehicle. The version of the M-2 that the United States is donating to Ukraine isn’t the latest version. No, it’s the variant of the infantry fighting vehicle the U.S. Army developed in the aftermath of the 1991 war with Iraq. The … [Read more...] about It Took Just Two Weeks For One Of The Ukrainian Army’s Newest Brigades To Get American-Made M-2 Fighting Vehicles

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The United Kingdom isn’t just sending Ukraine a small batch of surplus Challenger 2 tanks. It’s planning to donate hundreds of armored vehicles and self-propelled howitzers. Enough equipment for a whole brigade. It’s offensive weaponry. And the U.K. government intends for it to support a possible Ukrainian counteroffensive in 2023. But the Russian government knows this—and it’s planning to spoil the Ukrainian offensive with an offensive of its own. The United Kingdom was one of the first of Ukraine’s allies to offer up Western-style tanks. While NATO countries last year helped Kyiv to source hundreds of surplus Soviet-style tanks including T-72s and hybrid M-55Ss , the Western alliance was reluctant to send its own best M-1s, Challenger 2s and Leopard 2s. Poland was the first to break rank. During a visit to Lviv in western Ukraine on Jan. 11, Polish president Andrzej Duda announced Poland would donate a … [Read more...] about The U.K. Is Giving Ukraine Hundreds Of Armored Vehicles. Russia Has A Plan For Wrecking Them.

BioNTech, the German pharmaceutical company that partnered with Pfizer to produce a highly-lucrative COVID-19 vaccine, pressured Twitter to silence activists organizing against big pharma, new emails obtained by The Intercept show. Twitter lobbyist Nina Morschhaeuser warned her colleagues on multiple Twitter teams that BioNTech was concerned about an activist campaign aimed at removing restrictions on vaccine intellectual property and patents to make the shots more accessible in the developing world, emails reviewed by The Intercept show . The German government also alerted Twitter to concerns about the campaign via its Federal Office for Information Security. 1. New piece from the TWITTER FILES. The push included direct pressure from Pfizer partner BioNTech to censor activists demanding low-cost generic vaccines for low-income countries. — Lee Fang (@lhfang) January 16, 2023 Morschhaeuser and the German government first flagged the campaign in December 2020. The … [Read more...] about COVID Vaccine Manufacturer BioNTech Pressured Twitter To Censor Anti-Pharma Activists, Emails Show

Russia is reportedly looking to bolster its armed forces by offering foreigners citizenship in exchange for enlistment. Foreigners waiting in line for Russian citizenship are being given a chance to cut to the front if they volunteer to join the country’s war against Ukraine, Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces reported late Monday . Voluntarily joining the army will reportedly confer automatic citizenship to foreigners in the country, the General Staff said. ⚡️ General Staff: Russia offers citizenship to foreigners in exchange for enlisting in army. Russian authorities have been offering foreigners in Russia Russian citizenship in exchange for enlisting in the country’s armed forces, the General Staff reported on Jan. 16. — The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) January 16, 2023 It was only two months ago on Nov. 14 that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order allowing foreigners to join Russia’s armed forces at all, which had previously been … [Read more...] about Russia Reportedly Offers Citizenship To Foreigners Who Join War Against Ukraine