Author: Vladimir Isachenkov
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Russia’s top diplomat says NATO faces a deep crisis over Greenland
MOSCOW (AP) — The bid by U.S. President Donald Trump to take over Greenland heralds a “deep crisis” for NATO and raises questions about the alliance’s preservation as a single military-political bloc, Russia’s top diplomat said Tuesday. “It was hard to imagine before that such a thing could happen,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at…
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Putin, in Tehran, gets strong support from Iran over Ukraine
TEHRAN, Iran • Russian President Vladimir Putin won staunch support from Iran on Tuesday for his country’s military campaign in Ukraine, with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei saying the West opposes an “independent and strong” Russia. Khamenei said that if Russia hadn’t sent troops into Ukraine, it would have faced an attack from NATO later, a…
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Breakdown of U.S.-Russia diplomacy runs deep, beyond Ukraine
WASHINGTON • Eyeing each other warily across negotiating tables, U.S. and Russian diplomats never much trusted each other. Yet even during the Cold War, they hashed out agreements on the biggest issues of the day. Now the fierce, mutual hostility over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raises a critical question: Is U.S.-Russian diplomacy effectively dead? The…
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Russians besiege Ukrainian ports as armored column stalls
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces laid siege to two strategic Ukrainian seaports Wednesday and pressed their bombardment of the country’s second-biggest city, while the huge armored column threatening Kyiv appeared stalled outside the capital. After seven days of Russian assault, the United Nations refugee agency announced that 1 million people have fled Ukraine since…
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Putin puts nuclear forces on high alert, escalating tensions
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Vladimir Putin dramatically escalated East-West tensions by ordering Russian nuclear forces put on high alert Sunday, while Ukraine’s embattled leader agreed to talks with Moscow as Putin’s troops and tanks drove deeper into the country, closing in around the capital. Citing “aggressive statements” by NATO and tough financial sanctions, Putin…
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Russia, U.S. take tough stands ahead of more talks on Ukraine
MOSCOW • Moscow and Washington took uncompromising stands Tuesday ahead of more talks amid a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine, with the U.S. rebuffing a demand to halt NATO expansion and the Kremlin saying it will quickly see if it’s worthwhile to even keep negotiating. At Monday’s talks in Geneva, Russia insisted on guarantees precluding…
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Biden: “Severe consequences” for Putin if he attacks Ukraine
MOSCOW • President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that Moscow will face a severe economic pain if it tries to attack Ukraine, but promised prospective talks to address Russia’s concerns about NATO’s expansion. Biden said he was “very straightforward” with Putin during their call Tuesday, warning the Russian leader…
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Putin demands NATO guarantees not to expand eastward
MOSCOW • President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Moscow would seek Western guarantees precluding any further NATO expansion and deployment of its weapons near his country’s borders, a stern demand that comes amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian and Western officials have worried about a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine, saying it…
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Russia, Ukraine see record daily deaths, low vaccinations
MOSCOW • The daily number of COVID-19 deaths in Russia hit another high Tuesday amid a surge in infections that has forced the Kremlin to order most Russians to stay off work starting this week. Sluggish vaccination rates have allowed the virus to spread quickly across Eastern Europe. Ukraine and Bulgaria also reported record daily…
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Russians to stay off work for a week as virus deaths rise
MOSCOW • President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered most Russians to stay off work for a week starting this month amid rising COVID-19 infections and deaths, and he strongly urged reluctant citizens to get vaccinated. The government coronavirus task force reported 1,028 deaths in the past 24 hours, the highest number since the start of…