Putin thanks North Korea for support ahead of visit; Russian missile strike injures 22 in Poltava region. What we know on day 846
Continue reading...© Photograph: Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images
Jens Stoltenberg accused of ‘escalation of tension’ as he warns of growing threat from Russia and China
The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has indicated that the military alliance is considering whether to increase the number of available nuclear weapons, triggering warnings from experts about the possibility of a new arms race.
Stoltenberg said Nato could, for the first time, face a significant nuclear threat from two fronts – Russia and China – and that it may be necessary to increase the number of deployable warheads as a deterrent.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Omar Havana/Getty Images
© Photograph: Omar Havana/Getty Images
Russian leader will have talks with Kim Jong-un with shared aim of expanding security and economic cooperation
Vladimir Putin will travel to North Korea as he seeks continued military support for the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine from one of the world’s most isolated nations.
In his first visit to North Korea since 2000, Putin will meet Kim Jong-un for one-on-one talks in Pyongyang as the two leaders pledge to expand their security and economic cooperation in defiance of western sanctions against both countries.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Vladimir Smirnov/AP
© Photograph: Vladimir Smirnov/AP
Ukraine says Russia is intensifying attacks and trying to gain more territory before military aid, including F-16 jets, arrive
We have more comments from the daily briefing with journalists attended by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
He was asked about the Ukraine peace summit, held in Switzerland over the weekend, during which western powers and their allies denounced Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine but failed to persuade major non-aligned states to join their final statement.
No, it won’t spoil them. We will, of course, take into account the position that these countries have taken, this is important to us and we will continue to explain our reasoning to them.
Many of them, and this was a common point of view on this event, confirmed their understanding of the absence of prospects for any serious, substantive discussions without the presence of our country … If we talk about the overall effectiveness of this meeting, it is close to zero.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
First hearing of journalist, who denies charges of spying for the US, scheduled for 26 June in Yekaterinburg
Russia will hold the espionage trial of the detained American reporter Evan Gershkovich, who denies charges of collecting secrets for the CIA, behind closed doors later in June, a court in the city of Yekaterinburg has said.
Gershkovich, 32, was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on 29 March 2023 in a steak house in Yekaterinburg on charges of espionage that carry up to 20 years in prison.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters
© Photograph: Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters
States are on course to spend $100bn a year, driven by a sharp increase in US defence budgets
Global spending on nuclear weapons is estimated to have increased by 13% to a record $91.4bn during 2023, according to calculations from the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican) pressure group.
The new total, which is up $10.7bn from the previous year, is driven largely by sharply increased defence budgets in the US, at a time of wider geopolitical uncertainty caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Russian Defence Ministry Press S Handout/EPA
© Photograph: Russian Defence Ministry Press S Handout/EPA
From ancient Greece to modern Russia, sanctions are now the go-to option for policy-makers – so why do they so rarely achieve their aims?
In the year 432BCE, the Athenian empire sought to teach its smaller neighbour, Megara, a punitive lesson after various acts of defiance. Instead of going to war, which would break the peace with Sparta, Athens took the novel path of blocking the Megarians from using all the ports in the region.
It was known as the Megarian decree, and it was arguably the first recorded case of economic sanctions. It was also a failure, at least when it came to fending off a conflict. The Peloponnesian war, pitting Athens against Sparta, erupted a year later, and some ancient historians believe it was triggered by the Megarian sanctions.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Stéphanie Lecocq/EPA
© Photograph: Stéphanie Lecocq/EPA
Brazil, India and Saudi Arabia among countries not to endorse text supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity
Key regional powers including Brazil, India, South Africa and Saudi Arabia have failed to sign up to a joint communique issued at the end of a Ukraine peace conference in which more than 80 countries and international organisations endorsed its territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s invasion.
Speaking at the end of the two-day summit in Switzerland, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, welcomed the “first steps toward peace” but acknowledged that not all attenders had come onboard. “Unfortunately there are people who are still balancing,” he said, adding that Russia was trying to divide the world.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Alessandro Della Valle/Reuters
© Photograph: Alessandro Della Valle/Reuters
Anton Andreev says only 12 out of 100 soldiers remained alive after unit came under Ukrainian fire and drones in Vovchansk
Anton Andreev, a Russian soldier from the fifth company of the 1009th regiment, painted a bleak picture of Russia’s offensive in the Ukrainian northern region of Kharkiv.
His unit had been decimated, he said, with only 12 out of 100 soldiers still alive as they came under constant Ukrainian fire and drones in Vovchansk, a prime target of Russia’s advances.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Men linked to militant group took two guards hostage at facility in southern city of Rostov
Russian special forces have freed two guards and killed six men linked to Islamic State who had taken them hostage at a detention centre in the southern city of Rostov, the prison service said.
State media said that some of the men had been convicted of terrorism offences and were accused of affiliation with IS, which claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall in March.
Continue reading...© Photograph: AP
© Photograph: AP
As many countries celebrate Father’s Day, four men share their love, fears and dreams for their children in Gaza, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Sudan
Danylo Khomutovsky is a driver and frontline medic with Hospitallers, a volunteer group in Ukraine. His wife, Lera*, and nine-year-old son, Sasha*, fled after the Russian invasion and are now in the Netherlands. They have been separated from Danylo ever since
Continue reading...© Composite: Guardian Design
© Composite: Guardian Design
Olaf Scholz says plan put forward by Vladimir Putin not ‘meant seriously’; Zelenskiy predicts world will see ‘history being made’, but expectations of progress low. What we know on day 844
Continue reading...© Photograph: Denis Balibouse/Reuters
© Photograph: Denis Balibouse/Reuters
More than 100 leaders at two-day conference to discuss Kyiv’s proposals to end war – but Russia and China absent
More than 100 leaders, including the US vice-president, Kamala Harris, and the presidents or heads of the EU, South American, Middle East and Asian countries, will gather in Switzerland on Saturday for one of the most ambitious attempts yet to forge a peace plan for Ukraine.
The summit comes as G7 leaders gathering in Italy clinch a new deal for a €50bn loan for Ukraine, securitised through use of the windfall profits from the interest on Russian central bank assets frozen by the EU and other western nations after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Denis Balibouse/Reuters
© Photograph: Denis Balibouse/Reuters
Ahead of the peace summit in Switzerland, German chancellor Olaf Scholz said Putin’s proposals were intended as a distraction
Three people were killed and five others injured by Russian shelling in Ulakly village in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, local governor Vadym Filashkin wrote on Telegram on Saturday.
He said the village was hit by cluster munitions, adding that administrative buildings, a private house, a shop and eight cars were damaged.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Urs Flüeler/Reuters
© Photograph: Urs Flüeler/Reuters
War in Gaza, protests in Buenos Aires, a thunderstorm in Omaha and high temperatures in Athens: the last seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists
Continue reading...© Photograph: Chris Machian/AP
© Photograph: Chris Machian/AP
Concerns set out over supply of materials with military applications, and impact of subsidies on global market
China’s role in providing assistance to Russia in its war against Ukraine, and its “harmful overcapacity” in the production of cheap goods, have been targeted by G7 leaders despite misgivings from Germany.
On the second day of the annual summit, being held in Puglia under the Italian chair, the US drove home a 36-page communique that condemned Chinese subsidies for products such as solar panels and electric cars which it said were leading to “global spillovers, market distortions and harmful overcapacity … undermining our workers, industries, and economic resilience and security”.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Ukrainian presidential press office/UPI/Rex/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Ukrainian presidential press office/UPI/Rex/Shutterstock
Hundreds of Cubans queue for hours to visit naval vessel as tensions rise between Russia and United States
Where once vast American cruise ships disgorged mojito-thirsty holidaymakers into the crumbling streets of old Havana, now lurks the eerie darkness of the Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kazan.
“It looks like a dead whale,” says Adolfo García, as he queues under the scorching sun. The Kazan is off-limits, but García is hoping for a tour of the second of the four Russian naval vessels that have just docked in the Cuban capital, the frigate Admiral Gorshkov.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Russian president’s new ultimatum comes as foreign envoys meet in Switzerland to discuss western-led peace plan
Vladimir Putin has demanded that Kyiv cede more land, withdraw troops deeper inside its own country and drop its Nato bid in order for him to end his war in Ukraine.
Putin’s fresh ceasefire demands were issued as envoys from more than 90 countries, including Ukraine, convene in Switzerland this weekend to discuss a western-led peace plan. Russia is not invited to the conference and Putin’s remarks on Friday are likely to have been timed as a spoiler to that summit.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images
Source: SBU[/caption]
According to the SBU, the accounts hosted on this bot farm were also used to spread pro-Kremlin propaganda purporting as ordinary Ukrainian citizens.
Another 30-year-old man from Dnipro allegedly registered nearly 15,000 fake accounts on various social networks and messaging platforms using Ukrainian SIM cards. He sold these accounts to Russian intelligence services on darknet forums.
[caption id="attachment_77337" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
Source: SBU[/caption]
Both suspects face up to three years in prison or a fine if found guilty. The investigation continues.
Enlarge / Brad Smith, vice chairman and president of Microsoft, is sworn in before testifying about Microsoft's cybersecurity work during a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on June 13, 2024. (credit: SAUL LOEB / Contributor | AFP)
Microsoft is pivoting its company culture to make security a top priority, President Brad Smith testified to Congress on Thursday, promising that security will be "more important even than the company’s work on artificial intelligence."
Satya Nadella, Microsoft's CEO, "has taken on the responsibility personally to serve as the senior executive with overall accountability for Microsoft’s security," Smith told Congress.
His testimony comes after Microsoft admitted that it could have taken steps to prevent two aggressive nation-state cyberattacks from China and Russia.
G7 outlines $50bn Ukraine loan backed by seized Russian assets; allies send €350m worth of shells fitting more of Ukraine’s guns. What we know on day 842
Continue reading...© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
President hails breakthrough as US and Ukraine also announce 10-year bilateral security agreement
Joe Biden claimed “democracies can deliver” as he announced the leaders of the G7 western economies had finally reached an agreement that will mobilise an extra $50bn (£39bn) of aid to Ukraine using frozen Russian state assets.
Speaking at the G7 summit in Puglia, Italy, on Thursday, Biden hailed the breakthrough as he met Ukraine’s president Volodymr Zelenskiy and announced the two countries had also signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement, ending 12 months of difficult negotiations.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters
© Photograph: Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters
Wall Street Journal reporter faces ‘false and baseless charge’ and ‘sham trial’, say paper’s publisher and editor in chief
Russian authorities have indicated that the jailed American reporter Evan Gershkovich will soon stand trial in Ekaterinburg more than a year after his arrest on espionage charges that he, his employer, and the White House have decried as politically motivated.
Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, has been held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison since last March in the highest-profile arrest of an American journalist in Russia since the cold war.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP
© Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP
Three governments accuse Russia at G7 of ‘spreading lies’ relating to presidential election and EU referendum
The UK, US and Canada have accused Russia of a plot to interfere in Moldova’s presidential election and referendum on EU membership later this year.
In a pointed joint statement issued on the first day of the G7 summit in Italy, the three governments accused Russian actors of “spreading lies” and “seeking to undermine Moldovan democratic institutions” in a campaign of political interference stretching back years.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Ioana Moldovan/Bloomberg/Getty Images
© Photograph: Ioana Moldovan/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The US, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and Britain are gathering in Italy’s Puglia region
Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni has just arrived at the venue.
This is the scene at the Borgo Egnazia resort as G7 leaders are scheduled to begin arriving.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
© Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Since Kremlin staged fresh incursion on 10 May, strikes have increased threefold, destroying buildings and killing dozens
The apartment at 24 Liubovi Maloi avenue was an eerie ruin. Its roof and outer walls had disappeared. In one corner a row of suits hung in a wardrobe. There was a TV, a coffee cup, a maroon jacket on a peg. And a black and white photo album with old family snaps taken in communist times.
The flat’s inhabitants – Svitlana Vlasenko and her grown-up daughter Polina – were not coming back. The Russian missile that fell on their building on a Friday night killed them and six of their neighbours. Twenty-six people were injured, two of them children.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Jedrzej Nowicki/The Guardian
© Photograph: Jedrzej Nowicki/The Guardian
Most comprehensive analysis ever of conflict-driven climate impacts shows emissions greater than those generated by 175 countries in a year
The climate cost of the first two years of Russia’s war on Ukraine was greater than the annual greenhouse gas emissions generated individually by 175 countries, exacerbating the global climate emergency in addition to the mounting death toll and widespread destruction, research reveals.
Russia’s invasion has generated at least 175m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), amid a surge in emissions from direct warfare, landscape fires, rerouted flights, forced migration and leaks caused by military attacks on fossil fuel infrastructure – as well as the future carbon cost of reconstruction, according to the most comprehensive analysis ever of conflict-driven climate impacts.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
© Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
Lawyers say strategy of denying food and services to people in Ukrainian city during siege could amount to war crime
Russia engaged in a “deliberate pattern” of starvation tactics during the 85-day siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in early 2022, which amounted to a war crime, according to a fresh analysis submitted to the international criminal court.
The conclusion is at the heart of a dossier in the process of being submitted to the ICC in The Hague by the lawyers Global Rights Compliance, working in conjunction with the Ukrainian government. It argues that Russia and its leaders intended to kill and harm large numbers of civilians.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
© Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
D-day commemorations have failed to mention equally important turning points in the war, says Prof Colin Green. Plus a letter from Ben Summerskill
The D-day 80th anniversary events were really moving, especially hearing from the veterans who survived. Much has been made of Rishi Sunak’s failure to attend the international event (Furious Tories turn on Rishi Sunak over D-day commemorations snub, 9 June). I was more saddened by the repeated claim in TV programmes that D-day was the turning point of the second world war, without mention of the 27 million Soviets (including Ukrainians) who lost their lives and were ignored in this commemoration.
The eastern front was crucial to defeating Hitler and the Nazi armies well before 1944. Moscow in 1941, Stalingrad in 1942, three battles for Kharkov in 1941, 1942 and 1943, the great tank battle of Kursk (1943) and the siege of Leningrad (1941 to 1944) decimated the best German troops and were, collectively, the war’s true turning points. How Erwin Rommel would have welcomed defending Normandy with just a fraction of the 152 German divisions (3 million men) that invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa. I feel great sadness for all deaths, including on D-day, and wake up every morning well aware that I owe my happy life to so many courageous men and women who gave their lives or were injured.
Prof Colin Green
Harrow, London
© Photograph: D Trakhtenberg/Getty Images
© Photograph: D Trakhtenberg/Getty Images
Four vessels, including nuclear-powered submarine and frigate, greeted by sparse crowd upon arrival in Cuba
A fleet of Russian warships has arrived in the bay of Havana, in a visit seen as a show of strength amid tensions with the west over support for Ukraine.
Four vessels, including the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan and the frigate Admiral Gorshkov, entered Havana Bay early on Wednesday, where they offered a 21-gun salute that was reciprocated from the battlements of La Cabaña, the fortress where Che Guevara once had his office.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images
Items seized in Ukraine ransomware arrest[/caption]
The Ukraine cyber police said the man “specialized in the development of cryptors,” or “special software for masking computer viruses under the guise of safe files” (quotes translated from the Ukraine statement).
“Thanks to his programming skills, the person involved was able to hide malicious software from the most popular antiviruses,” the Ukraine statement added.
US wants show of strength with planned sanctions for helping Russia, but group will also discuss migration, Middle East and AI
A dramatic expansion of entities exposed to US sanctions for helping the Russian economy and an EU-led $50bn loan to ease the financial burden on Ukraine will be at the centre of discussions at a summit of the leaders of wealthy G7 nations in Puglia, Italy, starting on Thursday.
The leaders, facing unprecedented challenges from discontented electorates, will be under heightened pressure to provide concrete results as their three days of discussion range across an interlinked agenda encompassing the war in Ukraine, migration, Africa, the Middle East, the climate crisis and harnessing artificial intelligence (AI).
Continue reading...© Photograph: Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters
© Photograph: Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters
We are raiding the Guardian Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors.
This week, from 2021: Much progress has been made in attitudes towards sexual equality and gender identity – but in many places a dramatic backlash by conservative forces has followed.
By Mark Gevisser
Continue reading...© Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
© Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
No evidence of gross human rights violations, says state department; formerly far-right group are heroes in Ukraine for Mariupol’s defence. What we know on day 840
Continue reading...© Photograph: Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA
© Photograph: Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA
German exports of cars to Kyrgyzstan are up 5,100% since the start of the Ukraine war – with other routes channelling luxury goods and computer chips
Since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the west has imposed thousands of sanctions on Russia, and handed it the dubious distinction of being the most heavily sanctioned country on Earth.
Targeting everything from the finances of individuals to the major industries of its economy, international sanctions have aimed to isolate Russian consumers, with major brands such as Apple and McDonald’s ceasing their operations in the country.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Ilya Naymushin/REUTERS
© Photograph: Ilya Naymushin/REUTERS
Enlarge / In this pool photo distributed by Sputnik agency, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un visit the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur region in 2023. An RD-191 engine is visible in the background. (credit: Vladimir Smirnov/Pool/AFP/Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin will reportedly visit North Korea later this month, and you can bet collaboration on missiles and space programs will be on the agenda.
The bilateral summit in Pyongyang will follow a mysterious North Korean rocket launch on May 27, which ended in a fireball over the Yellow Sea. The fact that this launch fell short of orbit is not unusual—two of the country's three previous satellite launch attempts failed. But North Korea's official state news agency dropped some big news in the last paragraph of its report on the May 27 launch.
The Korean Central News Agency called the launch vehicle a "new-type satellite carrier rocket" and attributed the likely cause of the failure to "the reliability of operation of the newly developed liquid oxygen + petroleum engine" on the first stage booster. A small North Korean military spy satellite was destroyed. The fiery demise of the North Korean rocket was captured in a video recorded by the Japanese news broadcaster NHK.
Ukrainian president appeals in Berlin for funding to repair and rebuild energy infrastructure and for defence
The Ukrainian president and his allies have used a major conference in Berlin to lobby international business for support in the country’s reconstruction and recovery efforts even as it continues to be bombarded by Russia.
Speaking at the Ukraine recovery conference, hosted by the German government, at which the topic of Ukraine’s survival was centre stage, Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that Europe’s peace was also at stake if his country was not able to protect and rebuild itself as it stood up to Russia.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Nadja Wohlleben/Reuters
© Photograph: Nadja Wohlleben/Reuters
Ukraine has fulfilled all necessary reform requirements to join bloc, European Commission president says
Russian tactical nuclear drills were made necessary by the tensions in Europe and the hostile actions of the US and European powers, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
Peskov told a briefing that drills such as the ones Russia is carrying out together with Belarus were normal practice.
Continue reading...© Photograph: John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images
Ukrainians claim hits on air defences in occupied Crimea; US, Poland and allies launch taskforce to counter Russian disinformation. What we know on day 839
Ukraine announced the appointment of Vadym Sukharevskyi as commander of drone forces, a newly created post. Sukharevskyi was already a deputy commander of the armed forces with responsibility for drones. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, decreed in February the creation of a separate branch of the armed forces devoted to drones and the order was endorsed last week by the government.
Ukraine’s military said it damaged three surface-to-air defence systems in Russian-occupied Crimea over Monday night. Missiles struck an S400 system in Dzhankoi and two S300 systems near Yevpatoriya and Chornomorske, resulting in “significant losses” for Russian air defences, Ukraine’s general staff said.
The Ukrainians claimed responsibility for an attack on the Novoshakhtinsk refinery in southern Russia on 5 June. “According to intelligence reports, as a result of the strike, the invaders lost 1.5m metric tonnes of oil and petroleum products, which amounts to about $540m,” said a statement issued by the Ukrainian military’s general staff. The Rostov governor, Vasily Golubev, told Interfax news agency that operations at Novoshakhtinsk suffered “significant disruptions” after a fire following a drone attack.
Ukraine may keep some of the F-16 fighter jets it is set to receive from its western allies at foreign bases to protect them from Russian strikes, said Serhii Holubtsov, head of aviation within Ukraine’s air force.
The US and Poland on Monday launched a multinational group based in Warsaw to counter Russian disinformation on the war in Ukraine. James Rubin, US special envoy, said the Ukraine Communications Group would involve around a dozen western representatives working to “promote accurate reporting of Russia’s full-scale invasion, amplify Ukrainian voices and expose Kremlin information manipulation”.
Nearly 90 countries and organisations, half from Europe, have confirmed attending the Swiss-hosted Ukraine peace summit over the weekend despite Russia’s refusal to participate in the conference, Switzerland’s president said.
Viola Amherd told reporters in the Swiss capital that the summit, on Saturday and Sunday, will aim to chart a path toward possible peace nearly 28 months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Zelenskiy arrived in Germany for a conference on Ukraine’s postwar recovery and talks with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz. Zelenskiy said measures concerning Ukraine’s energy sector, damaged by Russian air attacks, would be the priority, as well as continued military support, including air defences and joint manufacture of munitions, and the coordination of positions ahead of the “peace summit” to be hosted by Switzerland later in the week.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Liya Zaurbekova is just one of a cohort of Chechen women who have tried to escape a deeply sexist and oppressive life
Holed up inside a Moscow police station, Liya Zaurbekova realised that livestreaming an attempted abduction by her family might be the only path to staying alive.
In a series of public messages recorded on her phone from a toilet cubicle at the station on 16 May, the 19-year-old Chechen woman warned that if the crowd outside succeeded in taking her back to Chechnya, it could be the last time anyone would hear from her.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Screengrab from Liya Zaurbekova livestreaming after she realised the attempt to abduct her
© Photograph: Screengrab from Liya Zaurbekova livestreaming after she realised the attempt to abduct her
There are many topics up for healthy debate at the moment — yet we remain united against the Russian enemy
“I am concerned that people here are becoming more fatalistic, and care less about the danger,” says Gregory Scherban, a friend of mine, a Kharkiv resident and a volunteer helping the evacuation of those escaping the new Russian assault in the villages in north-east Ukraine.
I understand what he means. Walking with colleagues through northern Saltivka – once a populous residential area on the edge of Kharkiv that was hit by heavy shelling in the early stage of the war – we hear the sounds of explosions. I’m scared but my colleagues from the area are calm. “It’s too far away,” they say, casually. An air alert warns about further strikes, but the communal workers nearby continue repairing the road as if nothing is going on. The air alert can be on for dozens of hours at a time, so not resuming activity isn’t an option.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Andrii Marienko/AP
© Photograph: Andrii Marienko/AP
That risk is notoriously hard to predict. There’s no reliable procedure for assessment or solid evidence on which to base it
Warnings about nuclear escalation in Ukraine are now being issued with increasing frequency and urgency, due to dramatic changes in policy by some of Kyiv’s main western supporters.
Some European countries, including Britain, France, the United States and Germany, have changed course, giving Ukraine the green light to use their weapons against sites within Russia. The latter two limited their permission to Ukrainian strikes aimed at defending Kharkiv province – although, according one report, Joe Biden may even lift that geographic restriction, as well. These steps are responses to devastating Russian strikes on Ukraine, many from points beyond its reach.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Sergey Otroshko/AP
© Photograph: Sergey Otroshko/AP
Ukraine military says surface-to-air systems in Dzhankoi and anti-aircraft missile units in Chornomorske and Yevpatoria hit
Belarus said on Monday its army was taking part in the second stage of Russian exercises to practice the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons, Reuters reports.
The first phase of the drills, ordered by president Vladimir Putin, took place last month.
The Belarus defence ministry said the exercises were being held “in the interests of guaranteeing our own security” and were not intended as a threat to other countries.
© Photograph: Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images
Extensive retrospective celebrates the work of Boris Savelev, a leading independent Russian–Ukrainian photographer who first worked in the Soviet Union. He lived in Moscow before returning in 2010 to his native Ukraine, where he remained until moving to Spain as a refugee at the start of the 2022 invasion
© Photograph: Boris Savelev
© Photograph: Boris Savelev
Spy warez: Assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division Bryan Vorndran (pictured) might have the key to unscramble your files.
The post LockBit Victim? Ask FBI for Your Ransomware Key appeared first on Security Boulevard.
Google and Microsoft warn of elevated risks of cyber threats facing the 2024 Paris Olympics, especially from Russian threat actors.
The post Google, Microsoft: Russian Threat Actors Pose High Risk to 2024 Paris Olympics appeared first on SecurityWeek.
Enlarge / A visual from the fake documentary Olympics Has Fallen produced by Russia-affiliated influence actor Storm-1679. (credit: Microsoft)
Last year, a feature-length documentary purportedly produced by Netflix began circulating on Telegram. Titled “Olympics have Fallen” and narrated by a voice with a striking similarity to that of actor Tom Cruise, it sharply criticized the leadership of the International Olympic Committee. The slickly produced film, claiming five-star reviews from The New York Times, Washington Post, and BBC, was quickly amplified on social media. Among those seemingly endorsing the documentary were celebrities on the platform Cameo.
A recently published report by Microsoft (PDF) said the film was not a documentary, had received no such reviews, and that the narrator's voice was an AI-produced deep fake of Cruise. It also said the endorsements on Cameo were faked. The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Report went on to say that the fraudulent documentary and endorsements were only one of many elaborate hoaxes created by agents of the Russian government in a yearlong influence operation intended to discredit the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and deter participation and attendance at the Paris Olympics starting next month.
Other examples of the Kremlin’s ongoing influence operation include:
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