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Kyiv’s forces shoot down 26 drones overnight as Russian president says suggestion of attacks on nearby Nato states is ‘drivel’Russian president Vladimir Putin’s foreign intelligence chief paid a visit to North Korea this week to deepen bilateral cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang and discuss broader regional security, Russia’s spy service said on Thursday according to Reuters.Sergei Naryshkin, the head the SVR, Russia’s foreign intelligence...

Head of Ukrainian air force says they were able to shoot down 10 out of 13 drones launched overnight by Moscow’s forcesKyrgyzstan’s foreign ministry has urged citizens of the central Asian nation to put off unnecessary travel to Russia following the Crocus City Hall terror attack, Reuters reports.The massacre has increased existing anti-immigrant sentiment in Russia, especially towards migrant labourers from the predominantly Muslim...

Footage of four gunmen appears to support Islamic State’s claim that it masterminded the worst terrorist attack in Russia in two decades. But the Kremlin has put Ukraine in the frame. Andrew Roth reportsThe attack on Crocus concert hall near Moscow was the worst act of terrorism carried out in Russia in more than 20 years. More than 130 people were killed after gunmen...

Islamic State released footage of Friday’s deadly attack, even as Russia sought to blame Ukraine, which Kyiv deniesAFP journalists have reported hearing several explosions in the centre of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, as officials urged residents there to take shelter.The explosions sounded at about 10:30am (0830 GMT) after almost a dozen people were injured in a Russian drone strike on southern Ukraine overnight and...

Footage of gunmen reinforces Islamic State’s claim to have masterminded worst terror attack on Russia in two decadesFour suspects have appeared in court in Moscow charged over the terrorist attack on the Crocus City concert hall on Friday that left 137 people dead.The men were officially identified as citizens of Tajikistan, the Tass state news agency said, and were remanded in custody for two...

Russian president informed that 11 suspects have been held as the death toll continues to climbFull story: shootings and fire at Moscow venueState-owned media RIA reports that so many people have turned up to donate blood after the attack that the Buyanov hospital in Moscow has had to ask people to return in the following days.Maia Sandu, the president of Moldova, has posted to...

This blog has closed, read our full report here: Full story: shootings and fire at Moscow venueThe roof of Crocus City Hall where gunfire and flames were heard and seen on Friday night is collapsing, RIA reports.Here are videos emerging through social media: Continue reading...

Islamic State claims responsibility after gunmen in combat gear opened fire and reportedly set off explosives at Crocus City HallMoscow concert hall attack: what we know so farAt least 93 people have been killed and 145 wounded in Russia’s worst terror attack in years, as gunmen in combat fatigues opened fire and detonated explosives in a major concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow.State...

The ISKP regional affiliate has a haven in Afghanistan and carried out recent bombings in Iran, suggesting it has capacity for major atrocitiesMoscow concert hall attack: latest updatesAt least 40 killed and more than 140 wounded in Moscow concert hall attackSpeculation about who carried out the shooting at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow has quickly indicated that the terror attack will have outsized...

Sixty people have been killed and scores wounded, according to authorities, after gunmen opened fire at Crocus City Hall. Islamic State has claimed responsibilityMoscow attack – latest updatesDozens of people have reportedly been killed and scores wounded in an attack at a concert venue near Moscow.Here is what we know about the shooting so far:Gunmen opened fire at the 6,200-seat Crocus City Hall in...

No risk of dam breach, Ukraine’s state hydropower company says, after Russian on dam in ZaporizhzhiaRussia regards itself to be in a state of war due to the West’s intervention on Ukraine’s side, the TASS news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying, Reuters reported.The EU is set to impose a tariff of up to 50% on Russia grain imports amid fears that...

Ukraine could receive the first €1bn of interest on the sequestered assets by early JulyEU leaders have agreed in principle to commandeer a large majority of the profits generated from frozen Russian assets and give them to Ukraine.The proposal could generate €3bn (£2.6bn) this year and the first billion could be released to Ukraine by July, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen,...

Prime ministers to examine plans to confiscate billions of euros in interest from frozen Russian assets and send the money to KyivEU leaders are to meet in Brussels to discuss ways to radically increase military and financial support for Ukraine amid calls for member states to put their economies “on a war footing”.Fuelled by what one diplomat said was a new “sense of urgency...

Pair are accused of roles in ‘extremist organisation’ and could face up to 10 years in prisonA Russian court has ordered two bar workers to be placed in custody, accusing them of roles in an “extremist organisation”, under new legislation criminalising the LGBTQ+ community.It is the first criminal case of its kind since Russia banned the so-called “international LGBT movement” in November. Continue reading...

Ukraine’s commander-in-chief says drones could give country ‘qualitative advantage’; Putin to travel to China in May, sources sayMoldova expelled a Russian diplomat over the opening of polling stations for Russia’s presidential election in its breakaway region of Transnistria, the foreign ministry said after summoning the Russian ambassador on Tuesday.The ministry protested over the opening of the polling stations in Transnistria, a pro-Russian enclave that...

Report alleges that candidate asked Hungary to help arrange visit to Moscow in 2020 – when prime minister – to boost popularitySlovakia risks moving further away from the west, government critics have warned, as a report alleged that a presidential candidate aligned with the country’s populist prime minister, Robert Fico, had previously sought an invitation to Russia to boost his position at home.Slovaks will...

One site tweeted of monarch’s purported demise only to later concede: ‘Most likely, the information is fake’The news broke in the Russian media on Monday afternoon. King Charles III was dead. He was not, but no one really had time to check the details. The saga of the royal family finally had its latest twist: a viral Russian disinformation angle.The rumour went into overdrive...

German foreign ministry says ‘Putin’s rule is authoritarian’ while UK foreign secretary says ‘this is not what free and fair elections look like’Here is a video of Vladimir Putin’s election victory speech, in which he vowed to prioritise what he called Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.Vladimir Putin faced no meaningful contest after the authorities barred two candidates who had voiced their opposition to...

Russian president uses victory speech to say war in Ukraine and strengthening military will be his main tasksVladimir Putin has claimed a landslide victory in Russia’s presidential vote, as thousands in the country and around the world protested against his deepening dictatorship, the war in Ukraine and a stage-managed election that could have only one winner.In a vote denounced by the United States as...

Re-elected Russian president makes first public comment on death of opposition leader, which he calls ‘sad event’Vladimir Putin has claimed he had agreed to a prisoner swap involving Alexei Navalny before the opposition leader’s sudden death in an Arctic prison last month.Speaking in central Moscow after early results indicated he had won Russia’s presidential election in a landslide, Putin said unnamed people made an...

Voters turn out at midday from the UK to Latvia and Turkey to Thailand in action Alexei Navalny endorsed before his deathThe queue to vote at the Russian embassy stretched for more than half a mile along Kensington Gardens on Sunday as hundreds of Russians arrived at midday as part of a worldwide act of protest to show their opposition to Vladimir Putin and...

Critics of Vladimir Putin call for protests at polling stations on Sunday, in a presidential election he is guaranteed to winRussia responds to Macron’s ceasefire request with weapons demandRussia’s response to Emmanuel Macron’s request for a ceasefire in Ukraine during the Olympic games has been to ask France to stop supplying weapons to the country. Continue reading...

More than 75 injured in Black Sea city during deadliest attack on Ukrainian civilian area in weeksUkraine war – live updatesA Russian ballistic missile attack has killed at least 20 people and injured more than 75 in the Black Sea city of Odesa, Ukrainian officials have said.President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia would receive a “fair response” from Ukrainian forces for what he said was...

Longtime Russian leader faces no meaningful opposition after death in Arctic penal colony of Alexei NavalnyVoters in Russia headed to the polls across the country’s 11 time zones on Friday in a three-day presidential election that is all but certain to extend Vladimir Putin’s 24-year rule until at least 2030.The longtime Russian leader is facing no meaningful opposition after the Russian authorities barred two...