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Turkey’s Erdogan: Russia’s Putin willing to end war

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According to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a “major move” will be taken to put an end to the war that Russia’s leader started in Ukraine. He claimed that based on recent conversations with Vladimir Putin, he intended to “finish this as quickly as possible.”

This month, Ukraine has reclaimed large portions of its land. The Turkish president said that Russia was facing “quite a dilemma.” At a summit in Uzbekistan last week, Mr. Erdogan mentioned having “extremely deep discussions” with Mr. Putin.

The Turkish president claimed in an interview with US channel PBS that he had the idea that the Russian president wanted the war to finish quickly.

He is genuinely demonstrating to me his willingness to put a stop to this as quickly as possible, Mr. Erdogan remarked. That was my impression because of how bad things are now going.

He added that the two sides would shortly exchange 200 “hostages.” He did not elaborate on who would be involved in such a prisoner exchange.

Mr. Erdogan has often attempted to negotiate during the conflict, advocating for Turkey as a Nato member to take a “balanced” approach while rejecting Western sanctions against Russia. He stated last week that he was attempting to set up direct ceasefire talks. He assisted the UN in mediating the restart of food exports from Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has regained some of the area that Russian soldiers had taken two months earlier in the eastern region of Luhansk. Serhiy Haidai, the mayor of Luhansk, claimed that although Russian forces had left the settlement of Bilohorivka, they were still making every effort to fortify their positions elsewhere.

Along with taking back a large portion of the northeastern Kharkiv region, Ukrainian forces have started a counteroffensive in Kherson in the south, forcing the territory’s Russian-installed governor to postpone a referendum on joining Russia.

When asked by PBS if a peace agreement should include any area that Russia had seized since February, Mr. Erdogan responded, “No, and without a doubt no.”

He added that Ukraine would receive its seized regions back. It was unclear if he also mentioned areas controlled by separatists backed by Russia since 2014.

When asked if Russia should be allowed to retain control of Crimea, which it acquired in 2014, Mr. Erdogan responded that since then, Turkey had been in contact with Mr. Putin regarding this.

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Putin will not attend Gorbachev’s funeral

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The Kremlin has confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the funeral of Mikhail Gorbachev, the final leader of the Soviet Union. Putin’s work schedule will prevent him from attending the ceremony on Saturday, according to spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Gorbachev passed away on Tuesday at the age of 91, and he said that the Russian president had paid his respects at the hospital in Moscow. Although Gorbachev’s reforms contributed to the end of the Cold War, Mr. Putin grieved the fall of the Soviet Union. The dissolution of the USSR, according to the Russian president in 2005, was “the greatest geopolitical calamity of the [20th] Century.”

However, Mr. Putin struck a more amiable tone in his condolence telegram to Gorbachev’s family on Wednesday, referring to him as “a leader and statesman who had a major impact on the course of world history.” On Thursday, Mr. Putin was seen on Russian state television laying red roses next to Gorbachev’s casket at the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow.

There will be other noticeable absences from the burial besides Mr. Putin. In response to Western sanctions implemented as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many of the foreign leaders who would have been anticipated to participate are temporarily prohibited from entering Russian territory. Top politicians from the US, UK, EU, Japan and Canada are among those on the exclusion list, including US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as well as the two candidates vying to succeed him, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.

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Putin orders 10% boost in Russian troop numbers

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The president of Russia has signed a directive that might result in the addition of 137,000 soldiers to the armed forces of the nation in the upcoming months. Russia is currently limited to having slightly over a million military troops and about 900,000 civilian employees.

The announcement by Vladimir Putin coincides with a nationwide recruitment campaign that offers generous financial incentives. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine six months ago, 70–80,000 troops have reportedly died or been injured, according to Western officials. According to accounts, recruiters have even gone to prisons and made financial and freedom promises to convicts.

A new army corps is likely to be composed of the volunteer battalions that are being established in different Russian areas, according to a statement made by the UK Ministry of Defence two weeks ago.

However, it noted that recruiting the necessary number of soldiers would be challenging due to “extremely limited levels of popular excitement for enlisting for combat in Ukraine.”

When it invaded Ukraine in February, Russia had initially predicted a swift, successful campaign, but the country’s staunch opposition has slowed its advance, and in recent weeks, the front lines have barely shifted.

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Darya Dugina: Daughter of Putin ally killed in Moscow blast

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A suspected vehicle bombing has claimed the life of a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s. According to Russia’s investigating committee, Darya Dugina, 29, perished following an explosion on a road outside of Moscow.

As “Putin’s brain,” the Russian scholar Alexander Dugin, her father may have been the intended victim of the assault. Mr. Dugin is a well-known advocate of ultra-nationalism who is thought to be close to the Russian president. The philosopher was giving a talk at a festival close to Moscow when Alexander Dugin and his daughter attended.

At the Zakharovo estate, where Russian poet Alexander Pushkin once stayed, the “Tradition” festival bills itself as a family outing for art enthusiasts. The two were scheduled to depart the location on Saturday night in the same automobile, but Mr. Dugin apparently decided to go his own way at the last minute.

Unconfirmed video that was uploaded to Telegram appears to show Mr. Dugin staring in disbelief as emergency personnel arrive at the scene of the smouldering wreck of a car. Investigators have determined that Ms. Dugina passed away at the spot close to Bolshiye Vyazemy.

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Putin compares himself to Peter the Great, a Russian tsar from the 18th century

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Vladimir Putin’s admiration for Peter the Great is well-known, but he now appears to have his own notions of “Greatness.”

He has openly compared himself to the Russian tsar, equating Russia’s invasion of Ukraine today with Peter’s expansionist wars three centuries ago, and admitting that his own war is a land grab in his strongest statement yet. Mr Putin’s apparent empire-building ambitions are bad news for Ukraine, and his comments have enraged other neighbours, including Estonia, which called them “completely unacceptable.”

When the remarks were made, Russia’s president was meeting with young scientists and entrepreneurs. Prior to discussing IT and tech development, he discussed politics and power, specifically the new battle for geopolitical dominance that he sees. He told his small audience that Peter the Great was a role model in that speech.

“You might think he was fighting with Sweden, seizing their lands,” Mr Putin said, referring to Peter’s Northern Wars, which he launched as he forged a new Russian Empire at the turn of the 18th century. “But he didn’t seize anything; he reclaimed it!” he argued, pointing out that Slavs had lived in the area for centuries.

Mr Putin concluded, “It appears it has fallen to us, too, to reclaim and strengthen,” with a near-smirk that made it clear he was referring to Ukraine and his goals there. He claimed that Peter’s rule was proof that Russia had grown stronger as a result of its expansion.

Mr Putin has been citing Russia’s past a lot lately, and it’s always been carefully curated to suit his current cause. He wrote a massive essay several months before launching his attack on Ukraine in which he essentially argued against the country’s historical right to exist. When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Putin falsely claimed that the invasion was a “special operation” limited to the eastern Donbas region in order to “de-Nazify” Ukraine and reduce the perceived threat to Russia.

Putin is selective in his use of history. Though a ruthless autocrat, Peter the Great was a huge admirer of Western ideas, science, and culture, famously constructing St Petersburg as a “window on Europe” and travelling the continent in search of knowledge to aid Russia’s modernization.

Putin’s increasingly repressive rule gradually shut that window to the West, and the war in Ukraine has slammed it shut completely. The idea of a Russian leader visiting Holland or Greenwich in search of ideas and inspiration, as the Tsar did in the past, now seems implausible. A series of words flashed up behind them as Putin lectured the young entrepreneurs on an 18th century tsar: ‘future,’ ‘confident,’ and ‘victory.’

In the face of Western condemnation and sanctions, Russia is determined to project defiance, and Putin himself appeared relaxed rather than threatened. However, history may have taught us something else.

From the Baltics to the Black Sea, Peter the Great eventually conquered land. Russia, on the other hand, had been fighting its Great Northern War for 21 years.

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Ukraine war: Putin warns Finland joining Nato would be ‘mistake’

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President Vladimir Putin of Russia has warned Finland’s Prime Minister Juha Sipila that joining Nato and abandoning its neutral status would be a “mistake.”

He assured Sauli Niinistö that Finland’s security was unaffected.  The conversation took place during a phone call by Finland’s president, ahead of a formal request that Finland is expected to make soon.

Finland and Russia share a 1,300-kilometer (810-mile) border. To avoid antagonising its eastern neighbour, it has stayed out of Nato until now. Mr Putin did not directly threaten retaliation in response to Finland’s move, but the Russian foreign ministry has indicated that retaliation will occur.

However, Russia’s decision to halt electricity supplies to Finland is being interpreted as a precursor. RAO Nordic, a Russian energy supplier, mentioned payment issues in its statement.

Reima Paivinen, the head of Finland’s national grid, told the BBC that the Russian suspension had caused no problems.
He claimed that Russian imports made up about 10% of the country’s supply, but that they could be replaced with alternative sources.

The Kremlin said after Mr Niinistö’s phone call with Mr Putin on Saturday that the Russian leader had stressed that “ending the traditional policy of military neutrality would be a mistake because there is no threat to Finland’s security.” “Such a shift in the country’s political orientation could have a negative impact on Russian-Finnish relations, which have been built over many years in a spirit of good neighbourliness and cooperation between partners,” it continued.

Mr Niinistö said he told Mr Putin about how Russia’s recent actions, combined with the invasion of Ukraine, “have changed the security environment of Finland.”

“The conversation was direct and to-the-point, and it was carried out without a hitch. The importance of avoiding tensions was emphasised “he said.

Turkey could be a stumbling block to Sweden and Finland joining Nato, after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused both countries of harbouring “terrorist organisations” and said he did not support their membership applications.

It was interpreted as a reference to the PKK, which Turkey considers to be a terrorist organisation. The PKK has been fighting Turkey for a Kurdish homeland for decades.

In 1949, Nato, a Western military alliance, was formed in part to counter the Soviet Union’s threat.

One of the reasons for the invasion of Ukraine, according to President Putin, is Ukraine’s desire to join the alliance.

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Ukraine war: Putin preparing for long haul, US intelligence says

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According to US intelligence, Vladimir Putin is preparing for a long war in Ukraine, with even a victory in the east potentially not ending the conflict.

The warning comes as fighting rages in the east, where Russia is attempting to seize territory. After Ukraine resisted attempts to take its capital, Kyiv, Moscow refocused its troops on capturing the Donbas region.

Despite this, US intelligence reports that its forces are stuck in a stalemate. Mr Putin still intends “to achieve goals beyond the Donbas,” according to Avril Haines, director of national intelligence, who testified before a US Senate committee on Tuesday, but he “faces a mismatch between his ambitions and Russia’s current conventional military capabilities.”

She went on to say that Putin was “likely” counting on US and EU support for Ukraine to dwindle as inflation, food shortages, and energy prices rose. As the war continues, Russian President Vladimir Putin may resort to “more drastic measures,” though nuclear weapons would only be used if Russia faced a “existential threat.”

At the same hearing, Director of the Defence Intelligence Agency Scott Berrier stated that Russia and Ukraine were “at a bit of a stalemate.”

Ukraine claims to have recaptured four settlements in the north-eastern Kharkiv region in recent fighting.

Ukraine’s armed forces claim to have reclaimed Cherkasy Tyshky, Ruski Tyshky, Rubizhne, and Bayrak from Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy claimed that Ukrainian victories were gradually pushing Russian forces out of Kharkiv, which has been bombarded since the conflict began.

“We should not create an atmosphere of excessive moral pressure, where victories are expected weekly, if not daily,” he said.

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Russia-Ukraine war: European Union likely to sanction Vladimir Putin’s alleged girlfriend Alina Kabaeva

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Alina Kabaeva, the alleged girlfriend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is named in the sixth proposed package of European Union sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Kabaeva, who has been romantically linked to Putin, was included in a proposed EU sanctions list, according to two European diplomatic sources.

At this point, names can be removed or added at the discretion of member states, and it is expected to be a point of negotiation when a new sanctions package is proposed, according to an EU Commission source. The EU has not yet given its approval to the draught proposal. “There are ongoing discussions. It won’t be easy, but we’ll have to wait and see “On Friday morning, one of the diplomatic sources said.

Kabaeva, who was born in 1983, was first linked to Putin when she was a medal-winning gymnast more than a decade ago. Putin, who is divorced, has denied ever dating her. Kabaeva and Putin are said to have met when she was a young gymnast competing in European competitions and at the Olympic Games. At the 2004 Athens Games, she won the gold medal in rhythmic gymnastics.

She was selected as one of the torch bearers when Russia hosted the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia in 2014, an event that occurred shortly before Russia illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.Since the start of the Ukrainian conflict, the EU has increased its economic sanctions against Russia. Recently, the EU proposed a ban on Russian oil imports, which would have a significant impact on Russia’s economy, though Hungary, an EU member with close ties to Putin, is likely to sabotage any such plans.

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Zhirinovsky, Putin’s ultranationalist ally and clown, has died at the age of 75

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Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a Russian ultranationalist politician, died at the age of 75, after a career marked by fiery remarks and absurd antics.

He ran for president six times and was a member of the official opposition that President Vladimir Putin tolerated. He appeared to predict Russia’s attack on Ukraine in December. He claimed to have received eight doses of Covid-19 vaccine. After being admitted to the hospital with pneumonia, he contracted coronavirus and died a few weeks later.

After two earlier reports had been discounted, parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin finally confirmed his death on Wednesday.

“A man who deeply understood how the world works and foresaw a lot,” he said of Zhirinovsky, who was always in the thick of things. During his more than 30-year political career, Zhirinovsky’s brand of clownish ultranationalism shocked and entertained Russians.

He claimed in the early 1990s that he fantasised about the day “when Russian soldiers will be able to wash their boots in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean.” In one of his final appearances before MPs, he predicted that Russia would invade Ukraine and predicted the date almost to the minute.

From the Baltics and Germany to Japan and the Middle East, he faced similar threats throughout his career. When he threw juice in the face of a political rival, Boris Nemtsov, during a TV debate, he became famous around the world.

He ran a Soviet state-approved Jewish cultural organisation before entering politics. His Liberal Democratic Party of Russia was the country’s first official post-communist political party, and he was widely regarded as a Soviet stooge at the time. When his party won Russia’s first democratic elections in 1993, Russians and the rest of the world were stunned.

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Russia Ukraine War: In Kharkiv, a Holocaust survivor was killed by Russian shelling

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During a Russian attack on the eastern city of Kharkiv, a Ukrainian man who survived the Nazi Holocaust during WWII was killed. Boris Romantschenko, 96, died on Friday as a result of Russian shelling of his apartment block, according to relatives.

For more than three weeks, Russian forces have been shelling Kharkiv, which is only 30 miles (50 kilometres) from the Russian border. According to Ukrainian officials, at least 500 civilians have been killed there. One of the victims has been identified as a nine-year-old boy, according to police. Mr Romantschenko’s death has left the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation “deeply disturbed.”

After being informed by his family, the organisation, of which Mr Romantschenko was vice-president, announced the news, saying he had “worked intensely on the memory of Nazi crimes.” “We are saddened by the death of a close friend. We send our heartfelt condolences to his son and granddaughter, who broke the sad news to us “The statement of the foundation has been added. Mr. Romantschenko’s death comes more than three weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to justify his invasion by telling the Russian people that his goal was to “de-Nazify Ukraine.” These claims have been condemned by Western leaders, who have pointed out that Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is Jewish.

Mr. Romantschenko was born on January 20, 1926, in the north-eastern city of Bondari. Following the invasion of the Soviet Union, he was apprehended by Nazi troops and deported to Germany in 1942, where he was forced to work as a slave, according to the foundation. Following a failed escape attempt in 1943, he was sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp, where 56,545 people were murdered before the allies liberated the camp in 1945.

He was also stationed in the Mittelbau-Dora subcamp, as well as the notorious Bergen Belsen and Peenemünde camps.

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