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Russia-controlled Crimea has frozen fuel prices and imposed gasoline rationing in response to shortages resulting from a spate of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries. Regional governor Sergei Askyonov said on Monday that motorists in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, would be limited to buying 30 litres of fuel at a time. He also announced a 30-day price freeze on various grades of diesel and gasoline, a measure apparently designed to minimise public anger over the disruption. Aksyonov announced the move on social media, saying he had held a meeting with oil traders to seek solutions...

President Donald Trump is flexing new leverage in the war in Ukraine — allowing the nation to use U.S. weapons to strike deep into Russia, weighing whether to provide Kyiv with Tomahawk cruise missiles and vowing Ukraine can take back all its land — while pressing China and India to slash purchases Russian oil. Ukraine supporters are cheering the shift, noting that after months of frustration over the grinding conflict, Trump appears to be changing tactics. From a combative February meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to his declaration last week that Ukraine could reclaim all of its original territory, the...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russian forces are prevailing in what he said was a "righteous battle" in Ukraine. "Our fighters and commanders go on the attack, and the entire country, all of Russia, is waging this righteous battle and working hard," Putin said in a video published on the Kremlin's website. "Together we are defending our love for the Motherland and the unity of our historical destiny, we are fighting and we are prevailing."

Located between Ukraine and the EU member Romania, Moldova has received increased international media coverage since Russia's full-scale war invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. In addition to coverage of pro-EU and pro-Russia parties battling for parliamentary control, there has been increased international reporting on the internationally unrecognized Kremlin-aligned Republic of Transnistria in eastern Moldova. Meaning "land beyond the Dniester," the name Transnistria refers to the area along the eastern lower reaches of the Dniester River. At the end of the 18th century, the region it was annexed by the Russian Empire. During the Soviet era, Transnistria was initially...

Ukrainian drones on Saturday struck an oil pumping station in the Russian Volga riverside region of Chuvashia, causing the station to halt work, regional governor Oleg Nikolaev said in a statement posted on Telegram. Nikolaev said that the attack took place near the village of Konar, around 1200km (745 miles) from Ukrainian territory. He said there had been no casualties and only “minor damage” inflicted. Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in recent weeks targeting refineries and export terminals to reduce Moscow’s export revenues, stir domestic discontent and push the Kremlin to peace talks. The attacks...

More than 20 people have been rescued in Kenya from a suspected human trafficking ring that lured them with job offers in Russia but intended to send them to fight in Ukraine, police said. It follows an intelligence-led raid on a residential apartment on the outskirts of the capital, Nairobi, where officers seized recruitment materials, travel documents, and job offer letters. One suspect, accused of coordinating the victims' travel to Russia in September and October, has been arrested. He was taken to court, which allowed him to be detained for 10 days while the police complete their investigations. There have...

On Wednesday night, a Turning Point USA event at Virginia Tech honoring the late Charlie Kirk took an ugly turn. A male student stood up to ask popular podcaster Megyn Kelly if she was concerned about the growing, unseemly influence of “rich billionaire Jews” on American politics. “Did you say ‘rich billionaire Jews’?” an incredulous Kelly responded. “Yes,” the questioner said, as if this was a completely normal topic to bring up. It’s just one more example of the abnormal fixation younger Americans have on Israel and Jews. The young man seemed to be allied with the progressive left, which...

Russia has said it believes NATO is plotting a "landing" in Ukraine as part of a bid by the European Union to "occupy" Moldova. The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed NATO military units were massing in Romania close to the Moldovan border and were also planning a "landing" in Ukraine's Odesa region, according to TASS, Moscow's state news agency. Why It Matters Moldova goes to the polls on Sunday in a critical parliamentary election. The vote is seen as a stark choice for the country between a path to EU membership or closer ties with Moscow. Following Russia’s invasion...

Gasoline shortages in some regions of Russia have prompted the Kremlin to announce an extension of its ban on fuel exports. Ukrainian drone strikes on refinery facilities are believed to be a factor. The shortages surfaced in the Russian Far East and other areas last month, and have spread to the western Belgorod and Nizhny Novgorod regions. The governor of the Belgorod region said on social media on Wednesday that the government had received a number of questions about fuel supplies. The governor added that efforts are underway to keep the situation under control but there are problems. In areas...

The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recommended that its citizens immediately leave Belarus and refrain from traveling to the country, the Polish embassy in Minsk reported. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends refraining from any travel to the Republic of Belarus and calls on Polish citizens currently in the Republic of Belarus to immediately leave its territory, using available commercial and private means“, the embassy's press service said.

Poland has barred pro-Russian Moldovan politician Irina Vlah from entering the country for five years, the foreign ministry said on Thursday, accusing her of helping Moscow interfere in Moldova’s upcoming parliamentary elections. "Irina Vlah, a Moldovan politician who is assisting Russia in interfering with preparations for the parliamentary elections in Moldova, will be banned from entering Poland," the Polish foreign ministry said in a statement. Moldova is set to hold a high-stakes parliamentary vote on Sunday that could determine its European path. Officials in Chișinău and Western capitals have accused Moscow of trying to sway the outcome and undermine the...

Russia and China asked the United Nations Security Council to vote on Friday on a draft resolution to delay by six months the reimposition of sanctions on Iran, diplomats said. All U.N. sanctions on Iran are due to be reimposed at 8 p.m. EDT on Friday (0000 GMT on Saturday) after Britain, France and Germany triggered a 30-day process accusing Tehran of violating a 2015 deal with world powers aimed at preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon. A resolution in the 15-member U.N. Security Council needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by either Britain, France...

United States President Donald Trump expressed on Thursday his disappointment with Russian President Vladimir Putin, regarding the lack of progress toward resolving the war in Ukraine. "With all of the heavy bombardment over the last two weeks, they have gained almost no land. I'm not going to ever call anybody a paper tiger but Russia has spent millions and millions of dollars in bombs, missiles, ammunition and lives," Trump told journalists amid a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Oval Office.