Russia

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Is Vladimir Putin desperate enough to let China’s Xi Jinping get his way over Ukraine war?

Outwardly the summit in Moscow between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping is an attempt to send a strong signal to the West that the “partnership without limits” agreement – signed between the two men at the Beijing Winter Olympics on the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 – is still just that.

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Russian spy – or innocent abroad? Irish woman ordered out of Australia is no Kremlin agent, says expert

An American surveillance expert has dismissed as “baloney” suspicions that an Irish woman ordered to quit Australia could be a Russian spy.

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‘This is lives over tourism and at least they’re safe here’ – as Ukraine war rumbles on, hoteliers in the west are torn over whether to offer refugees a home

The stone-wall lined lanes that lace the Burren are busy again. Flat-capped men sit in the windscreens of tour buses, like wooden figureheads on the front of a ship, as they dominate the grass-marked roads and hairpin bends between Lisdoonvarna, Corofin, Gort and Kinvara.

Letters to the Editor Opinion Developers have no interest in doing the ‘dirty’ work

I really enjoyed the humour of Derek Ross’s letter (‘Leaders’ mixed messages over housing crisis make a mockery of despair felt by thousands’, Irish Independent, Letters, March 18) on his “confusion about the mixed messages” that our inspired leaders gave us around St Patrick’s Day. I am with him as he declares that thousands of our citizens and their children will be begging for a roof over their heads come the summer.

Putin protégé and mother of 23 children accused of leading Ukrainian child abduction drive

With her wavy, blonde hair, Russian Orthodox priest husband and 23 children (five biological, 18 adopted, including one from Mariupol) Maria Lvova-Belova is a Kremlin pin-up.

Putin: the world’s most wanted man set to meet China’s new ‘dealmaker’

Russian president Vladimir Putin yesterday travelled to Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of the Black Sea peninsula’s annexation from Ukraine — 24 hours after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader, accusing him of war crimes.

Letters to the Editor Opinion So which problems would be cured by legalising cannabis?

Sir — I understand moves are afoot to decriminalise the personal use of cannabis by getting a Citizens’ Assembly to rubberstamp the move.

Xi Jinping confirms trip to Russia as it emerges China is sending rifles

Chinese president Xi Jinping will embark on a three-day trip to Moscow in an apparent show of support for Vladimir Putin.

ICC seeking arrest of Putin over deportation of children

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant yesterday against Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegal deportation of children from Ukraine, in a move that caused outrage in the Kremlin.

Ukraine commander demoted after he revealed full scale of losses in Bakhmut

Ukraine has demoted a senior battlefield commander after he admitted his unit had taken heavy losses in fighting around the city of Bakhmut.

Putin’s war will escalate terribly unless we help Kyiv win soon

Poland and Slovakia are arming Kyiv with fighter jets. Russian warplanes are forcing American drones out of the skies. Chinese president Xi Jinping is visiting Moscow in a show of support for Vladimir Putin while Chinese companies are shipping assault weapons and body armour to Moscow’s troops. Putin’s war in Ukraine is headed into dangerous waters, and the potential for escalation with the West is higher now than at any point since the initial invasion.

‘It’s pretty darn obvious the jet hit it’ – US releases footage ‘exposing Moscow lies’ over downed drone

The United States yesterday released a declassified video showing Russia’s intercept of a US military surveillance drone downed over the Black Sea two days ago, images that the White House said exposed how Moscow was lying about what happened.

Poland to hand over MiG fighter jets to Ukraine ‘within the next few days’

Poland said yesterday it plans to give Ukraine about a dozen MiG-29 fighter jets, which would make it the first Nato member to fulfil Kyiv’s increasingly urgent requests for warplanes to defend itself against the Russian invasion.

‘Poisonous xenophobia’ – President Higgins confronts racism in St Patrick’s Day message, as Gardaí plan to prevent far-right disrupting parade

President Michael D Higgins has used his St Patrick’s Day message to condemn the growing rise of racism, forced migration, modern-day slavery and a “poisonous xenophobia”.

Russia tries to recover US drone ‘downed by jet’ in Black Sea

The Kremlin will try to recover the wreckage of an US drone that crashed into the Black Sea after being hit by a Russian fighter, a senior Russian official said yesterday.

Letters to the Editor Opinion Pouring a pint should be off the agenda for Joe Biden’s visit

It has almost become a cliche in our country for American presidents and other visiting dignitaries to be pictured with a pint.

exclusive ‘This isn’t a standard death, that a year on we can move on with our lives’ – Pierre Zakrzewski’s family say photojournalist was ‘murdered’

Photojournalist Pierre Zakrzewski (55) was covering the Ukrainian conflict with Fox News when a vehicle he was travelling in was hit during Russian shelling.

International Criminal Court to target Russian officials for forcibly deporting children from Ukraine

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is planning to seek the arrest of Russian officials for forcibly deporting children from Ukraine and targeting civilian infrastructure, a source said yesterday, on in what would be the first international war crimes cases arising from Moscow’s invasion.

Insurers win action to have Russian jet lease cases merged

Insurers led by AIG succeeded in their attempt to merge several lawsuits brought by aircraft lessors over outstanding claims for jets that have been left out of reach in Russia.

‘Confusing and concerning’ – No meeting of Irish nuclear advisory body for two years, despite threats from war and a volatile energy market

The State’s nuclear protection advisory committee has not met in nearly two years despite the volatile security situation at the Zaporizhzhia and Chernobyl power plants in Ukraine, as well as Russian threats to use nuclear weapons.

In Russia’s firing line, Poland spends big for a military ‘revolution’

Christmas came early for Captain Marek Adamiak and the troops of Poland’s 11th Artillery Regiment.

Russian soldiers mutiny as they send Vladimir Putin videos begging for him to save them from slaughter

Russians on the front lines are mutinying, fighting among themselves and getting lost in the chaos of a faltering offensive, videos and messages from inside Vladimir Putin’s army show.

Russia plotting insurrection to control Moldova, US says

Russia is trying to destabilise Moldova’s government and replace it with leadership more friendly toward Moscow, the White House has said.

Russia uses hypersonic missiles in overnight offensive that kills at least six civilians

Russia fired a huge wave of missiles across Ukraine on Thursday as people slept, killing at least six civilians and knocking out power in an attack Kyiv said included six Kinzhal hypersonic cruise missiles .

‘One day our luck will run out’ – Ukrainian nuclear plant in sixth near-miss after latest attack

Ukraine’s national grid operator said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station was reconnected to the grid yesterday, easing fears of a disaster after electricity to the plant was lost during Russian air strikes.

Ukraine’s ageing jets could get US missile upgrades in fight against Russia

US military officials are reportedly exploring whether Ukraine’s Soviet-era fighter jets can be armed with western air-to-air missiles that could enable them to shoot down Russian warplanes at long range.

Mystery over culprits behind Nordstream attack raises awkward questions for Volodymyr Zelensky

Since the Russian invasion began over a year ago, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has shown remarkable political skill in winning and maintaining the trust of his western allies.

‘A very bad development’ – second night of violence in Georgian capital over law ‘inspired by Kremlin’

Thousands of people staged a second straight day of protests in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, rallying outside parliament against a “foreign agents” law which critics say is inspired by the Kremlin and signals an authoritarian shift.

US report claims ‘pro-Ukrainian group’ sabotaged Nord Stream pipelines

New intelligence reviewed by US officials indicates that a pro-Ukrainian group sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines that carried natural gas from Russia to Europe, but they have found no evidence of Kyiv government involvement in the September 2022 attack, the New York Times reported yesterday.

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Ishaan Tharoor Opinion Ukraine war analysis: As victory for Vladimir Putin is looking increasingly less likely, what will be the Russian president’s next move?

More than a year into the war he launched in Ukraine, Russian president Vladimir Putin is confronted with failure.