Russia is moving detained American basketball star Brittney Griner to a penal colony, her lawyers said Wednesday, drawing a sharp rebuke from the White House. Laughing, convicted of possession of a small quantity of cannabis oil and sentenced to nine years in prisonwas transferred from a detention center on November 4, her legal team said. … Read more
CNN — American basketball star Brittney Griner is in the process of being moved to a Russian penal colony, where she will serve the remainder of a nine-year drug-trafficking sentence that was upheld in late October. Griner “is now headed to a penal colony,” her lawyers said in a statement to CNN on Wednesday. “We … Read more
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s president has hinted at the possibility of peace talks with Russia, a shift from his earlier refusal to negotiate with President Vladimir Putin that came on the eve of crucial U.S. elections. Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the international community late Monday to “force Russia into real peace talks” and listed … Read more
CNN — Russian troops have condemned an “incomprehensible battle” in Donetsk after apparently suffering heavy casualties during a week of intense fighting in the central eastern region of Ukraine. Moscow has been trying to break through Kyiv’s defenses around the town of Pavlivka for at least the past seven days, but appears to have made … Read more
Press play to listen to this article There is growing anxiety about what Tuesday’s US midterm elections could mean for Ukraine and US support for the country, amid fears that a Republican surge could weaken US support for Kiev. Ukrainian officials and lawmakers are scrutinizing the polls and analyzing the comments of their colleagues. “We … Read more
Press play to listen to this article Elon Musk has gained some new superfans: Russia, China and the Islamic State. After the world’s richest man bought Twitter for $44 billion last month, officials and journalists with ties to Russia and China — and even some jihadists — urged him to lift restrictions on their use … Read more
CNN — A branch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has announced that it will allow its churches to celebrate Christmas on December 25 instead of January 7, as is traditional in Orthodox congregations. The announcement by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, headquartered in Kiev, widens the rift between the Russian Orthodox Church and other Orthodox believers … Read more
Kyiv, Ukraine CNN — Russian forces have stepped up their investigation of civilians in occupied areas in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region and detained locals to stamp out guerrilla resistance, according to the Ukrainian military. In the occupied city of Kherson, Russian troops are now mostly wearing civilian clothes and living in civilian housing as they … Read more
CNN — Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Kremlin-linked oligarch known as “Vladimir Putin’s chef,” appeared to admit Russian interference in the US election in a Telegram post on Monday. Prigozhin said Russia has interfered, is interfering and will continue to interfere in the US democratic process, in response to a reporter’s question about Russia potentially interfering in … Read more
Editor’s note: Warning: This story contains disturbing images. Brashkivka, Ukraine CNN — Before the war, dressed in “Red Army” garb, Leonid Bondar re-enacted major Soviet battles of WWII – where they were fought, who won them and who fell where – all the facts he knew intimately. His job at Ukraine’s Museum of War History … Read more