Russia

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Russian Court Jails US Citizen for 5 Years

'This is an obvious set-up to get another American they can trade,' Chuck Zimmerman's sister says

(Newser) - A Russian court has convicted and sentenced an American citizen on charges of illegally transporting weapons, court officials revealed Monday. Chuck Zimmerman, 58, was handed a five-year sentence by a court in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi after a firearm was found on his yacht in June, the...

Woman Accused of Luring Recruits to Russia's Front Lines

Foreign students, laborers allege deception, threats at the hands of Polina Azarnykh, per BBC probe

(Newser) - A construction worker's passport going up in flames has become a symbol of one woman's apparent mission to funnel foreign men into Russia's war in Ukraine and leave them stuck there. Per a BBC investigation, "Omar," a 26-year-old Syrian who spoke under a pseudonym, says...

Trump: Tariffs Over Greenland Start Feb. 1

Rate will rise to 25% unless a deal is struck for US takeover by June 1, post says

(Newser) - As demonstrators in Greenland and Denmark protested his coveting of their territory, President Trump announced Saturday that he's levying new tariffs on European nations that will remain in effect until the US takes ownership of Greenland. Posting on Truth Social, Trump said he's imposing a 10% tariff on...

The Obstacle to Peace in Ukraine? Not Putin, Trump Says

Kremlin backs the view that Zelensky is the hurdle, which reportedly runs counter to US intel agencies

(Newser) - Blame for the stalled Ukraine peace talks, President Trump says, lies in Kyiv—not Moscow. In an Oval Office interview with Reuters , Trump asserted that Vladimir Putin is "ready to make a deal" to end Russia's nearly four-year invasion, and that it is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who...

Finland Makes Big Move on Land Mines

After treaty exit, country plans to start producing advanced mines

(Newser) - Finland is formally stepping back into the landmine business. The country's military said Wednesday it will begin buying anti-personnel mines and training professional soldiers, conscripts, and reservists to use them, following Helsinki's exit from the international treaty that bans such weapons. Finland's withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention...

Report: Pentagon Has Possible Havana Syndrome Weapon

Testing underway on backpack-sized device purchased by Biden administration: CNN

(Newser) - The Pentagon has identified a possible hardware suspect behind Havana syndrome, the supposed mystery ailment that's dogged US personnel for nearly a decade—and it reportedly paid eight figures to get its hands on it. CNN reports a Homeland Security unit quietly bought a backpack-sized device that emits pulsed...

Kyiv Mayor Tells Residents to Leave Due to Heat Issues

Meanwhile, Russia launched its new ballistic missile at capital, killing at least 4

(Newser) - Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles in a large-scale overnight attack, officials said Friday, killing at least four people in the capital. The intense barrage and launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile came days after Ukraine and its allies reported major progress toward agreeing on...

US Seizes a Fifth Oil Tanker: 'No Safe Haven for Criminals'

US boards Olina in search for sanctioned Venezuelan oil, heightening tensions with Russia

(Newser) - US forces have quietly expanded their hunt for sanctioned Venezuelan oil , boarding a fifth tanker early Friday as part of a growing maritime crackdown with global implications. US officials say the latest target is the Olina, an East Timor-flagged ship previously known as the Minerva M and under US sanctions...

France Exchanges Russian Wanted by US for Jailed Academic

Laurent Vinatier was accused of espionage

(Newser) - A French academic jailed in Russia is back home after a prisoner exchange that sent a Russian basketball player wanted by the US back to Moscow. French President Emmanuel Macron said researcher Laurent Vinatier, 49, returned to France after being pardoned by Vladimir Putin and exchanged for Russian athlete Daniil...

US Seizes Oil Tanker Russia Had Been Protecting

Russia sent escorts for the rechristened Marinera, which had been pursued by US Coast Guard

(Newser) - The US on Wednesday moved in on a Russian-flagged oil tanker tied to Venezuela and managed to seize it. The New York Times reports the US military's European Command on X confirmed the "seizure of the M/V Bella 1 for violations of US sanctions. The vessel was seized...

World Leaders React to Decision to Seize Maduro

Kremlin urges dialogue, denounces Trump's Venezuela strike as unlawful

(Newser) - Russia quickly sided with its ally on Saturday, blasting Washington's military move in Venezuela. Moscow said Venezuela must be allowed to decide its own path "without destructive external interference, particularly of a military nature" and offered to facilitate dialogue between Washington and Caracas, per the Wall Street Journal ...

CIA: Ukraine Did Not Direct Drones to Putin's Home

US reported assessment undercuts Putin claim, bolsters Ukraine's denial

(Newser) - US intelligence has found there's no truth to Russia's Monday claim that Ukraine tried—and failed—to hit Vladimir Putin's residence in northern Russia with a swarm of drones, according to US officials cited by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times . The Journal's source...

Finland Seizes Ship, Crew After Undersea Cable Damage

Investigators suspect sabotage of Helsinki-Estonia undersea telecom link

(Newser) - Finnish authorities have hauled in a Russian-linked cargo ship they suspect of ripping through an undersea data line in the increasingly tense Baltic Sea. Border guards ordered the Fitburg into Finnish waters on Wednesday as investigators looked into damage to a telecom cable connecting Helsinki and Estonia. Helsinki Police Chief...

Russians Blast NYE Plan to Cut Mobile Internet

'Security' justification draws ridicule amid growing censorship, dependence on apps

(Newser) - Ringing in 2026 by ringing a doorbell instead of a phone may be in store for millions of Russians. A senior lawmaker warned on Wednesday that mobile internet could be shut off in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other regions on New Year's Eve for "security" purposes, prompting a...

Russia's Powerful New Missiles Now Stationed in Belarus

Oreshnik system can deliver nukes

(Newser) - As the Russia-Ukraine peace talks continue, Vladimir Putin is flexing. Russia and Belarus unveiled images and video of Moscow's powerful new Oreshnik missile systems being set up at undisclosed locations in Belarus' forests, reports Reuters . The missiles are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and Putin has boasted that they...

Trump Offers Ukraine 15-Year Security Guarantee

Zelensky is pushing for up to 50 years

(Newser) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says President Trump has offered a security pledge that would last for 15 years, but Ukraine is pushing for longer. On Monday, the day after a meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort , Zelensky said Trump proposed US-backed security guarantees for 15 years after the war ends,...

Trump, Zelensky Emerge From Meeting Sounding Optimistic

But security guarantees, Donbas status, and Russian buy-in still unresolved

(Newser) - US President Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, emerged from a high-profile meeting in Florida Sunday sounding cautiously upbeat about a possible path to end Russia's war in Ukraine, while acknowledging that the hardest issues are still unresolved and Russia has not signed on. Speaking alongside the Ukrainian...

Zelensky Is Headed to Mar-a-Lago
Zelensky
Is Headed
to Mar-a-Lago
Dec 26, 2025 6:18 AM CST

Zelensky Is Headed to Mar-a-Lago

'A lot can be decided before the new year,' says Ukraine leader before expected Trump meeting

(Newser) - Ukraine's leader says he's about to sit down with President Trump again as talks to end the Russia-Ukraine war intensify. "We have agreed on a meeting at the highest level—with President Trump in the near future," wrote Volodymyr Zelensky on social media. "A lot...

Russian Court Sentences Opposition Movement Leader

Sergei Udaltsov denounces verdict, receives 6-year prison term

(Newser) - A court in Russia on Thursday convicted a pro-war activist and critic of President Vladimir Putin of justifying terrorism and sentenced him to six years in prison. Sergei Udaltsov, the leader of the Left Front movement that opposes Putin and is affiliated with the Communist Party, was arrested last year....

Reindeer Herders on Record Wolf Attacks: Blame Russia

Finnish herders say war effort is turning hunters into soldiers, allowing wolf population to surge

(Newser) - Reindeer are turning up dead in northern Finland, and one longtime herder thinks the trail leads all the way to the battlefields of Ukraine. In Kuusamo, near the Russian border, fourth-generation herder and tourism operator Juha Kujala says he now finds carcasses almost every day, mostly females that are vital...

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