Tag Archives: putin

Russia-Ukraine War: Kyiv becomes major target again, 11 killed in air strikes

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On Monday, Russia pounded cities across Ukraine during rush hour, killing civilians and knocking out power and heat, in apparent revenge strikes after President Vladimir Putin declared a blast on Russia’s bridge to Crimea to be a terrorist attack.

Cruise missiles tore into busy intersections, parks and tourist sites in the center of downtown Kyiv with an intensity unseen even when Russian forces attempted to capture the capital early in the war, reported Reuters.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he had ordered troops to deploy with Russian forces near Ukraine in response to what he said was a clear threat to Belarus from Kyiv and its backers in the West.

At least 11 people were reported killed and scores injured, with warning of even more “severe retaliation” in the event of further Ukrainian attacks. “Let there be no doubt,” Putin said in televised comments addressed to his security council, “if attempts at terrorist attacks continue, the response from Russia will be severe.”

Many of the locations hit by cruise missiles and kamikaze drones in the midst of the morning rush hour appeared to be solely civilian sites or key infrastructure, including the country’s electric grid, apparently chosen to terrorise Ukrainians.

As the scale of Monday morning’s assault emerged, Moscow faced a chorus of international condemnation with EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, saying such acts have “no place” in the 21st century”.

The UN’s secretary general, António Guterres, said he was “deeply shocked” by Russia’s most widespread air strikes since the start of the Ukraine war, a spokesperson said.

In a statement, the UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said:”This constitutes another unacceptable escalation of the war and, as always, civilians are paying the highest price.”

Due to the war, some 7.6 million Ukrainian refugees have scattered around Europe since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops over the border, but many are having difficulty finding jobs and homes.

The European Commission unveiled a new online tool to help Ukrainians find a job as the bloc looks to extend its protection for those displaced.

Putin tells Modi: “Want Ukraine war to end”

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he is aware of India’s concerns over his country’s conflict with Ukraine, and wanted the war to end.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on phone on Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the situation in Ukraine
During the bilateral meeting between both the leaders on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Samarkand, Putin was quoted on Friday as saying, “I know about your position on the conflict in Ukraine, and I know about your concerns. We want all of this to end as soon as possible. We will keep you abreast of what is happening there.”The Russian President said this after Modi told him that “today’s time is not the time for war”. This was the first face-to-face meeting between Modi and Putin after Russia had attacked Ukraine in February this year.

Hours after Putin’s limo incident in Moscow, Ukraine President Zelensky’s motorcade attacked

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With a few hours after the reported incident involving the motorcade of Ukraine President Zelensky, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s limousine was attacked in an alleged “assassination attempt” amid Moscow’s raging war against Ukraine, raising speculation over the security in Moscow, a report said.

According to the report by General SVR, a Russian Telegram channel, Putin’s limousine was allegedly hit by a “a loud bang from the left front wheel followed by heavy smoke”, but the Russian President was unharmed, Mirror.co.uk reported.

The channel said that the President was returning to his official residence in a decoy or “backup” motorcade consisting of five armoured cars, with Putin in the third. However, the date of the incident was not revealed.

The anti-Kremlin news channel said, “On the way to the residence, a few kilometres away, the first escort car was blocked by an ambulance, the second escort car drove around without stopping [despite] sudden obstacle, and during the detour of the obstacle”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin

 

“The head of the President’s bodyguard (service) and several other people have been suspended and are in custody… A narrow circle of people knew about the movement of the president in this cortege, and all of them were from the presidential security service. After the incident, three of them disappeared. These were exactly the people who were in the first car of the motorcade. Their fate is currently unknown. The car on which they were traveling was found empty a few kilometres from the incident,” General SVR channel said.

Without providing details, General SVR said more information on the supposed attack was “classified”, reports Mirror.co.uk. Ironic, but a similar report is making round from Ukraine that an attempt was made on President Zelensky‘s motorcade with out details on the date or venue about it.

 

 

Zelensky involved in car accident: President’s spokesman briefs

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Kiev, Sep 15 (IANS) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was involved in a car accident, his spokesman said on Thursday, adding that he was not seriously injured.

In a brief social media post, the President’s spokesman Serhii Nykyforov said that a passenger car collided with Zelensky’s vehicle and his escort in capital Kiev.

Nykyforov said that the driver of the car that collided with the motorcade was provided with “emergency aid and transferred him to an ambulance”

“The President was examined by a doctor, no serious injuries were found,” the spokesman said, adding that law enforcement officials will “find out all the circumstances of the accident”.


Nykyforov, however, did not provide any other details of the accident, including the day.

The development comes after Zelensky visit the recaptured city of Izyum, a key logistics hub in north-eastern Ukraine, on Wednesday, the BBC reported.

During his visit, he thanked troops who took part in a swift counter-attack against Russian occupiers, and oversaw a flag-raising ceremony.

Kremlin denies Putin cancer rumors, so is CIA director

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Refuting the rumors that Russian President Vladimir Putin is fighting cancer, the Kremlin has stoutly denied such reports once again.

The Kremlin routinely rejected any speculation about Putin’s health. Last week, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin felt “fine” and in “good health” before describing speculation to the contrary as “nothing but hoaxes”.

But the US intelligence community believes that Putin is suffering and he’s being treated for cancer, according to an assessment by the Newsweek. “Putin is definitely sick,” an official from the office of the Director of National Intelligence told the outlet, while noting, whether he’s going to die soon is “mere speculation”.

Two other officials, one from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and a retired Air Force officer, also claimed to have access to a comprehensive intelligence assessment of Putin’s health, and said the outlook for the Russian leader is bleak, according to the report.

Missing from world stage

The assessment supports the theory that Putin was missing from the world stage for much of April because he was undergoing treatment for advanced cancer, the report said.

“Is Putin sick? Absolutely,” the retired Air Force officer said. “But we shouldn’t let waiting for his death drive proactive actions on our part. A power vacuum after Putin could be very dangerous for the world.”

The intelligence community also reportedly believes that Putin is increasingly paranoid about his hold on power and that he may have survived an assassination attempt in March.

File photo: The Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi formally welcomes the President of Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin to the BRICS Summit venue, in Goa on October 16, 2016.(PIB Photo)

“Putin’s grip is strong but no longer absolute,” one of the senior intelligence officers said. “The jockeying inside the Kremlin has never been more intense during his rule, everyone sensing that the end is near.”

The officials also warned that as Putin has become increasingly isolated, access to credible intelligence has become more difficult to obtain. “One source of our best intelligence, which is contact with outsiders, largely dried up as a result of the Ukraine war,” the senior DIA official said, noting that as Putin has fewer meetings with foreign leaders, there are fewer opportunities to learn about his condition.

Meanwhile, CIA Director Bill Burns merely said at the Aspen Institute’s annual security confab that Putin is “entirely too healthy”. He further said the rumors didn’t constitute “a formal intelligence judgment.” But asked directly if Putin was unhealthy or unstable, he said: “There are lots of rumours about President Putin’s health and as far as we can tell, he’s entirely too healthy.”

Modi Addresses Plenary Session of St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (June 2, 2017) addressed the Plenary Session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) where India is a “guest country” this year, and Prime Minister Modi is the “Guest of Honour.”

In his remarks, the Prime Minister thanked President Putin for the opportunity to be present at SPIEF, in the beautiful city of St. Petersburg.  Touching upon India-Russia relations, the Prime Minister said they are moving forward with good momentum. He said there are very few relations between, where the basis of the relationship is mutual trust. He said the India-Russia relationship of the last 70 years, has been based on trust, and deepened, even in a changing world.

The Prime Minister said he is at SPIEF as a representative of 1.25 billion people. He said the world is focused on Asia, and therefore, naturally to India. He said that over the last three years as Prime Minister, the Union Government is making progressive decisions on all fronts. We have today an annual GDP growth rate of 7 per cent, he added.

“Minimum Government, Maximum Governance” and “Red carpet instead of Red tape” have been the basis of governance reforms in India, Prime Minister Modi said. He said that political will and clear vision are necessary for reforms. Bureaucracy too has to be vibrant and in tune with leadership, he added.

Noting that diversity is India’s strength, the Prime Minister said that the Goods and Services Tax will be implemented from July 1st, and this will herald a uniform tax system across the country.

Agreeing with President Putin, who spoke before him, the Prime Minister said technology is going to play a key role, and mentioned the Digital India initiative.

The Prime Minister said that with the vision of “New India” skill development is a top priority for India’s 800 million strong talented youth. In this context he mentioned the success of India’s Mars Mission in the first attempt. He said the New India would have youth that are not job seekers but job creators; and can fulfil the global requirements of skilled human resource.

In the services sector, the Prime Minister said the tourism and hospitality sector will receive high priority.

Stressing that one of the four Vedas- the Atharvaveda – encapsulates dedication to nature 5,000 years ago, the Prime Minister said India’s economic growth was based not on exploitation of nature – which is a crime- but on its use and preservation and on respecting it.

He pointed out that India has target of generating 175 Giga Watts of renewable energy by 2022, and added that India is setting up more power generation capacity in renewable energy sector than in thermal. He asserted that India will be a responsible nation with regard to climate and work towards zero-defect, zero-effect manufacturing, entailing no detrimental effect on the environment. He said programmes such as LED bulb distribution had already resulted in huge power savings.

List of MoUs/Agreements signed on the sidelines of the 18th India-Russia Annual Summit (June 02, 2017)

Sl.No. Title of MoUs/Agreements
1. Protocol No.2 to the Agreement dated December 5, 2008 between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Russian Federation
2. Agreement between Heavy Engineering Corporation Limited and Joint Stock Company “Cascade – Technologies” for setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle for railways
3. Memorandum of Understanding between SREI Infrastructure Finance Limited and State Corporation ‘Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank)’ on Russian export support and participation in the development of India-Russia capital goods financing/leasing business
4. Agreement on Cooperation between ‘JITF Urban Infrastructure Services Limited’ (Republic of India), ‘Jindal Rail Infrastructure Limited’ (Republic of India), Joint Stock Company ‘Russian Export Centre’ (Russian Federation), and Limited Liability Company Management Company ‘RailTransHolding’ (Russian Federation)
5. Memorandum of Understanding between National Investment Promotion Agency ‘Invest India’ and the Business Council for Cooperation with India concerning the promotion of investment in India and Russia
6. Cooperation Agreement between National Investment Promotion Agency ‘Invest India’ and the Roscongress Foundation
7. Memorandum of Understanding between ‘Sun Group Private Limited’ and Joint Stock Company ‘Pribor’

 

PM Modi Visits Russia, Meets President Putin at St. Petersburg

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (June 1, 2017) met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the 18th Annual India Russia Summit at St. Petersburg, where he recalled his first visit to St. Petersburg as Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001. He said ties between India and Russia span the spectrum from Culture to Defence.

The Prime Minister said 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries have been marked by a high degree of convergence on various bilateral and global matters.

The Prime Minister described the St. Petersburg Declaration, issued on Thursday, as a benchmark of stability in a turbulent, interdependent and interconnected world. He said India’s participation as a guest country in SPIEF and his address there tomorrow would further deepen economic cooperation between the two nations.

The Prime Minister described energy cooperation as one of the cornerstones of the relationship between India and Russia, and noted that this cooperation in the nuclear, hydrocarbon, and renewable energy sectors has been considerably deepened by the discussion and decisions taken today. In this context he mentioned the agreement of Units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant.

The Prime Minister emphasized the role of the private sector in enhancing trade and commerical ties between the two countries, adding that India and Russia are close to achieving the target of 30 billion US dollars worth of investment by 2025.

Speaking on the theme of connectivity, the Prime Minister mentioned cooperation between the two countries in the International North South Transport Corridor. Among other initiatives, the Prime Minister mentioned the forthcoming first Tri-services exercise – INDRA 2017, between the two countries.

He announced that a road in Delhi has been renamed after Ambassador Alexander Kadakin, whom he described as a friend of India, who passed away recently.