ReportWire

Tag: russia

  • Russia’s Largest Bitcoin Miner BitRiver Enters Bankruptcy Proceedings: Report

    The company’s founder and CEO, Igor Runets, was placed under house arrest in connection with multiple tax evasion charges.

    BitRiver, Russia’s largest Bitcoin miner, is on the verge of collapse amid mounting financial and legal problems. Courts have placed its parent company, Fox Group of Companies, under observation as debts and unpaid obligations pile up.

    One of the disputes driving the court action involves Infrastructure of Siberia. The company is seeking more than $9 million after BitRiver failed to deliver mining equipment. The case stems from a large advance payment for hardware that was never supplied. This led to a lawsuit and a ruling in favor of the energy firm.

    Operational Bans and Energy Disputes

    Operational bans have hit BitRiver’s regional sites hard. Mining centers in Irkutsk and Buryatia remain offline due to government restrictions. In addition, a 40 MW facility in Ingushetia was shut down by authorities for violating local rules.

    These shutdowns have worsened the company’s financial strain, coming alongside rising disputes over unpaid electricity bills. Energy suppliers have filed claims totaling hundreds of millions of rubles. Some also lost trading rights after nonpayment, further restricting BitRiver’s ability to operate.

    Leadership issues have added to the pressure. The company’s founder and CEO, Igor Runets, was placed under house arrest in connection with multiple tax evasion charges. Authorities allege that he attempted to conceal company assets to avoid paying taxes, a claim that Runets and his legal team have denied.

    BitRiver’s Struggles Amid Sector Growth

    BitRiver has also struggled under international pressure. US sanctions and partner exits have cut access to foreign markets. Japanese firms, including SBI, also withdrew from Russia, limiting financial support and supply channels.

    The company once managed over 175,000 rigs across 15 centers, generating $129 million in revenue last year. Its rapid decline highlights the fragile balance between regulatory, financial, and operational pressures in Russia’s mining industry.

    You may also like:

    Despite BitRiver’s setbacks, Russia’s crypto mining sector continues to expand. Grid-connected mining capacity rose 33% in 2025 to 4 GW, reflecting strong domestic demand for industrial mining infrastructure.

    Analysts say BitRiver’s bankruptcy could signal broader challenges for large-scale miners operating in restrictive regions. Yet the sector’s continued growth shows that Russia remains a major player in global Bitcoin mining, even as individual companies falter.

    SPECIAL OFFER (Exclusive)

    SECRET PARTNERSHIP BONUS for CryptoPotato readers: Use this link to register and unlock $1,500 in exclusive BingX Exchange rewards (limited time offer).

    Mandy Williams

    Source link

  • NATO’s Rutte to Meet Zelenskiy in Kyiv, FT Says

    Feb 3 (Reuters) – ‌NATO ​Secretary General ‌Mark Rutte ​has arrived in ‍Kyiv and will ​meet ​with ⁠Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a Financial Times correspondent said ‌in a post on ​X.

    Rutte’s ‌reported visit ‍comes after ⁠Russia attacked Ukraine with 450 drones and over 60 ​missiles overnight.

    Russia and Ukraine said last week they halted strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure, but disagreed on the timeframe ​for the truce.

    (Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; ​Editing by Sharon Singleton)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

    Reuters

    Source link

  • Russia Is Ready for a New World With No Nuclear Limits, Ryabkov Says

    MOSCOW, Feb ‌3 (Reuters) – ​Russia is ‌ready for ​the new reality ‍of a world ​with ​no ⁠nuclear arms control limits after the New START treaty ‌expires later this week, ​Russia’s ‌point man ‍for arms ⁠control said on Tuesday.

    Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov ​also said that if the U.S. pumped lots of missile defence systems onto Greenland then Russia would have to take ​compensatory measures in its military sphere.

    (Reporting by Reuters; ​editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

    Reuters

    Source link

  • Drone Incidents at UK Military Bases Doubled Last Year

    LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Britain’s military bases ‌experienced ​a doubling of ‌drone incidents last year, highlighting the changing nature ​of warfare and prompting the government to hand more powers ‍to its forces to protect ​sites from aerial threats.

    In 2025, there were 266 ​reported ⁠uncrewed aerial vehicle incidents near defence sites in Britain, up from 126 reported in 2024, part of a wider trend of European airspace being targeted by drones.

    “The doubling of rogue drones ‌near military sites in the UK in the last ​year underlines ‌the increasing and changing ‍nature ⁠of the threats we face,” Defence minister John Healey said in a statement on Monday.

    Drone incursions forced airports in Belgium and Denmark to close for hours at a time in the last few months of 2025, with experts saying the incidents had ​the hallmarks of Russian interference, a charge denied by Moscow.

    In order to counter the threat from drones to British bases, Healey said military officers would be given new powers to destroy drones operating near them, an action that previously required the involvement of the police.

    The new powers will also mean the military can destroy land drones and unmanned vehicles operating under water.

    Healey said ​security at military sites had been stepped up. Last June, pro-Palestinian activists broke into a Royal Air Force base, damaging and spraying red paint over two ​planes used for refuelling and transport.

    (Reporting by Sarah Young, editing by Paul Sandle)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

    Reuters

    Source link

  • Family seeks answers as Kenyan fighting for Russia killed in Ukraine

    A Kenyan family is seeking answers and support to repatriate the body of their 29-year-old relative, who was killed in Ukraine while fighting for Russia.

    Clinton Nyapara Mogesa, 29, initially left Kenya for a job in Qatar in 2024, and his family later learned that he had then travelled to Russia.

    On Saturday, Ukrainian authorities reported that he had died in a so-called “meat assault” – one involving high casualty numbers – in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, after being recruited in Qatar. They said the Russians did not evacuate his body, and he was carrying the passports of two other Kenyans.

    His death comes amid growing concerns about Kenyans being recruited to fight in the war in Ukraine.

    Mogesa’s family told local Citizen TV that they had sold land to raise money for him to travel to Qatar in search of employment.

    “His death has shocked us,” his brother Joel Mogere told the station. He said Mogesa was the last-born and “the breadwinner and the hope of this family”.

    His mother, Mellen Moraa, said she was diabetic and that her son used to pay for her medication and take care of her, and said she did not know what to do.

    “I plead with the government for help,” she added.

    The government last month said that 18 Kenyans who had been fighting in Russia had been rescued and repatriated.

    Last November, Kenya’s foreign minister said about 200 Kenyans were known to be fighting for Russia and that recruitment networks were still active.

    Other African countries have reported cases of young people being approached with offers of lucrative jobs in Russia that later led to military recruitment.

    Ukraine’s intelligence assessment estimates that more than 1,400 people from 36 countries in Africa have been recruited to fight for Russia.

    Ukraine has in the past repeatedly warned that anyone fighting for Russia would be treated as an enemy combatant, with the safe route out being to surrender.

    Ukraine’s intelligence agency on Saturday cautioned foreign nationals against travelling to Russia or accepting employment there, particularly informal or illegal work.

    It said travelling there “carries a real risk of being forcibly deployed to assault units without adequate training and with little to no chance of survival”.

    You may also be interested in:

    [Getty Images/BBC]

    Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

    Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

    BBC Africa podcasts

    Source link

  • Russia’s Medvedev Says Expiry of New START Should Alarm the World

    MOSCOW, Feb 2 (Reuters) – ‌Dmitry ​Medvedev, deputy ‌chairman of Russia’s Security Council, ​said that if the New ‍START treaty expired ​with no replacement ​then ⁠the world should be alarmed that the biggest nuclear powers had no limits for probably the first ‌time since the early 1970s.

    “I don’t ​want ‌to say that ‍this ⁠immediately means a catastrophe and a nuclear war will begin, but it should still alarm everyone,” Medvedev told Reuters, TASS and ​the WarGonzo Russian war blogger in an interview at his residence outside Moscow.

    Arms control treaties, Medvedev said, played a crucial role not just in limiting the number of warheads but also as a way ​to verify intentions and to ensure some element of trust between major nuclear powers.

    (Reporting ​by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Tom Hogue)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

    Reuters

    Source link

  • Russia’s Shoigu, China’s Wang Yi to Discuss Security Issues

    MOSCOW, Feb 1 (Reuters) – ‌Russian ​Security ‌Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu ​arrived in China on ‍Sunday where he ​will meet ​Chinese ⁠Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss security issues, Russian media outlets reported on ‌Sunday citing the Russian ​Security Council.

    “The ‌sides will ‍discuss the ⁠changing situation in the sphere of international and regional security,” Interfax news agency reported, ​citing the council.

    The trip coincides with the recent talks between Russia, Ukraine and U.S. officials aimed at putting an end to almost four-year long conflict between Russia ​and Ukraine.

    Shoigu also met Wang in December in Moscow.

    (Reporting by ​Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

    Reuters

    Source link

  • Moldova Hit by Widespread Power Cuts Amid Ukraine Grid Problems

    CHISINAU, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Moldova’s ‌energy ​system was hit ‌by an emergency outage on Saturday ​due to problems in neighbouring Ukraine’s grid, officials ‍said, with the capital ​Chisinau and other parts of ​the ⁠country experiencing power cuts.

    According to a Moldovan energy ministry statement on the Telegram app, disruptions in Ukraine’s grid led to a voltage drop on ‌one of the power lines into Moldova.

    Most ​districts in ‌Moldova’s Chisinau were ‍without ⁠electricity supplies, the city mayor Ion Ceban said on Telegram, with officials adding that even traffic lights were not working.

    Ukrainian energy officials have yet to comment on the situation. Emergency power ​cuts have also been introduced in some parts of Ukraine, power company DTEK said, and the metro in Kyiv has stopped operating.

    The grid emergency has also led to a temporary halt to Kyiv’s water supply, officials said.

    Ukraine’s power grid has been one of the main targets of ​months of Russian strikes, and there have been significant restrictions to power supplies for consumers there for weeks.

    (Reporting by Alexander ​Tanas, Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Hugh Lawson)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

    Reuters

    Source link

  • Russian Forces Capture Three Villages in Ukraine, State Media Report

    MOSCOW, Jan ‌30 (Reuters) – ​Russian ‌troops captured ​three more ‍villages across ​two ​regions of ⁠Ukraine, state news agencies reported on ‌Friday, citing the ​Defence Ministry.

    The ‌villages ‍are Richne ⁠and Ternuvate in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia ​region and Berestok in the eastern Donetsk region.

    Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield reports.

    (Reporting by ​Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing ​by Mark Trevelyan)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

    Reuters

    Source link

  • As Ukraine accuses Russia of terrorism with deadly strike on train, is Starlink helping Moscow target civilians?

    Kyiv – A Russian drone hit a Ukrainian passenger train traveling in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region Tuesday, killing at least five people, according to the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.

    “In any country, a drone strike on a civilian train would be regarded in the same way – purely as an act of terrorism,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post. 

    Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said in a social media post that, according to preliminary information, the attack involved three Iranian-made Shahed attack drones, which hit the engine and one passenger car, causing a fire.

    “There were 291 passengers on board. People were evacuated as quickly as possible,” he said, echoing Zelenskyy in calling the strike “a direct act of Russian terror against civilians. No military target.”

    Russia’s government routinely denies targeting civilian infrastructure, but there was no specific reaction from the Kremlin or Russian military to the allegations that it had deliberately struck a train carrying civilians.

    In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire after Russian drones hit a passenger train in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. 

    Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP


    Russia using Starlink to deadly effect?

    Strikes on Ukrainian civilians and critical infrastructure have intensified in recent months, and experts say Russia has adapted its offensive capabilities to evade Ukraine’s air defenses. 

    Last year, the Ukraine Air War Monitor journal noted an 18% decline in Ukraine’s drone interception rate.

    Oleksii Balesta, Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, told CBS News on Wednesday that Russia has been using larger drones in higher quantities, which is increasing the lethality of its strikes.

    But according to a recent report from the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for the Study of War, another reason for Russia’s deadlier strikes is its use of Starlink satellite systems to more accurately hit targets. 

    This week, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski raised the issue with Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX owns and operates the Starlink satellite network. In a post on Musk’s platform X, Sikorski asked the American businessman to “stop the Russians from using Starlinks to target Ukrainian cities.”

    On X, Musk called Sikorski a “drooling imbecile” and said that Starlink’s terms of service “do not allow for offensive military use, as it is a civilian commercial system.” Musk also highlighted Ukraine’s use of the Starlink system for military communications. 

    Russia Ukraine War

    In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire after Russian drones hit a passenger train in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. 

    Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP


    Two Ukrainian defense analysts have said the train may have been hit by Shaheds – a favorite weapon of Russia amid its ongoing full-scale invasion – equipped with the SpaceX technology. 

    “Russia has started using Starlink on other drones, and now is using it on Shaheds as well,” analyst Olena Kryzhanivska told CBS News on Wednesday. “The attack yesterday was not surprising at all. It was expected.”

    Serhiy Beskrestnov, a Ukrainian military analyst and expert on drone warfare, said in a social media post Wednesday that the moving train was hit by, “Shaheds with online control.”

    “It was not the locomotive, but the center of the train,” Beskrestnov noted in his post, accusing the Russian drone’s pilot of attacking a passenger car, “intentionally and consciously,” and specifically questioning whether Starlink might have been used.

    SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment by CBS News on the claims that its Starlink technology may have been used in the drone strike on the train, and by Russian forces more widely to target civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

    Kryzhanivska said trains make easy targets for precision-guided Russian weapons.

    “The territory of Ukraine is not targeted evenly with air defense systems and mobile fire units,” Kryzhanivska said. “There is no protocol in place for what to do when there is a Shahed drone approaching a train. What can the crew do? Should they stop the train? Or continue moving?” 

    At least 11 people were killed and dozens wounded in strikes across Ukraine overnight on Tuesday, which involved 165 Russian-launched drones, including the ones that hit the train in the Kharkiv region, according to Ukraine’s Air Force.

    In:

    Source link

  • Russia Accused of Siphoning Money from Occupied Ukrainian Territories via Online Gambling

    Russia is increasingly using gambling as a source of revenue in the occupied Ukrainian territories, according to new claims by the National Resistance Center (NRC). The authority claims that online casinos are part of a broader system to drain the occupied territories of money and funnel it back to Moscow. The rest of Ukraine also faces similar pressures, as illegal operators are a persistent threat.

    Online Gambling Can Be Used to Obscure Cash Flows

    According to Ukrainian analysts, Russia is publicly framing the gambling initiative as a form of “economic regulation”. However, they believe the underlying motives are far darker. In occupied territories, where the legitimate economy has been hollowed out by war, displacement, and sanctions, online gambling offers a fast and subtle way to drain cash from local populations.

    According to the NRC, the operation enjoys significant political support and is overseen by Russian finance minister Anton Siluanov. Financial flows from the occupied territories are reportedly managed by structures linked to Russia’s finance ministry, working in coordination with the Kremlin. Sergey Kiriyenko, the person who oversees the occupied territories, is reportedly also involved in the scheme.

    Online casinos in the occupied territories are either newly created or rebranded Russian platforms that operate through domestic payment systems. Russian authorities can thus easily track their operations while keeping them outside international financial scrutiny. According to the NRC, roughly 30% of revenues are siphoned off, with some going to the occupation administrations’ shadow budgets, and the rest transferred directly to Russia.

    Illegal Russian Operators Represent a Broader Threat

    Analysts explain that such activities aim to generate “grey revenue” that helps soften the impact of Western sanctions. They argue that gambling perfectly fits this niche: it is easy to launch online, difficult to regulate across borders, and capable of generating steady cash even in economically devastated areas, especially if operators ignore responsible practices.

    Even outside occupied areas, Ukrainian authorities say Russian-controlled online casinos deliberately target Ukrainian households that already face financial difficulties because of the ongoing conflict. The government created a new regulatory authority, PlayCity, which aims to oversee all gambling activities and implement more robust controls on social media content.

    In September 2025, PlayCity revealed that social media platforms act as a major vector for illegal gambling promotion. The regulatory body confirmed that it had stopped multiple Instagram accounts that shared illegal gambling content and attracted people to unlicensed websites. Ukrainian officials believe that most of these websites trace back to Russian control, which means that Ukrainian gamblers’ bets may finance the war against them.

    Deyan Dimitrov

    Source link

  • Russian-Uzbek Billionaire Usmanov Wins Lawsuit Against German Newspaper, Documents Show

    MOSCOW, Jan 28 (Reuters) – Russian-Uzbek billionaire ‌Alisher ​Usmanov has won a ‌legal complaint against German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine ​Zeitung over an article it published about him, court documents obtained ‍by Reuters show.

    In a ​ruling dated January 23, a Hamburg court prohibited ​FAZ from ⁠disseminating several statements, including allegations about Usmanov’s links to top Russian officials, from an April 2023 article titled “On the Kremlin’s instructions”.

    Usmanov has a net worth of $18.8 billion, according to ‌the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and is subject to European Union ​and U.S. ‌sanctions and a ‍travel ⁠ban that were imposed after the start of the war in Ukraine.

    He has launched multiple lawsuits in Europe with the ultimate goal of having the sanctions lifted. In some, his lawyers contested statements in the media that were used as the grounds ​for sanctions.

    Usmanov’s lawyer, Joachim Steinhofel, said in remarks about the Hamburg court’s decision that the statements banned from further dissemination “repeated essential parts of the reasoning behind the sanctions against Mr Usmanov.”

    “This (the court decision) allows for the legally substantiated assessment that the EU sanctions’ reasoning is nothing more than an accumulation of defamatory, groundless, and thus illegal allegations,” he added.

    Last month, Germany ​agreed with Usmanov to close an investigation into alleged foreign trade law violations, provided that he pay 10 million euros ($11.98 million). In 2024, German prosecutors dropped ​a money laundering investigation against him.

    (Reporting by Gleb Bryanski, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

    Reuters

    Source link

  • Russian Drones Damage Port Infrastructure, Hurt Three in Ukraine’s Odesa, Governor Says

    Jan 28 (Reuters) – ‌Russian ​drones ‌damaged port infrastructure ​in ‍Ukraine’s southern region ​of ​Odesa, ⁠on the Black Sea coast, the regional ‌governor said on ​Wednesday.

    Three people ‌were ‍hurt in ⁠the attack, Oleh Kiper said on the ​Telegram messaging app.

    A residential building and buildings in the vicinity of an Orthodox monastery were also ​damaged, he added.

    (Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; ​Editing by Andrew Heavens)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

    Reuters

    Source link

  • Drone Debris Spark Fire at Two Enterprises in Russia’s Krasnodar Region, Authorities Say

    MOSCOW, Jan ‌26 (Reuters) – ​Two enterprises ‌caught fire and ​one person was injured ‍in the city ​of ​Slavyansk-on-Kuban ⁠in Russia’s Krasnodar region after drone fragments fell on them, the regional ‌emergencies centre said on ​Monday.  

    The centre ‌did not ‍specify what ⁠enterprises were affected. The city hosts a private refinery with a capacity of ​around 100,000 barrels per day, supplying fuel for both domestic use and export.

    Russia’s defence ministry said air defence systems had intercepted and destroyed 40 ​Ukrainian drones overnight, including 34 in the Krasnodar region.  

    (Reporting by ​Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge )

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

    Reuters

    Source link

  • Ukrainian Capital Under Russian Attack, Air Defences in Operation

    Jan 24 (Reuters) – Russian drones ‌struck ​several districts early ‌on Saturday in a massive ​attack on the Ukrainian capital with air defence ‍units in operation, officials ​said.

    Mayor Vitali Klitschko said there ​had ⁠been strikes in two districts on either side of the Dnipro River bisecting the capital.

    “Kyiv is under a massive enemy attack,” Klitschko ‌wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

    Tymur Tkachenko, ​head of ‌the capital’s military ‍administration, ⁠also reported strikes in at least three districts, sparking fires in at least two locations.

    He said drones were attacking the city and there was a threat Russian missiles could ​be deployed.

    In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said Russian drones had attacked several districts, injuring 11 people. Drones had struck at least three residential buildings, he said on Telegram.

    The attacks occurred after negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States completed the first ​of two days of talks in the United Arab Emirates devoted to working towards a resolution of the nearly ​four-year-old war.

    (Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Chris Reese)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

    Reuters

    Source link

  • Putin Says Russia Studying Peace Board Proposal After Trump Says He Accepted Invite

    DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan ‌21 (Reuters) – ​U.S. President ‌Donald Trump on Wednesday ​said that Russian President ‍Vladimir Putin had ​accepted his ​invitation ⁠to join Trump’s Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, a statement that ‌Putin quickly countered, saying that ​the ‌invitation was ‍only under ⁠consideration.

    “He was invited. He’s accepted,” Trump told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland after ​meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte.

    Soon after Trump’s comments, Putin told the Russian security council that the foreign ministry was still studying the proposal and would respond in due ​course.

    (Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov, Jeffrey Dastin and Ronald Popeski; Writing by Ryan ​Patrick Jones; editing by Scott Malone)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

    Reuters

    Source link

  • Trump confirms he invited Putin to join his Board of Peace: ‘He’s been invited’

    NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

    U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin received an invitation to join his new Board of Peace that will supervise the next phase of the Gaza peace plan.

    Trump confirmed Putin’s invitation while speaking to reporters at the College Football National Championship Game in Florida, where Indiana defeated Miami.

    “Yeah, he’s been invited,” Trump told reporters.

    SIX COUNTRIES CONFIRM US INVITATIONS TO GAZA PEACE BOARD

    President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin as he arrives at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

    The Kremlin said earlier on Monday that Putin had received the invitation, adding that it is now “studying the details” and will seek clarity of “all the nuances” in communications with the U.S. government.

    France has also received an invitation but does not plan to join the Board of Peace “at this stage,” a French official close to President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday.

    The French official said the issue is raising questions, particularly with regard to respect for the principles and structure of the United Nations.

    U.S. President Donald Trump meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025.

    U.S. President Donald Trump meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

    Asked at the championship game about Macron being unlikely to join, Trump took jabs at his French counterpart and threatened tariffs for refusing to accept the invitation.

    “Well, nobody wants him because he’s going to be out of office very soon,” Trump said of Macron.

    “I’ll put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagnes, and he’ll join,” he added. “But he doesn’t have to join.”

    LINDSEY GRAHAM MEETS WITH MOSSAD DIRECTOR DURING TRIP TO ISRAEL

    U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands as they pose for a photo, at a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war.

    U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands. (REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool)

    CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

    Several other countries have also received invitations, including Israel, Canada, Belarus, Slovenia and Thailand.

    Morocco, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Hungary and Argentina have already accepted invitations.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Source link

  • Donald Trump Lobs Grenade at Europe on The Eve of Davos

    On the eve of Davos, the annual gathering of world leaders and Loro-clad business titans where the future of the free world is plotted out, President Donald Trump lobbed a grenade: an angry text, sent to Norway’s prime minister, that ratcheted up tensions between the United States and Europe, while revealing the calculus that’s driving his hostile campaign to acquire Greenland.

    In the text, Trump rejected an overture from Norway’s Jonas Gahr Store to “de-escalate” his demands that Greenland be sold to the United States or taken by force. “Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” Trump wrote in the text, which was first reported by PBS News.

    “That’s rhetoric that we’ve never seen from a US president before,” Ambassador Mike Carpenter, a senior director for Europe on the Biden administration’s National Security Council, told Vanity Fair. “He’s essentially saying, if you read between the lines, ‘you didn’t give me the Nobel Peace Prize, so I’m going to use coercive force to take territory from one of your neighbors.’”

    The text was so striking that some on social media doubted its authenticity. But it is real. A European official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told me the text was forwarded to their ambassador in Washington. The text is one of those Donald Trump era shockers that unites the right and left in slack-jawed horror. Even before it was first reported, the Wall Street Journal’s conservative editorial board had published a piece decrying the Greenland campaign as “reckless” and “nonsensical.”

    “This is the fucking Mad King tweeting and it’s just remarkable how many senior people in this administration have no fucking balls, no fucking spine, and are peddling this crap like it’s rational,” said one incensed former NSC official I spoke with Monday morning, who declined to be named in order to speak candidly. “Truly, those names need to be kept on a sheet of paper and remembered in the future, what they said and did at this moment.”

    What of Trump’s case for why the United States needs Greenland? “The world sees this as the Mad King pontificating,” the anonymous official reiterated. “And it’s only a certain narrow circle of Americans, somehow, that is trying to gaslight themselves into believing that it’s true. It’s crazy.”

    John Bolton and Donald Trump on February 12, 2019.

    Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Aidan McLaughlin

    Source link

  • Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Announces New Air Defence System

    Jan 19 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s armed forces are introducing ‌a ​new facet of air ‌defence to transform their system, made up of small groups ​deploying interceptor drones, as the country braces for new mass Russian attacks, President Volodymyr ‍Zelenskiy said on Monday.

    Ukraine is ​still reeling from a wave of Russian strikes earlier this month ​that knocked ⁠out power and heating to thousands of apartment blocks, particularly in the capital Kyiv.

    Zelenskiy has repeatedly called for air defences to be strengthened, including increased assistance from Ukraine’s Western allies.

    “There will be a new approach to the use of ‌air defences by the Air Force, concerning mobile fire groups, interceptor drones ​and ‌other ‘short-range’ air defence assets,” ‍Zelenskiy said ⁠in his nightly video address.

    “The system will be transformed.”

    The president announced the appointment of a new deputy Air Force Commander, Pavlo Yelizarov, to oversee and develop the innovation.

    Ukraine has rapidly developed its drone manufacturing system since Russia launched its invasion of its smaller neighbour in February 2022, and has emphasised interceptor drones as an effective ​and economical way to parry Russian strikes.

    In his remarks, Zelenskiy warned Ukrainians to be “extremely vigilant” ahead of anticipated new Russian attacks.

    “Russia has prepared for a strike, a massive strike, and is waiting for the moment to carry it out,” he said, urging every region in the country to “be prepared to respond as quickly as possible and help people”.

    Both Zelenskiy and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha warned at the weekend that Ukrainian intelligence had noted Russia was conducting reconnaissance of specific targets, ​particularly substations that supply nuclear power plants.

    The president also said he had instructed Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko to make decisions this week regarding difficulties from the recent attacks, including bonuses for tens of thousands of emergency ​crew members restoring heating and electricity.

    (Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

    Reuters

    Source link

  • Russia gives U.S. man it accuses of illegally transporting weapons a 5-year prison term

    Russia has sentenced an American man to five years in prison for illegally transporting weapons, a court said Monday, noting that a rifle was found on his yacht after it docked in the port city of Sochi last June. Russian media said he smuggle the weapons on his private yacht from July 2024 – June 2025.

    Dozens of Westerners, including Americans, have been imprisoned in Russia, especially after the start of the Ukraine war in 2022, with many of them later swapped in prisoner exchanges.

    “A U.S. citizen was found guilty of illegally transporting and moving firearms,” the regional court’s’ press service said in a statement.

    It identified him as Charles Wayne Zimmerman and said he “admitted his guilt in full” and was “sentenced to five years in prison.”

    It didn’t mention when the man was sentenced but said an appeal against the conviction had been rejected.

    It was the first time his arrest and conviction has been mentioned in Russian media, which usually cover judicial proceedings of foreign citizens closely.

    According to the court, the man sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

    It cited him as saying he’d met a Russian woman online and decided to visit her and that he didn’t know he was forbidden to keep a weapon on his yacht while it was docked in Russia.

    In September 2024, the U.S. Coast Guard East issued a missing person alert for a man identified as Charles Zimmerman, 57, who departed on a sailing trip from Fort Macon, North Carolina, to New Zealand.

    “Zimmerman was last heard from on July 23 (2024). He had informed a family member that he would be departing in his sailing vessel en route to the Mediterranean Sea,” the Coast Guard said on Facebook.

    He was sailing on a 35-foot green and white-hulled vessel named the Trude Zena, it added.

    In announcing Zimmerman’s sentence, the Russian court published on social media a slideshow that included a video of a white sailing boat and photos of a sniper rifle and ammunition allegedly found on board, and of a man sitting on the vessel.

    Washington accuses Moscow of imprisoning U.S. nationals in order to swap them for Russian spies held abroad.

    Source link