At a Russian polling station, phantom voters cast ballots for the ‘Tsar’

At polling station no. 333 in the Russian city of Vladikavkaz, Reuters reporters only counted 256 voters casting their ballots in a regional election on Sunday. People were voting across Russia in what is seen as a dress rehearsal for next year’s presidential vote. Kremlin candidates for regional parliaments and governorships performed strongly nationwide. When […]

Russian and Japanese leaders ‘decisively condemn’ North Korean tests

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday after talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the two leaders “decisively condemned” North Korean weapons tests. “We decisively condemned North Korea’s launch of a medium-range ballistic missile that flew over Japan’s territory on August 28, as well as the new nuclear tests conducted on September 3,” […]

Smoke seen billowing from Russia consulate Trump ordered closed

Smoke was seen Friday pouring from a chimney on the roof of the Russian consulate in San Fransisco that President Trump ordered closed by Saturday. The Trump administration on Thursday ordered Russia to close the consulate — and annexes in Washington, D.C., and New York — in retaliation to Moscow ousting hundreds of U.S. diplomatic […]

U.S. embassy in Moscow says locked out of diplomatic property

U.S. embassy in Moscow says locked out of diplomatic property

The U.S. embassy in Moscow accused Russian authorities on Monday of barring diplomatic staff from a property on the outskirts of Moscow, after having earlier agreed to grant access until midday on Tuesday for them to retrieve belongings. A Russian foreign ministry official, quoted by state news agency RIA, said the U.S. embassy had sent […]

Putin orders cut of 755 personnel at U.S. missions

Putin orders cut of 755 personnel at U.S. missions

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that the U.S. diplomatic missions in Moscow and elsewhere in the country will have to reduce their staffs by 755 people, signaling a significant escalation in the Russian response to American sanctions over the Kremlin’s intervention in the 2016 presidential election. The United States and Russia have expelled dozens […]

Exclusive: Russia used Facebook to try to spy on Macron campaign – sources

Exclusive: Russia used Facebook to try to spy on Macron campaign – sources

Russian intelligence agents attempted to spy on President Emmanuel Macron’s election campaign earlier this year by creating phony Facebook personas, according to a U.S. Congressman and two other people briefed on the effort. About two dozen Facebook accounts were created to conduct surveillance on Macron campaign officials and others close to the centrist former financier […]

Videos Point to Russia Arming the Taliban in Afghanistan

Videos Point to Russia Arming the Taliban in Afghanistan

The United States has been claiming for months that the Russians, once bitter enemies of the Taliban, have been arming them attempting to undermine US efforts in the war-torn country. Now videos are surfacing that give rise to those accusations by the US. The Russians have flatly denied the allegation as “utterly false” and claim […]

Russian military police deployed to enforce ceasefire in Syria

Russian military police deployed to enforce ceasefire in Syria

Russian military police have been deployed to an area east of Syria’s capital Damascus as part of their contribution to so-called “de-escalation” zones in the country. According to Russian military officials, the military police there are to function as peacekeepers, enforcing a cease-fire agreement hashed out between Russia, Iran, the Assad regime, Turkey, and opposition […]

Returning the favor? Russia gets hacked.

Returning the favor? Russia gets hacked.

On Tuesday morning, a hacker going by the name of “Johnnie Walker” sent out a group email to an unknown number of recipients claiming to have a trove of emails from the private account of a U.S. intelligence official. “The U.S. State Department officer’s email has been hacked,” the email announced, and included at least two years’ […]

A key American defense has failed, and now Russia fears no reprisal for hacking the US

A key American defense has failed, and now Russia fears no reprisal for hacking the US

Russia is accused of bold intrusions into vital US infrastructure (elections, nuclear power plants), actions that one expert says were made without fear of reprisal. The US has not offered a strong response to Russian cyberattacks despite being aware of them for years. Russia has compromised the US’s ability to enact independent foreign policy with […]

The US’s best defense against a North Korean nuke could spark a nuclear war with Russia

The US’s best defense against a North Korean nuke could spark a nuclear war with Russia

The US has spent at least $40 billion on a missile defense system intended to knock down or deter incoming North Korean intercontinental ballistic missiles, but actually using the system could lead to an accidental nuclear war with Russia, according to an expert. Jeffrey Lewis, the founding publisher of Arms Control Wonk, took to Twitter to detail how the […]