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Vadim Shamarin, deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, has been arrested, local media reported, marking the latest detention of a Russian high-ranking military official in recent weeks. The development was reported by Russian newspapers Kommersant and Izvestia, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter. Kommersant reported that he was detained on Wednesday "in connection with the case of alleged fraud."

Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson’s media company says a Russian state television agency that is airing portions of his show is doing so without legal permission. -snip- Russian state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta initially reported on Russia 24, a state-run media organization, broadcasting Carlson’s program. “Any use of our content by that channel is without legal permission,” a representative for Carlson told The Hill Tuesday evening. Carlson, in a separate text message to Mediate, blasted the initial Newsweek report, writing “this is completely absurd. Reporters are so dishonest and stupid. I’ve never even heard of this channel.”

Tucker Carlson’s representative denied reports Tuesday that Carlson launched a show on Russian-owned state television Monday night, telling Forbes the reports were “pure nonsense,” indicating Carlson was not involved with the show that is listed on the website for a Russian state television channel. Arthur Schwartz, a representative for Carlson, told Forbes in an email “it’s pure nonsense” in response to questions about Carlson’s show being aired in Russia with Russian voice overs and whether it was licensed by Carlson. Neil Patel, CEO of the Tucker Carlson Network, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the...

In a conversation with the First Vice President, the special assistant to the Russian President stated that, by Putin's order, two advanced aircrafts with special helicopters and 50 professional mountain rescue personnel will be dispatched to Tabriz, Iranian media reported on Sunday overnight.

Russian President Vladimir Putin demoted Nikolai Patrushev, a Cold War warrior who crafted the Kremlin's national security strategy, to a job overseeing the shipbuilding industry while raising two younger lieutenants to senior Kremlin jobs. -snip- Patrushev, a former KGB officer from St Petersburg where Putin was born, was moved from the heart of the modern-day politburo, where he had worked for 16 years as secretary of the Security Council, to oversee shipbuilding as a Kremlin aide. -snip- Patrushev Senior was heavily demoted," a senior Russian source told Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of such public remarks....

All five Central Asian presidents are scheduled to attend a parade on Red Square on May 9 to commemorate the end of World War II in Europe in 1945, while the majority of the world's leaders continue to condemn Russia's ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022. Yury Ushakov, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, on May 7 said Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, and Turkmen President Serdar Berdymukhammedov will attend the event in the Russian capital’s Red Square. Ushakov added that President Miguel Diaz-Canel of...

UKRAINE has blitzed another major Russian oil refinery in a kamikaze drone strike, the explosions sparking a huge inferno near Moscow. Dramatic video from the scene showed flames raging from the Rosneft energy giant facility in the city of Ryazan on Wednesday. Residents of Ryazan, located 125 miles southeast of Moscow, were said to have heard the rumble of drones about 3am. Two explosions followed the sound, triggering the inferno. The attack came after another Ukrainian strike on two oil refineries in Krasnodar region -snip- Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu demanded more "means of destruction" as Western supplies...