Search Results for: Ukraine

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s cabinet recognized the Eastern European countries of Georgia and Moldova as “safe countries of origin” on Wednesday in an effort to reduce irregular migration. Refugee rights group PRO ASYL criticized the new recognition for effectively granting the German government quicker means to reject asylum applications from the two countries—which translates to [...]

UN experts condemned Monday the Russian Constitutional Court’s decision to dismiss challenges to the constitutionality of recently enacted laws that criminalize any public act seeking to discredit the use of Russian Armed Forces. In the wake of the Russia-Ukraine War, these new laws have been used by Russian authorities to arrest over 20,000 people for [...]

The Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation announced a high treason charge on Monday against Robert Shonov, a former US consulate contract employee in Moscow. High treason carries a possible sentence of 12 to 20 years’ imprisonment. The charge falls under Article 275 of Russia’s Criminal Code. The code forbids Russian citizens from [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an executive order on Friday ordering military units to swear an oath of allegiance to the Russian state. The oath, contained within the order, requires individuals to “strictly follow the orders of commanders and superiors.” Under Article 87 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the President is the “supreme [...]

Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of powerful Russian mercenary group Wagner, died in a plane crash on Wednesday, alongside the group’s alleged founder Dmitry Utkin. “The Wagner leadership has confirmed the deaths of Prigozhin and Utkin,” according to the Wagner Group Telegram channel, which for several hours prior had urged the public to “not panic” as rumors [...]

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) took action on Friday to extend and redesignate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Ukraine and Sudan due to ongoing armed conflicts in those countries. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas stated that DHS is prolonging and redesignating the TPS designation of both Ukraine and Sudan for [...]

United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine Denise Brown condemned a Russian missile strike in the city of Chernihiv on Saturday. The Saturday strike on the northern city came as many citizens were leaving church on the Eastern Orthodox holiday of the Transfiguration of the Lord. It resulted in seven casualties, including a six-year-old child, and [...]

Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly Friday declared new sanctions against 15 Russian individuals and three entities following human rights violations and state-sponsored violence faced by political opponents and critics in Russia. The new sanctions aim to supplement the previous sanctions by expanding the list of restricted individuals and entities. Canada has previously imposed [...]

In the latest iteration of Russia’s ongoing crackdown on dissent, a Moscow court on Friday ordered the detention of Grigory Melkonyants, co-chair of independent election monitoring organization Golos. The organization announced in a statement that the initial detention period was set at two months pending an investigation into charges that Melkonyants organized the activities of [...]

Sanctioned businessman Eugene Shvidler lost his attempt on Friday to overturn UK-imposed sanctions at London’s High Court. In their Friday ruling, the court found the sanctions imposed on Shvidler following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to be lawful, disagreeing with his position that they were disproportionate and discriminatory. The case marks the first time a British [...]