A top Ukrainian security official has said that Kiev had been gearing up for hostilities with Russia since as early as December 2019. The Russian military had earlier reported uncovering classified Ukrainian documents indicating a planned offensive against Donbass rebels. The revelation about Kiev’s military preparation was made by Aleksey …
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at Washington’s request by phone on Friday, the ministry has confirmed. This is the first conversation between the two top diplomats since Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine in February. Besides the conflict, they discussed the grain export …
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Wednesday that increases in military spending and rising numbers of troop deployments in Eastern Europe since 2014 were carried out in anticipation of a conflict with Russia. Speaking after a meeting of NATO members and partner states in Madrid, Stoltenberg accused Russia …
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Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Turkmenistan and Tajikistan next week in what will be his first foreign trip since the launch of the military operation in Ukraine on February 24. In Dushanbe, Putin will hold talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon. Negotiations and a working dinner have been planned …
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New centers of power have emerged, the unipolar world order isn’t coming back, and the “colonial” way of thinking has failed, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday, in what the Kremlin described as an “extremely important” speech. The old world order is gone …
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The US Federal Reserve has announced a 0.75% interest rate hike, the largest increase in 28 years, as the central bank’s chairman stressed the need to avoid a recession and tame runaway price inflation. The Fed’s Open Market Committee announced the decision on Wednesday, saying it would raise short-term rates …
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The global economy is facing “its biggest test since the Second World War”, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund said at the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Kristalina Georgieva said the conflict in Ukraine has “compounded the Covid-19 pandemic – a crisis upon a crisis …
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US stocks were hammered again on Friday, pushing Wall Street into bear market status amid inflation and recession fears and leaving investors on their longest losing streak since the Great Depression by at least one key measure. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell as much as 2.3%, leaving it …
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Inflation in Austria has jumped to its highest level in over 40 years, media reported on Wednesday citing data from the country’s federal statistics agency Statistics Austria. “In April 2022, consumer prices again increased significantly compared to last year – by 7.2%. We saw such a high rate of price …
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US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu conducted their first phone call since the start of Moscow’s operation in Ukraine in late February. The news was confirmed by both sides on Friday. Austin has called for an “immediate ceasefire in Ukraine,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby …
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