The United States has decided to inflict sanctions on 10 entities operating in Russia's naval or marine sectors over, what Washington calls, Moscow's military operations against Ukraine's ports.
"In the wake of Russian naval operations against Ukrainian ports..., the United States today is imposing sanctions on Russian naval entities," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Thursday.
The US State Department identified the designated entities as those operating or having operated in both the defense and related material sector and the marine sector of the Russian economy.
Trying to confront Russia over its ongoing military operation in neighboring Ukraine, the US has so far slapped sanctions against close to 1,100 Russian entities and more than 1,300 Russian individuals.
Russia launched the operation on February 24 with the aim of defending the pro-Russian population in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk against persecution by Kiev.
Back in July, Moscow and Kiev reached an agreement, mediated by the United Nations and Turkey, to resume grain exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports.
In late October, however, Russia withdrew from the deal, with the Kremlin saying that Ukraine, helped by the British navy "specialists," had launched a drone attack near the Russian Black Sea port of Sevastopol.
Also on Thursday, the US Senate lent its blessing to a legislation authorizing the administration of President Joe Biden to seize the American assets of Russian officials, businessmen, and entities and send the proceeds to Ukraine, Russia Today reported.
South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said the move would raise "billions of dollars" for Kiev. The bill will next head to the House of Representatives, where it is expected to be approved by the Democrat-held chamber.
The United States has so far sent about $50 billion in military assistance to the Kiev government.
On Wednesday, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington on his first post-war trip, the US announced another $1.85 billion from previously budgeted funds for Ukraine, including for the first time the advanced Patriot air system, which is capable of shooting down cruise missiles and short-range ballistic missiles.
Biden vows long-term military support for Ukraine during meeting with Zelensky
Congress also plans to vote on a spending package that includes about an additional $45 billion in so-called "emergency assistance" to Ukraine.
Moscow has warned that slapping Russia with sanctions and pumping Ukraine full of arms would only prolong the conflict in the ex-Soviet republic.
Volker Turk has warned that efforts to advance reparatory justice are facing resistance in “certain quarters,” and urged countries to back Africa’s push.
Reparatory justice for historical crimes, including colonialism, enslavement, and the trade in enslaved Africans, is crucial to dismantling systemic racism, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said.
Speaking at the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent on Tuesday, Turk linked present-day discrimination against people from the continent to the enduring legacy of colonialism and enslavement.
”Racism and dehumanizing rhetoric continue to permeate public institutions, communities, and online platforms,” he said, according to the UN Press Service. Turk noted that “digital technologies, including AI, are reproducing and amplifying existing biases against people of African descent.”
The remarks come weeks after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade “the gravest...
The US VP had to defend President Trump’s Gaza policy at a rally on a Georgia college campus.
US Vice President J.D. Vance was forced to defend Washington’s policy in Gaza after he was booed and heckled at a key MAGA event on Wednesday.
Co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is a conservative student group that has long been seen as a strong support base of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement but is now showing apparent cracks.
Less than 15 minutes into a TPUSA event at the University of Georgia on Wednesday, Vance was interrupted by hecklers over US policy in Gaza, with one audience member shouting, “Jesus Christ does not support genocide!” As he attempted to respond, others shouted, “You’re killing children!” and “You’re bombing children!”
Vance replied by referring to Trump’s achievements as president, including securing a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, something he said the previous administration of Joe Biden failed to do.
“I ...
Sergey Shoigu has cautioned Finland and the Baltic states against allowing Kiev to use their airspace for attacks on Russia.
Russia would have the right to retaliate if Finland and the Baltic states are deliberately allowing Ukrainian drones to pass through their airspace, Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said on Thursday.
“Recently, there has been an increase in Ukrainian drone strikes against Russia via Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia,” Shoigu told journalists. “As a result, civilians are suffering and significant damage is being caused to civilian infrastructure.”
Either Western air defenses are proving ineffective, or these four countries “deliberately provide their airspace, thereby becoming open accomplices in aggression against Russia,” he added. In the latter case, Moscow has the right to self-defense in response to an “armed attack” under Article 51 of the UN Charter, the security chief stressed.
In recent weeks, Kiev has intensified drone strikes on ...
