Russia outlaws Amnesty International in latest crackdown on dissent and activists
The Russian authorities on Monday outlawed Amnesty International as an 'undesirable organization,' a label that under a 2015 law makes involvement with such organizations a criminal offense.
The decision by the Russian Prosecutor General's office, announced in an online statement, is the latest in the unrelenting crackdown on Kremlin critics, journalists and activists that intensified to unprecedented levels after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The designation means the international human rights group must stop any work in Russia and it subjects those who cooperate with it or support it to prosecution.
Russia's list of 'undesirable organizations' currently covers 223 entities, including prominent independent news outlets and rights groups.
Amnesty International was launched in 1961. The group documents and reports human rights violations across the globe and campaigns for release of those it deems unjustly imprisoned. It has released reports on Russia's war in Ukraine, accusing Moscow of crimes against humanity, and has spoke out against the Kremlin's crackdown on dissent that has swept up thousands of people in recent years.
The Prosecutor General's office in their statement on Monday accused the group of running 'Russophobic projects" and activities aimed at Russia's 'political and economic isolation.'
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The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
As Putin ramps up his summer offensive in Ukraine, will he succeed?
A peevish spokesman for Vladimir Putin bristled with indignation this week at Donald Trump 's description of Russia 's invasion of Ukraine as 'like kids fighting in the park'. It's not, Dmitry Peskov pouted, the conflict is an 'existential question' for Russia. 'This is a question of our security and the future of ourselves and our children, the future of our country,' continued Putin's spokesman who has grown more accustomed to preening with pleasure at the relentless assaults on Ukraine from the White House this year. He is right. Victory for Russia was once defined as regime change in Kyiv. But it really need only be a messed up Ukraine, unstable, violent and impoverished. Because a democratic Ukraine enjoying cultural renaissance, freedom, and economic growth with lots of Russian speakers shows Russia's population that there's an alternative to the kleptocratic autocracy they currently endure. As the summer fighting season gets underway in the fourth year of Putin's full scale invasion of its neighbour, Russia has clearly shifted its main effort to forever destabilising Ukraine. Kyiv, meanwhile, has demonstrated that it is no longer on the back foot, and that it is far from defeated. Indeed two years after its failed summer counter offensive, Kyiv is growing in strength and confidence. Ukraine doesn't have the capacity to drive Russia out of its lands this year. But it is hanging on and by next year may find it has the upper hand as European aid begins to come through to replace the military support that the US has withdrawn. Donald Trump has provided no new military support this year. About $3.85 billion remains unspent from previous allocations – after that… nothing. Russian forces have renewed their attacks around Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka on the eastern front. The aim here is to try to encircle Ukrainian forces and cut the supply routes to Kramatorsk, the administrative headquarters of Ukrainian held Donetsk province which Russia has mostly captured – and illegally annexed. Ukrainian military sources on the ground have reported a massive increase in the range and efficacy of Russian fiberoptic guided drones with a range up to 15 miles unspooling a filament of optical cable directly connected to an operator on the ground. The guidance system makes them invulnerable to jamming equipment used by Ukraine. Elite Russian drone forces have been deployed from the Russian counter attacks to drive Kyiv's forces out of Kursk to the eastern front, they said. The results have been very small advances by Russian troops, at enormous cost. Nato estimates that around 950 Russians are being killed every day. Although casualty figures are rarely accurate, live video feeds show small numbers of Russian and Ukrainian troops scrabbling for cover and dodging drones in the dust and rubble of apocalyptic landscapes - which are now believed to be responsible for more than 70 per cent of casualties. Ukraine has repeatedly offered an unconditional 30-day ceasefire and face-to-face meetings between Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin. The US efforts to broker an armistice have gone nowhere while Russia is trying to capture more of Ukraine. Putin may have given up on regime change but he wants to take all of the territories Russia has illegally annexed – Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Luhansk and Donetsk, as well as hanging on to Crimea. If he manages this he may be able to convince European leaders that a peace along lines defined by the Kremlin is the least-bad outcome. This summer his main targets continue to be the central section of the eastern front but he is also driving hard on Ukraine's northern border with incursions and the capture of small border villages. This allows Moscow to add pressure on Kyiv – keeping the battle closer to Ukraine's centres of power by putting major cities, and regional capitals, like Sumy and Kharkiv under constant threat from artillery and short range rockets. Russia's wider air campaign has been drastically ramped up. More than 400 missiles and drones are now swarming Ukraine on an almost nightly basis with cruise and ballistic missiles getting through air defences in greater numbers because of a shortage of air defences – notably the US manufactured Patriot systems which are the most effective in downing Moscow's most dangerous long range weapons. On Saturday, the mayor of Kharkiv said citizens had faced the largest Russian bombardment of the city of the war, involving dozens of drones . 'Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the start of the full-scale war,' Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram. But Nato has recently announced an extra €20 billion in military aid. Germany has said it will soon send Ukraine long-range bombs capable of striking deep into Russia. The UK has added £350 million in funding for 100,000 new drones and already delivered 144,000 rounds of artillery ammunition this year. Dutch defense minister Ruben Brekelmans said the Netherlands is giving €400 million euros including 100 naval vessels, including patrol boats, transport boats, interceptors, and special operations ships and more than 50 naval drones. Norway is stumping up $700 million in 'drone-aid' too. This shift to drone warfare has allowed Ukraine to regain initiative to offset the sheer mass of old-school military might that Russia has brought to bear. The 'meat grinder' assaults by Russian infantry have almost stopped. Ukrainian officers told The Independent that Russian artillery bombardments have fallen away as drones have easily tracked and destroyed the big guns of the traditional battlefield. And Ukraine's Operation Spiderweb, in which Kyiv claimed to have destroyed or damaged a third of Russia's strategic bombers along with some spy planes in a staggering long range long term operation that hit Russian airfields 5,000km apart, have greatly boosted morale. Along with ongoing long-range assaults with drones on Moscow's airports, its energy infrastructure, and commanders themselves, Ukraine has turned the tactics of hybrid warfare developed by Russia back on Putin. It is unlikely Ukraine will turn Trump back to outright support for the embattled democracy – he has gone too far in his public support for Putin to make that a credible ambition. But there are signs that America won't try to cripple Kyiv's war efforts as it has threatened to do. No wonder Putin's peeved.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Putin pummels Ukraine's second city as missiles, drones and bombs rain on Kharkiv - killing two as Trump says attack is the Ukrainians' fault
Russia pummelled Ukraine again overnight as missiles, drones and bombs rained down on the country's second largest city Kharkiv. At least two people were killed and dozens were wounded in the attacks which US President Donald Trump has since blamed on Ukraine. More than 40 explosions were heard as Kremlin forces unleashed 48 kamikaze drones plus six aerial bombs and missiles on Kharkiv just before dawn today. A 26-year-old woman who was trapped under a slab of concrete was eventually freed three hours after the strike, and was seen being stretchered to an ambulance. Eighteen multi-storey buildings and 13 private houses were also hit and damaged. Speaking on board Air Force One, Trump said Ukraine had provoked Vladimir Putin with Operation Spiderweb which disabled dozens of his nuclear strike aircraft. 'They gave Putin a reason to go and bomb the hell out of them last night,' Trump said. 'That's what I didn't like. When I saw it, I said, "Here we go, now it's going to be a strike".' Kharkiv's mayor has described last night's assault as the 'most powerful attack' on the city since the start of the war. 'Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the beginning of the full-scale war,' Igor Terekhov posted on Telegram. 'As of now, at least 40 explosions have been heard in the city over the past hour and a half,' he wrote at 4.40am local time. Two people were killed and 17 wounded, the mayor said. A woman was also pulled alive from the rubble of a high-rise building. Kharkiv regional Governor Oleg Synegubov said the wounded included two children. 'Medical personnel are providing the necessary assistance,' he wrote. The northeastern city was already reeling from an attack on Thursday that wounded at least 18 people, including four children. In the western city of Lutsk, near the Polish border, rescuers on Saturday discovered a second fatality from the previous day's strikes, describing the victim as a woman in her 20s. The aerial bombardments come days after Ukraine launched a brazen attack well beyond the frontlines, damaging nuclear-capable military planes at Russian air bases and prompting vows of revenge from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine has been pushing for an unconditional and immediate 30-day truce, issuing its latest proposal during peace talks in Istanbul on Monday. But Russia, which now controls around one-fifth of Ukraine's territory, has repeatedly rejected such offers. In other overnight strikes, Russia hit Pavlohrad in Dnipropetrovsk, along with Odesa, Poltava, and Vinnytsia regions. Footage showed brutal multiple strikes on Ternopil, the second night in succession it was targeted. Russia was forced to close two major airports in Moscow - Domodedovo and Zhukovsky - amid drone threats. The city's mayor Sergei Sobyanin said: 'The Defence Ministry's air defence forces shot down four drones that attacked Moscow. 'Emergency services are working at the site of the debris fall.' Russian forces alleged a Ukrainian drone had been shot down near the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant in Kurchatov, Kursk region. Ukrainian drones also targeted Ryazan and western city Smolensk, according to reports.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Meet Ukraine's special ops unit wiping out Putin's war machine from bomber blitz to £3bn bridge… & what they'll hit next
DEEP behind enemy lines, Ukraine's special ops unit marked a turning point in modern warfare after drones blitzed Vladimir Putin's prized bombers beyond repair. Ukraine's Security Service - the SBU - is wiping out the Russian tyrant's war machine with stunning success. 14 14 14 14 On Sunday, the SBU's Operation Spiderweb destroyed a third of Putin's nuclear bomber fleet. It set a new high point for Ukraine's spies - showing incredible ingenuity, reach, and coordination inside a hostile country. The SBU, led by Vasyl Malyuk, carried out the attack and has proved itself to be one of the best agencies in the world. Over the three years of the war, the SBU has repeatedly assassinated commanders, bombed key sites, and attacked Putin's beloved bridge in Crimea. Despite Russia being larger, stronger, and holding the cards at the start of the war - it is Ukraine who has carried out a string of daring sabotage attacks. Experts told The Sun why they think Ukraine and the SBU has been able to pull off these attacks - and what they could strike next. Best spies in Europe Former MI6 intelligence officer Matthew Dunn said Spiderweb showed the SBU were the best spies in Europe. He said: "Being an intelligence officer, there's no static, fixed rule book about what one does." One question the world has been left asking is how Ukraine managed to get the drones inside Russia. The bestselling spy novelist and podcast host at SafeHouse Productions said there is no clear answer. He said: "The commanders involved in this at high level, they would have been very open-minded about how to get these drones into the country." Dunn said SBU spies could have smuggled drones over the border on foot, via parachute, or even a raft - whatever was the safest and easiest way. He said: "The intelligence operation and the officers involved would have been as creative as possible. "The issue is, the more people you involve... the higher the risk of compromise. "Sometimes with these kind of things, risky and daring as they can be, sometimes simplicity is the answer." Dunne thinks the stunning success of Spiderweb means the SBU will only continue being pragmatic and open-minded. 14 14 14 Dunne said: "The [Spiderweb] punch to Russia is [the SBU] saying, 'we're not giving up, and this is our reach. This is what we can do'." He said the SBU would choose their victims on a "case by case" basis as it continues to cripple the Russian war machine. That's bad news for Putin - who will likely only going to see more goons assassinated, infrastructure attacked, and his beloved Crimea bridge bombed. And foreign intelligence agencies will be watching and trying to figure out the SBU's methods. Russians as spies Dr Jade McGlynn said the SBU uses civilians to sabotage Russia in the exact same way Vlad does to the West. The expert in Ukraine's resistance fighters at King's College London said she expected apathetic and bribed Russians to have played "at least some role" in Sunday's attack. McGlynn believes Ukraine targeted Russians who didn't care for their country or the invasion and needed a bit of spare cash. 14 She said: "We keep on seeing this outsourcing, where they'll [Ukraine's spies] pay random people, maybe lure them in, they know they [Russian civilians] need a bit of money, and then they'll try and bomb a shopping center." Russian bloggers accused Ukraine's spies of hiring Russian lorry drivers to get the shipping crates into position next to the air bases. Lorry drivers reportedly said they received instructions from an "Artem" and had no idea what was in the containers they transported. Ukraine later released footage of the containers starting their journeys - as drivers took the vehicles to their fateful destinations. Eyes and ears On the ground, Putin is also battling to stop partisans, groups of militants, inside Russia who oppose his rule. He's fighting against both Ukrainians caught behind the front line and Russians who hate Putin. McGlynn said it was hard to know exactly how big resistance groups are, how many of them there are, and what exactly they do given the secrecy involved. But she warned that some are the "eyes and ears" of Ukrainian intelligence in Russia. 14 14 McGlynn said: "They're people who just go around and check coordinates, who send things through encrypted special bots. "There's a base here is at this location, or we're seeing a lot of equipment going here, and then the Ukrainians can use that for drone attacks. "That's similar to the way that the French resistance helped with knowing where the German defences were ahead of D-Day - that information targeting [role]." Other groups, such as the Freedom of Russia Legion, are more militant and fight Russia directly. This provides the SBU with agents on the ground inside Russia who can carry out attacks, recruit Russians to do their bidding, and provide key information. Vlad's 'doomed bridge' While Spiderweb was carried out with flying kamikaze drones, the SBU has also pioneered the use of sea drones. They've rendered Vlad's Black Sea fleet useless after destroying 11 Russian ships - including the flagship Moskva - with the unmanned water vehicles. Ukraine has also repeatedly bombed Putin's beloved £3b bridge crossing the Kerch Strait. The tyrant built the span after he annexed Crimea in 2014 and it is key for linking the peninsular with Russia. But to Ukraine it represents Putin's imperialism. A sabotage attack in October 2022 saw Ukraine cause part of the span to collapse after spies placed a bomb on a truck. 14 14 14 Russia arrested five of its own citizens as well as three others and accused them of organising the attack. But it's not just human intelligence the SBU deals with - they have attacked the bridge several other times with sea-based drones. Known as Sea Baby drones, the water-based vehicles have caused havoc to Russia. Two Sea Baby's packed with 850kg of explosives each tore apart a section of the stretch in 2023. Why have Ukraine spies beat Russians? Ambassador John Herbst - who was Washington DC's man in the country between 2003 and 2006 - said Ukraine's spies had been allowed to innovate. In Russia, decision-making is centralised and bureaucratic but in Ukraine officers are given more freedom, he said. Herbst said: "Ukrainian ingenuity has been a regular feature of this war, not to mention the fact that they not only surprised Putin, but they surprised the entire US. "It's very clear that the Ukrainians are operating pretty easily and exceptionally, effectively across Russia." But Herbst said as much as cultural differences mattered - so did similarities. One factor benefiting Ukraine is how familiar they are with Russia - having been a member of the Soviet Union. Their cultural links and shared history meant that Ukrainian spies know how to work inside Russia, deal with Russian civilians, and understand the army. He said: "This is the flip side of something the entire world has been talking about since Ukraine emerged as an independent country, which is the fact that the Russians have had great success in planting agents in Ukrainian intelligence agencies and co-opting those agencies. "Parts of the Ukrainian elite were junior partners [in the Soviet elite] which gave Ukrainian great insight, better insight than we have, into how the Soviet Union operated, and how Russia still operates." Inside Operation Spiderweb By James Halpin, Foreign News Reporter Ukraine's shock sleeper drone blitz on Russia's bomber fleet has delivered a hammer blow to Vladimir Putin's nuclear arsenal. The SAS-style strike against four airfields deep inside Russia is reminiscent of the most daring raids of the WW2 that turned the tide against the Nazis. Volodymyr Zelensky oversaw Operation Spiderweb - much like Winston Churchill did as Britain struck deep behind enemy lines. The Ukrainian said: "It's genuinely satisfying when something I authorized a year and six months ago comes to fruition and deprives Russians of over forty units of strategic aviation. "We will continue this work." Putin's doomsday bomber fleet is now crippled with 41, or a third, of his most prized aircraft lying in smouldering wrecks on tarmac. Ukraine said the sneak attack was worth $7bn (£5.2bn) in damage to Russia - caused by only 117 cheaply made drones. Like Israel's mass pager sabotage against Hezbollah, Kyiv has rewritten the rule book in how to strike the heart of their enemy. Ukraine's spies spent 18 months putting the plan into action and struck on the eve of fresh peace talks in Istanbul.
