Russia first country to formally recognise Taliban rule
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it had received credentials from Afghanistan's newly appointed Ambassador Gul Hassan Hassan. The official recognition of the Afghan government will foster "productive bilateral cooperation," the ministry said in a statement.
Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry called it a historic step, and quoted Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi as welcoming the decision as "a good example for other countries."
The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of US and NATO forces. Since then, they have sought international recognition while also enforcing their strict interpretation of Islamic law.
While no country had formally recognised the Taliban administration until now, the group had engaged in high-level talks with many nations and established some diplomatic ties with countries including China and the United Arab Emirates.
Still, the Taliban government has been relatively isolated on the world stage, largely over its restrictions on women.
Although the Taliban initially promised a more moderate rule than during their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001, it started to enforce restrictions on women and girls soon after the 2021 takeover. Women are barred from most jobs and public places, including parks, baths and gyms, while girls are banned from education beyond sixth grade.
Russian officials have recently been emphasising the need to engage with the Taliban to help stabilise Afghanistan, and lifted a ban on the Taliban in April.
Russia's ambassador to Afghanistan, Dmitry Zhirnov, said in remarks broadcast by state Channel One television that the decision to officially recognise the Taliban government was made by President Vladimir Putin on advice from Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Zhirnov said the decision proves Russia's "sincere striving for the development of full-fledged relations with Afghanistan."
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Enthusiasm for joining up in Ukraine has also been dampened by reports of corruption, as well as poor training and command. Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council warned on Monday that Russia was also waging an "information campaign" by spreading a bot on messaging platform Telegram that purports to collect information about the location of draft offices. " a coordinated attempt by Russia to destabilise the mobilisation process and sow panic among the population," the Centre for Countering Disinformation said in a statement. The recent strikes also follow a string of bombings at recruitment centres and arson attacks on military vehicles earlier this year, which Ukraine's domestic security service has said is Russian sabotage. Russia has struck two military recruitment centres in separate drone attacks, doubling down on a new campaign of strikes that Kyiv says is aimed at disrupting military recruitment. 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The Advertiser
an hour ago
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Sacked Russian transport minister found dead in his car
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A presidential decree published earlier on Monday gave no reason for the dismissal of Roman Starovoit after barely a year in the job. Political analysts were quick to raise the possibility that he may have been dismissed in connection with an investigation into corruption in the region he once ran. Reuters could not independently confirm these suggestions, though a transport industry source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Starovoit's position had been in question for months due to questions about the same corruption scandal, which centred on funds earmarked for fortifying Russia's border with Ukraine in the Kursk region. There were conflicting reports about the timing of Starovoit's death. The principal hypothesis is that he took his own life, state investigators said on Monday. Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said that it was working to establish the precise circumstances. Various Russian media cited law enforcement sources as saying a pistol belonging to Starovoit had been found alongside his body in his car. Before being appointed transport minister in May 2024, Starovoit had been the governor of the Kursk region for nearly five years. Three months after he became transport minister, Ukrainian troops crossed the border into Kursk in the biggest foreign incursion into Russian territory since the Second World War and were only pushed out earlier this year after fierce fighting and widespread destruction. In April this year, Starovoit's successor as governor, Alexei Smirnov, was charged with embezzling money earmarked for defence purposes amid accusations that the funds for border defences had been stolen, leaving Kursk more vulnerable to Ukrainian attack. Pressed earlier on Monday by reporters on whether his dismissal meant Putin had lost trust in Starovoit over Kursk, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "a loss of trust is mentioned if there is a loss of trust". "There is no such wording in the (Kremlin) decree." Starovoit's dismissal comes at a time of significant challenges for Russia's transport sector as the war in Ukraine drags on for a fourth year. Russia's aviation sector is short of spare parts and Russian Railways, the country's largest employer, is grappling with soaring interest costs as high rates, needed to curb higher inflation exacerbated by the war, take their toll. The Kremlin said Andrei Nikitin, a former governor of the Novgorod region, had been appointed acting transport minister and it published photographs of him shaking hands with Putin in the Kremlin. Asked about Nikitin's swift appointment, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said: "At present, in the president's opinion, Andrei Nikitin's professional qualities and experience will best contribute to ensuring that this agency, which the president described as extremely important, fulfils its tasks and functions." Two transport industry sources said plans to replace Starovoit with Nikitin had been in the works since before last month's International Economic Forum in St Petersburg. The transport ministry declined to comment on Monday. At his meeting with Putin, Nikitin spoke about working on the huge task of digitising Russia's transport industry in an effort to reduce cargo bottlenecks and ensure smoother cross-border flows of goods. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Russia's sacked transport minister has been found dead in his car outside Moscow with a gunshot wound, hours after President Vladimir Putin fired him. A presidential decree published earlier on Monday gave no reason for the dismissal of Roman Starovoit after barely a year in the job. Political analysts were quick to raise the possibility that he may have been dismissed in connection with an investigation into corruption in the region he once ran. Reuters could not independently confirm these suggestions, though a transport industry source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Starovoit's position had been in question for months due to questions about the same corruption scandal, which centred on funds earmarked for fortifying Russia's border with Ukraine in the Kursk region. There were conflicting reports about the timing of Starovoit's death. The principal hypothesis is that he took his own life, state investigators said on Monday. Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said that it was working to establish the precise circumstances. Various Russian media cited law enforcement sources as saying a pistol belonging to Starovoit had been found alongside his body in his car. Before being appointed transport minister in May 2024, Starovoit had been the governor of the Kursk region for nearly five years. Three months after he became transport minister, Ukrainian troops crossed the border into Kursk in the biggest foreign incursion into Russian territory since the Second World War and were only pushed out earlier this year after fierce fighting and widespread destruction. In April this year, Starovoit's successor as governor, Alexei Smirnov, was charged with embezzling money earmarked for defence purposes amid accusations that the funds for border defences had been stolen, leaving Kursk more vulnerable to Ukrainian attack. Pressed earlier on Monday by reporters on whether his dismissal meant Putin had lost trust in Starovoit over Kursk, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "a loss of trust is mentioned if there is a loss of trust". "There is no such wording in the (Kremlin) decree." Starovoit's dismissal comes at a time of significant challenges for Russia's transport sector as the war in Ukraine drags on for a fourth year. Russia's aviation sector is short of spare parts and Russian Railways, the country's largest employer, is grappling with soaring interest costs as high rates, needed to curb higher inflation exacerbated by the war, take their toll. The Kremlin said Andrei Nikitin, a former governor of the Novgorod region, had been appointed acting transport minister and it published photographs of him shaking hands with Putin in the Kremlin. Asked about Nikitin's swift appointment, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said: "At present, in the president's opinion, Andrei Nikitin's professional qualities and experience will best contribute to ensuring that this agency, which the president described as extremely important, fulfils its tasks and functions." Two transport industry sources said plans to replace Starovoit with Nikitin had been in the works since before last month's International Economic Forum in St Petersburg. The transport ministry declined to comment on Monday. At his meeting with Putin, Nikitin spoke about working on the huge task of digitising Russia's transport industry in an effort to reduce cargo bottlenecks and ensure smoother cross-border flows of goods. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636
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Sacked Russian transport minister found dead in his car
Russia's sacked transport minister has been found dead in his car outside Moscow with a gunshot wound, hours after President Vladimir Putin fired him. A presidential decree published earlier on Monday gave no reason for the dismissal of Roman Starovoit after barely a year in the job. Political analysts were quick to raise the possibility that he may have been dismissed in connection with an investigation into corruption in the region he once ran. Reuters could not independently confirm these suggestions, though a transport industry source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Starovoit's position had been in question for months due to questions about the same corruption scandal, which centred on funds earmarked for fortifying Russia's border with Ukraine in the Kursk region. There were conflicting reports about the timing of Starovoit's death. The principal hypothesis is that he took his own life, state investigators said on Monday. Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said that it was working to establish the precise circumstances. Various Russian media cited law enforcement sources as saying a pistol belonging to Starovoit had been found alongside his body in his car. Before being appointed transport minister in May 2024, Starovoit had been the governor of the Kursk region for nearly five years. Three months after he became transport minister, Ukrainian troops crossed the border into Kursk in the biggest foreign incursion into Russian territory since the Second World War and were only pushed out earlier this year after fierce fighting and widespread destruction. In April this year, Starovoit's successor as governor, Alexei Smirnov, was charged with embezzling money earmarked for defence purposes amid accusations that the funds for border defences had been stolen, leaving Kursk more vulnerable to Ukrainian attack. Pressed earlier on Monday by reporters on whether his dismissal meant Putin had lost trust in Starovoit over Kursk, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "a loss of trust is mentioned if there is a loss of trust". "There is no such wording in the (Kremlin) decree." Starovoit's dismissal comes at a time of significant challenges for Russia's transport sector as the war in Ukraine drags on for a fourth year. Russia's aviation sector is short of spare parts and Russian Railways, the country's largest employer, is grappling with soaring interest costs as high rates, needed to curb higher inflation exacerbated by the war, take their toll. The Kremlin said Andrei Nikitin, a former governor of the Novgorod region, had been appointed acting transport minister and it published photographs of him shaking hands with Putin in the Kremlin. Asked about Nikitin's swift appointment, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said: "At present, in the president's opinion, Andrei Nikitin's professional qualities and experience will best contribute to ensuring that this agency, which the president described as extremely important, fulfils its tasks and functions." Two transport industry sources said plans to replace Starovoit with Nikitin had been in the works since before last month's International Economic Forum in St Petersburg. The transport ministry declined to comment on Monday. At his meeting with Putin, Nikitin spoke about working on the huge task of digitising Russia's transport industry in an effort to reduce cargo bottlenecks and ensure smoother cross-border flows of goods. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636
