WASHINGTON (AP) — Current and former government officials painted a sinister portrait Wednesday of Russian cyberattacks on the United States aimed at interfering in the U.S. presidential election last year. Moscow stockpiled stolen information and selectively disseminated it during the campaign in an effort to undermine the legitimacy of the American political process, they said. … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is dismissing as “a load of nonsense” the idea that Russia has damaging information on President Donald Trump and denies having any relationship with him. “I never met with him. We have a lot of Americans who visit us,” Putin said in an interview with NBC’s “Sunday Night … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Surrounded by multiplying questions, President Donald Trump complained Wednesday that “no politician in history” has been treated worse. Democrats demanded an independent commission to dig into his firing of FBI Director James Comey, but Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan cautioned against “rushing to judgment.” Ryan said Congress needs to get the facts, … Continue reading
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Monday boasted it successfully launched a new type of “medium long-range” ballistic rocket that can carry a heavy nuclear warhead, an escalation of its nuclear program that the U.N. Security Council warned could bring new sanctions on Pyongyang. Outsiders saw a significant technological jump in the weekend … Continue reading
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey shot down a Russian fighter plane Tuesday — a long-feared crisis in Syria’s civil war and apparently the first time a NATO member has downed a Russian plane in a half-century. At least one of the pilots was reported killed. Russian President Vladimir Putin called Turkey’s action a “stab in … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian military says its strategic bombers have struck targets in Syria in a third straight day of a heavy bombing blitz. Russia, which has conducted air campaign in Syria since Sept. 30, sharply raised its intensity this week on President Vladimir Putin’s orders. Putin told the military to step up the … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — Details of a new Russian submarine-launched nuclear torpedo have been shown on state-controlled TV, a secret the Kremlin said should never have been aired. Some observers, however, saw it as a deliberate leak. The airing of the video on television channels under tight Kremlin control raised suspicions that it was done intentionally … Continue reading
HEMEIMEEM AIRBASE, Syria (AP) — Sleek combat jets loaded with precision bunker-buster bombs roar into the skies as soldiers in desert-style uniforms march past rows of neat housing at this Russian military base at one of Syria’s largest airports. The air campaign in Syria, Russia’s first military action outside the former Soviet Union since the … Continue reading
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — President Bashar Assad has traveled to Moscow in his first known trip abroad since war broke out in Syria in 2011, meeting his strongest ally, Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The two leaders stressed that military operations in Syria— in which Moscow is the latest and most powerful addition— must lead to … Continue reading
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Russian warships in the Caspian Sea fired cruise missiles as Syrian government troops launched a ground offensive Wednesday in central Syria, in the first major combined air-and-ground assault since Moscow began its military campaign in the country last week. The missiles, launched from a Russian flotilla in the Caspian Sea, travelled … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — Galina Timchenko recalls how proud she felt when the Russian news website she edited reached 3 million users per day. When she reported the figures to the website’s owner, he was horrified. “At that moment something snapped inside and I understood that this is the end, because there cannot be such an … Continue reading
MADRID (AP) — The U.S. does not believe Russia’s incursion into Turkey’s airspace was an accident, a senior U.S. official said Monday, adding that urgent talks are underway on what to do about the weekend incident. The official said the event is the type of unprofessional military conduct that U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter spoke … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia launched airstrikes Wednesday in Syria, sharply escalating Moscow’s role in the conflict but also raising questions about whether its intent is fighting Islamic State militants or protecting longtime ally, President Bashar Assad. President Vladimir Putin called it a pre-emptive strike against the militants, and the Russian Defense Ministry said its warplanes … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — The latest developments as Russia and other nations counter Islamic State militants in Syria. All times local: 5:00 p.m. Pentagon’s press secretary says Defense Secretary Ash Carter has instructed his staff to talk to Russian officials about how to keep each other’s air operations in Syria from colliding or getting in each … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — Face-to-face for the first time in nearly a year, President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday will confront rising tensions over Moscow’s military engagement in Syria, as well as the stubborn crisis in Ukraine. Underscoring their deep differences, the U.S. and Russia couldn’t even agree on the purpose … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 