Tag: Vladimir Putin

Leaked Kremlin documents suggest Putin holds blackmail leverage over Trump — and that’s why Russia backed him

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A leaked document appears to confirm rumors that the Kremlin holds blackmail leverage over former president Donald Trump.

Russian president Vladimir Putin personally authorized a secret spy agency to back “mentally unstable” Trump for U.S. president during a Jan. 22, 2016, closed session of that country’s national security council, according to what appears to be leaked Kremlin documents obtained by The Guardian.

“It is acutely necessary to use all possible force to facilitate his [Trump’s] election to the post of U.S. president,” the paper says. Continue reading.

Russia’s most aggressive ransomware group disappeared. It’s unclear who made that happen.

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Just days after President Biden demanded that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia shut down ransomware groups attacking American targets, the most aggressive of the groups suddenly went off-line early Tuesday.

The mystery is who made it happen.

The group, called REvil, short for “Ransomware evil,” has been identified by U.S. intelligence agencies as responsible for the attack on one of America’s largest beef producers, JBS. Two weeks after Mr. Biden and Mr. Putin met in Geneva last month, REvil took credit for a hack that affected thousands of businesses around the world over the July 4 holiday. Continue reading.

White House says Biden warned Putin on ransomware attacks

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President Joe Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that the U.S. would take action to “defend its people” against ransomware attacks, per a White House readout of the call on Friday. 

The big picture: The call comes after a Russia-linked group is believed to be behind an attack on software provider Kaseya, the latest in a mass of ransomware attacks impacting U.S. companies. 

What they’re saying: “I made it very clear to him that the United States expects when a ransomware operation coming from his soil — even though it’s not sponsored by the state — we expect him to act. And we’ve given him enough information to act on who that is,” Biden said on Friday afternoon. Continue reading.

Opinion: The absurdity of Putin’s lies should be obvious. Thanks to Trump, it isn’t.

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For the past few years, Republicans in Congress have echoed Russian propaganda. On Wednesday, in Geneva, Vladimir Putin returned the favor: He echoed Republican propaganda.

After a meeting with President Biden, Russia’s strongman used his moment on the international stage to hold a news conference. ABC News’s Rachel Scott was waiting for him.

“The list of your political opponents who are dead, imprisoned or jailed is long,” she said, including “Alexei Navalny, whose organization calls for free and fair elections and an end to corruption …. So my question, Mr. President: What are you so afraid of?” Continue reading.

Biden warns Putin of ‘significant’ US cyber capabilities

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President says meeting was about mutual self-interest

“There were no threats, just simple assertions made,” President Joe Biden said Wednesday in Geneva when asked if he made any threats to Russia during the bilateral summit with President Vladimir Putin.

“I looked at him; I said how would you feel if ransomware took on the pipelines from your oil fields? He said it would matter,” Biden said. “This is not about just our self-interest; it’s about a mutual self-interest.”

Cybersecurity challenges and recent ransomware attacks originating from Russia against U.S. infrastructure were a significant topic of conversation for the U.S. side during Wednesday’s summit, which ran roughly three hours. Continue reading.

Biden says he got what he wanted from Putin summit

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President Biden on Wednesday framed his three-hour sit-down with Russian President Vladimir Putin as a foreign policy win, even as tensions on cyberattacks and human rights loom over the future of the relationship between the two leaders.

White House officials sought to keep expectations low and tightly controlled the optics of the meeting, opting for a solo press conference with Biden instead of a joint one with him standing next to Putin.

The president would not divulge his planned message to Putin when asked at the preceding Group of Seven (G-7) and NATO summits, and officials repeatedly said they hoped for a “predictable and stable” relationship with Moscow, even as experts noted Putin thrives on sowing disorder. Continue reading.

Putin Warns of a Russian ‘Red Line’ the West Will Regret Crossing

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In a state-of-the nation speech, President Vladimir Putin warned of a “fast and tough” response to security threats, in a message seemingly aimed at President Biden and delivered amid large protests.

MOSCOW — He warned ominously of “red lines” in Russia’s security that, if crossed, would bring a powerful “asymmetric” response. He reminded Western leaders once again of the fearsomeness of his country’s modernized nuclear arsenal. And he boasted of Russia’s moral superiority over the West.

Yet even as President Vladimir V. Putin lashed out at foreign enemies real or perceived in a state-of-the-nation speech on Wednesday, tens of thousands of Russians defied a heavy police presence to pour into the streets to challenge his rule. In Moscow, some gathered across the street from the Kremlin to chant, “Go Away!”

It was a snapshot of Russia in the third decade of Mr. Putin’s rule: a leader facing an increasingly angry and desperate opposition but firmly in power with his country’s vast resources and huge security apparatus at his disposal. Continue reading.

Trump praises Putin on Fox News — after Alexei Navalny hospitalized in prison

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Former President Donald Trump on Monday praised his relationship with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

The statements came after Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was transferred to a prison hospital and the Pentagon warned about Russia’s troop build-up along the border with Ukraine.

Fox News personality Sean Hannity asked Trump what he would do differently if he were to run again in 2024 and win. Continue reading.

Scoop: U.S. ambassador refuses Kremlin push to leave Russia

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The United States ambassador to Russia is refusing to leave the country after the Kremlin “advised” him to return home following new Biden administration sanctions, two sources briefed on the situation tell Axios.

Why it matters: John Sullivan, a respected diplomat who President Biden has, so far, retained from the Trump era, is at the center of one of the most important early tests of Biden’s resolve.

  • Russia’s foreign ministry announced Friday it would expel 10 American diplomats and bar current officials, such as Attorney General Merrick Garland, from visiting Russia. Continue reading.

Biden proposes summit, raises Ukraine escalation in call with Putin

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President Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday and proposed that they meet for a summit “in a third country in the coming months,” according to the White House.

Why it matters: The call comes amid a Russian build-up on Ukraine’s borders, and after Putin reacted furiously to an interview in which Biden agreed that the Russian president was a “killer.”

  • Biden expressed U.S. support for Ukraine, raised “concerns over the sudden Russian military build-up,” and called on Russia to reduce tensions, per a White House readout. Continue reading.