Russian forces pillaged thousands of valuable artifacts and artworks from two museums, a cathedral, and a national archive in the Ukrainian city of Kherson before withdrawing in early November, Human Rights Watch said on December 20.
U.S. lawmakers have unveiled a $1.7 trillion spending package that includes another large amount of aid for Ukraine and a boost of nearly 10 percent in defense spending.
The Russian Justice Ministry is seeking the closure of the country’s oldest human rights watchdog, the Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG), amid a Kremlin campaign to muzzle criticism of the war in Ukraine.
A court in Kazakhstan on December 20 sent an Almaty-based investigative journalist to pretrial detention for at least two months in connection with a probe into suspicious real estate deals linked to the brother of former President Nursultan Nazarbaev.
Britain has ordered a Russian oligarch-backed investment company LetterOne to sell regional broadband provider Upp Corporation, saying its current ownership is a national-security risk.