President Biden has touted the NATO-Russia proxy war in Ukraine as a “battle between democracy and autocracy,” overlooking Kiev’s backsliding on elections (which have been canceled), and political, speech and religious rights and freedoms (which have been curtailed). Now, observers fear that an even more severe clampdown may be on the horizon.
While Ukrainian militants consistently fail to produce any meaningful gains amid the so-called “counteroffensive,” which started in early June and quickly. 14.08.2023, Sputnik International
On January 19, 2023, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, interviewed on the Turkish TVT World TV channel, said that Tehran does not recognize Crimea, Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics, and Kherson and Zaporozhye regions as part of Russia. According to the Iranian Foreign Minister, despite "excellent relations" with Moscow, Iran recognizes the sovereignty and
Dzhamal Iskhakov, a 41-year-old taxi driver originally from Tajikistan, has lived in St Petersburg for more than ten years. He received Russian citizenship three years ago. On September 29, he came to the city’s migration office to register his father’s arrival. But instead, he received a call-up notice to join Russian forces fighting in Ukraine “I have poor eyesight, minus 19-20,” he said. “How can I do army service with such eyesight? A [migration] officer seized my passport and told me to sign the summons. I refused to sign because I know my rights.”
Sardarbek Mamatillaev was happy when he was granted Russian citizenship in 2021. But the 24-year-old from Kyrgyzstan did not expect to receive a call to arms a few months later.