Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the U.S. transmits intelligence to Ukraine on a regular basis online. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Tucker Carlson, a prominent conservative American pundit and former Fox News anchor, has unleashed a bombshell accusation against the Joe Biden administration, alleging that they attempted to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin. This extraordinary claim was made during the latest episode of Carlson’s podcast, “The Tucker Carlson Show,” where he was engaged in a conversation with American writer and journalist Matt Taibbi.

Carlson’s assertion is nothing short of sensational, and he quoted former US Secretary of State Tony Blinken as an example of someone who was pushing for a real war and trying to kill Putin. “The Biden administration did, they tried to kill Putin,” Carlson said, adding “which is insane” and “that’s demented, that you would even think of something like that. So why were they? Because chaos is a screen that protects them”.

Tucker Carlson said that the Biden administration tried to kill Vladimir Putin

The goal is to start World War III and sow chaos. Carlson said this during an interview with journalist Matt Taibbi. pic.twitter.com/k7STerZxFg

— Маrina Wolf (@volkova_ma57183) January 28, 2025

It’s worth noting that Carlson’s claim is not backed by any concrete evidence, and his statement has sparked widespread controversy. He was ousted from Fox News in 2023 during when the network was facing legal issues over its airing of inaccurate claims of electoral fraud in the 2020 U.S. presidential race.

The Biden administration has not yet responded to these allegations, but Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has commented on the matter, stating that the Russian special services are taking all necessary measures to ensure Putin’s safety.

“The Russian special services are constantly taking all the necessary measures to ensure public safety, and, of course, the safety of those who are under state protection. This concerns first and foremost the head of the state”, Peskov said.

Carlson’s history of parroting Kremlin talking points and criticising US military aid for Ukraine has raised eyebrows, and his recent comments have only added fuel to the fire. He has even said “You can’t say it enough, Ukraine is not a democracy. … In American terms, you would call Ukraine a tyranny.” His sit-down interview in Moscow with Putin and his subsequent interview with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have been widely criticised.
 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the situation is truly critical. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Russia warned on Saturday (December 28, 2024) of severe environmental damage from a huge oil spill in the Black Sea caused when two tankers collided in a storm near Crimea, which declared a state of emergency.

One tanker sank and another ran aground on December 15 in the Kerch Strait between Russia and the annexed Crimean peninsula.

Thousands of volunteers have been mobilised for clean-up operations that have been criticised as insufficient by some Russian scientists.

The tankers were carrying 9,200 tonnes of fuel oil, around 40% of which may have spilled into the sea, according to authorities.

“The situation is truly critical,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Russian press agencies.

“It is unfortunately impossible to calculate for the moment the extent of the environmental damage but specialists are working regularly on it,” he said.

The Moscow-installed governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksionov, said on Telegram he had declared a state of emergency “because of the oil products spill in the Kerch Strait”.

Russia’s Transport Ministry insisted on Saturday (December 28, 2028) that “all polluted aquatic areas that have been identified have been cleaned” and “no recurring pollution has been detected”.

But Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov was more cautious, saying: “The threat of a new fuel oil leak in the Black Sea from the tankers and spills on the coast persists”.

President Vladimir Putin earlier this month called the oil spill an “ecological disaster”.

Media reported on Sunday said that Asma al-Assad had filed for divorce.

Odesa, Ukraine:

The Kremlin accused US President Joe Biden on Monday of escalating the 1,000-day-old war in Ukraine, promising a “palpable” response to any use of US long-range missiles by Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia.

Biden, who in January hands over the White House to Donald Trump, a sceptic of US support for Ukraine, called at a G20 summit attended by Russia’s foreign minister for support for Ukraine’s sovereignty. 

G20 leaders said Monday they welcome “constructive initiatives” for “comprehensive, just, and durable peace” in Ukraine.

The long-range weapons dispute raged as Moscow unleashed a second missile attack in two days on the Ukrainian Black Sea city of Odesa, killing 10 people and wounding 55, authorities said.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said the US decision to allow the use of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) could be a “game changer”.

Kyiv has long sought authorisation to use ATACMS against military targets inside Russia as its troops face some of the most intense pressure since Russia launched its offensive in February 2022.

Russia’s aerial bombardments have levelled entire districts near the front line and decimated energy facilities across Ukraine.

“The longer Ukraine can strike, the shorter the war will be,” Sybiga told reporters ahead of a UN Security Council meeting to mark 1,000 days since Russia’s full invasion.

“It could have very positive impact on the situation on the battlefield,” he added.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “it’s obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends… to continue fuelling the fire and provoke a further escalation of tensions”. 

Speaking at the G20 summit in Brazil, Biden said: “The United States strongly supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Everyone around this table in my view should as well.”

A US official told AFP the major policy shift on the missiles was in response to Russia’s deployment of thousands of North Korean troops in its campaign.

‘Palpable’ Russian response

Peskov said President Vladimir Putin had clearly expressed Moscow’s position in September when he declared that using the missiles would put NATO “at war” with Russia.

Putin said then that if Ukraine attacked Russia with long-range missiles, Moscow would “take the appropriate decisions” — a point the foreign ministry echoed on Monday.

“Kyiv’s use of long-range missiles to attack our territory would represent the direct involvement of the United States and its satellites in hostilities against Russia,” the ministry said in a statement, vowing an “appropriate and palpable” response.

Washington’s decision comes amid growing concerns over reports North Korea has deployed upwards of 10,000 troops to Russia to be sent into combat against Ukraine.

US Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer said Washington had been clear it would formulate a response to the Kremlin’s decision to deploy “a foreign country’s forces” in Russia. 

Zelensky visits frontline

Russia, which has made rapid gains in Donetsk over recent weeks, claimed the capture of another village in the eastern region.

The Donetsk regional governor said Russian attacks killed three people and wounded two others in the towns of Siversk and Kostyantynivka.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said he visited two key frontline cities — Pokrovsk and Kupiansk.

Pokrovsk is an important Ukrainian garrison city in the Donetsk region that Russian forces have been targeting, while Russian troops briefly entered Kupiansk last week and remain close to the outskirts.

“This is a tense area,” Zelensky said in Pokrovsk, thanking Ukrainian forces for ensuring that the wider Donbas territory was not “completely occupied by Russia”.

Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use US missiles to strike inside Russia could prompt European allies to also review their stance. Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer refused to be drawn on the issue at the G20.

The decision was hailed as a “totally good” step by French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking on the sidelines of the summit.

A senior Ukrainian presidency official expressed frustration over the time taken to get approval, however, saying the decision was “needed a year ago”.

The international chemical weapons watchdog, meanwhile, said that it had found banned CS riot gas in shell and soil samples provided by Ukraine from the conflict zone.

The presence of the gas violated a convention on the use of toxic weapons.

Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of using chemical weapons, while Britain and the US also charge Moscow with using banned toxic agents against Ukrainian troops.

Ukrainian engineers were still repairing damaged facilities from a Russian missile and drone barrage a day earlier.

Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said around 220,000 consumers were without electricity in the Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Russia’s State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Russian MPs on Tuesday (September 24, 2024) called for a ban on promoting childless lifestyles, the latest measures targeting what Moscow depicts as a liberal “ideology” at odds with Russia’s conservative values.

Facing an ageing population and low birth rates, Moscow is seeking to reverse a demographic slump, accentuated by its military offensive on Ukraine, that threatens its economic future.

The Kremlin, the powerful Russian Orthodox Church, and high-profile conservative public figures regularly promote what they call “traditional values,” both as a bulwark against Western liberal ideas and as a way to arrest Russia’s demographic decline.

“We have started considering a Bill banning propaganda of a conscious refusal to have children,” Parliament Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin wrote on social media.

The measures would amount to a “ban on the ideology of childlessness and the childfree movement,” he said. The proposed law would apply to materials online, in media, advertising and in films. Violations would be punishable by fines ranging from 4,00,000 rubles on individuals to 5 million rubles for businesses, Mr. Volodin said.

The latest Bill echoes a Soviet-era tax on men and women without children. Foreign citizens who violate its provisions would face detention or deportation, the state-run TASS news agency reported.

New Delhi:

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has alleged that several prominent right-wing social media influencers were unknowingly part of a Russian operation designed to sway the 2024 US presidential elections, CNN reported. The influencers, who collectively reach millions of Americans, were allegedly used as “mouthpieces” for Russian propaganda without being aware of the foreign influence behind their financial support.

According to the report, court documents unsealed this week revealed that Russian state media funnelled nearly $10 million through a Tennessee-based online media company, identified by CNN as Tenet Media. The company employed well-known right-wing commentators such as Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Lauren Southern, Tayler Hansen, Matt Christiansen, and Dave Rubin. While these individuals were not directly accused of wrongdoing, the indictment has shed light on how they may have unknowingly advanced Russian interests.

Two employees of Russian state media were charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and money laundering. The DOJ states that Russia’s goal was to push narratives that aligned with Kremlin objectives, such as promoting domestic political division, weakening US support for Ukraine, and boosting conservative figures like Donald Trump.

These individuals, unaware of their role in Russian operations, were described in Cold War terms as “useful idiots.”

Tenet Media

Tenet Media, launched last year, presents itself as a platform for “heterodox views” on Western political and cultural issues. It was founded in 2022 by conservative Canadian YouTuber Lauren Chen and her husband Liam Donovan. The company has not responded to the allegations. 

Its roster includes several former mainstream journalists turned independent creators, such as Tim Pool, who previously worked with Vice, and Benny Johnson, formerly of BuzzFeed and the Independent Journal Review. The outlet has grown in influence, hosting shows featuring far-right personalities and interviewing high-profile figures like Donald Trump.

Though the influencers claimed to retain full editorial control over their content, the DOJ alleges that the content they produced served Russia’s interests. According to court documents, Russian state media employees from RT sought to exploit these influencers’ vast audiences by amplifying pro-Russian narratives, including criticisms of US support for Ukraine and divisive discussions on LGBTQ issues.

While none of the commentators have been charged, the DOJ alleges that they were paid by Kremlin-controlled sources to promote content that benefitted Russian interests. At least three of the influencers have been contacted by the FBI for voluntary interviews. 

What The Influencers said

Tim Pool, host of The Culture War Podcast, responded to the allegations by saying that he was a victim. “If these allegations prove true, I as well as the other personalities and commentators were deceived and are victims. I cannot speak for anyone else at the company as to what they do or to what they are instructed,” Pool told his 2.1 million followers on X. 

My statement regarding allegations and the DOJ Indictment

Should these allegations prove true, I as well as the other personalities and commentators were deceived and are victims. I cannot speak for anyone else at the company as to what they do or to what they are instructed…

— Tim Pool (@Timcast) September 4, 2024

“Disturbed by the allegations in today’s indictment, which make clear that myself and other influencers were victims in this alleged scheme,” said Benny Johnson who has 2.7 million followers on X. 

A statement on the leaked DOJ indictment today:

A year ago, a media startup pitched my company to provide content as an independent contractor. Our lawyers negotiated a standard, arms length deal, which was later terminated. We are disturbed by the allegations in today’s…

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) September 4, 2024

Dave Rubin, host of The Rubin Report, claimed that his show with Tenet Media ended months ago. “I and other commentators were the victims of this scheme. I knew absolutely nothing about any of this fraudulent activity,” Rubin told his 1.5 million followers on X. 

Statement on the DOJ indictment:

These allegations clearly show that I and other commentators were the victims of this scheme.

I knew absolutely nothing about any of this fraudulent activity. Period.

‘People of the Internet’ was a silly show covering viral videos which ended… pic.twitter.com/KQHYDUi3ot

— Dave Rubin (@RubinReport) September 4, 2024

DOJ Action 

The DOJ has charged two RT employees, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, with conspiracy to commit money laundering and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, the BBC reported. 

The indictment accuses these individuals of overseeing funding and editorial operations while secretly directing Tenet Media’s output to advance Russian interests. Despite the influencers’ claims of independence, federal prosecutors assert that much of the content was strategically aligned with Russian efforts to amplify divisions within the US.

The indictment also alleges elaborate lengths to which the Russian operation went, including the creation of a fake Hungarian investor to mask RT’s involvement and the high salaries paid to the influencers allegedly receiving up to $100,000 per video.

Kurchatov, Russia:

UN nuclear watchdog head Rafael Grossi kicked off a visit Tuesday to “independently assess” conditions at Russia’s Kursk nuclear plant following Ukraine’s unprecedented cross-border offensive into the Russian region.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly warned of the dangers of fighting around nuclear plants following Russia’s full-scale military offensive into Ukraine in February 2022.

A spokesperson for Russia’s nuclear agency, Rosatom, told AFP that Grossi had arrived at the power plant as he personally leads a mission to assess the situation there, which he has warned is “serious”.

In the first days of the conflict, Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, and also briefly held the decommissioned Chernobyl plant in the north.

Ukraine launched its surprise incursion into Kursk on August 6 and has said it is making advances, even as Russian forces move deeper into eastern Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last week accused Ukraine of trying to attack the Kursk nuclear power plant, which is less than 50 kilometres (30 miles) from fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces.

The IAEA confirmed that it had been told by Russian authorities that drone fragments were found last Thursday roughly 100 metres from the Kursk plant’s spent nuclear fuel storage facility.

Serious situation

Grossi said Monday he would “independently assess what is happening” at the plant, “given the serious situation”.

“The safety and security of all nuclear power plants is of central and fundamental concern to the IAEA,” Grossi said in a statement.

The plant lies some 60 kilometres from the Russia-Ukraine border, next to the Seym river, and less than 50 kilometres away from Kursk city, the region’s capital with a population of around 440,000.

The plant has four reactor units though only two are operational and two more reactors are under construction.

All four reactors are the same type as Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant, without a protecting dome around them.

In 1986, a reactor at Chernobyl exploded during a botched safety test, resulting in the world’s worst nuclear accident that sent clouds of radiation across much of Europe and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate.

Tariq Rauf, a former IAEA official, said these types of reactors have since undergone “significant safety upgrades”.

Robert Kelley, a former IAEA director of inspections, said: “The possibility of a Chernobyl-type incident with the reactor blowing up and burning for days is zero.”

But he added that an errant bomb or large artillery strike on spent fuel storage ponds could damage the fuel and release radioactive gases and particles.

Maximum restraint

Russia has repeatedly sounded the alarm over a possible hit since Ukrainian troops and tanks charged into Kursk.

The IAEA urged both Russia and Ukraine to exercise “maximum restraint” to “avoid a nuclear accident with the potential for serious radiological consequences”.

On Sunday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had taken control of two more Russian settlements in Kursk region, adding to dozens already captured.

More than 130,000 people have been displaced so far.

Kyiv has said the offensive aims to prevent cross-border strikes from Russia into its Sumy region and to force Russia to the negotiating table “on our own terms”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Moscow:

The Kremlin on Tuesday dismissed as absurd U.S. intelligence assertions that Russia is seeking to meddle in the presidential election and said that U.S. spies were intent on casting Russia as an enemy.

U.S. intelligence officials have said that Russia is seeking to influence the November election, and that Moscow has used Russia-based influence-for-hire companies to shape U.S. public opinion.

“As for these accusations, they are absurd, and we strongly reject them,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about the reports from Washington.

“There will be a lot of such statements as the U.S. elections approach because Russia and the head of the Russian state personally are essentially significant factors that both Republicans and Democrats exploit during their political struggle, especially in the election campaign,” said Peskov.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Moscow:

Russia is expecting a “very important and full-fledged visit” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Moscow for summit-level talks with President Vladimir Putin, with the Kremlin saying the West was watching the trip with “jealousy”.

Prime Minister Modi will be in Moscow from July 8 to 9 at the invitation of President Putin for the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit. It will be PM Modi’s first visit to Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The two leaders will review the entire range of multifaceted relations between the two countries and exchange views on contemporary regional and global issues of mutual interest, the Ministry of External Affairs said in New Delhi on Thursday while announcing the high-level visit starting on Monday.

The programme of Prime Minister Modi in Moscow will be extensive and the two leaders will be able to have informal talks, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Russia’s state-run VGTRK television channel on Saturday.

“Obviously, the agenda will be extensive, if not to say overbusy. It will be an official visit, and we hope that the heads will be able to talk in an informal way as well,” he said.

Mr Peskov said that Russian-Indian relations are at the level of strategic partnership. He said that there would be both one-on-one talks in the Kremlin and those involving delegations.

“We are expecting a very important and full-fledged visit, which is so crucial for Russian-Indian relations,” he was quoted as saying by the official Tass news agency.

Mr Peskov also emphasised that the West is closely and jealously watching Prime Minister Modi’s upcoming visit to Russia.

“They are jealous — that means they are closely monitoring it. Their close monitoring means they attach great importance to it. And they are not mistaken, there is something to attach great importance to,” Mr Peskov said in response to a question about the jealous attitude of Western politicians towards PM Modi’s visit to Russia, the Tass report said.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, PM Modi has held several telephonic conversations with Mr Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stressing the importance of ending the war that has impacted the global economy.

In reflection of its strong friendship with Russia, India has not yet condemned Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the conflict must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.

India’s import of discounted Russian crude oil has also gone up significantly notwithstanding the G7 price cap and increasing disquiet over the procurement in many Western capitals.

It will be PM Modi’s first visit to Russia in nearly five years. His last visit to Russia was in 2019 when he attended an economic conclave in the Far East city of Vladivostok.

The annual summit between the Prime Minister of India and the president of Russia is the highest institutional dialogue mechanism in the strategic partnership between the two countries.

So far, 21 annual summits have taken place alternately in India and Russia.

The last annual summit was held on December 6, 2021, in New Delhi when Mr Putin visited India. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)