Russians risk reprisals to visit Navalny grave on death anniversary

Followers and relatives of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny come to Navalny's grave to mark the first anniversary of his death at a cemetery in Moscow, Russia, on February 16, 2025. (REUTERS)
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Updated 17 February 2025
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Russians risk reprisals to visit Navalny grave on death anniversary

  • Putin's main opponent died last year in Penal Colony Number Three in Kharp, above the Arctic Circle
  • Russia has still not fully explained the circumstances of his death — saying he died during a walk in the prison yard

MOSCOW: At least 1,500 Russians came to the grave of Alexei Navalny in Moscow on Sunday, risking reprisals and braving freezing temperatures to pay their respects to the opposition leader on the first anniversary of his death in prison.
Navalny — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s main opponent declared “extremist” by Moscow — died on February 16, 2024 in Penal Colony Number Three in Kharp, above the Arctic Circle.
AFP saw hundreds come to Navalny’s grave at Borisovsky Cemetery, leaving flowers and forming a large queue by mid-afternoon.
Russia has still not fully explained the circumstances of his death — saying he died during a walk in the prison yard.
His mother Lyudmila Navalnaya told AFP that she was “doing everything” to push for an investigation and hoped those responsible would be punished.
“The whole world knows who ordered it,” she said, wearing dark sunglasses and holding back tears. “But we want them to know the perpetrators and the enablers.”
Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya — living in exile and also declared an “extremist” — said her husband “continues to unite people” after his death.
Having taken up her dead husband’s mantle from abroad, Navalnaya called on exiled Russians to take to the streets in place of those unable to back home.
The EU said Putin bore “ultimate responsibility” for Navalny’s death and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: “His courage made a difference and reaches far beyond his death.”
Remembrance events were taking place with Russia’s exiled opposition movement still plagued by infighting and badly weakened since the loss of its figurehead.
Anybody in Russia who mentions him or his Anti-Corruption Foundation without stating that they have been declared “extremist” is subject to fines, or up to four years in prison for repeated offenses.
Moscow has led a huge crackdown on dissent during its Ukraine offensive, launched nearly three years ago, which Navalny had denounced from prison.

 

 

An Orthodox priest read out a prayer by his grave, covered in flowers, with many crying.
Pensioner Ivan said that coming to the grave was like a “little personal protest” for him.
The 63-year-old said he was initially cautious about Navalny’s politics, but after the opposition figure’s poisoning in 2020 and subsequent jailing his attitude “became very personal.”
Anna, a 30-year-old veterinarian, came to the grave with her two children saying people should “never forget” him.
She said she wanted to show her children “the grave of a man who was very dear and important to us.”
In Berlin, Navalny’s widow thanked supporters braving the risk of reprisals to pay respect to her husband back in Russia.
“We must come out (to protest) for those people in Russia who can’t,” Navalnaya said in a church in the German capital — where many Russian exiles have settled.
In Russia people “are afraid to come out,” she said, “because they are afraid of ending up in jail.”
“Here of course we can feel free but people in Russia are hostages of the regime.”
She urged her supporters to take part in an opposition march in Berlin on March 1 with the slogan “Russia against Putin,” which will come days after the third anniversary of Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine.
Around 40 people also gathered outside the Russian embassy in the city, laying flowers in the snow.
Yuri Korolyov, a 32-year-old Russian now living in Germany, recalled handing out leaflets in support of Navalny’s failed attempt to run for president in 2018.
“He’s a person who died for his idea,” Korolyov said, adding that Navalny had changed his life.


Russian pro-Kremlin Telegram channels warned supporters against going to the cemetery in Moscow.
“We give brief advice to those who plan to go there but are not yet sure — don’t go!” said a post shared by pro-Kremlin journalist Dmitry Smirnov and on other channels.
The message warns of “Big Brother and his ever-watchful eye” with a photo of a security camera sign at the cemetery gates.
Russia has not fully explained Navalny’s death, which came weeks before a presidential election that extended Putin’s more than two-decade rule.
Moscow has branded Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation and the regional offices he set up as “extremist organizations.”
Participation in an extremist group is punishable by up to six years in prison and many who campaigned in support of Navalny have been jailed or fled the country.
Four independent journalists are currently on trial for “participating in an extremist group,” accused of preparing photos and video materials for Navalny’s social media channels.
Russia jailed three lawyers last month who defended Navalny, on an extremism charge for passing on his messages from prison, prompting international condemnation.
Navalny was arrested in 2021 after returning to Russia following medical treatment in Germany for poisoning with the Novichok nerve agent.
 


Russia launches 3rd consecutive overnight air attack on Kyiv ahead of peace talks with US

Updated 57 min 24 sec ago
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Russia launches 3rd consecutive overnight air attack on Kyiv ahead of peace talks with US

  • Latest attack came ahead of Russia-US talks in Riyadh to discuss ways to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea

KYIV: Russia launched its third consecutive overnight air attack on Kyiv, wounding one person and damaging several houses in the region surrounding the Ukrainian capital, a Kyiv’s regional governor said on Monday.
A 37-year-old person received shrapnel wounds in his upper body and head, governor Mykola Kalashnyk said in a post on Telegram messaging app.
“The person has been hospitalized,” Kalashnyk said.
Late on Sunday, in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, Russia’s attack injured a 54-year-old woman and damaged windows of multi-story and residential buildings, the region’s administration said on Telegram.
The attacks came after a Ukrainian delegation met with US officials for peace talks in Saudi Arabia, and ahead of Russia-US talks there on Monday to discuss ways to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea.
The United States is pushing for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, and hopes to reach a broad ceasefire in the war by April 20, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the planning.
But despite the peace push, both sides have been reporting continued strikes.
The full-scale of the overnight attack was not immediately clear.
There was no immediate comment from Russia. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia started with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Kyiv, its surrounding region and the eastern half of Ukraine were under air raid alerts several hours starting late on Sunday, according to Ukraine air force maps.


France arrests young man for suspected attack on rabbi

Updated 24 March 2025
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France arrests young man for suspected attack on rabbi

  • France is home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States, as well as the largest Muslim community in the European Union

ORLEANS, France: French police have arrested a young man on suspicion of attacking a rabbi in broad daylight, a prosecutor said Sunday, shocking the Jewish community and prompting a wave of condemnation.
The attack against the Rabbi of Orleans, Arie Engelberg, happened as he walked with his nine-year-old son from synagogue on Saturday afternoon in the city, about 110 kilometers (68 miles) south of Paris.
Engelberg told BFM television that his attacker asked if he was Jewish. “I said yes.”
“He started saying ‘all Jews are sons of...,” he said, adding that he wanted to film him with his phone as he hurled insults.
“I decided to act and I pushed his telephone away,” the rabbi said. His attacker then “started punching and I protected myself,” he added.
Engelberg said the suspect bit him until several people stepped in to help, he told the channel.
“I’m OK, thank God, my son, I’m getting better and better. We’ve had an enormous amount of support.”
Police were checking the identity of the person in custody since he did not have documents on him when he was detained, Orleans prosecutor Emmanuelle Bochenek-Puren said.
Another source with knowledge of the case said the suspect arrested on Saturday night was known under at least three identities, one Moroccan and two Palestinian.

France is home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States, as well as the largest Muslim community in the European Union.
Several EU nations have reported a spike in “anti-Muslim hatred” and “anti-Semitism” since the Gaza war started on October 7, 2023, according to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.
On that date, Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a cross-border attack in Israel, resulting in the death of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel’s subsequent military offensive on Gaza has killed more than 50,000 people, the majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run occupied Palestinian territory. The United Nations deems the figures reliable.
Andre Druon, a Jewish community leader in Orleans, said there had not been any incident in Orleans since October 7, 2023 “apart from some graffiti” before the “very violent” attack on the rabbi.
He said the rabbi was profoundly shaken when he recounted his ordeal to the community on Sunday.
Yann Dhieux, a locksmith, told AFP he had intervened with his arms wide and helped stop the assault, but that it was shocking to see the rabbi attacked in front of his young son.
President Emmanuel Macron voiced solidarity with the rabbi’s family and all French people of Jewish faith.
“Anti-Semitism is a poison,” he wrote on X.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he was “shocked” by the attack and called for “zero tolerance for anti-Semitism.”
France witnessed some 1,570 anti-Semitic acts last year, the interior ministry says. They made up 62 percent of all acts of hatred on the basis of religion.
 

 


South Korean court overturns impeachment of Prime Minister Han, reinstating him as acting president

Updated 24 March 2025
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South Korean court overturns impeachment of Prime Minister Han, reinstating him as acting president

  • Han was impeached by the National Assembly, soon after he became acting president when Yoon Suk Yeol was forced out
  • The Constitutional Court said Monday it has decided to overturn Han’s impeachment, but it has yet to rule on Yoon’s impeachment

SEOUL: South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Monday overturned the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, reinstating the nation’s No. 2 official as acting leader, while not yet ruling on the separate impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Han became acting president after Yoon was impeached by the National Assembly over his Dec. 3 imposition of martial law that triggered a massive political crisis. But Han was impeached by the assembly as well in late December following political strife with opposition lawmakers.
The unprecedented, successive impeachments that suspended the country’s top two officials intensified a domestic division and deepened worries about the country’s diplomatic and economic activities. The deputy prime minister and finance minister, Choi Sang-mok, had since serving as acting president.
The Constitutional Court said Monday it has decided to overturn Han’s impeachment, but it has yet to rule on Yoon’s impeachment.
If the court upholds Yoon’s impeachment, South Korea must hold a election for a new president. If it rules for him, Yoon will be restored to office and regain his presidential powers.
Yoon was impeached about two weeks earlier than Han. Observers earlier predicted the Constitutional Court would rule on Yoon’s case in mid-March but it hasn’t done so.
Yoon has been separately arrested and charged with rebellion in connection with his martial law decree. If convicted of that charge, he would face the death penalty or a life sentence. On March 8, Yoon was released from prison, after a Seoul district court allowed him to stand his criminal trial without being detained.
Massive rival rallies backing Yoon or denouncing Yoon have divided the streets of Seoul and other major cities in South Korea. Earlier surveys showed that a majority of South Koreans were critical of Yoon’s martial law enactment, but those supporting or sympathizing with Yoon have later gained strength.
At the center of squabbling over Yoon is why he sent hundreds of troops and police officers to the assembly after declaring martial law. Yoon says he aims to maintain order, but senior military and police officers sent there have said that Yoon ordered them to drag out lawmakers to prevent a floor vote to overturn his decree. Enough lawmakers eventually managed to enter an assembly hall and voted it down unanimously.


US delegation aims for Black Sea ceasefire in Ukraine, Russia talks

Updated 24 March 2025
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US delegation aims for Black Sea ceasefire in Ukraine, Russia talks

  • Talks follow meeting between US, Ukrainian officials on Sunday
  • Teams will also discuss “the line of control” between the two countries

RIYADH/KYI: A US delegation will seek progress toward a Black Sea ceasefire and a broader cessation of violence in the war in Ukraine when it meets for talks with Russian officials on Monday, after discussions with diplomats from Ukraine on Sunday.
The so-called technical talks come as US President Donald Trump intensifies his drive for a halt to Russia’s three-year-old assault against Ukraine. Last week, he spoke with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A source briefed on the planning for the talks said the US side was being led by Andrew Peek, a senior director at the White House National Security Council, and Michael Anton, a senior State Department official.
They met the Ukrainians on Sunday night and plan to sit down with the Russians on Monday.
The White House says the aim of the talks is to reach a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, allowing the free flow of shipping.
White House national security adviser Mike Waltz told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the US, Russian and Ukrainian delegations were assembled in the same facility in Riyadh.
Beyond a Black Sea ceasefire, he said, the teams will discuss “the line of control” between the two countries, which he described as “verification measures, peacekeeping, freezing the lines where they are.” He said “confidence-building measures” are being discussed, including the return of Ukrainian children taken by Russia.

ussia will be represented by Grigory Karasin, a former diplomat who is now chair of the Federation Council’s Foreign Affairs Committee, and Sergei Beseda, an adviser to the director of the Federal Security Service.
Ukraine’s defense minister, Rustem Umerov, the head of the Ukrainian delegation, said on Facebook that the US-Ukraine talks included proposals to protect energy facilities and critical infrastructure.
After Russian forces made gains in 2024, Trump reversed US policy on the war, launching bilateral talks with Moscow and suspending military assistance to Ukraine, demanding that it take steps to end the conflict.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who met Putin in Moscow in early March, played down concerns among Washington’s NATO allies that Moscow could be emboldened by a deal and invade other neighbors.
“I just don’t see that he wants to take all of Europe. This is a much different situation than it was in World War Two, Witkoff told Fox News.
“I feel that he wants peace,” Witkoff said of Putin.

Somewhat under control
Trump has long promised to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two. But his outreach to Putin has unnerved European allies, who fear it heralds a fundamental shift after 80 years in which defending Europe from Russian expansionism was the core mission of US foreign policy.
The war has killed or wounded hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions and reduced entire towns to rubble.
Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022, said earlier this month he supported in principle Washington’s proposal for a truce but that his forces would fight on until several crucial conditions were worked out.
Heorhii Tykhyi, a Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said on Friday the Ukrainian and American sides were due “to clarify the modalities, the nuances of possible different ceasefire regimes, how to monitor them, how to control them, in general, what is included in their scope.”
Last Tuesday, Putin agreed to Trump’s proposal for Russia and Ukraine to stop attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure for 30 days and ordered the Russian military to cease them.
The agreement fell short, however, of a wider agreement that the US had sought, and which Kyiv backed, for a blanket 30-day truce in the war.
Trump said on Saturday that efforts to stop further escalation in the Ukraine-Russia conflict were “somewhat under control.”
The US hopes to reach a broad ceasefire within weeks, targeting a truce agreement by April 20, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the planning.
Despite all the diplomatic activity, Russia and Ukraine have both reported continued strikes, while Russian forces have also continued to advance slowly in eastern Ukraine, a region Moscow claims to have annexed.
 


Gaza killing ‘must stop’, EU foreign policy chief says in Cairo

Updated 23 March 2025
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Gaza killing ‘must stop’, EU foreign policy chief says in Cairo

  • EU’s Kaja Kallas held a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty
  • UN said that Gaza was facing a 'nightmare' since Israel resumed military operations after a six-week ceasefire

CAIRO: The European Union’s top diplomat called Sunday for an end to the renewed fighting in Gaza during a stop in Egypt, before setting off for Israel and the Palestinian territories to press for resumption of a Gaza truce.
Israel on Tuesday resumed intense air strikes in the Gaza Strip, followed by ground operations, after negotiations with Hamas militants stalled over the next stage in the ceasefire.
“We strongly oppose Israel’s resumption of hostilities, which caused appalling loss of life in Gaza. The killing must stop. In a new war, both sides lose,” the EU’s Kaja Kallas said in Cairo during a press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.
“From the European side, it is very clear that Hamas must release all hostages and Israel must fully reinstate humanitarian aid into Gaza and negotiations must resume.”
Kallas’ team later confirmed she had departed Egypt and arrived in Israel.
During talks there and the Palestinian territories on Monday she is expected to “call for an immediate return to the full implementation of the ceasefire-hostage release agreement,” her office said.
Kallas will also refer to “the importance of unimpeded access and sustained distribution of humanitarian assistance at scale into and throughout Gaza,” it said.
The United Nations said on Friday that Gaza was facing a “nightmare” since Israel resumed military operations after a six-week ceasefire.
Aid workers warned of a desperate situation that had been made worse by Israel’s decision earlier this month to cut off aid and electricity to Gaza over the deadlock in negotiations on the next phase of the ceasefire.
Kallas was due to meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and opposition leader Yair Lapid.
She will not meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for whom the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant “for crimes against humanity and war crimes.”
In the occupied West Bank, Kallas will hold talks with Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas and prime minister Mohammad Mustafa, her office said.
Israel and the United States have sought in recent weeks to change the terms of the ceasefire deal.
Hamas, which runs Gaza, has rejected this as a violation of the agreement all parties signed.
The first phase of the truce had enabled the entry of vital food, shelter and medical assistance, and an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
On October 7, 2023, fighters from Hamas launched a cross-border attack in Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, most of them civilians, according to Israeli figures.
Israel’s ensuing bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza has killed at least 50,021 people in the territory, the Gaza health ministry said on Sunday.
The United Nations considers its figures to be reliable.