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Saakashvili obtained $500,000 from Yanukovich to hold rallies — Kiev's top prosecutor

On Tuesday, Ukraine’s Security Service and the Prosecutor-General’s Office detained Saakashvili on charges of "complicity with a criminal group"

© AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka

KIEV, December 5. /TASS/. Former Georgian leader and ex-Odessa Regional Governor Mikhail Saakashvili used the money of ex-Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich to hold rallies in Ukraine to seize power, Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Yuri Lutsenko said on Tuesday.

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Kremlin on Saakashvili: Moscow not accustomed to replying to people who perch on rooftops

According to Lutsenko, Saakashvili’s proxy person Severion Dangadze received the money from fugitive oligarch Sergey Kurchenko, an accomplice of Yanukovich. "Using their money, Mikhail Saakashvili and his allies funded the protests organized by them and the goal was to take power."

Kurchenko has decided to sponsor Saakashvili’s opposition Movement of New Forces to return the assets that he lost after leaving Ukraine, Lutsenko explained.

He claimed that Ukraine’s special services have proof that Dangadze, who coordinates the Movement of New Forces, received money "from the Russian side."

On Tuesday, Ukraine’s Security Service and the Prosecutor-General’s Office detained Saakashvili on charges of "complicity with a criminal group."

However, some 200 his supporters blocked a car with the detained politician.

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Ukraine crisis Mikhail Saakashvili

Belarusian president believes humanity is on the brink of World War III

Alexander Lukashenko also emphasized that a real information war has been underway for a long time

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Ukraine was warned about possible missile strike — Pentagon

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Russia interested in security of Baltic undersea infrastructure — embassy in Denmark

"It is important to ensure a thorough investigation and clarify the reasons why underwater cables in the Baltic Sea are now out of order," embassy said

IN BRIEF: What Putin said about Russia’s new missile, and Moscow’s response to the West

Moscow used its new Oreshnik medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile in response to the West’s decision to authorize strategic-depth strikes on Russia

Soyuz rocket carrying Progress MS-29 cargo spaceship blasts off from Baikonur spaceport

Progress MS-29 will deliver 2,487 metric tons of cargo to the orbital outpost, including fuel, drinking water, compressed nitrogen, various equipment, food and clothing

West launched missiles targeting Russia’s Bryansk, Kursk Regions — Putin

Russian air defenses repulsed all attacks, the Russian president said

Residents of Kupyansk, Kovsharovka in Kharkov Region returning to their homes

People are refusing to go to safer places because of Ukraine's unwillingness to provide basic sanitation for refugees

Putin sends message to those seeking to 'add fuel to fire' before Trump’s return — expert

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Japanese government refrains from commenting on Russia’s latest hypersonic missile

At the same time, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi once again criticized Russia’s actions in Ukraine

US Congressman urges to impeach Biden for allowing strikes deep into Russia

"By authorizing long range missiles to strike inside Russia, Biden is committing an unconstitutional Act of War that endangers the lives of all US citizens," Thomas Massie said

Putin stays open to contacts to reach 'peaceful track' — Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a televised address to the nation on November 21, announcing that in response to the West’s decision to authorize strategic-depth strikes on Russia, Moscow used its new Oreshnik medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile for the first time

Newly arrived Ukrainian soldiers rob, loot in Kharkov Region’s Kupyansk

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Romanian presidential candidate vows to end military aid to Ukraine

It is pointed out that Simion’s popularity has propelled him to number two in the polls after Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu

Putin’s remarks on hypersonic missiles send serious warning to West — Turkish politician

According to the Russian president, it can install a nuclear warhead on this missile, if necessary, Deputy Chairman of Turkey’s Patriotic Party Hakan Topkurulu said

US not seeking confrontation with Russia, but will continue assistance to Kiev — Pentagon

Department of Defense Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh also claimed that Washington, while helping Ukraine, is not attempting to turn the conflict into a large-scale regional confrontation that spills beyond the country’s borders

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Russia fires ballistic, non-nuclear-tipped missile at Ukrainian aerospace plant — Putin

According to the president, the missile is code-named Oreshnik, which can roughly be translated as hazel bush

US warships fire more missiles at Houthi sites in Yemen — source

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Top Russian diplomat to meet with Belarusian counterpart in Brest

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Western countries should 'be afraid, tremble' after Putin's statement — lawmaker

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Russia’s re-election to UNCITRAL confirms its global reputation — Foreign Ministry

Russia got the support of 129 countries in a November 20 vote in New York at the 40th plenary session of the UN General Assembly

Oreshnik test aims to persuade West to avoid escalation in Ukraine — media

According to the report, the use of Oreshnik has become "part of a new era of missile warfare"

US, NATO decision on strikes continues policy of escalation — Putin

"Experts are well aware - and the Russian side has repeatedly underscored this - that it is impossible to use these weapons without direct participation of military specialists from the countries that produce these weapons," the president said

Washington has no plans of updating nuclear posture after Russia’s test of new missile

"We haven't seen any adjustments that we've observed in their nuclear posture, and we haven't adjusted our nuclear posture in exchange," Department of Defense Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said

Russian air defense deflects attacks with Western missiles — Putin

"As a result, the goals that the enemy apparently set have not been achieved," the Russian leader said

Putin warns West that Russia can respond to any turn of events

"There will always be an answer," the president said

Russia's Oreshnik missile poses significant threat to West, Turkish expert warns

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Zelensky admits Ukraine can't fight its way back to 1991 borders

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Ex-German chancellor never expected Russia to tolerate Ukraine’s NATO membership — memoir

Angela Merkel added that another fallacy was the belief that the status "would act as a deterrent," and that Moscow "would accept these developments without taking action"

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Lukashenko tells Putin situation is "starting to get tense with Wagner"

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West beginning to realize only part of Ukraine will remain — Lavrov

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Nuclear escalation of Ukraine conflict unlikely, says ex-French envoy

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Ukrainian conflict acquires global elements after strikes with Western missiles — Putin

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Igor Kimakovsky said that "if the West is not physically involved in this war, that is, if NATO is not involved, then Ukraine is actually losing"

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Moscow hopes West will thoroughly analyze Russia's nuclear doctrine — ambassador

Andrey Kelin also recalled that the policy of the Russian leadership enjoys the full support and confidence of the country's population

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North Korean leader warns of growing risk of nuclear war — KCNA

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Department of Defense Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh gave no direct answer to the question of how Washington was planning to control Kiev’s use of US landmines

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Tehran to launch new centrifuges in response to IAEA anti-Iran resolution — statement

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Enemy has no countermeasures for Russia’s Oreshnik missile — Putin

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China holds US responsible for disrupted defense ministers' meeting in Laos

Wu Qian stated that the United States must immediately correct its mistakes, "honestly respect China’s main interests, and seek to create favorable conditions for high-level contacts between the military of the two countries"

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Russia to hold informal UN Security Council meeting on unilateral restrictions

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Russian ambassador says UK prime minister doesn’t understand situation in Ukraine

Turning to the Labour Party’s domestic policies, Andrey Kelin said Starmer’s plans to spur the economy were "not met with applause by the population

Russia hit Ukrainian military-industrial facility in response to use of Western missiles

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NATO enters conflict, Russia has every right to attack its targets now — expert

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US missile defense base in Poland long among Russian army’s targets — Foreign Ministry

Maria Zakharova stated that the US-NATO construction project, ongoing for nearly a decade with complete disregard to Russian security concerns, has consistently been a focus of Russia's attention

Trump to continue using Ukraine to contain Russia — Valdai program director

"The US continues to benefit from the Ukrainian crisis, regardless of which administration is in power," Andrey Sushentsov said

Iran begins installation of three new generations of centrifuges to enrich uranium — TV

The decision was reportedly made in response to the anti-Iran resolution of the International Atomic Energy Agency

Russian envoy calls for thorough IAEA checks of Ukraine amid declared nuclear ambitions

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Bundeswehr prepares plan for Operation Germany in case of war with Russia — newspaper

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US provides temporary carveout for Sakhalin-2 related transactions with Gazprombank

The United States introduced sanctions against Gazprombank earlier today

NATO deployment to Ukraine would mark its entry into the war, Russian diplomat warns

According to Maria Zakharova, the Estonian minister is inciting other NATO members to engage in a venture that is "bound to fail"

Biden slams ‘outrageous’ International Criminal Court warrants for Israeli leaders

"There is no equivalence - none - between Israel and Hamas," US president said

Humanitarian crisis in Kiev-controlled Kupyansk district of Kharkov Region near critical

According to Yevgeny Lisnyak, the Ukrainian authorities supply water for a short time, once every three days

West irrational, fails to understand it cannot intercept Russia's new missiles — Kneissl

The former Austrian foreign minister stressed that she "counted on rational Western decision-makers, but irrationality is unfortunately on the rise among them"

World has not seen such chaos, brutality since World War II — Kim Jong Un

The North Korean leader explained that the "shameless tricks" of the US to establish its hegemony and "the resulting discord and confrontation of all kinds" have passed the "critical point of explosion" and escalated into "unjust and terrible wars" and "catastrophic disasters"

US is now at war with Russia, Ritter says

According to former US intelligence officer Scott Ritter, the United States "is a direct party to the invasion and occupation of Russian soil," because it helped Kiev plan its incursion into the Kursk Region

German chancellor reiterates decision not to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine

Olaf Scholz stated that only the Social Democratic Party of Germany could maintain a balance between caution and clear support for Ukraine

Ukrainian frontline may 'collapse' under onslaught of Russian forces — BBC

According to the experts, Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s borderline Kursk Region turned out to be a "strategic catastrophe" amid "manpower shortages"

Captives, Ukrainian losses: situation in Kursk Region

Over the day, the enemy lost more than 150 people, while five Ukrainian servicemen surrendered

Russia uses aerial bombs to destroy Ukrainian positions near DPR’s Konstantinovka — source

According to the report, at least 15 Ukrainian servicemen were killed as a result of the attack

Russian troops liberate Dalneye community in Donbass region over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup South inflicted roughly 380 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed a British-made howitzer and four US-made artillery guns in its area of responsibility over the past day

Press review: US lets Kiev use anti-personnel mines and Iran may halt uranium enrichment

Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, November 21st

US sanctions against Gazprombank will not affect gas supplies to Hungary — Ministry

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Japanese lawmaker praises Putin's restraint amid decision to strike deep into Russia

Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell confirmed that the US administration had lifted restrictions for US-supplied missiles to be used for strikes up to 300 kilometers inside Russia

US vote at UNSC rejected chance of stopping 'horrific bloodshed' in Gaza, Russian MFA says

"Once again, a chance to free the hostages, who include Russian nationals, has been missed," the statement reads

China urges restraint after Russia, Ukraine's exchange of attacks — foreign ministry

Lin Jian also reaffirmed Beijing's position on the Ukrainian issue

Weapons supplied to Ukraine cannot reach Russian territory, Spanish defense minister says

The New York Times reported on November 17 that US President Joe Biden had authorized the use of US-supplied ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles for strikes inside Russia

Russia not obliged to notify anyone about launch of intermediate-range missile — Kremlin

"No, there have been no notifications, for Russia has no such obligation with regard to intermediate-range missiles," Dmitry Peskov emphasized

Western nations should take Putin's statement seriously, warns Hungarian PM

Viktor Orban recalled that Russia has "one of the most powerful armies in the world, which boasts the most advanced, most powerful weapons"

Biden's decision on missile strikes on Russia is his 'last gasp' — Japanese lawmaker

Earlier, Muneo Suzuki emphasized on his blog that the decision that this decision by Biden on the tail-end of his presidency looked like "a last gasp"

Biden's decision to use ATACMS on Russia threatens to kill Americans — Tucker Carlson

The journalist also criticized US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson (a Republican representing the state of Louisiana) for "not even mentioning it in public or in leadership meetings" with factions in the lower house of Congress

West’s decision on missile strikes gives Russia free hand to attack NATO bases — expert

According to Dmitry Suslov, retaliatory measures may include the handover of more advanced weapons to the forces "that are directly fighting against the US, particularly, in the Middle East"

US administration chooses to escalate Ukraine conflict — Kremlin

Earlier, Putin stressed that the Ukrainian army is unable to fire the latest Western-made long-range missiles on its own without support from NATO satellite feeds and the involvement of the bloc’s military

Trump to rely on forces that brought him to power — Russian presidential aide

Nikolay Patrushev agreed that Trump, when he was still a candidate, "made many statements critical of the destructive foreign and domestic policies pursued by the current administration"

EU considers ICC warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant as binding — foreign policy chief

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ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant for alleged crimes in Gaza Strip

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