Russia arrests viral street musician for anti-Putin performance
Police in St Petersburg have arrested 18-year-old street musician Diana Loginova after a video of her leading a crowd in singing an anti-Putin rock song went viral, local media reported Wednesday.
Loginova, who performs under the name Naoko with the band Stoptime, could face two administrative charges: “discrediting” the Russian military and organising an unauthorised public gathering. She may also face up to 15 days in detention.
The video shows Loginova in central St Petersburg leading the crowd in the lyrics of exiled rapper Noize MC’s “Swan Lake Cooperative”, a song referencing the Ozero dacha cooperative, formed by Putin’s friends in the mid-1990s.
The lyrics draw on imagery from the Swan Lake ballet, which became a symbol of the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991.
In the viral clip, the crowd sings: “I want to watch the ballet, let the swans dance. Let the old man shake in fear for his lake.”
In May 2025, a court banned “Swan Lake Cooperative” as “extremist”, ruling that the song constituted “propaganda for a violent government overthrow” and a threat to the “moral and ethical development” of minors.
Shweta Sharma16 October 2025 06:11
Trump has threatened to give Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine – but can they turn the tide of the war?
As Russia continues to bombard Ukraine with drone attacks, president Volodymyr Zelensky has made repeated and increasingly urgent calls for Kyiv to have access to more powerful and expansive weapons.
The US-made Tomahawk could be the answer to his problems. A long-range missile with huge potential for precision strikes deep in enemy territory, access to the weapon would provide Ukraine with a new kind of military might – and it may not be as far away as it once was.
Donald Trump has threatened to send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine in a renewed push to get Vladimir Putin to end the war. With Zelensky set to visit Washington on Friday, the leaders have said the provision of the weapons will be a major topic to be discussed.
If Trump follows through on his threats, Ukraine could significantly expand its strike capabilities, enabling it to hit targets deep inside Russian territory, including military bases, logistics hubs, airfields and command centres that are currently beyond reach.
Shweta Sharma16 October 2025 05:59
Trump plans ‘Ukraine Victory Fund’ financed by new tariffs on China
US president Donald Trump is preparing to launch a “Ukraine Victory Fund” that would be financed through new tariffs on Chinese imports.
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent has been instructed to present the proposal to European counterparts ahead of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington on Friday, where the two leaders are expected to discuss military support and Ukraine’s long-term defence funding.
“President Trump has instructed the ambassador and myself to tell our European allies that we would be in favour of whether you would call it a ‘Russian oil tariff’ on China or a ‘Ukrainian victory tariff’ on China,” Bessent told reporters in Washington on Wednesday.
“But our Ukrainian or European allies have to be willing to follow. We will respond if our European partners will join us.”
The proposed “Ukraine Victory Fund” would effectively link China trade tariffs to the war effort in Europe, adding a new layer of economic pressure to Trump’s foreign policy.
Shweta Sharma16 October 2025 05:49
From the ground: Ukrainians jolted awake by massive pre-dawn missile barrage
Ukrainians were woken before dawn by another massive missile attack and air raid sirens as Russia was reported to have launched long range missiles from Mig-31 fighter-bombers capable of carrying the hypersonic Khinzal rocket.
Kharkiv and Izium, Kropyvnytskyi (Kirovohrad Oblast), and Poltava, all reported the sounds of explosions.
A team from the Ukrainian presidency is in Washington DC in talks with US officials and defence manufacturers seeking supplies of badly depleted air defence systems.
The latest wave of attacks are part of an increased Russian effort to cripple Ukraine’s energy supply systems as winter approaches and heating becomes a necessity countrywide.
Further exploiting fog and rain, Russian forces have used the cover of bad weather to launch conventional ground attacks on Ukraine’s eastern front around Pokrovsk.
Rain, high winds and bad visibility inhibit the operations of Ukraine’s attack drones which have driven Russian armour from the battlefield over the summer.
Ukraine claimed to have seen off the latest Russian assault, but the limitations of drone warfare in winter weather is likely to be further exploited by Russia, which has also fast developed its own systems of unmanned killing machines extending front lines into strips of blasted territory manned by tiny pockets of soldiers hiding from the cheaply produced drones.
Sam Kiley16 October 2025 05:33
Russia launches massive pre-dawn missile barrage across Ukraine
Ukraine’s Air Force has issued a nationwide missile alert after Russia launched a large-scale attack in the early hours of Monday, targeting multiple regions across the country.
Air raid sirens sounded nationwide as Ukraine warned that Russian MiG-31 bombers carrying Kinzhal hypersonic missiles had taken off.
A second MiG-31 took off from the Savasleyka airfield in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region, according to Ukrainian officials, Kyiv Independent reported.
The Kinzhal missiles the aircraft carry can strike deep inside Ukrainian territory at supersonic speeds, making them difficult to intercept.
Explosions have been reported in Kharkiv, Izium, Kropyvnytskyi, and Poltava, according to the Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne. A second wave of blasts was later confirmed in Chernihiv, with additional detonations heard again in Kharkiv.
Authorities have not yet released information on casualties or damage, and attacks remain ongoing.
Ukraine’s Air Force said the assault involved ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as swarms of Shahed-style drones launched from multiple directions.
Shweta Sharma16 October 2025 05:23
Hegseth warns Moscow of ‘costs’ if war does not end
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has warned Moscow that Washington and its allies will “impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression” if the war in Ukraine does not end.
Speaking at a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at Nato headquarters, Hegseth said the US War Department was prepared to act “in ways that only the United States can.” He did not specify what those steps might entail.
His comments come as the Trump administration weighs Kyiv’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles.
“Now is the time to end this tragic war, stop the needless bloodshed, and come to the peace table,” Hegseth said, adding, “This is not a war that started on President Trump’s watch – but it will end on his watch.”
Mr Hegseth urged Nato allies to boost spending on US-made weapons for Ukraine, citing a recent report that showed a sharp drop in Western military support for Kyiv in July and August.
“You get peace when you are strong – not when you use strong words or wag your fingers,” he told reporters at Nato headquarters earlier in the day.
“You get it when you have strong and real capabilities that adversaries respect.”
Shweta Sharma16 October 2025 04:45
US pressures Japan to halt Russian oil imports
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said he has urged Japan to halt all imports of Russian energy, signalling a harder line from the Trump administration toward allies maintaining limited trade ties with Moscow.
“Minister Kato and I also discussed important issues pertaining to the US–Japan economic relationship and the Administration’s expectation that Japan stop importing Russian energy,” Bessent posted on X after his meeting with Japan’s finance minister Katsunobu Kato in Washington.
The two met on the sidelines of the IMF annual meetings and the G7 and G20 finance leaders’ gatherings being held this week in Washington.”
Japan will do what it can based on the basic principle of coordinating with G7 countries to achieve peace in Ukraine in a fair manner,” Kato told reporters, when asked whether Japan was urged by Bessent to stop importing Russian energy.
Tokyo has already pledged to phase out Russian oil imports as part of the G7’s coordinated sanctions response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
However, Japan continues to buy Sakhalin Blend crude – a byproduct of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production from the Sakhalin-2 project in Russia’s Far East.
The energy source remains crucial for Japan, providing about 9 per cent of its total LNG imports, a key component of its energy security.
Shweta Sharma16 October 2025 04:01
IMF chief plans to visit Ukraine, Bloomberg reports
The International Monetary Fund’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, plans to travel to Ukraine, supporting its efforts to secure a new loan package in the fourth year of the war, Bloomberg has reported.
An IMF spokesperson said: “Our staff remains actively engaged with the Ukrainian authorities on macroeconomic policies aimed at maintaining stability, financing essential expenditures, and restoring debt sustainability, with a view to continued IMF support.”
The exact time of the visit is yet to be determined.
Harriette Boucher16 October 2025 04:00
India to stop buying Russian oil, Trump claims
Trump said on Wednesday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to stop buying oil from Russia, India’s top oil supplier, but could not halt its shipments “immediately”.
The announcement comes as Trump tries to step up efforts to cut off Moscow’s energy funding.
“Now I’ve got to get China to do the same thing,” Trump told reporters.
The Indian embassy in Washington has not yet confirmed this.
Harriette Boucher16 October 2025 03:00
Zelensky and Greek PM discuss possibility of U.S.-supplied natural gas
Zelensky and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis discussed the possibility of the U.S. supplying natural gas to Ukraine as it struggles with the consequences of Russia’s multiple attacks on the country’s energy system.
Ukraine’s president said he was working to strengthen its air defence as much as possible before winter begins.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (REUTERS)
Harriette Boucher16 October 2025 02:00