Gabbard's sympathetic views toward Russia cause alarm as Trump's pick to lead intelligence services

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the U.S. intelligence services, in 2022 endorsed one of Russia's main justifications for invading Ukraine: the existence of dozens of U.S.-funded biolabs working on some of the world's nastiest pathogens. ...

Putin critics lead a march in Berlin calling for democracy in Russia and an end to war in Ukraine

BERLIN (AP) — Prominent Russian opposition figures led a march of at least 1,000 people in central Berlin Sunday, criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine and calling for democracy in Russia. Behind a banner that read “No Putin. No War,” the...

Russia's Gazprom stops the flow of natural gas to Austria, OMV utility says

VIENNA (AP) — Russia’s state-owned natural gas company Gazprom stopped supplies to Austria early Saturday, according to the Vienna-based utility OMV, after OMV said it would stop payments for the gas following an arbitration award. The official cutoff of supplies before dawn...

Operation False Target: How Russia plotted to mix a deadly new weapon among decoy drones in Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — At a secretive factory in Russia's central grasslands, engineers are manufacturing hundreds of decoy drones meant to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses as they try to protect against a horrific new weapon, an Associated Press investigation has found. The plant at...

Germany's Scholz discusses Ukraine with Russia's Putin in first such call in 2 years

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin leader’s first publicly announced conversation with the sitting head of a major Western power in nearly two years. Scholz urged Putin to be open to negotiations with Ukraine, his office...

German news agency reports Chancellor Scholz had a one-hour call with Russian President Putin, first in two years

Hungary's Orbán says sanctions on Russia will 'destroy' EU economy

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The European Union must abandon its policy of sanctioning Russia for its war in Ukraine or risk causing an economic collapse, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told state radio on Friday. The EU has imposed several rounds of sanctions against Moscow...

A treason trial begins for a Russian charged with sending video of military equipment to Ukraine

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian man went on trial Thursday on charges of high treason for a video he had allegedly sent to Ukraine's security services, the latest in a growing series of espionage cases involving the conflict. The Volgograd District Court began hearing a new case against...

Trump's mainstream picks for top foreign policy posts could reassure allies — and worry China

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is famously unconventional, but he made conventional picks for his two top foreign policy positions. That could be reassuring to American allies, while China and Iran have reasons to be wary. Trump on Wednesday announced his choice of...

NATO's Rutte calls for more Western support for Ukraine, warns of Russian alliances

PARIS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has called on Western allies to provide Ukraine with further support “to change the trajectory of the conflict” with Russia. Speaking ahead of a meeting Tuesday in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, Rutte said: “We must...