Ukraine is concerned about Friday’s shooting near Moscow and indications of a connection to Ukraine “have nothing to do with reality,” a spokesman for Kyiv’s army intelligence firm said on Saturday.
Russia’s FSB security service said the “four terrorists” in the attack at a concert hall near the capital were arrested as they were on their way to the Ukrainian border and had contacts in Ukraine.
“This is, of course, a lie by the Russian special services, which has nothing to do with the truth and does not stand up to any criticism,” Andriy Yusov of the Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate told Reuters.
He added: “Ukraine, of course, is not worried about this terrorist attack. Ukraine is protecting its sovereignty against Russian invaders, liberating its own territory, and fighting the army of the occupying forces and their military targets, not civilians. “
His comments echo those of presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, who denied any ties to Ukraine in comments late Friday and Saturday. Podolyak wrote in X on Saturday that “any attempt to link Ukraine to the terrorist attack is surely untenable. “
Earlier, Russian parliamentarian and former general Andrei Kartapolov said that if Ukraine is identified as Friday’s attack, there would deserve to be a transparent reaction on the battlefield, he said, quoted by the RIA news agency.
North Korea and China met this week in Beijing and pledged to further expand bilateral relations, North Korean media reported on Saturday, as Pyongyang seeks to expand diplomatic engagement after COVID-19 lockdowns.
At Thursday’s meeting, Wang Huning, China’s fourth leader, “said that no matter how the foreign scenario develops, the friendship between China and the DPRK, a strategic choice of both sides, will never waver,” KCNA said. Official name of Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping met earlier this year and vowed to maintain ties.
At Thursday’s meeting, Wang conveyed Xi’s “sincere and warm” message to Kim, KCNA reported.
North Korea’s Kim Song Nam, an external member of the Politburo and head of the Central Committee’s foreign disintegration of the ruling component, who is part of a delegation visiting Asian countries this week, also met with Liu Jianchao, who heads the Chinese Communist Party. A body in North Korea responsible for dealing with foreign political components.
Gunmen stormed the corridor in the town of Crocus near Moscow on Friday, killing at least 93 others and wounding dozens more in the deadliest attack in Russia since the Beslan school siege in 2004.
What do we know about the attack?
THE ATTACK
The men, armed with Kalashnikov automatic weapons, arrived in Crocus, in the city’s corridor, at around 7:40 p. m. (16:40 GMT) in a minibus. Russian media reported that there were as many as five men.
The head of the Federal Security Service (FSB), Alexander Bortnikov, informed President Vladimir Putin that there were 4 attackers, the Kremlin reported.
They shoot civilians at point-blank range. They shot others through glass doors near the venue’s front turnstiles, witnesses said, and then headed toward the concert hall.
In the videos, the men are seen firing automatic weapons at screaming civilians. Then the motionless bodies were seen.
As other people took their seats for a concert by the Soviet-era rock band “Picnic,” gunfire rang out at the 6,200-seat venue where all tickets were sold. The band had planned to perform their new hit “Afraid of Nothing. “
The attackers appeared on video of the scene methodically shooting onlookers as other people ran toward the exits.
The men then set fire to the concert hall, pouring liquid over the curtains and chairs before setting it on fire.
A Reuters video showed flames shooting over the lobby and plumes of black smoke rising into the sky as the blue lights of many emergency vehicles flickered through the night.
The fire, which spread to about 13,000 square meters, took hours to bring under control. The roof collapsed.
Death toll
Russia’s investigative committee reported Saturday that the death toll had risen to 93.
Another 145 people were reportedly injured. In the Moscow region, 121 people were wounded. Earlier, 60 of the injured were in critical condition.
RESPONSIBILITY
ISIS, the militant organization that once sought to control large swaths of Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the attack, the organization’s Amaq news firm said on Telegram.
“ISIS fighters attacked a gigantic gathering of Christians in the city of Krasnogorsk, on the outskirts of the Russian capital, Moscow, killing and wounding many and causing great destruction before they retreated to their bases safely,” he said.
The United States has intelligence confirming that IS claimed responsibility for a fatal shooting at a concert near Moscow, two U. S. officials said Friday.
The officials said the U. S. had warned Russia in recent weeks about an attack, a move they said prompted the U. S. Embassy in Moscow to warn Americans.
Two weeks ago, the U. S. embassy in Russia warned that “extremists” were planning an imminent attack on Moscow.
Hours before the embassy’s warning, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had thwarted an attack on a Moscow synagogue through ISIS’s partner in Afghanistan, known as ISIS-Khorasan or ISIS-K, which seeks to identify a caliphate in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Iran and Uzbekistan.
“We have warned the Russians appropriately,” said one of the U. S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
THE ATTACKERS
Russian media reported that there were five men. Reuters could not verify the exact number.
Russian investigators showed photographs taken in the room showing an automatic weapon, vests with several spare magazines and bags with used bullet casings that had been recovered from the scene.
A grainy symbol published through some Russian media of two of the alleged attackers in a white car.
The FSB said 11 other people were arrested, in addition to the four attackers.
Russian parliamentarian Alexander Khinstein, a former journalist, said the white Renault used by the suspects was discovered in a village in the Bryansk region, about 340 kilometers southwest of Moscow.
“One terrorist was arrested at the scene, the others fled into the woods,” Khinstein said.
He said a pistol, a Kalashnikov magazine and passports of Tajik citizens were discovered in the car. Reuters was unable to determine this information.
Russia has arrested 11 other people, in addition to four suspected gunmen, in connection with a shooting that killed at least 143 others at a concert hall near Moscow, the Kremlin said on Saturday.
The militant organization ISIS claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack, Russia’s deadliest in 20 years. But there were indications that Russia was trying to identify a link to Ukraine, despite Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak claiming that Kiev had nothing to do with it. .
The FSB security service reported that the “four terrorists” were arrested on their way to the Ukrainian border and that they had contacts in Ukraine. They were said to have been transferred to Moscow.
“We now know in which country those damn bastards were making plans to hide to escape prosecution – Ukraine,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram.
A senior Russian lawmaker, Andrei Kartapolov, said that if Ukraine got involved, then Russia had to offer a “dignified, transparent and concrete” reaction on the battlefield.
The editor-in-chief of state television, Margarita Simonyan, posted a video of one of the suspects, a bearded young man, being questioned on the side of a road. He said the death toll had risen to 143, but did not give the source of his information. .
Russia’s Investigative Committee earlier said at least 115 other people were killed in the attack, in which gunmen in camouflage uniforms opened fire with automatic pistols on spectators at Crocus City Hall near the capital.
Some died from gunshot wounds and others in a huge chimney that broke out in the compound. The gunmen reportedly poured gasoline into the fireplace from jerry cans they carried in their backpacks.
People fled in panic. Baza, a media outlet with savvy contacts in the fields of security and law enforcement in Russia, said 28 bodies were discovered in a bathroom and 14 in a stairwell. “A lot of mothers were caught kissing their children,” she said.
The Kremlin said FSB leader Alexander Bortnikov had informed President Vladimir Putin that among those arrested were “four terrorists” and that the service was racing to identify their accomplices.
Russian lawmaker Alexander Khinstein said the attackers fled late Friday in a Renault vehicle through police in the Bryansk region, about 340 kilometers (210 miles) southwest of Moscow, and disobeyed orders to stop.
He said two other people were arrested after a car chase and two others fled into a forest. According to the Kremlin’s account, it appears that they too were later arrested.
Khinshtein said a handgun, an attack rifle magazine and Tajik passports were discovered in the car. Tajikistan is a Central Asian state that was once part of the Soviet Union.
SUSPECT QUESTIONED
The suspect in the interrogation video is shown answering a series of barked questions in Russian with a heavy accent. He said he left Turkey on March 4 and obtained orders from other unknown people via Telegram to carry out the attack in exchange for money.
The guy was shaking off the interrogation. He was first shown lying face down, his hands tied behind his back and his chin resting on the boot of a figure dressed in camouflage. Later, they brought him to his knees.
Another man with cuts and bruises on his face is seen being questioned through an interpreter as he sat on a bench with his hands and feet tied.
Russia has yet to publicly provide a link between Ukraine and the attack.
“Let’s be clear: Ukraine surely has nothing to do with these events,” Ukrainian adviser Podolyak said. “We are waging an all-out, full-scale war with the normal Russian army and with the Russian Federation as a country. And whatever happens, it’s all going to be on the battlefield. “
Putin, who was re-elected last Sunday for another six-year term, has yet to speak publicly about the attack. The Kremlin said it had held talks with the leaders of Belarus and Uzbekistan in which all sides affirmed their willingness to work together. to combat terrorism.
GUNSHOTS AND SCREAMS
Verified video showed other people taking their seats in the concert hall and then running for the exits as repeated gunfire echoed above the screams. Another video showed men firing into groups of other people. Some of the patients lay motionless in pools of blood.
“All of a sudden, there were detonations, gunshots. A burst of gunfire, I don’t know what,” a witness who asked not to be identified told Reuters.
Long queues formed in Moscow on Saturday for others to donate blood. The health government said more than 120 people were injured.
ISIS, the militant organization that once sought to control large swaths of Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the attack, the organization’s Amaq news firm said on Telegram.
ISIS said its fighters attacked the outskirts of Moscow, “killing and wounding many other people and causing wonderful destruction there before retreating safely to their bases. “They did not elaborate.
U. S. INTELLIGENCE
The United States has intelligence confirming responsibility for the shooting, a U. S. official said Friday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington had warned Moscow “appropriately” in recent weeks about the option of an attack. any additional details.
Friday’s attack, about 20 kilometers from the Kremlin, came two weeks after the U. S. Embassy in Russia warned that “extremists” were making plans to attack Moscow imminently.
Hours before the embassy’s warning, the FSB said it had thwarted an attack on a Moscow synagogue through ISIS’s partner in Afghanistan, known as ISIS-Khorasan or ISIS-K, which seeks to identify a caliphate in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan. and Iran.
Putin changed the course of the Syrian war by intervening in 2015, supporting President Bashar al-Assad in the face of the opposition and ISIS.
“ISIS-K has been obsessed with Russia for more than two years, criticizing Putin in its propaganda,” said Colin Clarke of the Soufan Center.
ISIS has generally claimed responsibility for deadly attacks in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Europe, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
GLOBAL RESPONSE
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova said it was a “bloody terrorist attack” that the world condemns.
The United States, European and Arab powers, and many former Soviet republics expressed surprise and condolences. The United Nations Security Council condemned what was a “heinous and cowardly terrorist attack. “
Russia has beefed up security at airports, shipping hubs and in the capital, a vast urban domain of more than 21 million people. All large-scale public events have been canceled across the country.
Putin sent thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022 and has continually warned that powers – adding Western countries – are seeking to wreak havoc on Russia.
The United States has intelligence confirming that IS claimed responsibility for a fatal shooting at a concert near Moscow, two U. S. officials said Friday.
Officials said the U. S. had warned Russia in recent weeks about the possibility of an attack.
“Earlier this month, the U. S. government obtained data about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow — potentially gigantic gatherings, in addition to concerts — prompting the State Department to consider a public notice to Americans in Russia,” State Department spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said. Security Council. ” The U. S. government has also shared this data with Russian authorities, in line with its long-standing “duty to warn” policy.
At least 60 other people were killed and 145 wounded on Friday when gunmen dressed in camouflage opened fire with automatic pistols on bystanders near Moscow, in one of the deadliest attacks on Russia in decades.
ISIS, the militant organization that once sought to control large swaths of Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the attack, the organization’s Amaq news firm said on Telegram.
The death toll makes it one of the worst attacks on Russia since the 2004 siege of Beslan, when militant militants took more than 1,000 people hostage, as well as many children.
“We properly warned the Russians,” said one of the U. S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The U. S. Embassy in Russia warned on March 8 that “extremists” were making plans to attack Moscow imminently, hours after Russian security said they had foiled a planned shooting at a synagogue by an IS cell.
The embassy, which has continually advised all U. S. citizens to leave Russia immediately, did not elaborate on the nature of the risk but said other people should avoid concerts and crowds and be aware of their surroundings.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 triggered Russia’s most internal crisis with the West since the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.
The Kremlin, which accuses the U. S. of fighting Russia by supporting Ukraine with money, weapons and intelligence, says relations with Washington have never been worse.
China’s coast guard said on Saturday it had taken action against Philippine vessels in disputed waters in the South China Sea, while the Philippine coast guard called the measures “irresponsible and provocative. “
The incident occurred in waters off the Second Thomas Bank and the Spratly Islands, which is run by the Chinese Coast Guard. The bank houses a small number of Filipino troops stationed on a warship that Manila ran aground there in 1999 to bolster its sovereignty claims.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea, the Second Thomas Shoal, and has deployed ships to patrol the disputed atoll. In a 2016 ruling through the Permanent Court of Arbitration, China’s sweeping accusations have no legal basis.
A Philippine civilian ship was hired to resupply troops this week and was escorted by two Philippine Navy ships and two Philippine Coast Guard ships, according to a statement from the Philippine Armed Forces on Saturday.
A Philippine coast guard ship “hindered” and “surrounded” a Chinese coast guard ship and two Chinese maritime defense force ships, the Philippine coast guard said in a separate statement.
As a result, the Philippine coast guard ship was “isolated” from the ship of origin due to the “irresponsible and provocative behavior” of Chinese maritime forces, the Philippine coast guard said.
The Chinese have shown “contempt” for the Convention on the International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea (COLREGS).
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday sent his condolences to Russian President Vladimir Putin following a fatal shooting at a concert hall near Moscow, saying China opposes all terrorism bureaucracy and strongly condemns terrorist attacks.
China firmly supports the Russian government’s efforts for national security and stability, Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Gunmen in camouflage uniforms opened fire with automatic weapons on spectators near Moscow on Friday, killing at least 60 other people and wounding 145 others in an attack claimed by ISIS.
In the deadliest attack in Russia since the siege of Beslan in 2004, gunmen fired on civilians just before the Soviet-era rock band “Picnic” made its way to a packed 6,200-seat venue at Crocus City Hall, just west of the capital.
Gunmen in camouflage uniforms opened fire with automatic weapons on spectators near Moscow on Friday, killing at least 60 others and wounding 145 others in an attack claimed by Islamic State militants.
In the deadliest attack in Russia since the siege of Beslan in 2004, gunmen fired on civilians just before the Soviet-era rock band “Picnic” made its way to a packed 6,200-seat venue at Crocus City Hall, just west of the capital.
Verified video showed other people taking seats in the lobby and then running toward the exits as repeated gunfire echoed above the screams. Another video showed men firing into groups of other people. Some of the victims lay motionless in pools of blood.
“All of a sudden, there were detonations, gunshots. A burst of gunfire, I don’t know what,” a witness who asked not to be identified told Reuters.
“A stampede has begun. Everyone ran to the escalator,” the witness said. “Everyone was screaming, everyone was running. “
Russian investigators said the death toll exceeds 60. Health officials said another 145 people were injured, and about 60 are in critical condition.
During the siege of Beslan in 2004, militants took more than 1,000 people hostage, as well as many children.
Russian President Vladimir Putin briefed on the scenario through security chiefs, adding Alexander Bortnikov, head of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Kremlin said.
Russian investigators released photographs of a Kalashnikov automatic weapon, vests with several spare magazines and bags with used bullet casings.
Islamic State
ISIS, the extremist organization that once sought to control large swaths of Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the attack, the organization’s Amaq news firm said on Telegram.
A grainy symbol published through some Russian media of two of the alleged attackers in a white car.
The fate of the attackers was unclear as firefighters battled a large blaze and evacuated many people as parts of the hall’s ceiling collapsed.
IS said its fighters attacked the outskirts of Moscow, “killing and wounding many other people and causing wonderful destruction there before retreating safely to their bases. “They did not elaborate.
The U. S. has intelligence confirming it claims responsibility for the shooting, a U. S. official said Friday. The official said Washington had warned Moscow in recent weeks about the possibility of an attack.
“We have warned the Russians appropriately,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, offering additional details.
Russia has yet to clarify who it believes is responsible.
The attack on Crocus City Hall, about 20 kilometers from the Kremlin, comes just two weeks after the U. S. embassy in Russia warned that “extremists” were planning an imminent attack on Moscow.
Hours before the embassy’s warning, the FSB said it had thwarted an attack on a Moscow synagogue through ISIS’s partner in Afghanistan, known as ISIS-Khorasan or ISIS-K, and that it sought to identify a caliphate in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. and Iran.
Putin changed the course of the Syrian war by intervening in 2015, supporting President Bashar al-Assad in the face of the opposition and ISIS.
“ISIS-K has been obsessed with Russia for more than two years, criticizing Putin in its propaganda,” said Colin Clarke of the Soufan Center.
ISIS has generally claimed responsibility for deadly attacks in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Europe, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it was a “bloody terrorist attack” that the world strongly condemns.
The United States, European and Arab powers, and many former Soviet republics expressed surprise and condolences. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak denied any Ukrainian involvement.
The United Nations Security Council condemned what it called a “heinous and cowardly terrorist attack. “
Enhanced Security
Russia has beefed up security at airports, shipping hubs and in the capital, a vast urban domain of more than 21 million people. All large-scale public events have been canceled across the country.
Putin, who was re-elected on Sunday for another six-year term, sent thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022 and has continually warned that powers — adding Western countries — are trying to wreak havoc on Russia.
Putin was briefed within minutes of the attack and is up to date, the Kremlin said.
“The president is constantly getting data on what’s going on and the actions taken by everyone involved. The head of state has given all the mandatory instructions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
At Crocus City Hall, flames shot into the sky and plumes of black smoke rose over the site as a pile of blue lights from emergency vehicles shone into the night.
Helicopters tried to extinguish the flames ravaging the building. The roof of the hallway collapsed, the official RIA news agency reported.
“Today a terrible tragedy occurred at the Crocus City shopping mall,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. “I feel sorry for the loved ones of the victims. “
Russia on Friday carried out its biggest airstrike on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the war, hitting a large dam, killing at least five other people and leaving more than a million without power, Kyiv said.
Ukraine, which has long suggested allies to supply more air defense, said its force formula had won backup forces from neighboring Poland, Romania and Slovakia as seven of its regions faced force cuts.
The onslaught through Russia, which last week vowed to punish Kyiv for wearing down attacks and movements during its presidential election, was reminiscent of the first winter of the invasion, when Moscow bombed the network of forces.
“Russia is at war with people’s lives. My deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who died in this terror,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote in the Telegram message.
Russia denies intentionally targeting civilians, even though the war that began with its full-scale invasion in February 2022 has led to the deaths of thousands of people, the uprooting of millions, and the destruction of Ukrainian cities.
Moscow says attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure are valid measures aimed at weakening the enemy military.
Ukraine’s largest dam, the DniproHES, in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, suffered shaking in its hydraulic structures and the dam itself, the state-owned hydropower company Ukrhidroenergo said, adding that there was no threat of rupture.
The company’s director, Ihor Syrota, said the blocks and dam had been damaged. One of the blocks suffered two direct hits, he said.
“There’s been a fire at the plant lately. Emergency crews and electrical personnel are working at the site to deal with the aftermath of the airstrikes,” the company said.
“The World Seees”
At least five other people were killed, two in the western Khmelnytskyi region and three in Zaporizhzhia, in addition to at least one near the dam, according to the local directorate and the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Russia fired 88 Shahed missiles and 63 drones, of which 37 and 55 were shot down respectively, the Ukrainian Air Force said of the attacks concentrated in the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
This represents a worse proportion than usual, which may simply reflect Moscow’s widespread use of ballistic missiles that are harder to shoot down, as well as the proximity of target regions to Russian-controlled areas.
Around 1. 2 million people in at least four regions were left without power due to the attacks, according to figures posted by presidential aide Oleksiy Kuleba on Telegram. About 700,000 of them were in the eastern Kharkiv region alone.
“The goal is only to damage, but to bring back to control, like last year, to cause a large-scale failure in the country’s electricity system,” Energy Minister German Galushchenko wrote on Facebook.
“Russia has launched the largest combined attack on Ukraine’s system of forces since the beginning of the full-scale invasion,” grid operator UkrEnergo quoted its chief, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, as saying. It reported power outages in seven regions.
Zelenskiy said work is underway to fix the source of force in nine regions.
“The world sees very clearly the targets of Russian terrorists: power plants and power supply lines, a hydroelectric dam, ordinary apartment buildings and even a trolleybus,” he said.
Ukraine’s largest energy company, DTEK, said some of its thermal power plants had been affected.
The U. S. House of Representatives passed a $1. 2 trillion government investment bill on Friday with more from Democrats than the Republican majority, raising a new risk from a hard-line conservative lawmaker of ousting President Mike Johnson.
The House vote, by a vote of 286 to 134, sends the measure to the Democratic-led Senate, which has hours to act before the deadline (0400 GMT Saturday), when parts of the Department of Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department must stop at the Treasury and the state. Departments would begin to close.
The move marks a step toward ending a more than six-month war over the length of Washington’s shutdown for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. Ratings agencies have warned that the repeated brinkmanship could hurt the solvency of a federal government that has lately been more than $34. 6 trillion in debt.
The measure passed the House with 185 Democratic and Republican votes, prompting radical conservative Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to introduce a measure to impeach Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Johnson himself ascended to office in October after hardliners, furious that his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, had passed an investment measure over their objections, ousted him as leader.
But Greene said she would push for an immediate vote.
“I filed a cancellation request today. But it’s more of a precaution than just a pink note,” the North Carolina Republican told reporters.
The next Senate
Meanwhile, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer suggested his colleagues act temporarily to pass the measure.
“Let’s finish the job today. Let’s even do a weekend closing. Let’s finish the government’s investment plans for the rest of the fiscal year,” Schumer said. “There’s no explanation as to why it’s delayed. “
The last partial federal government shutdown took place during President Donald Trump’s administration, from Dec. 22, 2018, to Jan. 25, 2019. The record-breaking government shutdown came as the Republican pushed for investment in building a wall along the U. S. border. Mexico and was unable to negotiate a deal with the Democrats.
The existing 1,012-page bill provides for an $886 million investment for the Department of Defense, adding up to a buildup of U. S. troops. It also covers agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Department of Justice, as well as the Treasury and State Departments.
Another moot currency factor is spilling over into Congress, where its leaders, with the exception of Johnson, are urgently calling for final approval of a $95 billion Senate-approved security assistance package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
Some Republicans are hesitant to continue supporting Ukraine in its war against the Russian army’s invasion.
While conservatives were going to convince Congress and Democratic President Joe Biden to cut some spending for fiscal year 2024, they expected much bigger cuts. Their discontent led to the historic impeachment trial in October of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The resulting political battles between Republicans paralyzed the House for three weeks as Republicans fought for a replacement.
Since then, in the run-up to the November election, most Republicans have been reluctant to trigger a government shutdown over spending, even though Washington has been pushed to the limit four times since late September.
A shutdown starting Saturday would mean the top U. S. Border Patrol and immigration agents would continue to work, but local governments would likely receive no new help to house migrants.
U. S. infantrymen and all federal workers likely won’t be paid until new investments are approved and national parks are closed. The same goes for the two American astronauts aboard the International Space Station, 409 km above Earth.
In the meantime, the Internal Revenue Service would continue to process tax returns due April 15 and notify taxpayers of any delays in refunds.
At the State Department, security at embassies and other foreign offices would remain in place, and passports and visas would be issued as long as there were sufficient fees for such activities. Many other operations would cease.
Russia considers itself at war because of Western intervention on Ukraine’s side and cannot allow a state to exist on its borders that has shown itself willing to use any method to seize Crimea, the Kremlin said on Friday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s comments to the Russian publication “Arguments and Facts” are among the most aggressive to date on Ukraine, a large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
“We are in a state of war. Yes, it started as a special military operation, but as soon as this organization was formed, when the collective West participated together with Ukraine, it became a war for us. “Peskov said.
“I’m convinced of that. And everyone perceives it because of their internal motivation. “
Russian officials, from President Vladimir Putin to President Vladimir Putin, have begun using the word “war” from time to time, after long insisting that the term be avoided.
Peskov also said that Russia will have to fully “liberate” its “new regions” to ensure people’s safety, referring to the four Ukrainian regions that Russia claimed to have annexed in 2022.
Kyiv says Russia’s annexation was an illegal land grab and will not be prevented until all Russian infantrymen are driven off its soil. We are also determined to take back the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Russia seized from it in 2014.
Moscow, which has invested heavily in Crimea, says the peninsula is part of Russia and is resolved once and for all.