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Russia’s appeal came amid ongoing security talks with the U.S., which is concerned the country is planning to invade former Soviet republic Ukraine, and ahead of Wednesday’s rare meeting between Russia and NATO. Russian President Vladimir Putin is demanding that NATO halt any plans to add Ukraine to NATO. He also is calling on the military organization to reduce its presence in nations near Russia, like Estonia, and refrain from deploying additional military forces and weaponry in Europe....

During a TV appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, co-host Dana Bash asked Blinken if “news of Russia and Belarus extending their drills makes him more concerned about a potential Russian invasion,” in which he responded that “it does” concern him. Russia began joint military drills with Belarus on February 10 with around 30,000 Russian troops attending the exercises, according to NATO. The drills were supposed to wrap up on Sunday, but the Defense Ministry of Belarus said that those exercises will continue....

With its branding stolen from the horror movie franchise “Saw,” the website has reportedly been hosting the personal details of homosexuals since last year, campaigners say. It has promoted an event called “Chechnya’s Comeback”—urging readers to find and attack gay people. The website—titled Saw—was referencing the purge spearheaded by Chechnya’s authorities in 2017, in which men suspected of being gay were brutally targeted. Some victims returned home on the cusp of death, while others were “disappeared,” Human Rights Watch says....

The footage reportedly shows a Russian warship in the Baltic Sea performing a military exercise. The vessel can be seen launching an anti-ship missile at what appears to be a mock target with a camera mounted on board. The footage showed the missile hitting the target with pinpoint accuracy. The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) said in a statement on Monday: “The crew of the Soobrazitelny corvette, as part of an exercise of the Baltic Fleet, launched a missile attack on a sea target imitating a warship of a mock enemy....

Reuters reported this week that there were 62 transits through the Northern Sea Route—controlled by Russia and central to the Kremlin’s regional ambitions—this year up to December 9, compared with 37 transits in 2019. The data came from the Centre for High North Logistics at Norway’s Nord University Business School. The new record comes as lawmakers push the U.S. military to make its troops Arctic-ready, and as President-Elect Joe Biden prepares to take office and face a belligerent Russia that loomed over his two terms as vice president in President Barack Obama’s administration....

The page on Medvedev’s VKontakte account referred to ex-Soviet countries neighboring Russia such as Georgia and Kazakhstan and was deleted within 10 minutes. His aide Oleg Osipov told the Tass news agency that the social media account had been hacked. The message was still up for long enough for opposition figure and TV personality Ksenia Sobchak to post screenshots of the purported Medvedev post, which outlines a hawkish geopolitical vision for Russia’s future following the war in Ukraine....

Sixteen years later, Putin has decided that his former subordinate will succeed him as president of Russia. There will be an election, of course, on March 2. But in the “sovereign democracy” Putin has created—largely by stifling independent media and cracking down on dissidents—Medvedev faces no real opposition. Most observers expect the mouse to do his master’s bidding: he’s already promised to appoint Putin as prime minister, and to keep in place “the efficient team that the incumbent president has assembled....

Negotiators from both countries met this week to reach an agreement to end the Russian-led invasion of Ukraine that began at the end of February. The war has devastated Ukraine while also leaving Russian leaders frustrated at their lack of progress, placing a peace deal in sight for the first time in over a month. During these negotiations, Western leaders are practicing a “juggling act” of trying to broker a peace deal while also sending a message to Putin against international aggression, Robert English, professor of international relations at the University of Southern California, said in an interview with Newsweek Tuesday....

In Moscow, just off the capital’s iconic Red Square, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin was joined by Olympic champions Svetlana Zhurova and Ivan Ukhov to set the clock running from 365 days. Similar scenes could be witnessed in St Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Pyatigorsk and Khabarovsk. Attention will turn to the Black Sea resort itself in the evening, when International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge is to issue official Games invitations to the national Olympic committees of Canada, Brazil, South Korea and Russia....

Amid much fanfare, the 8,500-tonne 300-foot long Ivan Papanin was unveiled at the Admiralty Shipyard in St Petersburg on Friday as Russia’s navy touted its ability to combine the functions of a tugboat, patrol, icebreaker and a scientific vessel. Viktor Cherkov, an admiral at the state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation which constructed it said, according to the Tass news agency: “We wanted to create a ship that would ensure the safety of our fleet in the Arctic....

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov suggested that accusations of Russian meddling in past American elections are baseless, despite ample evidence uncovered by investigators to the contrary. Ryabkov made his remarks while addressing the International Valdai Discussion Club, state news agency Tass reported. The organization was established to “promote dialogue between Russian and international intellectual elite,” according to its website. Ryabkov told attendees that the “overall situation around Russia—the relations of Russia with the U....

The publishing group VK-media, which is not connected to social media giant Vkontakte, published editions of their papers in the Urals region with a cover dedicated to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The message “This madness must be stopped” sits above the fold of Wednesday’s editions of Vecherniy Krasnoturinsk, Vecherniy Karpinsk, Pro Severouralsk and Globus. In the left-hand corner, the papers issue a direct challenge to Russia’s media watchdog, Roskomnadzor, which has ordered media outlets in the country to delete reports using the words “assault,” “invasion,” or “declaration of war” to describe the conflict....

Kirill Kabanov, a member of Russia’s Presidential Human Rights Council (HRC), wrote on Telegram Friday that he had received a complaint from a Russian worker who had been “detained during a ‘raid’ on draft dodgers.” “According to him, they grabbed everyone and stated that there should be a certificate that there is a reservation,” Kabanov wrote. He decried the “lawlessness” of such actions and stressed that they were “creating a hostile attitude in society....

On Tuesday, in his tenth year of running, Eisen finally hoofed a sub-6 second time. He ran a 5.98 in a suit and tie, which is pretty impressive if you factor in the not-quite-aerodynamic factor of a suit jacket.

It was only the fourth career start at the 26.2-mile (42.16km) distance for Rupp, who was second in April’s Boston Marathon and third in last year’s Rio Olympics, and just the third marathon for Dibaba, a former world and Olympic 5,000 and 10,000m champion. “It’s just incredible,” Rupp said. “You train so hard to have a race like this and to have it all come together, words just can’t describe the feeling when I came across the line....

The final segment of RAW ended with the returning Liv Morgan revealing that she had a relationship with Lana, who reacted by brawling with the former Riott Squad member. Rusev then jumped out of a cake and attacked Lashley to prevent the wedding from being finalised, while he celebrated with Morgan as the chaotic episode went off the air. Rusev’s social media challenge The wedding segment on Monday’s episode of RAW has divided the WWE Universe, with some fans being full of praise and others comparing it to some of the worst segments in WWE history....

Seattle coach Pete Carroll said after the game the finger was “badly sprained” and that there was no timetable for Wilson to return. Wilson appeared to be hurt while throwing in the third quarter; his hand made contact with Los Angeles lineman Aaron Donald’s wrist or forearm on a followthrough. Replays showed the tip of the middle finger was bent at an odd angle. The veteran signal-caller played one drive after the injury, but then Seattle coach Pete Carroll replaced him with backup Geno Smith early in the fourth....

On Sunday night, after Wilson and the Broncos’ 11-10 win over the San Francisco 49ers, there was yet another take on the “Let’s Ride” saying. But this time it came from one of Wilson’s smallest, yet biggest fans, his two-year-old son, Win. Wilson posted an adorable video of Win holding a football, telling Broncos fans, “Let’s Ride.” Wilson captioned the video, “That WINNING feeling!” It was the second consecutive win for the Broncos....

So it’s not surprising that when Bielema was interviewed by the Dolphins that offseason for their open head coaching position, the current Arkansas coach made it clear to those present he wanted to draft Wilson if he got the job. MORE: Tony Gonzalez breaks down the Super Bowl | Lynch to risk fine for charity | Goodell stresses league integrity “They all looked at me like, ‘You can’t say that,’” Bielema told ESPN....