WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s only openly gay Cabinet minister on Tuesday spoke with the Washington Blade about the fight for LGBTQ rights in his country, Ukraine and U.S. politics.Deputy Justice Minister Krzysztof Śmiszek assumed his post last Dec. 13 after Donald Tusk became prime minister. The Civil Coalition, a group of opposition parties that Tusk leads, two months earlier won a majority of seats in the Sejm, the lower house of Poland’s parliament. President Andrzej Duda, an ally of the conservative Law and Justice party who opposes LGBTQ rights, remains in office as part of the governing coalition.Śmiszek, a member of the ...

BEIJING (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Kremlin is prepared to negotiate over the conflict in Ukraine in an interview with Chinese media on the eve of visit to partner Beijing that has backed Moscow in its full-scale invasion of its neighbor.“We are open to a dialogue on Ukraine, but such negotiations must take into account the interests of all countries involved in the conflict, including ours,” Putin was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency on Wednesday.The Russian leader’s two-day trip starting Thursday comes as his country’s forces have pressed an offensive in northeastern Ukraine’s ...

COLOMBO: At least 16 retired Sri Lankan military personnel have been killed in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the island nation's defence ministry said on Wednesday. The Sri Lankan mercenaries had joined the Russian and Ukrainian forces after unscrupulous foreign employment agencies misled them in the name of foreign employment, according to police. State minister for defence Premitha Bandara Tennakoon said that 16 Sri Lankan retired military personnel were killed in the Russia-Ukraine war. "That is the confirmed information we have," he said, adding that plans are being made to bring back Sri Lankans who are currently in Russia and Ukraine. ...

Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight. Become a member [1] Support us just once [2] Ukraine "has to make decisions for itself" when deciding how to use U.S.-supplied weapons that could strike targets inside Russian territory, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on May 15. Speaking in Kyiv during a press conference, Blinken was asked about recent Ukrainian complaints[3] that a Washington ban meant Ukraine was unable to attack Russian forces as they were building up before crossing the border into Kharkiv Oblast[4]."We've not enabled or encouraged strikes outside of Ukraine, but ultimately, Ukraine has ...

BEIJING (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Kremlin is prepared to negotiate over the conflict in Ukraine in an interview with Chinese media on the eve of visit to partner Beijing that has backed Moscow in its full-scale invasion[1] of its neighbor.“We are open to a dialogue on Ukraine, but such negotiations must take into account the interests of all countries involved in the conflict, including ours,” Putin was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency on Wednesday.The Russian leader’s two-day trip starting Thursday comes as his country’s forces have pressed an offensive[2] in northeastern Ukraine’s ...

BEIJING —  Russian President Vladimir Putin says his regime is prepared to negotiate over the conflict in Ukraine in an interview with Chinese media on the eve of visit to partner Beijing that has backed Moscow in its full-scale invasion[1] of its neighbor.“We are open to a dialogue on Ukraine, but such negotiations must take into account the interests of all countries involved in the conflict, including ours,” Putin was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency on Wednesday.The Russian leader’s two-day trip starting Thursday comes as his country’s forces have pressed an offensive[2] in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region ...

NFL star Aaron Rodgers[1] praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as an "interesting, smart individual" and railed against Covid vaccines, in a new interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson released Tuesday.The New York Jets star and Super Bowl-winning quarterback said Carlson's interview with the Russian leader in February[2], Putin's first interview with any Western media since his forces invaded Ukraine in 2022[3], was "awesome.""Putin came off as an interesting, thoughtful, smart individual. And if you’ve read '1984,' the base game plan of government control is you have to have an enemy, and you have to slander that enemy regardless ...

When the Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, was removed from his post[1] and appointed head of the security council this week, there were two big questions on everyone’s mind. What would his successor, Andrei Belousov, bring to the table, and what would happen to the former head of the security council, Nikolai Patrushev – reputed to be the second most powerful man in Russia and seen by many as a potential successor to Vladimir Putin?The second question has a straightforward answer. Patrushev, it seems, is being sidelined. Yesterday, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov[2] said Patrushev had been appointed to the ...

Beijing is set to welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the "unprecedented" level of ties between the two countries ahead of his state visit.More than two years into his invasion of Ukraine, China has emerged as a vital ally. It has refused to condemn the war and continues to trade with a heavily sanctioned Russia, much to the ire of the US and the European Union.However, it appears Mr Putin wants more. But is China willing to pay the price?A balancing actIt is perhaps not surprising the Russian leader has chosen China as his first foreign trip since he ...