Latest news with #RussianInvestigativeCommittee
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Daily Record
'Granny Ripper' boiled dismembered friend's head in saucepan after 'disagreement'
Tamara Samsonova was arrested in 2015 after CCTV footage showed her carrying bags from her apartment block in the middle of the night – and she was soon dubbed the 'Granny Ripper' A former hotel worker swiftly earned the macabre moniker 'Granny Ripper' after being suspected of serial killings and cannibalism. Tamara Samsonova, a former hotel worker, was arrested a decade ago after her abhorrent crimes came to light. The then 68-year-old was caught on grainy CCTV footage disposing of large plastic bags from her flat in the dead of night, with one clip showing her carrying a saucepan allegedly containing a human head. These were believed to be the remains of Valentina Ulanova, 79, who met a gruesome end. We delve into the disturbing case that left Russia reeling when the grisly details surfaced in 2015. It was the Russian Investigative Committee that brought this chilling case before the courts, naming Samsonova as the accused murderer. According to the committee, the victim perished "on the spot" after Samsonova laced her salad with over 50 sleeping pills in July 2015 and then dismembered her. The investigators issued a statement saying: "Then, in order to conceal the committed crime, she dismembered the body of her victim and placed the parts in different places near the apartment block." Hailing from St Petersburg, Russian-native Samsonova reportedly used a handsaw to carve up the elderly woman. The Investigative Committee pointed to "personal hostile relations" as the motive, stating that the murderer had a "conflict with her friend". Following the dismemberment, she is believed to have boiled the head in a pot. Samsonova, who was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, became notorious for her courtroom antics, including blowing a kiss to journalists. She confessed to the murder of Valentina, yet haunting diary excerpts suggested she might have killed up to 11 others, possibly counting her husband and mother-in-law among them, both of whom disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Due to her poor health, uncooperative behaviour, and the lack of additional human remains, it became infeasible to bring further charges against her. A bone-chilling admission in her diary stated: "I killed my tenant Volodya, cut him to pieces in the bathroom with a knife, put the pieces of his body in plastic bags and threw them away in the different parts of Frunzensky district." One account published in The Sun quoted a source as remarking: "We may never know the extent of this granny's killings." Reports indicated that Samsonova found sinister inspiration in Andrei Chikatilo, a prolific murderer responsible for over 50 killings from 1978 to 1990. A neighbour, who had known her intimately for 15 years, noted her fixation with Chikatilo, saying: "She gathered information about him and how he committed his murders." At her court appearance for Valentina's murder, Samsonova told the judge: "I am guilty and I deserve to be punished." The elderly suspect, then aged 78, displayed an eerie expression of joy as she clapped her hands and smiled upon hearing she would remain in custody. Beyond her morbid crimes, she held a deep interest in black magic and astrology. In 2017, she was sentenced to life in a mental hospital, with the judge ruling her mental illness absolved her from being responsible for Valentina's killing. This all but confirmed that it will never be truly known how many people died at the hands of Samsonova.
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Business Standard
04-06-2025
- General
- Business Standard
Putin Dismisses Zelenskiy's Call for Direct Leaders Meeting
Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the idea of a meeting with his counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy even as the Ukrainian leader reiterated his call for direct top-level negotiations as the only way to end the war. 'How can such meetings be held under these conditions? What is there to talk about?' Putin said during a televised meeting with government officials by video conference, discussing the collapse of bridges in Russia that Moscow blamed on Ukraine. Kyiv denies any involvement. Zelenskyy hours earlier said that Russia's maximalist demands in negotiations mean there's no point in continuing with lower-level talks aimed at brokering an end to the war, but stressed he remains willing to meet directly with Putin. 'To continue diplomatic meetings in Istanbul at a level that does not resolve anything further is, in my opinion, meaningless,' Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv, calling Russia's conditions for peace an 'ultimatum.' The comments from Putin and Zelenskyy underscore how far apart the two sides remain in peace talks that have restarted for the first time since the early days of the war. They come after a pair of audacious attacks against Russian targets in recent days that represented an embarrassing setback for the Kremlin. Over the weekend, a section of a bridge in the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, struck a passenger train en route to Moscow shortly before midnight, killing seven people and injuring dozens. Hours later, a similar incident occurred in the Kursk region, but didn't result in any fatalities. Ukraine's special services organized all the bridge explosions in Bryansk and Kursk regions over the weekend, Russian Investigative Committee Chairman Alexander Bastrykin said at the meeting with Putin. Ukraine hasn't claimed responsibility for the incidents. Putin also said that Russia's Security Council would discuss the war in Ukraine at its upcoming meeting. The Russian leader didn't mention Ukraine's attack on strategic airfields as far away as eastern Siberia with drones hidden in trucks earlier this week. Several bombers were destroyed in the strike. Ukraine also said on Tuesday that it attacked the bridge linking the Russian mainland to the Crimean peninsula Moscow illegally annexed in 2014 with explosives, which prompted authorities to twice temporarily close the road to traffic. Putin continued to resist Ukraine's demands for a ceasefire. 'Why should they be rewarded by offering them a pause in hostilities, which will be used to arm the regime with Western weapons, continue forced mobilization, and prepare other terrorist attacks,' he said. Another prisoner exchange with Russia involving around 500 people is possible over the coming weekend, according to Zelenskyy, who said that Russia was motivated by a desire to avoid further western sanctions. Prisoner exchanges 'are going on and should go on, but the Russians are not ready for a ceasefire; at least the delegation level is not ready to resolve this and they believe that this is a matter for the leaders, they told us so themselves,' said Ukraine's president. Zelenskyy proposed a ceasefire until a leaders' meeting in a place 'of Russia's choice,' citing Istanbul, the Vatican, or Switzerland. In Washington, the president's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and discussed the Istanbul talks and 'the further course of negotiations,' Yermak said in an X post. 'I emphasized that Ukraine has done everything possible to achieve peace and is ready for a ceasefire — but Russia refuses,' he said. 'That is why additional sanctions are necessary.'
Jordan News
01-06-2025
- Politics
- Jordan News
Russian Investigative Committee: Two Explosions Behind Bridge Collapses in Kursk and Bryansk Regions - Jordan News
Russian Investigative Committee: Two Explosions Behind Bridge Collapses in Kursk and Bryansk Regions The Russian Investigative Committee confirmed on Sunday that explosions caused the collapse of two bridges in the Bryansk and Kursk regions, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries. اضافة اعلان Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko told Sputnik that the first incident occurred at 10:50 PM on May 31, 2025, on the Vygonichi–Belshino railway section in Bryansk. A road bridge structure collapsed due to an explosion, and its debris fell onto a passing passenger train, leading to fatalities and injuries. In the second incident, at around 3:00 AM on June 1, a railway bridge in the Zheleznogorsk area of Kursk was blown up. The explosion caused a train to derail and fall onto a nearby highway, injuring the engineer and two of his assistants. Petrenko stated that investigators are currently on-site conducting urgent actions to establish the full circumstances of the attacks. Earlier in the day, Russian authorities confirmed that seven people were killed and dozens injured as a result of the twin bridge collapses in regions bordering Ukraine. According to Interfax, Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz said the Bryansk bridge was deliberately bombed while a Klimovo–Moscow passenger train with 388 passengers was passing beneath it. The incidents mark a significant escalation in sabotage activities inside Russian territory amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Hans India
01-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Will Ukraine's 'massive attack' on Russian air assets cast a shadow over Istanbul talks?
A day before Russian and Ukrainian delegations are scheduled to meet in Istanbul for the second round of talks on ending their conflict, Ukraine on Sunday claimed a massive strike on Russian strategic aviation assets in Siberia, Murmansk in the north and other places. While Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier on Sunday that a delegation will be going to Turkey with the main aim of reaching a "complete and unconditional ceasefire", and Russian media also reported that a Russian delegation has departed for the talks in Turkey, how this dramatic escalation will play out on the course of negotiations remains to be seen. The reported attacks on the airfields came as two bridge collapses led to the derailment of trains in the Russian regions of Bryansk and Kursk, leaving at least seven people dead and multiple others wounded. The Russian Investigative Committee said that both incidents were deliberate acts of sabotage and has blamed Ukraine. The string of incidents comes hours before the talks, and Russian authorities are yet to react to the attack on the airfields, which the Ukrainian secret service, SBU, has proudly flaunted. While Ukrainian strategic experts and journalists also exulted in the destruction of Russian aircraft, the Russian military was yet to react. Though authorities in Irkutsk and Murmansk did confirm drone attacks, they did not give many details. The latest attacks come amid Ukraine's significantly rising drone strikes into Russia in recent weeks, amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the conflict and Russia launching several retaliatory strikes targeting Ukraine's defence industry facilities, as well as other military targets. With the BBC citing SBU sources as saying the attack on Russian airfields took over a year to organise and was personally overseen by Zelensky, Russia is likely to harden its position. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has suggested that the growing Ukrainian attacks are a bid by Kiev to derail the peace process. With Ukraine reportedly upping the ante by targeting Russia's strategic aircraft fleet, a part of its nuclear triad, Moscow is certain not to sit quietly. Apart from the military retaliation, its diplomatic response remains to be seen.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Russia investigates bridge explosions in Bryansk and Kursk as terrorist attacks
Two bridges in Russia's Bryansk and Kursk oblasts collapsed overnight on 31 May due to explosions, with investigations underway into what Russia's Investigative Committee has called terrorist attacks. Source: Meduza, citing the Russian Investigative Committee Quote: "These events are classified as acts of terrorism," the committee stated. Unverified reports suggest an improvised explosive device may have been placed within the Kursk bridge's structure. The Kursk incident occurred around 02:21 Moscow time (00:21 BST), derailing the locomotive of a freight train and three wagons, with no fatalities reported due to the train's low speed. Derailed train Photo: Russian Investigative Committee Background A road bridge in Bryansk Oblast collapsed onto a railway at 22:50 Moscow time (20:50 BST) on 31 May 2025, derailing a passenger train en route from Klimov to Moscow, killing 7 people and injuring about 70. Hours later, a railway bridge collapsed in Russia's Kursk Oblast, derailing a freight train. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
