Latest news with #ВосточнаяЕвропа
CNA
10-06-2025
- Business
- CNA
Russian MPs back new state messaging app to combat WhatsApp and Telegram
Russian lawmakers on Tuesday voted for the development of a state-backed messaging app that would be closely integrated with government services, as Moscow strives to reduce its dependency on platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram. Russia has long sought to establish what it calls digital sovereignty by promoting home-grown services. Its push to replace foreign tech platforms became more urgent as some Western companies pulled out of the Russian market following Moscow's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Anton Gorelkin, deputy head of the Russian parliament's information policy committee which wrote the draft legislation, said Russia's app would offer messaging and calls, as well as other functionality that Telegram and Meta Platforms' WhatsApp do not have. "The main competitive advantage of the platform will be the deep integration with government services," Gorelkin wrote on Telegram. The draft legislation must still pass through the upper house of parliament and be signed by President Vladimir Putin to become law. Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev last week proposed integrating government services with a national messaging app at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, highlighting Russia's shortcomings compared to other countries in this area. He praised state-controlled technology company VK, whose VKontakte social media site is accessed by almost 80 million Russians every day, for developing home-grown services such as VK Video, a Russian rival to Alphabet's YouTube. VK has been spending heavily on producing content and improving its technical expertise to boost its audience, lurching to a 94.9-billion-rouble ($1.21 billion) loss in 2024. YouTube's audience in Russia has dropped sharply in the last year to fewer than 10 million daily users from more than 40 million in mid-2024, as slower download speeds have made it harder for people to access. Russian officials have blamed the slowdown on Google, accusing it of failing to invest in Russian infrastructure and criticising it for refusing to reinstate blocked Russian channels. YouTube has said the slowdown was not caused by any actions or technical issues on its side. Mikhail Klimarev, director of the Internet Protection Society, a Russian digital rights group, said on Telegram that he expected Russia to slow the speeds of WhatsApp and Telegram to make space for the new state messenger, which he has warned may violate personal freedoms. ($1 = 78.4205 roubles)
Washington Post
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Russia continues to accuse Ukraine of delaying planned exchange of dead fighters
Russian officials said Sunday that Moscow is still awaiting official confirmation from Kyiv that a planned exchange of 6,000 bodies of soldiers killed in action will take place, reiterating allegations that Ukraine had postponed the swap. Russian state media quoted Lt. Gen. Alexander Zorin, a representative of the Russian negotiating group, as saying that Russia delivered the first batch of 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers to the exchange site at the border and is waiting for confirmation from the Ukrainian side, but that there are 'signals' that the process of transferring the bodies will be postponed until next week.
Russia Today
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Putin's Victory Day ceasefire proposal still on the table
Russian President Vladimir Putin's 72-hour Victory Day ceasefire proposal is still valid and Moscow's forces have been given orders to halt military activity, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. At the same time, he warned that if Ukraine chooses not to honor the truce and attempts to strike Russian military positions, an 'adequate response will be given immediately.' Putin announced the unilateral ceasefire last week, stating that Russian troops would suspend all offensive operations from midnight on May 7-8 to midnight on May 10-11. According to the Kremlin, the three-day pause has been proposed as a humanitarian gesture to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany and could serve as a chance for 'the start of direct negotiations with Kiev without preconditions.' Peskov has stated that the truce is also intended to test if Ukraine really wants to settle the conflict and to offer it a chance to demonstrate its commitment to deescalation. Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky, however, has rejected the offer, dismissing it as a Russian ploy and an 'attempt at manipulation.' In a statement following Putin's announcement, he instead called for an immediate unconditional 30-day ceasefire, which Moscow has claimed is an attempt to buy time for retreating Ukrainian forces. Zelensky has also claimed that Putin's ceasefire proposal is intended to ensure calm during Russia's Victory Day parade on May 9, and suggested that Kiev could not guarantee the safety of foreign leaders planning to attend the celebrations. Ukrainian MP Yury Pavlenko has also proposed attacking Moscow's Red Square during the parade. Moscow has condemned Zelensky's remarks. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova interpreted them as a 'direct threat' and proof of Kiev's terrorist nature.
