Mysterious ‘accidental’ death of Putin’s former aide nicknamed ‘The Bulldozer’

Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine sparked fears of war spreading across the rest of Europe. With Russia sending threats to other countries in recent weeks, those fears may not be completely unfounded.In September 2014, Putin listed five European countries in a private threat over Russia's growing military strength.The countries privately warned were Poland, Romania and the Baltic states - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - which are all part of the EU, the bloc that Ukraine was also looking to join at the time.According to German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, Putin allegedly told then Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko: "If I wanted, in two days I could have Russian troops not only in Kyiv but also in Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn, Warsaw and Bucharest."The statement, if made in these terms, represented the first time Putin had discussed the idea of invading an EU or NATO member state.European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, who is Latvian, told Politico earlier this month that Putin is likely to ramp up his military ambitions and challenge NATO in the Baltic Sea countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia if he is triumphant in Ukraine.He said: “If we do not support Ukraine, it’s not going to stop in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is in the midst of invading Ukraine, has found time to give a shout out to fellow transphobe, author J K Rowling. Trigger Warning: This story has details of transphobic statements, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.The President in a televised speech to winners of the Presidential Young Artists Awards, claimed that the West was trying to “cancel” a 1000-year-old country and pointed to programs by Russian artists being cancelled across the US and Europe. WATCH: Vladimir Putin says the West has "cancelled" JK Rowling and are now "engaging in cancel culture" against Russia.(Begins at 1:00)pic.twitter.com/fqAin41HpO— TLDR News UK (@TLDRNewsUK) March 25, 2022“They’re now engaging in the cancel culture, even removing Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich and Rachmaninov from posters. Russian writers and books are now cancelled,” Putin claimed, comparing the cancellations to Nazi supporters burning books in the 1930s. “Recently they cancelled the children’s writer Joanne Rowling because she – the author of books that have sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide – fell out of favour with fans of so-called gender freedoms,” said Putin. Critiques of Western cancel culture are possibly not best made by those currently slaughtering civilians for the crime of resistance, or who jail and poison their critics.

J.K. Rowling answered Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday for his linking her cancellation for anti-transgender comments with Russia’s sanctions.

President Joe Biden, casting the support for Ukraine as the “task of our time,” also issued a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, that his widely condemned attack on neighboring Ukraine also should spell the end of his grip on power.

invasion of Ukraine, Russia still has several powerful men at the top. Russia president Vladimir Putin has been reportedly looking at his own inner circle to find blame for the reason why his invasion was not ended in the 72 hours he first predicted.And those he hasn't yet turned against, or haven't been killed in battle, still hold the balance of power on the battlefield in their hand.General Sergei Shoigu has commanded Russia's armed forces since 2012.Until earlier today, it had been rumoured that he was suffering from ill health.But he appeared on Russian TV, in video footage showing him chairing a meeting at the Kremlin.Although it was broadcast today in Russia, it was on a Kremlin-run TV station which means it could have been filmed at any time.Shoigu is the man behind Putin's Yunarmiya – meaning youth army.The Russian president gave the go-head to establish the All-Russia "Young Army" National Military Patriotic Social Movement Association in 2015 – and he put Shoigu in charge.The force, formed mainly of schoolchildren, has grown massively since then and is now thought to have more than one million members, and is known in Russia as “YunArmia”.Described as a "military and patriotic" organisation, YunArmia – for girls as well as boys – has been criticised as an echo of Hitler Youth.

Brexit and that Vladimir Putin would become "lord of the world".The psychic passed away in 1996 at the age of 85 and was often referred to as the "Nostradamus of the Balkans". Almost 30 years after her death, her predictions are still seen as mostly accurate, with some reports saying she was right 85% of the time. Now people are fearing that one of her visions is becoming real after she said in 1979 that Russia would become "lord of the world" after Europe became a "wasteland", the Mirror reports.

Piers Morgan has shocked people by jumping to the defence of author J.K. Rowling, claiming she has been treated "despicably" for airing her views recently.J.K.

JK Rowling has responded to Vladimir Putin after seemingly referencing her during a speech condemning ‘cancel culture’ in the West.Likening the portrayal of Russia in the West to the backlash of the Harry Potter author, the president said Rowling had been cancelled ‘because she did not satisfy the demands of gender rights’ He made the comments during a televised meeting with Russian cultural figures, during which he also claimed Western countries were trying to cancel the works of composers Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff.Sharing an article about incarcerated Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on Twitter, Rowling wrote: ‘Critiques of Western cancel culture are possibly not best made by those currently slaughtering civilians for the crime of resistance, or who jail and poison their critics.’The writer also shared the hashtag #IStandWithUkraine.In a subsequent tweet, she detailed the work her Lumos charity is doing in the country.Critiques of Western cancel culture are possibly not best made by those currently slaughtering civilians for the crime of resistance, or who jail and poison their critics. #IStandWithUkraine https://t.co/aNItgc5aiW‘Children trapped in orphanages and other institutions are exceptionally vulnerable right now,’ she wrote.‘Thank you so, so much to everyone who has already donated to Lumos’s Ukraine appeal.’Rowling said she was personally matching all donations to the Lumos emergency appeal up to £1 million.Putin is reported as saying earlier today: ‘They cancelled Joanne Rowling recently, the children’s author.To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video‘Her books are published all over the world.

Author J.K. Rowling is hitting back at Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent comment. On Friday, Putin dragged the "Harry Potter" creator into his rant against Western efforts to "cancel’’ Russian culture.

Russia invaded Ukraine, there have been whispers that those in the upper echelons of the Kremlin have been looking to depose him with former KGB agent Alexander Bortnikov tipped to take over. Of course, Ol' Vlad would be unlikely to leave willingly leading some experts to theorize he could be assassinated.Australian expert Dr Leonid Petrov, has now speculated that if Vlad were to get the chop, it’d be someone incredibly close to him doing the chopping.Speaking to news.au he said: “I believe that if there is an assassination attempt, that might come from a female.

Piers Morgan, 56, has used his social media platforms to talk about the "depraved monster" Vladimir Putin, after Russia launched its attack on Ukraine last month.The former Good Morning Britain presenter took to Twitter today to allow an "exception" on today's cancel culture over the Russian leader's latest "deluded" comments.Putin launched a verbal attack on the West today for "discriminating against Russian culture".He compared the supposed discrimation to be like the ceremonial burning of books by Nazi supporters in the 1930s.As reported by AFP News Agency, Putin said: "Today they are trying to cancel a thousand-year old country."I am talking about the progressive discrimination against everything connected with Russia."Angered by this, Piers took to Twitter in view of his 7.9 million followers to respond.He penned: "FFS.

Elon Musk has created an ominous Twitter poll asking people to vote on whether they believe the social media giant properly protects free speech. The Tesla CEO wrote that free speech is "essential to a functioning democracy" and asked "do you believe Twitter rigourously adheres to this principle?"Over a million votes have been cast in the viral Tweet – with a majority of people choosing "No".Musk followed up the poll with another rather sinister tweet, writing: "The consequences of this poll will be important.

Harry Potter author during a speech about cancel culture.During a televised meeting with cultural figures, Putin claimed there was a campaign against Russian culture in response to the world’s reaction after he ordered the country’s military to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.“Today they are trying to cancel a whole thousand-year culture – our people”, Putin said. “They are banning Russian writers and books.”Putin was reported as saying: “They cancelled Joanne Rowling recently, the children’s author. Her books are published all over the world. Just because she did not satisfy the demands of gender rights,” he said, in reference to the backlash Rowling has received for her views on transgender issues.He went on: “They are trying to cancel our country.

Zack Sharf J.K. Rowling slammed Vladimir Putin on Twitter following a television appearance in which the Russian president said his country was being “canceled” by Western culture, similar to how Rowling has faced criticism over her controversial anti-trans comments.

unfolding disaster in Ukraine puts Russian leader Vladimir Putin in very real danger of being deposed in a coup by the security services, according to a Moscow source. Dissident Vladimir Osechkin – who is on Russia’s most-wanted list for his work in exposing abuse in Russia’s prisons – says he has received letters from a source at the heart of the FSB security service, the modern equivalent of the KGB, revealing growing discontent within the agency.

Russian premier Vladimir Putin has delivered a TV address in which he claimed the West is “trying to cancel” his country.

Vladimir Putin has compared himself to Harry Potter author JK Rowling, saying that he was being “cancelled” just as she was, adding that "cancel culture" as the same as Nazis trying to burn books in the 1930s.In a bizarre rant, Putin said Ms Rowling was cancelled "just because she didn’t satisfy the demands of gender rights".Speaking in Russia to a video-call meeting with officials and cultural workers he said: "They are now trying to cancel our country. "I'm talking about the progressive discrimination of everything to do with Russia."There was also a campaign against Russian composers including Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich and Rachmaninov, he added.Comparing “culture warriors” to Nazis lining up to burn books in the 1930s, he said: ”We remember the footage when they were burning books."It is impossible to imagine such a thing in our country and we are insured against this thanks to our culture."And it's inseparable for us from our motherland, from Russia, where there is no place for ethnic intolerance, where for centuries representatives from dozens of ethnic groups have been living together."Stay in the loop with all the latest Daily Star news by signing up for one of our free newsletters here.J.K.

Vladimir Putin's strategy for the war in Ukraine has 'weak points' that could leave his 'troops in trouble' following deleted articles about Kremlin's true death toll. Writing for El Pais, Melissa Kitson claims that "if removing the leadership of an enemy force is one of the basic goals in war, then the Russian offensive in Ukraine may be in trouble."Kitson went on to explain that at least five Kremlin generals and a handful of commanders have been killed in the first 30 days of conflict and the true death toll for Russia is being wiped from their state media.

Ash Barty had her tennis farewell ruined - by Vladimir Putin. Barty shocked the sporting world earlier this week by announcing her retirement at the age of just 25.

EXCLUSIVE: Influential Ukrainian film producer Denis Ivanov, whose credits include Sergey Loznitsa’s Donbass and Oleg Sentsov’s Rhino, says the lack of support from major film festivals for a boycott of Russian culture is tantamount to complicity in Vladimir Putin’s war.

Ukraine has claimed that Russian soldiers have been leaving their dead where they fall to be eaten by dogs. American James Vasquez flew out to the war-torn country earlier this month after pledging his services to the resistance on February 26, two days after the war broke out.Speaking in a short video beneath an American flag, the patriot said it would be an "honour to fight the good fight" against the Russians.After arriving in Warsaw on March 14, Mr Vasquez joined up with the Foreign Legion and appears to have been in the thick of the fighting ever since.