Spotify “indefinitely” shutters Russian office, removes Kremlin-backed content

whose assets were frozen by the British government Thursday over Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and Mikhail Fridman, the sanctioned co-founder of Alfa Bank.He is also said to have cultivated relationships with Russia’s most important museum, run by a close associate of President Vladimir Putin.With Ukrainian artists and others calling for more sanctions in the cultural sector, such relationships may soon be under scrutiny, analysts say.The Gagosian Gallery in New York did not return The Post’s calls and an email seeking comment this week.Gagosian, who owns several galleries around the world, has long held close ties to Abramovich, the owner of the UK’s Chelsea football club, helping him and ex-wife Dasha Zhukova build up a massive art collection. It includes pieces by artists Francis Bacon and Damien Hirst, whose work has been represented by Gagosian’s galleries.

Pink Floyd and David Gilmour are removing their music from streaming services in Russia and Belarus to show their support for Ukraine.Ukraine officially severed diplomatic ties with Russia and declared martial law after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation on February 24. At the time of writing, the Russian invasion has killed at least 549 citizens, including 41 children.

Several major supermarkets are removing a number of items from their shelves this week in protest of the invasion of Ukraine.

Russian soldiers are living in fear of being killed if they are sent back home after being captured by Ukrainian soldiers. At a press conference in Kyiv, one of the soldiers spoke of being killed by firing squads when they are returned to Russia following a prisoner exchange.

Mila Kunis shed more light on her feelings about Russia, and the government’s invasion into her home country of Ukraine during a new interview with Maria Shriver. The 38-year-old actress admitted that even as Russian forces attack Ukraine, she doesn’t want people think of Russian people as the “enemy.” While she didn’t name Russian President Vladimir Putin by name, she pointed to those in power as the root of the problem.

sanctions against Russian oligarchs yesterday.Most notable was the news that Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned. As he has had his UK assets seized, this has a direct impact on the club, who cannot purchase or sell players, nor sell new tickets.Chelsea players will still be paid their wages but the club cannot gain any income from ticket sales and only season ticket-holders can attend the rest of the season's home games.

Russian president Vladimir Putin's apparent propaganda grip on his people is slipping if Russian media is anything to go by. According to local reports, one of the biggest talk shows in the country, hosted by pro-Russia, pro-Putin Vladimir Soloviyev had two guests on a recent episode – both of whom portrayed negative views about the invasion of Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin using dog poo to "insult" the Russian President and raise money for victims of the war in Ukraine. Dominic Murphy from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, created the piece with the help of his dog Sybil and titled it "Poo-tin's a S**t".

Roman Abramovich has become the latest Russian oligarch to be sanctioned as part of the British government’s response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

BBC presenter has been left astonished by a former Russian spy’s shocking claim that ‘Ukrainian Nazis’, including President Volodomyr Zelenskyy, are bombing their own citizens.Maria Butina is a Russian political activist, and was convicted of acting as a spy in the US in 2018. She is a member of the State Duma, or the lower house of the Russian parliament, which has supported Vladimir Putin in his decision to order the invasion of Ukraine.

Russian performers have begun canceling concerts in their home country and joining a larger "no to war" campaign condemning the Russia's invasion of Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to invade Ukraine on Feb. 24 after recognizing the independence of two separatist regions in the country.

Vladimir Putin may be preparing the ground for using chemical and biological warfare in Ukraine after his invasion faltered.

As soon as Russian forces, under the order of Russian President Vladimir Putin, began the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, stars and celebrities started their efforts to support the Ukrainian people under attack. A-listers like Ryan Reynolds, Mila Kunis, Dua Lipa, and more shared links to where fans could donate to the humanitarian efforts while pledging their own money to the cause.

Vladimir Putin, according to fresh reports.In 2009, the politician made an offer to buy a controlling interest in the NBA franchise, then known as the New Jersey Nets, with the sale approved the following year.His 80 per cent stake made him the majority owner of the team, and after overseeing the switch to Brooklyn, he also acquired a 45% interest in the team's new home venue, the Barclays Center.The purchase made Prokhorov, 56, the first ever non-North American team owner in the NBA, a fact that was met with contrasting opinions from opposing team owners at the time.During his tenure, the Nets reached the conference semi-finals in 2014, but some three years later he agreed to sell 49 per cent of his stake - valued at USD$1.2billion, to Joseph Tsai.In 2019, Prokhorov sold the remaining 51 per cent of the Nets to Tsa for a further USD$1.35bn, and also freed himself of the Barclays Center for USD$1bn, in the biggest transaction ever for a US sports team.And now a report in the New York Post has claimed that the sale was made not due to Prokhorov's desire to get out of the NBA, but because of pressure from Putin to relinquish his control."As tensions between the US and Russia over Crimea grew, Putin in 2016 also began pressuring Prokhorov to sell the Nets, according to sources," read the report."That’s because Putin, especially during times of political turmoil, will test the loyalty of oligarchs with assets in the West to show they won’t get too close to the US or Europe."Should Russian sports team owners now be subject to sanctions? Let us know in the comments section.A source was also quoted as saying: “Putin strongly suggested he sell the Nets."And if Prokhorov refused, he risked losing his considerable assets in

Kyiv is claiming to be flogging a 'captured Russian tank' on Facebook Marketplace, for just £2,700, as Vladimir Putin's forces continue their invasion in Ukraine. The tank, which the listing says is "perfect for killing people and destroying vehicles", is a T-64, a Soviet main battle tank introduced in the early 1960s.After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the new Russian Ground Forces decided to do away with T-64s, and they were gradually put in reserve or scrapped, so it is unlikely this one was actually captured.It's more likely a joke, as revealed by British-Lebanese freelance conflict journalist Oz Katerji, who tweeted the listing.

Olga Smirnova, a prima ballerina from Russia, is speaking out against the country’s invasion of Ukraine. A lead dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet, Smirnova said she is "ashamed of Russia" and publicly denounced its president, Vladimir Putin, for giving the order to invade the neighboring country.

Spotify not working has caused a social media meltdown for music lovers unable to stream.Twitter has become flooded with memes of fury and despair as users struggle to listen to their favourite playlists, podcasts and albums.The popular app going down has become a top trending topic online with people tweeting their rage at not being able to plug in and check if others are suffering the same silence.Conspiracy theories being spread about the platform being hacked by Russians have left people wondering what Vladimir Putin would want with people's playlists.Commenting on a Women's Day post shared three hours earlier, Twitter users have hit out at Spotify with a range of fierce and funny complaints.One person blasted: "Y’all were supposed to shut Russia’s service off not ours.""How dare you crash on international women’s day," another said.Spotify Status which provides updates about the platform's current service said that they were looking into the problem at 6:22pm.The official account which is separate to Spotify's main profile, tweeted: "Something’s not quite right, and we’re looking into it. Thanks for your reports!"Fuelling fears that Spotify has been targeted by hackers, one person commented on the tweet by Spotify Status saying: "Imagine.

Joe Biden announced that the U.S. will ban imports of Russian oil, the latest move to sanction Vladimir Putin’s regime after its invasion of Ukraine.

The letter 'Z' has been seen daubed on the side of Russian tanks as Vladimir Putin's troops launched their invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

Russia and will stop using the country's oil and gas.The company's boss also apologised for buying Russian crude oil last week, seven days after Vladimir Putin launched an attack on Ukraine.In a statement Shell said that apart from no longer buying Russian crude oil, it will also change its crude oil supply chain to remove Russian supplies.It added however that this could take weeks to complete and would lead to reduced throughput at some of its refineries.The FTSE 100 company will also start a phased withdrawal from Russian petroleum products, pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas, the Daily Mirror reports.Shell's statement read: “This is a complex challenge.

British ballet dancer Xander Parish has made the decision to leave Russia and the country's prestigious Mariinsky Ballet amid the Russia-Ukraine war. Xander shared the news Sunday on Instagram.