Advertisement - scroll for more content
Len said he thinks Ukraine needs more than a deal ensuring the war’s end — the message he hopes people take out of the Trump-Vance-Zelensky news conference. “They responded very emotionally. But hopefully they’ll be able to come up with a solution to finally stop the war and in a way that Ukraine is protected,” Len said. “Because all Zelensky said is, ‘Yeah, we want a ceasefire. But in the past, Putin broke this ceasefire so many times. We need security to make sure when the ceasefire is not enough. He signed it so many times, and he broke it, and we’re still getting attacked. What’s the purpose of ceasefire? We need more than just ceasefire.”
President Joe Biden says he hopes Russian President Vladimir Putin will be more willing to negotiate the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner now that the U.S. midterm elections are over. Biden made the comment during a news conference Wednesday to discuss the midterm election results. He added that he is “determined to get her home” as well as others. “My hope is that now that the election is over, that Mr. Putin will be able to discuss with us and be willing to talk more seriously about a prisoner exchange,” Biden said.
NBC News reached out to White House national security officials for comment on Rodman’s plans to travel Russia to engage in the Griner case. Rodman was in Washington for a sneaker convention. Though he has a much more established relationship with Kim, Rodman expressed confidence in his understanding of Russia's president. "I know Putin too well," he said.
Russia confirmed Thursday for the first time that negotiations between Washington and Moscow on a prisoner exchange are underway, after the United States proposed a deal to release WNBA star Brittney Griner and another American prisoner, Paul Whelan. The Russian Foreign Ministry said talks are underway via a channel set up by President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin when they met in Geneva in June last year.
Former Laker Stanislav Medvedenko remains in Ukraine fighting Russia in war
Explosions punctuate the night sky over Kyiv as Slava Medvedenko stares through a pair of high-powered binoculars. An AK-47 at his side, he studies the black, forested expanse that separates him from the frontlines of Russia’s war in his native Ukraine. In the weeks following Vladimir Putin’s February order for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, this is how Medvedenko spends many of his nights: Manning a guard station atop the tallest building in the Kyiv neighborhood he lives in with his wife and two of his children. For four hours every day he watches the road that stretches to the suburban battlefield and anticipates the moment the Russians will come. His efforts serve as a snapshot of the stiff civilian resistance experts have said Russian forces were not prepared to meet.
Advertisement
Volkov’s voice catches as well when he reflects on his old friend. They came up through the Soviet system together, are now filled with disgust toward Vladimir Putin’s Russia and are carrying out a sort of resistance through sports. “He’s always been like my brother, and I’ve always been very close to him. We share the same philosophy, same values throughout all life. And still now.”
Prokhorov has also had a short stint in politics, having run for the presidency in the March 2012 election against Putin but garnered only 8% of the vote. Prokhorov's relations with Putin soured after the launch of his presidential bid despite qualifying he did not oppose the Russian leader but only offered himself as an alternative.
Popovich, a 73-year-old of Serbo-Croatian heritage, did not spare American politicians, such as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, as well as specific “news” outlets that seem to be exploiting the war of countries with very different levels of firepower. “Those are the people who really make me sick,” he said. “For political or personal reasons, they’re willing to jump on the Putin bandwagon and use that. Guys like Cruz and Hawley. You can go down the list. They’re just despicable people for even thinking about saying the things they’ve said. “And then you’ve got the people at Fox News that I won’t even name. They know what they’re saying. They’re highly intelligent people. But they’re still willing to do it. They’re just lickspittles of the highest order.”
Although Russian clubs have been indefinitely barred by FIBA from participating in European competitions, play in the domestic VTB United League and Russian Basketball Super League 1 continues. In some cases, I'm told, six-figure bonuses are being offered to American stars to come back. That, of course, leads to further complicated questions. Such as: How, exactly, would such bonuses be paid when so many Russian assets worldwide are frozen? A far weightier matter: What are the broader moral implications amid calls, as expertly laid out by my fellow Substacker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, for Russian teams and athletes to be banned from all worldwide competition to increase public pressure on Putin? Then there is maybe the scariest question: How can any American player's safety be assured after the recent airport arrest and detention of WNBA star Brittney Griner?
Davis Bertans: 'If the Russians cross the line with our borders, it's basically World War III'
How are your family and friends holding up in Latvia since Russia invaded Ukraine? Davis Bertans: Right now, everybody is pretty calm. If the Russians cross the line with our borders, it’s basically World War III. I don’t think anybody is going for it or looking for it, especially them. In that sense, it seems pretty safe right now. But you never know what (Putin) is thinking. It seems like he’s been pushed in a corner right now against the wall. I don’t think anybody has a clue on what he’s willing to do or capable of doing
Advertisement
How far back did it hit your radar that Russia could invade Ukraine? Davis Bertans: Knowing (Putin’s) past and what he has done, I’m definitely not surprised with what has happened. We’ve seen small pieces of this before. The whole world is rallying around Ukraine. He didn’t really understand. He doesn’t understand how much patriotism there is in (Ukraine) and how much they are willing to sacrifice to protect their country. I would say 99% of them are willing to die instead of becoming part of Russia.
Mikhail Prokhorov sold Nets under pressure from Vladimir Putin
When Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov sold the Brooklyn Nets more than two years ago, he gave up ownership of the NBA franchise partly because of pressure from Vladimir Putin, The Post has learned. Events that led Prokhorov’s 2019 sale of the Nets and Barclays Center to Chinese billionaire Joe Tsai stretch back five years earlier, according to sources close to the situation. At the time, the US and European Union had begun to apply sanctions on Russia for taking over Crimea.
But as tensions between the US and Russia over Crimea grew, Putin in 2016 also began pressuring Prokhorov to sell the Nets, according to sources. 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, according to one source close to the situation.
“Putin strongly suggested he sell the Nets,” the source said. And if Prokhorov refused, he risked losing his considerable assets in Russia. “You couldn’t be pro-Russian and own an NBA team,” another source who knows Prokhorov said.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement