And here's another item from our news desk:
Russian Duma Approves Anti-Sanctions Bill In First Reading
The Russian parliament's lower chamber, the State Duma, has approved in its first reading a bill which provides for the jailing for up to four years of Russians who adhere to economic sanctions imposed by the United States.
The lawmakers approved the bill unanimously on May 15.
The bill, which needs two more votes in the Duma and one in the upper house, the Federation Council, before being signed into law by President Vladimir Putin, is seen as an effort to respond to U.S.-imposed asset freezes and financial restrictions on Russian officials, tycoons, and companies associated with Putin.
Those April 6 sanctions, the latest in a series imposed by the United States, European Union, and other countries since Russia seized Crimea and has been backing armed separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014, were meant to punish Moscow for alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and other "malign activity around the globe."
The legislation would enable a court to impose a prison term of up to four years on any individual or representative of a legal entity in Russia who refuses to supply services or do business with a Russian citizen due to sanctions.
Offenders could also be fined up to 600,000 rubles ($9,710).
Under the bill, helping foreign governments impose sanctions on Russia by providing advice or information would also be a criminal offense, punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of up to 500,000 rubles ($8,090).
The second vote is scheduled for May 17.
With reporting by Meduza
Here's an item from our news desk:
Putin To Attend Opening Of Bridge Linking Russia To Crimea
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend the opening ceremony on May 15 for one of his big prestige projects: a controversial bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula to Russia.
The 19-kilometer bridge over the Kerch Strait had been scheduled to open in December 2018, but Russian authorities have announced that the span -- which Moscow calls the Crimean Bridge -- will open for road traffic on May 16.
Construction on the bridge from Russia's Krasnodar Krai to Crimea's eastern end started in 2016, two years after Russia seized control of Crimea from Ukraine following a military occupation and a referendum denounced as illegitimate by at least 100 countries.
Putin has said that the bridge will integrate Crimea into Russia's transport system and create opportunities for economic growth.
The $3.7 billion project includes construction of a two-lane railroad, which is still under construction, and a four-lane highway across the Kerch Strait.
Putin's government moved swiftly to seize Crimea in March 2014, after Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from power by months of street demonstrations and fled the country.
Russia sent troops without insignia to Crimea and orchestrated the takeover of government bodies, before holding the referendum on March 16, 2014.
With reporting by TASS and Interfax
And apparently they died as a result of their refusal to cooperate...
Journalist With Russian State News Agency Detained, Office Searched In Kyiv
By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
KYIV -- Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) officers have searched the office of Russian state news agency RIA Novosti's branch in Ukraine and detained a journalist, accusing the media outlet of participating in a "hybrid information war" against Kyiv.
Colleagues at RIA Novosti-Ukraina said that Kirill Vyshinsky, a Russian citizen, was detained near his home in Kyiv on May 15.
SBU spokeswoman Olena Hitlyanska confirmed to RFE/RL that Vyshinsky was detained but gave no details.
Hitlyanska wrote earlier on Facebook that the news agency's office in the Ukrainian capital were searched.
Hitlyanska wrote that the SBU and prosecutors had "uncovered the activities" of a Russian-controlled network of media outlets that has been "used by the aggressor country to conduct a hybrid information war against Ukraine."
She said that more details would be made public later.
Ties between Moscow and Kyiv have been severely damaged by Russia's seizure of Crimea in 2014 and its support for separatists in a war that has killed more than 10,300 people in eastern Ukraine.
The Ukrainian government is wary of Russian media and entertainment, accusing Moscow of distributing disinformation aimed at sowing tension and destabilizing the country.
Kyiv has banned more than a dozen Russian television channels since 2014, accusing them of spreading propaganda.
Ukraine drew criticism from media freedom advocates in 2017 for the deportation of a correspondent for Russia's state-run Channel One television.
With reporting by RIA Novosti, UNIAN, TASS, and pravda.ua
Photo Gallery: Putin Set To Unveil Massive Bridge Linking Crimea To Russia (click to view)
Russian President Vladmir Putin is due on May 15 to officially unveil a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
Ukraine has condemned the project, which cost 228 billion rubles ($3.7 billion). Sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States have targeted those involved in the bridge, including businessman Arkady Rotenberg, a close Putin ally whose company won the construction contract. The bridge surpasses the Vasco de Gama bridge in Portugal as the longest in Europe.
