Prominent Putin Critic Murdered Within Sight of the Kremlin

By BBC News Europe. A leading Russian opposition politician, former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, has been shot dead in Moscow, Russian officials say.

An unidentified attacker in a car shot Mr Nemtsov four times in the back as he crossed a bridge in view of the Kremlin, police say. . .

President Putin has assumed “personal control” of the investigation into the killing, said his spokesman Dmitry Peskov. . .

The investigative committee said in a statement that several motives for the killing were being considered including “Islamic extremism”.

In a recent interview, Mr Nemtsov had said he feared Mr Putin would have him killed because of his opposition to the war in Ukraine. (Read more from “Prominent Putin Critic Murdered” HERE)

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After a Year of Silence, China Backs Russia’s Aggression in Ukraine, Tells the West to Back Off

By Zachary Boren. China has voiced its support for Russia’s handling of the Ukraine crisis, with prominent diplomat Qu Xing calling on the West to “abandon its zero-sum mentality”.

According to state news agency Xinhua, the Chinese ambassador to Belgium said the West should take “the real security concerns of Russia into consideration”.

Qu said the “nature and root cause” of the crisis was the “game” between Russia and western powers the United States and EU, and that a change of approach is required to resolve it.

After nearly a year of relative silence on the subject, China’s intervention is striking, not least because it comes just as harsher sanctions against Moscow are being discussed.

Putin, who has spent years fostering Russia-China relations, will be pleased to have received public backing; the US will likely take seriously China’s stance. (Read more from this story HERE)