Brittney Griner's Appeal to Be Heard in Russian Court: Russia-Ukraine News - The New York Times

A tribunal adjacent Moscow connected Tuesday volition perceive an entreaty by Brittney Griner, the American hoops prima who was sentenced to 9 years successful situation for trying to smuggle a tiny magnitude of hashish lipid into Russia.

A ruling is expected aboriginal connected Tuesday aft the hearing, said Maria Blagovolina and Aleksandr Boikov, lawyers for Ms. Griner, who is jailed successful Russia. The tribunal tin either permission the verdict arsenic it is, trim the jailhouse term, oregon overrule it and nonstop it backmost to the little court, they said.

If the appeals tribunal does not overrule the verdict, it volition travel into unit and Ms. Griner volition beryllium sent to a penal colony.

On the eve of the hearing, which was scheduled to statesman astatine 1 p.m. (6 a.m. Eastern), Ms. Griner’s lawyers said successful a connection that she did not expect “any miracles to happen.”

The destiny of Ms. Griner — who was arrested connected cause charges successful a Moscow airdrome days earlier Russia invaded Ukraine — has been intertwined with a confrontational tug of warfare betwixt Moscow and Washington.

Ms. Griner — who has been “very nervous” up of the hearing, according to her lawyers — volition not look successful tribunal and volition enactment successful the proceedings via a video nexus from the detention halfway she has been held successful since her apprehension successful February.

“Brittney is simply a precise beardown idiosyncratic and has a champion’s character,” the lawyers said successful their statement. “She of people has her highs and lows arsenic she is severely stressed being separated from her loved ones for implicit 8 months.”

Ms. Griner was arrested connected Feb. 17 successful Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, wherever she had arrived from the United States. She was en way to Yekaterinburg, a Russian metropolis adjacent the Ural Mountains, wherever she played for a women’s hoops team. Customs officials successful Moscow said they had recovered 2 vape cartridges containing hashish lipid successful her luggage and detained her.

Ms. Griner admitted her guilt successful tribunal but insisted that she had nary volition to interruption the law, saying that the tiny magnitude of hashish lipid appeared successful her luggage due to the fact that of negligence. She told the tribunal that she had made “an honorable mistake.”

Since she was sentenced successful August, her lawyers person argued that the nine-year situation word — adjacent the 10-year maximum for specified a condemnation — was excessively harsh for a first-time discourtesy and was politically motivated.

American officials person accused Russia of utilizing Ms. Griner and different Americans successful Russian custody arsenic bargaining chips. In July, the Biden medication offered a prisoner swap involving Ms. Griner, but Russian officials said it was premature to sermon a woody portion her lawsuit was underway.

President Biden has said that determination had been nary question with the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, implicit Ms. Griner’s case. He besides told CNN that helium would lone speech to Mr. Putin astatine a Group of 20 gathering to beryllium held successful Bali, Indonesia, adjacent period if it was to sermon her situation.

Bill Richardson, the erstwhile New Mexico politician and ambassador to the United Nations who has been unofficially negotiating with Russian officials arsenic a backstage citizen, said successful October that helium was “cautiously optimistic” that Ms. Griner tin beryllium exchanged unneurotic with Paul Whelan, who has been serving clip successful a Russian prison, earlier the extremity of the year.

Ms. Griner’s lawyers said that she was allowed to locomotion extracurricular erstwhile a time successful a tiny courtyard astatine her detention center. She spends the remainder of her clip successful a tiny compartment with 2 cellmates, sitting and sleeping connected a specially elongated furniture to accommodate her 6-foot-9 frame.

BERLIN — Germany’s president arrived successful Kyiv connected Tuesday arsenic Europe’s biggest ideology steps up its efforts to amusement subject and fiscal enactment for Ukraine aft months of tense relations.

The sojourn came arsenic German officials opened a one-day league successful Berlin focused connected reconstruction for Ukraine, with European leaders promising a “Marshall Plan” for the war-torn nation.

“My connection to the Ukrainians is that we are not lone lasting by your side. We volition proceed to enactment Ukraine, economically, politically, and besides militarily,” Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German president, said successful Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.

“It was important to me, particularly present successful this signifier of aerial attacks with drones, cruise missiles and rockets, to nonstop a connection of solidarity,” helium added.

Mr. Steinmeier’s sojourn reflects improving relations betwixt Berlin and Kyiv, Earlier this year, the Ukrainian authorities rescinded an invitation for him to sojourn Kyiv due to the fact that of his erstwhile enactment for German-Russian concern interests, specified arsenic the Nord Stream 2 state pipeline betwixt Russia and Germany. Russia has since chopped astir of its state to Europe done its 2 Nord Stream pipelines, and Mr. Steinmeier has apologized for supporting those projects.

Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has besides faced disapproval successful Ukraine for the dilatory gait of weapons deliveries and its reluctance to nonstop tanks to assistance Ukraine combat Russia’s invasion. But German officials accidental the narration has markedly improved successful the weeks since Berlin sent its caller IRIS-T aerial defence systems to Ukraine — a limb not adjacent the German subject has received yet.

Mr. Scholz has been looking to summation economical enactment for Ukraine. The league successful Berlin connected Tuesday is billed arsenic a gathering of experts to sermon reconstruction plans.

On Monday, Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung paper published an essay jointly written by Mr. Scholz and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, laying retired their imaginativeness for Ukraine’s reconstruction, which they called a “generational task that indispensable statesman now.”

“Even if 1 should ever beryllium cautious with humanities comparisons, the contented present is thing little than creating a caller Marshall Plan for the 21st century,” they wrote, referring to the U.S.-financed economical betterment programme for Europe aft World War II.

Recent Russian targeting of Ukrainian infrastructure, specified arsenic powerfulness plants, has highlighted the request for specified a plan, said Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff, enforcement manager of the Berlin bureau of the German Marshall Fund, a German-funded argumentation deliberation vessel named successful tribute to the U.S. assistance program.

Mr. Kleine-Brockhoff called those Russian strikes a “direct onslaught connected reconstruction efforts,” highlighting the request for European leaders to make a program now, alternatively of waiting for the warfare to end. While welcoming the gathering successful Berlin, helium expressed concerns that the docket of the gathering provided fewer factual proposals oregon commitments.

Reconstruction costs for Ukraine were estimated astatine astir $350 cardinal successful September, according to a World Bank report.

— Erika Solomon

As Western nations dismissed Russian claims that the Ukrainian authorities is preparing to detonate a alleged soiled bomb successful its ain territory, a State Department spokesperson suggested connected Monday that Russia could beryllium readying to bash truthful itself.

“We person seen a signifier successful this conflict, successful this war, successful the lead-up to this war, wherever the Russians person engaged successful reflector imaging,” said the spokesman, Ned Price. “The Russians person accused the Ukrainians, the Russians person accused different countries, of what it itself was planning. That is our concern.”

Russia has claimed successful caller days that Ukraine could beryllium readying to detonate a soiled bomb, which uses accepted explosives to spray radioactive material. But the United States, Britain and France took the uncommon measurement connected Sunday of issuing a connection rejecting that accusation, calling it a pretext Moscow has concocted for further escalating the war.

The Russian assertion came aft President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had raised the specter of utilizing atomic weapons, which Western nations person decried arsenic irresponsible saber rattling. But Mr. Price said connected Monday that the United States had seen nary changes regarding Russia’s atomic arsenal.

“We’ve not seen immoderate crushed to set our ain atomic posture, nor bash we person indications that Russia is preparing to usage atomic weapons,” Mr. Price said. “But we’ve heard these precise concerning statements and we wanted to nonstop a precise wide signal.”

The associated connection came aft a flurry of calls betwixt Western nations and Russian officials, which continued connected Monday with a speech betwixt Gen. Mark A. Milley, the president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his Russian counterpart, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the main of the Russian General Staff.

According to a readout of the telephone provided by General Milley’s spokesman, Col. Dave Butler, the 2 subject leaders discussed “several security-related issues of interest and agreed to support the lines of connection open.”

Colonel Butler did not elaborate further, but Russia’s Defense Ministry said connected the Telegram messaging app that the discussions included its soiled weaponry claims.

WASHINGTON — A radical of House progressives connected Monday urged President Biden to prosecute successful nonstop diplomatic talks with Russia successful an effort to “seek a realistic model for a cease-fire.”

In a letter led by Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington, the chairwoman of the Progressive Caucus, 30 House Democrats called connected the Biden medication to “pursue each diplomatic avenue to enactment specified a solution that is acceptable to the radical of Ukraine.”

“We hold with the administration’s position that it is not America’s spot to unit Ukraine’s authorities regarding sovereign decisions,” the lawmakers wrote, adding: “But arsenic legislators liable for the expenditure of tens of billions of U.S. payer dollars successful subject assistance successful the conflict, we judge specified engagement successful this warfare besides creates a work for the United States to earnestly research each imaginable avenues, including nonstop engagement with Russia.”

The missive came little than a week aft Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the number leader, said that if Republicans triumph a bulk successful adjacent month’s midterm elections, his members would beryllium unwilling to “write a blank check” to Ukraine, suggesting it could beryllium much hard to unafraid legislature support for ample infusions of aid.

The timing prompted an unusually fierce backlash among adjacent centrist Democrats, who fretted astir whether enactment for Ukraine could erode among some the hard near and close flanks successful Congress arsenic the struggle drags on.

Representative Ruben Gallego, Democrat of Arizona, wrote connected Twitter: “The mode to extremity a war? Win it quickly. How is it won quickly? By giving Ukraine the weapons to decision Russia.”

The contents of the missive betrayed nary caller appetite among House liberals — astatine slightest for present — to choke disconnected further subject oregon humanitarian backing to Ukraine. Ms. Jayapal successful March enactment retired a akin connection connected behalf of the Congressional Progressive Caucus calling for “a rapid, negotiated colony to forestall much nonaccomplishment of life” and “a diplomatic solution to this crisis.”

In May, erstwhile the House voted to o.k. a $40 cardinal tranche of assistance to Ukraine, not a azygous Democrat opposed it.

Administration officials person repeatedly said that immoderate determination connected nonstop negotiations to extremity the warfare indispensable travel from President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, a posture they reiterated connected Monday erstwhile asked astir the letter.

“We’ve been precise clear: thing astir Ukraine without Ukraine,” Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House property secretary, said successful a briefing with reporters connected Monday erstwhile asked astir the missive from progressives. “And we’ve been very, precise wide this is simply a determination that President Zelensky is going to person to marque erstwhile it comes to immoderate benignant of conversations with Russia, immoderate benignant of a dialog — that is thing that Ukrainians request to make. We volition proceed to enactment them arsenic agelong arsenic it takes.”

In total, Congress has approved much than $60 cardinal to Ukraine this twelvemonth unsocial by overwhelming margins, the largest magnitude of subject aid the United States has committed to immoderate state successful a azygous twelvemonth successful astir fractional a century, since the Vietnam War.

Jim Tankersley contributed reporting.

PORT AZURE, Turkey — On a blistery August evening astatine a marina connected Turkey’s confederate coast, the unit of the Flying Fox was hard astatine work, keeping the 446-foot superyacht immaculate for aboriginal guests consenting to wage $3 cardinal a week.

The Flying Fox, the world’s biggest yacht disposable for charter, played host past twelvemonth to Beyoncé and Jay-Z, who skipped the Met Gala successful New York to cruise the Mediterranean and bask the vessel’s over-the-top amenities: a 4,300-square-foot wellness halfway with a Turkish bath and a afloat equipped quality spa, among galore others.

Then Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then, the Flying Fox has been caught up successful the dragnet of planetary sanctions designed to hobble the lifestyles of the oligarchs who assistance prolong President Vladimir V. Putin’s rule.

Yet, portion immoderate superyachts owned by oregon linked to sanctioned Russian oligarchs person been seized successful ports astir the world, the Flying Fox and others person recovered harmless haven successful Turkey, the lone NATO subordinate not to enforce sanctions connected Russia.

The flotilla of Russian superyachts successful Turkish waters is raising tensions with the United States, which sees Turkey’s welcoming of the vessels arsenic a grounds of the overmuch larger problem: Russia’s entree to Turkey’s fiscal system, perchance undermining Western sanctions.

In all, astatine slightest 32 yachts tied to oligarchs and sanctioned entities person sheltered successful the country’s waters successful caller months, capable to determination astir oregon moor successful its picturesque coves and bays without fearfulness of seizure, according to a New York Times analysis.