The Daily Populous

Thursday April 14th, 2022 night edition

image for Kremlin leaves captured Putin ally Viktor Medvedchuk out to dry, saying Russia doesn't want to exchange prisoners for him

Moscow denied a Ukrainian offer to swap a captured Putin ally for prisoners.

Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian politician, was captured by Ukraine's security service on Tuesday while fleeing house arrest.

Medvedchuk chaired a pro-Russian political party and is thought to have been Putin's pick to replace Zelenskyy as a puppet leader.

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Russia shot down Ukraine's offer to swap captured Kremlin ally Viktor Medvedchuk for Ukrainian prisoners, seemingly cutting ties with the oligarch who has close personal connections to Putin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered Russia the chance to swap kidnapped Ukrainians for Medvedchuk, who chairs a pro-Russian opposition political party.

Medvedchuk was sanctioned by the Obama administration for undermining democracy in Ukraine after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. »

17 LA gangs have sent out crews to follow and rob city's wealthiest, LAPD says

Authored by sfgate.com
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Jonathan Tippet, who spearheads the task force, police have identified at least 17 gangs, most based out of South L.A. and operating independently, that are involved.

There were 165 such robberies in 2021 and 56 so far this year, he said, including several over the weekend.

The Pacific Division had 17, West L.A. 15, North Hollywood 14 and Topanga 11. »

Macron warns of ‘escalation of rhetoric’ after Biden ‘genocide’ comment

Authored by thehill.com
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Macron said Wednesday that his goal is to “stop this war and rebuild peace” and not use rhetoric like “genocide” to escalate tensions with Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Macron last spoke on the phone in March did not reach a diplomatic breakthrough.

When Macron sat down with Putin face-to-face in February before the invasion, Putin reportedly assured him he would not escalate the Ukraine crisis. »