A former high-ranking advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin — who fled the country after the invasion of Ukraine — has fallen seriously ill and was in intensive care Sunday, a report said.
Anatoly Chubais was suffering from a neurological disorder at a European hospital, according to Ksenia Sobchak, a Russian television personality and friend of Chubais.
Sobchak, on Telegram, spoke with Chubais’ wife and was told he was suffering from Guillain-Barre syndrome.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Guillain-Barre occurs when a person’s immune system harms the body’s nerves, which can lead to muscle weakness and even paralysis.
Chubais, 67, had grown numb in his hands and legs. Specialists in “chemical protection suits” probed the room where he suddenly got sick, according to the New York Times.
Chubais did not explain why he stepped down from his post in March, though the assumption is it was due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. His high-profile resignation was one of many following the start of the war.
Chubais’ wife shared he was suffering from Guillain-Barre syndrome.Getty Images/Daniel BerehulakChubais served as a former high-ranking advisor to Vladimir Putin.TVK6/east2westnews
He most recently was part of Putin’s envoy to international organizations on sustainable development and is well-known in the country after holding many top-level posts since the early 1990s.
His illness raises suspicion considering other Kremlin opponents have mysteriously and suddenly gotten sick in the past, most famously Alexei Navalny, who was apparently poisoned in 2020.
Amid the sound of air-raid sirens and the threat of missiles, Sofiia Yakymenko logs onto her computer for an online lesson.
Key points:
More than 120 Monash University student teachers have joined an international initiative to educate Ukrainian children affected by war
The program was initiated by Smart Osvita and provides online classes to thousands of children
The university is encouraging Australian educators to register interest if they want to be involved
The 12-year-old takes two to five online classes a day from her home in kyiv about anything from atmospheric science to how to practice yoga.
These classes are held by teachers from all over the world, including from Monash University in Melbourne.
“I walk a lot, I read a lot – but mostly I take online classes,” she said.
With ambitions to be a biologist, the lessons have been a lifeline for Sofia since school stopped when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Her mum Yuliia Lashko is a physicist and has found comfort in the classes too.
“There’s no guarantee any missile does not hit your house,” she said.
“But it’s important to understand there are much more good people who can share something good.
“They remind us we do not stay alone and our children have a future.”
Sofia, Yuliia and their dog Peppi on holiday before the war.(Supplied: Yuliia Lashko)
Monash University provides lessons
More than 120 Monash University student teachers have been involved in providing online lessons for Ukrainian children who are living in the war-torn country or have fled abroad.
Maria Pakakis is one of the student teachers who ran a session about Mars from the Victorian Space Science Education Centre, where they have a simulated Mars surface.
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How Victorian teachers are helping Ukrainians
She said 30 students joined the session, where they spoke about all aspects of the planet.
“It was a privilege and a pleasure — they were definitely eager to learn and asked some really great questions,” Ms Pakakis said.
“They were amazing considering what they’re going through.”
Michael Phillips has been Monash University’s faculty of education digital transformation associate professor and said the program started after Ukrainian organization Smart Osvita — an online learning NGO — approached him to run virtual classes.
Monash University’s Mike Phillips with student teachers John Wall and Emma Hart.(Monash University: Tim Herbert)
Dr Phillips quickly said yes and within 24 hours of sending the word out to his students more than 100 put their hands up to teach.
He said he has been able to equip his young teachers with the skills to teach virtually, guided by “trauma-informed practice”.
“For [people in Ukraine] being able to experience that and see there are people who are wanting to support and help in any way gives them a sense they are not alone in this,” Dr Phillips said.
But he says remote learning also has a significant place at home and is an essential platform for teachers of the future.
“A lot of people don’t realize it, but Victoria’s biggest school is a fully online school with 5,500 students,” he said.
“And what we’re realizing with issues like COVID and the flu is the place of online learning isn’t going to go away any time soon.”
‘We’re going to keep going’
Smart Osvita international volunteer program coordinator David Falconer is continuing to search for ways the program can be not only expanded in Ukraine, but in other places affected by conflict.
Smart Osvita volunteer David Falconer working from his home in northern Canada.(Supplied: David Falconer)
Mr Falconer is an educator based in northern Canada who started working with the kyiv-based NGO soon after Russia invaded Ukraine.
“They invited me to coordinate the recruiting effort and to invite educators for the online learning program,” he said.
After approaching educators around the globe, he has since involved more than 20 institutions and organizations that are now teaching thousands of Ukrainian students.
They have even facilitated lessons hosted by Canadian film director Sergio Navaretta and astronaut Chris Hadfield.
Despite many children living in a war zone, Mr Falconer says the internet has been reliable thanks to Elon Musk’s low-lying satellites providing high-speed connections.
“We have kids joining lessons from bomb shelters – not for days, but weeks,” he said.
But it has not come without its challenges. Dr Falconer says the team has thwarted attempts by mysterious hackers attempting to derail the lessons.
“They’re wanting to disrupt these sessions because this program is successful and they want us to stop,” he said.
Mr Falconer is continually looking to grow the program and provide specialized tutoring for high school students in Ukraine.
Yuliia and Sofiia recently walking in a meadow near their home in kyiv.(Supplied: Yuliia Lashko)
He is also currently working to develop a similar program for children affected by the conflict in Burma.
But for now, Mr Falconer is calling for Australian institutions, organizations and individuals to get in touch if they want to join the effort.
“We’re going to keep going as long as it takes,” he said.
“You see those faces, you hear those voices, and you don’t forget.”
If you are interested in getting involved, you can register with Monash University here.
Former President Donald Trump suggested that the proposed prisoner swap between Russia and the United States that would return jailed WNBA star Brittney Griner in exchange for a Russian arms dealer “doesn’t seem like a very good trade.”
“She knew you don’t go in there loaded up with drugs, and she admitted it,” Trump told the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show. “I assume she admitted it without too much force because it is what it is, and it certainly doesn’t seem like a very good trade, does it? He’s absolutely one of the worst in the world, and he’s gonna be given his freedom from him because a potentially spoiled person goes into Russia loaded up with drugs.
Trump was referring to reports that the United States is attempting to secure the release of Griner, and former US Marine Paul Whelan, in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout who is known as the “Merchant of Death” due to his weapons sales that fueled deadly conflicts around the world.
“She went in there loaded up with drugs into a hostile territory where they’re very vigilant about drugs,” Trump added. “They don’t like drugs. And she got caught. And now we’re supposed to get her out of her — and she makes, you know, a lot of money, I guess. We’re supposed to get her out for an absolute killer and one of the biggest arms dealers in the world. She killed many Americans. She killed many people.”
Former President Donald Trump said the proposed trade involving Brittney Griner for Russia arms dealer Viktor Bout wouldn’t be a “good fit.”Getty Images
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier this week that while the Kremlin and US officials have engaged in talks, “there has been no concrete result yet.”
“We proceed from the assumption that the interests of both parties should be taken into account during the negotiations,” she said.
Griner, a WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist was arrested in Russia in February after customs officers found “vapes” containing hashish oil in her luggage at an airport near Moscow.
Griner, who faces a potential 10-year prison sentence, pleaded guilty earlier this month in a move her legal team says was made to “take full responsibility for her actions.”
Brittney Griner is escorted before a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia on July 27, 2022. REUTERS
Former Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also suggested earlier this week that the proposed prisoner swap is not a good idea.
“He’s a bad guy. He is a guy who wanted to kill Americans. It presents a real risk to the United States. There’s a real reason the Russians want to get him home. To offer a trade like this is a dangerous precedent,” Pompeo told “America’s Newsroom.”
“This is not a good trade, not the right path forward, and it’ll likely lead to more,” Pompeo added.
Russian officials have long pushed for the release of Bout, who is currently serving a 25-year sentence in US prison after being convicted in 2011 of conspiracy to kill Americans, conspiracy to deliver anti-aircraft missiles, and aiding a terrorist organization.
Viktor Bout was convicted in 2011 of conspiracy to kill Americans, but Russian officials have pushed for his release.ZUMAPRESS.com
He was nabbed in 2008 in a sting operation at a luxury hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, where he met with Drug Enforcement Administration informants who were posing as officials with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, which has been classified by US officials as a narco- terrorist group.
Prosecutors said that Bout was prepared to provide the groupwith $20 million worth of “a breathtaking arsenal of weapons — including hundreds of surface-to-air missiles, machine guns and sniper rifles — 10 million rounds of ammunition and five tons of plastic explosives.”
