Russia grants Edward Snowden citizenship

Former U.S. security contractor Edward Snowden was granted citizenship by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday at a time of high tension between the countries because of the war in Ukraine.

Hi, it's Julius with an update on Russia. 

Putin signed a decree Monday conferring citizenship to 75 foreign nationals, including Snowden, who is wanted in the U.S. after leaking classified documents detailing government surveillance programs. He has been living in Russia since 2013 and received permanent Russian residency in 2020.

Snowden, 39, said at the time that he would retain his American citizenship and hoped one day to return to the U.S., where he was charged with violating the Espionage Act. He has denied sharing information with Russian intelligence agents.

“Mr. Snowden should return to the United States where he should face justice as any other American citizen would,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

Despite his new citizenship, Snowden won't be eligible to get mobilized into the Russian army because he hasn't served before, his lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told the Interfax news agency.

Recent battlefield losses prompted Putin to call up 300,000 civilians last week while making barely veiled threats of using his nuclear arsenal. 

• Voting is wrapping up Tuesday in four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine where the Kremlin is holding referendums to allow annexation of the land.
• Russia's “partial" military mobilization will generate additional forces but will do so inefficiently and with high domestic social and political costs, the Institute for the Study of War said.
• More than 60 police officers raided a luxury yacht in northern Germany linked to Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin.