Year: 2022

A fresh round of explosions rocked Kyiv less than an hour into 2023, after Russia had attacked Ukraine with missiles targeting the capital and other cities ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations.  The first blasts of the new year began roughly 30 minutes after midnight, hitting two districts, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram, adding…

Updates with Zelensky’s comments and color from Moscow and recasts throughout. MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin said in his televized New Year’s address Saturday that “moral, historical rightness” is on Russia’s side as his country faces international condemnation for its offensive in Ukraine. Putin delivered his traditional midnight address standing among soldiers who had apparently…

The past year has been almost entirely dominated by the seismic repercussions of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine on Feb. 24 in a full-scale attack that he believed would see his troops swiftly take Kyiv. Of course, the invasion didn’t go as Putin had planned. From the unexpected ferocity of Ukrainian resistance,…

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Saturday that Russia’s victory in Ukraine is “inevitable” in a New Year’s message to servicemen, as Moscow’s military campaign grinds through its 11th month. “In the coming year, I want to wish everyone good health, fortitude, reliable and devoted comrades… Our victory, like the New Year, is inevitable,” Shoigu said…

The Russian Football Union reaffirmed its desire to see Russian teams return to international competition on Friday following its decision not to leave UEFA and seek membership with Asia’s football confederation instead. European football’s governing body, UEFA, banned Moscow from competition after President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February. However, despite Russia’s mooted abandonment of UEFA,…

The co-founder of Yandex, Arkady Volozh, announced on Friday that he was leaving the Russian tech giant, addressing a farewell letter to the firm’s employees, in which he described Yandex as “the project of my life” and the plan to restructure the company as “reasonable and necessary.” Volozh, whose fortune was estimated by Forbes at…

Bulgaria’s sole nuclear power plant signed a nuclear fuel supply deal with a French firm on Friday in an effort to end its reliance on deliveries from Russia in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The state-owned Kozloduy plant on the Danube river currently relies on Russian fuel for its two Soviet-built 1,000-megawatt reactors. …

As Russians prepare to mark their first New Year’s Eve since the start of the war in Ukraine that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and created unprecedented upheaval, the holiday season looks set to be a time of particular reflection and stock-taking. From Russian soldiers in the trenches in Ukraine to anti-war activists…

Kazakhstan has deported a Russian citizen who fled Russia’s mobilization drive this fall in the first known case of Astana returning a draft dodger to Russia, media reported Friday. Former presidential guard Mikhail Zhilin’s family said he faces torture in Russia for fleeing the military draft announced by President Vladimir Putin. Russian authorities sought Zhilin,…

Russian-Chinese trade turnover will reach $200 billion “ahead of schedule,” President Vladimir Putin said during a videoconference with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday as Moscow’s isolation from the West over its invasion of Ukraine continues to grow. “Despite the unfavorable external environment, illegitimate restrictions, and direct blackmail by some Western countries, Russia and China…

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Thursday lifting the requirement for government officials to disclose their income tax returns for the duration of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine. “Information on income, spending, assets and property-related obligations is not to be published on official government websites or provided to Russian media for publication during…

The Ukrainian military said on Friday that it had repelled an overnight drone attack on the country, including on the capital Kyiv, a day after Russia launched a barrage of missiles on the war-battered nation. “On the night of December 29-30, the enemy attacked Ukraine with Iranian-made kamikaze drones,” the Ukrainian air force said on…

Armenia on Thursday accused Russian peacekeepers of failing to protect ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and called for a multinational peacekeeping force to step in. “The behaviour of Russian peacekeepers is unacceptable to us. They have become silent bystanders [in Karabakh],” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said. Moscow has rebuffed the criticism. Russia deployed peacekeepers…

Bulgaria on Thursday summoned Russia’s ambassador “for explanations” after Moscow placed Bulgarian Christo Grozev, the executive director of the investigative website Bellingcat, on its list of wanted persons. Bellingcat makes extensive use of open-source databases and online research tools and has won several awards. It has run a series of investigations into what it says had…

Russian police raided the homes of politicians and journalists in seven regions over ties to a pro-Ukraine former lawmaker accused of spreading “fake news” about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, media reported Thursday.  This is at least the third wave of mass searches linked to Ponomaryov since the vocal Ukraine war critic was arrested in absentia in…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a law making it a criminal offense to desecrate the ribbon of St. George, the black and orange military pattern frequently used for commemoration of the Soviet victory in World War II.  The new law designates the ribbon as one of the official symbols of Russia’s military glory…

2022 was defined by Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, with the resulting violence leading to the deaths of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians. But some major Russian public figures also passed away in 2022, including the last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, and extreme nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky.  As the year draws…

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday oversaw the commissioning of several new warships and a nuclear-powered submarine as he vowed to further strengthen Russia’s navy. Putin, who has largely avoided public engagements since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, gave the green light for Russian flags to be hoisted on the new vessels via video link.…

Updates with Belarus saying it shot down the missile Russian ally Belarus said on Thursday that its air defense shot down a missile launched from Ukrainian territory, in the first such incident reported by Minsk since the start of Moscow’s Ukraine offensive. The Defense Ministry in Minsk said a missile was shot down around 10:00…

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks by video link with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday, the Kremlin said, as Russia seeks to bolster ties with Beijing. “It will be very important to exchange views on the most acute regional problems … both those that are closer to us, to Russia, and those that…

Russian energy giant Gazprom’s gas exports to Europe nearly halved in 2022, according to calculations based on company data published on Wednesday. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said exports to foreign markets outside the former Soviet Union would total 100.9 billion cubic meters this year, amounting to a drop of 46% from 2021, according to calculations made…

Ukraine was hit with “massive” Russian missile strikes across the country on Thursday, including in the capital Kyiv, the Ukrainian military said.  “December 29. Massive missiles attack … The enemy is attacking Ukraine from various directions with air and sea-based cruise missiles from strategic aircraft and ships,” Ukraine’s air force said on social media. According…

Russia’s foreign minister said Wednesday he was convinced that Moscow would achieve its goals in Ukraine thanks to its “patience” and “perseverance.” “I am convinced that thanks to our perseverance, patience and determination, we will defend the noble goals that are vital for our people and our country,” Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov said in an…

A Russian teenager was on Wednesday sentenced to life in jail for killing six people in a shooting spree on a university campus in 2021, investigators said. During an attack — one of the worst in recent Russian history — first year law student Timur Bekmansurov roamed through a busy university campus in the Urals…

The defense ministers of Russia, Turkey and Syria met in Moscow on Wednesday, the first such talks since a war broke out in Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry said. It was also the first meeting between Turkish and Syrian defense ministers since the start of the war in 2011. Russia and Turkey are involved in Syria, with…

Russia detained at least 20,467 people for political reasons in 2022, according to end-of-year statistics published last week by OVD-Info, one of Russia’s leading independent human rights watchdogs.  At least 19,478 of those were detained for speaking out against Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Other detentions occured at ecological and workers’ rights protests and protests…

The head of Gazprom admitted on Wednesday that the Russian energy giant had experienced a challenging year as the company sought new markets following the imposition of international sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. “I want to say right away that 2022, of course, has turned out to be very, very difficult,” Alexei…

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday proposed designating Russians who left the country in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine “enemies of society” and suggested they be banned from returning to Russia “for the rest of their lives.” Medvedev’s proposed term “enemies of society” echoes the Soviet-era term “enemy of the people,”…

For Russians who have been fighting on Ukraine’s side as part of the “Freedom of Russia” legion since President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine, secrecy is of the utmost importance.  The exact number of their personnel is strictly confidential, their positions are never disclosed and their statements are carefully worded. Their spokesperson, who uses…

While Russian state propaganda has for weeks been portraying Europeans freezing in their own homes as a result of the EU’s collective decision to boycott Russian energy due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, independent Russian news website Verstka reported the widespread challenge faced by many Russian households to keep warm on Tuesday. More than 10 million Russians —…

Russian reservists called up to fight in Ukraine as part of Russia’s recent mobilization drive will be eligible for free sperm-freezing procedures, state-run media reported on Wednesday, citing a lawyers’ association that represents military families hoping to secure state funding for the procedure. Igor Trunov, who heads the Russian Union of Lawyers, told the TASS news…

A Moscow court sentenced former Russian senator Rauf Arashukov and his father Raul Arashukov to life in prison for ordering the contract killing of two men in the North Caucasus republic of Karachayevo-Cherkessia over a decade ago, court authorities said Tuesday. The verdict came nearly four years after the politician’s dramatic arrest in the Russian…

Russia issued a decree Tuesday to ban oil sales to countries and companies that comply with a price cap agreed by Western countries in response to Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine.  “The supply of Russian oil and oil products to foreign legal entities and individuals is prohibited if the contracts for these supplies directly or indirectly”…

Prominent opposition politician Ilya Yashin has been transferred to a detention facility some 1,000 kilometers from Moscow even though his sentence must still be approved by an upper court, his lawyer said Tuesday.  A Moscow court sentenced Yashin, 39, to eight-and-a-half years in jail earlier in December after he was charged with spreading “false” information…

Indian police are investigating the sudden deaths of a wealthy Russian politician who reportedly criticized the war in Ukraine and his traveling companion at a luxury hotel, authorities said on Tuesday. The body of Pavel Antov, 65, was found on Saturday in a pool of blood outside his lodgings in eastern Odisha state, where he was on…

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the United States on Tuesday against ordering a “decapitation strike” on President Vladimir Putin. Lavrov’s comments refer to an anonymous U.S. military official telling Newsweek back in September that a special operation “to kill Putin in the heart of the Kremlin” had been “front and center” among the options…

Russian President Vladimir Putin presented symbolic rings to the leaders of the various former Soviet republics that now make up the Moscow-dominated Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) at an informal summit in St. Petersburg on Monday evening. The summit was held against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has caused a crisis in…

The prime minister of Armenia on Tuesday questioned the role of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh as he discussed a blockade of the breakaway region with President Vladimir Putin. Since mid-December Azerbaijani activists have been blocking the Lachin corridor, the only road between Armenia and Karabakh, to protest what they claim is illegal mining. As a result…

Boris started taking antidepressants for the first time in his life at the end of February, shortly after Russian tanks rolled across the border into Ukraine.  The 33-year-old head engineer at a Moscow construction company had overcome a major mental health crisis during the coronavirus pandemic without seeing a doctor or taking any pills —…

The Russian government has granted its media regulator the authority to block websites containing “LGBT propaganda” without a court order, according to a decree published on Monday. “Information propagating non-traditional sexual relations and (or) preferences” now serves as grounds for blacklisting any website in Russia, alongside those containing child pornography, information about suicide methods, and…

The number of foreigners visiting Russia as part of an organized tour plummeted by more than 90% during 2022 as the country’s international isolation over its invasion of Ukraine kept most travelers away, the Kommersant business daily reported on Tuesday. Official figures place the year-on-year drop in Russia’s inbound tourist numbers as a whole at…

Russia’s Interior Ministry placed Christo Grozev, the lead Russia journalist with the open-source investigative journalism group Bellingcat, on its wanted list on Monday. In keeping with previous wanted lists, the ministry did not specify which criminal offense Grozev was suspected of. The Interior Ministry only provided the Bulgarian national’s birthplace, date of birth, gender, and…

Russia’s FSB domestic security agency announced on Monday that it had killed a group of saboteurs from Ukraine attempting to cross into a Russian border region.   “As a result of a clash on December 25, 2022, four saboteurs, who attempted to enter the territory of the Bryansk region from Ukraine, were killed,” the FSB said…

Ukraine called for Russia to be removed as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council on Monday. “Ukraine calls on the member states of the UN … to deprive the Russian Federation of its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and to exclude it from the UN as a…

Russian air defense troops downed a Ukrainian drone as it approached an air base in southern Russia and three people died after being struck by debris, Russian news agencies said Monday.  It was the second attack on the Engels base this month. Engels, in the southern Saratov region, lies over 600 kilometers from Ukraine.  “On…

Pope Francis on Sunday appealed for an end to the “senseless” war in Ukraine, in his traditional Christmas message from St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. The 86-year-old also warned the 10-month-old conflict was aggravating food shortages around the world, urging an end to the use of “food as a weapon”. The head of the…

President Vladimir Putin has blasted the West for trying to “tear Russia apart” and said in a nationally broadcast interview on Sunday that his offensive in Ukraine aimed to “unite the Russian people.” Meanwhile in Kyiv, a day after deadly shelling in southern Ukraine, residents held Christmas services on Sunday, defying Russian spiritual leaders who…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday blasted Russian “terror” after shelling on Christmas Eve left at least seven dead and 58 injured in Kherson city, which Kyiv’s forces recaptured in November.  On the day marking 10 months since the start of the war in Ukraine, shells rained around a busy market in the southern port…

A fire erupted overnight in a private illegal nursing home in the Siberian city of Kemerovo, killing 22 people, Russia’s investigative committee said Saturday. In a video released by the emergency services, a long row of emergency vehicles lined up outside the burning building, as firefighters tackled flames which sent plumes of smoke into the…

The United States on Friday derisively called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to acknowledge reality and pull troops from Ukraine after he finally called the conflict a “war.” Since Putin ordered the invasion in February, Russia has officially spoken of a “special military operation” and imposed a law that criminalizes what authorities call misleading terminology.…

Ukraine estimates its grain harvest fell by around 40% year on year due to the Russian invasion, a representative for the country’s industry told AFP Friday. “We expect a grain harvest of 65-66 million tons” by the end of the year, the head of the Ukrainian Grain Association Sergiy Ivashchenko said, following a record harvest…

A Russian lawmaker has called for legal action against President Vladimir Putin for calling the conflict in Ukraine a “war” instead of using an official term coined by Moscow.  During a press conference on Thursday, Putin said Russia wants to “end this war” as soon as possible, referring to the fighting in Ukraine. Officials in Moscow typically…

Belarus’ opposition criticized Friday a lengthy prison sentence handed to a man accused of sabotaging railway equipment in the ex-Soviet country that Russia used as a launchpad for its Ukraine offensive. “The resistance against the war continues in Belarus despite the risk of severe punishments. The criminal case against ‘railway partisan’ Vital Melnik ended yesterday…

The head of Russia’s republic of Tatarstan will lose the title of “president,” the last remaining symbol of Russian federalism following the Kremlin’s decades-long centralization of power. Tatarstan’s president will instead hold the title “Rais,” an Arabic term meaning “leader,” according to the publication. Lawmakers in the majority Muslim region introduced a new bill to…