Day: May 31, 2022

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny faces new criminal charges of creating an “extremist organization” and fueling hatred against authorities that could see his existing jail term extended by 15 more years, he has said.  The latest charges come on the heels of his March sentencing to nine years, raising fears among allies and supporters that authorities…

European Union leaders have agreed to cut off Sberbank, Russia’s largest financial institution, from international payment system SWIFT.  This measure will be included as part of the EU’s sixth package of sanctions against Moscow, as Western countries seek to further isolate the Kremlin from global financial markets following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Sberbank is the…

A military court in the Siberian city of Ulan-Ude has fined an officer for stealing jet engine fuel to heat his private home, the court’s Telegram channel announced Tuesday.  Major Dmitry Malanov stole 52,900 rubles ($840) worth of fuel “to subsequently use to heat a private residential building,” the court reported.  Malagov was found guilty…

Russian companies sanctioned by the West will be legally exempt from electing boards of directors, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced at a government meeting Tuesday.  The move is expected to allow the Kremlin and a closely linked circle of oligarchs to retain a tight grip on joint-stock companies that have been shaken by a mass…

Two Russian soldiers were sentenced to more than 11 years in jail each on Tuesday after a court in central Ukraine found them guilty of firing artillery at civilian areas.  The verdict after the trial in the Poltava region comes one week after another court, in the capital Kyiv, gave a 21-year-old Russian soldier a…

Two Russian soldiers were sentenced to more than 11 years in jail each on Tuesday after a court in central Ukraine found them guilty of firing artillery at civilian areas.  The verdict after the trial in the Poltava region comes one week after another court, in the capital Kyiv, gave a 21-year-old Russian soldier a…

Ukrainian cell service has been cut off in the country’s southern Kherson region, Russian state media reported Tuesday, as Moscow continues to cement its presence in occupied territories. Russian SIM cards were apparently unaffected by the latest outage Monday, which Ukrainian and Russian-installed officials in Kherson both blamed on each other. “The connection works, but…

More than 3,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine after more than three months of conflict, investigative news site iStories reported Tuesday. The outlet collected open-source data to identify and verify the deaths of 3,043 Russian servicemen, using social media, news reports, or confirmation by relatives. While the number is unlikely to reflect Russia’s actual…

The Russian government requires banks to share client biometric data with the state, the Kommersant business daily reported Tuesday. Russia’s Unified Biometric System (UBS), which is accessible to the police and intelligence services, was created in 2018 to allow the use of facial recognition for online banking.  Kommersant reported that authorities sent a directive to…

The leader of Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia on Monday scrapped plans to hold a referendum on joining Russia which his predecessor had scheduled for July 17. South Ossetia was at the center of the Russian-Georgian war in 2008 after which the Kremlin recognized the territory as an independent state and stationed military bases…

EU leaders on Monday backed a ban on most Russian oil imports, after a compromise deal with Hungary to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine. The 27-nation bloc has spent weeks haggling over a proposed total embargo on Russian oil but came up against stubborn resistance from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. EU leaders…