Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday posthumously awarded the highest state decoration to pro-Kremlin archpriest Mikhail Vasilyev, who died in Ukraine over the weekend. The archpriest had said women should have more children to ease the pain of sending their sons to the military operation in Ukraine. He received the Hero of the Russian Federation medal on…
The Russian mercenary organization Wagner Group hosted a series of pro-war lectures for schoolchildren in its newly opened headquarters in St. Petersburg, Telegram news channel SOTA reported on Tuesday. A SOTA video of the event shows a group of bored-looking school children listening to various speeches justifying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including some delivered via…
Dozens of recently mobilized Russian soldiers who surrendered to Ukrainian troops in eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk region have been decrying their conditions and lack of training according to unverified video footage circulating on social media. At least 21 soldiers — most of them hailing from Moscow and the surrounding Moscow region — were captured by Ukrainian…
German police have confiscated 30 paintings owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported Monday. The collection, whose value is estimated at 5 million euros ($4.9 million), includes works by renowned artists including Marc Chagall. The works had been displayed on Usmanov’s $600 million superyacht, Dilbar, until 2021, when they were…
Kremlin-installed authorities in Ukraine’s southern region of Kherson said Tuesday that power had been fully restored to its main city, after blaming Kyiv for attacks that disrupted water and electricity supplies. Kherson city was the first urban hub to be captured by Russia after Moscow announced its “special military operation” in February and it has suffered outages…
Russia’s Defense Ministry supports reinstating Soviet-era basic military training in high schools, pro-Kremlin media reported Tuesday, citing correspondence between lawmakers and army officers. Russia retired the so-called “initial military training” program — which taught teens to respond to a nuclear or chemical attack, provide first aid and handle firearms — in 1993. Several attempts to revive…
Thousands of people on Sunday flocked to Red Square for an interactive exhibit re-creating the Soviet Union’s October Revolution Parade of 1941. The parade held 81 years ago took place during the Battle of Moscow against Nazi Germany. Soldiers who marched in the parade went straight to the front lines afterward, and many would be…
Russia and the United States are discussing resuming nuclear arms reduction negotiations in the coming weeks in the first face-to-face contact since Russian forces invaded Ukraine, the Kommersant business daily reported Tuesday, citing three unnamed sources. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) talks could take place in an unnamed Middle Eastern country, instead of their traditional…
Armenia and Azerbaijan held peace talks on Monday, mediated by the United States, just hours after a fresh shootout along their troubled border in a conflict which has left hundreds dead in recent months. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted the foreign ministers of the rival nations. “The United States is committed to the…