The Russian Defense Ministry said Ukrainian drone attacks caused explosions at two airfields in the Saratov and Ryazan regions on Monday, leaving three dead. On Monday morning “the Kyiv regime attempted to strike the Dyagilevo airfield in the Ryazan region, and the Engels airfield in the Saratov region, with Soviet-made drones,” the ministry said in…
The investigation of the war in Ukraine by the International Criminal Court (ICC) should not be “set up to fail” by plans to create a separate special tribunal for Russia, its prosecutor said on Monday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week proposed a UN-backed special court to prosecute the Russian leadership for…
The battle for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut in the country’s eastern Donetsk region has become the bloodiest of the war so far and has even prompted comparisons to the great battles of World War I for its trench warfare, high casualty numbers and largely static frontline. While the medium-sized city has been shelled by…
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law expanding the existing ban on the prohibition of “LGBT propaganda” to children to include the entire population on Monday. People of all ages are now banned from accessing certain content under the new legislation. From now on, LGBT relationships and “lifestyles” cannot be displayed or mentioned, according to…
President Vladimir Putin on Monday visited the bridge that links Moscow-annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland weeks after the vital link was hit by a blast, images on state television showed. It was the closest the 70-year-old Russian leader has come to the frontline in Ukraine, after sending troops to the pro-Western country on Feb.…
A former Russian prisoner who had his jail sentence reduced to allow him to serve in the Russian military in Ukraine has been confirmed dead after claiming to have been threatened with execution, investigative news website The Insider reported, citing prominent prisoners’ rights NGO Gulagu.net. Victor Sevalnev, who served as the commander of the 7th…
After six months of combat with Russia’s 64th Motorized Rifle Brigade in Ukraine, Alexei Astashov quietly rejoiced when he was discharged from the army and sent back to his former life as a veterinarian in the Far East. But amid the elation of being reunited with his wife and son, he has still not been…
A Russian prosecutor on Monday requested a nine-year prison sentence for Kremlin critic Ilya Yashin for denouncing Vladimir Putin’s military intervention in Ukraine. According to the prosecution, Yashin, a 39-year-old former Moscow city deputy, was guilty of claiming that the occupying Russian military had been responsible for the massacre of civilians in the Kyiv suburb…
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law expanding the existing ban on so-called “LGBT propaganda” toward the entire population, not just minors, on Monday. People of all ages are now banned from accessing certain content under the new legislation. From now on, LGBT relationships and “lifestyles” cannot be displayed or mentioned, according to activists. The…
Georgia’s jailed ex-president, Mikheil Saakashvili, has been “poisoned” in custody by heavy metals and risks dying without proper treatment, according to a medical report distributed on Monday by his legal team. The 54-year-old was transferred to the hospital last year after a hunger strike that he maintained for 50 days to protest at his jailing,…
Longtime Kremlin ally Alexei Kudrin confirmed Monday that he has accepted a role at tech giant Yandex as senior adviser. Kudrin, 62, a former finance minister and economic liberal, stepped down as head of the country’s Audit Chamber last week, with state agencies reporting that he was expected to take a leadership role at Yandex…
Three people have been killed and at least two nuclear-capable bombers likely damaged in separate blasts at two Russian airfields, state and independent media outlets reported Monday. Russia’s Defense Ministry has not yet commented on the alleged incidents, which took place hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Two Tu-95 long-range strategic nuclear bombers were damaged…
At least 2,500 dead Caspian seals have been found on the shores of Russia’s Caspian Sea coast, local authorities said Sunday. Photos published online showed the mammals’ carcasses scattered across the beach. The Russian republic of Dagestan’s natural resources ministry said the endangered seals had likely died of “natural causes,” adding that laboratory tests will…
The price cap on Russian oil agreed by the EU, G7 and Australia is set to come into force on Monday. It aims to restrict Russia’s revenue while making sure Moscow keeps supplying the global market. Embargo and cap The cap is due to take effect alongside an EU embargo on maritime deliveries of Russian crude…