Day: February 14, 2023

  • Wagner Founder Prigozhin Admits He Was Behind Russia’s Infamous Troll Farms

    Wagner Founder Prigozhin Admits He Was Behind Russia’s Infamous Troll Farms

    The once publicity-averse founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has for the first time confirmed the widespread belief that he also founded the Internet Research Agency, better known as the network of troll farms used to push Kremlin propaganda narratives around the globe over the past decade. “I was never just a financier…

  • Battles in Vuhledar, Bakhmut Signal Imminent Russian Offensive, Analysts Say

    Battles in Vuhledar, Bakhmut Signal Imminent Russian Offensive, Analysts Say

    Dozens of damaged military vehicles with Russian markings could be seen scattered chaotically across a snow-covered field in footage released last week of a battlefield near the eastern Ukrainian mining town of Vuhledar, southwest of the Russian-held city of Donetsk. The hulls of some of the armored vehicles were covered in black soot from what…

  • Write Letters to Soldiers Not Valentine’s Cards, Russian Politician Urges

    Write Letters to Soldiers Not Valentine’s Cards, Russian Politician Urges

    The Russian governor of the city of Sevastopol in annexed Crimea has called on Russians not to celebrate Valentine’s Day on the grounds that the holiday is alien to the country’s traditions and was “imposed by the Western entertainment and consumption industry.” Instead, Mikhail Razvozzhayev suggested in a telegram post on Tuesday that people write…

  • Pussy Riot Pulls Out of German Festival Over Pro-Putin Singer’s Appearance

    Pussy Riot Pulls Out of German Festival Over Pro-Putin Singer’s Appearance

    Russian anti-Kremlin activist group Pussy Riot has canceled its upcoming performance at a music festival in Germany due to the inclusion of a pro-Putin singer in the festival lineup. Pussy Riot had been scheduled to perform at the International May Festival in Wiesbaden, one of Germany’s oldest cultural festivals, but the group pulled out after…

  • Sanctioned Russian Buys Into Kazakh Airport in Border Region

    Sanctioned Russian Buys Into Kazakh Airport in Border Region

    A Russian airports operator has bought a stake in running an airport in northwestern Kazakhstan close to the Russo-Kazakh border. With its first foreign acquisition, Russia’s Airports of Regions company is hoping to develop the Oral airport as a regional hub, most likely to serve travelers affected by the shortage of flights out of Russia…

  • EU Adds Russia to Its Tax Haven Blacklist

    EU Adds Russia to Its Tax Haven Blacklist

    The European Union added Russia to its tax haven blacklist on Tuesday, the latest in a series of economic and diplomatic measures taken against Moscow since its invasion of Ukraine.  In a statement, the bloc said Russia’s 2022 tax legislation had failed to allay concerns over its opaque treatment of the tax affairs of international holding companies. “In…

  • Elite Russian Marine Unit ‘Nearly Destroyed’ Near Ukraine’s Vuhledar

    Elite Russian Marine Unit ‘Nearly Destroyed’ Near Ukraine’s Vuhledar

    An elite Russian naval infantry unit made up of mostly mobilized troops has lost nearly all its troops in fighting near the eastern Ukrainian town of Vuhledar, Russian media reported Monday, citing one of the survivors. The 5,000-strong 155th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade has been “nearly destroyed” after up to 300 marines per day were killed…

  • Russia Denies Plotting Coup in Moldova

    Russia Denies Plotting Coup in Moldova

    Russia on Tuesday slapped down as “completely unfounded” accusations from Moldova that Moscow was plotting to violently overthrow the country’s pro-European leadership with the help of saboteurs. “Such claims are completely unfounded and unsubstantiated,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Moldova’s President Maia Sandu on Monday accused Russia of plotting her government’s overthrow. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr…

  • Putin Uses Armored Train, Private Stations for Personal Trips – Reports

    Putin Uses Armored Train, Private Stations for Personal Trips – Reports

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has traveled to and from his residences on special armored trains using exclusively built stations since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine, according to new investigations by independent media. The reports’ authors link Putin’s choice of transportation to his apparent wish to avoid tracking services and his distrust of the presidential air…

  • Putin Uses Armored Train, Private Stations for Personal Trips – Reports

    Putin Uses Armored Train, Private Stations for Personal Trips – Reports

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has traveled to and from his residences on special armored trains using exclusively built stations since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine, according to new investigations by independent media. The reports’ authors link Putin’s choice of transportation to his apparent wish to avoid tracking services and his distrust of the presidential air…

  • Putin Uses Armored Train, Private Stations for Personal Trips – Reports

    Putin Uses Armored Train, Private Stations for Personal Trips – Reports

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has traveled to and from his residences on special armored trains using exclusively built stations since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine, according to new investigations by independent media. The reports’ authors link Putin’s choice of transportation to his apparent wish to avoid tracking services and his distrust of the presidential air…

  • Sacked Russian Police General Found Dead in Apparent Suicide

    Sacked Russian Police General Found Dead in Apparent Suicide

    A former Russian police general who had been in charge of cracking down on protesters has been found dead in an apparent suicide following his dismissal by President Vladimir Putin, state media reported. Major General Vladimir Makarov, 72, had helped oversee Russia’s crackdown on opposition activists in his role as deputy chief of the Russian…

  • Sacked Russian Police General Found Dead in Apparent Suicide

    Sacked Russian Police General Found Dead in Apparent Suicide

    A former Russian police general who had been in charge of cracking down on protesters has been found dead in an apparent suicide following his dismissal by President Vladimir Putin, state media reported. Major General Vladimir Makarov, 72, had helped oversee Russia’s crackdown on opposition activists in his role as deputy chief of the Russian…

  • Sacked Russian Police General Found Dead in Apparent Suicide

    Sacked Russian Police General Found Dead in Apparent Suicide

    A former Russian police general who had been in charge of cracking down on protesters has been found dead in an apparent suicide following his dismissal by President Vladimir Putin, state media reported. Major General Vladimir Makarov, 72, had helped oversee Russia’s crackdown on opposition activists in his role as deputy chief of the Russian…

  • 2 Russians Win Right to Apply for Refugee Status in S. Korea

    2 Russians Win Right to Apply for Refugee Status in S. Korea

    A South Korean court on Tuesday granted two Russian asylum seekers who have been stranded at Incheon airport for months the right to apply for refugee status, allowing them to enter the country. The Incheon District Court rejected one other Russian national’s plea, without detailing the reasons for their decision. The three men, whose lawyer…

  • 2 Russians Win Right to Apply for Refugee Status in S. Korea

    2 Russians Win Right to Apply for Refugee Status in S. Korea

    A South Korean court on Tuesday granted two Russian asylum seekers who have been stranded at Incheon airport for months the right to apply for refugee status, allowing them to enter the country. The Incheon District Court rejected one other Russian national’s plea, without detailing the reasons for their decision. The three men, whose lawyer…

  • 2 Russians Win Right to Apply for Refugee Status in S. Korea

    2 Russians Win Right to Apply for Refugee Status in S. Korea

    A South Korean court on Tuesday granted two Russian asylum seekers who have been stranded at Incheon airport for months the right to apply for refugee status, allowing them to enter the country. The Incheon District Court rejected one other Russian national’s plea, without detailing the reasons for their decision. The three men, whose lawyer…