Russia’s oil export revenues fell by nearly a third between January and March this year compared to the last quarter of 2022, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, citing a recent study by the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE). The analysts say the change was largely due to the introduction of price caps on Russian petroleum products by…
A Russian military plane crashed in the country’s northern Murmansk region on Wednesday, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing the Defense Ministry. The Mikoyan MiG-31 supersonic aircraft crashed in an uninhabited area during a training exercise and both pilots safely ejected from the aircraft, according to officials. The incident happened near the town of…
A large fire broke out at the Russian Center of Science and Culture in Cyprus’ capital Nicosia after a Molotov cocktail was thrown into the building, the state-run TASS news agency reported Wednesday, citing the institution’s head. “We heard two explosions at around 1:30 p.m. We couldn’t connect them with anything at first, but then it…
During Russian forces’ spring assault on Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, air strikes played a key role in their attempts to encircle the city. One night in late March, Russian aircraft dropped 11 bombs on Ukraine’s Sumy region in a major attack. And last week, a Russian jet accidently released a malfunctioning bomb on the Russian…
Russian senators voted Wednesday to stiffen punishments of dissent by adding life sentences for treason and stripping citizenship for anti-war speech. The amendments to Russia’s Criminal Code are being advanced amid an intensifying crackdown on the few Kremlin critics who have not fled the country 14 months after its troops invaded Ukraine. Russia’s upper house…
More than 100 homes were destroyed and one man was killed by overnight fires in the Ural Mountains region of Sverdlovsk, Russian media reported Wednesday. The destructive blaze started after eight railcars loaded with lumber caught fire on Tuesday evening in the village of Sosva, located around 260 kilometers northeast of the regional capital Yekaterinburg. …
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky by phone on Wednesday, the first known call between the two leaders since the start of Russia’s invasion. The nearly one-hour discussion, which reportedly included Xi advocating for peace negotiations, was met by Russian accusations that Ukraine was undermining efforts to end the fighting.…
Local officials in Russia’s third-largest city scrapped direct mayoral elections on Wednesday. Novosibirsk, the most populous city in Siberia, had been one of just three Russian cities with over 1 million residents that retained direct mayoral elections amid a vigorous centralization of power by the Kremlin. The bill abolishing direct voting and introducing elections of…
The Russian football team, shorn of international competition due to the invasion of Ukraine, will not take part in the inaugural edition of the Central Asian Championship despite having been slated to. Russia had been invited but declined the invitation this week claiming it was due to a loaded fixture list despite having been barred…
Russia said on Wednesday it was expelling 10 Norwegian diplomats as a “retaliatory measure” after Norway announced it was kicking out 15 Russians. “(Norway’s Ambassador to Russia) Robert Kvile was handed a note declaring ‘persona non grata’ 10 representatives of the Norwegian embassy in Moscow,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said. In mid-April, Norway announced the expulsion of…
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said Wednesday he faces potential life imprisonment on fresh charges of terrorism amid an ongoing campaign to silence one of the most potent opposition forces in modern Russia. Authorities have launched as many as 10 new criminal cases against Navalny, 46, since he was sentenced to nine years in prison on…
A leaked phone call allegedly between two wealthy Russian businessmen highlights frustration with Russia’s leadership and war effort among the country’s elite, the Current Time broadcaster reported late Tuesday. The men in the recorded conversation are identified as Roman Trotsenko, one of Russia’s richest businessmen, and Nikolai Matushevsky, the creator of Moscow’s Flacon and Khlebozavod…
Yevgeny Roizman, a prominent Kremlin critic and popular former mayor, stood trial on Wednesday over accusations of “discrediting” the Russian military. Roizman is one of just a few leading opposition figures who remain in Russia and have not been jailed. He faces up to five years in prison. Since invading Ukraine in February last year,…
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Tuesday authorizing temporary control over foreign companies’ Russia-based assets. The move marks Russia’s latest retaliation to the freezing of its assets abroad over the invasion of Ukraine. Putin’s decree lists the Russian divisions of the German energy giant Uniper and Finland’s Fortum whose shares had already been taken over…