Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday oversaw ballistic missile drills remotely, the Kremlin said, hours after Russia moved to revoke its ratification of a landmark nuclear test ban treaty. “Under the leadership of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces, Vladimir Putin, a training exercise was conducted with the forces and equipment of ground,…
Russia’s Armed Forces have recruited 385,000 people so far this year, officials said Wednesday, as Moscow needs masses of soldiers for its Ukraine offensive. Russia does not say how many troops it has lost during the 20-month offensive, but independent estimates put the numbers well into the tens of thousands. Moscow has launched an aggressive…
Russian authorities have placed a street artist famous for his anti-war graffiti on a federal wanted list in relation to an unspecified crime. Filipp Kozlov, who goes by the artist name Philippenzo, is listed in the Russian Interior Ministry’s database of suspected criminals. The registry does not disclose the charges that the 39-year-old Kozlov faces.…
The Russian branch of the Catholic Church on Wednesday called for the restoration of a dismantled memorial to an archbishop who was a victim of Stalin-era repression. Authorities in central Russia’s Vladimir region recently took down a prison wall that featured a commemoration of Lithuanian archbishop Mecislovas Reinys and other foreigners who were imprisoned as…
Over 15% of Russians who left the country following the invasion of Ukraine and the Kremlin’s “partial” military mobilization have since returned, either temporarily or permanently, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, citing new research. Researchers Emil Kamalov and Ivetta Sergeeva from the European University Institute in Florence, Italy conducted a long-term survey of 5,000 Russian…
Russian authorities have declined to designate the Hamas militant group as a terrorist organization since none of its members have been convicted of any crimes in the country, the independent news outlet Mozhem Obyasnit reported Wednesday. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office explained in a letter sent to a politician from St. Petersburg that labeling Hamas…
Russia’s trade turnover with China is on track to reach $220 billion this year, surpassing government projections by some $20 billion, the acting head of Russia’s customs agency said Wednesday. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping pledged to boost bilateral trade to $200 billion in 2023 as the sides grow closer over their mutual scorn…
Seven Ukrainian men released from Russian captivity have been stranded at the Russia-Georgia border for two weeks after Georgia denied them entry, a Georgian volunteer organization told the independent Meduza news website Wednesday. The group tried to enter Georgia via the Verkhny Lars border crossing in the Caucasus mountains on Oct. 11. Georgian authorities said…
The head of Russia’s republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov awarded the teenage son of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov with his region’s second-highest ranking, Kadyrov’s ally Adam Delimkhanov said Tuesday. Minnikhanov presented the Duslyk (“friendship” in Tatar) Order to 15-year-old Adam Kadyrov during an official visit to Chechnya’s capital Grozny, as seen in a video posted…
The Kremlin plans to boost President Vladimir Putin’s approval rating ahead of next year’s elections by launching a nationwide lottery among Russian families, the independent news website Meduza reported Wednesday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. A source close to the Kremlin, two high-ranking regional officials and a senior United Russia ruling party member…
Russia said Wednesday it would study U.S. proposals to resume dialogue on nuclear arms control, but that it would not accept them unless Washington dropped its “hostile” stance towards Moscow. The U.S. and Russia used to regularly inspect each other’s nuclear facilities and limit warheads under the New START treaty, but Moscow suspended the treaty…
Volga River water levels have plummeted to a 37-year low in Russia’s southern Saratov region, media reported Tuesday, citing data from the regional hydrometeorological agency. The water level around the city of Saratov, which lies on the eastern bank of the 3,500-kilometer-long Volga River, fell to 13.69 meters on Oct. 20, just slightly above the…
Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered senior officers to prepare soldiers for the winter during a visit to a command post in eastern Ukraine, the military said Wednesday. In a video posted online, Shoigu was shown visiting the Vostok command post, where he was said to have been briefed about the situation on the front line. …