5 Things Russia Said at COP28

Delegates at the COP28 climate conference on Tuesday raced to hammer out a final agreement as the event barreled into overtime. A draft agreement released the day before sparked outrage among countries that insist on a rapid phase-out of coal, oil, and gas, as the text called for reduced “consumption and production of fossil fuels…

Finland to Partially Reopen Border With Russia

Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said his government will reopen two of the eight shuttered border crossings with Russia, the Nordic country’s Yle broadcaster reported Tuesday. Finland closed its entire border with Russia in November after accusing Moscow of funneling asylum seekers toward the country, an EU member state that joined NATO after Russia invaded…

Navalny’s Whereabouts Unknown After Possible Prison Transfer

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny is believed to have been transferred from the prison in central Russia where he was being held, his allies told The Moscow Times, but his whereabouts remain unknown. “We don’t know where he could have been transferred,” Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh told The Moscow Times over text message Tuesday. “We currently have no…

Ukraine Says Suspects Russia Behind Massive Hacking Attack

Ukraine pointed the finger at Russia’s secret service over a massive hacker attack on Tuesday that disrupted services for the country’s main phone operator. Ukraine’s SBU security service said it had opened a criminal investigation and sent agents to the company’s offices. “The special services of the Russian Federation may be behind this hacker attack,”…

Moscow Prison Doctor Jailed 7 Years Over Fake Medical Releases

The former chief doctor of Moscow’s notorious Matrosskaya Tishina prison was sentenced to seven years in jail for selling fraudulent medical releases that allowed inmates to continue treatment in civil hospitals, media reported Tuesday. Alexander Kravchenko was accused of allowing the medical release of four prisoners “to reduce the number of prisoners,” according to the…

Detained U.S.-Russian Journalist Hit With Fresh Charges

Russian authorities have opened a new criminal case against detained U.S.-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, the state-affiliated news agency Tatar.Inform reported Tuesday.  Kurmasheva, a journalist for the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), was arrested in October in Kazan, the capital of Russia’s republic of Tatarstan, for failing to register as a “foreign agent.” The new…

Russian Anti-War Sociologist Fined for ‘Justifying Terror’

Anti-war sociologist and Marxist theorist Boris Kagarlitsky has been fined 600,000 rubles ($6,600) for “justifying terrorism” in comments he made about Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, independent media reported Tuesday.  Kagarlitsky, founder and chief editor of the left-wing news organization Rabkor, was detained in July in connection with a since-deleted YouTube video about the 2022 Crimea…

Jailed Mother of Kadyrov Critic Denied Parole

A court in Russia’s republic of Chechnya on Tuesday denied a parole request for the mother of a prominent critic of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Zarema Musaeva, mother of activist Abubakar Yangulbaev and wife of the retired federal judge Saydi Yangulbaev, was handed a five-and-a-half-year prison sentence in July on charges of assaulting police officers and fraud. …

Russian Forces Claim ‘Significant’ Advance in Southern Ukraine

Russian forces in southern Ukraine have “advanced significantly” around the village of Novopokrovka in the Zaporizhzhia region, Kremlin-installed officials said Tuesday. “I’m in constant contact with our units… The situation is always tense, but not only do our guys continue to hold the line of defense, but they’re also gradually moving forward,” the Moscow-backed head of…