Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, assuming his usual role of the guardian of Muscovites’ safety, recently issued an unprecedented warning: a tornado was coming to the capital. “Tomorrow, we will face another challenge with extreme weather conditions,” Sobyanin said on Telegram on June 19. “There is a chance of tornado formation, which is particularly dangerous. Please…
The toxic environment near the former Aral Sea in Central Asia has led to impaired growth and reduced levels of reproductive hormones among local young people, the state-run TASS news agency reported Tuesday, citing a joint study by Russian and Uzbek scientists. Once the world’s fourth-largest lake, the Aral Sea — located between Kazakhstan and…
Russia has issued arrest warrants for Ukraine’s former prime minister, foreign minister, finance minister and military commander, Moscow’s court system announced on social media Tuesday. Ex-prime minister Volodymyr Groysman, ex-foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin, ex-finance minister Alexander Shlapak and Ukraine army general Ihor Dovgan are accused of using “prohibited methods of warfare.” The crime is punishable by up…
Russia’s energy giant Gazprom exported 23% more natural gas to Europe last month than it did in June 2023, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing its calculations. The European Union was Gazprom’s biggest and most profitable foreign market before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Since then, Europe has been trying to end its energy links to Russia…
The World Bank has upgraded Russia from an “upper-middle-income” to a “high-income” country with per-capita gross national income (GNI) totaling $14,250 in 2023. “Economic activity in Russia was influenced by a large increase in military-related activity in 2023,” the international financial institution said Monday. Russia’s move up the ranks was also boosted by growth in…
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday its missile strike on an airfield in central Ukraine has destroyed and damaged seven Ukrainian fighter jets. “As a result of the Russian army’s strike, five active Su-27 multi-purpose fighters were destroyed and two under repair were damaged,” the military said on Telegram. Undated aerial footage accompanying its short statement showed…
At least one person was killed and seven injured when a gas explosion ripped through an apartment building in central Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan, authorities said Tuesday. The blast occurred in the city of Sterlitamak on the second floor of a seven-story building, according to the city’s administration. Municipal authorities named “carelessness in handling household…
Hungary’s Moscow-friendly prime minister Viktor Orban urged Kyiv on Tuesday to work towards a “quick ceasefire” in Ukraine that could pave the way for negotiations with Russia to end more than two years of war. Orban issued the appeal standing next to President Volodymyr Zelensky during a surprise visit to Ukraine, the first by the…