Sarah Rainsford first arrived in Russia weeks after the dissolution of the Soviet Union armed with a guidebook to a country that no longer existed and a suitcase full of dehydrated meals. Today, the Moscow she touched down in as an 18-year-old no longer exists, either — its potential snuffed out through fear and control.…
Ukraine on Thursday rejected as “absolute nonsense” suggestions it was involved in the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, which transported Russian gas to Europe via the Baltic Sea. The Wall Street Journal reported late on Wednesday that Ukraine’s then-top military commander, Valery Zaluzhny, oversaw the plan to blow up the pipelines in September…
A Russian strategic bomber crashed during a routine flight over the Siberian region of Irkutsk, killing one of the crew members, regional authorities said early Friday. Russia’s Defense Ministry initially reported the crash of the Tu-22M3 bomber late Thursday, saying the crew managed to eject from the aircraft. “The plane crashed in an uninhabited area. There…
Russia and Ukraine have entered negotiations to exchange prisoners captured during Kyiv’s unprecedented incursion into southwestern Russia’s Kursk region, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner said Wednesday. “There was a proactive conversation [with Russian human rights commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova],” ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets told Ukrainian television in a segment he posted on his Telegram channel, voicing hopes that the…
Scores of job advertisements for trench diggers and construction workers in the Kursk region have appeared online in recent days as Russian forces struggle to hold back advancing Ukrainian troops following their surprise offensive last week. The BBC’s Russian service reported Wednesday that it found at least 30 listings for trench diggers on the classifieds…
The United Nations Human Rights Office said Thursday that it has asked authorities in Moscow to allow its representatives to visit Russian regions impacted by cross-border attacks from Ukrainian forces. “I can confirm that the UN Human Rights Office has sent a request to the Russian authorities,” Liz Throssell, a spokesperson for the department, said in…
Russia’s military said Thursday that its forces captured Ivanivka, a frontline village just 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the Kyiv-held transport hub of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine. Pokrovsk lies on the intersection of a key road supplying Ukrainian troops and towns across the eastern front line and has long been a target for the Russian…
Russian law enforcement authorities refused to launch a criminal investigation into the death of the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, his widow said Thursday, citing a letter she received from investigators. In February, Navalny died under unclear circumstances at the “Polar Wolf” penal colony, where he was serving a 19-year prison sentence on a string…
The Russian division of Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank will suspend foreign currency transfers for nearly all of its clients in the country starting next month, the bank said in a statement on Thursday. “From Sept. 2, 2024, outgoing cross-border transfers in foreign currencies will no longer be available for our clients except for a limited number…
Veteran human rights defender Oleg Orlov was one of the 16 prisoners freed by Russia on Aug. 1 in a historic exchange between Russia and the West. Orlov, 71, a vocal critic of the invasion of Ukraine, had been imprisoned this year for “discrediting” the Russian army’s actions in Ukraine. A co-chair of the Nobel…
A court in the Ural Mountains region of Yekaterinburg sentenced U.S.-Russian citizen Ksenia Karelina to 12 years in prison for “treason” on Thursday after she allegedly donated around $50 to a pro-Ukraine charity. Karelina was arrested in January while visiting her family in the city of Yekaterinburg. Last week, her lawyer said she pleaded guilty to…
Suppliers of bread, dairy, chocolate and beer in Russia have informed retailers of impending price increases of up to 40% over the next month, the business daily Kommersant reported Thursday, citing price-increase notices from at least 13 companies. The price hikes, slated for August and September, are being attributed to a combination of high inflation…
At least four people including two paramedics were injured in drone attacks on the Belgorod region town of Shebekinio, authorities said early Thursday. Belgorod region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a female paramedic suffered injuries to one of her legs and arms. A male paramedic received a concussion and shrapnel wounds on his back due to…