Telegram founder and executive chief Pavel Durov has not shown any interest in contacting the Russian authorities, Moscow’s ambassador to France told state media Thursday. Durov, who is originally from Russia, was detained last month at Le Bourget airport near Paris and later charged with several counts of failing to curb extremist and illegal content…
Russian authorities are developing a database of undocumented migrants who will face bans on driving, marrying and enrolling their children in school starting next year, as part of new laws aimed at tightening immigration control. The restrictions stem from legislation signed by President Vladimir Putin last month, which establishes a “deportation regime” allowing for the…
Thursday marks five years since Yakutian shaman Alexander Gabyshev was detained by Russian police during his arduous journey from the Far East republic of Sakha (Yakutia) to Moscow. In March 2019, Gabyshev embarked on an 8,000-kilometer trek with the singular mission to “exorcize” President Vladimir Putin — whom he called the “embodiment of evil” —…
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said Thursday that its agents dismantled a migrant smuggling network allegedly led by a university instructor from Nigeria. “The illegal activities of an interregional group specializing in the paid entry and transit of immigrants from the African continent through Russian territory to EU countries have been thwarted,” the FSB was…
Veteran Soviet-Russian journalist Vladimir Pozner is set to return to state television more than two years after his long-running program was taken off the air following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian media reported Wednesday. Pozner, 90, had hosted his weekly interview show “Pozner” on Channel One since 2008, but it was canceled shortly after…
Russia’s counteroffensive to retake Ukrainian-held territory in the southwestern Kursk region has been “stopped,” a spokesman from Ukraine’s military administration in the region told AFP Wednesday. Earlier, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had retaken several villages from Ukraine in the Kursk region. Kyiv has thus far held on to large swathes of Russian territory since…
A 57-year-old father to 29 biological and adopted children signed a military contract to fight in Ukraine, a local official said Tuesday, as regional authorities across Russia double efforts to recruit soldiers for the war. Vakhid Valiyev, who is from the republic of Bashkortostan, said the decision to enlist “was not easy for his large…
A senior military official responsible for tank maintenance in central Russia was arrested on charges of accepting a bribe in exchange for preferential treatment in receiving government contracts, law enforcement authorities said Wednesday. Major General Denis Putilov, who leads the armored vehicle service of the Defense Ministry’s Central Military District, is accused of receiving 10…
Russia has begun testing a website for its new digital military draft system, which could prevent men from leaving the country ahead of a planned call-up later this fall. Last year, President Vladimir Putin signed a law prohibiting draftees from leaving the country once they receive electronic call-up papers. Under the new system, a draft…
Shots were fired outside the headquarters of Russian online retailer Wildberries in Moscow on Wednesday, Russian media reported. The pro-Kremlin Telegram news channel Mash claimed that a group of unidentified men arrived at the Wildberries office and opened fire, allegedly wounding three people. The office was evacuated, and police were dispatched to the scene. The…
At least two people were killed and several others injured in a shooting incident at the headquarters of Russian online retailer Wildberries in Moscow on Wednesday, with the company reporting that an armed group of men led by Vladislav Bakalchuk, the ex-husband of Wildberries founder Tatiana Bakalchuk, attempted to forcibly enter the building. Law enforcement…
Authorities in Moscow on Wednesday condemned deadly attacks that saw pagers used by the militant group Hezbollah explode near-simultaneously across Lebanon the day before, saying the blasts risked further destabilizing an already “explosive situation” in the region. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for the attack, which analysts said was likely caused by explosives concealed in the…
Law enforcement authorities in the city of Chelyabinsk detained a vice principal and the head of a private security company following a hammer attack at a local school earlier this week, investigators said Wednesday. Police said a 13-year-old student injured three classmates and a teacher with a hammer at School No. 68 on Monday. The…
Russian law enforcement authorities said Wednesday that they uncovered and dismantled a female terrorist cell based in the republic of Tatarstan. In a video published by state-run TASS news agency, armed agents from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) were shown entering a home and detaining women, followed by the officers displaying several books and documents…
Ukrainian drone attacks sparked large fires and prompted a partial evacuation in northwestern Russia’s Tver region on Wednesday, following reports of a major strike on a Russian weapons stockpile. “A fire started in Toropets, Tver region, as a result of falling debris from a drone that was repelled by air defense forces,” the Tver regional…
A Russian man previously convicted of criticizing the war in Ukraine during a street interview had his sentence toughened on Tuesday from five years of hard labor to five years in prison, state media reported. Yuri Kokhovets, 38, accused Russian soldiers of shooting civilians in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha “for no reason at all”…
The head of Russia’s military theme park has been placed under house arrest, state media reported Monday, following his involvement in a plea deal that incriminated a senior defense ministry official. Vyacheslav Akhmedov, director of Patriot Park, and Vladimir Shesterov, a senior defense ministry official, were arrested last month on fraud charges linked to the…
The Moscow-based weekly newspaper Sobesednik will cease publication following its designation as a “foreign agent” last week, one of its reporters told independent media on Tuesday. Sobesednik was declared a “foreign agent” on Sept. 13, with Russian authorities accusing the publication of spreading inaccurate information about government policies and “fakes” about the Russian military, as…
Bordering Russia’s southern regions, the Caspian Sea has long been plagued by industrial pollution, falling water levels and more.This is the only place on earth that is home to the Caspian seal, a species whose numbers have drastically shrunk in recent decades due to environmental degradation. If no additional measures are taken, scientists estimate that…
U.S. authorities arrested a Russian businessman in Florida for allegedly smuggling microelectronics that can be used in drones to Russia, the U.S. Justice Department announced Monday. The businessman, identified as Denis Postovoy, was accused of exporting microelectronics through foreign companies without the required licenses, even after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Moscow following the full-scale…
Immediately following the opening of the 68th session of the IAEA General Conference, ROSATOM Director General Mr. Alexey Likhachev had another meeting with IAEA Director General Mr. Rafael Grossi. As a follow-up to their regular contacts, Alexey Likhachev and Rafael Grossi briefly reviewed the main issues of current and prospective cooperation between Russia and the…
A political activist in St. Petersburg known for his pacifist protests was stabbed to death, local media reported Tuesday. Unconfirmed reports from the pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Mash na Moika claimed that a 20-year-old “queer blogger” identified as “Alexander S.” had confessed to murdering activist Vitaly Ioffe. According to the channel, Alexander S. allegedly stabbed Ioffe 20…
A political activist in St. Petersburg known for his pacifist protests was stabbed to death, local media reported Tuesday. Initial unconfirmed reports from the pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Mash na Moika claimed that a 20-year-old “queer blogger” identified as “Alexander S.” had confessed to murdering activist Vitaly Ioffe. According to the channel, Alexander S. allegedly stabbed Ioffe…
Russia has approved the construction of a petroleum product pipeline in the oil-rich Republic of Congo, as Moscow continues efforts to strengthen its influence in Africa. The project will involve a joint venture between Russian pipeline builder ZNGS Prometey, which will own 90% of the venture, and the National Petroleum Company of Congo. While no…
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said Tuesday that its agents killed a suspected Ukrainian military intelligence officer allegedly plotting to assassinate a Russian defense industry executive. The FSB identified the man as a Russian citizen born in 1984, accusing him of illegal trafficking explosives and claiming he was working on behalf of Ukraine’s HUR military…
The Switzerland-based humanitarian aid organization Doctors Without Borders announced the sudden closure of its operations in Russia on Monday, ending its 32-year presence in the country. “After receiving a letter from the Ministry of Justice of Russia, MSF-Netherlands had to close our operations in the country,” the organization, also known by its French name, Medecins Sans…
The controversial documentary “Russians at War” will be shown in Toronto on Tuesday, after the city’s film festival organizers initially decided to halt screenings due to “significant threats” over their decision to feature the film. “Russians at War,” directed by Anastasia Trofimova, was first presented at the 81st Venice Film Festival. Trofimova, who studied in…
Facebook owner Meta said late Monday that it would ban Russian state media outlets from its apps due to “foreign interference activity.” The ban comes after the United States accused the Kremlin-funded RT news network and employees of funneling $10 million through shell companies to covertly fund influence campaigns on social media platforms including TikTok,…
A court in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg sentenced a man to eight years in prison for the fatal stabbing of a Gabonese student last year, local media reported Monday. Earlier this month, state prosecutors had requested an 11-year sentence for Daniil Fomin, who was charged with murdering François Ndjelassili in August 2023. Ndjelassili had moved…
Authorities in southwestern Russia’s Kursk region on Monday ordered the mandatory evacuation of two more districts along the border with Ukraine, as Kyiv’s forces remain in control of a large swath of Russian territory despite Moscow’s counteroffensive efforts. “The regional crisis center has decided to mandate the evacuation of towns in the Rylsky and Khomutovsky districts, located within…
As Russia lays the groundwork for deeper engagement with Central Asia, with a fresh presidential summit reportedly in the works, countries in the region are trying to maintain economic distance from their larger neighbor to the north. In one of the latest examples, Kyrgyzstan’s central bank on Sept. 6 banned the settlement of trade contracts unless goods are…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said Monday that his country will seriously consider claims that Russian-Israeli businessman Leonid Nevzlin ordered an attack on Navalny ally Leonid Volkov. “We will always support the opposition as they fight against the Putin regime, and we will carefully examine all claims about who organized what,” Nauseda told the Lithuanian broadcaster LRT in…
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday increasing the number of soldiers in the Russian military by 180,000, bringing the total number of active servicemen to 1.5 million for this upcoming winter. The decree, which takes effect Dec. 1, sets the overall number of military personnel within Russia’s army at 2,389,139, including 1.5 million…
Wildfires swept across several regions in southwestern Russia over the weekend, with emergency crews in the Rostov region struggling to contain some 140 blazes that damaged homes and destroyed woodland. “Strong winds, power line overlaps and careless handling of fire have caused wildfires in several populated areas of the Rostov region,” Governor Vasily Golubev said…
Ukraine said Monday that it asked the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to observe the situation in areas of Russia’s Kursk region that its forces seized following their surprise incursion early last month. “I instructed the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry to officially invite the UN and ICRC to join humanitarian…
A middle school student in the city of Chelyabinsk attacked several classmates and a teacher with a hammer, law enforcement authorities said Monday, as local media reported at least four people being injured as a result of the attack. “A 13-year-old student in Chelyabinsk caused bodily harm to his peers and teacher with various objects,”…
Russian shelling killed one person in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk on Sunday, local authorities said, as Moscow’s troops inched closer to the key logistics hub. “Around 11 am , the enemy shelled the western part of the city… Unfortunately, one person died,” Pokrovsk’s military administration said on Telegram. The administration also said that…
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “bluster” Sunday over his warning that letting Ukraine use long-range weapons to strike inside Russia would put NATO “at war” with Moscow. US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met at the White House to discuss whether to ease rules on…
Russia said Saturday it swapped 103 Ukrainian soldiers held captive for an equal number of Russian POWs in an exchange deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates. The Russian troops freed in Saturday’s swap were captured during Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region, which began on 6 August, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. There…
During the reign of Catherine the Great, German immigrants came to Russia and settled in a place called Sarepta on the Volga River. Sarepta became the vibrant center of German life. Today even the local recipes have remained unchanged for 300 years. The locals still make strudel — but you wouldn’t recognize it. Volga Germans…
Top U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken on Friday accused Russian media outlet RT of being a “de facto arm of Russia’s intelligence apparatus” being used against countries around the world. “We know that RT possesses cyber capabilities and engaged in covert information influence operations and military procurement,” the secretary of state told reporters. “Russian weaponization of…
The Kremlin is working to systematically instill “patriotic” values in children and teenagers through a Soviet-style propaganda campaign as it looks toward preparing the next generation for a life shaped by conflict with Ukraine and the West. “We need warriors, gunmen, stormtroopers — those who, at the president’s first call, will rush to the military…
The Toronto International Film Festival said Thursday it was pausing all upcoming screenings of the controversial documentary film “Russians at War” after receiving “significant threats.” “We have been made aware of significant threats to festival operations and public safety,” festival organizers said in a statement, pointing to reports they received “indicating potential activity in the…
Russia has been using Chinese-made engines to produce long-range attack drones for deployment in Ukraine since at least mid-2023, Reuters reported Friday, citing European intelligence sources. The Russian company IEMZ Kupol was said to have manufactured over 2,500 Garpiya-A1 drones between July 2023 and July 2024. The Garpiya drone has a maximum takeoff weight of under…
A Russian senator this week called on fellow lawmakers to introduce a legal ban on quadrobics, a subculture revolving around the impersonation of animals that is rapidly gaining momentum among Russia’s youth. “I am convinced that any subculture should remain within the bounds of reason and be safe for oneself and others,” Senator Natalia Kosikhina…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Friday that 49 Ukrainian POWs had been returned from Russia, with AFP witnessing the group being greeted at the border with Belarus. Zelensky did not clarify whether it was part of an exchange with Russia, as is usually the case, but AFP journalists had earlier seen Russian prisoners of war…
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has awarded an honorary title to pro-Kremlin filmmaker and TV host Nikita Mikhalkov. Kadyrov said he hosted Mikhalkov during his visit to the North Caucasus republic to attend a theater festival and premiere his play “12.” The play is a Chechnya-themed adaptation of his 2007 eponymous feature film, which was itself a remake…
Russia’s Central Bank on Friday raised its key interest rate from 18% to 19%, a widely anticipated move as the country struggles to cool down inflation amid soaring military spending for the war in Ukraine. “Current inflationary pressures remain high. By the end of 2024, annual inflation is likely to exceed the July forecast range…
Leonid Nevzlin, a Russian-Israeli businessman and outspoken Kremlin critic, was accused Thursday by late opposition figure Alexei Navalny’s team of ordering a number of attacks against Navalny allies. Nevzlin, a close associate of exiled Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was accused of ordering assaults against Navalny ally Leonid Volkov in Lithuania, Navalny aide Ivan Zhdanov in…
The head of Russia’s Security Council Sergei Shoigu met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday, just months after the Kremlin signed a mutual defense agreement with Pyongyang. The visit also comes as Moscow seeks more arms for its war in Ukraine, and as the West accuses Pyongyang of sending weapons to Russia.…
Russian state broadcaster Rossiya-24 said Friday that its war correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny was discharged from the hospital over a month after being seriously injured in a Ukrainian drone attack. Poddubny was hospitalized after a drone struck the vehicle he was riding in during a reporting assignment on Ukraine’s surprise incursion into the Kursk region early…
Covid-19 cases are rising across Russia, driven by two new variants that are more resistant to immunity, the country’s consumer safety watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said Friday. Over the past two to three weeks, infections from the KP.3 and LB.1 variants have surged by 100% and 400%, respectively. Rospotrebnadzor identified them as “FLiRT variants,” a term used…
Japan scrambled fighter jets after Russian aircraft flew around the island nation for the first time in five years, Tokyo said Friday. The Japanese Defense Ministry said Russian Tu-142 reconnaissance planes flew from the sea between Japan and South Korea toward the southern Okinawa region from Thursday morning to afternoon. The aircraft then traveled north over…
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) on Friday announced that the accreditation of six British diplomats had been withdrawn, accusing them of espionage and “threatening Russia’s security.” “As a measure of reprisals to the multiple unfriendly acts of London, the Russian foreign ministry… has withdrawn the accreditation of six employees from the political department of the British…
The team of late Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny on Thursday accused a Russian-Israeli billionaire of ordering the violent March attack on Navalny ally Leonid Volkov, citing evidence it obtained. Volkov, Navalny’s ex-chief of staff and former chairman of his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), was attacked with tear gas and a hammer outside his home in Lithuania on March…
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Thursday that letting Ukraine use longer-range weapons to strike targets inside his country would put NATO “at war” with Russia. The stark warning came as U.S. and U.K. officials discussed Kyiv’s demand for them to ease rules on firing Western weapons into Russia, more than two and…
Ukrainian drones have targeted northern Russia’s Murmansk region at least twice over the past month. Taking place some 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) from Russia’s border with Ukraine, the drone attacks mark the deepest strikes inside Russian territory since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbor two and a half years ago. The first reported strike…
A Russian strike on Red Cross vehicles in eastern Ukraine killed three people, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday. “Today, the occupier attacked the vehicles of the International Committee of the Red Cross humanitarian mission in Donetsk region,” Zelensky said. The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed that three of its staffers had been killed…
Russia’s military has discharged 45 Indian nationals who were misled into fighting in the war against Ukraine, India’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday, saying that efforts were underway to release 50 more Indian soldiers. The Indian nationals were able to return home after Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised their plight with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his…
Large and easily accessible mineral deposits in Russia are nearly depleted, the head of Russia’s Natural Resources Ministry said Wednesday. “Geologists are forced to move further and further into the Arctic and difficult-to-reach regions of the Far East and Siberia,” Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov said during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin. “Only 35%…