Russia Sentences Ukrainian Woman to 12 Years for Balloon Protest

A Russian military court on Friday sentenced a Ukrainian woman to 12 years in prison for releasing blue-white-blue balloons — the colors of opposition to the Ukraine offensive — over Moscow last year. Ukrainian citizen Kristina Lyubashenko, 35, was found guilty of taking part in a “terrorist” group and spreading “fake information” about the Russian…

Germany Arrests 3 Men Suspected of Spying on Ukrainian National

German prosecutors announced Friday that they had arrested three men suspected of spying for a foreign intelligence service. The three men were arrested in the western city of Frankfurt on Wednesday after allegedly trying “to gather information about a Ukrainian national,” federal prosecutors said in a statement. The men were only identified as Robert A. from…

ROSATOM will become a partner of INNOPROM-2024 exhibition

ROSATOM will become a partner of INNOPROM-2024 exhibition ROSATOM will become a partner of the international industrial exhibition INNOPROM-2024 which will take place in Yekaterinburg on July, 8-11. This year the theme of the forum is “Technological Partnership: shaping the future”. At this event ROSATOM will present a wide range of sovereign industrial solutions as…

South Korea Summons Russian Ambassador Over Pyongyang Defense Pact

South Korea summoned Russia’s ambassador to Seoul on Friday to protest a defense agreement signed by President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un during a visit to Pyongyang earlier this week. Seoul “strongly urged Russia to immediately stop military cooperation with North Korea and comply with [UN] Security Council resolutions,” the foreign ministry…

Wave of Ukrainian Drone Attacks on Russia Kills 1

Updated with Ukrainian army statement. Russia’s Defense Ministery said Friday that its air defense forces downed 114 drones launched overnight by Ukraine, with at least one person killed in the mass wave of attacks. “Russian anti-aerial defense systems intercepted and destroyed 70 drones over Crimea and the Black Sea, 43 drones over the Krasnodar region…

U.S. Bans Russia’s Kaspersky Antivirus Software

President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday banned Russia-based cybersecurity firm Kaspersky from providing its popular antivirus products in the United States over national security concerns, the U.S. Commerce Department said. “Kaspersky will generally no longer be able to, among other activities, sell its software within the United States or provide updates to software already in…

Putin Does Not Rule Out Sending Arms to N.Korea, U.S. ‘Incredibly’ Concerned

The United States expressed deep unease over Putin’s threat to send weapons to Pyongyang, warning such action could destabilize the Korean peninsula. “It is incredibly concerning,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. “It would destabilize the Korean peninsula, potentially, depending on the type of weapons, and might violate UN Security Council resolutions that Russia…

Ukraine Says 10 Children Returned From Occupied Territories

Ten Ukrainian children and their families have been returned to territory controlled by Ukraine’s armed forces after living under Russian occupation, authorities in Kyiv said Thursday. Ukraine has accused Moscow of abducting almost 20,000 children from parts of the east and south of the country, while many more have found themselves living under Russian occupation…

Severe Storm in Moscow Kills At Least 2

Updated with second reported death. A powerful storm rumbled through the Russian capital on Thursday afternoon, carrying heavy rains and winds that ripped hundreds of trees from the ground and killed at least two people, local authorities said. Russia’s Emergency Services Ministry said a man was killed near Park Dubki in northern Moscow when wind…

Russian Cyclist Vlasov Turns Down Olympics Spot

Russian cyclist Alexander Vlasov has turned down the chance to participate in the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris due to his “very busy calendar,” a top Russian sporting official said on Thursday. Vlasov, 28, was one of 14 Russian athletes approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over the weekend to compete in the games under…

EU Targets Russia’s LNG Sector in New Sanctions Package

EU member states on Thursday signed off on a fresh package of sanctions against Russia targeting its lucrative liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector for the first time, officials said. The new measures — which should be formally adopted on Monday — are aimed at further choking off Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine. “This hard-hitting package…

Alexey Likhachev, Head of ROSATOM, visited Viet Nam within the official delegation of the Russian Federation

The interdepartmental memorandum on the schedule for implementation of the project for construction of the Nuclear Science and Technology Center in Viet Nam was signed.  Alexey Likhachev, Director General of ROSATOM, visited Viet Nam within the official delegation of the Russian Federation. He had a meeting with Phạm Minh Chính, Prime Minister of Viet Nam,…

Russia Pounds Ukrainian Energy Sites in Latest Attacks

A Russian missile and drone barrage damaged a Ukrainian power plant and other energy facilities overnight, officials said on Thursday, the latest in a series of strikes that have pushed the country’s grid to the brink. The targeted aerial barrages over recent months have crippled Ukraine’s electricity generation capacity and forced officials to impose rolling…

Russian Forces Intensify Assault on Ukrainian Frontline Town

Russian forces have escalated attacks near Toretsk, a frontline town in eastern Ukraine that has remained relatively calm over recent months of fighting, officials said Wednesday. Overwhelmed and outgunned, Ukrainian forces have struggled to hold the line in the eastern Donetsk region, which the Kremlin claims to have annexed in a 2022 referendum condemned by…

Ex-Presidential Hopeful Nadezhdin Resigns as Municipal Deputy

Former presidential hopeful Boris Nadezhdin has stepped down from his position in local government, Russian media reported Wednesday. Nadezhdin, who earlier this year tried to mount an anti-war campaign for the 2024 Russian presidential election before election authorities barred him from running, had served as a deputy of the Dolgoprudny city council in the Moscow…

Canada Sanctions 13 Russian Officials Over Navalny’s Death

Canada has sanctioned over a dozen high-ranking Russian law enforcement officials believed to be responsible for the death of opposition activist Alexei Navalny, the country’s Foreign Minister announced Tuesday. According to a Canadian Foreign Ministry statement, the new sanctions target individuals involved in the poisoning of Navalny in 2020, his arrest in Moscow upon returning to…

Moscow Says Awaits U.S. Response to Prisoner Swap Proposals

Officials in Moscow said Wednesday that they are waiting for the United States to respond to its prisoner swap proposals, days before American reporter Evan Gershkovich was set to face trial in Russia on espionage charges. President Vladimir Putin said in February that talks on a prisoner swap involving Gershkovich were underway, but the Kremlin…

Moscow Court Remands Journalist Kriger on ‘Extremism’ Charges

A Moscow court on Tuesday remanded journalist Artyom Kriger until mid-August on charges related to the “extremism” case against late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, his employer said. Kriger, who works for the independent SOTAvision news outlet, was accused of “participation in an extremist community” after his Moscow apartment was searched by police on Tuesday morning and…

Mine Blast Kills 2 in Russia’s Bryansk Region

Two people were killed and a third was injured in a mine explosion in western Russia’s Bryansk region, regional authorities said Tuesday. “On the territory of the Klimovsky district, local residents entered the restricted border zone, despite signs warning about the mine danger,” Byransk region Governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram. “Two residents died at…

Russia Refuses to Release Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva

A Russian court on Tuesday refused to release imprisoned U.S.-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who faces up to 10 years in jail on charges of spreading “false information” about the country’s army. Tuesday marks eight months since Kurmasheva, a joint U.S. and Russian citizen, was arrested in Russia on charges of breaching its “foreign agent” law.…

Estonia Jails Russian Professor 6 Years for Spying

An Estonian court on Tuesday sentenced Russian university professor Vyacheslav Morozov to six years and three months in prison on charges of spying against the Baltic country on behalf of Moscow. Morozov, a political scientist and former professor at the University of Tartu, was “found guilty of activities against the Republic of Estonia in the…

At the construction site of Xudapu NPP power unit No. 4 (China), the dome has been lifted and installed on the VVER-1200 reactor building

This single-stage operation was performed for the second time in the history of the Russian nuclear power industry. On June 18, 2024, the dome was successfully lifted and installed at a single stage on the reactor building of Xudapu NPP power unit No. 4 (China) constructed with involvement of the Rosatom Engineering Division. This single-stage…

Leroy Merlin’s Former Russian Business Changes Name

The former Russian division of French DIY retailer Leroy Merlin has announced it will change its name to Lemana PRO as part of a wider rebranding effort following its sale to local management last year. “In order to adapt our mission and name to new challenges and goals, we decided to rebrand,” the company’s Deputy…

Moscow Police Arrest 3 After Mass Food Poisoning

Police in Moscow have detained three people following a mass food poisoning incident that left dozens hospitalized, Russian state media reported Tuesday, citing law enforcement officials.  Health officials said Monday that more than 120 people had sought medical help and at least 30 were in intensive care with suspected foodborne botulism, a life-threatening condition that attacks…

Russia to Hold Naval Drills in Pacific Ocean, Sea of Japan

Moscow will start a 10-day naval exercise on Tuesday, involving dozens of ships sailing in the Pacific Ocean and waters close to South Korea and Japan, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. “The sailors will practice anti-submarine operations, defending ship detachments at sea, joint missile strikes against groups of ships belonging to a hypothetical enemy, training to…

Putin Promotes ‘Cousin’ in Latest Military Shake-Up

Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed a woman the West has called his “close relative” to a top Defense Ministry post on Monday as part of an ongoing shake-up of Russia’s military leadership. The appointment comes after Putin removed his longtime defense chief Sergei Shoigu last month, replacing him with economist Andrey Belousov, and following the…

Kremlin Confirms Putin’s Trip to North Korea

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit North Korea this week, the Kremlin announced Monday, confirming previously reported travel plans that come amid suspicions in the West that Pyongyang is supplying Moscow with weapons for use in Ukraine. Putin will visit North Korea on Tuesday, his second trip to the isolated country since he first came to…

Humpback Whale Rescued Near Russia’s Murmansk Region

A rescue team has freed a humpback whale from a fishing net in the Barents Sea north of Russia’s Murmansk region, the state environmental watchdog Rosprirodnadzor said Sunday. In Russia’s first operation of its kind, which took almost two weeks to complete, rescuers managed to get close to the whale — whom they called Stanislav — on…

Kremlin Says Ukraine Peace Summit Produced ‘Zero’ Results

The Kremlin said Monday that this past weekend’s international peace summit on Ukraine produced “zero” results. Officials from more than 90 countries gathered in Switzerland between Saturday and Sunday, backing Ukraine’s territorial integrity but leaving key questions about how to end the war unanswered. “If we talk about the results of this meeting, then they…

Russia Issues Arrest Warrant for IStories Head Editor Anin

Russia’s Interior Ministry has issued an arrest warrant for the editor-in-chief of the investigative news outlet IStories, Mediazona reported Monday. Roman Anin, who used to work as a correspondent for the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, was listed in the law enforcement body’s online database of wanted persons but the listing does not indicate any charges against…