A Russian court on Thursday put three lawyers who used to represent the late opposition activist Alexei Navalny on trial over “extremism” charges. Navalny died in unclear circumstances at an Arctic prison colony in February, where he was serving a 19-year sentence for leading an “extremist” organization. Since his death, authorities in Russia have arrested…
Ivan from St. Petersburg enrolled in a military medical academy to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a doctor. He graduated this year, when the full-scale invasion of Ukraine had already been ongoing for two and a half years. Faced with mandatory military service but wanting no part in the war, he fled the country…
Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accused the United States of weaponizing European election observers to discredit next month’s elections in Georgia and spark pro-Western street demonstrations. “The U.S. State Department intends to use a new tool to interfere in Georgia’s parliamentary elections on Oct. 26 in order to prevent the victory of Georgian Dream,” the…
“All of us have in our minds a cartoon image of an autocratic state. There is a bad man at the top. He controls the army and the police. There are evil collaborators, and maybe some brave dissidents. But in the 21st century, that cartoon bears little resemblance to reality.” These are the opening lines…
A Moscow court on Wednesday sentenced exiled former lawmaker Ilya Ponomaryov to 10 years in prison in absentia for “justifying terrorism” and spreading “fakes” about the Russian military. Ponomaryov, who serves as a member of a Russian shadow parliament based in Poland, was accused of violating Russia’s wartime censorship laws in a March 2022 video interview…
Authorities in southwestern Russia’s Kursk region said Wednesday that more than 150,000 people living in communities near the border with Ukraine have been forced to evacuate their homes in the weeks since Kyiv launched its surprise incursion early last month. Kursk region Governor Alexei Smirnov said those who had been displaced due to cross-border clashes were…
The British government on Wednesday imposed new sanctions on Russia’s “shadow fleet” of tankers, which Moscow uses to export oil in circumvention of a Western embargo imposed after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The announcement came as Foreign Minister David Lammy traveled to Kyiv in a rare joint trip with U.S. Secretary of State Antony…
The Kremlin said Wednesday it believes Washington has already given Ukraine approval to strike targets inside Russia using U.S.-supplied long-range rockets. “All these decisions have most likely already been made, it can be assumed with a high degree of probability,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “At this point, media outlets are simply carrying out…
Military drones targeted northwestern Russia’s Murmansk region for the second time in a month, Russian authorities said Wednesday. “Our region is under attack from enemy drones,” Murmansk region Governor Andrei Chibis said in a video message posted on Telegram, seeming to refer to Ukraine. Civil aviation authorities restricted air traffic at airports in the regional…
In their first and possibly last debate on Tuesday night, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris faced off in what has shaped up to be one of the most contentious U.S. presidential elections in recent memory. While domestic issues such as the cost of living crisis, immigration and abortion took center stage,…
Russian troops have begun pushing back Ukrainian forces from the southwestern Kursk region in a counteroffensive, a senior-ranking military commander and pro-Russian war bloggers said late Tuesday, a move that, if confirmed, comes more than a month after Kyiv launched its surprise incursion. Major General Apti Alaudinov, who serves as deputy chief of the Russian…
A freight train derailed overnight in southwestern Russia’s Belgorod region near the border with Ukraine, law enforcement authorities said early Wednesday, claiming it was caused by an “act of terrorism.” A locomotive and several wagons derailed in the Novooskolsky district shortly before midnight due to unspecified “interference,” according to the regional branch of state-owned Russian…
A Moscow court fined the popular Russian movie streaming website Kinopoisk 10 million rubles ($110,000) on Tuesday for charges related to “propaganda” of LGBTQ+ lifestyles and pedophilia. The Tagansky District Court imposed a 3 million ruble ($33,000) fine on Kinopoisk for “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations and preferences, as well as sex changes.” The same court…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday accused the United States of provoking an arms race by increasing its military presence near Russia’s borders. “Under the pretext of countering alleged Russian threats and deterring the People’s Republic of China, the U.S. and its allies are increasing their military presence near Russia’s western borders, in the Arctic…
Iran sent short-range missiles to Russia that are expected to be used against Ukraine within weeks, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday as he announced a joint solidarity trip to Kyiv with his British counterpart. Blinken, who was visiting London, said Washington and its allies would impose new sanctions on Iran for defying…
Ukrainian authorities on Tuesday accused a Russian air force commander wanted by the International Criminal Court of being behind a missile attack on a children’s hospital in Kyiv this summer. “Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash held the post of long-range aviation commander for the Russian aerospace forces at the time, and after delivering this strike, was…
Hungary’s government said Tuesday it welcomed a deal reached by energy company MOL that will ensure the supply of Russian oil via a pipeline running through Ukraine after Kyiv earlier restricted transit. In July, Hungary and Slovakia accused Kyiv of endangering their energy security by barring Russian energy giant Lukoil from using the Ukrainian section…
A far-right paramilitary group fighting on the side of Moscow in the Ukraine war claimed Monday that some of its members had begun volunteering to help the Federal Security Service (FSB) to “reinforce” Russia’s border with Finland. Rusich said it “officially entered into cooperation with the FSB border guard service of northwestern Russia to share…
The website builder and operator Wix announced Tuesday that it will no longer offer services to residents of Russia, a move that comes after the U.S. introduced new sanctions against Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “As a result of the new regulations, we are required to restrict access to Wix services for Russian residents from…
NATO members Romania and Latvia on Sunday said that Russian military drones targeting infrastructure in neighboring Ukraine had violated their airspace. Last month, NATO member Poland also reported a possible fly-in of a Russian drone into its airspace during a large-scale Moscow-led air attack on Ukraine but later backed off the claim. The reported breaches have…
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that it captured the town of Krasnohorivka in eastern Ukraine, as well as three villages in different parts of the Donetsk region. The Russian military said its troops “liberated” the town and the villages of Hryhorivkа, Halytsynivka and Vodyane. Krasnohorivka, which had a pre-war population of 16,000, is in an…
Russia and China launched joint naval exercises in the Sea of Japan, Russia’s military announced Tuesday, as Beijing and Moscow boost their alliance as a counterbalance to what they see as U.S. domination in global affairs. The Russian Defense Ministry said its Pacific Fleet and the People’s Liberation Army Navy will coordinate on “practical actions…
Moscow will not hold peace talks with Kyiv while Ukrainian troops remain in control of parts of the southwestern Kursk region, Russia’s former defense minister and current Security Council chief Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday. “Naturally, we won’t have any negotiations with them [Ukraine] until we throw them out of our territory,” he was quoted as…
Ukraine launched one of its largest drone attacks on Russia since the full-scale invasion, targeting regions across the country, including near Moscow where one woman was killed after a drone smashed into an apartment complex, Russian authorities said early Tuesday. The overnight attacks, which saw 144 drones destroyed over Russian territory, disrupted air traffic at several major…
Russia’s 2024 regional and municipal elections ended in few surprises, with the ruling, pro-Kremlin United Russia party solidifying its control in over 4,000 races nationwide, including in occupied Ukrainian territories. With the invasion of Ukraine in its third year, the Kremlin effectively banned any independent opposition candidates and thinned out the list of Kremlin-approved candidates…
Many of the evacuated residents of southwestern Russia’s Kursk region have not yet received payments promised by President Vladimir Putin over one month into Ukraine’s surprise incursion, the independent news outlet Agentstvo reported Monday, citing regional volunteers. On Aug. 8, two days after Ukrainian forces crossed into the region and captured settlements there, Putin promised one-time…
Latvia’s armed forces on Monday said the Russian drone that crashed on the Baltic state’s territory was an Iranian-designed Shahed equipped with explosives. Riga had earlier announced that investigators were looking into a drone that had crashed in the eastern part of the country on Saturday. Latvia, which was once ruled by the Soviet Union…
A small propeller-powered plane crashed during a training flight at an airfield in the Moscow region, killing the two pilots on board, authorities said Monday. The Aviatik Alliance Aleks-251 twin-engine aircraft crashed near the Vatulino airfield in the town of Ruza, around 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Moscow. The transportation arm of Russia’s Investigative Committee,…
The Kremlin said Monday that it would not grant an interview with President Vladimir Putin to Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was released by Russia this summer in a prisoner swap. Gershkovich made a handwritten request to interview Putin while filling out a form requesting a presidential pardon ahead of the prisoner exchange,…
Alexander Maslyakov, one of the best-known and best-loved television personalities of the Soviet and modern Russian era, died at age 82 on Sunday. His death was reported by the game show KVN, which Maslyakov hosted from 1964 to 2022. Maslyakov had been diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. KVN, which stands for “Club of the…
Russian children’s rights ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova married U.S.-sanctioned media tycoon Konstantin Malofeyev, Russian media reported Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The couple wed on Sunday at a restaurant in the elite Moscow region village of Deauville, according to the Telegram news channel Baza, which has ties to Russia’s security services. The independent news…
The European Union said Monday its allies had shared intelligence that Iran supplied Russia with ballistic missiles, and warned of new sanctions on Tehran if the deliveries were confirmed. “We are aware of the credible information provided by allies on the delivery of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia,” EU spokesman Peter Stano said. “We are…
Over 300 Russian soldiers who fought in Moscow’s war on Ukraine and ran as candidates from the ruling United Russia party have secured political office in Russia’s 2024 regional and local elections, state media reported Monday, citing a senior party official. Vladimir Yakushev, who serves as acting secretary of United Russia’s general council, told the…
German authorities warned Monday that a notorious Russian military intelligence unit carried out cyberattacks against targets in Europe and around the world. The German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) said unit 29155 of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) “carried out cyberattacks and other reconnaissance activities against targets in NATO and EU…
China said Monday it would hold joint military drills with Russia later this month, as the two allies continue to boost military and economic cooperation to counter what they see as U.S. domination in global affairs. China’s Defense Ministry said that naval and air forces will participate in the “North-Joint 2024” exercises in the skies…
Latvia’s president on Sunday said a Russian military drone had crashed on its territory, adding that airspace breaches had increased along NATO’s eastern borders. The Baltic state, which was once ruled by the Soviet Union but is now an EU and NATO member, has had tense relations with Moscow following independence, and ties have further…
Romania on Sunday said a Russian attack drone targeting civilian infrastructure in neighboring Ukraine overnight had entered its airspace, strongly condemning the “renewed violation” brought on by Moscow’s “illegal attacks.” Since launching its invasion in February 2022, Russia has repeatedly carried out nightly attacks on cities across Ukraine, frequently targeting ports in the southern Odesa…
The Russian army on Sunday said that it had captured a town in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow’s forces are advancing on the strategic city of Pokrovsk. Russian forces have “liberated the locality of Novohrodivka” in the Donetsk region, some 20 kilometers from Pokrovsk city, Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. The town had more than…
A Russian air strike on the Ukrainian border city of Sumy killed two people and wounded several others early Sunday, the region’s military administration said. “As a result of the air strike, two people died [and] four more people were injured, including two children,” military authorities said in a statement. “Necessary medical assistance is provided…
Russia said on Saturday it had seized another village in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow’s troops are continuing to advance. The defense ministry said Russian forces “have liberated the village of Kalynove” in the Donetsk region, which lies around 25 kilometers (16 miles) southeast of the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk, held by Kyiv’s forces. Russian…
Long ago, when foreign tourist companies would send travelers to the USSR, they’d include warnings in their pamphlets to cut into Chicken Kyiv with care! Meanwhile, Soviet citizens would usually pierce it with a fork right away to release an even flow of buttery juice. Chicken Kyiv is famous and popular all over the world.…
Kyiv on Saturday said it had struck an ammunition depot in a Russian region bordering Ukraine where a large fire broke out overnight after a drone attack. The Russian governor of the Voronezh region said debris from a downed drone triggered a fire and series of explosions, ordering the evacuation of nearby settlements. Russian anti-air…
Four white coffins – one slightly smaller than the others – were laid into a family grave in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Friday. Dressed in black, with cuts across his face, Yaroslav Bazylevych looked on as the caskets containing his wife and three daughters were lowered into the pit, then covered with…
“All this must be filmed,” director Anastasia Trofimova said to explain why she began filming “Russians at War.” The documentary was presented in the category of “Out of Competition” at the 81st Venice Film Festival. Trofimova, who studied in Canada, had previously worked with RT (formerly Russia Today) and then with the French service of…
A university professor fired for sharing anti-war videos has been arrested for disobeying police orders and fined under Russia’s wartime censorship laws, local media in the city of Volgograd reported Thursday, citing anonymous law enforcement sources. Roman Melnichenko, who previously taught constitutional and municipal law at Volgograd State University, was fired in April 2022 and subsequently…
The White House urged Google, Microsoft and other major U.S. tech companies to increase access to state-funded software that helps Russians bypass online censorship, Reuters reported Thursday. In response to Moscow’s growing crackdown on wartime dissent, the U.S. government-backed Open Technology Fund (OTF) has been financing several American firms to offer free virtual private networks…
Russian law enforcement authorities pressed criminal charges against exiled singer Monetochka for breaking the country’s law on “foreign agents,” Moscow’s Prosectuor’s Office announced Friday. Monetochka, whose real name is Elizaveta Gyrdymova, fled Russia following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine due to her opposition to the war. She was designated a “foreign agent” last year. Authorities…
Russian missile strikes on the Ukrainian city of Pavlohrad killed at least one person and injured more than 50 others, including three children, authorities said Friday afternoon. The attacks led to “several fires in the city,” including at a high-rise apartment building, according to regional governor Sergiy Lysak. He said a nine-year-old girl and two boys…
Russia’s Central Bank announced Friday that it will extend limits on foreign cash withdrawals, capping the amount at $10,000 until next spring. The Central Bank first introduced the restrictions in March 2022 after the U.S. and EU halted cash transfers of dollars and euros to Russia. At the same time, private customers withdrew some $9…
ROSATOM Director General Alexey Likhachev and the Agency Director General Rafael Grossi head Delegations. On 6 September, another round of interdepartmental consultations between the Russian Federation and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was held in Kaliningrad. The Russian delegation, led by ROSATOM Director General Alexey Likhachev, included Alexander Trembitskiy, Head of Rostechnadzor; Mikhail Ulyanov,…
Residents of 81 federal subjects of Russia will vote in regional and municipal elections starting Friday. The elections mark the second time this year that Russians are heading to the polls following the March presidential election. That vote, which saw Vladimir Putin win a fifth term virtually unchallenged, was marred by widespread reports of vote tampering,…
Moscow will impose restrictions on American media outlets in response to new U.S. sanctions on the state-funded RT news network, the Kremlin said Friday. The United States indicted two RT employees and sanctioned its top editors on Wednesday, accusing them of trying to influence the upcoming U.S. presidential election. “A like response is not possible.…
A Russian court froze the shares of Raiffeisenbank’s Russian subsidiary, further stalling the sale of the largest Western bank still operating in the country, the lender’s Austrian parent company said Thursday. “A Russian court has today issued a preliminary injunction, by which shares of AO Raiffeisenbank are subject to a transfer ban with immediate effect,” Raiffeisen Bank…
France’s criminal case against Telegram founder Pavel Durov has raised fears among Russian users about their digital privacy and in some cases deepened distrust toward Western authorities. The Russian-French billionaire was detained at a Paris airport last month on charges of enabling criminal activity on Telegram. He was later released pending an investigation but is…
Voting in Russia’s three-day local and regional elections began on Friday, with Kremlin-backed candidates expected to dominate a political landscape all but devoid of meaningful competition. Voters will elect governors in 21 regions, legislative assembly members in 13 regions, including two in annexed Crimea, and scores of local officials on Sept. 6-8. In the Kursk…
Telegram founder and chief executive Pavel Durov on Thursday hit out at French authorities for arresting and charging him last month over the publication of extremist and illegal content on the popular messaging app. In a lengthy post on Telegram, his first public remarks since his arrest, Durov said it was “surprising” that he was…
The United States charged five Russian military officers on Thursday for allegedly conducting cyberattacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine ahead of the Russian invasion. Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen said the members of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency indicted in Maryland waged a cyber campaign against Ukraine known as WhisperGate. “The WhisperGate campaign included the…
Ukraine on Thursday canceled a train that was set to ferry people fleeing the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Donetsk amid fears of a possible Russian attack. Moscow’s forces have been advancing on the key logistics hub for months and are within 10 kilometers (six miles) of the city, where officials are urging the 27,000…
Serbian leader Aleksandar Vucic said he would not be able to accept Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invitation to attend the BRICS summit in Russia next month, media reported Thursday. “We have important guests [coming] from abroad at that time,” Vucic was quoted as saying by the Balkan service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The Tatarstan…
A joint Russian-Chinese coal project in Siberia is facing difficulties with financing due to Western secondary sanctions on cross-border payments to Russia, the CEO of Russian metals and renewables giant En+ said Thursday. The United States expanded its secondary sanctions against Russia in June, giving the Treasury Department the authority to penalize foreign banks that…