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…
A former deputy minister of Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry was charged over the alleged theft of an apartment, federal investigators said Thursday. Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said Pavel Baryshev used fraudulent documents between 2017 and 2019 to acquire a three-bedroom apartment in the Moscow area valued at 20 million rubles ($223,700). Law enforcement authorities…
Dmitry Dostoevsky, the only great-grandson of the Russian novelist and short-story writer Fyodor Dostoevsky, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 79. Dmitry was the grandson of one of the famed novelist’s four children, also named Fyodor Dostoevsky. Born in April 1945, he led a varied life, working as a diamond cutter, cab driver,…
Russia’s republics of Altai, Bashkortostan and Kalmykia are set to vote for their regional heads in this weekend’s nationwide elections. Russia’s third wartime elections are expected to yield few if any surprises, with candidates backed by the ruling United Russia party and the Kremlin expected to win by a landslide. But for the heads of…
Brussels on Thursday warned Serbia that keeping strong ties with Moscow was “not compatible” with its aspiration to join the bloc after a top government official met with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week. Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin described his country as an “ally of Russia” when he met with Putin on…
Russian companies have been able to purchase spare parts for outdated microchip-making machines produced by Dutch tech giant ASML through Chinese intermediaries since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Dutch daily Trouw reported Wednesday, citing Russian customs data. Small Russian importers reportedly obtained these parts at least 170 times between February 2022 and December 2023. Trouw…
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he supported Kamala Harris in November’s U.S. presidential election, an apparent wry remark a day after the United States issued indictments accusing Moscow of vote interference. Putin regularly comments on political and social issues in the United States, often in a mocking way. He said last year that the…
Popular Russian YouTubers have experienced noticeable drops in view counts over the past month, with some losing as much as 80% of their audience on the platform amid what appears to be government attempts to throttle YouTube, the Vedomosti business newspaper reported Wednesday, citing an industry analytics report. According to the report, published by the social…
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he was ready for talks with Kyiv, after having previously rebuffed the idea of negotiations while Ukraine’s offensive into the Kursk region was ongoing. Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into the southwestern Kursk region in early August, sending thousands of troops across the border and seizing dozens of…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said his main aim in Ukraine after 30 months of fighting was to capture the eastern Donbas area — and claimed that Ukraine’s Kursk counter-offensive had made that easier. Putin was speaking a day after Russia attacked Ukraine’s western Lviv region with deadly strikes, and after recent advances by…
Belarus’ Defense Ministry said early Thursday that it destroyed several drones after they violated the country’s airspace overnight. “Late last night, on September 5, a violation of Belarusian airspace was detected, reportedly involving unmanned aerial vehicles,” the ministry said in a statement posted on Telegram. “A decision was made to neutralize the threat. Prompt actions…
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday that new U.S. sanctions against the state-funded RT news network were part of an “information campaign” ahead of the November presidential race, adding it was working on a response. Washington indicted on Wednesday two RT employees and sanctioned its top editors, accusing them of trying to influence the upcoming presidential…
As part of the IX Eastern Economic Forum, Rosneft’s Competence Centre was inaugurated at the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU)
The United States indicted two employees of Russia’s RT and imposed sanctions on top editors of the state-funded news outlet on Wednesday, accusing them of seeking to influence the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The 10 individuals and two entities sanctioned by the Treasury Department include RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonovna Simonyan and deputy Elizaveta Yuryevna Brodskaia.…
Russia’s most popular ride-hailing service, Yandex Taxi, may raise prices later this year due to a growing shortage of drivers, a senior manager at the company said Wednesday. Anton Petrakov, who handles corporate and government relations at Yandex Taxi, warned that tightening migration policies and new taxi service regulations could leave the company short by…
Gazprom is postponing several major offshore exploration projects in the Arctic, the Interfax news agency reported, citing data from the state register of geological study of subsoil. The move comes amid record losses, Western sanctions in response to the invasion of Ukraine and China’s refusal to sign a new contract for Russian gas. In the…
Moscow has approved the sale of British consumer goods giant Unilever’s Russian subsidiary at a steep discount, the RBC business news outlet reported Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Unilever, the maker of Dove soap and Magnum ice cream, halted imports, exports and advertising in Russia following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in March 2022.…
Police confirmed they had received a complaint and said they would look into the matter “to determine whether there are reasonable motives to launch an investigation.” The Veterinary Institute told AFP that “if something suspicious were to come up” under the autopsy, “police would be informed.” When Hvaldimir was found in 2019, Norwegian marine biologists…
A Russian missile attack Wednesday on the Ukrainian city of Lviv killed a woman and her three daughters, leaving their father as the only immediate survivor, Ukrainian officials said. The strike killed seven people in Lviv, which lies in western Ukraine and is hundreds of kilometers from the front line, has been largely spared the…
A Ukrainian attack on an open-air market in the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk killed three people and injured five others, Moscow-backed authorities said Wednesday. “Two men and one woman were killed in the Sokol market in Donetsk’s Kirovsky district, and five others were injured,” said Denis Pushilin, the Kremlin-appointed governor of the Donetsk region. Pushilin…
Nearly 700 residents of southwestern Russia’s Kursk region remain missing almost a month after Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion there, the search and rescue group Liza Alert said Tuesday. Of the 918 people who were reported missing last month, 202 were found alive, while five were confirmed dead. The search for the remaining 698…
The Dossier Center investigative outlet released an investigation that sheds light on the life of the two alleged young sons of President Vladimir Putin and Alina Kabaeva, a decorated Russian gymnast turned longtime presidential partner. The Moscow Times has gathered the key findings of the investigation into the life of Ivan Putin and Vladimir Putin Jr.:…
Hungary on Wednesday dismissed as “political hysteria” fears that its new work and residency permit scheme for Russian and Belarusian nationals heightened the risk of spying in the European Union. The European Commission and the European Parliament’s biggest group raised concerns after Hungary extended a “national card” system to citizens of the two countries amid…
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that its deadly strike on the central Ukrainian city of Poltava targeted a drone and electronic warfare training center. At least 53 people were killed and 298 others were injured in Tuesday’s attack on a military institute and nearby hospital in the central city of Poltava. Ukrainian authorities did not say how many of…
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that he expects Chinese leader Xi Jinping to attend next month’s BRICS summit in the Tatarstan capital of Kazan. Since ordering the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin has increasingly turned to Xi for support, with Russia and China boosting trade to record levels amid heavy Western…
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin was scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia on Wednesday, just days after Serbia signed a multi-billion-dollar fighter jet deal with France. The meeting was expected to take place on the sidelines of an economic forum in Vladivostok, where Putin arrived on Tuesday after a state…
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia on Wednesday, just days after Belgrade signed a multi-billion-dollar fighter jet deal with France. The meeting took place on the sidelines of an economic forum in Vladivostok, where Putin arrived on Tuesday after a state visit to Mongolia, according to Serbian…
Russia has set up a covert trade route to obtain critical electronics from India for its war in Ukraine, the Financial Times reported Thursday, citing leaked government documents and anonymous sources. The Moscow-based Consortium for Foreign Economic Activity and International Interstate Cooperation in Industry (Ved MMKP) reported to Russia’s Industry and Trade Ministry in October 2022 that…
Ukraine’s government reshuffle will not affect potential peace talks with Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists Wednesday. At least six top Ukrainian officials including cabinet ministers have submitted their resignations since Tuesday, while a presidential aide was dismissed. David Arakhamia, who heads the ruling party’s parliamentary faction, declared Wednesday a “day of dismissals.” “This reshuffle…
A Russian strike on the historic center of Lviv in western Ukraine has killed seven people including three children, officials said Wednesday, a day after a particularly bloody attack in the central city of Poltava in which dozens died. Moscow has stepped up its aerial attacks after Ukraine’s offensive in Russia’s Kursk region, which caught…
A sanctioned central banker is to represent Russia on the board of the Washington-based International Monetary Fund, the current holder of the post said on Tuesday. Ksenia Yudaeva is the former first deputy governor at Russia’s Central Bank and a current adviser to its Governor Elvira Nabiullina. “Yes, I confirm. From November 1 Ksenia will be…
UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi said he discussed the safety of Russia’s Kursk nuclear plant with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, four weeks after Ukraine launched its unprecedented cross-border incursion. Ukraine sent thousands of troops into the Kursk region on Aug. 6, triggering fighting less than 50 kilometers (30 miles) away from the nuclear…
The head of Russia’s Far East republic of Sakha (Yakutia) has called on state employees to “not be ashamed” of studying at American universities, calling it an opportunity to “learn from the enemy” to improve things at home. “Don’t be ashamed of going abroad to learn something — including from our enemies — [especially] if…
A military court in southern Russia sentenced a Ukrainian special forces soldier to 20 years in prison after he was captured during a mission in annexed Crimea, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. Oleksandr Lyubas was captured in October during an amphibious operation in which Ukrainian military intelligence soldiers reportedly arrived in Crimea on jet skis, unfurled…
Russian law enforcement authorities decided to extend a preliminary investigation into the death of Alexei Navalny at an Arctic prison earlier this year, the late opposition activist’s allies said Tuesday. Navalny was serving a 19-year prison sentence on extremism charges when he died under unclear circumstances at the “Polar Wolf” penal colony on Feb. 16. Authorities…
Russian Orthodox priests drove around the western Bryansk region with a religious icon in an attempt to protect it from a potential Ukrainian incursion, the local diocese said. “Today’s prayer was for the salvation of our fatherland and our native Bryansk region from enemy invasion,” the diocese of Bryansk said in a social media post published…
The pressure of Western sanctions saw Russia scramble to maintain its market power as a key energy exporter, as well as preserve the supply of technologies necessary for its military and civilian sectors. Domestically, this has meant Russia’s increasing state control over the economy, coupled with a tolerance of “grey” schemes to evade sanctions and…
President Vladimir Putin invited his Mongolian counterpart to attend the next BRICS summit in Russia next month, the Kremlin said Tuesday. “I’d like to conclude my opening remarks by inviting you to Russia, to Kazan, where we will host the BRICS summit this year,” Putin told Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh during his visit to Mongolia’s…
The Rosneft Scientific Institute in Ufa has opened a master’s programme in Petroleum Engineering for international students at the Ufa State Petroleum Technological University (USPTU)
A French citizen accused of gathering information about the Russian military and violating the country’s laws on “foreign agents” is set to stand trial on Tuesday. Laurent Vinatier, who worked for a Swiss conflict mediation NGO before he was arrested in Moscow in June, faces up to five years in prison if convicted of the…
Ukrainian drone strikes targeted three towns in Russia’s Belgorod region, seriously damaging a church and hitting public and commercial buildings, local authorities said early Tuesday. “An FPV drone struck St. Nicholas Church in the village of Gruzskoye in the Borisov district,” Belgorod region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram. Gladkov shared photos showing the church’s…
Two U.S. researchers claim to have identified a new potential deployment site of Russia’s nuclear-armed cruise missile Burevestnik, Reuters reported Monday. Decker Eveleth, an analyst with the CNA research and analysis organization, and Jeffery Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey said they identified a construction project near a nuclear warhead storage facility 475…
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s arrival in Mongolia marks his first trip to an International Criminal Court (ICC) member state since the body issued a warrant for his arrest over the illegal deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia in March 2023. While bolstering Putin’s defiance of the West, the visit carries wider implications for international law…
Russia advanced on 477 square kilometers (184 square miles) of Ukrainian territory in August, Moscow’s biggest monthly increase since October 2022, according to data supplied by the Institute for the Study of War and analyzed by AFP. The Ukrainian army, for its part, made rapid gains in early August in Russia after a surprise incursion…
Viktor Bout, the notorious Russian arms dealer released in a 2022 prisoner exchange for U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, has applied to trademark his name for beverages. According to the news website RBC-Wine, Bout applied to register his first and surname in Cyrillic, the Latin transcription “Victor Bout” and the phrase “Kroot Kak Boot” (“Tough…
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Mongolia late Monday, marking his first visit to a country that is a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) since it issued an arrest warrant for him last year. Russian state television broadcasted Putin’s plane landing in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar. Putin is wanted by the ICC for…
Russia imported more than $29 million in U.S. dollar and euro banknotes from Rwanda this year, despite Western sanctions on cash imports, the investigative outlet Vyorstka reported on Monday, citing confidential customs data. The United States and the European Union banned the export of their banknotes to Russia in March 2022 following the full-scale invasion…
Rosneft financed the renovation of primary general education school No. 28 and secondary comprehensive school No. 29 in Syzran
A small village in a national park in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region is boycotting the upcoming regional elections where the pro-Kremlin incumbent governor seeks to secure his mandate because they have been cut off from the outside world by authorities’ negligence. The village of Tyulyuk, some 1,700 kilometers from Moscow, is located in a region nicknamed…
Russia’s manufacturing sector saw its slowest pace of growth in more than a year in August, a business survey published on Monday showed. S&P Global’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for Russian manufacturing fell to 52.1 last month compared to 53.6 in July. A PMI value above 50 points indicates growth, whereas anything below signifies a…
With the support of Bashneft (a subsidiary of Rosneft), a new multifunctional educational centre was opened in the village of Elan-Chishma in the Ermekeyevsky District of the Republic of Bashkortostan
A large fire at an oil storage facility in southern Russia’s Rostov region has been extinguished two weeks after a Ukrainian drone strike set it off, Russian state media reported Monday, citing emergency services. Ukraine’s military claimed responsibility for the Aug. 18 attack on the Kavkaz oil and petroleum storage facility in the town of…
A Beluga whale whose unusual harness sparked suspicions it was trained by Russia for spying purposes has been found dead in Norway, according to an NGO that tracks the animal’s movements. Nicknamed “Hvaldimir,” a pun on the Norwegian word for whale hval and the Russian name Vladimir, the beluga first appeared off the coast of…
Rescuers on Sunday said they found 17 bodies after a helicopter with 22 people on board crashed in Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula in the Far East. The helicopter went missing shortly after takeoff Saturday, carrying 19 tourists and 3 crew members, according to authorities in Kamchatka, a picturesque region popular among adventure tourists and known for its active…
Relatives of the victims of the Beslan school siege gathered Sunday to pay tribute at the ruins of the school, remembering the 330 people, including 186 children, who lost their lives in Russia’s deadliest terror attack. School bells rang at 9:15 a.m. local time, marking the start of the siege 20 years ago, while mourners laid…
Russia’s Defense Ministry said early Sunday that its air defense systems downed nearly 160 Ukrainian drones across 15 regions, including two over Moscow, making it one of the largest coordinated attacks on the country since the start of the war. “During the night, the Kyiv regime attempted a terrorist attack using drones against targets in…