‘It’s Our Way to Protest’: Anti-War Russians Volunteer to Help Ukrainian Refugees

Networks of anti-war volunteers are among those helping more than a million Ukrainian refugees inside Russia despite difficulties with gaining access to temporary accommodation centers and a risk of criminal prosecution.  After leaving war-torn eastern Ukraine, many refugees are not only traumatized, but find themselves trapped in Russia without money, documents or even clothes.  “It’s…

Russia Blacklists 121 Australians, Including Defense Officials and Journalists

Russia’s Foreign Ministry placed sanctions on 121 Australian citizens Thursday, accusing them of promoting a “Russophobic agenda.”  The list of sanctioned individuals include politicians and journalists, such as Defense Force Chief General Angus Campbell, Chief of Air Force Mel Hupfeld, and Chief of Navy Michael Noonan, as well as journalists from Australia’s ABC News and…

China Vows Support for Russia, Drawing U.S. Ire

President Xi Jinping on Wednesday assured Vladimir Putin of China’s support on Russian “sovereignty and security” — leading Washington to warn Beijing it risked ending up “on the wrong side of history.” China has refused to condemn Moscow’s massive military assault on Ukraine and has been accused of providing diplomatic cover for Russia by blasting…

U.S. Announces $1Bln More in Arms for Ukraine

U.S. President Joe Biden announced $1 billion worth of new arms for Ukraine Wednesday as Pentagon officials defended the pace and quality of supplies as meeting Kyiv’s battlefield needs. Ukrainian troops shelled Russian targets on the frontlines in the eastern Donbas region with newly arrived French Caesar howitzers, as Ukraine officials met in Brussels with…

Chechen Authorities Using Threats and Blackmail to Recruit Soldiers for Ukraine — Investigation

Authorities in the Russian republic of Chechnya are forcing local men to join “volunteer” battalions for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, investigative news outlet The Insider reported Wednesday.  Soldiers have reported the use of intimidation, blackmail, or threats of torture and kidnapping against their loved ones, according to The Insider’s sources. While the exact number of…

Taliban, Separatists and Lukashenko: Russia Kicks Off Diminished St. Petersburg Forum

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia’s annual showcase event for foreign investors, opened Wednesday amid a reduced participant list, increased secrecy and boycotts by some Western governments.  As the war in Ukraine has sent the Russian economy spinning toward recession and deepened Moscow’s international isolation, SPIEF – once dubbed “Russia’s Davos” – looked…

Xi Tells Putin China Will Keep Backing Russia on ‘Sovereignty, Security’

Chinese President Xi Jinping told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a call Wednesday that Beijing would keep backing Moscow on “sovereignty and security,” according to state media. China is “willing to continue to offer mutual support (to Russia) on issues concerning core interests and major concerns such as sovereignty and security,” Chinese state broadcaster…

Aeroflot Executive Detained on Suspicion of Fraud

A senior executive in charge of aircraft purchases for Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot has been arrested on suspicion of fraud, Russia’s state-run Interfax news agency reported Wednesday. Mikhail Minayev, director of Aeroflot’s fleet planning and aircraft procurement, was placed in pre-trial detention by Moscow’s Khoroshevsky court until Aug. 8. If found guilty, Minayev faces up…

Russia Says Destroyed NATO Arms Depot in Western Ukraine

Russia said Wednesday its forces destroyed a depot containing NATO-supplied arms in western Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Western allies to speed up arms deliveries to his country. “Near the town of Zolochiv in Lviv region, high-precision long-range Kalibr missiles destroyed an ammunition depot of foreign weapons transferred to Ukraine by NATO countries, including 155-mm…

Russian National Guard Spokesman Killed in Ukraine

A spokesman for Russia’s National Guard has been killed in battle in Ukraine, a veterans’ organization announced Tuesday. Col. Sergei Postnov served as a war correspondent in the National Guard’s so-called “information response group,” the Russian Interior Ministry’s veterans’ council said on its website. The group said that Postnov died “performing his military duty,” but…

Captured Fighters ‘Deserve’ Death Penalty, Top Russian Lawmaker Says

Russia’s top lawmaker said Thursday that fighters sentenced to death in eastern Ukraine’s pro-Moscow separatist territories “deserve” to die. “The death penalty is the punishment these fascists deserve,” Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the lower-house State Duma, said, using terminology that President Vladimir Putin has invoked to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Volodin spoke a week…

Russians Inoculated With Expired Coronavirus Vaccine

Patients in Moscow are being inoculated with expired Russian coronavirus vaccines, The Moscow Times’ Russian service reported, citing sources and eyewitnesses. Epidemiologists say that the expired vaccines aren’t dangerous, but are ineffective against Covid-19. Russia has about 30 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines that are currently past their use-by date and worth more than 23…

Russia-China Highway Bridge Opens to Traffic

The first vehicle bridge between Russia and China opened to freight traffic Friday as Moscow pivots to Beijing amid the crisis in relations with the West over its invasion of Ukraine. Most building work on the Blagoveshchensk-Heihe bridge across the Amur River was completed in late 2019.  Transportation between the border cities with close economic…