Ukrainian drones struck an oil depot in Russia’s Kirov region, located some 700 kilometers east of Moscow, regional authorities said Wednesday, marking the first such attack on the region since Moscow’s full-scale invasion. “Two drones were shot down, and three fell on the grounds of the Zenit plant in the town of Kotelnich, where they…
Siberian journalist and activist Maria Ponomarenko, imprisoned under Russia’s wartime censorship laws, threatened to cut her wrists in protest against the abuse she says she has endured while incarcerated. Ponomarenko was sentenced to six years in prison in February 2023 for spreading “fake news” about Russia’s 2022 bombing of a theater in Mariupol, Ukraine —…
Russian attacks on eastern Ukraine’s partially occupied Donetsk region killed six people, the governor of the region said Wednesday, as Moscow announced the capture of another village in the area. The industrial region has suffered some of the heaviest fighting since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, as well as going back to 2014.…
Russian internet providers have started implementing workarounds to speed up YouTube amid what appears to be a government effort to throttle the video streaming platform, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday, citing industry insiders. The move comes nearly a month after online users in Russia started experiencing sharp declines in YouTube loading speeds. These disruptions coincided…
French and Emirati spies hacked Telegram founder Pavel Durov’s iPhone in 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The joint spy operation code-named “Purple Music” reportedly stemmed from concerns about the Islamic State’s use of Telegram, a private messaging app, for recruitment and plotting attacks — and came years…
Indonesian authorities have “no information” to confirm earlier reports alleging that their citizens are being recruited to fight in Ukraine, the Southeast Asia country’s embassy in Russia said in a statement sent to the Moscow Times. “So far, the Embassy has no information that may corroborate the alleged involvement of Indonesian nationals fighting for either…
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested six “adherents of an international terrorist organization” in the North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia, state media reported Wednesday, citing law enforcement officials. According to the FSB, the six arrested men were planning an attack on the police and an Orthodox church. Authorities say all of those who were arrested…
A second oil depot in southern Russia’s Rostov region was set on fire within a month following an overnight drone attack by Ukraine, local authorities said early Wednesday. “A drone attack caused a fire at a fuel depot in the Kamensky district,” Rostov region Governor Vasily Golubev said on Telegram, adding that there were no…
A little-known company that posted Russia’s third-highest profit in just one year has vanished as mysteriously as it appeared, according to a new investigative report by the broadcaster RTVI. Banknota LLC, registered in June 2023, reported 3.7 trillion rubles ($40.4 billion) in revenue and 3.4 trillion rubles ($37.1 billion) in net profit last year — or about…
The Kremlin said Tuesday that France had leveled “very serious” charges against Telegram CEO Pavel Durov and warned Paris against trying to intimidate the tech entrepreneur after he was arrested in Paris over the weekend. French prosecutors accuse the 39-year-old billionaire of failing to curb the spread of illegal content on Telegram — charges his company denies.…
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that he supports a swift end to the grinding conflict in Ukraine after visiting the war-torn country last week. Modi has pursued a delicate balance between maintaining India’s historically warm ties with Russia while courting closer security partnerships with Western nations as a…
Russia’s Central Bank has revoked the broker and dealer licenses of Goldman Sachs as the U.S. investment bank continues to scale back its presence in the country in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On Tuesday, the Central Bank said it canceled the bank’s brokerage and dealer licenses on July 9, acting “based on Goldman Sachs’…
Russia fired a wave of attack drones and missiles at Ukraine that killed at least four people, authorities said Tuesday after the second night of heavy strikes across the war-battered nation. The overnight barrage came a day after the Kremlin launched one of its largest-ever aerial attacks on Ukraine, which targeted energy facilities and killed…
The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday it had requested consular services for Telegram founder Pavel Durov after the Dubai-based tech boss was arrested in France over alleged failings to curb criminality on the app. “The UAE is closely following the case of its citizen Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, who was arrested by the French…
Ukrainian forces launched an attack on border posts in the southwestern Belgorod region, Telegram channels linked to Russian security services said Tuesday, as regional officials reported an attempt “to break through the border.” The Mash Telegram channel reported that around 200 Ukrainian soldiers were deployed near the Nekhoteyevka checkpoint and another 300 near the Shebekino checkpoint,…
UN nuclear watchdog head Rafael Grossi on Tuesday warned during a visit to Russia’s Kursk nuclear plant that its proximity to ongoing fighting was “extremely serious” following Ukraine’s cross-border offensive into the southwestern Kursk region earlier this month. Grossi said his tour enabled him to “look at the most important parts” of the plant, which is…
Heavy rain overnight Monday triggered partial flooding in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi and its surrounding areas, local authorities said. Sochi Mayor Andrey Proshunin said the Khostinsky district, located on the foothills of the western Caucasus mountains, received around 12.5 centimeters (4.9 inches) of rain between Monday night and Tuesday morning. “After midnight,…
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said Tuesday that it has filed criminal charges against a Deutsche Welle reporter and a Ukrainian television journalist for illegally crossing the border into the Kursk region during a reporting assignment. “The FSB of Russia has pressed criminal charges and an investigation is underway,” the law enforcement agency was quoted…
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said Tuesday that it has filed criminal charges against a Deutsche Welle reporter and a Ukrainian television journalist for illegally crossing the border into the Kursk region during a reporting assignment. “The FSB of Russia has pressed criminal charges and an investigation is underway,” the law enforcement agency was quoted…
A Russian delegation led by a top trade official arrived in Pyongyang, North Korean state media reported Tuesday. The team, headed by Russian Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Roman Chekushov, arrived in the North Korean capital on Monday, the state news agency KCNA said. Delegates were greeted by North Korea’s External Economic Relations Minister Yun…
President Emmanuel Macron on Monday denied any political link to the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov as the tech tycoon spent a second day in French custody following his surprise arrest at a Paris airport. Numerous questions have been raised about the timing and circumstances of Durov’s detention, which a source close to the…
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said Monday that 88 Russian competitors will take part in the Paris Paralympics under a neutral banner. The Games, which kick off on Wednesday, will also feature eight Belarusians competing as neutrals, IPC spokesman Craig Spence said at a press conference. Para-athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus have had…
A convicted murderer in Russia has signed his second contract to fight in Moscow’s war on Ukraine just months after receiving a new prison sentence for another murder, the Travmpunkt legal rights group said Monday. Ivan Rossomakhin had been serving a 14-year sentence for murder when he was first recruited by the Wagner mercenary group…
The Kremlin refuses to cancel next month’s elections in the Kursk border region despite Ukraine’s ongoing offensive there, deeming it to be “only a local crisis” from a military perspective, three Russian officials familiar with the election preparations told Politika.Kozlov. The officials agreed to speak on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the…
Poland’s Armed Forces said Monday that the country’s airspace was likely violated by a drone following deadly Russian strikes across Ukraine earlier in the day. Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Ukraine early Monday. The strikes, which targeted the country’s energy infrastructure, killed at least four people. During the attacks, Polish airspace was violated…
A possible Russian drone flyover last week prompted a NATO military base in western Germany to briefly raise its security level, media in the country reported Monday, citing anonymous security sources. The Western military bloc on Friday said it elevated and then lowered the security level at Geilenkirchen Air Base due to an unspecified “potential…
This article was originally published by From the Republics. When Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a “partial” military mobilization for the war in Ukraine in September 2022, more than 500 women gathered on the central square of Yakutsk, the capital of Russia’s Far East republic of Sakha (Yakutia), to protest the decision. “My friend and I…
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) dismantled an underground gambling operation inside a penal colony in the Rostov region, local media reported Monday. FSB agents seized playing cards, casino chips, a mobile phone, SIM cards and other equipment used to run the illicit casino at Penal Colony No. 14 in the town of Novocherkassk, according to…
Thanks to Bashneft’s (a subsidiary of Rosneft) support, the Square of the Discoverers of Bashkir Oil was reconstructed in Ishimbay
Russian missile and drone strikes targeted energy facilities across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, killing at least three civilians, Ukrainian authorities said Monday. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said 15 of Ukraine’s 24 regions came under attack from drones, cruise missiles and Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. “To stop the barbaric shelling of Ukrainian cities, it is necessary…
An overnight Ukrainian drone attack in southern Russia’s Saratov region damaged several high-rise apartment buildings and injured multiple people, local authorities said early Monday. “Air defense systems shot down drones early this morning,” Saratov region Governor Roman Busargin wrote on Telegram. “Debris fell on residential buildings in both Saratov and Engels.” The cities of Saratov…
Russian-born tech entrepreneur Pavel Durov has founded wildly popular social networks as well as a cryptocurrency, amassed a multi-billion-dollar fortune and locked horns with authorities not just in Russia but around the world. Still a few months shy of his 40th birthday, the man once dubbed the “Russian Zuckerberg” after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg now…
Ukraine accused its Moscow-allied neighbor Belarus on Sunday of “concentrating” troops on the countries’ shared border and warned Minsk against “unfriendly actions,” in a statement by Kyiv’s foreign ministry. The statement came as Kyiv mounts an incursion into Russia’s Kursk region and as Russia continues its advance into eastern Ukraine. Belarus had allowed Russian troops…
French-Russian tech billionaire Pavel Durov is to appear in court on Sunday after being arrested at a Paris airport for offenses related to his popular Telegram messaging app, sources told AFP. France had reportedly issued an arrest warrant for Durov in a preliminary investigation into alleged offenses including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime and…
A member of the Reuters news agency was missing and two others were wounded in a Russian strike on a hotel in the east Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, the agency said Sunday, while Russian attacks killed 12 civilians across the country in the last 24 hours. In another deadly day in the two-and-a-half year war,…
Telegram chief executive Pavel Durov is to appear in court Sunday after being arrested at a Paris airport for offenses related to his popular messaging app, sources told AFP. Russia has accused France of “refusing to cooperate” following the arrest of the Franco-Russian billionaire, 39, at Le Bourget airport on Saturday night. Durov had arrived…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed more “retribution” against Russia on Saturday as he celebrated Independence Day near where his forces launched a surprise offensive into Russian territory two weeks ago. Zelensky also signed a law banning the Russia-linked branch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, calling the legislation a “liberation from Moscow’s devils,” drawing a sharp…
Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov was detained at a Paris airport for allegedly enabling criminal activity with his encrypted messaging app, French media reported Saturday. France issued an arrest warrant for Durov on charges of complicity in drug trafficking, crimes against children and fraud due to the lack of moderation on Telegram and his failure to…
A Russian court on Saturday freed Israeli-Canadian citizen Joshua Cartu who was arrested earlier this week at the request of the U.S. over alleged financial crimes. Dubbed “Ferrari fugitive,” the racing car driver and entrepreneur has been accused along with his brothers of defrauding investors of millions of dollars. He was detained on Monday by…
Russia and Ukraine announced Saturday they had exchanged 115 prisoners of war each, just over two weeks after Kyiv launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. The exchange came as Kyiv mounted its offensive in Kursk and as Russia eyes more east Ukrainian towns. It also came on Ukrainian Independence Day. Both countries thanked…
President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed more “retribution” against Russia on Ukrainian Independence Day Saturday, as Kyiv and Moscow announced the exchange of 230 prisoners just over two weeks into Ukraine’s surprise offensive on Kursk. Zelensky also signed a law banning the Russian-linked branch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and called the legislation a “liberation from Moscow’s…
The U.S. unveiled sweeping sanctions Friday against almost 400 individuals and companies tied to Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, a day before Ukraine’s independence day. The moves announced by the U.S. Treasury, State and Commerce departments build on a raft of existing sanctions against Russia over the invasion, now well into its third year. “Russia…
Russia has more than 100 years worth of coal at current and higher production capacities, the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Alexander Kozlov said Friday. Russia’s total coal reserves are estimated at 273 billion metric tons, 46.4 billion of which is currently being extracted, according to the RIA Novosti state news agency. “Even with…
Inmates at a prison in southern Russia’s Volgograd region seized control of the facility and took hostages on Friday, with at least three prison guards killed and all four attackers “neutralized” by special forces, officials said. The siege comes two months after Islamic State-linked prisoners took guards hostage in another facility and as ethnic tensions…
Five men who took part in last year’s airport storming in the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan were handed varying jail sentences, court authorities said Friday. Hundreds of people descended on Dagestan’s Makhachkala International Airport in late October as they searched for Israeli citizens rumored to be onboard a flight arriving from Tel Aviv. The mob paralyzed…
Knife-wielding inmates killed at least three Russian prison guards Friday in a prison siege, officials said, with the assailants having apparent connections to the Islamic State (IS) group. Russian special forces stormed IK-19 Surovikino penal colony in Russia’s southern Volgograd region and shot dead all four attackers after an hours-long standoff. “Four criminals took eight colony…
Russians spent a record 19.3 billion rubles ($211 million) on contraceptives in the first half of 2024, the Vedomosti business daily reported Friday, citing market research. The new data, gathered by pharmaceutical market research company DSM Group, compares to 16.7 billion rubles spent on condoms and birth control pills during the same period last year.…
A large wildfire in the North Caucasus republic of Karachayevo-Cherkessia has quickly spread over the past two days, prompting the evacuation of almost 250 people at a popular nature reserve, regional authorities said Friday. Russian media reported that the blaze erupted in the resort town of Dombay on Wednesday, temporarily trapping groups of tourists. Eyewitness…
The victims of a deadly Russian fighter jet crash in October 2022 are seeking damages from the Russian military, the Kommersant newspaper reported Friday, citing anonymous sources. Sixteen people were killed and 43 others were injured when a Su-34 fighter jet crashed into a residential building in the town of Yeysk, located in southern Russia’s…
A Ukrainian missile attack on southern Russia’s Krasnodar region sunk a railway ferry, regional authorities said Thursday afternoon. “The Kyiv regime carried out another terrorist attack on the territory of the Krasnodar region,” authorities wrote on social media. “A railway ferry carrying fuel tanks to Port Kavkaz was hit.” Officials said emergency responders were already…
As Kyiv’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region continues for a third week, civilians on the ground are voicing growing anger toward Ukraine, fellow Russians and their own government, which they feel has abandoned them and tried to downplay the incursion. Kursk region residents who spoke to The Moscow Times expressed frustration with what they see…
An activist who previously served prison time for breaking Russian protest laws was detained for donating money to Alexei Navalny’s outlawed political organizations, independent media reported Thursday. Programmer Konstantin Kotov was arrested during the 2019 Moscow election protests and ended up serving 18 months for “multiple breaches” of Russian protest laws. His original four-year sentence…
Russian universities admitted almost twice as many Ukraine war veterans and their children for the upcoming academic year compared to 2023-24, Russia’s Education and Science Ministry said Thursday in comments to the Interfax news agency. President Vladimir Putin in 2022 ordered a 10% university admission quota for war veterans and their children, granting them priority…
Around 20,000 Russian civilians remain in border areas of the southwestern Kursk region, authorities said Thursday, coming after more than 133,000 people were evacuated amid clashes between Ukrainian and Russian forces. Acting Kursk region Governor Alexei Smirnov provided the latest evacuation figures in a televised meeting with President Vladimir Putin and other government officials. “As…
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused the Ukrainian military of trying to strike a major nuclear power plant in southwestern Russia’s embroiled Kursk region. “Today, the enemy tried to attack a nuclear power station,” Putin said during a government meeting, referring to the Kursk plant. “The International Atomic Energy Agency has been informed. They’ve promised to…
India surpassed China as the largest buyer of Russian oil last month, Reuters reported Thursday, citing import data from both countries. Russian crude exports to India in July reached a record 2.07 million barrels per day (bpd) compared with 1.76 million bpd to China, the news agency said. India imported 12% more Russian crude than…
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said Thursday it detained three men, including a Moldovan citizen, suspected of plotting bomb attacks in annexed Crimea and sharing military intelligence with Ukraine. “All those detained are providing confessions,” the law enforcement agency said in a statement published on its website. Russian state media released an FSB video showing the…
UN nuclear agency head Rafael Grossi will visit Russia’s Kursk Nuclear Power Plant next week, an agency spokesperson said Thursday, more than two weeks after Ukraine launched a surprise counteroffensive in the region. “We can confirm [it’s planned for] next week,” a spokesperson for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said without providing further details.…
Russian law enforcement authorities said Thursday that they have filed criminal charges against a CNN reporter and two Ukrainian journalists for illegally crossing the border into Ukrainian-held territory of the Kursk region during a reporting assignment. “Criminal charges have been filed, and investigations are underway,” a spokesperson for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) told the…
Authorities in the embroiled Kursk region of southwestern Russia have begun setting up makeshift bomb shelters near bus stops to protect civilians from ongoing air attacks. “At my instruction, the Kursk city administration has identified key locations to place modular concrete shelters,” acting Kursk region Governor Alexei Smirnov wrote on Telegram. “We plan to equip…