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…
Russian authorities said Thursday that a Ukrainian drone strike sparked a fire at a military site that some observers identified as an airfield housing warplanes that may be involved in combat operations against Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region. Volgograd region Governor Andrei Bocharov said Russian air defenses repelled a drone attack near the village…
A Russian court on Wednesday sentenced exiled opposition politician and former MP Dmitry Gudkov to eight years in prison “in absentia” for criticism of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Gudkov, who served as a lawmaker in Russia’s parliament from 2011 to 2016, was found guilty of publishing “false information” about the Russian military, motivated by “political…
Russia said Wednesday that brief outages of Telegram and WhatsApp were caused by a cyberattack, while internet experts suggested that the authorities themselves may have attempted to block the popular messaging services. Federal media regulator Roskomnadzor blamed the outage on a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) cyberattack targeting Russia’s telecom operators. A DDoS attack is designed to force…
President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia’s economic and trade links with China are “yielding results” as he welcomed Chinese Premier Li Qiang to the Kremlin. Moscow has looked to Beijing as an economic lifeline since the Ukraine conflict began, with the two boosting trade to record highs as Russia faces heavy economic sanctions from…
Authorities in northern Russia’s Murmansk region issued a drone attack warning on Wednesday, as local airports imposed flight restrictions following unverified reports of an unmanned aircraft being shot down. “A drone threat has been detected in the Murmansk region,” Governor Andrei Chibis wrote on Telegram. “All necessary security measures are being taken.” Shortly before the…
Ukrainian special forces said Wednesday that they destroyed several Russian military pontoon bridges along a river in the Kursk region, coming days after authorities in Russia said Kyiv’s military blew up three bridges spanning the waterway. A video posted on social media purportedly showed “precision” strikes against the makeshift river crossings in the partially occupied…
More than two weeks have passed since the Ukrainian army launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. The Aug. 6 offensive marks the first time since World War II that foreign troops have occupied Russian territory. According to DeepState UA, an open-source intelligence digital mapping service, the Ukrainian army has captured at least 646…
Major banks in Kyrgyzstan have suspended money transfers to Russia via their mobile apps following U.S. sanctions, local media reported Wednesday. The former Soviet republic is one of several Central Asian countries that have become a “backdoor” for Russia to maintain economic ties with the West despite sanctions imposed over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.…
Russian election authorities announced Wednesday that upcoming local races in parts of the southwestern Kursk region held by Ukrainian forces would be postponed until Moscow regained control over those areas. Dozens of regions across Russia are scheduled to hold elections in early September. However, amid ongoing clashes between Ukrainian and Russian forces near the border,…
A businessman in the republic of Udmurtia and a Kremlin-backed nonprofit organization that supports war veterans announced plans to build a “heroes village” for the families of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine. The Defenders of the Fatherland foundation said local businessman Andrei Chernov donated 10 acres of land to four widows and their children in…
Rosneft and the Ministry of Tourism of the Samara Oblast presented the “Zhiguli Weekend” motor tourist route, which runs along the region’s landmark and most picturesque locations
More than 30 people have died in southwestern Russia’s Kursk region since Ukrainian forces stormed across the border more than two weeks ago, the state-run news agency TASS reported Wednesday, citing unnamed medical personnel. “As of the morning of Aug. 21, 31 people were confirmed dead as a result of the Ukrainian armed forces attack…
Russian air defense systems destroyed nearly a dozen Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow overnight, the city’s mayor said early Wednesday, calling it one of the largest air attacks on the Russian capital since the start of the war. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said ten Ukrainian drones were shot down over the surrounding Moscow region as they…
Russian President Vladimir Putin flew into Chechnya on Tuesday and met its leader Ramzan Kadyrov on his first visit to the North Caucasus region since 2011. Kadyrov, a key Kremlin ally, says he has deployed thousands of fighters to help the Kremlin with its Ukraine offensive. Putin in May said that he planned to visit…
As Ukraine’s offensive in Russia’s Kursk region has dominated headlines and offered a morale boost for Kyiv’s supporters, Moscow’s troops have continued to press forward in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region. The Russian army on Tuesday announced the capture of the eastern Ukrainian town of New York, a claim that was confirmed by data from the…
Russia’s Orthodox Church on Tuesday condemned a vote by Ukrainian lawmakers to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which many believe to be aligned with Moscow. “This is an unlawful act that is the grossest violation of the basic principles of freedom of conscience and human rights,” Russian Orthodox Church spokesman Vladimir Legoida wrote on Telegram.…
Russian law enforcement authorities detained an Israeli-Canadian racecar driver and entrepreneur wanted by the U.S. for allegedly defrauding investors of millions of dollars through an illegal online stock trading scheme, media reported Tuesday. Joshua Cartu, 45, was detained at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo International Airport by the Interior Ministry’s Interpol bureau on Monday, according to the local news…
The Moscow Times is republishing the weekly news wrap spotlighting the latest developments in Russia’s ethnic republics and Indigenous communities, which was originally published by From the Republics. Tyva & Sakha ablaze Authorities in the Siberian republic of Tyva on Sunday declared a region-wide state of emergency for the second time this month due to…
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it had summoned a senior U.S. Embassy official in Moscow over what it called “provocative actions” of American journalists reporting from Ukrainian-held parts of the Kursk region, as well as an alleged U.S. mercenary presence on Russian territory. The ministry said it expressed “strong protest” to U.S. Embassy Chief of…
President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday visited the North Caucasus city of Beslan ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Beslan school siege, the deadliest terror attack in modern Russian history. On Sept. 1, 2004, armed militants from Chechnya took more than 1,100 people hostage at Beslan School No. 1 in the republic of North Ossetia, holding…
Russian forces said Tuesday they had captured the town of New York in eastern Ukraine, as Moscow — under pressure by a Kyiv counterattack on its territory — presses on with its full-scale invasion. The Defense Ministry said its troops had captured “one of the largest settlements of the Toretsk agglomeration and the strategically important…
Wages for Russian truck drivers are rising faster than those in any other profession this year, the Vedomosti business daily reported Tuesday, citing the recruitment website Headhunter and the trucking association Avtogruzex. Median truck driver wages reached 131,000 rubles ($1,450) per month in January-June 2024, a 74% increase compared to the same time last year. Demand…
Ukrainian lawmakers on Tuesday voted to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as Kyiv continues to sever religious, social and institutional ties with entities it believes are aligned with Moscow. Ukraine has for years sought to limit its religious connections with Russia — a process greatly accelerated by Moscow’s 2022 invasion, which was endorsed by the…
Czech authorities announced Tuesday that they plan to use a portion of the interest earned on frozen Russian assets held in the European Union to purchase ammunition for Ukraine’s military. The EU froze around 200 billion euros ($221.5 billion) in Russian Central Bank assets as part of sanctions imposed on Moscow following its full-scale invasion…
Russian law enforcement authorities are urging residents in regions bordering northeastern Ukraine to avoid using dating websites amid Kyiv’s ongoing incursion, state media reported Tuesday, citing an Interior Ministry spokesperson. “The use of online dating services is strongly discouraged. The enemy is actively using them to gather information,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying by…
Firefighters on Tuesday continued to battle a large blaze at an oil storage site in southern Russia’s Rostov region, officials said, two days after a Ukrainian drone strike on the facility. The fire broke out early Sunday after Russian air defense systems shot down Ukrainian drones in the town of Proletarsk. Ukraine’s military said that…
At least 17 people have died in southwestern Russia’s Kursk region in the two weeks since Ukrainian forces stormed across the border, the state-run news agency TASS reported Tuesday, citing unnamed medical personnel. “The latest figures show that 17 people died as a result of attacks by the armed forces of Ukraine,” TASS quoted its…
President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a decree allowing foreign citizens and stateless individuals to apply for temporary residency in the country if they share “traditional Russian spiritual and moral values,” even in cases when a person does not speak Russian. The decree states that those who oppose the “destructive neoliberal ideological agenda” in their…
More than 40 firefighters were injured while battling a major blaze at an oil storage facility in southern Russia’s Rostov region, officials said Monday, a day after a Ukrainian drone attack in the area. Rostov region Governor Vasily Golubev said the diesel fire ignited early Sunday morning after Russian air defense systems shot down Ukrainian drones…
The head of Russia’s consumer protection watchdog said Monday that “traditional” values will help the country avoid an outbreak of the infectious viral disease mpox, which spreads through close physical and sexual contact. The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency last week as mpox, also known as monkeypox, continued to spread in the Democratic…
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday its troops captured a “major” settlement in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, where Moscow’s forces are advancing even as Ukraine mounts its own armed incursion into Russian territory. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had “liberated” the town of Artemovo, which is called Zalizne in Ukraine, describing it as one of the…
Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said Monday that holding peace talks with Kyiv would be impossible so long as Ukrainian forces continue their offensive in the southwestern Kursk region and occupy parts of Russian territory. “At this stage, given this escapade, we will not talk,” Ushakov told the Telegram news channel Shot, referring to Ukraine’s inclusion into…