Russian Lawmakers Pass Bill Expanding ‘Undesirable’ Label to Include State-Affiliated Orgs

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Lawmakers in Russia’s lower-house State Duma voted Tuesday to expand the criteria for blacklisting organizations as “undesirable” to include any entity affiliated with a foreign government. The 2015 law, initially aimed at foreign-funded NGOs, has gradually been extended to target independent news outlets, human rights groups, environmental organizations and educational institutions. The recent amendments would empower Russia’s…

Igor Sechin: Realignment of routes to Asia-Pacific markets and stable oil exports ensure resilience of the Russian economy

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The reorganisation of logistics routes to Asia-Pacific markets and stable oil exports have played a major role in ensuring the sustainability of the Russian economy, said Igor Sechin, Executive Secretary of the Presidential Commission on the Strategy for the Development of the Fuel and Energy Complex and Environmental Safety, Chief Executive Officer of Rosneft

Igor Sechin: The West overestimated the impact of its pressure on the powerful potential of the Russian and Chinese economies

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Western countries have overestimated the effectiveness of their pressure on the potential of the Russian and Chinese economies; all efforts to curb growth have the opposite effect, said Igor Sechin, Executive Secretary of the Russian Presidential Commission on the Strategy for the Development of the Fuel and Energy Complex and Environmental Safety, Chief Executive Officer…

Moscow Says Captured Small Village in Eastern Ukraine

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Russia’s military said Tuesday it captured another small village in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, where its forces have been making incremental advances for the past several months. The defense ministry said its troops “liberated” the settlement of Ivano-Dariivka, a village that consisted of just a few streets and houses before Russia launched its full-scale invasion…

Exiled Russian Journalist Mikhail Zygar Jailed 8.5 Years in Absentia for Bucha ‘Fakes’

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A Moscow court has sentenced exiled journalist Mikhail Zygar to eight-and-a-half years in prison in absentia for spreading so-called “fake” information about the Russian military’s actions in Ukraine, the independent Mediazona news website reported Tuesday. The criminal case against Zygar stems from his April 2022 Instagram post in which he spoke about the Russian army’s atrocities against…

Putin Transfers Seized TGK-2 Utility to Gazprom

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President Vladimir Putin has ordered the transfer of the nationalized power-generating company TGK-2 to a subsidiary of Russian state-owned gas monopoly Gazprom. TGK-2 is one of northwestern Russia’s largest thermal power companies with 12 plants, 30 boiler houses and four heat network enterprises spanning six regions. A court in the city of Yaroslavl northeast of Moscow ruled…

Russian Army Says Killed 50 ‘Western Instructors’ in Missile Attack

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A Russian ballistic missile attack on northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region killed dozens of Western military instructors, state media reported on Tuesday, citing Russia’s Defense Ministry. “[An] Iskander-M missile defense system launched an attack on the temporary deployment point of instructors and mercenaries from Western countries in the locality of Derhachi, Kharkiv region,” the state-run TASS…

Rejecting Kremlin Propaganda’s ‘Russophobia’ Claims, Russian Exiles in Warsaw Hope for a Bright Future

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WARSAW, Poland — “Poland has never been a popular immigration destination for Russians,” says Alexandr Menyukov, a Warsaw-based coordinator of Kovcheg, an international group supporting Russian wartime emigres and activists.  “This is, perhaps, understandable, because in Russian propagandists’ list of enemies Poland ranks second after the U.S. It even seems like Russia is fighting the…

‘Worse Than a Monkey With a Grenade’: Russian State TV Reacts to Biden’s Withdrawal, Harris’s Presidential Bid

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Russian state-run TV channels mocked the United States presidential election after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race on Sunday and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s new nominee. Vladimir Solovyov, the host of a popular evening talk show broadcast on the Rossiya 1 channel and one of the Kremlin’s most loyal…

Indonesia Seeks to Buy Russian Oil for the First Time in Decade – Reuters

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Indonesia’s state-owned oil and natural gas corporation Pertamina is looking to purchase Russian oil for the first time in more than a decade, Reuters reported on Monday, citing three anonymous traders familiar with the matter. As Southeast Asia’s largest economy, Indonesia stepped back from buying Russian oil following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but the country…

Russia Sentences U.S.-Russian Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva to 6.5 Years in Prison – AP

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A court in the republic of Tatarstan has sentenced Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva to six-and-a-half years in prison for spreading “fakes” about the army, the Associated Press reported on Monday, citing court records and a court spokeswoman. Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen who works for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), was arrested in October of last…

Liquor Store in Southern Russia Explodes

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A gas explosion ripped through storefronts in southern Russia’s Krasnodar region, injuring at least four people, investigators said Monday. “Building structures collapsed in the city of Apsheronsk as a result of the explosion of a gas-air mixture early this morning,” Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in a statement. Videos published by independent…

Russia’s FSB Says Dismantled Explosives Smuggling Channel From Italy, Germany

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Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced Monday that it dismantled a channel for smuggling explosives and detonators into St. Petersburg from Europe, allegedly intended for carrying out terrorist attacks. “The terrorist weapons were transported in several packages in stages from Italy and Germany and were hidden in spare car parts,” the law enforcement agency said…

Two Killed in Overnight Strikes on Ukraine

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At least two people were killed and four wounded in a Russian airstrike overnight on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, the regional prosecutor said Saturday. “Around 3:15 in the morning the enemy launched a missile attack on the town of Barvinkove, in Izyum district,” the prosecutor said in a statement. The prosecuted said two men aged…

A Priest, a Pianist and a Spy: Russia’s Latest “Foreign Agent” Designations

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Authorities in Russia on Friday designated a Grammy-winning pianist, a priest who helps Ukrainian refugees and a former Soviet spy as “foreign agents,” the latest update to Moscow’s burgeoning list of individuals it deems as enemies of the state. Hundreds of cultural figures, journalists, businesspeople, as well as news outlets and organizations, have been branded “foreign…

Ukrainian Sanctions Halt Lukoil Deliveries to Slovakia, Hungary – Reports

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Oil deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia from Russian oil giant Lukoil have come to a halt due to Ukrainian sanctions, media reported Thursday. Restrictions signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last month effectively banned Russia’s second-largest oil producer Lukoil from using Ukraine as a transit hub. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said late Tuesday that Lukoil…

Moscow ‘Not Ruling Out’ Nuclear Deployment Amid U.S. Plans for Weapons in Germany

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Russia may make a new deployment of nuclear weapons in response to U.S. plans to station missiles in Germany, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Thursday. “I’m not ruling out any options,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying by the state-run Interfax news agency. “Considering the combined capabilities of NATO member countries, we must calibrate…

Russia Bans Ruble Toilet Paper

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A Moscow court has banned the sale of toilet paper with printed patterns of 1,000-ruble bills, the independent news website Vyorstka reported Thursday, citing the court’s ruling. The decorative toilet paper was deemed to “offend religious feelings” since the 1,000-ruble banknote depicts Yaroslav the Wise, an 11th-century Kyivan Rus’ prince who was made a saint…

Russian Court Bans Euthanasia of Stray Animals Unless They Threaten Humans

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Russia’s Constitutional Court has banned the euthanasia of stray animals unless they pose a direct threat to humans, state media reported Thursday. “Killing animals without owners is an extraordinary measure, which is justified only when others cannot ensure an adequate level of protection of a person, their rights and freedoms and public safety,” Russia’s Constitutional…

Putin Warns of Blackouts From ‘Uncontrolled’ Crypto Mining

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President Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday that unregulated cryptocurrency mining risks overloading Russia’s electrical grid and causing widespread power outages. “An uncontrolled increase in electricity consumption for mining cryptocurrencies can lead to power shortages in certain regions,” Putin told senior government officials at a meeting focused on the economy. Russia’s Energy Ministry estimates that crypto mining consumes…

Lithuania Bans Cars With Belarusian Plates

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Lithuania will no longer allow passenger vehicles with Belarusian license plates to enter the country, the Baltic nation’s customs agency announced on Wednesday.  The ban, which takes effect Thursday, applies to passenger cars “regardless of the nationality of their owner or driver,” the agency said. An exception will be made until Aug. 16 for Belarusian…

Russia, Ukraine Swap 190 Prisoners of War

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Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 190 captured soldiers as part of a deal mediated by the United Arab Emirates, the Russian Defense Ministry announced Wednesday. “As a result of a negotiation process, 95 Russian servicemen … have been returned,” the ministry wrote on Telegram, adding that 95 Ukrainian soldiers had also been released. Ukraine’s human…