Russia is waging an intense disinformation campaign aimed at tarnishing the reputation of the International Olympic Committee and stoking fears of violence at this summer’s games in Paris, according to a new report from Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center. According to Microsoft, the influence operations use a potent mix of fake videos, fictitious news stories, and…
Russia’s second-largest lender VTB Bank announced Tuesday that it plans to open new offices in occupied Ukraine this year. “The bank will open two new branches in Luhansk in July and, by the end of the year, it plans to start customer service in Mariupol and Donetsk,” VTB said in a statement. The three cities are located in…
Updated with Turchak appointment. Oleg Khorokhordin announced Tuesday that he was stepping down as governor of the Siberian republic of Altai, making him the third regional head to resign within a week as the country prepares for regional elections in September. “I’m resigning from the post of head of the Altai Republic in connection with…
On a recent May afternoon, a Russian train trundles through the country’s southwestern regions near the border with Ukraine. The train’s dining car is packed with Russian soldiers. Some are heading to the front lines in Ukraine, where their country has been waging war for over two years, while others are returning home for a…
American actor George Clooney denied on Monday that the human rights organization he co-founded with his wife intends to seek the arrest of Russian journalists who support Moscow’s war against Ukraine. The legal director at the Clooney Foundation for Justice’s Docket initiative, Anya Neistat, had previously said the organization was seeking the arrest and extradition…
Three people including a 12-year-old boy were killed in Russian attacks on eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces have claimed steady advances in recent weeks, local authorities said Monday. The head of the Donetsk region, which the Kremlin claimed to have annexed in late 2022, said two people were killed and another wounded by Russian attacks…
A group of women staged a rare protest outside the Russian Defense Ministry building in Moscow on Monday, demanding the return of their loved ones drafted to fight in Ukraine and a meeting with new Defense Minister Andrei Belousov. Around 15 women, some with small children, gathered outside the building holding up hand-written placards saying…
Russia’s manufacturing sector saw near-record employment growth in May, according to a new report from S&P Global, as an already tight labor market struggles to meet the surge in demand for workers. S&P Global’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for Russian manufacturing rose to 54.4 last month compared to 54.3 in April. A PMI value above 50…
Russian law enforcement authorities will investigate pop star Olga Buzova for performing on Children’s Day in a revealing outfit that sparked outrage among conservative figures, investigators said Monday. Buzova was among the headliners at VK Fest 2024, an event organized by the social media website VKontakte in the republic of Bashkortostan’s capital city Ufa on…
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived on Monday in Guinea, his ministry said, marking his first trip to the West African country since 2013. Moscow, which has seen its relations with the West plummet since invading Ukraine in February 2022, has in recent years sought to boost its influence in Africa. Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced…
Fighters from Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s Akhmat military unit have been deployed to northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region amid Russia’s recent offensive, the unit’s commander Apti Alaudinov said Monday. “The fighters have been transferred to different sites along the entire line of contact that had to be covered up,” the state-run news agency TASS quoted Major…
Nine people were wounded in Ukrainian strikes on the Russian border regions of Belgorod and Kursk, the respective regional governors said on Sunday. “Six civilians were wounded as a result of the bombardment of Shebekino town,” Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram, adding that they had been taken to hospital. All six, five of…
Mourners and soldiers on Saturday laid flowers at a new statue of Yevgeny Prigozhin, a pro-Kremlin mercenary who staged a mutiny and died in a plane crash, at his grave in Saint Petersburg. Prigozhin was head of the Wagner private militia, which fought alongside Russian troops in Ukraine, capturing the city of Bakhmut in a…
Russia fired a combined 100 missiles and drones at Ukraine overnight in a barrage that targeted energy sites across the country, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday. Russia has launched dozens of aerial attacks at Ukraine’s power facilities throughout the war, causing significant damage and energy shortages as Ukraine’s stretched air defenses struggle to repel the…
Ukrainian shelling attacks killed five people in Russian-occupied areas of the eastern Donetsk region on Friday, Moscow-installed authorities said. The Kremlin often accuses Kyiv of indiscriminate attacks on civilians. Ukraine denies the claims, saying it bombs only military targets responsible for deadly strikes on its own civilians. “Five people were killed,” Russian-installed top official of…
Russia on Friday labeled a women’s organization campaigning for the return of mobilized men from Ukraine and a former pro-peace presidential candidate “foreign agents.” Moscow uses the label, heavy in Soviet-era connotations, on Kremlin critics to silence dissent. Russia’s Justice Ministry included the Put’ Domoi (Way Home) movement, which has organized women-led protests in Moscow…
The United States on Thursday finally joined a growing number of its NATO allies in allowing Ukraine to use weapons donated by the West to strike military targets on Russian territory. Officials said Ukraine would only be allowed to defend the embattled Kharkiv region, which is under bombardment by missiles and glide bombs launched inside…
The European Union on Friday imposed sanctions against Primorye region Governor Oleg Kozhemyako in Russia’s Far East over what it said were arms supplies to North Korea in violation of UN sanctions. Kozhemyako was seen gifting kamikaze and reconnaissance drones, as well as a bulletproof vest, to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his…
G7 foreign ministers said Friday they were “gravely concerned” about deepening cooperation between Russia and North Korea, particularly arms transfers from Pyongyang to Moscow for use on the battlefield in Ukraine. “We are gravely concerned by the deepening DPRK-Russia cooperation in flagrant violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions,” they said in a statement…
Traffic along the Trans-Siberian Railway was partially disrupted on Friday after a cargo train flew off the tracks, crashing into trees and setting a nearby forest on fire, the local rail operator said. A total of 29 cars carrying coal were derailed at 2:30 p.m. local time in Far East Russia’s Amur region, causing damage…
A Russian court on Friday extended the pre-trial detention of U.S.-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva until August, nearly a year after she was first charged with spreading “false information” about the army. Kurmasheva, who works for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), was arrested last year for failing to register as a “foreign agent.” She was subsequently charged with…
Moscow and Kyiv have traded 150 prisoners of war with the help of mediators from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Friday, the first such exchange after months of stalled talks between the two warring sides. “As a result of negotiations, 75 Russian servicemen, who were in mortal danger in captivity, were…
Dmitry Azarov announced Friday that he was stepping down as governor of southern Russia’s Samara region, making him the second regional head to resign this week ahead of gubernatorial elections later this year. “I’ve made a decision to complete my work in the governor’s post,” Azarov said in a video address to residents posted on…
Russia’s Finance Ministry submitted a major tax reform plan this week that seeks to introduce a progressive tax system and increase corporations’ contributions to the state budget. The reform, if passed, promises to generate nearly 3 trillion rubles ($33.2 billion) per year at a time when government spending on the war in Ukraine continues to…
Berlin has given Ukraine permission to fire German-delivered weapons at targets in Russia, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokesman said Friday, matching a move by the United States. Kyiv has the “right under international law to defend itself” against attacks coming from inside Russia, Steffen Hebestreit said in a statement. Attacks from Russian territory have increased in…
Russian forces are advancing on all fronts in Ukraine and have seized some 880 square kilometers of territory this year alone, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said on Friday. If confirmed, Russia would have made more gains in the past five months than in all of 2023, when the front line remained largely static despite a…
An overnight Ukrainian drone strike in southern Russia’s Krasnodar region sparked a large fire and injured at least two workers at an oil depot, regional authorities said Friday. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defense systems destroyed 29 Ukrainian drones and five missiles over the region. Krasnodar region Governor Venyamin Kondratyev said an aerial attack…
President Joe Biden has lifted restrictions on Ukraine using weapons supplied by the United States against targets on Russian territory, but only to defend the under-fire Kharkiv region, U.S. officials said Thursday. Biden has come under increasing pressure from a desperate Ukraine to ease his ban but had so far resisted amid fears it could…
Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence service said Thursday that its forces had used naval drones to destroy two Russian patrol boats off Moscow-annexed Crimea. The GUR wrote on Telegram that its Group 13 special forces unit “successfully attacked the boats of the aggressor state of Russia in temporarily occupied Crimea” using Ukrainian naval drones. It said…
Denmark’s Foreign Minister said Ukraine would be allowed to attack targets inside Russia with F-16 fighter jets it sends as part of military support for Kyiv, Ukrainian media reported Thursday. “The short answer is yes,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen was quoted as saying in Brussels by the news website European Pravda when asked…
A small Indigenous community in Russia’s Far East republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is challenging a gold-mining giant owned by Russian magnate Alexei Mordashov in what they deem a last-ditch attempt to preserve their traditional livelihoods. Residents of Tyanya, an Evenk village of about 470 people in Sakha’s southeastern Olyokminsky district, this month called on President…
Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence service said Thursday that its forces had used waterborne drones to destroy two Russian patrol boats off the coast of the annexed Crimean peninsula. The GUR said its Group 13 special forces unit “successfully attacked the boats of the aggressor state of Russia in temporarily occupied Crimea,” adding that Russian fighter…
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday it is seeking the release of hundreds of its ex-soldiers fighting for Russia, as well as around a dozen prisoners of war in Ukraine. The Sri Lankan government opened an investigation earlier this month into the illegal recruitment of its citizens for the war, identifying 455 former soldiers who…
Estonia on Thursday passed a law that allows the authorities to transfer frozen Russian assets in the country to Ukraine as compensation for damages caused by Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Estonian President Alar Karis said the confiscation of assets “raises unresolved legal questions,” but assured they would only be used if the owner’s role in Russia’s…
EU member states on Thursday agreed to impose “prohibitive” duties on grain imports from Russia in a bid to limit revenues to Moscow as it continues to wage war on neighboring Ukraine. The latest measure will “tackle illegal Russian exports of stolen Ukraine grain into EU markets,” the EU’s trade commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis, said on…
Rosneft’s investments in projects for the beneficial use of associated petroleum gas totalled 225 billion roubles from 2013 to 2023
Popular travel blogger Ilya Varlamov has been charged with “discrediting” the Russian armed forces, the independent news website Mediazona reported Thursday, citing the Moscow court system’s open database of cases. Moscow’s Tverskoy District Court registered a lawsuit against Varlamov that was filed by the local prosecutor’s office. The blogger is accused of “discrediting” the army…
Natalia Komarova announced Thursday that she was stepping down after serving 14 years as governor of western Siberia’s oil-rich Khanty-Mansi autonomous district, making her resignation the first in what are seen as regular cadre changes ahead of regional elections. “I’m completing my work,” Komarova, 68, said in a video address to residents of the region,…
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that it downed 13 Ukrainian drones in the southern Krasnodar region and areas close to the annexed Crimean peninsula. On Thursday morning, “five Ukrainian aerial drones were shot down by anti-aircraft defense systems in the Krasnodar region,” the ministry said in a statement. Another eight drones were intercepted during the…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday authorized the state-owned telecoms giant Rostelekom to buy out Finnish mobile operator Nokia’s stake in a Russian joint venture. Under laws introduced in response to Western sanctions, the Kremlin leader must personally approve any deal that involves the exit of a Western company operating in sectors of the economy…
A Moscow court on Wednesday ruled to uphold the four-year prison sentence for Russian nationalist and ex-rebel commander Igor Girkin. Girkin, a convicted war criminal in the West better known by his pseudonym Igor Strelkov, was arrested last summer after criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin for his handling of the war against Ukraine. In January,…
AMSTERDAM — An exhibition dedicated to political prisoners in Russia opened in the heart of the Dutch capital on Tuesday. “Faces of Russian Resistance” displays 16 stories of politicians, activists, artists and public figures designated as political prisoners by human rights groups. “We understand that hundreds of people are now in prison based on political…
A Moscow court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by imprisoned dissident Oleg Orlov to be removed from the Russian Justice Ministry’s “foreign agent” list. Orlov, 71, who is serving a two-and-a-half-year prison term for criticizing the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, was designated a “foreign agent” ahead of his sentencing in February. Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky court upheld…
Major online retailers in Russia have started selling foreign-made household appliances destined for the Ukrainian market, the business newspaper Kommersant reported Wednesday, citing local distributors. Among the e-commerce sites offering products intended for Ukrainian consumers are Ozon and Wildberries, which have been found to sell Bosch washing machines and LG Smart TVs that bear Ukrainian…
Investigators on Wednesday searched the home and offices of an EU parliament staffer as part of an investigation into suspected Russian interference and corruption, the Belgian state prosecutor’s office said. According to a source close to the investigation, the target of the raids is Guillaume Pradoura, a former assistant to embattled EU lawmaker Maximilian Krah…
AMSTERDAM — A live event headlined by two Russian television celebrities has sparked controversy in the Netherlands, with critics decrying the presence of what they call Russian propagandists on European stages during Moscow’s war on Ukraine. Veteran Channel One host Vladimir Pozner and late-night talk show host Ivan Urgant’s European tour, called “The Travels of…
The Russian division of Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank will stop processing outgoing payments in U.S. dollars starting on June 10, the bank announced Wednesday, citing “changed requirements of correspondent banks.” “This change affects all bank clients… All payments in dollars correctly completed and sent before 16:00 on June 7 will be carried out taking into account…
Russia’s human rights commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova has blamed the authorities in Kyiv for roadblocking efforts to secure the further release of prisoners of war, the state-run Interfax news agency reported Wednesday. “Unfortunately, exchanges have been suspended for several months due to Ukraine constantly making new and far-fetched demands,” Moskalkova was quoted as saying by Interfax…
President Vladimir Putin’s former personal security guard and newly appointed presidential aide Alexei Dyumin was tapped to head Russia’s State Council on Wednesday. “Aide to the president Alexei Dyumin has been appointed Secretary of the State Council of the Russian Federation by presidential executive order,” an announcement on the Kremlin’s website read. Russia’s State Council is…
KHIMKI, Moscow region — On a sunny May afternoon, a young man named Yevgeny sits on a bench in a courtyard, watching his child run around on the playground. Two years ago, when his family chose this location in the Moscow region as their home, it seemed like it could be a perfect fit. After…
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Tuesday of “serious consequences” if Western countries allowed Ukraine to use their weapons to strike Russia. Speaking in Uzbekistan, Putin’s comments came in response to calls within some NATO member states to allow Ukraine to hit targets inside Russia. “This constant escalation can lead to serious consequences,” Putin said. “In…
Russian tech companies Yandex and VKontakte are being grilled by government officials for making their homegrown artificial intelligence chatbots avoid subjects related to the invasion of Ukraine, the Kommersant business daily reported Tuesday. Presidential Human Rights Council chief Valery Fadeyev said he was surprised to learn that Yandex’s Alisa and VKontakte’s Marusia refuse to answer when…
Russian tech companies Yandex and VK are being grilled by pro-war figures for making their homegrown artificial intelligence chatbots avoid subjects related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Kommersant business daily reported Tuesday. Russia’s presidential Human Rights Council chief Valery Fadeyev said he was surprised to learn that Yandex’s Alisa and VK’s Marusia refuse to…
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday ordered Russia to pay $56,500 in damages to the jailed mother of a prominent critic of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Zarema Musaeva, the mother of exiled Chechen human rights lawyer and activist Abubakar Yangulbaev, was violently detained in Nizhny Novgorod and forcibly taken to Chechnya in…
Russia’s Main Directorate for Traffic Safety (GIBDD) has been renamed back to the Soviet-era State Automobile Inspectorate (GAI), the state-run TASS news agency reported Tuesday, citing the head of the traffic police force. “We’ve now become the State Automobile Inspectorate,” the agency head Mikhail Chernkiv said during an Interior Ministry meeting on Tuesday. Soviet authorities…
A Russian court has extended the pre-trial detention of two lawyers who represented the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the independent news website Mediazona reported Tuesday. Vadim Kobzev, Alexei Lipster, and Igor Sergunin were arrested last October on accusations of participating in “extremist” activities for passing Navalny’s letters on to his associates. Russia in 2021 outlawed Navalny’s…
A court in Siberia has rejected an appeal by Ksenia Fadeyeva, an ally of the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, against her nine-year prison sentence for “extremism,” local media reported Tuesday. Fadeyeva, Navalny’s former regional coordinator in the city of Tomsk, was among his few allies who remained in Russia despite the risk of criminal prosecution…
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday urged countries to balance fear of escalation against Ukraine’s need to defend itself, saying Kyiv had the right to use Western arms to strike in Russia. “According with the law of war, it is perfectly possible and there is no contradiction. “I could retaliate or I could…
Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna is being held in custody in Russia nine months after her disappearance, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) said, citing a letter from the Russian Defense Ministry to her father. Roshchyna, an award-winning freelance journalist, went missing in August while attempting to enter the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine for…
Western companies are reconsidering leaving Russia amid increasing Kremlin-imposed exit costs, difficulty finding suitable buyers and rebounding consumer activity, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. As of last month, 2,175 foreign companies remain in Russia compared with 1,610 that left or scaled back operations, according to the Kyiv School of Economics. Some remaining companies are increasingly open about…