Russia Sues Kremlin Critic Khodorkovsky, Ex-Business Partner 

Russian prosecutors have filed an unspecified lawsuit against the exiled former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his one-time business partner Platon Lebedev, the Vedomosti business newspaper reported Thursday. Moscow’s Meshchansky District Court registered the suit against Khodorkovsky, Lebedev, and the defunct Siberian Leasing Company on May 8, the newspaper said, citing Russia’s database of court cases. Initial…

Russia Labels Independent News Outlet SOTA ‘Undesirable’

Russian authorities on Thursday labeled the independent news outlet SOTA as “undesirable,” effectively banning anyone from working with or having links to the organization. Russia’s General Prosector’s Office, which announced the designation, described SOTA’s news coverage as “nothing more than an outright attempt to destabilize the socio-political situation inside Russia.” It also accused the news…

Ukraine Accuses Russian Troops of Killing Civilians in Kharkiv Region

Ukraine on Thursday accused Russia of detaining and killing civilians in the border town of Vovchansk in the northeastern Kharkiv region, where Russian forces launched a ground assault last week. “Russian troops are taking civilians prisoner,” Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko wrote on Telegram, adding that intelligence reports suggested Russian forces “trying to gain a foothold in…

No Changes Planned for General Staff, Putin Says

President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that he does not plan to make any personnel changes to Russia’s General Staff following the ouster of longtime Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu earlier this week. General Valery Gerasimov will appear to maintain his position as chief of Russia’s General Staff, the central organ of command of the country’s armed forces, despite the ongoing…

Putin Appoints 5 New Regional Governors

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday named five successors to regional governors who were promoted to federal office earlier this week as part of a wider government reshuffle. In the central Tula region, former governor Alexei Dyumin’s deputy Dmitry Milyayev was appointed as the new acting regional head. Milyayev has held public office in the Tula…

Russian Strikes Wound 20 in Ukraine’s Kharkiv City

Russian strikes on the center of Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv injured 20 people on Tuesday, officials said. The city, located in Ukraine’s northeast just 30 kilometers from Russia’s border, has faced intensifying aerial attacks in recent months. Moscow also launched a major assault on the wider Kharkiv region last week, capturing several border villages…

Russia’s Incoming Defense Minister Pledges Military Overhaul

Russia’s incoming Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said Tuesday that he will work toward increasing the military’s effectiveness so that Moscow can achieve “victory” in its war against Ukraine. “The main priority, of course, remains achieving victory and ensuring that the military-political goals of the special military operation… are achieved,” Belousov said in an address to Russia’s…

‘Welcome to the Russian World’: Defying Protests, Georgian Lawmakers Approve ‘Foreign Influence’ Bill

TBILISI, Georgia — Georgian lawmakers approved a controversial bill on regulating “foreign influence” in its third and final reading on Tuesday, defying the country’s largest protests in years. The legislation has plunged the South Caucasus country into a political crisis, with tens of thousands rallying against what they say mirrors Russia’s repressive “foreign agent” law…

Putin Appoints Ex-Security Chief as Presidential Aide

President Vladimir Putin has appointed the long-serving Russian Security Council chairman Nikolai Patrushev as a presidential aide, the Kremlin announced Tuesday. Patrushev, 73, was dismissed on Sunday after serving 16 years as head of Russia’s Security Council, an executive branch body that advises the president on strategic and security issues. Long considered a key member…

Second Russian Defense Ministry Official Arrested for Bribery

Updated to add the Investigative Committee’s confirmation. Russian law enforcement authorities have arrested another senior Defense Ministry official on criminal bribery allegations, the country’s Investigative Committee confirmed Tuesday. Lieutenant-General Yury Kuznetsov, who heads the Defense Ministry’s personnel directorate, has been placed in pre-trial detention on large-scale bribery charges, the Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said. Investigators…

Russia Adds Journalist Kevorkova to ‘Terrorists and Extremists’ List

Russia’s state financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring has added journalist Nadezhda Kevorkova to its list of “terrorists and extremists,” the state-run news agency TASS reported Monday. Kevorkova, 65, is a Russian war correspondent, author, and filmmaker who has written about the Middle East and Russia’s North Caucasus for both independent and state-funded media.  A Moscow court last…

Woman Killed in Ukrainian Drone Strike on Russia’s Kursk Region

A Ukrainian drone strike in western Russia’s Kursk region has killed one woman and injured three others, regional authorities said Monday. “Today, Ukrainian terrorists deliberately attacked vehicles with drones in the Glushkovsky district,” the Kursk regional government said on Telegram. “One woman died at the scene, three other people were injured,” it said, noting that the…

Moscow Claims More Advances in Ukraine’s Kharkiv Region

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday that its forces had captured four more villages in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region as thousands of residents were evacuated amid Moscow’s surprise ground offensive. The ministry said its forces had “advanced deeply into the enemy defenses” and taken villages including Gatishche, Krasnoye, Morokhovets, and Oleinikovo. Ukraine’s military, meanwhile, said it was…

Russia Claims Gains in Ukraine’s Kharkiv Region

Russia on Saturday said it had captured five villages in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region during a surprise ground offensive that prompted mass evacuations, as President Volodymyr Zelensky made an urgent call for military aid. Moscow’s Defense Ministry said its troops had “liberated” five villages in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region near the Russian border — Borysivka, Ohirtseve,…

Russia Launches New Ground Offensive Against Northeastern Ukraine

Russian forces launched a surprise ground offensive into Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region on Friday, as Ukrainian authorities told civilians along border areas to flee amid heavy fighting. “Russia launched a new wave of counteroffensive actions… Ukraine met them there with our troops, brigades, and artillery,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a briefing. “Now there…

Russian Lawmakers Approve Mishustin’s Return as PM

Updated with voting results. Russian lawmakers on Friday approved President Vladimir Putin’s nomination of Mikhail Mishustin to return as prime minister, a sign that the Kremlin is banking on continuity and stability as it presses ahead with its full-scale war against Ukraine. Mishustin, a low-profile technocrat who has steered Russia’s economy through a storm of Western sanctions and…

Estonia Summons Russian Envoy Over Alleged GPS Jamming

Estonia on Wednesday summoned Russia’s charge d’affaires over alleged GPS interference around its airspace, claiming that recent disruptions to civilian air traffic were “hybrid activity” orchestrated by Moscow. Estonia and fellow Baltic states Latvia and Lithuania warned last month that widespread Russian GPS jamming was increasing the threat of an aviation accident occurring in their…