U.K. Sanctions 3 Russian PR Firms, Senior Managers

Britain’s government on Monday unveiled new sanctions on three Russian public relations firms and their top managers, accusing them of “attempting to undermine and destabilize Ukraine and its democracy.” London said it was targeting Russia’s state-funded Social Design Agency (SDA), its partner company Structura and another firm called Ano Dialog, as well as three senior…

Russia’s FSB Says 4 ‘Saboteurs’ Killed in Attempted Border Incursion in Bryansk Region

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said Monday that its agents killed four “saboteurs” who tried to cross into the western Bryansk region from Ukraine. “FSB border guards, together with the units of Russia’s armed forces and the National Guard, thwarted an attempt to cross over the Russian state border in the Klimovsky district on Oct. 27,” the…

Finland Seizes Russian Cultural Center in Helsinki After Ukrainian Gas Provider Wins Lawsuit

Finnish authorities have begun seizing Russian state-owned property in the country after a Hague-based court ordered Moscow to compensate Ukraine’s national gas provider for assets it lost during the annexation of Crimea, the Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat reported Monday. Finland’s National Enforcement Authority, an agency of the country’s justice ministry, reportedly seized the 3,326-square-meter (35,800…

Russian Police Raid Homes of Romani People After Ethnic Tensions Flare in Chelyabinsk Region

Police in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region detained around 20 Roma for “crime prevention talks” after ethnic tensions flared last week over a woman’s murder, local media reported Sunday. Enraged residents in the town of Korkino gathered Thursday night outside homes believed to belong to Roma, where they damaged property and clashed with riot police. The unrest…

Punitive Psychiatry: An Increasingly Common Tool in Russia’s Crackdown on Activists

An increasing number of Russian political activists have been placed in forced psychiatric treatment — a practice dating back to the Soviet era that involves confinement in mental hospitals.  According to rights activists, some political prisoners who have undergone this treatment report being subjected to humiliation, beatings and being injected with powerful antipsychotic drugs. The number of…

Kremlin ‘Strongly Rejects’ Accusations of Election Interference in Georgia

The Kremlin on Monday said it “strongly rejects” accusations from Georgia’s president that it interfered in this past weekend’s parliamentary elections. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili claimed that Moscow was behind election fraud in Georgia, saying it was part of a “Russian special operation.” “We strongly reject these accusations. There was no intervention. These accusations are…

St. Petersburg Opposition Lawmaker Vishnevsky Resigns Over ‘Foreign Agent’ Ban

St. Petersburg opposition lawmaker Boris Vishnevsky said Monday that he would step down from the regional legislative assembly to comply with new amendments to Russia’s “foreign agent” law. In May, federal lawmakers passed legislation prohibiting “foreign agents” from running in elections, changes introduced after several people hit with designation said they planned to run for local…

Russia’s Vladimir Region Bans Hijabs in Schools

Authorities in Russia’s Vladimir region have banned students from wearing hijabs while at school. According to the ban, which was enacted last week Tuesday, “clothing and elements demonstrating the student’s religious affiliation… are not allowed inside educational institutions,” including hijabs and niqabs. The Vladimir region’s Education Ministry insisted in a statement on Saturday that the ban…

Russian Army Claims New Advance in East Ukraine

Russia said Sunday its military had advanced further in east Ukraine, capturing a frontline village just a few kilometers north of a key Ukrainian-held industrial hub. Moscow has made steady gains on the battlefield for months, pressing their advantage against overstretched and outmanned Ukrainian forces. Russian army units “liberated the settlement of Izmailovka,” the Russian…

Russia Labels Telegram News Channel Astra ‘Foreign Agent’

Authorities in Russia designated the anti-war Telegram news channel Astra as a “foreign agent” on Friday. Russia’s Justice Ministry accused Astra of spreading “inaccurate information” about government policy in order to promote a “negative image” of the Russian military. “[Astra] opposed the special military operation in Ukraine… The creator and editor-in-chief of the internet portal reside outside…

Putin Appoints Former Separatist Commander to Security Council

President Vladimir Putin on Friday appointed Lieutenant Colonel Artyom Zhoga, currently the Kremlin’s envoy to the Urals Federal District, to Russia’s National Security Council. Zhoga, a former military officer from the Russian-occupied Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, gained prominence last year after publicly urging Putin to seek re-election in the 2025 presidential race. Earlier this…

Police in Central Russia Arrest Politician for Using Slave Labor, Defrauding Soldier

A local politician in central Russia’s Vladimir region was charged with using slave labor and defrauding a soldier who fought in the Ukraine war, regional investigators said Friday. According to the Vladimir region branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee, the politician allegedly led an organized criminal group that stole 1 million rubles ($10,350) from a soldier’s…

Elon Musk Held Secret Talks With Putin Amid Shifting Views on Ukraine – WSJ

U.S. billionaire Elon Musk held secret talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin throughout the war in Ukraine as his initial support for Kyiv appeared to shift in Moscow’s favor, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing several anonymous current and ex-U.S., European and Russian officials. The private conversations reportedly addressed personal topics, business and geopolitical…

Russian Police Arrest Current, Former Energy Officials in Fraud Probe

Russian law enforcement authorities have arrested one current and one former deputy energy minister on suspicion of fraud, the Kommersant business daily reported Thursday, citing anonymous sources. Federal Security Service (FSB) agents reportedly first arrested Anatoly Yanovsky, who oversaw policy on Russia’s coal industry as deputy energy minister between 2008 and 2021. Current Deputy Energy…

Russia Grants Yanukovych’s Oldest Son Citizenship

The oldest surviving son of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych received Russian citizenship, state media reported Thursday, citing documents it said it had obtained. Government records reportedly list businessman Oleksandr Yanukovych, 51, as a Ukrainian citizen when he registered a financial and industrial services company in St. Petersburg. The state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported that…

Turkey Quietly Blocks Military-Linked Goods Exports to Russia After U.S. Warnings – FT

Turkey secretly blocked the export of U.S. military-linked goods to Russia following warnings from Washington, the Financial Times reported, citing three anonymous sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Ankara, which originally embraced the role of Moscow’s lifeline from Western sanctions, reportedly made the move in recent weeks without a public announcement due to the…

Russian Parliament Speaker Calls for Extradition of Ex-Putin Aide Chubais

Russian State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin on Wednesday called for the extradition of former Putin aide and veteran reformer Anatoly Chubais over corruption allegations. Chubais served as the Kremlin’s climate envoy before quitting his position and leaving Russia shortly after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022. President Vladimir Putin previously suggested Chubais fled the country…

Kursk Region Police Search Lawmaker’s Business Over Border Defense Failures

Law enforcement authorities in southwestern Russia’s Kursk region searched the business of a regional lawmaker over reported defense failures that Ukrainian forces exploited during their cross-border incursion this summer. Ukrainian forces launched a surprise attack in the Kursk region on Aug. 6, breaching two lines of defensive fortifications that reportedly cost 15 billion rubles ($109…

North Korea Sent 1,500 More Troops to Russia, South Korea’s Spy Agency Tells Lawmakers

North Korea sent an additional 1,500 troops to Russia, South Korea’s intelligence agency told lawmakers Wednesday, with around 10,000 soldiers total expected to be deployed by December. The latest deployment brings the number of North Korean troops in Russia to 3,000, lawmaker Park Sun-won said after the National Intelligence Service (NIS) gave a briefing. “An…