A major television tower was toppled in Ukraine’s war-battered city of Kharkiv on Monday after bombardments from Russia forces, as the country’s head of military intelligence warned the situation on the front lines would likely deteriorate in coming weeks. An AFP journalist in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, saw the red-and-white spire of the 240-meter structure…
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been living with a diagnosis of pancreatic necrosis for more than five years, the independent news website Novaya Gazeta Europe reported Monday, citing anonymous sources at the Moscow presidential hospital where he was allegedly treated. His deteriorating condition has reportedly prompted the Kremlin to start working on a succession plan to…
A Russian court has sentenced Meta spokesman Andy Stone to six years in prison in absentia on “terrorism” charges linked to the company’s wartime content moderation policy, the independent Mediazona news website reported Monday. Stone was charged with the “promotion,” “public calls for” and “justification” of terrorism after his March 2022 announcement that the Facebook and Instagram parent…
A Moscow resident has been sentenced to five years of correctional labor on charges linked to a street interview he gave to the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) news outlet, the OVD-Info rights watchdog reported Monday. Yury Kokhovets, 39, was approached by RFE/RL journalists in Moscow in July 2022 and asked whether a de-escalation…
Russia has threatened to take a tit-for-tat response after the U.S. Congress passed legislation that would allow the transfer of confiscated Russian assets for Ukraine’s reconstruction. The U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday approved long-delayed military aid to Ukraine that also contains provisions for the Biden administration to sell confiscated Russian assets and hand the…
Three people have been killed and two injured in a fire at a machine-building plant in the southern Russian city of Voronezh, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said Monday. Eyewitness footage shared by local social media channels showed thick black smoke coming out of a two-story industrial building and spreading to nearby streets. The fire engulfed around 500 square…
Two traffic police officers have been killed and one seriously wounded in an armed attack in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Karachayevo-Cherkessia, law enforcement authorities said Monday. “The gunman fired several shots at the police officers, then stole their service weapons and ammunition,” the regional branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in…
Ukraine said Sunday its navy had struck a salvage ship belonging to Russia’s Black Sea fleet on the annexed Crimean peninsula, putting it out of service. It did not say where the attack took place, but social media footage purportedly filmed in the Crimean port of Sevastopol showed a ship in flames. “Today, the Ukrainian…
Russia said Sunday its forces had gained territory near the key battleground town of Chasiv Yar in east Ukraine, highlighting the pressure facing Kyiv as it gears up to receive $61 billion in new U.S. aid. After nearly a year-and-a-half delay, the United States House of Representatives finally approved the aid package in a vote…
Moscow on Saturday slammed the approval by the U.S. House of Representatives for an aid package to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. “The allocation of U.S. military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan will exacerbate global crises,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram. She called aid for Kyiv “direct support for terrorist activities” and…
Ukraine and Russia both accused each other of deadly strikes on civilians Saturday, as U.S. lawmakers prepared to vote on a $61 billion aid package Kyiv hopes will boost its flagging war effort. Ukraine’s biggest ally Washington has not approved large-scale support for the war-torn country in nearly a year and a half, a delay…
Ukraine launched drones at eight Russian regions overnight, hitting three electrical substations and a fuel depot, a source in Ukraine’s defence sector told AFP on Saturday. Kyiv has ramped up strikes on Russian oil and gas facilities in recent months, part of what it calls “fair” retaliation on infrastructure used to fuel Russia’s war. “At…
Russian forces shelled two residential buildings in Ukraine’s north east Kharkiv region on Saturday, killing one person and injuring another, authorities said. The attack took place in Vovchansk, a city that lies about five kilometres (three miles) from the Russian border and has been frequently targeted throughout the war. “Russian troops hit a nine-storey building…
Russia’s Izvestia newspaper said Saturday one of its military correspondents was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia. The attack took place on Friday as the journalist Semyon Eremin and his film crew returned from a reporting trip to the frontline village of Pryiutne, Izvestia said. “Eremin’s film crew was…
A Ukrainian drone strike overnight killed two people in Russia’s frontier Belgorod region, its governor said early Saturday. A residential building and a barn in the village of Poroz were “completely burned down”, Vyacheslav Gladkov said. Another building was severely damaged. “As a result of the release of two explosive devices, a private residential building caught…
A U.S. citizen known to have fought with pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine between 2014 and 2017 has been killed in Moscow-occupied Donetsk, Russian media reported Friday. Russia-installed authorities in eastern Ukraine had earlier this month reported the American — 64-year-old Russell Bentley — as missing. “Russell Bentley, known as ‘Texas,’ a real American, truly from…
Russian officials face various restrictions on their ability to travel abroad, the Kremlin said Friday after a Reuters report linked the limits to fears that foreign powers could attempt to gain access to state secrets. “All [state] organizations have nuances in the current system of approving travel abroad,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in his daily…
A high-ranking official in Russia’s Ural Mountains region of Perm was forced to resign after a video filmed by his son at a resort in Bali sparked public backlash. Alexei Dyomkin, the Perm region government’s deputy chairman, announced his resignation on Thursday, just days after his son Ilya posted a video in which he boasted…
Russia has made clear to Israel that Iran “does not want escalation,” Moscow’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday, after reports Israel had carried out retaliatory strikes against its arch-rival. “There have been telephone contacts between the leadership of Russia and Iran, our representatives and the Israelis. We made it very clear in these conversations,…
A journalist for a leading St. Petersburg news website has had her home searched by police in connection with a criminal probe against prominent exiled investigative journalist Andrei Zakharov, the outlet, Fontanka.ru, reported Friday. Reporter Ksenia Klochkova was reportedly named a witness in the case against Zakharov. “The searches at Ksenia’s are allegedly part of this…
Two people have been detained in Poland on suspicion of attacking Leonid Volkov, an exiled ally of late Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, the president of Lithuania announced Friday. Volkov, who has lived in exile since Moscow banned Navalny’s groups as “extremist” organizations in 2021, was in mid-March assaulted with a hammer outside his home in Vilnius,…
Three people have been detained in Poland in connection with the March attack on Leonid Volkov, an exiled ally of late Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, in Lithuania, Vilnius and Warsaw announced Friday. Volkov, who has lived in exile since Moscow banned Navalny’s groups as “extremist” organizations in 2021, was in mid-March assaulted with a hammer outside…
In Washington, the U.S. House of Representatives is gearing up for a crucial weekend vote on a long-stalled $61 billion package of military aid for Kyiv that could deliver much-needed weapons to Ukrainian soldiers struggling on the front lines. In a boost for their forces, Kyiv said it had downed a Russian long-range strategic bomber…
Ukraine said Friday that, for the first time since Russia’s invasion, it had downed a Russian long-range bomber used to fire cruise missiles at cities across the war-battered country. “For the first time, anti-aircraft missile units of the air force in cooperation with the defense intelligence of Ukraine destroyed a Tu-22M3 long-range strategic bomber,” Ukraine’s…
What is driving the record-bad flooding that has devastated parts of Russia and Kazakhstan and forced tens of thousands of people to escape the fast-rising water? AFP looks at the worst flooding in decades to hit this region: Spring and snow Spring floods in Russia and northern Kazakhstan “are to be expected and are a…
A man suspected of aiding a plot by Russian intelligence services to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been arrested in Poland, Polish and Ukrainian prosecutors said Thursday. The Polish national, named only as Pawel K., is suspected of supplying information to Russian military intelligence and “helping the Russian special forces to plan a possible…
A memorial to Russian sailors killed during the war in Ukraine appears to show that 19 sailors were killed in the sinking of the Moskva battleship, according to photos shared by pro-war bloggers and analyzed by independent media. Russia’s Defense Ministry has confirmed one death and 27 missing sailors in the April 13, 2022, sinking of the…
Glaciers on Russia’s Far East Kamchatka Peninsula have shrunk by over a third since the mid-20th century, the state-run TASS news agency reported, citing Russian scientists’ measurements. Known as the “land of fire and ice” because of its active volcanoes and expansive glaciers, Kamchatka is now threatened by climate change, with glacier melt accelerating this century.…
The Kremlin on Thursday denounced the seizure in France of a villa allegedly owned by Russian businessman Artur Ocheretny, the new partner of President Vladimir Putin’s ex-wife. The property, in the southwestern coastal town of Anglet, was seized in December 2023 as part of an investigation into money laundering, prosecutors said Wednesday. “Any encroachment on…
Russia saw a 10% drop in marriages last year despite state efforts to encourage citizens to start families, according to official data cited by the broadcaster RTVI. Around 950,000 marriages were registered in 2023 compared to 1.05 million the previous year, the outlet said, citing state statistics agency Rosstat. The year-on-year decline — which was observed…
An employee of the Russian Defense Ministry’s military-themed park outside Moscow has been arrested on treason charges, the BBC Russian service reported Thursday. Nikolai Martynov, 26, worked as an engineer at Patriot Park, which displays Russian and Soviet military equipment on its sprawling 5,400-hectare grounds. He was arrested on Feb. 21 on treason charges, according to…
Russia said Thursday that fresh U.S. aid for Ukraine will not change the dynamics on the battlefield, as Washington gears up for a crucial weekend vote on long-stalled military funding for Kyiv. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he would advance a $61 billion package of funding for Ukraine, stalled since last year amid…
Authorities in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Chechnya will train Palestinian refugees from Gaza to work at a factory that assembles assault vehicles used by Chechen fighters in Ukraine, according to local state-run media. Known as “Jihad Mobiles,” the assault vehicles assembled at the Chechenavto plant are modeled on converted off-road vehicles that Russian troops used in Syria.…
Ukraine said Thursday its forces had struck a large Russian airfield on the annexed Crimean peninsula, destroying an array of military equipment. The attack took place in the early hours of Wednesday at the Dzhankoi air base, on the northern part of the peninsula seized by Moscow in 2014. Ukraine’s military intelligence said the operation…
The Supreme Court of Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan has rejected activist Fayil Alsynov’s appeal against a prison sentence on charges of “inciting interethnic hatred,” his lawyer Ilnur Suyundukov announced Thursday. Alsynov, a prominent indigenous rights defender from Turkic-majority Bashkortostan, was sentenced to four years in a penal colony in January on charges linked to his…
A top Russian scientist developing hypersonic technologies has been sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of state treason, a spokeswoman for St. Petersburg’s judiciary said Thursday. Alexander Kuranov, the head of a St. Petersburg state research institute who oversaw the Soviet-era Ayaks hypersonic aircraft program, was arrested in 2021 at age 73. Investigators reportedly accused…
Investigators have arrested two German-Russian men on suspicion of spying for Russia and planning attacks in Germany — including on U.S. army targets — to undermine military support for Ukraine, prosecutors said Thursday. The pair, identified only as Dieter S. and Alexander J., were arrested in Bayreuth in the southeastern state of Bavaria on Wednesday,…
At least seven people have been killed in historic flooding that hit the Ural Mountains cities of Orenburg and Orsk this month, independent media has reported, as authorities denied any casualties. Orenburg is just starting to emerge from some of its worst flooding in almost a century after the nearby Ural River began swelling in early…
Two German-Russian men have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia and planning attacks — including on U.S. army targets — to undermine military support for Ukraine, prosecutors said Thursday. The pair, identified only as Dieter S. and Alexander J., were arrested in Bayreuth in the southeastern state of Bavaria on Wednesday, federal prosecutors…
Russian shelling killed one person in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on Thursday, authorities said, as Moscow ramps up its assault to capture the war-battered region. Outgunned and outmanned on the battlefield, Kyiv has ceded ground to Russian forces since late last year, evacuating civilians from frontline areas amid an uptick in attacks. In Selydove, about…
Russian shelling killed two people in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on Thursday, authorities said, as Moscow ramps up its assault to capture the war-battered region. Outgunned and outmanned on the battlefield, Kyiv has ceded ground to Russian forces since late last year, evacuating hundreds of civilians from frontline areas amid an uptick in bombardment. In…
Rescuers were removing mountains of rubble on Thursday from the site of a lethal Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s historic city of Chernihiv, where at least 18 people were killed in an attack that has prompted fresh pleas for allies to boost Kyiv’s overstretched air defense systems. Three Russian missiles crashed into the northern Ukrainian…
Some 20,000 protesters rallied in Georgia on Wednesday after lawmakers advanced a controversial “foreign influence” law that opponents say will undermine Tbilisi’s longstanding European aspirations. In a vote boycotted by opposition deputies, 83 lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream party passed the first reading of the bill, which has been criticized as mirroring a repressive Russian…
Near the shores of the Barents Sea in Russia’s far northwest lies Murmansk, the world’s largest city beyond the Arctic Circle and a popular destination for tourists hoping to witness the Northern Lights. In the heart of the city, Murmansk Commercial Seaport carries out coal transshipment out in the open — sending coal dust into…
Russian President Vladimir Putin called Wednesday on local leaders in Siberia and the Urals to make sure flood-hit homes are safe from looting, as authorities in the Kurgan region evacuated 14,000 people from the rising Tobol River. Russia and neighboring Kazakhstan have fought devastating floods for almost two weeks. Putin — who unlike his Kazakh…
Russia has banned the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties as “undesirable” organizations, the Justice Ministry said on Wednesday. Organizations labeled “undesirable” must cease all operations inside Russia, and it is illegal for individuals and media outlets in Russia to republish or share their content.…
A record number of Russian soldiers were convicted of murder in 2023, the independent Mediazona news website reported Wednesday, citing Supreme Court data. Russian courts sentenced 116 contract soldiers and conscripts for premeditated murder last year, a dramatic increase from the 13 soldiers convicted in 2022 and 21 in 2021, according to the data. Mediazona noted that…
Russia arrested four people Wednesday, accusing them of sending money to Ukrainian armed forces and planning to join Kyiv’s ranks, and separately placed an exiled feminist on its wanted list. The FSB detained two 19-year-olds in the city of Saransk in the republic of Mordovia, saying they had been planning to fight for Ukraine. Russian…
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of late Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, has been included on Time magazine’s annual list of the world’s 100 most influential people. In an interview with Time — her first since Navalny’s Feb. 16 death in an Arctic penal colony — Navalnaya, 47, said she chose to enter politics to give hope to…
A Russian court has overturned the verdict of an aerospace scientist who was sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of treason linked to his participation in a multinational high-speed flight project, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported on Wednesday. Valery Golubkin, 72, a professor at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, was…
The top human rights official in Russia’s Far East republic of Sakha (Yakutia) has called on federal authorities to pass a law criminalizing domestic abuse after a similar law was passed in Kazakhstan. “One cannot remain indifferent to tragic cases of domestic violence,” Sakha’s human rights ombudswoman Sardana Guryeva wrote in a VKontakte post. “The…
The Kremlin confirmed Azerbaijani media reports on Wednesday that Russian peacekeepers have started withdrawing from Nagorno-Karabakh after Baku’s forces seized the disputed region from Armenian separatists last year. “Yes, that’s really true,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters after the Azerbaijani news website Musavat reported on the Russian pullout Tuesday. Unverified footage shared on Azeri-language…
Over 50,000 Russian soldiers have been confirmed killed in Ukraine since the start of the Kremlin’s invasion over two years ago, according to an independent tally conducted by the BBC’s Russian service and the independent Mediazona news website. The two outlets have been verifying the number of Russian troops killed through open-source information including official…
Four airports in Russia’s Volga region have suspended flights due to the threat of drone strikes, local media reported, citing state civil aviation agency Rosaviatsia and the airports’ press services. Airports in Nizhny Novgorod, as well as Kazan, Nizhnekamsk and Naberezhnye Chelny in the republic of Tatarstan, have halted airline departures and arrivals as of…
Telegram founder Pavel Durov said he fled Russia over Kremlin pressure to share Ukrainian pro-democracy protesters’ personal data in 2013 in a rare interview with U.S. right-wing journalist Tucker Carlson. The eccentric tech CEO told Carlson that he and Telegram — one of the world’s fastest-growing messaging apps — relocated to Dubai in 2017 to avoid being…
A Russian strike on the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv Wednesday killed 11 people and 20 wounded more, as Kyiv again sounded the alarm over shortages in its air defense capabilities. First responders searched for survivors in the rubble, carrying away the wounded on stretchers as a pool of blood formed on the ground near…
A Russian-installed official in Ukraine’s occupied Zaporizhzhia region has survived an assassination attempt at his workplace, his colleague said Tuesday. Anton Yakimenko sits on Zaporizhzhia’s Moscow-backed Yakimivka district council and is a member of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party. He also heads a local affiliate of the Russian state-run grain operator GUP GZO Akimovskoye. According to…
Authorities in the southern Russian city of Orenburg announced that rehearsals for the annual Victory Day parade had started on Tuesday despite unprecedented floods submerging thousands of homes and forcing scores of residents to evacuate. “Starting today, Orenburg garrison troops began training for the ceremonial passing of the parade troops dedicated to the 79th anniversary of the…
Russia but not President Vladimir Putin will be invited to the French ceremony in June to mark 80 years since the World War II D-Day landings, organizers said Tuesday. In February 2022, Putin sent troops to Ukraine, shredding ties with the West. And in 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin…
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday that any further escalation in the Middle East could have “catastrophic consequences.” “Vladimir Putin expressed the hope that all sides would show reasonable restraint and prevent a new round of confrontation [that could be] fraught with catastrophic consequences for the…