Police Raid Warehouse Near Moscow for Migrant ‘Document Check’

Russian police have detained dozens of workers at a warehouse of the online retailer Wildberries on suspicion of breaking migration laws, state media reported Wednesday. Wildberries’ press service said a “document inspection” had been carried out at its warehouse in the Moscow region town of Elektrostal, which reportedly employs 8,000 people. “The inspection is over, 38 warehouse [workers]…

Antidepressant Sales in Russia Hit 5-Year High – Vedomosti

Antidepressant sales in Russian pharmacies have hit a five-year high in the first months of 2024, the Vedomosti business daily reported Wednesday, citing the pharmaceutical market research company DSM Group. Experts linked the rise to doctors increasingly prescribing antidepressants instead of Soviet-era sedatives and tranquilizers whose effects have not been scientifically proven. According to the DSM…

Ukraine Says Detained 2 Russian FSB Agents

Ukraine said Wednesday that it detained two agents of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) accused of sharing the location of sensitive military targets with the Russian military. Since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion, Kyiv has waged a crackdown on those suspected of having collaborated with Russia, opening thousands of criminal cases. “As a result…

Russia Nationalized 15 Defense Firms Since 2023 – Top Prosecutor

The Russian government has seized 15 defense companies valued at some 333 billion rubles ($3.6 billion) since last year, Russia’s Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov told the Kommersant business daily in an interview published late Tuesday. After Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, Russian authorities have sought to nationalize key assets in the country’s…

Russian Rights Chief Says Torturing Concert Attack Suspects ‘Inadmissible’

Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova has criticized the alleged violent detention of the four suspected gunmen in last week’s deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall, state media reported Tuesday. “Despite the drastic nature of detaining criminals and no criminal punishment stipulated for actions that inflict harm during detention, it’s absolutely inadmissible to use torture…

Russian Missile Attack on Kyiv Wounds 9

Nine people including a teenage girl were wounded on Monday after Ukrainian air defense systems downed two Russian missiles over Kyiv, sending metal debris crashing to the ground. Emergency workers in hardhats could be seen clearing concrete and bent metal from one building ripped apart during the attack, the third aerial bombardment of the capital…

Russian Opposition Blasts Putin’s Broken Security Promises After Moscow Attack

Russia’s opposition has slammed Vladimir Putin’s broken security promise in the wake of the Moscow concert hall attack, saying the country’s intelligence agencies were too focused on hunting Kremlin critics instead of actual threats. Questions have swirled over how the country’s powerful security apparatus was unable to thwart the deadliest attack in Russia in two…

Kyiv Says 2 Russian Ships Hit in Crimea Strikes

Ukraine claimed Sunday to have hit two Russian military ships stationed at the annexed peninsula of Crimea in overnight strikes, as it suffered another night of “massive” Russian aerial attacks. Ukraine’s ally and neighbor Poland said a Russian cruise missile headed for western Ukraine breached its airspace overnight, after it had put its armed forces…

Spacecraft Carrying First Belarus Woman Cosmonaut Lifts Off

Maryna Vasileuskaya, Belarus’ first woman cosmonaut, was aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft that blasted off successfully on Saturday headed for the International Space Station, Moscow’s Roscosmos space agency said. “The Soyuz took off from Baikonur” in Kazakhstan at 12:36 GMT, a Roscosmos statement said, adding that the spacecraft went into orbit “as planned.” Initially programmed…

Moscow Concert Attack: What We Know

An attack by gunmen on a Moscow suburban concert hall Friday left at least 133 dead, according to Russian authorities. Here is what we know about the attack on the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk ahead of a concert by the Piknik rock band: Attackers in ‘tactical uniforms’  The attack began around 8:15 pm before…

Russia Adds ‘LGBT Movement’ to ‘Terrorists and Extremists’ List

Russia’s state financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring has added the so-called “international LGBT public movement” to its list of terrorists and extremists. Being added to the registry allows the authorities to freeze designees’ bank accounts without a court order. It was not immediately clear how Rosfinmonitoring planned to enforce its rules against the vaguely defined “LGBT movement,”…