Updated to include Kommersant, Ukrainska Pravda reports. Russian air defense systems intercepted a drone in St. Petersburg overnight, the first such instance in the country’s second-largest city since the invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago, authorities said Thursday. Residents reported hearing loud bangs at around 1:00 a.m. local time over Vasilyevsky Island, not far from the…
European nations should stop sending refugees from the North Caucasus back to Russia as they risk being tortured or being forced to fight in Ukraine, the human rights organization Amnesty International said on Thursday. The call comes as France pushes to expel more people from the North Caucasus, the home region of radical Islamists who…
Russia said Wednesday it had targeted a group of French fighters in a long-range strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, an attack authorities said injured several civilians. Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city lying close to the Russian border, has been under persistent shelling since Russia launched large-scale hostilities in Ukraine in February 2022. “On…
A gay Chechen man has fled Russia after spending months in police custody, where he faced abuse from law enforcement officials linked to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, the North Caucasus LGBTQ+ rights group SK SOS announced Wednesday. Rizvan Dadayev was detained in the summer of 2022 after a video circulated online where local extortionists forced…
Russia experienced its third hottest year on record in 2023, the head of Russia’s Hydrometeorological Center said at a press conference on Wednesday. Global temperatures last year smashed records going back to 1850, with the planet measuring 1.35-1.54 Celcius warmer on average compared to pre-industrial levels. While 2023 was just the third hottest ever reliably recorded for…
Two lawsuits have been filed against the organizers of a “nearly naked” party that sparked nationwide controversy last month, Russian state media reported Wednesday. Television host and blogger Anastasia Ivleeva, who organized the star-studded private event on Dec. 21, was hit with a one billion-ruble ($11.2 million) class-action lawsuit for allegedly having caused “moral suffering.” The…
Huge clouds of steam billowed from the streets of Novosibirsk on Wednesday after a pipe carrying boiling water for heating homes burst, marking the second such incident in the Siberian city over the past week. A gush of steam, described as a “geyser” on social media, reached as high as the seventh floor of nearby apartment…
Nine people were injured in an explosion and fire at a chemical plant in southern Russia’s Rostov region, authorities said Wednesday, less than a year after the plant’s opening. Security camera footage captured the moment when a huge explosion ripped through the Shakhtinsky Polyester Plant in the town of Shakhty. Five people were hospitalized with various…
Russia’s largest lender Sberbank posted a record net profit of 1.49 billion rubles ($16.87 billion) in 2023, marking a fivefold increase from the year before, when Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine hammered Russia’s financial sector. The preliminary financial results, released Wednesday, show the bank’s recovery from a 75% drop in 2022, as Russian banks lost…
Kyiv said Wednesday that Russia had launched 20 Iranian-designed attack drones at targets in southern Ukraine overnight and that its air defense systems destroyed all but one. The announcement came after authorities said 20 people had been injured in Russian attacks in the eastern city of Kharkiv, as well as Odesa on the southern Black…
Violent clashes erupted between protesters and police after a court in central Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan jailed activist Fayil Alsynov on charges of inciting ethnic hatred, local media reported. A court in the town of Baymak, some 1,400 kilometers southeast of Moscow, earlier on Wednesday sentenced Alsynov to four years in prison. The activist was…
A court in Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan sentenced prominent local activist Fayil Alsynov to four years in a penal colony on charges of “inciting interethnic hatred,” the regional news outlet Idel.Realii reported Wednesday. The case against the activist has mobilized many in the Ural Mountains republic who say that Alsynov is being unfairly targeted over…
Russia will open polling stations for its March presidential election at three diplomatic missions in the United States, its envoy in Washington said Wednesday. The announcement came as Moscow said it has not yet decided if voting will take place in what it calls “unfriendly” countries — those which it accuses of carrying out “hostile”…
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Moscow’s forces had the upper hand in their almost two-year conflict with Ukraine, warning the rival state it risks an “irreparable” blow if it continued. The frontlines in eastern and southern Ukraine have barely moved in more than a year as the conflict has ground to a stalemate.…
A Russian National Guard officer has been sentenced to six years in prison for buying anti-drone radars that failed to protect the Russian-built Crimea bridge from attacks, media reported Tuesday. Colonel Sergei Volkov, who previously headed Rosgvardia’s naval unit, was detained in March 2023 on charges of abuse of office for signing a contract on…
Law enforcement agents in central Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan have detained several allies of activist Fayil Alsynov, who stands trial this week on charges of inciting ethnic hatred, according to the local Telegram channel. The detentions come amid unconfirmed reports that the Kremlin may have authorized regional law enforcement agencies to “use force” against protesters. Thousands gathered…
MOSCOW — In the Russian winter cold, a group of women relatives of mobilized Russian soldiers lays flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin walls. Wearing white scarves, a symbol of their protest movement, the women said it was a rare opportunity to express their opposition to the mobilization and publicly demand…
Chinese state banks are stepping up compliance on funding to Russian clients amid threats of secondary sanctions from the U.S., Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. Last month, the United States threatened to cut off access to its financial system for foreign banks that back companies targeted for supporting Russia’s defense industry. According…
Residents of Ulan-Ude in Russia’s Far East republic of Buryatia were taken by surprise to learn that local authorities plan to construct a new prison for 3,000 inmates near their homes. “We were not informed about this terrible news that they plan to build a mega-prison, a special regime zone,” one local resident said in…
The Russian and North Korean foreign ministers on Tuesday hailed deepening ties between their two countries. Ministers Sergei Lavrov and Choe Son Hui offered their remarks during talks in Moscow that come on the heels of a high-profile visit from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last year. “We always support North Korea at the…
A heating main burst in the central Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod has flooded streets with boiling-hot water, burning several passersby, local media and health officials said Tuesday. Videos posted on social media showed steam rising from snowy streets and sidewalks as pedestrians attempted to navigate the hazardous environment. “I can’t see a damn thing.…
Estonian police have arrested a Russian university professor who is suspected of spying on behalf of Moscow, media in the Baltic country reported Tuesday, citing law enforcement officials. Vyacheslav Morozov, who until recently was Professor in International Political Theory at the University of Tartu, was arrested by the Estonian Internal Security Service (ISS) on Jan. 3…
Authorities in Ukraine’s northeast region of Kharkiv on Tuesday urged residents of more than two dozen villages near the front line to evacuate, citing worsening Russian attacks in the area. Russian forces captured swathes of the Kharkiv region shortly after invading Ukraine in February 2022, and have kept up efforts to wrest the region despite…
The U.S. special envoy for Ukraine’s economic recovery said Monday that tapping frozen Russian assets would be an “easy” source of money for Kyiv, but G7 countries must first agree collectively to do it. Penny Pritzker spoke on the sidelines of the first day of the annual meeting of global elites in Davos, Switzerland, where…
A young girl was injured and dozens of apartments were damaged during overnight drone strikes in the Russian city of Voronezh, authorities said Tuesday. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down or intercepted eight Ukrainian drones over the Voronezh region overnight. Four other drones were intercepted in the neighboring Belgorod region, it added. Voronezh region Governor…
“My entire life is packed in this one suitcase,” a man said as he boarded a minivan from Goris, southern Armenia, to the capital Yerevan amid the mass exodus of the ethnic Armenian population from Nagorno-Karabakh. The man, 70-year-old Armen from Stepanakert, who had just arrived in Goris, shared his last days in Karabakh and…
Finland is considering banning Russian citizens from buying property in the country, with a final decision on the matter possibly coming as soon as this spring, the Finnish Defense Minister said Monday. Tensions between the Nordic country and Moscow have risen sharply since the invasion of Ukraine, with Helsinki temporarily closing its border with Russia last…
A number of Finland-based companies are exporting high-tech goods to Russian buyers with known links to Moscow’s defense industry and intelligence services, Finnish broadcaster Yle reported Monday, citing customs data. At least 20 companies owned by “people of Russian origin” are either exporting goods directly to Russia or acting as intermediaries between foreign sellers and…
Specialists from Rosneft’s Tyumen Scientific Institute have identified an underground reservoir potentially suitable for injection and storage of more than 300 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) during geological exploration of the subsoil in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District.
Agents from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) raided a Jehovah’s Witnesses office in the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol, state media reported Monday. “The FSB and military counterintelligence have uncovered a location in Mariupol that was used by the Jehovah’s Witnesses to promote extremist ideology,” Zvezda, the Russian Defense Ministry’s broadcaster, reported. In 2017, Russia’s…
Thousands of protesters in central Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan braved freezing temperatures on Monday as they called for the release of an activist who is standing trial on charges of inciting ethnic hatred. Authorities accuse Fayil Alsynov of inciting ethnic hatred against migrant workers when he spoke at a rally in April 2023, referring to…
The Kremlin said Monday it has “no information” about Russian military aircraft that Ukraine claims to have shot down over the Azov Sea. Ukraine’s top general Valerii Zaluzhnyi announced earlier on Monday that a Russian A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft and an Il-22 aerial command center had been “destroyed” over the Azov Sea, which lies…
Russia has sentenced more than 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war to lengthy jail sentences, state-run media reported Monday, citing a top law enforcement official. Since invading Ukraine, Moscow is believed to have captured thousands of Ukrainian soldiers, many of whom were taken during the siege of the port city of Mariupol in early 2022. Kyiv…
Alcohol dependency in Russia has increased for the first time in 10 years, Russia’s business daily Kommersant reported Monday, citing data from the state statistics agency Rosstat. In the decade between 2010 and 2021, first-time alcohol use disorder diagnoses declined from 153,900 to 53,300. But in 2022, doctors issued 54,200 first-time diagnoses of alcohol use…
Russia has handed a five-year jail sentence to a 20-year-old student for allegedly working with Ukrainian special services and planning sabotage attacks on military bases, law enforcement authorities said Monday. The Kurgan region branch of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said the student, whose name it did not provide, had been detained earlier on suspicion…
Former Russian presidential candidate Yekaterina Duntsova was briefly detained and taken for a drug test, the Ateo Breaking Telegram channel reported late Sunday, without citing sources. Duntsova, 40, a journalist and local politician from the Tver region northwest of Moscow, announced her bid for the presidency in November on a pro-peace, pro-democracy platform. The Central…
Updated with Ostorozhno Novosti report, Duntsova’s remarks. Former Russian presidential candidate Yekaterina Duntsova was briefly detained and taken in by police for a drug test, the Ateo Breaking Telegram channel reported late Sunday. Duntsova, 40, a journalist and local politician from the Tver region northwest of Moscow, announced her bid for the presidency in November…
North Korea’s Foreign Minister will visit Russia this coming week, state media reported Sunday, with Washington leading a chorus of global condemnation over Pyongyang’s alleged transfers of weapons to Moscow for use in Ukraine. Traditional allies, Russia and North Korea have recently boosted ties anew, with Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong Un making a rare overseas…
A massive fire spread through online retailer Wildberries’ warehouse in St. Petersburg on Saturday, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said, without any reported casualties. Fires are relatively common in Russia due to old infrastructure or non-compliance with safety standards. “In total, the fire spread through 70,000 square meters,” Igor Ulubikov, an official at the St. Petersburg branch…
Russia launched dozens of attacks over Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said Saturday, as Kyiv pushes for more air defense. “A total of 40 means of enemy air attack were recorded,” the Air Force said, adding it destroyed eight missiles. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia attacked with a wide range of weapons including cruise,…
Russia’s annual rate of inflation unexpectedly slowed in December after ticking up continuously for seven months, official data showed Friday, in a boost for the Kremlin ahead of elections. Inflation had been predicted by economists to rise in December 2023 but instead edged down to 7.4% year-on-year, compared with 7.5% in November. Friday’s figure is…
Russia’s Interior Ministry has issued an arrest warrant for the former vice president of the state-owned Gazprombank, who joined the Ukrainian army after Moscow’s invasion, the state-run TASS news agency reported Friday. Igor Volobuyev was born in northeastern Ukraine in 1971 but lived most of his life in Moscow, where he served as chief spokesman for…
Ukraine’s military spy chief Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview published Friday that Kyiv’s attacks against Russian-annexed Crimea were set to intensify, adding that Moscow’s economy was proving surprisingly resilient despite sanctions. “In 2023, the first Ukrainian incursions took place in temporarily occupied Crimea,” Budanov told the French daily Le Monde, adding: “And this is…
A music channel owned by the media arm of Russian energy giant Gazprom was fined $11,300 for spreading “LGBT propaganda among minors” in a 90s-era music video that shows two women kissing, the independent Vyorstka news outlet reported Friday. The music video with the offending kiss aired in July on the channel Lya-Minor TV, which is…
Russia is preparing a legal challenge to prevent the United States and Europe from seizing some of its $300 billion in frozen assets that the West wants to use to help rebuild Ukraine, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing anonymous officials in Moscow familiar with the matter. The news agency reported Wednesday that the Biden administration supported…
Russian shelling on Friday killed two people in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, while a drone attack by Kyiv in the Moscow-controlled east killed another two, officials said. As the war approaches its second anniversary, both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of killing dozens of civilians in a sharp escalation of attacks.…
The U.S. Olympic Committee and the fencing association it governs have asked Congress to grant American citizenship to three Russian fencers who face wartime criminal charges at home, USA Today reported Friday. Konstantin Lokhanov, Sergei Bida and Violetta Bida — who fled to the United States after Russia invaded Ukraine — may be able to compete…
A Russian serial killer pardoned by President Vladimir Putin in exchange for fighting in Ukraine was killed on the front lines, the independent Mediazona news website reported Thursday. Denis Zubov, 41, from the southern Russian city of Volgograd, was sentenced to 21 years in a maximum-security colony in 2017 for the murders of three people.…
A Russian man working for a state-owned firm was arrested for allegedly planning to pass sensitive information to Poland in exchange for help in fleeing the country, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said Friday. Russian security services have detained a slew of foreigners and Russian citizens accused of working for foreign intelligence since Moscow invaded…
Trade between China and Russia reached a record $240 billion in 2023, official Chinese data showed on Friday. China’s General Administration of Customs Data said two-way with Russia in 2023 grew by 26.3% from the year earlier. Similarly, Chinese exports to Russia increased by 46.9%, while imports from Russia rose 13% last year. Presidents Vladimir Putin…
Russia’s Interior Ministry has issued an arrest warrant for journalist Andrei Serafimov, who is believed to have fled the country, news outlets reported Friday. The law enforcement body’s online database of wanted persons lists Serafimov but does not specify which criminal charges he faces in Russia. The journalist said in December he had been charged with public…
Authorities in western Russia’s Belgorod have begun reinforcing bus stops with cement blocks and sandbags to protect residents amid a recent surge in Ukrainian airstrikes against the city. Images shared on social media showed municipal workers laying large bricks around benches and shelters at bus stops. Belgorod Mayor Valentin Demidov announced the safety measures during…
Updated with Kremlin’s remarks. The Kremlin on Friday condemned the United States and the United Kingdom for military strikes against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, while Russia’s mission to the UN requested an urgent Security Council session. The U.S. and U.K. air forces said they struck multiple Houthi targets in Yemen late on Thursday in…
Moscow said Thursday it will seek retribution for Latvia’s confiscation of a building it owns in Riga. Latvia’s parliament, the Saeima, voted earlier Thursday to seize the Moscow House, which has been funded by the Moscow Mayor’s Office since its opening in 2004 as a cultural and activities center for Russian nationals living in Latvia. In…
Aslan Mohammed Ocherkhadzhiev has just sat down at a safe house near Chasiv Yar, one of the last Ukrainian strongholds near the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. On the table before him sit stacks of paper coffee cups and cans labeled in Arabic. Lost in thought, he calmly sips a cup of coffee. With…
Animal rights activists in the Far East Russian republic of Buryatia have been evacuating stray dogs to other regions of the country after the republic legalized the euthanization of homeless animals in certain conditions. At least 600 dogs have already been evacuated to safe locations, but hundreds more are still awaiting evacuation, local animal rights…
Finland will extend the closure of its eastern border with Russia until Feb. 11 due to the continued threat of illegal migration that Helsinki blames on Moscow, the Nordic country’s Interior Ministry announced Thursday. The ministry said it has information that migrants from third countries remain on the Russian side of the border, waiting to…
Nearly 10,000 companies with foreign involvement have exited Russia in the two years since it invaded Ukraine, the Vedomosti business daily reported Thursday, citing corporate data. The number of legal entities with foreign affiliation declined by 6,200 in 2022 and 3,400 in January-October 2023, totaling 9,600, according to the publication. Overall, Vedomosti said 23,500 companies with…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Thursday that any “pauses” in Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion would only help Moscow to re-arm and allow it to “run us over.” Zelensky spoke in Estonia on the second leg of a Baltic tour aimed at boosting flagging support for his country’s almost two-year-long fight against Russia. “Give the…
President Vladimir Putin’s oldest daughter Maria Vorontsova has given a rare interview in which she described Russia as a “human-centric” state, the investigative news website Agentstvo reported Thursday. Putin has never publicly acknowledged Vorontsova and her younger sister Katerina Tikhonova as his daughters, while the Kremlin has kept details of their lives a closely guarded…