Russia Boosts Troop Numbers by 15%

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Friday boosting troop numbers by 15%, in a move the army said was due to “threats” associated with the Ukraine offensive. The move comes as both Ukraine and Russia seek to gain ground and replenish their ranks in the conflict, whose front lines have barely moved in…

Kyiv Says Sabotaged Russian Railway in Siberia

Ukraine claimed on Friday to have orchestrated attacks on a Russian railway line in Siberia, thousands of kilometers away from the frontline in eastern Ukraine. Russian authorities have reported several attacks on the country’s transport infrastructure since it launched its invasion of Ukraine last year, often blaming Kyiv. “The Russians have fallen into the [Ukrainian…

Navalny Faces New ‘Vandalism’ Charges

Russian authorities have pressed fresh criminal charges against jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, according to a message shared on the activist’s official social media accounts Friday. “I have no idea which word to use to describe my latest news. Whether it’s sad, funny or absurd,” Navalny wrote on X (formerly Twitter). The jailed activist said…

Estonia Warns Citizens Against Travel to Russia Amid Possible Border Closure

Estonia on Thursday warned its citizens against “any travel” to Russia, suggesting that it may temporarily close the border with its eastern neighbor amid an influx of asylum seekers on the Russian-Finnish border. Estonia shares a 333-kilometer-long border with Russia, along which six checkpoints are currently open. But the Baltic country’s foreign ministry said in…

Russian Lawmakers to Consider Nationwide Ban on Abortions in Private Clinics

Lawmakers in central Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region said they will submit a draft amendment to the country’s parliament that would outlaw abortions at private clinics nationwide if passed, state media reported Thursday. The draft amendment to Russia’s federal law “On the Foundations of Preserving Citizens’ Health” was passed unanimously and without discussion in Nizhny Novgorod’s legislative…

Russian Presidential Hopeful Condemns ‘Extremist’ Designation of LGBT Community  

Yekaterina Duntsova, a Russian journalist who earlier this month announced her bid to run for president, condemned the Russian Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday to ban the so-called “international LGBT public movement.” “This is a dangerous decision, which has no clear guidelines for interpretation, and it can lead to the persecution of any Russian citizen,”…

Germany Shutters Consulate in Kaliningrad

Germany’s consulate in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea will close starting Thursday, according to an official statement on its website, which did not give a reason for the closure. “From now on, the Consulate General in St. Petersburg is responsible for consular and passport matters in the district of the Consulate General…

Germany Shutters Consulates in Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk

Updated to include the closures of the German consulates in Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk. Germany’s consulates in Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk have closed, according to statements on the German Embassy in Russia’s website, which did not give a reason for the closures. On Thursday, the German consulate in the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad said “from now on, the…

Russian Interior Ministry Proposes Foreigners Sign ‘Agreement of Loyalty’

Russia’s Interior Ministry has proposed requiring foreigners who visit Russia to adhere to an “agreement of loyalty,” the state-run TASS news agency reported Wednesday, citing a draft law prepared by the ministry.  According to the draft law, foreigners staying in Russia would be prohibited from “hindering the activities of public authorities of the Russian Federation…

Ex-Russian State TV Reporter Sent to ‘Punishment Pit’ in Occupied Ukraine

A former Russian state television correspondent is being held in a so-called “punishment pit” in occupied Ukraine, the independent Novaya Gazeta Europe news website reported Monday. Ilya Andreyev, 42, resigned from the state-run Channel One broadcaster shortly after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. He later signed a military contract with the Russian Defense Ministry because, according…

Soaring Turkish Exports of Military-Linked Goods to Russia Raise Western Concerns – FT

Turkish exports of military-related goods to Russia have surged this year, raising concerns that the NATO member is acting as a conduit for sensitive Western goods, the Financial Times reported Monday. Forty-five categories of civilian goods useful to the Russian military, including microchips, communications equipment and parts including telescopic sights, are subject to United States, European Union,…

Armenia PM Criticizes Russia as Rift With Moscow Grows Wider

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Friday that Russia had failed to deliver weapons Yerevan had already paid for and accused Russia’s media of destabilizing his country’s political situation. The remarks highlighted Armenia’s growing rift with its powerful ally after Russian peacekeepers failed to prevent Azerbaijan’s offensive to retake its Armenian-controlled separatist enclave of…