Russian forces have scaled back their offensive on the frontline city of Avdiivka, the Ukrainian military said Wednesday as analysts documented heavy Russian losses in its major push for the Donetsk region stronghold. Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces has reported at least 15 or more daily Russian attacks on Avdiivka since Russian troops closed in…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted invitations to visit Thailand and Vietnam, according to government statements from the two Southeast Asian nations. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has thrown Putin into international isolation, leaving him with few allies. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the alleged deportations of thousands of…
The deadly blast at a Gaza hospital Tuesday night was a “crime” and Israel must provide proof that it was not involved, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. At least 500 people were killed in the blast at the al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said, blaming an Israeli airstrike. Israel claims the blast…
Russian leader Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that world conflicts “strengthen” his country’s relations with China, after talks with Xi Jinping that celebrated their nations’ deepening political and economic ties. Putin, on his first trip to a major global power since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, met his “old friend” Xi in Beijing on the sidelines of…
Russia’s air defense systems downed at least 28 drones over territories near Ukraine overnight, Moscow’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday. Air defense assets on duty “intercepted and destroyed” drones over the Black Sea and the Belgorod and Kursk regions in western Russia, it said. Russia’s military did not provide details of any damages sustained on the ground…
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Ukraine’s armed forces had used U.S.-supplied ATACMS long-range missiles for the first time. “They have performed very accurately. ATACMS have proven themselves,” he said in an evening address posted on social media, without giving details of when or where they were used. The United States had not previously…
Although jailed activist and politician Lilia Chanysheva had virtually no hope of changing her sentence in an appeal originally scheduled for Monday, she told The Moscow Times she still intends to fight back. Chanysheva was the first associate of jailed opposition figure Alexei Navalny to be sentenced after Navalny’s networks were labeled “extremist” and forced…
A pork plant in Russia’s republic of Buryatia is expected to come under federal investigation after a manure storage pit burst, sending mass amounts of animal waste flowing into local waterways and threatening an “environmental disaster.” On Oct. 12, a malfunction at the East Siberian pork facility caused huge amounts of manure waste to flow into…
More than half of Russian soldiers in Ukraine wounded severely enough to require medical examination have sustained injuries that require limb amputations, Deputy Labor Minister Alexei Vovchenko said Tuesday. “This is such a vivid problem, it’s a lot,” Vovchenko said at a roundtable with Russian senators, as quoted by the government daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta. While Vovchenko…
Sixteen Russian nationals have been killed and nine remain missing in the war between Israel and Hamas militants, Russia’s Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov said Tuesday. All 16 of those killed also had Israeli citizenship, the state-run TASS news agency quoted Viktorov as saying. One dual Russian-Israeli citizen is listed among the hostages taken by…
Russian President Vladimir Putin faces no real competition ahead of next year’s election, his spokesman said on Tuesday, adding that there could be “no rivals” to the long-time leader. Putin has led Russia since the turn of the century and presided over its seismic Ukraine offensive. He has won four presidential elections and briefly served…
Jailed Russian politician Alexei Navalny condemned the arrest of three of his lawyers as he stood trial in the prison where he is being held, Russian media at the hearing said on Tuesday. Lawyers Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin and Alexei Lipster — who have all defended Navalny — were detained last week. “Of course these…
Russian lawmakers voted on Tuesday to revoke Moscow’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, moving closer to abandoning a landmark agreement that outlaws the testing of nuclear weapons. The move comes after President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month he was “not ready to say” whether Russia needed to carry out live nuclear…
President Vladimir Putin met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in China on Tuesday, praising the EU member state’s leader for maintaining ties with Russia despite Moscow’s rifts with the West over the invasion of Ukraine. “It cannot but cause satisfaction that our relations with many European countries are being preserved and developed despite very limited opportunities…
The Kremlin said on Tuesday there was “no proof” North Korea was sending supplies of weapons to Russia, after Washington released images purportedly showing arms shipments from Pyongyang. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to Russia last month and met President Vladimir Putin, sparking speculation among Western countries over the possibility of a potential…
President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing for talks with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Tuesday, seeking diplomatic and economic support from a key ally as his war in Ukraine drags on and Russia’s dependence on China grows. The Kremlin hopes to secure major commodity contracts, agreements to share cutting-edge technologies and an official declaration of…
Ukraine’s military said Tuesday that it struck Russian-controlled airfields in occupied eastern and southeastern territories overnight. Russian pro-war military bloggers backed up Kyiv’s claims, while Kremlin-backed officials in the occupied areas said the attacks were unsuccessful. Russia’s Defense Ministry has not commented on the reported strikes, which could not be independently verified, on airfields under its control.…
Poland’s election results, which showed pro-EU opposition parties set to win a parliamentary majority, were unlikely to improve strained ties between Warsaw and Moscow, the Kremlin said Tuesday. Relations between Russia and Poland have been historically tense but have dipped to new lows since Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine which began in February last year. “Honestly,…
Russia has designated the Central European University (CEU) as an “undesirable” organization, the Prosecutor General’s Office said in a Telegram post on Monday. The Prosecutor General’s Office accused the university of working to shape an “anti-Russian agenda imbued with hatred of Russia and its multinational people” in the global media. It also claimed that the…
Two Russian ships owned by U.S.-sanctioned companies were seen transporting what are believed to be North Korean munitions in recent months, a British security think tank reported Monday, citing dozens of high-resolution satellite images. The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) warned that the alleged emerging supply route could have “profound consequences for the war in Ukraine and…
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin on Monday that the military had improved its position in Ukraine despite Ukrainian counteroffensives throughout the year. Speaking in a televised meeting, Shoigu said Ukraine had suffered heavy losses after beginning their June counteroffensive, with Russian forces destroying hundreds of tanks and over 1,500 armored vehicles.…
Russia’s legal community has called on authorities to stop “harassing and intimidating lawyers and obstructing their professional activities” following the arrests of three lawyers of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Human rights project Perviy Otdel published a statement, signed by at least 365 lawyers, activists and public figures as of Monday, saying that the rights…
Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to call Israeli and Arab leaders on Monday, his adviser said, amid Russian fears Israel’s Gaza offensive could trigger wider conflict in the region. Russia has repeatedly called for talks on ending the conflict, which has strained relations with long-time partner Israel and complicated ties with Iran, which backs…
Russian state media on Sunday profiled a bakery 400 kilometers south of Moscow that doubles as a drone-manufacturing plant. The Russian government daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta first reported on the Tambov Bakery’s drone production in March this year. The publication said at the time the bakery started assembling unmanned aerial vehicles, dubbed “Bekas,” on an urgent request from…
Russia’s Embassy in Paris has denied links to the suspect of a deadly school stabbing that the French government described as an Islamist terrorist attack, state-run media reported Monday. Police in France named Friday’s suspected perpetrator as Mohammed Moguchkov, 20, who was born in the predominantly Muslim republic of Ingushetia in Russia’s North Caucasus. Moguchkov reportedly…
A Russian pro-war activist has accused the governor of a region 3,000 kilometers from Moscow of “discrediting” the military’s actions in Ukraine during a Q&A session, media reported Sunday. Khanty-Mansiisk autonomous district Governor Natalia Komarova said “We didn’t need” Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine when asked about ill-equipped troops during a meeting with constituents Saturday. Local activist…
Russian authorities have placed exiled former lawyer and popular YouTube personality Mark Feygin on their wanted list on accusations of violating wartime censorship laws, the state-run TASS news agency reported Monday. Russia’s Interior Ministry earlier in the day listed Feygin in its database of wanted persons without indicating which crime he is suspected of. An anonymous…
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit North Korea on Oct. 18-19, Moscow’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday, as ties between the two countries solidify. The invitation comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited Russia last month amid Western fears the isolated country could supply Moscow with weapons for its assault in Ukraine.…
Russian forces have made gains in their Ukraine offensive, President Vladimir Putin said Sunday, including in Avdiivka, a symbolic industrial hub where fighting has been fierce. “Our troops are improving their position in almost all of this area, which is quite vast,” he said in an interview on Russian television, an extract of which was…
Moscow’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov hopes to meet representatives of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Qatar next week for talks to free Israeli hostages, Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency reported Saturday. Moscow has so far carefully denounced violence from both sides in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, while renewing an offer to…
Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to China next week to meet his “dear friend” Xi Jinping, forging even closer ties in a key strategic relationship in which experts say Moscow is increasingly the junior partner. Beijing is hosting representatives of 130 countries on Oct. 17-18 to mark a decade of its Belt and Road Initiative…
Burkina Faso’s government said Friday that it had signed an agreement with Russia to build a nuclear power plant that will “cover the energy needs of the population,” less than a quarter of which has access to electricity. The West African nation has been ruled by a military junta since last year and has sought…
Makeshift memorials have sprung up near synagogues and Israeli diplomatic missions across Russia in the days since Hamas militants launched a surprise offensive on Israel. These spontaneous acts of sympathy by ordinary Russians contrasted with a lukewarm response from the Kremlin toward the attack that has resulted in the deaths of more than 1,300 people…
Europe’s top human rights body on Friday passed a resolution calling on its members to no longer recognize President Vladimir Putin as Russia’s legitimate leader after his fourth term in office ends next year. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) said Putin’s 23-year rule as either president or prime minister “has turned the Russian…
Rosneft leads the green agenda and cares about preserving the environment in the course of its production activities.
As part of Rosneft’s biodiversity conservation programme, scientists from the Tungusky State Nature Reserve determined the dependence of red deer migration on forage and safety conditions.
Moscow stands ready to work with “constructive” partners in helping reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday. “What matters now is to stop the bloodshed,” the Russian leader said at a summit in Kyrgyzstan. “Russia is ready to coordinate with all constructive partners,” Putin added, while also echoing…
President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Kyrgyzstan is an attempt to stem the erosion of the Kremlin’s diminishing regional influence as its failures in Nagorno-Karabakh and 20-month war in Ukraine make allies increasingly uneasy, experts told The Moscow Times. With the two-day visit — Putin’s first foreign trip since being indicted by the International Criminal Court…
Updated with Ovsyannikova’s remarks. French prosecutors on Thursday opened a probe into the suspected poisoning of exiled Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who brandished an anti-war poster on state television after Moscow invaded Ukraine last year. The journalist, now living in France, felt unwell when she opened the door to her apartment in the center of…
Russian law enforcement authorities have raided the homes of lawyers representing jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, his allies said on Friday, detaining at least one of the lawyers in the latest crackdown against opposition Leonid Volkov, a longtime Navalny ally, said the imprisoned activist’s lawyers Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin and Alexei Lipster — whose apartments were…
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Thursday it had suspended Russia’s national Olympic body with “immediate effect” for violating the territorial integrity of Ukraine’s membership. “The Russian Olympic Committee is no longer entitled to operate as a National Olympic Committee, as defined in the Olympic Charter, and cannot receive any funding from the Olympic movement,”…
Dutch authorities are investigating Yandex’s ride-hailing app Yango over fears that it could share European customers’ data with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Bloomberg reported Wednesday. The Dutch Data Protection Authority confirmed the probe into Yango after Finland in August temporarily suspended user data transfers to Russia, a move prompted by a new law in…
The threat of Russian operations against Finland’s critical infrastructure “has increased” since the country joined NATO, the Finnish intelligence service said Thursday as Helsinki investigates potential sabotage of its natural gas pipeline. “The threat of espionage and influencing operations against critical infrastructure has increased,” Antti Pelttari, the director of the Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo), told…
Around 400 Russian nationals are seeking to evacuate the Gaza Strip as the Israeli military continues to bombard the coastal enclave in retaliation to Hamas’ surprise attack, Russia’s diplomatic mission in Palestine said Thursday. Alia Zaripova, the spokeswoman for Russia’s representative mission in Ramallah, said Moscow was working to evacuate its citizens from the besieged territory,…
Russian emigre Anna could hear explosions from her apartment in Beersheba, a city in southern Israel not far from the Gaza Strip that was hit by rocket fire as the Hamas militant group launched its surprise attack on the country. “In Russia, I wasn’t afraid of shelling. I was afraid of my own government,” said…
Russia’s Orthodox Church on Wednesday appointed a bishop who is reputed to be President Vladimir Putin’s spiritual adviser to head the diocese of annexed Crimea. The church’s governing body published a ruling transferring Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) from the Diocese of Pskov and Porkhov, which he has headed since 2018, to the Crimean Diocese. Metropolitan Tikhon was filmed…
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that Ukrainian forces were “holding our ground” in Avdiivka, after Moscow said it had improved its position in the frontline eastern town. The Donbas town is symbolically and strategically important to Kyiv and near the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk, seized by separatist forces in 2014. “Avdiivka. We are holding our…
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Kyrgyzstan early Thursday, marking his first trip abroad since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest. Putin has seldom traveled abroad since invading Ukraine in February 2022 and has until now remained inside the country since the March 2023 ICC warrant. Though Kyrgyzstan is a…
Journalist Khaybar Akifi was severely wounded in a drone attack that also killed his four-year-old daughter and his wife’s parents in Russia’s border region of Belgorod, several media officials said. “Right now (Akifi) is in a coma after a Ukrainian drone strike that killed his daughter and his wife’s parents,” the head of the state…
Iraq’s prime minister on Wednesday called for Russian President Vladimir Putin to help reach a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas militants. “Mr. President, I appeal to you as a president of a permanent UN Security Council member to come forward with an initiative on a real ceasefire and search for a real solution to…
Russia on Wednesday said its forces had strengthened their position on the frontline near Avdiivka, a day after Ukraine warned Moscow was stepping up strikes to encircle the eastern town. Avdiivka is symbolically and strategically important to Kyiv, lying just north of the Moscow-controlled city of Donetsk which was seized by separatist forces in 2014.…
Kyrgyzstan’s parliament on Wednesday ratified an agreement for a common air defense system with Russia, just a day before a planned visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Central Asian country. The agreement states that a land plot of five hectares at the Kant Russian military base in Kyrgyzstan will be used for the…
RN-Vankor Company (an oil-producing subsidiary enterprise of Rosneft Oil Company) opened a recruitment centre for Vostok Oil project in Krasnoyarsk.
At least one Russian soldier was killed and five others wounded in shelling near the border with Ukraine, media reported Wednesday, citing anonymous sources. Five soldiers were hospitalized in the Bryansk region after a Tuesday afternoon attack on the village of Gudovka, according to Astra, an independent news channel on the Telegram messaging app. Gudovka…
Ukraine’s security service on Wednesday said it had identified two suspected informers who allegedly helped Russia strike at a wake last week, killing over 50 people. The SBU named two local men now living in Russia, saying they were suspected of giving information that led to a missile attack on the village of Hroza in…
A Russian court on Wednesday fined veteran rights campaigner Oleg Orlov 150,000 rubles ($1,500) for “discrediting” the Russian Armed Forces. Orlov, who serves as co-chair of the Memorial human rights group, was found guilty of repeatedly “discrediting” Russia’s military over his public opposition to the war in Ukraine. Under wartime censorship laws, the charges can carry…
The My Denunciation app did its job almost too well. The satirical app, created by an anonymous exiled Russian IT specialist, aimed to trick the public into submitting denunciations through its system. In doing so, the app would ostensibly prevent these reports from reaching law enforcement — and highlight the growing problem of denunciations in…
Updated with new injury count. A train operator and at least four other people were injured when two metro cars collided in southeastern Moscow early Wednesday, according to local authorities and state media. “A train without passengers was being transferred to the depot when it rolled into a train waiting at the Pechatniki metro station,”…
Russia’s economy is set to grow by 1.1% in 2024, slower than previously predicted, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday in its latest World Economic Outlook report. The updated forecast placed Russia at the bottom of the IMF’s list of major emerging markets and developing economies, where average growth for this year and next was predicted…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday voiced concern over the “catastrophic increase” in the number of civilians killed since fighting between Israel and the Hamas militant group erupted over the weekend. During a telephone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “emphasis was placed on the sharply worsening situation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict zone,” the…