The lawyer who defended Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza at his trial that ended in a 25-year prison sentence this week, told The Moscow Times he fled Russia after receiving warnings that he, too, could be jailed. Vadim Prokhorov has defended a string of prominent Kremlin critics in court over the years, including Kara-Murza, Ilya Yashin…
A Moscow court on Friday ordered the arrest of Christo Grozev, a top investigative journalist with open-source group Bellingcat, independent news outlet Mediazona reported. Grozev, who is not in Russia and looks set to be tried in absentia, was accused of illegally crossing the Russian border, according to Mediazona. The Friday court hearing was held…
The Kremlin attempted to sway German politicians to form an anti-war coalition as part of a broader strategy to weaken European backing for Ukraine, The Washington Post reported Friday. Citing documents dated between July and November last year that were obtained by an unidentified European intelligence service, the publication said Kremlin deputy chief of staff…
A Russian-flagged fishing vessel caught fire off the coast of South Korea, leaving four out of the 25 sailors on board dead, Russia’s state-run media reported Friday. The 769-ton boat was carrying 100 tons of fish and seafood to Russia when the fire erupted after midnight off the coast of Ulsan, 300 kilometers southeast of…
The father of a Russian smuggling suspect wanted by the United States has stepped down from his governor’s post in Siberia, a decree on the Kremlin website said Thursday. Alexander Uss, 68, was appointed by President Vladimir Putin as acting head of the Krasnoyarsk region in 2017 and elected governor in 2018. He is the…
Russia said one of its fighter jets lost ammunition over Belgorod near the Ukrainian border on Thursday, after local authorities reported a blast that injured two people and left a huge crater in the city. Russian jets have regularly flown sorties over Belgorod since the launch of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine in February 2022. On…
Russia said Thursday that it had finished snap navy drills in the Pacific, stressing its forces were ready to repel “aggression” during an armed conflict at sea. Last week Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the country’s Pacific Fleet, headquartered in the port of Vladivostok, had launched surprise combat drills as tensions rage with the West…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday pressed NATO to invite Ukraine to join the military alliance, while also calling for more shipments of fighter jets and long-range weapons. Zelensky was speaking during a visit to Kyiv by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, his first since the start of Russia’s invasion last year. Moscow views Ukraine’s…
Russia has sentenced a soldier to 10 years in prison for the near-fatal shooting of his slain brother’s commander, according to a statement by the Sevastopol Garrison Court in annexed-Crimea. Ismail Dzangiyev, 29, was convicted of shooting a platoon commander in the head whom he accused of causing his younger brother’s death, according to the…
Russia’s ultra-rich have seen their wealth swell over the past year despite punishing Western sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, according to the 2023 Forbes World’s Billionaires list published late Wednesday. The overall wealth of Russian billionaires rose from $353 billion in 2022 to $505 billion this year, with the average increase per…
The European Union does not plan to significantly expand sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, The Financial Times reported Thursday, citing unnamed EU officials. Further penalties on Russia’s economy would likely meet vetoes EU member states that “can’t live without” Russian industries like nuclear energy, according to the newspaper. “We are done,” the…
The commander of the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet has been removed from his post, President Vladimir Putin’s envoy to the Russian Far East said Thursday. The reshuffle was announced a week after the Pacific Fleet was ordered to stage surprise combat drills to repel a theoretical enemy landing. Presidential envoy Yury Trutnev said Admiral Sergei Avakyants,…
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega on Wednesday played down the impact of U.S. sanctions on officials of their two nations. During a four-hour stopover in Managua, Lavrov met with Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, who is also vice president. The issue of sanctions arose after the U.S. Treasury Department…
At least 53,000 army recruitment advertisements have appeared on the Russian social media outlet VKontakte since the beginning of March, according to a report by Novaya Gazeta Europe. The figure represents a seven-fold increase compared to Russia’s largely unsuccessful recruitment campaign for volunteer soldiers last summer, according to Novaya Gazeta Europe’s calculations. Recruitment advertisements have appeared…
Kyiv said Wednesday it had received the first shipments of the American-made Patriot surface-to-air missile system and deployed light-armored fighting vehicles sent by France as it prepares for a major counter-offensive against Russian forces in eastern Ukraine. “Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defense systems have arrived in Ukraine,” Ukrainian…
President Vladimir Putin’s first trip to meet his generals in Russian-occupied Ukraine publicized by the Kremlin earlier this week was an attempt to show he is in control of the military situation and compete with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to analysts. This is only the second time Putin has publicly traveled to the areas…
The Moscow City Court dismissed Wednesday an appeal against jailed Kremlin critic Ilya Yashin’s eight-and-a-half prison sentence handed down last year under Russia’s wartime censorship laws. Yashin, 39, was convicted in December for spreading “false” information about the Russian military’s alleged killing of civilians in the Kyiv suburb town of Bucha last spring. Ahead of…
Russian officials have raised concerns about excessive reliance on Chinese technologies after losing access to sophisticated components due to Western sanctions, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing European officials familiar with the document. Chips, network devices and electronics were assessed to be areas of particular vulnerability to Chinese dependence, according to the document that Bloomberg said was…
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had prevented an attack on energy systems in annexed Crimea, state media reported Wednesday. An unidentified Russian-Ukrainian national was detained in the Crimean city of Kerch on suspicion of preparing to commit an act of sabotage and illegally buying and storing explosives, according to the TASS news agency. “An…
Russia launched a drone attack on Ukraine’s southern port city of Odesa early Wednesday but there were no reports of casualties, authorities said. “At night, the enemy carried out an attack by UAVs of the Shahed-136 type on the Odesa region,” Yuriy Kruk, head of the Odesa district military administration, said in a statement on Telegram.…
On a recent cold March afternoon, a handful of people gathered on a square in downtown Ulyanovsk, a midsized Russian city on the Volga River, to demand the return of direct elections for the city’s mayorship. Despite a large police presence, the gathering — which featured speeches from local activists and politicians — went ahead…
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Tuesday for like-minded countries to “join forces” against the “blackmail” of Western sanctions, as the longtime diplomat continued his tour of Latin America. Discussing Russia’s war on Ukraine with counterpart Yvan Gil in Caracas, Lavrov referred to allies Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua as countries “that choose their own path.”…
The maker of Sweden’s Absolut vodka said Tuesday it was suspending all exports to Russia after calls to boycott the brand flared up in Sweden. Stephanie Durroux, chief executive of The Absolut Company, said in a statement that the company is exercising its “duty of care toward our employees and partners, we cannot expose them…
A graveyard containing scores of dead fighters from Russia’s Wagner mercenary outfit has been discovered in the Siberian region of Irkutsk, according to a report published by the independent news outlet People of Baikal. The previously unreported 53 graves are in a corner of Aleksandrovsky cemetery some 11 kilometers from regional capital Irkutsk. Each grave…
The Russian authorities have opened a fresh criminal case against Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny after staging a “provocation” against the politician at a penal colony where he is serving his nine-year prison sentence, his press spokesperson said Tuesday. The prison authorities, according to spokesperson Kira Yarmysh, placed a convict “with personal hygiene problems” in Navalny’s…
Russia on Tuesday canceled annual processions in remembrance of relatives who fought in World War II amid apparent security concerns linked to the fighting in Ukraine. Millions of people across Russia traditionally march in the Immortal Regiment processions on May 9, the annual holiday commemorating the end of World War II, holding placards of relatives…
The Moscow City Court rejected Tuesday an appeal against the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, the first foreign journalist to be charged with espionage in Russia since the Cold War. The hearing was the first time Gershkovich has been seen in public since his arrest in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg…
Russian law enforcement authorities have detained an activist and PR expert who was among people to be interviewed by U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich before his arrest last month on disputed spying charges, the Kommersant newspaper reported Tuesday. Footage that emerged on messaging app Telegram showed Russian security officers storming Yaroslav Shirshikov’s apartment, arresting him and…
The Russian military has begun using Moscow’s vast video surveillance system to find conscripts who evade compulsory service, Moscow’s chief draft officer Maxim Loktev told state-run news agency TASS on Tuesday. “Moscow’s video surveillance systems are being used to determine a conscript’s residence,” said Loktev. He added that workplaces and educational establishments will also provide…
Updates with Agentsvo reporting on visit timing and Peskov comments. Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited occupied Ukrainian territories for the second time since launching a full-scale invasion, the Kremlin said Tuesday. Putin visited a military headquarters in Ukraine’s Kherson region in the south, as well as a Russian National Guard headquarters in the Luhansk…
Russia said Monday that it had repelled an “illegal” Ukrainian attempt to infiltrate Russian territory in the southern border region of Bryansk, 11 days after reporting a similar incident. “The intruder stepped on a mined protection line, which Russian armed forces created to prevent infiltrations of Russian territory and to ensure the security of residents…
U.S. ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy said she found journalist Evan Gershkovich “in good health” when meeting him in prison Monday for the first time after his arrest on spying charges. “I visited The Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich today at Lefortovo Prison — the first time we’ve been permitted access to him since his wrongful detention…
The number of prisoners in penal colonies across 35 Russian regions decreased by 17,248 in 2022, according to the report released Monday by independent news outlet Mediazona. The drop, according to Mediazona, was likely the result of the recruitment of prisoners for the Wagner mercenary group. As the Mediazona report only counted prisoner numbers in…
A Russian court on Monday sentenced journalist, activist and Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison on charges of treason. But who is Kara-Murza and for what is he famous? In this short biography, we look at his family history, his entry into politics and the two apparent attempts to poison him. Family…
MOSCOW – Human rights group the Sakharov Center held its final public event Sunday before closing down its premises in the center of the Russian capital as a result of an eviction order from the local authorities. “What I’m feeling is a light sadness — wonderful people have come here and it’s a pleasure to see…
Updates with reaction to the sentencing. A Russian court sentenced opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison on charges of treason and “fake news” Monday, capping a high-profile trial of one of the country’s most defiant anti-war voices. Moscow City Court found Kara-Murza, 41, guilty of treason, “false information about the Russian army,”…
A Russian mayor wanted on fraud charges has surfaced fighting in the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine, the Kommersant newspaper reported Monday. The Russian authorities accuse Rustyam Abushayev, who headed two municipalities in Far Eastern Russia’s Primorye region, of making fraudulent land deals and conducting business illegally. On Monday, Abushayev posted a video of himself…
The number of data breaches in Russia surged last year and is on course to increase further in 2023, the RBC news website reported Monday, citing data from cyber-security firms. According to Group-IB, 1.4 billion pieces of data such as names, phones, addresses and birthdays appeared online in 2022. That marks a 42-fold increase from…
Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu on Sunday hailed ties with Moscow during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. “We have very strong ties. They surpass the military-political alliances of the Cold War era… They are very stable,” he said in translated remarks broadcast on Russian TV. He added that Russia-China ties…
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sent shock waves across the former Soviet Union, with Moscow’s traditional partners seeking allies elsewhere. Armenia, which for decades has relied on Russia for military and economic support and even hosts a Russian military base, serves as a key illustration of Moscow’s diminishing regional influence. Many in Armenia today say…
Russia on Saturday claimed advances on the northern and southern outskirts of Ukraine’s embattled city of Bakhmut, the scene of the longest and bloodiest battle of Moscow’s military campaign. Russian troops have been battling since last summer to capture the town in eastern Ukraine, which has taken on huge symbolic importance even though analysts say…
Russia shelled a block of flats in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, killing nine people, authorities said Saturday, including a two-year-old boy who was rescued from the rubble but died on his way to hospital. Friday’s strike on the quiet neighborhood came as Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill that will make it…
Finland’s border guard on Friday unveiled the first section of a 200-kilometer border fence with Russia being built after Moscow invaded Ukraine last year. Finland joined NATO just a week ago and its 1,300-kilometer border has also doubled the frontier between the U.S.-led military alliance and Russia. Three meters tall and topped with barbed wire, it will cost…
Russia has lost as many as 1,820 soldiers in Ukraine in the past two weeks, the largest number of casualties recorded within that time span since the beginning of its invasion, the BBC Russian service reported Friday citing data it collected in tandem with independent Russian news outlet Mediazona. The total number of Russian troops…
Direct flights between Moscow and the Georgian capital Tbilisi appeared Friday on flight schedules at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport, despite ban introduced by Russia in 2019 on air travel to the South Caucasus country, according to media reports. Vnukovo airport’s new flight schedule online showed daily flights between Tbilisi and Moscow, with Georgian Airlines indicated as…
A Moscow resident was fined for “discrediting” the Russian army after she defended Ukrainians in an argument that unfolded in front of customers at a Moscow coffee shop, human rights watchdog OVD-Info reported Friday. The woman, who requested anonymity to speak freely, related going to her favorite coffee shop one day in March to find…
It took the Russian parliament just twenty-three minutes to vote on the second and third readings of a controversial bill tightening military draft rules that many observers believe will pave the way for a second wave of mobilization. In a rare show of protest, several lawmakers complained they were only shown the full text of…
Russia’s largest labor union announced Friday that it was canceling its demonstrations planned for the popular Labor Day celebrations on May 1, citing heightened terrorist threats amid Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The decision comes as the Kremlin has stepped up its rhetoric around domestic security concerns, particularly since the deadly bomb attack on a…
A Russian court has sentenced a radio enthusiast to six years in jail for calling for President Vladimir Putin’s violent overthrown shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began last year. The police-monitoring website OVD Info reported Friday that Kirill Akimov, 52, was arrested in June on suspicion of calling for violence during two broadcasts on…
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday the country’s Pacific Fleet had launched surprise combat drills as tensions rage with the West over Ukraine. The Kremlin called the exercises “routine” and said they were aimed at developing Russia’s armed forces. At a meeting with Russia’s top brass, Shoigu said the Pacific Fleet, headquartered in the…
A court in Russian-annexed Crimea found a Russian soldier guilty of mistakenly shooting one of his comrades in Ukraine while drunk and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment, the Kommersant newspaper reported Friday. Alexei Usenko was accused of fatally wounding a Russian National Guardsman who was accompanying a convoy in a passenger vehicle last year,…
Russian oil exports jumped to their highest level in almost three years in March despite Western sanctions, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced on Friday, though Moscow’s oil revenues nevertheless dropped sharply from last year. Following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the West has imposed a slew of sanctions against Russia including price…
Russian lawmakers are set to consider making it a criminal offense to comply with International Criminal Court (ICC) orders to arrest President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, said Thursday. The ICC issued a shock arrest warrant for Putin and his children’s rights commissioner in March for the…
Past financial disclosures made by Russian officials have begun to disappear from government websites, just months after President Vladimir Putin signed a decree waiving a legal requirement that the declarations be published online, independent news outlet Mozhem Obyasnit reported Thursday. Each year, millions of Russian government officials are required to declare their income and property,…
MOSCOW – The headquarters of Russian human rights group the Sakharov Center, a rare island of free debate in the Russian capital, will close its doors to the public this weekend in response to an eviction order from local authorities as Russia’s wartime drive to suppress dissent shows no sign of ending. Opened in 1996…
Moscow said on Thursday that Russian troops were preventing Ukrainian forces from entering or leaving the frontline city of Bakhmut, which for months has been the focal point of Russia’s assault in eastern Ukraine. “Airborne troops are providing support to advancing assault troops, blocking the transfer of Ukrainian army reserves to the city and the…
Russian men of conscription age have greeted a law tightening military draft procedures with what appeared to be widespread confusion and indifference despite warnings that the changes — approved this week by the Russian parliament — could amount to backdoor martial law and facilitate a second wave of mobilization. The wording of the law is…
Russia would need to attract as many as 1 million new migrants every year until the end of the century to maintain its current population levels, according to research cited by the RBC news website on Thursday. Russia’s population has declined for the past four years in a row and dropped by half a million…
Norway on Thursday announced the expulsion of 15 Russian embassy employees in Oslo, accusing them of working undercover as intelligence officers for Moscow. “The 15 intelligence officers have been engaging in activities that are not compatible with their diplomatic status,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said. She added that the Russian embassy employees had been…
Ukraine’s energy giant Naftogaz said on Thursday that a Hague-based tribunal had ordered Russia to pay the firm $5 billion for the illegal seizure of its assets in Crimea. Naftogaz chief executive Oleksiy Chernyshov said the firm had “won a key victory on the energy front” over losses he said were caused by Russia’s 2014…