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…
A fresh batch of leaked U.S. intelligence documents made public on Thursday has revealed infighting between Russia’s powerful Federal Security Service (FSB) and its Defense Ministry over the true scale of Russian casualties in Ukraine, The New York Times reported. The new documents came to light just days after a major leak of classified intelligence…
A Russian court has sentenced a 21-year-old man to life in prison for one of the country’s worst school shootings in recent times, Interfax reported Thursday. Ilnaz Galyaviyev opened fire at pupils attending his own former high school in the city of Kazan, the capital of the central Russian republic of Tatarstan, on May 11,…
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had identified a second suspect in the bombing attack that killed the prominent pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in St. Petersburg earlier this month, as it continued to link the act to the team of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. St. Petersburg resident Daria Trepova, 26, was detained on…
The Kremlin on Thursday denied claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally endorsed the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich for espionage. Citing sources “familiar with the situation,” Bloomberg on Wednesday reported that the initiative to arrest Gershkovich came from “hawks among top officials of Russia’s security services.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called…
Inflation in Russia dropped below 4% in March for the first time since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine led Western governments to impose wide-ranging sanctions on the country, state statistics agency Rosstat announced on Wednesday. Inflation in March stood at 3.51% year-on-year, down sharply from 10.99% in February. The sharp decrease does not however reflect a…
The U.S. Treasury Department has announced the sanctioning of a further 29 companies and 25 individuals linked to the Russian government over the invasion of Ukraine, including the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, according to a statement released on Wednesday. Other entities targeted in the latest round of sanctions include Russian telecoms provider Megafon,…
South Africa has admitted that the international arrest warrant issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin represents a “spanner in the works” ahead of a BRICS summit due to take place in the country in August. Pretoria, which has close ties to Moscow, has been faced with a diplomatic dilemma since the International Criminal Court (ICC)…
The Russian authorities have been ramping up efforts to increase enrollment in the military. Multiple media sources report that the Russian army aims to recruit some 400,000 new recruits to bolster its stagnating invasion of Ukraine. Since Moscow invaded its neighbor last year, Russian forces have suffered significant casualties, with leaked U.S. intelligence documents suggesting…
A Russian single father who was detained in Minsk after fleeing house arrest in late March has been extradited back to Russia, the independent rights organization OVD-Info reported Wednesday, citing a Belarusian activist. Alexei Moskalev was handed a two-year jail sentence late last month by a Tula region court for “discrediting” the Russian military over…
A court in western Russia has sentenced a Russian man on charges of trying to join the Ukrainian military in its fight against Moscow’s forces, the independent Mediazona news website reported Wednesday. Sergei Glushenkov, 28, was reportedly detained while trying to cross the border between the Belgorod region and Ukraine in August. The pro-war website extremizmu.net…
Russia’s deputy foreign minister on Wednesday acknowledged that detained U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich had not been granted consular access, two weeks after his arrest. The Wall Street Journal journalist was arrested in Russia on claims of espionage, which he denies. “The question (of consular access) is under review,” Sergei Ryabkov was cited as saying by…
The leak of a trove of highly sensitive documents online could be a move by the United States to “deceive” Russia, its deputy foreign minister was quoted as saying Wednesday. “It’s probably interesting for someone to look at these documents, if they really are documents or they could be a fake or it could be…
This story contains graphic content that may be disturbing to some readers. A disturbing video that circulated online this week shows the apparent beheading of a Ukrainian prisoner of war by Russian troops. In the clip, a uniformed man with a yellow armband — an identifying mark of the Ukrainian military — can be seen…
Russia has conducted what it said was the successful test launch of an “advanced” intercontinental ballistic missile, weeks after it suspended participation in its last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the United States. The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that a “combat crew successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile [ICBM] of a…
Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has been returned to solitary confinement for the 13th time since he began serving his nine-year prison sentence last year, his team said on Twitter on Tuesday. Tweeting on Navalny’s behalf, the Kremlin critic’s press secretary said that he had been sent back to solitary confinement as punishment for…
Moscow began exporting fuel products to Iran by rail for the first time earlier this year after its main purchasers stopped importing Russian fuel in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing three industry sources and export data. Now both subject to strict Western sanctions, Russia and Iran have increasingly…
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday called Russia’s imprisonment of American journalist Evan Gershkovich on spying charges “out of bounds.” Biden, who made the comments as he departed Washington for a trip to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, also told reporters that The Wall Street Journal correspondent’s jailing was “totally illegal.” The U.S.…
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its 2023 economic growth forecast for Russia on Tuesday, predicting that deficit-fueled government spending would help counteract the growing costs of its war in Ukraine. But the Russian invasion is expected to have a significant impact over the medium term, with the IMF predicting the Russian economy would be…
Russian authorities have opened three criminal investigations into the work of Roman Ivanov, a journalist from the Moscow region working for the RusNews website, RusNews reported Tuesday, citing a criminal investigator. The criminal investigations are believed to be linked to posts written by Ivanov on his Telegram channel, which has some 1,600 subscribers. Police started searching…
Ukrainian forces have for months been holding at bay a grueling Russian offensive in battered towns and heavily shelled trenches spanning the eastern front line. But now, with the Kremlin’s forces running out of steam after making only incremental gains over the winter onslaught, Ukraine is preparing to hit back. “If our senior military staff…
The head of Russia’s FSB security service on Tuesday accused Ukraine and the West of recruiting young Russians to stage armed attacks in their home country. The accusation by security chief Alexander Bortnikov comes a week after President Vladimir Putin accused the West of having helped Kyiv stage “terror attacks” in Russia while Moscow pursues…
Russian authorities on Tuesday banned the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum (CSF), an organization created to foster cooperation between Russian and European NGOs, as an “undesirable” organization. The Prosecutor General’s Office said the Berlin-based organization’s activities, which include conferences it organizes and information it publishes, have a common aim of “discrediting the leadership of the Russian Federation.”…
Russian lawmakers voted Tuesday in favor of changes to the country’s military conscription rules that would make it easier to summon recruits and stop them from fleeing the country. The new bill comes amid ongoing speculation that authorities could announce a second mobilization drive aimed at boosting Russia’s flagging campaign in Ukraine. Russia’s “partial” mobilization…
Russian lawmakers voted Tuesday in favor of changes to the country’s military conscription rules that would make it easier to summon recruits and stop them from fleeing the country. The new bill comes amid ongoing speculation that authorities could announce a second mobilization drive aimed at boosting Russia’s flagging campaign in Ukraine. Russia’s “partial” mobilization…
A powerful volcanic eruption in Russia’s Kamchatka region has spewed massive plums of ash across a large swathe of the region, blanketing a nearby village and disrupting air traffic, media reported Tuesday. Monitors in the far-flung peninsula issued an aviation “code red” after the Shiveluch volcano in Kamchatka’s eastern range released an ash cloud that drifted…
The number of young workers in Russia has dropped to one of its lowest levels in the country’s post-Soviet history, the RBC news website reported Tuesday, citing research based on official statistics by the Finexpertiza consulting firm. Working citizens under the age of 35 in the Russian labor market totaled 21.5 million in December, accounting…
The leaked classified U.S. documents that rocked Washington and its allies this week have provided a rare glimpse into the Defense Department’s intelligence on Russia’s offensive on Ukraine. The leak raises concerns that Russia could change its methods of communication to conceal its planning and try to ferret out human confidential sources that formed the…
The United States on Monday officially determined that Russia had wrongfully detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and urged his immediate release, stepping up pressure on his behalf. The formal decision by the State Department on Gershkovich, who was taken into custody on March 29, was unusually swift and indicated the seriousness attached by…
Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza said on Monday he stood by all of his political statements, including against the Ukraine offensive, that led him to face 25 years in jail. “I subscribe to every word that I have said, that I am incriminated for today,” Kara-Murza said, citing his fight against the Ukraine offensive and…
The Russian authorities have launched a campaign to warn the Russian public about what it says are the dangers of using virtual private networks (VPNs), the software that allows internet users to access blocked websites. Despite one of the main reasons for using a VPN being the enhanced security it offers users, a statement issued…
Among her feminist-minded and politically active social media followers, petite blonde Daria Trepova was known as Dasha Tykovka (“Dasha Little Pumpkin”). Few of them expected that Trepova — who appears to have mostly used her Twitter account to discuss relationship problems and other personal issues — would become the main suspect in one of the…
Armenian authorities have released a Russian citizen who was detained two days ago at Moscow’s request for alleged desertion, the Armenia Today news website reported Monday. Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office at no point considered extraditing the detained man to Moscow, the newspaper was told. The news of the 23-year-old Russian citizen’s April 7 detention in Yerevan was…
An investigation has been launched into the beating of a mobilized Russian soldier from the North Caucasus republic of North Ossetia, the head of the region said Monday. A video of the incident was posted online Sunday by Vera Adayeva, the director of a charity in North Ossetia that sends aid to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine. …
Russia has lowered its ambitious technological advancement goals after losing access to sophisticated imports due to its invasion of Ukraine, the Kommersant business daily reported Monday. The Russian government late last year revised its list of 18 technological areas that will receive state backing into 2030, Kommersant reported. While the Russian government previously associated its…
At least two Russian regions bordering Ukraine will not hold their traditional military parades marking the Soviet victory in World War II next month, regional leaders have said amid heightened concerns over spillover from the war. Cities across Russia celebrate the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany on May 9 each year, with the parades featuring…
A Russian court has sentenced a former security service officer and a former emergencies officer to 19 years in prison each for setting fire to a city administration building last fall, Russian media reported Monday. Roman Nasryev, a former driver for the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia), and Alexei Nuriev, an officer in the Emergency Situations Ministry,…
A Moscow-backed official announced Monday that he had visited the frontline city of Bakhmut in Ukraine, suggesting that Russia’s forces have made significant gains there. The battle for Bakhmut is the longest and bloodiest of Russia’s offensive, and the city has taken on huge symbolic importance even though analysts say it has little strategic value. Denis Pushilin,…
Russia has stepped up the defense of its northwestern borders following its neighbor Finland’s entry into NATO, the commander of the Russian military air defense and missile defense forces said in an interview published Monday. “Under these conditions, air defense troops are practicing the protection of the state border in the northwest in accordance with…
A 50-year-old man and his 11-year-old daughter were killed after Russian missiles struck a house in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, officials said on Sunday. It was the latest Russian strike on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine as Moscow’s invasion stretches into its second year. “The enemy carried out a missile attack on Zaporizhzhia and…
Russia announced its winter offensive in Ukraine with great fanfare, but the ill-fated campaign has been another disappointment for Moscow. As spring arrives, the two armies are deadlocked with troops stretching from the shores of the Black Sea to northeast Ukraine — and the Kremlin has once again been forced to take the long view…
Hundreds of supporters including Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin turned out on Saturday for the funeral of Vladlen Tatarsky, the high-profile Russian military blogger who was killed in a bombing attack last weekend. On Sunday an explosion ripped through a cafe on St. Petersburg’s Neva river embankment, killing the controversial 40-year-old who was known for…
Russian authorities have formally brought espionage charges against arrested U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich, Interfax reported Friday, citing sources familiar with his case. Gershkovich, a journalist with The Wall Street Journal, categorically denied the espionage accusations, the state-run TASS news agency reported. Gershkovich was detained while reporting in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg last week…
Starting in September, Russian high school students in grades 10 and 11 will undergo basic military training as part of changes made to the Russian school curriculum last year following the invasion of Ukraine. During these training sessions, students will learn to shoot Kalashnikov assault rifles, use hand grenades and administer first aid. Independent teachers’…
A British firm registered in London appears to have arranged the sale of about $1.2 billion worth of electronic goods into Russia since the launch of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Financial Times reported Friday. Russian records list the company, Mykines Corporation LLP, as having sent technical equipment including servers, laptops and computer parts…
A Minsk court on Friday sentenced exiled Belarusian opposition politician Valeriy Tsepkalo to 17 years in a high-security prison in absentia, the state-run news agency Belta reported. Tsepkalo, a former head of Belarus’ equivalent of Silicon Valley, the High Technology Park, intended to run in Belarus’ 2020 presidential election but was barred from registering as…