Pro-War Singer Shaman Performs for Soldiers and Evacuating Children in Kursk Region

Pro-war singers Shaman and Grigory Leps visited southwestern Russia’s Kursk region on Thursday to entertain wounded soldiers and send off children who were being evacuated from their homes as Ukraine’s incursion in the area continued into its fourth week. Between air raid alerts, acting Kursk region Governor Alexei Smirnov shared videos on Telegram of Shaman and…

Details

Ex-Deputy Defense Minister Arrested for Fraud in Russian Military Theme Park Scandal

Former Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov was arrested on fraud charges related to a sprawling military theme park outside Moscow, federal investigators announced Thursday. Popov is accused of misusing Patriot Park resources for personal gain, allegedly coercing the park’s contract workers into performing unpaid construction work at his private property in the Moscow region between…

Details

Russia’s Media Regulator Tells Internet Providers to Stop Speeding Up YouTube – Reports

Russia’s media regulator has warned internet providers to stop efforts that speed up YouTube loading speeds, an apparent acknowledgment of government attempts to throttle the popular video streaming platform, the independent news outlet Sotavision reported late Wednesday. Roskomnadzor’s control and regulatory arm, the main radio frequency center GRChTs, sent out the warning message following reports…

Details

Alexey Likhachev, the Head of ROSATOM, and Mostafa Madbouly, the Prime Minister of Egypt, have discussed the progress of El-Dabaa NPP project implementation

They noted a fast pace of construction of the power units. Alexey Likhachev, ROSATOM Director General, and Mostafa Kamal Madbouly, the Prime Minister of Egypt, held negotiations on August 28. A fast pace of construction of the power units was noted. The meeting was also attended by Mahmoud Esmat, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy…

Details

1 Killed, 2 Injured in Strikes on Russia’s Belgorod Region

Ukrainian strikes on the southwestern Belgorod region killed one person and injured two others, regional authorities said early Thursday. “The town of Shebekino was targeted by Ukrainian forces” and “unfortunately, one person was killed,” Belgorod region Governor Vyachelsav Gladkov wrote on Telegram. Two other people were hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, he said, while the airstrikes…

Details

Russia Bans 92 U.S. Citizens Over ‘Russophobic’ Policies

Russia has permanently banned 92 U.S. citizens from entering the country in response to the Biden administration’s “Russophobic” policies, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. The ministry said that the move was a response “to the Russophobic course pursued by Joe Biden’s administration with the declared aim of delivering a strategic defeat to Moscow, which includes…

Details

Activist Alleges Cover-Up After Discovery of Russian Soldiers’ Graves in Murmansk

At least 165 graves of Russian soldiers have been uncovered in the Arctic city of Murmansk, a significantly higher death figure than local authorities have publicly acknowledged, opposition activist Violetta Grudina said Wednesday. Grudina, an exiled former regional coordinator for Alexei Navalny’s now-banned political network, said the graves were found in a separate section of…

Details

Jailed Anti-War Journalist Ponomarenko Threatens Self-Harm Over Prison Abuse

Siberian journalist and activist Maria Ponomarenko, imprisoned under Russia’s wartime censorship laws, threatened to cut her wrists in protest against the abuse she says she has endured while incarcerated. Ponomarenko was sentenced to six years in prison in February 2023 for spreading “fake news” about Russia’s 2022 bombing of a theater in Mariupol, Ukraine —…

Details

Russian Internet Providers Work to Speed Up YouTube – Kommersant

Russian internet providers have started implementing workarounds to speed up YouTube amid what appears to be a government effort to throttle the video streaming platform, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday, citing industry insiders. The move comes nearly a month after online users in Russia started experiencing sharp declines in YouTube loading speeds. These disruptions coincided…

Details

France, UAE Hacked Telegram Founder Durov’s Phone in 2017 – WSJ

French and Emirati spies hacked Telegram founder Pavel Durov’s iPhone in 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The joint spy operation code-named “Purple Music” reportedly stemmed from concerns about the Islamic State’s use of Telegram, a private messaging app, for recruitment and plotting attacks — and came years…

Details

Indonesian Embassy in Moscow Says Unaware of Citizens Recruited for Ukraine War

Indonesian authorities have “no information” to confirm earlier reports alleging that their citizens are being recruited to fight in Ukraine, the Southeast Asia country’s embassy in Russia said in a statement sent to the Moscow Times. “So far, the Embassy has no information that may corroborate the alleged involvement of Indonesian nationals fighting for either…

Details

Russia’s FSB Arrests 6 Suspected of Plotting Terror Attack in Ingushetia

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested six “adherents of an international terrorist organization” in the North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia, state media reported Wednesday, citing law enforcement officials. According to the FSB, the six arrested men were planning an attack on the police and an Orthodox church. Authorities say all of those who were arrested…

Details

Mysterious Company Disappears After Posting Russia’s Third-Highest Profit – RTVI

A little-known company that posted Russia’s third-highest profit in just one year has vanished as mysteriously as it appeared, according to a new investigative report by the broadcaster RTVI. Banknota LLC, registered in June 2023, reported 3.7 trillion rubles ($40.4 billion) in revenue and 3.4 trillion rubles ($37.1 billion) in net profit last year — or about…

Details

Kremlin Warns France Against Trying to ‘Intimidate’ Telegram Founder Durov

The Kremlin said Tuesday that France had leveled “very serious” charges against Telegram CEO Pavel Durov and warned Paris against trying to intimidate the tech entrepreneur after he was arrested in Paris over the weekend. French prosecutors accuse the 39-year-old billionaire of failing to curb the spread of illegal content on Telegram — charges his company denies.…

Details

Ukraine Launches Attack on Belgorod Region, Pro-Kremlin Sources Say

Ukrainian forces launched an attack on border posts in the southwestern Belgorod region, Telegram channels linked to Russian security services said Tuesday, as regional officials reported an attempt “to break through the border.” The Mash Telegram channel reported that around 200 Ukrainian soldiers were deployed near the Nekhoteyevka checkpoint and another 300 near the Shebekino checkpoint,…

Details

UN Nuclear Agency Chief Warns of Nuclear Risks During Kursk Plant Visit

UN nuclear watchdog head Rafael Grossi on Tuesday warned during a visit to Russia’s Kursk nuclear plant that its proximity to ongoing fighting was “extremely serious” following Ukraine’s cross-border offensive into the southwestern Kursk region earlier this month. Grossi said his tour enabled him to “look at the most important parts” of the plant, which is…

Details

Torrential Rain Floods Streets of Sochi

Heavy rain overnight Monday triggered partial flooding in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi and its surrounding areas, local authorities said.  Sochi Mayor Andrey Proshunin said the Khostinsky district, located on the foothills of the western Caucasus mountains, received around 12.5 centimeters (4.9 inches) of rain between Monday night and Tuesday morning. “After midnight,…

Details

By Pressing Onward With Elections in Battlefield Kursk Region, Kremlin Seeks to Show Everything Is Business as Usual

The Kremlin refuses to cancel next month’s elections in the Kursk border region despite Ukraine’s ongoing offensive there, deeming it to be “only a local crisis” from a military perspective, three Russian officials familiar with the election preparations told Politika.Kozlov.  The officials agreed to speak on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the…

Details

Polish Army Reports Airspace Violation After Russian Strikes on Ukraine

Poland’s Armed Forces said Monday that the country’s airspace was likely violated by a drone following deadly Russian strikes across Ukraine earlier in the day. Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Ukraine early Monday. The strikes, which targeted the country’s energy infrastructure, killed at least four people. During the attacks, Polish airspace was violated…

Details

Russian Missile and Drone Attacks Hit Energy Sites Across Ukraine, Killing 3

Russian missile and drone strikes targeted energy facilities across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, killing at least three civilians, Ukrainian authorities said Monday. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said 15 of Ukraine’s 24 regions came under attack from drones, cruise missiles and Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. “To stop the barbaric shelling of Ukrainian cities, it is necessary…

Details

Ukrainian Drone Attack Damages High-Rise in Russia’s Saratov Region, Injures Residents

An overnight Ukrainian drone attack in southern Russia’s Saratov region damaged several high-rise apartment buildings and injured multiple people, local authorities said early Monday. “Air defense systems shot down drones early this morning,” Saratov region Governor Roman Busargin wrote on Telegram. “Debris fell on residential buildings in both Saratov and Engels.” The cities of Saratov…

Details

Kyiv Says Belarus ‘Concentrating’ Troops on Border, Warns Against ‘Unfriendly Actions’

Ukraine accused its Moscow-allied neighbor Belarus on Sunday of “concentrating” troops on the countries’ shared border and warned Minsk against “unfriendly actions,” in a statement by Kyiv’s foreign ministry. The statement came as Kyiv mounts an incursion into Russia’s Kursk region and as Russia continues its advance into eastern Ukraine. Belarus had allowed Russian troops…

Details

Zelensky Vows More ‘Retribution’ for Russia, POWs Exchanged

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed more “retribution” against Russia on Saturday as he celebrated Independence Day near where his forces launched a surprise offensive into Russian territory two weeks ago. Zelensky also signed a law banning the Russia-linked branch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, calling the legislation a “liberation from Moscow’s devils,” drawing a sharp…

Details