Second Russian Defense Ministry Official Arrested for Bribery

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Updated to add the Investigative Committee’s confirmation. Russian law enforcement authorities have arrested another senior Defense Ministry official on criminal bribery allegations, the country’s Investigative Committee confirmed Tuesday. Lieutenant-General Yury Kuznetsov, who heads the Defense Ministry’s personnel directorate, has been placed in pre-trial detention on large-scale bribery charges, the Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said. Investigators…

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Russia Adds Journalist Kevorkova to ‘Terrorists and Extremists’ List

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Russia’s state financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring has added journalist Nadezhda Kevorkova to its list of “terrorists and extremists,” the state-run news agency TASS reported Monday. Kevorkova, 65, is a Russian war correspondent, author, and filmmaker who has written about the Middle East and Russia’s North Caucasus for both independent and state-funded media.  A Moscow court last…

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Woman Killed in Ukrainian Drone Strike on Russia’s Kursk Region

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A Ukrainian drone strike in western Russia’s Kursk region has killed one woman and injured three others, regional authorities said Monday. “Today, Ukrainian terrorists deliberately attacked vehicles with drones in the Glushkovsky district,” the Kursk regional government said on Telegram. “One woman died at the scene, three other people were injured,” it said, noting that the…

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Moscow Claims More Advances in Ukraine’s Kharkiv Region

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Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday that its forces had captured four more villages in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region as thousands of residents were evacuated amid Moscow’s surprise ground offensive. The ministry said its forces had “advanced deeply into the enemy defenses” and taken villages including Gatishche, Krasnoye, Morokhovets, and Oleinikovo. Ukraine’s military, meanwhile, said it was…

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Russia Claims Gains in Ukraine’s Kharkiv Region

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Russia on Saturday said it had captured five villages in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region during a surprise ground offensive that prompted mass evacuations, as President Volodymyr Zelensky made an urgent call for military aid. Moscow’s Defense Ministry said its troops had “liberated” five villages in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region near the Russian border — Borysivka, Ohirtseve,…

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Russia Launches New Ground Offensive Against Northeastern Ukraine

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Russian forces launched a surprise ground offensive into Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region on Friday, as Ukrainian authorities told civilians along border areas to flee amid heavy fighting. “Russia launched a new wave of counteroffensive actions… Ukraine met them there with our troops, brigades, and artillery,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a briefing. “Now there…

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Putin Signals Continuity With PM Mishustin’s Reappointment

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President Vladimir Putin has nominated acting Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin for reappointment, with Russian lawmakers widely expected to approve his candidacy later on Friday, an apparent signal of continuity as Moscow presses on with its full-scale war against Ukraine. Mishustin, a low-profile technocrat who has steered Russia’s economy through a storm of Western sanctions and…

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Russian Lawmakers Approve Mishustin’s Return as PM

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Updated with voting results. Russian lawmakers on Friday approved President Vladimir Putin’s nomination of Mikhail Mishustin to return as prime minister, a sign that the Kremlin is banking on continuity and stability as it presses ahead with its full-scale war against Ukraine. Mishustin, a low-profile technocrat who has steered Russia’s economy through a storm of Western sanctions and…

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Russia Issues Arrest Warrant for Exiled Rapper Oxxxymiron

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Authorities in Russia have issued an arrest warrant for the exiled anti-war rapper Oxxxymiron, the independent news website Mediazona reported Thursday. Russia’s Justice Ministry designated Oxxxymiron — whose real name is Miron Fyodorov — as a “foreign agent” in October 2022, several months after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The rapper has organized concerts in support of Ukrainian…

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Estonia Summons Russian Envoy Over Alleged GPS Jamming

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Estonia on Wednesday summoned Russia’s charge d’affaires over alleged GPS interference around its airspace, claiming that recent disruptions to civilian air traffic were “hybrid activity” orchestrated by Moscow. Estonia and fellow Baltic states Latvia and Lithuania warned last month that widespread Russian GPS jamming was increasing the threat of an aviation accident occurring in their…

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Arrested Russian Deputy Defense Minister Accused of Accepting $12 Mln Bribe, Lawyer Says

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Russian Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov has been accused of accepting a bribe “in the form of services” valued at more than 1 billion rubles ($12.2 million), Russian media reported Wednesday. Ivanov, 48, faces up to 15 years in prison for large-scale bribe-taking, which investigators say centers around a “criminal conspiracy” to accept funds “in the form…

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U.K. Expels Russian Defense Attache Accused of Being ‘Undeclared’ Intelligence Officer

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The British government announced Wednesday that it plans to expel a Russian Defense attache over suspicions that he is “an undeclared military intelligence officer.” Home Secretary James Cleverly told parliament the U.K. would also remove the diplomatic status of several Russian-owned properties, including one in Sussex, southern England, and another in London, which he says…

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Ukraine Warns of Widespread Power Outages After Russian Strikes on Energy Sites

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Ukraine on Wednesday warned of possible nationwide power shutdowns after a “massive” wave of Russian missiles and drones targeted the country’s already battered energy system. While Ukrainian troops struggle to hold the front line more than two years into the war, Moscow has intensified strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, triggering blackouts and electricity rationing across…

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Lithuania Ready to Send Troops to Ukraine, PM Says

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Lithuania is prepared to send its soldiers on a training mission to Ukraine despite Russia’s nuclear threats, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said in an interview with the Financial Times published Wednesday. Her comments follow the Russian Defense Ministry’s announcement that its forces were preparing to conduct tactical nuclear weapons exercises in response to Western…

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Russia Bans U.S.-Funded Rights Group Freedom House

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Moscow on Tuesday designated the U.S.-funded rights group Freedom House as an “undesirable organization,” effectively banning anyone from working for or having links with the group. Russia’s Prosecutor General said in a statement that Freedom House had called for “comprehensive assistance for Ukraine to defeat Russia” and had “discredited” the Russian army. “The organization provides…

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Russian Journalist Kevorkova Placed in Pre-Trial Detention for ‘Justifying Terrorism’

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A Moscow court has placed journalist Nadezhda Kevorkova in pre-trial detention for two months on charges of “justifying terrorism” over posts she made on social, the Russian capital’s court system announced Tuesday. Kevorkova, 65, is a Russian war correspondent, author, and filmmaker who has written about the Middle East and Russia’s North Caucasus for both independent…

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With Georgia Gripped By Political Turmoil, Officials in Moscow Take Hands-Off Approach

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Georgia’s controversial “foreign influence” bill has sharply divided Georgian politics and stirred accusations that the ruling coalition seeks to draw the country closer to Russia, as the draft law’s critics argue that it is a facsimile of repressive legislation adopted by Moscow more than a decade ago. In Russia, officials are observing from the sidelines…

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Armenian PM Threatens to Ban Russian TV Channels

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Armenia could ban Russian television broadcasts if Moscow continues ignoring Yerevan’s requests for more balanced coverage, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Tuesday. “We expect the broadcasts of Russian TV channels to respect the citizens and the state system of Armenia,” Pashinyan said during a marathon press conference, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. “We…

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Regional Official Arrested for Bribery in Russia’s Bashkortostan

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A regional minister has been detained on suspicion of soliciting 5 million rubles ($55,000) as a bribe in Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan, investigators said Tuesday. Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, did not identify the official by name, saying only that he is a 47-year-old ex-transportation minister. But Bashkortostan Governor Radiy Khabirov identified the…

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Russian Journalist Kevorkova Charged With ‘Justifying Terrorism,’ Lawyer Says

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Russian law enforcement authorities have charged journalist Nadezhda Kevorkova with “justifying terrorism” over posts she made on social media, her lawyer said Monday. Kevorkova, 65, is a Russian war correspondent, author, and filmmaker who has written about the Middle East and Russia’s North Caucasus for both the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta and the Kremlin-funded broadcaster…

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