Independent news outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe reported on Monday that Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of Chechnya, has been living with a potentially fatal illness for more than five years, prompting the Kremlin to start working on a plan for a managed transfer of power. In the first part of its investigation into the political…
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Kyiv’s SBU security service said Wednesday it suspected a high-ranking cleric and head of east Ukraine’s main monastery of having revealed army positions to Russian forces. The SBU said it had “served a notice of suspicion to the Metropolitan of the Sviatohirsk Lavra who ‘tipped off’” Ukrainian positions in the Donetsk region to Russian forces.…
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The arrest of a senior defense official on bribery suspicions signals Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s diminishing status and the rising influence of the security services, two sources in the Russian government and a person close to the Kremlin told The Moscow Times. All spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic.…
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When the water started rising sharply in Orenburg, a regional capital near Russia’s border with Kazakhstan, Veronika realized that a “gigantic tragedy” was unfolding before her eyes. “It was such a terrible, nerve-wracking situation because the water kept rising and rising,” Orenburg resident Veronika told The Moscow Times. “Every day you wake up, scroll through…
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Russia and Ukraine have for the first time held in-person talks to exchange children displaced by the war, Moscow’s children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova announced Wednesday. Forty-eight children are set to be exchanged under the deal agreed in Qatar, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency quoted Lvova-Belova as saying. Qatar said it mediated the Russian-Ukrainian children’s…
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A veteran of Russia’s war on Ukraine has been appointed as a district head in his home region on Monday, marking the first known example of a participant in the war being named to public office in Russia. “Today, deputies of the Berezovsky District Duma unanimously endorsed the candidacy of Ruslan Alexandrov for the post…
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Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov has been arrested in one of the highest-profile corruption cases involving the military since Russia invaded Ukraine more than two years ago. Dubbed “one of the richest siloviki,” 48-year-old Ivanov has been the subject of Russian media investigations into his and his family’s lavish lifestyles. Ivanov is also seen as…
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The Russian Orthodox Church has suspended a priest who led a memorial service for the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny last month, according to a ruling on the Moscow diocese website. Priest Dmitry Safronov performed a memorial service at Navalny’s gravesite in Moscow on March 26, 40 days after the Kremlin critic died in an Arctic prison. According…
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A Russian deputy defense minister who was exposed in an investigation by late opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s team was remanded in custody Wednesday on suspicion of taking large bribes. The arrest of Timur Ivanov, a longtime ally of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, is the most dramatic corruption case in Russia in recent years, and comes…
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Ukraine launched attack drones at oil facilities in western Russia early Wednesday, defense sources in Kyiv confirmed, in the latest aerial assault by Kyiv aiming to dent Russian military logistics. Ukraine over recent weeks has stepped up aerial attacks on Russian energy facilities in the hopes of crippling Moscow’s ability to attack Ukrainian cities or…
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The law aims to overhaul the mobilization system, including by toughening penalties against draft dodgers and by forcing men to keep their military registration up to date. The suspension of consular services was needed to “resolve technical issues” linked with the implementation of the new legislation, the ministry said. It said men would be able…
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Russia will ramp up strikes on Western weapons delivered to Ukraine, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday following the U.S. Congress’ long-delayed approval of fresh military aid to Kyiv. “We shall increase the intensity of strikes against logistics centers and storage facilities of the Western armament,” Shoigu told the ministry’s advisory board. “Russian servicemen [have] defused…
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A Moscow court on Tuesday denied U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich’s appeal against the extension of his pre-trial detention in the espionage case that he and American authorities have rejected as false. Gershkovich, 32, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, has been in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo prison for more than a year after he was…
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The Russian Embassy in Turkey has urged citizens to avoid flying Turkish Airlines due to a recent uptick in passengers being denied boarding on connecting flights from Istanbul to Latin American destinations. “We’re compelled to advise our citizens to carefully weigh the advisability of using the services of this airline,” the embassy said in a statement…
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Russia is canceling a popular procession to commemorate World War II victims for a second straight year due to growing security concerns, officials announced Tuesday. For more than a decade, Russians across the country have paraded through cities each May 9 holding portraits of relatives who were killed in what Russia calls the “Great Patriotic…
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Some 120 civilians have been killed in southwestern Russia’s Belgorod region near the border with Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov has said. Belgorod has been repeatedly targeted by what Russian officials have called indiscriminate Ukrainian attacks since the start of the conflict. “The situation is extremely complicated, the [cross-border]…
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Russian drone and rocket attacks on Ukraine throughout Tuesday injured more than a dozen people, Ukrainian officials said. Nine were wounded, including four children, in the southern city of Odesa, by falling debris from an overnight drone attack, the emergency services said. The port city on the Black Sea has been targeted by Russian missile…
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A union of leading Russian publishers and libraries has created an advisory body that would evaluate books for their compliance with the country’s increasingly repressive legislation, the Vedomosti business daily reported Tuesday. The Russian Book Union’s so-called expert center will issue recommendations on individual books, but leave the final decision to pull the books from sale…
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Ten years ago, Alexander Krasnogorodtsev, an artist from St. Petersburg, told his parents he was going on a trip to the White Sea to paint Russia’s northern landscapes and would be off the grid for a while. Instead, the 24-year-old drove to Rostov-on-Don, a city about 1,500 kilometers to the south, crossed the Ukrainian border…
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Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov appeared to show off his physical fitness in a workout video after independent media reported that the 47-year-old has been living with pancreatic necrosis for over five years. Citing anonymous sources at the Moscow Central Clinical Hospital where he was allegedly treated, the news website Novaya Gazeta Europe reported Monday that…
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Russia’s worst flooding in decades has submerged Soviet-era uranium mines in the Kurgan region, the investigative news outlet Agentstvo reported Monday, sparking fears that radioactive and chemical pollution could seep into the Tobol River. The Dobrovolnoye uranium deposit is located within the flood zone in Kurgan’s Zverinogolovsky district, Agentsvo reported, citing a map published by local…
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A major television tower was toppled in Ukraine’s war-battered city of Kharkiv on Monday after bombardments from Russia forces, as the country’s head of military intelligence warned the situation on the front lines would likely deteriorate in coming weeks. An AFP journalist in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, saw the red-and-white spire of the 240-meter structure…
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Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been living with a diagnosis of pancreatic necrosis for more than five years, the independent news website Novaya Gazeta Europe reported Monday, citing anonymous sources at the Moscow presidential hospital where he was allegedly treated. His deteriorating condition has reportedly prompted the Kremlin to start working on a succession plan to…
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A Russian court has sentenced Meta spokesman Andy Stone to six years in prison in absentia on “terrorism” charges linked to the company’s wartime content moderation policy, the independent Mediazona news website reported Monday. Stone was charged with the “promotion,” “public calls for” and “justification” of terrorism after his March 2022 announcement that the Facebook and Instagram parent…
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A Moscow resident has been sentenced to five years of correctional labor on charges linked to a street interview he gave to the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) news outlet, the OVD-Info rights watchdog reported Monday. Yury Kokhovets, 39, was approached by RFE/RL journalists in Moscow in July 2022 and asked whether a de-escalation…
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Russia has threatened to take a tit-for-tat response after the U.S. Congress passed legislation that would allow the transfer of confiscated Russian assets for Ukraine’s reconstruction. The U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday approved long-delayed military aid to Ukraine that also contains provisions for the Biden administration to sell confiscated Russian assets and hand the…
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Three people have been killed and two injured in a fire at a machine-building plant in the southern Russian city of Voronezh, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said Monday. Eyewitness footage shared by local social media channels showed thick black smoke coming out of a two-story industrial building and spreading to nearby streets. The fire engulfed around 500 square…
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Two traffic police officers have been killed and one seriously wounded in an armed attack in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Karachayevo-Cherkessia, law enforcement authorities said Monday. “The gunman fired several shots at the police officers, then stole their service weapons and ammunition,” the regional branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in…
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Ukraine said Sunday its navy had struck a salvage ship belonging to Russia’s Black Sea fleet on the annexed Crimean peninsula, putting it out of service. It did not say where the attack took place, but social media footage purportedly filmed in the Crimean port of Sevastopol showed a ship in flames. “Today, the Ukrainian…
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Russia said Sunday its forces had gained territory near the key battleground town of Chasiv Yar in east Ukraine, highlighting the pressure facing Kyiv as it gears up to receive $61 billion in new U.S. aid. After nearly a year-and-a-half delay, the United States House of Representatives finally approved the aid package in a vote…
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Moscow on Saturday slammed the approval by the U.S. House of Representatives for an aid package to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. “The allocation of U.S. military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan will exacerbate global crises,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram. She called aid for Kyiv “direct support for terrorist activities” and…
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Ukraine and Russia both accused each other of deadly strikes on civilians Saturday, as U.S. lawmakers prepared to vote on a $61 billion aid package Kyiv hopes will boost its flagging war effort. Ukraine’s biggest ally Washington has not approved large-scale support for the war-torn country in nearly a year and a half, a delay…
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In the traditional cuisine of Russia, where most people were Orthodox Christians, there are more than 200 days of fasting a year. During that time no meat is allowed, of course, but what about other products, like spices? They played an important role in Russian cuisine, although the roles were different from those used in…
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Ukraine launched drones at eight Russian regions overnight, hitting three electrical substations and a fuel depot, a source in Ukraine’s defence sector told AFP on Saturday. Kyiv has ramped up strikes on Russian oil and gas facilities in recent months, part of what it calls “fair” retaliation on infrastructure used to fuel Russia’s war. “At…
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Russian forces shelled two residential buildings in Ukraine’s north east Kharkiv region on Saturday, killing one person and injuring another, authorities said. The attack took place in Vovchansk, a city that lies about five kilometres (three miles) from the Russian border and has been frequently targeted throughout the war. “Russian troops hit a nine-storey building…
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Russia’s Izvestia newspaper said Saturday one of its military correspondents was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia. The attack took place on Friday as the journalist Semyon Eremin and his film crew returned from a reporting trip to the frontline village of Pryiutne, Izvestia said. “Eremin’s film crew was…
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A Ukrainian drone strike overnight killed two people in Russia’s frontier Belgorod region, its governor said early Saturday. A residential building and a barn in the village of Poroz were “completely burned down”, Vyacheslav Gladkov said. Another building was severely damaged. “As a result of the release of two explosive devices, a private residential building caught…
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A U.S. citizen known to have fought with pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine between 2014 and 2017 has been killed in Moscow-occupied Donetsk, Russian media reported Friday. Russia-installed authorities in eastern Ukraine had earlier this month reported the American — 64-year-old Russell Bentley — as missing. “Russell Bentley, known as ‘Texas,’ a real American, truly from…
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Russian officials face various restrictions on their ability to travel abroad, the Kremlin said Friday after a Reuters report linked the limits to fears that foreign powers could attempt to gain access to state secrets. “All [state] organizations have nuances in the current system of approving travel abroad,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in his daily…
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The artist Tamara de Lempicka is having a moment. The glamourous aristocratic Russian refugee artist (1894–1980) best known for her Art Deco portraits, is the heroine of the musical “Lempicka,” which opened on Broadway on April 14. Starring Eden Espinosa, the show is directed by two-time Tony Award-winner Rachel Chavkin. It is an extravagant production because,…
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A high-ranking official in Russia’s Ural Mountains region of Perm was forced to resign after a video filmed by his son at a resort in Bali sparked public backlash. Alexei Dyomkin, the Perm region government’s deputy chairman, announced his resignation on Thursday, just days after his son Ilya posted a video in which he boasted…
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Russia has made clear to Israel that Iran “does not want escalation,” Moscow’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday, after reports Israel had carried out retaliatory strikes against its arch-rival. “There have been telephone contacts between the leadership of Russia and Iran, our representatives and the Israelis. We made it very clear in these conversations,…
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A Russian military court will hear the “terrorism” case against theater director Yevgenia Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk over their award-winning play about Russian women who fall in love with Islamist militants, prosecutors said Friday. Berkovich and Petriychuk were arrested in May 2023 on the accusation of “justifying terrorism” with their play “Finist the Brave Falcon.” Berkovich…
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A journalist for a leading St. Petersburg news website has had her home searched by police in connection with a criminal probe against prominent exiled investigative journalist Andrei Zakharov, the outlet, Fontanka.ru, reported Friday. Reporter Ksenia Klochkova was reportedly named a witness in the case against Zakharov. “The searches at Ksenia’s are allegedly part of this…
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Two people have been detained in Poland on suspicion of attacking Leonid Volkov, an exiled ally of late Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, the president of Lithuania announced Friday. Volkov, who has lived in exile since Moscow banned Navalny’s groups as “extremist” organizations in 2021, was in mid-March assaulted with a hammer outside his home in Vilnius,…
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Three people have been detained in Poland in connection with the March attack on Leonid Volkov, an exiled ally of late Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, in Lithuania, Vilnius and Warsaw announced Friday. Volkov, who has lived in exile since Moscow banned Navalny’s groups as “extremist” organizations in 2021, was in mid-March assaulted with a hammer outside…
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In Washington, the U.S. House of Representatives is gearing up for a crucial weekend vote on a long-stalled $61 billion package of military aid for Kyiv that could deliver much-needed weapons to Ukrainian soldiers struggling on the front lines. In a boost for their forces, Kyiv said it had downed a Russian long-range strategic bomber…
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Ukraine said Friday that, for the first time since Russia’s invasion, it had downed a Russian long-range bomber used to fire cruise missiles at cities across the war-battered country. “For the first time, anti-aircraft missile units of the air force in cooperation with the defense intelligence of Ukraine destroyed a Tu-22M3 long-range strategic bomber,” Ukraine’s…
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What is driving the record-bad flooding that has devastated parts of Russia and Kazakhstan and forced tens of thousands of people to escape the fast-rising water? AFP looks at the worst flooding in decades to hit this region: Spring and snow Spring floods in Russia and northern Kazakhstan “are to be expected and are a…
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A man suspected of aiding a plot by Russian intelligence services to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been arrested in Poland, Polish and Ukrainian prosecutors said Thursday. The Polish national, named only as Pawel K., is suspected of supplying information to Russian military intelligence and “helping the Russian special forces to plan a possible…
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A memorial to Russian sailors killed during the war in Ukraine appears to show that 19 sailors were killed in the sinking of the Moskva battleship, according to photos shared by pro-war bloggers and analyzed by independent media. Russia’s Defense Ministry has confirmed one death and 27 missing sailors in the April 13, 2022, sinking of the…
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Glaciers on Russia’s Far East Kamchatka Peninsula have shrunk by over a third since the mid-20th century, the state-run TASS news agency reported, citing Russian scientists’ measurements. Known as the “land of fire and ice” because of its active volcanoes and expansive glaciers, Kamchatka is now threatened by climate change, with glacier melt accelerating this century.…
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The Kremlin on Thursday denounced the seizure in France of a villa allegedly owned by Russian businessman Artur Ocheretny, the new partner of President Vladimir Putin’s ex-wife. The property, in the southwestern coastal town of Anglet, was seized in December 2023 as part of an investigation into money laundering, prosecutors said Wednesday. “Any encroachment on…
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Russia saw a 10% drop in marriages last year despite state efforts to encourage citizens to start families, according to official data cited by the broadcaster RTVI. Around 950,000 marriages were registered in 2023 compared to 1.05 million the previous year, the outlet said, citing state statistics agency Rosstat. The year-on-year decline — which was observed…
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An employee of the Russian Defense Ministry’s military-themed park outside Moscow has been arrested on treason charges, the BBC Russian service reported Thursday. Nikolai Martynov, 26, worked as an engineer at Patriot Park, which displays Russian and Soviet military equipment on its sprawling 5,400-hectare grounds. He was arrested on Feb. 21 on treason charges, according to…
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Russia said Thursday that fresh U.S. aid for Ukraine will not change the dynamics on the battlefield, as Washington gears up for a crucial weekend vote on long-stalled military funding for Kyiv. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he would advance a $61 billion package of funding for Ukraine, stalled since last year amid…
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Authorities in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Chechnya will train Palestinian refugees from Gaza to work at a factory that assembles assault vehicles used by Chechen fighters in Ukraine, according to local state-run media. Known as “Jihad Mobiles,” the assault vehicles assembled at the Chechenavto plant are modeled on converted off-road vehicles that Russian troops used in Syria.…
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Ukraine said Thursday its forces had struck a large Russian airfield on the annexed Crimean peninsula, destroying an array of military equipment. The attack took place in the early hours of Wednesday at the Dzhankoi air base, on the northern part of the peninsula seized by Moscow in 2014. Ukraine’s military intelligence said the operation…
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The Supreme Court of Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan has rejected activist Fayil Alsynov’s appeal against a prison sentence on charges of “inciting interethnic hatred,” his lawyer Ilnur Suyundukov announced Thursday. Alsynov, a prominent indigenous rights defender from Turkic-majority Bashkortostan, was sentenced to four years in a penal colony in January on charges linked to his…
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A top Russian scientist developing hypersonic technologies has been sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of state treason, a spokeswoman for St. Petersburg’s judiciary said Thursday. Alexander Kuranov, the head of a St. Petersburg state research institute who oversaw the Soviet-era Ayaks hypersonic aircraft program, was arrested in 2021 at age 73. Investigators reportedly accused…
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