Explainer: What the Kakhovka Dam Catastrophe Means For the Ukraine-Russia War

A Russian-controlled dam near the frontline that supplies southern Ukraine and annexed Crimea with drinking water was significantly damaged early Tuesday, flooding the area and potentially threatening the nearby nuclear power plant. The damage to the Kakhovka dam unleashed a torrent of water that flooded a small city and two dozen villages, sparking the evacuation of…

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Russia Claims Arrests in Ukrainian ‘Dirty Bomb’ Plot

Russia’s domestic intelligence agency has made arrests in connection with alleged Ukrainian plans to drop “dirty bombs” on Russian energy facilities, state media reported Tuesday. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said two “pilots” of unknown nationality have been detained and “confessed to the committed and planned terrorist acts,” according to the state-run TASS news agency.…

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Flooding in Ukraine’s Kherson Region After Critical Dam Destroyed

A Russian-controlled dam near the frontline that supplies southern Ukraine and annexed Crimea with drinking water was significantly damaged early Tuesday, prompting evacuations of 17,000 people and threatening the nearby nuclear power plant. Drone footage originally published by pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian bloggers showed the broken Kakhovka dam with water flowing freely downstream. The 30-meter-tall, 3.2-kilometer-long Kakhovka…

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World’s Largest Tatar Language Platform to Shut Down After Western Developer Exits Russia

The world’s largest online platform for Tatar language learners is shutting down after its Western developer chose to cease activities in Russia, ending what activists and language specialists have deemed a crucial tool for preserving the language.  Ana Tele (Tatar for “mother tongue”), had offered free lessons in Tatar, the second official language of Russia’s…

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Russia Buys Back Military Parts Exported to Asia

Russia is reimporting parts for tanks and missiles previously sold to India and Myanmar, potentially to improve older weapons and equipment destined for use in Ukraine, the financial news outlet Nikkei Asia reported Monday.  According to customs clearance data analyzed by journalists, Russian defense industry manufacturers have been buying back equipment that they had previously…

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Russian Investors Offered to Join Lawsuit Seeking to Unfreeze EU Funds – Vedomosti

A Russian law firm has announced a class-action lawsuit against European securities settlement houses in Russian courts to recover funds that were frozen over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Vedomosti business daily reported Monday. EU sanctions on Russia’s National Settlement Depository (NSD) and other Western measures have cut off many Russian investors’ assets held in…

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Buy a Brilliant and Applaud an Artist

Артист: an actor, a performer A couple of years ago I was flummoxed by a Russian word I’d never heard before and couldn’t understand: тред. People were writing things like “тред набрал 30 тысяч лайков за несколько часов” (The “tred” picked up 30,000 likes in a few hours) or “зашёл в этот тред только сказать…

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Russian Border Region Spends Big on Mass Entertainment Amid Shelling Attacks 

Authorities in Russia’s Belgorod region — a target of frequent shelling attacks — spent nearly four times as much on public entertainment this year than on civil defense, the Mozhem Obyasnit’ Telegram news channel reported Friday.  Ukraine-bordering districts of the Belgorod region experienced repeated shelling and drone attacks since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year,…

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Russian Oilfield Service Sees Record Revenue in 2022 – Vedomosti

Russian oilfield service companies earned record revenues in 2022 after major foreign players exited the market due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Vedomosti newspaper reported Friday. According to data from Kasaktin Consulting cited by Vedomosti, Russian oilfield services earned 1.79 trillion rubles ($22.2 billion) in 2022, the highest figure since at least 2018. The international presence…

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Faroe Islands Restrict Russian Access to Its Ports

Denmark’s autonomous Faroe Islands said Thursday Russian access to its North Atlantic ports would be restricted to vessels dedicated exclusively to fishing, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Only fishing vessels exclusively conducting fisheries under the bilateral agreement between the Faroe Islands and Russia will be allowed to enter Faroese ports,” the government said. “The activities of…

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Russia Says Former Bolshevik Party Leader Behind Pro-War Blogger’s Murder

Russian investigative authorities on Thursday named Roman Popkov, a journalist and former leader of the radical leftist National Bolshevik Party, as the organizer of a prominent pro-war blogger’s assassination.  Vladlen Tatarsky, a vocal supporter of the invasion of Ukraine, was killed in a bomb blast after being gifted a golden figurine containing an explosive device…

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Kremlin Officials Continue to Use iPhones Despite U.S. Espionage Fears

As many as 30% of employees in the Russian presidential administration continue to use iPhones for personal communication, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday. Peskov’s comments came after Russia’s Federal Security Services (FSB) announced that it had detected “anomalies” in some iPhones in Russia caused by “malicious software” that it linked to “surveillance operations by American…

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Putin’s Daughters, Ex-Wife Own Property via Offshore Firms – Investigation

President Vladimir Putin had used a web of offshore companies to hand out homes near his residence outside Moscow to his ex-wife and daughters, the investigative outlet Proekt reported Thursday. The media investigation is based on the emails of Putin’s former son-in-law Krill Shamalov that had been obtained through a massive data breach by other investigative outlets…

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Nintendo Ends Online Sales of Games in Russia

Nintendo has said it will no longer sell games in Russia through its online store as the Japanese giant winds down operations in the increasingly isolated country. The changes, which were announced and came into effect on Wednesday, follow Nintendo’s suspension of product shipments to Russia in March 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine. Russian customers can still re-download…

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Russia Lays Mines at ‘Industrial Level’ Ahead of Ukrainian Counteroffensive

When Ukrainian forces launch their long-awaited counteroffensive this summer, they will be up against multiple lines of Russian fortifications stretching hundreds of miles from the Black Sea to Ukraine’s northern border. The military hazards include trenches and anti-tank obstacles, but Russian soldiers have also been busy laying thousands of landmines.  “What we’re seeing is just…

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