News
- Eksmo-AST chief: dozens of books shelved over censorship, publishers over-insureThe head of Russia's largest publishing group said the company dropped dozens of titles that failed internal checks against Russian law, citing a climate of over-caution after criminal cases against other publishers.
- Satellite images show strikes on Samara plants building Soyuz rockets and repairing Tu-95 bombersSatellite imagery published by Ukrainian Telegram channels shows two strike zones at an industrial site in Samara after a nighttime attack, one hitting a workshop of the Progress rocket plant and another a building of the Aviakor aircraft factory.
- Moscow court sentences Promsvyazbank founders in absentia to eight yearsA Moscow court sentenced Promsvyazbank founders Alexei and Dmitry Ananyev in absentia to eight years in prison each for large-scale fraud.
- Russia adds journalist Ksenia Larina to 'terrorists and extremists' listRussia's financial monitoring service has added journalist Ksenia Larina to its list of 'terrorists and extremists', and she has been placed on the federal wanted list.
- Moscow court jails man for 14 days over support rally for Yabloko partyA Moscow court sentenced Vyacheslav Avdashev to 14 days in jail for attending an unsanctioned rally outside the Supreme Court in support of the Yabloko party.
- Russians pull $3.4bn from banks in two weeks amid fears of deposit seizureIn the first two weeks of August, Russian depositors withdrew 286.4 billion rubles ($3.4 billion) from the banking system, according to Central Bank data cited by The Washington Post.
- Russia's energy minister admits fuel queues, says he drives a dieselRussia's energy minister acknowledged queues at gas stations but said he personally has no problems because he drives a diesel vehicle.
- Kazakh court sentences ex-Orda.kz editor to 8 years in prisonA court in Almaty sentenced Gulnara Bazhenova, former editor-in-chief and co-founder of the independent news outlet Orda.kz, to eight years in prison, with the term deferred for two years due to her minor child.
- Russia warns Britain of 'consequences' over Ukrainian strikes with UK-made dronesRussia's embassy in London accused Britain of a 'deliberate bet on escalation' and threatened 'consequences' over reports that Ukraine uses British drones for long-range strikes on Russian territory.
- Finnish court overturns deportation of Russian couple who aided UkrainiansA Finnish administrative court has annulled the deportation order against Russian citizens Olga and Nikita Belov, who helped Ukrainian refugees, and ordered the immigration service to re-examine their asylum request.
- Grenade explodes during anti-terror drill at Moscow-area school, injuring four teachersA grenade exploded during an anti-terrorism training exercise at a school outside Moscow, injuring four teachers.
- Fuel available at only 28% of Russian gas stations as shortages worsenFuel was on sale at just 28.1% of Russian gas stations as of August 16, down from 41% a week earlier, according to data from the GdeBENZ app analyzed by Izvestia.
- Deputy chairman of Genbank killed in Moscow ambulance crashDmitry Larin, deputy chairman of the board of Genbank, died in a head-on collision with an ambulance in central Moscow.
- Russia summons Japanese ambassador over Tokyo's response to Putin's Iturup visitRussia's Foreign Ministry summoned Japanese Ambassador Akira Muto and lodged a 'resolute protest' over Tokyo's reaction to President Vladimir Putin's visit to the disputed Kuril island of Iturup.
- Russian opposition figure Nadezhdin fined for interview with MeduzaA Moscow court fined Boris Nadezhdin, who left Russia, 10,000 rubles for an interview with Meduza, which it deemed as contact with an 'undesirable' organization.
- Russia's top election official proposes stripping emigrants of voting rightsElla Pamfilova, head of Russia's Central Election Commission, has proposed denying Russians who left the country the right to vote, saying 'left the country, betrayed — get out.'
- Russian strike on Kharkiv region village kills 10A Russian missile attack on the center of the village of Pechenegy in Ukraine's Kharkiv region killed 10 people and wounded 17 on August 18.
- Russian courts fine residents for complaining about fuel shortagesCourts in Volgograd and Perm have begun fining residents for publicly complaining about fuel shortages, with one woman penalized for recording a video appeal at a gas station.
- Russian business 'voluntary' budget payments hit record 384 billion rublesRussian businesses' no-strings payments to the federal budget reached a record 383.69 billion rubles by mid-August, nearly 1.5 times the total for all of 2025.
- Moscow hit by more than 600 drones in record Ukrainian attackMore than 620 Ukrainian drones were launched toward Moscow overnight, the city's mayor said, in what appears to be the largest such attack on the Russian capital.
- Greek tanker carrying Russian oil hit by drone near Novorossiysk terminalA drone attacked the Liberia-flagged tanker Skiros after it loaded about a million barrels of Russian crude at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal near Novorossiysk, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
- Ukrainian drones destroyed over 40% of Wildberries' warehouse space in a monthUkrainian drone strikes have destroyed more than 40% of Wildberries' warehouse capacity over the past month, including its largest logistics hub near Moscow.
- Russia braces for new fuel crunch as refineries shut for repairsA new wave of fuel shortages may hit Russia in September as major refineries, including one twice struck by Ukrainian drones, go offline for scheduled maintenance and Belarus cuts supplies.
- Rostec launches mass production of mobile substations for blackout-prone regionsRostec has begun serial production of mobile electrical substations designed to restore power quickly in the event of blackouts caused by drone attacks.
- Russian expert charged over foreign group citing her reportsRussian authorities have charged Olga Sibireva, an expert at the Sova research center, with cooperating with an 'undesirable' organization because a foreign group cited her public reports.
- Second Russian drone-missile explodes in Moldova in a monthA Russian drone-missile exploded in Moldova on Tuesday, the second such incident in a month, after it crossed the border from Ukraine and detonated near the village of Talmaza.
- Russian medical schools launch extra residency intake amid mass shortfallRussian medical universities have announced additional residency enrollment after hundreds of budget-funded places remained vacant, with admissions extended to the end of August.
- Russian pensioner fined for shooting at drone, gun confiscatedA court in Russia's Volgograd region fined a pensioner 40,000 rubles and confiscated his shotgun for firing at a drone flying over his home.
- Ex-commander of Ukrainian submarine killed in Sevastopol blastRobert Shageyev, former commander of the Ukrainian submarine Zaporizhzhia who defected to Russia's Black Sea Fleet in 2014, died on August 13 in an explosion in Sevastopol, according to The Insider.
- Head of Moscow's Azerbaijani diaspora deported from RussiaBakhtiyar Hasanov, head of Moscow's Azerbaijani diaspora, was deported from Russia after being held at a detention center since June.
- Ex-FSB officer behind 'Kremlin Laundress' gets 11 years for paid 'negative-blocking'A Moscow military court sentenced former FSB officer Mikhail Polyakov, owner of the Telegram channel 'Kremlin Laundress', to 11 years in prison for extorting 42.5 million rubles from an IT company in exchange for not publishing negative content.
- Russian wheat prices hit lowest since May 2024 as Novorossiysk terminals haltRussian wheat prices fell to their lowest since May 2024 after all three grain terminals in Novorossiysk suspended operations following drone attacks.
- Russian strike on Odesa ports damages Togo-flagged vessel, wounds fourA Russian attack on port infrastructure in Ukraine's Odesa region damaged a civilian vessel flying the flag of Togo and wounded four people, three of whom were hospitalized.
- Russia's oldest LGBTQ group shuts down after being labeled 'extremist'The Russian LGBT Network, one of the country's oldest LGBTQ rights groups, announced its closure after a court designated it an 'extremist' organization.
- Four more EU states to stop accepting Russian non-biometric passportsBelgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden will stop accepting Russian non-biometric passports from October 1, 2026, the European Commission said.
- Yandex Maps hides Russian missile base near Kronstadt with cloned forest patchFinland's YLE found that Yandex Maps replaced a satellite image of a missile position near Kronstadt with a copied forest fragment, complete with visible seams and repeating vegetation.
- German citizen arrested in St. Petersburg over 900-ruble donation to FBKA 41-year-old German citizen was detained in St. Petersburg on suspicion of financing an 'extremist' organization, with police video showing him reading a ruling that cites a 900-ruble donation to the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK).
- Russian firm asks Putin to put Nestle under external managementA little-known Russian logistics company has asked President Vladimir Putin to consider introducing temporary external management at five Nestle subsidiaries in Russia, Kommersant reported.
- Criminal case opened against Dozhd founder Natalia Sindeeva and CEO Mark TenRussian authorities have opened a criminal case against Dozhd founder Natalia Sindeeva and CEO Mark Ten over the alleged activities of an 'undesirable' organization.
- Imported gasoline from India and Morocco stuck in Murmansk over price disputeTankers carrying gasoline from India and Morocco to Russia are stranded in Murmansk because importers and regulators cannot agree on a price.
- Russian court sentences Rolf founder Sergei Petrov to nine years in absentiaA Moscow court sentenced Sergei Petrov, founder of car dealer Rolf and former State Duma deputy, to nine years in prison in absentia over the illegal transfer of about 4 billion rubles abroad.
- EU's Kallas promises 'most extensive' Russia sanctions package since war beganEU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has announced plans for the bloc's most extensive sanctions package against Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion, which she says could expand the number of sanctioned entities by a third.
- Russia built 10 secret drone bases near NATO borders, leaked documents showRussia has built ten bases for long-range kamikaze drones in border regions and occupied Ukrainian territories, according to leaked documents and satellite imagery analyzed by intelligence firm DroneSec.
- Russia's Supreme Court weighs Yabloko appeal as police detain supportersRussia's Supreme Court is considering an appeal by the Yabloko party against its removal from the State Duma election ballot, as police detained at least three people outside the court building.
- Binance gave Russian investigators data on EU resident's donations to UkraineBinance provided Russian investigators with detailed account data of an EU resident accused of financing terrorism, revealing additional donations to Ukraine and raising treason concerns.
- Gulf states secretly ship oil through Strait of Hormuz with transponders offGulf countries are covertly moving more than 4 million barrels of oil per day through the Strait of Hormuz on ships with transponders switched off, helping to keep global prices from spiking, Bloomberg reported.
- Six killed in rocket strike on Russian village of KoloskovoSix people were killed and four injured, including a 14-year-old, in a rocket strike on the village of Koloskovo in Russia's Belgorod region.
- Yabloko demands CEC either remove all parties from election or reinstate itYabloko chairman Nikolai Rybakov has demanded that Central Election Commission head Ella Pamfilova either acknowledge the absurdity of the Supreme Court's decision to remove the party from the State Duma election or have the commission seek the removal of all other parties.
- Olympiad winners take all budget spots at top Russian universitiesWinners and prize-holders of school olympiads have filled all budget-funded places on several popular programs at leading Russian universities this year, leaving applicants with near-perfect Unified State Exam scores without admission.
- Ukraine used British drones for deep strikes on Russia for six monthsUkraine has used British-made drones for strikes deep inside Russia over the past six months, according to sources in the Ukrainian armed forces cited by The Sunday Times.
- Yabloko finds over 1 billion rubles in foreign-linked donations to all five parliamentary partiesYabloko's anti-corruption center says all five Russian parliamentary parties received at least 1.153 billion rubles from donors with foreign ties, citing party financial reports filed with the Central Election Commission.
- Russian rocker's St. Petersburg apartment seized, bank account frozenAuthorities in Russia have seized the St. Petersburg apartment of Mikhail Borzykin, founder of the rock band Televizor, and blocked his bank account, his producer said.
- Yabloko finds 1.15 bln rubles in donations to parliamentary parties from sponsors with foreign tiesRussia's Yabloko party says companies with foreign ties donated 1.15 billion rubles to parliamentary parties, challenging a court ruling that barred it from elections over foreign funding.
- Ukrainian drones hit Moscow region warehouses, killing 83-year-old manAn 83-year-old man was killed and several warehouses, including a major Wildberries logistics hub, caught fire as Ukrainian drones struck the Moscow region in one of the largest attacks on the area in recent months.
- Russian strikes on Ukraine kill at least three, damage steel plant and Kyiv book marketRussian forces launched at least 106 drones and ballistic missiles at several Ukrainian regions overnight, killing at least three people and wounding dozens, Ukrainian officials said.
- Russian strikes on Kyiv and Kryvyi Rih kill one, wound 16A Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv and Kryvyi Rih overnight killed one person and wounded at least 16, Ukrainian officials said.
- Massive fire at Wildberries warehouse near Moscow after drone attack kills oneA drone attack on the Moscow region overnight sparked a fire at Wildberries' largest logistics center, killing one person and injuring six others.
- Rhine hits record low of 6 cm at Kaub as Europe's drought deepensThe Rhine fell to a record low of 6 centimeters at the Kaub gauge near Koblenz overnight, surpassing the previous 2018 mark of 25 centimeters.
- Russia opens criminal case against FAZ journalist over question to ZelenskyRussia has opened a criminal case against a German journalist from the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) over a question he asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about killing Russian soldiers.
- Putin personally decided to remove Yabloko from election ballotJournalist Mikhail Zygar reported that Vladimir Putin personally made the final decision to exclude the Yabloko party from the State Duma election ballot.