News
- Moscow men receive military registration notices a day after online votingA pro-war blogger and two Moscow residents say they or their acquaintances were placed on military registration the day after casting ballots through Russia's online voting system, according to Meduza and Agentstvo.
- Russian strikes halt Ukraine's three largest steel plants, killing 17 workersThree of Ukraine's largest metallurgical plants have suspended operations after Russian missile strikes killed 17 workers, according to the Financial Times.
- 14-year-old detained in St Petersburg after two police cars set on fire on Marata StreetA 14-year-old girl has been detained in St Petersburg after two traffic police vehicles were set on fire in a car park outside a police station on Marata Street, with the incident captured on surveillance cameras.
Persecution
- Pavel Syutkin: Six Years in Prison Over a Post About Bucha
A Moscow court sentenced culinary historian Pavel Syutkin to six years in a penal colony over posts about Bucha. The case involved raids, a closed trial and a disputed expert report. His defense has appealed.
- Alexander Skobov: From Soviet Psychiatric Hospitals to a 16-Year Prison Sentence
A Soviet-era dissident twice subjected to compulsory psychiatric treatment, Alexander Skobov is now serving a 16-year sentence in Russia. His case spans decades of opposition activism, terrorism-related charges and renewed punishment behind bars.
- Pavel Syutkin: Six Years in Prison Over a Post About Bucha
- Muratov Shows CNN Photos of Russian Political Prisoners, Urges Witkoff to Bring Them OutDmitry Muratov, the former editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, displayed photographs of Russian political prisoners on CNN and called on politicians and journalists to press the issue of their fate.
- Serbian Police Detain Ex-Head of Nadezhdin's Campaign Staff at Belgrade Polling StationDmitry Kisiev, former head of Boris Nadezhdin's presidential campaign staff, was detained by Serbian police near a polling station at a Russian school in Belgrade, he said in his Telegram channel.
- Woman and three children killed in strikes on Kyiv regionFour people, including three children, were killed over more than a day of attacks on the Kyiv region, according to the head of the regional military administration.
- Russian Drone Strikes Kill Six in Sumy and Kherson RegionsSix people were killed in Ukraine's Sumy and Kherson regions over the past day in Russian drone and artillery attacks, regional officials said.
- UN documents 1,004 cases of sexual violence in Ukraine, 89% attributed to Russian sideThe United Nations has documented 1,004 cases of sexual violence in Ukraine, attributing 892 of them — 89% — to Russian military personnel and employees of the FSB and FSIN.
Editor's Column
- When an Outage in Russia Disrupts Taxi Service in Kazakhstan
Drone strikes damaged three Yandex data centers in four days. The disruption reached Kazakhstan, where users' personal data is stored locally, according to officials. The episode exposed the difference between keeping data inside national borders and keeping a digital service running independently.
- Peskov Says Russia Has No Political Prisoners. What the Cases and Numbers Show
On September 30, Dmitry Peskov said Russia “categorically denies” that it holds political prisoners. FACTUM’s political persecution database listed 6,794 people at the latest count; 2,163 were imprisoned, while 1,404 had been recognized as political prisoners by human rights organizations. This column looks at what those figures mean and at several criminal cases behind them.
- When an Outage in Russia Disrupts Taxi Service in Kazakhstan
- Kuznetsova's Campaign Says Her Video Was Made Under Pressure as Candidate Remains Out of ContactThe campaign of Yulia Kuznetsova, a State Duma candidate for the Greens party running in Moscow's Babushkinsky district, says she is not safe and recorded a video under pressure after she disappeared following a constituency meeting.
- Turnout Tops 40% as Watchdog Finds Anomalies at 4,500 Polling StationsVoter turnout in Russia's State Duma elections reached 40.79% after the second day of voting, the Central Election Commission said, as the investigative outlet Important Stories identified abnormally fast ballot processing at roughly 4,500 polling stations.
- Drone Attack on Moscow Region Kills Two, Sets Kapotnya Refinery AblazeA mass drone attack on Moscow and the surrounding region killed two people and sparked a fire at the Moscow Oil Refinery in the Kapotnya district, officials said.
- Zelensky Announces New Long-Range Strikes on Russia After Overnight Attack on UkraineUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv will expand its long-range strike capabilities against Russia, following a night of heavy Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.
- Yabloko Observer Loses Consciousness as Police Detain Him at St. Petersburg Polling StationA Yabloko party observer was detained at a St. Petersburg polling station, lost consciousness during the arrest and now faces a possible jail term, the party's press service said.
- US State Department approves $2.68 billion air defense sale to UkraineThe US State Department has approved a $2.68 billion sale of air defense systems to Ukraine, sending the proposed deal to Congress for a 30-day review.
Analytics
- Yandex After the Drone Strikes: What Is Back Online, What Was Damaged and How Long Recovery Could Take
By October 16, Yandex had brought most everyday services back online, but cloud operations and advertising tools remained restricted. What is known about the three damaged data centers, the fate of its supercomputers and the competing timelines for a full recovery?
- Vladislav Surkov: From Managed Politics to the Kremlin's Donbas Liaison
Vladislav Surkov began his career in advertising and some of Russia's largest businesses before spending almost two decades helping shape the Kremlin's domestic political system. His name is associated with the emergence of the ruling party, pro-Kremlin youth movements and the doctrine of “sovereign democracy.” From 2013 onward, he became an important intermediary in Moscow's dealings with the conflict in Ukraine. FACTUM.press examined his career, political decisions, leaked office correspondence and intercepted conversations presented in the MH17 investigation, asking what these records establish—and what they do not—about his personal responsibility.
- Yandex After the Drone Strikes: What Is Back Online, What Was Damaged and How Long Recovery Could Take
- Trump Signs Russia Sanctions Law Allowing 100% Tariffs on Oil BuyersTrump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Russia and Iran Sanctions Act of 2026, letting him impose tariffs of up to 100% on goods from countries that keep buying Russian oil and gas.
- Putin Seizes Auchan and Nestlé Assets, Kremlin Blames Ukrainian StrikesVladimir Putin signed a decree placing the Russian operations of Auchan, Nestlé and several logistics firms under temporary state management, with the Kremlin citing Ukrainian strikes on "peaceful economic infrastructure" as a factor.
- Trump signs the Lindsey Graham sanctions act on RussiaThe substance of the new law is not the sanctions lists aimed at Moscow but the tariff powers aimed at its customers: access to the American market becomes a lever over Beijing, Delhi and Ankara. What the administration must do within 30 days, why the list of target countries is still disputed, and what stands in the way of using the law in full.
- Lithuania Returns Russian Who Swam Across Neman Seeking AsylumLithuanian border guards detained a Russian man who swam across the Neman River to seek asylum and returned him to Russia's Kaliningrad region the same day, after authorities concluded he did not qualify for protection.
- Kremlin Officials and Draft Officers Move Assets Abroad Over Mobilization FearsKremlin officials are urging friends and relatives to leave Russia in the coming months and seeking to open bank accounts abroad, as fear of a possible mobilization spreads through the Russian elite, Bloomberg reports.
- Green Party Candidate Yulia Kuznetsova Goes Missing in Moscow as Observers Pulled From Polling StationsYulia Kuznetsova, a Green Party candidate for the State Duma running in Moscow's Babushkinsky district, stopped responding to calls on the evening of September 17, her campaign staff says.
- Russia's Interior Ministry Puts Meduza Journalist Vladislav Gorin on Wanted ListThe Russian Interior Ministry has placed Meduza journalist Vladislav Gorin on its wanted list, according to a database entry first spotted by Mediazona.
- Russia Strikes Four Ukrainian Regions: Two Killed in Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia Mall Burns DownRussia attacked Ukraine with 93 strike drones overnight into September 18, killing two people in the Zhytomyr region and destroying a shopping center in Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian officials said.
- Ovechkin Says He Backed United Russia Because 'I'm Russian and I Support My Country'Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin said he agreed without hesitation to appear in a United Russia campaign video, telling reporters he supports his country.
- United Russia Runs as Putin's Party for First Time, With Lavrov and Sobyanin in Top FivePolling stations opened across Russia on September 18 for a three-day vote, with United Russia for the first time declaring itself Vladimir Putin's party even as the president's name is absent from its federal top five.
- Slavneft's Yaroslavl Refinery Halts Oil Processing After Drone AttackThe Yaroslavl refinery of Slavneft has stopped processing crude after a drone attack damaged its primary distillation unit, according to industry sources cited by Reuters.
- Every fourth Yabloko candidate barred from Russian State Duma electionOne in four candidates nominated by the opposition party Yabloko has been removed from Russia's State Duma election, with most barred over administrative fines for "extremist symbols" and "discrediting the army."
- Putin Hands Nestle and Auchan Assets to Firm Led by Interior Ministry GeneralVladimir Putin has placed the Russian assets of Nestle and Auchan under temporary external management, assigning them to a company headed by an Interior Ministry general, Andrei Krayushkin.
- Tyumen Police Ask Pharmacies to Stop Selling Iodine and Green Dye Ahead of ElectionsPolice in Tyumen are visiting pharmacies and instructing staff not to sell iodine, green dye and other coloring antiseptics during the September 18-20 voting period, according to pharmacists and local media.
- Bear Kills Two Berry Pickers in Irkutsk Region as Siberia Culls More Than 530 Predators Since AugustA bear attacked three men near the village of Krasnoyarovo in the Irkutsk Region, killing two of them, as Siberian hunters have shot dead more than 530 bears since August.
- FSB Summons Scientists Who Signed Anti-War Letter Four Years After PublicationRussian academics who signed an open letter against the invasion of Ukraine are again being summoned for questioning by the FSB, with universities refusing to renew their contracts, according to T-invariant.
- Sverdlovsk Election Commissions Remove Five Yabloko Candidates After Arrests and FinesElection commissions in the Sverdlovsk region stripped five Yabloko candidates of their status on September 16, days after they were detained and penalized over social media posts.
- Ukraine and Russia exchange bodies of war dead: Kyiv receives 252, Moscow 23Ukraine received 252 bodies of service members and returned 23 to Russia in the latest exchange of war dead, the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said.
- Masked Police Detain Yabloko Observer at Rostov Polling StationA Yabloko party observer was detained at a polling station in the Rostov region and taken away by police, the party's press service said, with no contact established since.
- Hackers leak 200GB from Russia's new election system, exposing flaws that allow vote protocols to be alteredA hacker group called CikLeak says it breached the infrastructure of Russia's Central Election Commission and its contractors, handing nearly 200 gigabytes of data to the investigative outlet Important Stories, which found flaws allowing vote protocols and voter lists to be altered.
- Russian Drone Crashes 4 km from Polish Border, NATO Jets ScrambledA Russian drone struck near the Dorohusk border crossing with Poland, prompting Poland and its allies to scramble fighter jets and temporarily halt flights at two airports, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.
- Rosneft launches Vostok Oil as contractor tied to Sechin associate wins 900bn rouble contractsRosneft launched the first phase of its flagship Arctic oil project Vostok Oil on September 5, with Igor Sechin reporting to Vladimir Putin by video link from the Taimyr Peninsula.
- German Police Seek Davankov Adviser Over Trickbot Hacking GroupGermany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has issued an international wanted notice for Vitaly Kovalyov, a man identified as an adviser to State Duma Vice Speaker Vladislav Davankov, over his alleged role as founder and leader of the Trickbot cybercrime group.
- US Congress Passes 'Graham Act' Sanctions Bill Targeting Russia's Oil BuyersThe US House of Representatives approved the 'Graham Act' sanctions bill against Russia in a 262-159 vote, sending it to President Donald Trump, who a White House official said intends to sign it.
- Short-Seller Report Alleges Raiffeisen Bank Handled $1.19 Billion in Sanctioned Goods Trade With RussiaShort-selling investment firm Grizzly Research has accused Raiffeisen Bank International of facilitating more than $1.19 billion in trade of goods subject to Western sanctions through its Russian subsidiary, according to a report published by the firm.
- Russia Puts Zhanna Nemtsova on International Wanted List Over 'Undesirable' Foundation CaseA Moscow court upheld the in-absentia arrest of Zhanna Nemtsova, daughter of slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, as Russian authorities placed her on an international wanted list in a criminal case tied to a foundation she founded.
- Russia's Antimonopoly Service Targets 70 Fuel Sellers as Half of Gas Stations Run DryRussia's Federal Antimonopoly Service has taken action against at least 70 fuel sellers over retail pricing since June 1, as gasoline shortages spread across the country.
- Up to 25,000 North Koreans Working in Russia on Student Visas to Assemble Drones, Report SaysAs many as 25,000 North Korean citizens are working in Russia assembling drones after entering the country on student visas, according to a report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT).
- Drones Strike Yaroslavl Oil Refinery and Rostov Military AirfieldUkrainian drones attacked the Slavneft-YANOS refinery in Yaroslavl and a military airfield in Rostov-on-Don, according to regional officials and monitoring channels.
- Russian Missile Attack on Kyiv and Odesa Injures 16, Including ChildrenA Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv and Odesa wounded at least 16 people, among them children, according to Ukrainian officials.
- Kyiv warehouse holding Kvartal 95 studio props destroyed in drone strikeA warehouse storing props for the studio Kvartal 95 was destroyed in a Russian drone strike on Kyiv, the studio said, confirming the loss of two decades' worth of sets, costumes and items.
- Russia Finds Live Aujeszky's Virus in Dog Vaccine Batch, Orders DestructionRussia's agriculture watchdog ordered the seizure and destruction of a batch of the Multikan-8 dog vaccine after testing found live Aujeszky's disease virus, which it linked to a wave of dog deaths.
- Belarus switches drone signal relays back onBelarus has resumed operating signal relays that boost navigation for Russian drones attacking Ukraine, a spokesman for Ukraine's State Border Guard Service said.
- Putin Calls Voting in Duma Election a 'Contribution to Russia's Victory'Vladimir Putin delivered a three-minute address to Russians ahead of the State Duma elections, calling participation in the vote a 'contribution to Russia's victory.'
- Ukrainian Citizen Sentenced to 8.5 Years for 'Aiding the Enemy' Under New Russian Wartime StatuteA Ukrainian citizen has been sentenced to 8.5 years in prison for sending money to funds supporting Ukraine's armed forces, in a case built on materials from the Pskov branch of the Federal Security Service (FSB).
- Anti-Corruption Foundation Finds Rublyovka Estate and Billions in Assets Tied to Sergei Kiriyenko's FamilyThe Anti-Corruption Foundation has traced a 700-square-meter estate on Rublyovka and assets worth billions of rubles to the family of Sergei Kiriyenko, first deputy chief of staff of the presidential administration.
- Von der Leyen Proposes European Security Council Including Ukraine and Associate Membership for CanadaEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed creating a European security council that would bring EU leaders together with counterparts from Canada, Norway, Ukraine and the UK, and backed associate EU membership for Canada.
- Lithuania says drone shot down over Kaunas was Russian GerberaA drone downed over Lithuania by NATO fighter jets was a Russian Gerbera-type unmanned aircraft, President Gitanas Nauseda said after a State Defense Council meeting.
- 18-year-old son of Chechnya's Kadyrov gets his own armed unit, 'Dustum K-13'The 18-year-old son of Chechnya's leader Ramzan Kadyrov has his own armed unit, named 'Dustum K-13', with its 'Central Base K-13' housed at a special rapid-response unit facility in his father's ancestral village, Verstka reported.
- Moscow court frees four truckers charged in 'Spiderweb' drone attack caseThe Moscow City Court has refused to extend the detention of four long-haul drivers accused of involvement in the June 1 drone operation against Russian military airfields, after prosecutors declined to approve the charges.
- Russia to extend diesel export ban through end of OctoberRussia will extend its ban on diesel exports by producers until the end of October, following a Sept. 14 meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, according to Vedomosti and RBC.
- Yabloko Candidate in Arkhangelsk Faces Criminal Case Over Campaign LeafletsA criminal case has been opened in Arkhangelsk over the distribution of campaign materials belonging to Vadim Laptev, a Yabloko candidate for the State Duma, the party's press service said.
- Hackers claim breach of Russia's election commission and GAS Vybory 2.0 developer ahead of State Duma voteA hacker group says it downloaded internal documents, server configurations, passwords and employee correspondence from Russia's Central Election Commission and the developer of the GAS Vybory 2.0 system, days before the State Duma elections on September 18-20.
- Russian general who told Putin Konstantinovka was captured dies in UkraineMajor General Anton Grunis, who in early July reported to Vladimir Putin that Russian forces had taken full control of Konstantinovka, has been killed in Ukraine, according to Telegram channels of Suvorov military school graduates and a Russian military blogger.
- Philosopher Nikolai Zyuzev Sentenced to Seven Years in Komi on Treason ChargesA court in the Komi Republic has sentenced philosopher Nikolai Zyuzev to seven years in a penal colony on state treason charges, the Federal Security Service said.