News Feed

4:09 AM

Ukrainian ransomware group dismantled by law enforcement.

Judicial and law enforcement authorities from seven countries have dismantled a Ukrainian ransomware group, seizing hundreds of digital equipment in the process, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) announced in a statement on Nov. 28.

2:26 AM

Russia shells Sumy Oblast, injuring 1.

Russian forces attacked six communities along the Sumy Oblast border on Nov. 30, firing 24 times over the course of the day and injuring one civilian, the Sumy Oblast military administration reported.

2:07 AM

Reuters: SBU targets rail line in Siberia.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) allegedly detonated explosives on a Russian military supply rail line in Siberia, an unnamed Ukrainian source told Reuters on Nov. 30.

1:58 AM

Minister: Russian forces kill 2000 Ukrainian civilians in 2023.

More than 2,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and 11,000 injured as a result of Russian shelling in 2023, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported on Nov. 30.

1:33 AM

US Senate introduces bill to confiscate assets of Russian oligarchs.

U.S. Senators introduced a bipartisan bill on Nov. 28 aimed at confiscating assets of Russian oligarchs to be used towards the reconstruction of Ukraine.

1:16 AM

Zelensky: No Peace summit until 2024.

During a call with Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that there would be no Peace Formula Summit until early 2024, the President's office wrote in the readout of the conversation on Nov. 30.

12:54 AM

Court seizes over $1 million in crypto assets from former state communications head.

Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has ordered the seizure of cryptocurrencies totaling $1.5 million from Yurii Shchyhol, the former head of the State Special Communications Service, the court announced on Nov. 30.

12:32 AM

War update

Ukraine war latest: Zelensky visits Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia oblasts as harsh winter looms on front line

12:06 AM

Norway announces $23 million for Ukraine's food security.

Norway will donate 250 million Norwegian kroner (around $23 million) to Ukraine's food security under the five-year support program known as Nansen, the Norwegian government announced on Nov. 30.

11:05 PM

Zelensky travels to Zaporizhzhia, holds meeting on fortifications.

During his work trip to Zaporizhzhia, President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting on building fortifications "on main defensive lines" and in regions bordering Russia and Belarus, the President's Office reported on Nov. 30.

10:03 PM

Russian attacks on Donetsk, Kherson oblasts kill 3, injure 12.

Russian forces struck multiple settlements in Kherson and Donetsk oblasts on Nov. 30, killing three people and wounding another 12, the regional authorities reported.

9:37 PM

Opinion

Opinion: Poland's democratic rebirth pains

9:15 PM

Ombudsman confirms first case of Russian citizen changing identity of illegally adopted Ukrainian child.

Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets confirmed media reports revealing that a Russian lawmaker's family had illegally adopted a Ukrainian child abducted from a children's home in Kherson and changed her identity.

8:17 PM

Bloomberg: EU to announce plans to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine's reconstruction.

The EU is likely to announce a proposal to use the tax profits from frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine's reconstruction in the coming weeks, Bloomberg reported on Nov. 30.

7:08 PM

Fico: Slovakia should prepare for normalization of relations with Russia.

Slovakia should prepare for "the end of the war in Ukraine and for the standardization of Slovak-Russian relations," Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Nov. 30.

7:04 PM

Zelensky, Umerov visit military command post in Kupiansk.

President Volodymyr Zelensky and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov visited a military command post in Kharkiv Oblast's Kupiansk amid Russia's ongoing offensive against the northeastern city, the Presidential Office reported on Nov. 30.

6:45 PM

Ukrainian military intelligence reportedly broadcast Zelensky speech in Crimea.

The Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) orchestrated the hacking of television channels in Crimea to broadcast a speech by President Volodymyr Zelensky on the evening of Nov. 29, multiple Ukrainian media outlets reported on Nov. 30.

6:02 PM

Update: Russian missile strike on Donetsk Oblast kills 2.

The death toll of Russia’s overnight missile strike against the town of Novohrodivka in Donetsk Oblast has risen to two, the Interior Ministry reported on Nov. 30.

5:34 PM

Von der Leyen: 480,000 EU-made shells delivered or on way to Ukraine.

As part of the European Union’s ammunition procurement program, 480,000 artillery shells “have been either delivered (to Ukraine) or are on the pipeline,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Nov. 30.

5:29 PM

Media: European arms industry calls for 'orders, not just targets'.

The European defense industry is calling for more firm "orders, not just targets," Reuters reported on Nov. 30, citing the European Aerospace, Security, and Defense Industries lobby group ASD.

4:07 PM

US assistance to Ukraine

Despite Republican hesitance on Ukraine aid, red states reap economic benefits

3:35 PM

Russia's Supreme Court declares 'LGBT movement' an 'extremist organization'.

It is not clear what precisely the court means by the "international LGBT movement" and if the newly announced ban applies to any specific organizations or the entire LGBT community, including those who are not affiliated with any group.

3:18 PM

Ukraine designates Belgian gas company Fluxys as 'international sponsor of war'.

Belgian gas company Fluxys has been added to the list of "international sponsors of war" for its involvement in the Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade, Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) announced on Nov. 30.

2:47 PM

OSCE Skopje summit starts amid disputes over Lavrov's presence.

The two-day ministerial summit of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in North Macedonia's Skopje began on Nov. 30 amid controversies regarding the presence of the Russian delegation.

2:19 PM

Media: SBU set off explosion in railway tunnel in Russia's Far East.

An explosion on a key railway line in Russia's far eastern republic of Buryatia was the result of an operation of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), Ukrainska Pravda reported on Nov. 30, citing an unnamed source in the security service.

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Russian court sentences ex-Pussy Riot spokesman to 8.5 years in jail in absentia

by Nate Ostiller November 3, 2023 4:28 PM 2 min read

Russian activist Pyotr Verzilov in a photo posted on Sept. 3, 2018. (Peter Verzilov/Facebook)

This audio is created with AI assistance

A Moscow court on Nov. 3 sentenced anti-Kremlin activist Pyotr Verzilov, a former spokesman for Russia's Pussy Riot punk rock group, to 8.5 years in jail in absentia, Russian independent media outlet Mediazona reported.

Verzilov was convicted on charges of spreading "fake news" about Russia's invasion of Ukraine - a common accusation made by the Russian authorities against people who contradict the official propaganda version.

According to the court statements cited by Mediazona, Verzilov has posted several times on Instagram and Twitter about the massacre in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha in March 2022, when hundreds of civilians were murdered by Russian soldiers.

Verzilov left the country in 2020 after Russian authorities began investigating him and searching his and his family's residences, ostensibly because he had failed to report his Canadian citizenship to the police.

Verzilov, the founder of Mediazona, was also a spokesman for the Pussy Riot punk rock group, whose members were jailed in 2012 in a high-profile political case.

In 2018 Verzilov was poisoned and flown to Germany for treatment, with Pussy Riot accusing the Russian government of orchestrating the poisoning.

The report came amid other assassination attempts on critics of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and murders of some of his critics.

Verzilov, along with Mediazona, were listed as "foreign agents" by the Russian government in 2021.

Russia passed a series of laws in March 2022 that criminalized "discrediting" the Russian army or spreading "unreliable information" about the war in Ukraine.

One year into the war, in March 2023, the restrictions were further tightened, and the potential punishment increased.

If found guilty, the offender could receive a fine of up to 5 million rubles (about $66,450) and a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

Author: Nate Ostiller

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