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What Russia’s internet blackouts reveal about Putin’s endgame
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What Russia’s internet blackouts reveal about Putin’s endgame

by Oleg Sukhov

Russia has intensified internet censorship in recent weeks as the U.S.-Israeli efforts to kill top Iranian officials prompted concerns that the security of its own leaders could also be compromised. The official reason for the ongoing internet shutdowns is Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia. Experts, however, believe that the intensifying internet censorship is part of the Kremlin's efforts to take full control of the online space, something the regime has been preparing for since the start of

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Ukraine brings war back to Russia — and Russians begin to feel it

Ukraine has increasingly pursued a strategy of "bringing the war back to Russia" — aiming to erode the perception that the full-scale invasion is distant and cost-free for Russian society. This approach was explicitly articulated by President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2025, as Ukraine significantly expanded its deep-strike campaign inside Russia. "The war was brought from Russia, and it is to Russia that the war must be pushed back. They must be the ones forced into peace. They are the ones who mu

Fire burning at Russia's Volgograd oil refinery in Volgograd, Russia, on Feb. 11, 2026.

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The Kyiv Independent’s coverage of news on Russia. Spanning eleven time zones across Eastern Europe and Asia, Russia has an estimated population of 146 million people. Russia’s capital city is Moscow, which is home to almost one in 10 Russians. Russia’s official currency is the Russian Ruble.

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Ukraine’s drone industry is abuzz with anticipation of a deal that would allow them to sell interceptor drones abroad, hoping for the first big relaxation of wartime export restrictions that would finally put their technology in the hands of foreign militaries amid the U.S. war with Iran. But President Volodymyr Zelensky is seemingly holding out for a deal over PAC-3 missiles, an anti-air munition for Patriot systems that are uniquely good at defending against Russian ballistic attacks. The re

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