
'Just a show for Putin' — Inside the 2026 St. Petersburg Economic Forum
Once billed as a rival to Davos, the forum now draws far-right influencers and conspiracy theorists.

Once billed as a rival to Davos, the forum now draws far-right influencers and conspiracy theorists.
Claims of an alleged migrant "influx" have become increasingly common in Ukraine in recent months, in what experts describe as a coordinated disinformation operation. The central theme in these claims is that foreign labor migrants are allegedly arriving in Ukraine to replace the country's population while Ukrainian men continue fighting at the front. The claims have spread quickly across social media and Telegram channels, and even appeared in mainstream reporting. Although Ukrainian media o

The vessel, measuring nearly 50 meters in length, was struck near the settlement of Iurkine in Russian-occupied Crimea, Unmanned Systems Forces commander Robert "Magyar" Brovdi said on Telegram.

The detective was detained in July amid a conflict between the President's Office and the NABU, which says the authorities are trying to eliminate its independence.

"The business elite in St. Petersburg can now see firsthand how the Russian Defense Ministry is eroding their share of the so-called 'social contract,'" a Russian military blogger known by the nickname Reporter Filatov said.

Once billed as a rival to Davos, the forum now draws far-right influencers and conspiracy theorists.

"This is the first case in which, following a request for international legal assistance from the Ukrainian prosecution authorities, a foreign court has approved the seizure of a vessel allegedly involved in the illegal export of Ukrainian goods from the temporarily occupied territories," Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said.

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.
The attack coincided with the beginning of the 2026 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, an annual conference of business leaders and government officials hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.



