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Russia's foreign election meddling has a losing record. Experts explain why
Russia

Russia's foreign election meddling has a losing record. Experts explain why

by Tim Zadorozhnyy

President Vladimir Putin has never lost an election in Russia. Outside Russia's borders, however, the Kremlin has been learning a different lesson. From Moldova to Hungary — and, more recently, Armenia — Moscow has poured money and political capital into influencing elections abroad. Yet, time and again, the candidates and forces it favored have fallen short. Some of Russia's traditional allies have drifted away from Moscow, embracing pro-Western governments, or have become far more resistant

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'They attack with everything at once' — How Russia exploits Ukraine's vulnerability to ballistic missiles

On June 2, Russia carried out its largest ballistic and hypersonic missile attack of the year. On June 15, it nearly surpassed that record. The attacks point to a disturbing change in tactics: The Kremlin may be refining a new model of strikes on Ukrainian cities, relying on concentrated salvos of ballistic and hypersonic missiles to inflict maximum damage as Ukraine faces a growing shortage of Patriot interceptors. The two mass strikes in June followed a similar pattern. Russia launched more

An explosion lights up the sky during a Russian drone and missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 2, 2026.

About Russia

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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Key developments on June 19: * Kyiv targets Moscow for second day in a row following record drone assault; * Moscow Oil Refinery halts operations after largest-ever drone attack on Russian capital, General Staff says; * US senators propose using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine's military; * Australia announces $70 million in arms funding for Ukraine through PURL initiative; * Western allies pledge $4 billion in military aid for Ukraine at Ramstein summit. Moscow came under attack

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