NEWS FEED

Ukraine war latest: Russian drone attacks on Kyiv kill 2, injure over 40 amid day of repeated strikes
War

Ukraine war latest: Russian drone attacks on Kyiv kill 2, injure over 40 amid day of repeated strikes

Key developments on Sept. 23: * Russian drone attacks on Kyiv kill 2, injure 43 amid day of repeated strikes * Russian Mi-8 helicopter violates Polish airspace near Kaliningrad, Poland says * Tsikhanouskaya warns Russia could use Belarus for new attacks on Ukraine * Explosions, smoke reported near oil refinery in Russia's Bashkortostan A series of deadly Russian drone strikes on Kyiv killed two people and injured at least 43 others during the morning of Sept. 23, setting a historic market
What Trump’s tariffs could mean for Russia and China
Video

What Trump’s tariffs could mean for Russia and China.

How much pressure can Donald Trump’s new tariffs place on Russia’s war economy? A new U.S. law gives the president the power to impose tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian energy, while also strengthening sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet.
There are no elections in Russia, only theater
Opinion

There are no elections in Russia, only theatre

This year's most expensive theater production took place last week. Millions of Russians (and some Ukrainians, at gunpoint) played voters. A host of Putin's cronies embodied democratically elected politicians. The props team did excellent work: ballot papers, boxes, and TV debates (although some actors missed their cues). Reading the headlines, one could get the false impression that Russia was experiencing a sudden democratic turn. The word "election" dominates, while most outlets eventually
Azerbaijan pardons French prisoner after EU caves in on sanctions

Azerbaijan pardons French prisoner after EU caves in on sanctions

Editor's note: this is a developing story Azerbaijan's leader Ilham Aliyev pardoned a French national on Sept. 23 reports France 24, hours after the EU agreed to delist two Russian oligarchs from sanctions. The EU was forced by French pressure to drop sanctions against oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman on Sept. 22, in return for allowing the bloc's remaining 3,000 Russia sanctions to remain in force. The French government has not publicly cited why it adopted this position, and on
Rubio to meet Lavrov in New York on Sept. 23

Rubio to meet Lavrov in New York on Sept. 23

Lavrov has arrived in New York to take part in the U.N. General Assembly, Russian state media reported. Rubio and Lavrov have met several times over the past year as the Trump administration has sought to broker an end to Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
How Russia used parliamentary elections to legitimize occupation of Ukrainian territories

How Russia is using its parliamentary elections to legitimize its occupation of Ukrainian territories

As Russia held its parliamentary elections from Sept. 18 to 20, it also organized, for the first time, the vote in Ukrainian territories that Russia illegally claims as its own. Ukraine and the European Union have rejected the vote as illegal. The purpose of holding the sham election in occupied territories goes far beyond choosing Russian lawmakers. Russia uses the elections in Ukrainian territories under military occupation to project the image that residents accept Russian rule and are inte
Ukraine war latest: Russia imposes restrictions near Estonian border amid mobilization concerns

Ukraine war latest: Russia imposes restrictions near Estonian border amid mobilization concerns

*Russia imposes restrictions near Estonian border amid mobilization concerns *Ukraine confirms strikes on 2 Russian oil refineries in Ufa, Samara *SBU says it foiled FSB-linked plot to assassinate K-1 kickboxing federation president in Kyiv *Trump says he'll use Graham bill's Russia sanctions 'if necessary' *Ukraine strikes Russian drone storage and launch site in Oryol Oblast, damages 5 launchers
Who are Usmanov and Fridman, the Russian oligarchs France helped remove from the EU sanctions list?
Europe

Who are Usmanov and Fridman, the Russian oligarchs France helped remove from the EU sanctions list?

The European Union is expected to lift sanctions on two high-profile Russian oligarchs — Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman. The ruling will come after days of intense negotiations that could have seen the entire package of EU sanctions, imposed since 2022, go to waste. The push was spearheaded by Slovakia, yet it was France that held the new round of sanctions extensions hostage. The Financial Times previously reported that Paris wants to delist Usmanov because Azerbaijan has made it a condi