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What Russia's push to ban Telegram means for its economy — and war effort

by Olena Goncharova

“Why do you block the internet?” reads one of the comments under the latest post on Roskomnadzor’s official VKontakte social media page — a bland Women’s Day greeting from the very censorship agency leading Russia’s harshest crackdown on online communication in years. Russian authorities have set April as the target for finally blocking Telegram, one of the last popular international messenger apps still accessible in the country, and force users toward the Kremlin’s glitchy “national messenger

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Russia’s cattle outbreak raises questions over possible cover-up

Russian authorities say a cattle epidemic that swept parts of Siberia since February is now under control and caused by a relatively minor bacterial infection, pasteurellosis. But veterinarians and independent journalists question that account, pointing to containment measures — mass animal slaughter, village lockdowns, and secrecy — that more closely resemble a response to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), a far more serious and economically damaging outbreak. The discrepancy has fueled resistanc

Cows cross a road at sunset in the settlement of Oy, Sakha Republic, Russia, on Nov. 27, 2018.

Ukraine war latest: Russia launches mass daytime drone attack on western, central Ukraine

Key developments on April 1: * Russia launches mass daytime drone attack on western, central Ukraine * Zelensky pitches Easter ceasefire to US negotiators as Russia continues attacks * Russia tells Zelensky to withdraw Ukrainian troops from Donbas 'already today' * Russia's new fiber-optic sea drone 'Skarlupa' deployed in combat, Kremlin media claims * Russian An-26 transport aircraft crashes over occupied Crimea, killing 29 Russia launched a mass daytime drone attack on Ukraine's western

Shahed is evolving threat that will keep haunting Ukraine. And rest of us

Ukraine's interceptor drones are now one of the most sought-after defense technologies on the planet. But that success carries an uncomfortable caveat: every countermeasure Ukraine developed prompted Russia to field a harder, faster, and more capable Shahed in response. That cycle will not stop as long as the factories producing these drones remain uncontested. Whatever mutated variant emerges next — shaped by every innovation Ukraine threw at its predecessor — will continue to attack Ukrainia

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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