Ukraine is building a landmark crimes against humanity case over the use of drones to kill civilians, with the aim of prosecuting Russian officials in absentia. www.thetimes.com/world/russia...

Russians face a war trial. Ukrainians face having to defend them

As Kyiv brings landmark charges of crimes against humanity with British help, lawyers trying to ensure a fair trial are condemned as collaborators

thetimes.com

Breaking News: President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine removed his top general amid protests over the firing of the defense minister.

Zelensky Dismisses Ukraine’s Top General

The move follows a wave of protests in response to the firing of the defense minister, who had clashed with the general over how to fight the war.

nyti.ms

“The result was an unusual situation: at a time when Ukraine continues to fight Russia's full-scale war, neither of the government bodies responsible for diplomacy nor defense had a confirmed leader.”

The Kyiv Independent@kyivindependent.com · 3w ago

Two of Ukraine’s most important wartime ministries have been thrown into legal limbo following President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government reshuffle, leaving the country without confirmed political leadership at both the Foreign and Defense ministries.

The New York Times found that dozens of Russian agents have relocated to Japan as President Vladimir Putin turns the country into a spy hub. nyti.ms/453CSYc

While male convicts are being offered their freedom to fight on the front line against Ukraine, women sentenced to time behind bars is on the rise under Putin. For some, solidarity campaigns provide crucial lifelines, writes Eilish Hart via @neweasterneurope.eu (Link in Comments)

NATO didn't always have an annual summit, not even during the Cold War. Now, in the age of Trump, NATO insiders are wondering if these annual summits are doing more harm than good—and if it's time to stop having them so often. My latest. puck.news/nato-summit-...

Is It Time to Cancel the Annual NATO Summit?

The alliance’s summer meeting, which became a yearly event after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has since devolved into an annual display of Trump-induced disunity. “It’s not productive. It risks being...

puck.news

Last night, two of my family’s homes were hit in Russia's 11-hour bombardment of #Kyiv. These are the rooms I grew up in, the places where our lives happened. My family worked so hard for them. Now I am looking at them in shards.

⚡️Update: Death toll rises to 18, with 86 injured in massive Kyiv attack. At least 18 people were killed and 86 injured after a massive Russian missile and drone attack hit Kyiv overnight on July 2, local authorities reported. Search and rescue operations are ongoing at several sites.

'Serious destruction' — massive Russian missile, drone attack on Kyiv kills at least 18, injures nearly 90

Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 74 missiles and 496 long-range drones during the attack, most of which targeted Kyiv.

kyivindependent.com

My article about Russia's political prisoner mothers has been picked up by @eurozine.bsky.social! Read more via the link below (no paywall!) www.eurozine.com/russias-impr...

Russia’s imprisoned mothers

Women sentenced to time behind bars is on the rise under Putin. While male convicts are being offered their freedom to fight on the front line against Ukraine, even mothers with underage children aren...

eurozine.com

As Russia’s prison population hits historic lows, the number of women behind bars is growing. Among them are mothers jailed for anti-war activism & political dissent — and they’re increasingly cut off from the outside world. My article for @neweasterneurope.eu neweasterneurope.eu/2026/06/23/r...

Russia’s imprisoned mothers

As Russia’s prison population shrinks due to wartime military recruitment, another trend is becoming increasingly visible: the growing number of women behind bars. Among them are mothers imprisoned fo...

neweasterneurope.eu

⚡️Rubio says no Ukraine agreement reached at Alaska summit, contradicting Moscow's claims. "There was no agreement in Alaska. There was a proposal, but there was no agreement," Rubio told reporters during a visit to Bahrain. "If there had been an agreement, we would have had an end to the war."

Rubio says no Ukraine agreement reached at Alaska summit, contradicting Moscow's claims

"There was no agreement in Alaska. There was a proposal, but there was no agreement," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. "If there had been an agreement, we would have had an end to the war."

kyivindependent.com

“Going out and holding your single picket sign saying ‘No to war’ is definitely not what the state wants women to do,” @jgmaber.bsky.social told me. “It doesn’t want anybody to do it, but it especially doesn’t want women to do it.”

Eilish Hart@eilishhart.bsky.social · last mo.

As Russia’s prison population hits historic lows, the number of women behind bars is growing. Among them are mothers jailed for anti-war activism & political dissent — and they’re increasingly cut off from the outside world. My article for @neweasterneurope.eu neweasterneurope.eu/2026/06/23/r...

As Russia’s prison population hits historic lows, the number of women behind bars is growing. Among them are mothers jailed for anti-war activism & political dissent — and they’re increasingly cut off from the outside world. My article for @neweasterneurope.eu neweasterneurope.eu/2026/06/23/r...

Russia’s imprisoned mothers

As Russia’s prison population shrinks due to wartime military recruitment, another trend is becoming increasingly visible: the growing number of women behind bars. Among them are mothers imprisoned fo...

neweasterneurope.eu

Novaya Gazeta Europe has created a map of attacks on Russian territory — and occupied Crimea — since the full-scale war began in 2022. It updates every 15 minutes and includes both Ukrainian and Russian strikes. novayagazeta.eu/en/articles/...

Interactive map: Attacks on Russian territory, updated in real time. As Ukraine fights back, the war has spread to at least 60 Russian regions — Novaya Gazeta Europe

Every year, Moscow's full-scale war against Ukraine spreads further into Russia itself: drone strikes are becoming more frequent, and are reaching ever more regions. Novaya Gazeta Europe has created a...

novayagazeta.eu

Ukraine launched its largest-ever drone attack on Moscow today, injuring at least 17 people. NYT reports that some Muscovites are still struggling to grasp that these strikes are a response to Russia's years-long invasion of Ukraine. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/w...

A Drone Barrage on Moscow Escalates Ukraine’s Push to Take the War to Russia

nytimes.com

NEWSFLASH: Russia has struck the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, a historic monastery complex. The overnight attack also destroyed a national film studio and a key Ukrainian logistics hub in the capital.

NEWSFLASH: For Russia, even a monastery is a target

Overnight, Russia launched dozens of missiles and drones, destroying a historic film studio and a Ukrainian logistics hub in Kyiv.

counteroffensive.news

Just listened to @storyevtime.bsky.social & Maria Kuznetsova talking to @onthemedia.bsky.social about their book! Sharp analysis of how authoritarian practices can seep into a democracy so quickly that people lack the language to describe what's happening. www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm...

A Russian Phrasebook for Surviving Authoritarianism | On the Media | WNYC Studios

Russian language has a rich vocabulary for describing life under tyranny. Like the plain-clothed ICE officers snatching people off the streets? In Russian, they would be called "silov...

wnycstudios.org

Damn, Russia has banned the human rights group OVD-Info as an "extremist/terrorist organization." They were one of the last major outfits still inside Russia coordinating legal assistance for people facing various kinds of political persecution. t.me/Ateobreaking...

Ateo Breaking

Росфинмониторинг внес правозащитную организацию «ОВД-Инфо» в реестр «экстремистских и террористических организаций».

t.me

🇺🇦 Zelensky publishes an open letter calling on Putin to end the war: “Whatever you may say about NATO, geopolitics, or the Russian language, this war is your personal choice — a war without a real cause. That is how history will remember it.” www.president.gov.ua/en/news/vidk...

Russian territorial gains have flatlined, giving Moscow next to nothing to show for its consistently high losses. But in a long war that has seen many ebbs and flows, perceptions can be deceiving, and making quick judgements can be a dangerous game.

Who is winning the war in Ukraine?

Since the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the information space around the war has been obsessed with this deceptively simple question, and the constant new iterations of answers to...

kyivindependent.com

Our Russian KIA estimate now includes a new category: 90,000 soldiers declared dead by court order, many without a body ever returned. Combined with 261,000 “regular” fatalities, that brings our total estimate with @meduza_en to 352,000 by end of 2025 en.zona.media/article/2026...

352,000 deaths in four years. Mediazona and Meduza’s new estimate of Russian losses in Ukraine

For the first time this year, Mediazona and Meduza have updated our overall estimate of Russia’s losses in its war against Ukraine. Based on the Probate Registry, it puts the numbe...

en.zona.media

“Lada-Rus’ followers are spread across Russia’s regions, from the republics of the North Caucasus to the Far East. The majority of them are women, a clear political advantage in a country where women increasingly outnumber men. ” www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/05/04/t...

This Mysterious Occult Healer Is Behind Some of Russia’s Biggest Wartime Protests - The Moscow Times

Almost everything about Svetlana Lada-Rus, one of the most influential opposition figures in Russia, defies conventional expectations of who a worthy opponent of President Vladimir Putin should be.  M...

themoscowtimes.com

🔴🇷🇺 NEW: Security measures of unprecedented severity have been instituted in the Kremlin in recent weeks as Russian President Vladimir Putin anticipates a possible coup or assassination attempt. Read more: www.occrp.org/en/news/secu...

“We don't just oppose Putin anymore, we're at war with him,” Nadya Tolokonnikova told the Kyiv Independent during a meeting in Kyiv. “To me, (saying) anything less bold is insufficient to meet the moment.”

Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova on Navalny, Russian culture, and supporting Ukraine’s military

“We don't just oppose Putin anymore, we're at war with him,” Nadya Tolokonnikova told the Kyiv Independent during a meeting in Kyiv. “To me, (saying) anything less bold is insufficient to meet the mom...

kyivindependent.com

Worth reading: Russia’s redevelopment plans for occupied Ukraine envision repopulating these territories with Russians & marketing them to tourists. Journalist Elizaveta Antonova digs into the institute recruiting young architects & students to make these plans a reality. meduza.io/feature/2026...

«Я вне политики и просто хочу делать крутые города». Россия намерена «раскрыть потенциал» оккупированных территорий. «Медуза» выяснила, кто проектирует набережные в Донецке и курорты в Херсоне — и что...

Россия захватила обширные пространства украинской территории — части Донецкой, Луганской, Херсонской и Запорожской областей — и пообещала заняться их «восстановлением». Проекты, которые помогут аннекс...

meduza.io

NEW: We’ve just published an investigation that shows how Russia recruits teenagers on occupied Ukrainian territory to become pro-Moscow infowarriors. The Young Correspondents program, ostensibly a journalism club, is part of Yunarmia, a militarized mass youth organization. 👇

Residents in Ukrainian-controlled areas say they are struggling to reach loved ones across the front line, as disruptions to Telegram coincide with broader efforts by Russian authorities to restrict internet access.

Russia's 'digital concentration camp' in occupied Ukraine is further cutting families off from each other

Editor's note: The names of the people with relatives left in the Russian-occupied territories have been changed for security reasons. Communication between residents of Russian-occupied areas of Ukr...

kyivindependent.com

Finally out: my piece about Russia-occupied Mariupol where locals face homelessness due to Russian "laws". Incredibly challenging story to report. So grateful to the Mariupol residents who trusted me with their stories. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/w...

Threat of Evictions Darkens Russia’s Rosy Picture of Occupied Ukraine

nytimes.com

“Orbán’s was a regime built on both EU funding and on anti-European rhetoric, all the while attracting non-European allies, whether China or Russia, on the basis that Hungary was the one member state willing to veto EU measures” Great interview with the insightful Ivan Krastev.

Equator@equatormag.bsky.social · 4mo ago

www.equator.org/articles/the...

As the war in the Middle East continues, Russia's windfall from soaring oil prices is only growing. “The war-risk premium will be in there for at least a couple years,” industry expert Sergey Vakulenko told me. Watch the full interview for @ceip-politika.bsky.social now! youtu.be/0LuzAi-cKoQ?...

How Much Has Russia Gained From Soaring Oil Prices? Sergey Vakulenko

YouTube video by Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

youtu.be