A prominent ant-Kremlin activist who was apparently poisoned in Moscow was saved by prompt medical treatment, his Berlin doctors claim. Pyotr Verzilov publishes an online Russian-language news portal–and has close ties with the Russian activist group Pussy Riot, Reuters reported. He participated in—and was jailed for—an incident during the 2018 World Cup soccer match when […]

Syrian antiaircraft defenses mistakenly shot down a Russian patrol plane, killing all 15 people on board, during an Israeli air strike on hostile positions in Syria. The Russian Ilyushin IL-20 was downed Sept. 17 by a Syrian S-200 missile, according to Russian news agency TASS. While the Russian military initially blamed Israel for the incident, […]

WASHINGTON–The U.S. Air Force is predicting it will need to grow sharply over the next decade or so, boosting the number of operational squadrons by nearly a quarter to stay ahead of increasingly muscular militaries in China and Russia, officials said. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson told reporters that the preliminary analysis drew partly from […]

UNITED NATIONS–U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley accused Russia on Sept. 17 of “cheating” on U.N. sanctions on North Korea and said Washington has “evidence of consistent and wide-ranging Russian violations.” The showdown between the United States and Russia over North Korea publicly showed cracks in the unity of the 15-member U.N. Security […]

A pair of U.S. jet fighters met four Russian warplanes in the air over the Bering Strait on Sept. 11—the second such incident this month. According to Military Times, two Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets identified and intercepted two Russian TU-95 Bear long-range bombers and two Su-35 Flanker fighters at 6 p.m. Alaska […]

LONDON/KIEV—Britain’s court of appeal has ruled that Ukraine had a justiciable defense in a $3 billion Eurobond case that was originally brought by Russia and said the case should be allowed to go to full trial. The decision in effect sets aside a lower court judgment that went in favor of Russia in March 2017, […]

The vast majority of Americans have dismissed the idea that President Donald Trump acted illegally with Russia during the 2016 election, according to Frank Newport, the editor-in-chief of Gallup. Less than 3 in 10 Americans believe that Trump acted illegally in relation to alleged coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, according to a Gallup […]

MOSCOW—President Vladimir Putin says that Russia has identified the two men that Britain is seeking as suspects in the poisoning of a former Russian spy, and he insists that they are civilians. Britain last week charged the two Russians they allege are military intelligence agents in absentia with the Novichok poisoning of former Russian spy […]

LONDON—The Russian state has unleashed an online campaign of false information after the UK published proof that the novichok nerve-agent attacks in Salisbury were carried out by Russian assassins. The British government has identified dozens of false narratives created by Russia and its proxies that push back against allegations that agents of the Russian GRU military […]

MOSCOW—A Russian passenger plane ran off an airport runway outside Russia’s southern city of Sochi early on Saturday and caught fire injuring 18 people, officials and state media reported. Russia’s Healthcare Ministry said 18 people were injured but said there were no fatalities. State news agency RIA said one Sochi airport staff member died during […]

MOSCOW—Russia is experimenting with more precise technology to block specific online services without unintentionally hitting other internet traffic, after Moscow failed in its attempt to shut down banned messaging service Telegram. Telegram has been banned in Russia because it refused to comply with a court order to allow access by security services to users’ encrypted […]

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that White House counsel Don McGahn will leave his post in the fall, after he shepherds the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. McGahn has been working to appoint judges, including Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, to federal courts. Last year, he helped fill a record 12 […]

The Russian ruble fell toward its lowest levels since 2016 in early trade on Monday as support from month-end tax payments faded, giving way to pressure from new U.S. sanctions against Moscow. The ruble shed 0.5 percent to 67.42 versus the dollar as of 0730 GMT, sliding toward 69.01, its lowest level since April 2016, […]

KABUL—Afghanistan’s national security advisor, one of the most influential aides to President Ashraf Ghani, resigned on Aug. 25, a move one official said could be followed by his own bid for the top job in next year’s scheduled election. Hanif Atmar’s resignation was accepted by Ghani, presidential spokesman Haroon Chakhansuri told Reuters. The spokesman gave […]

MOSCOW—Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was detained Aug. 25 outside his home in Moscow ahead of planned nationwide anti-government protest rallies, and his spokeswoman said he was later taken to a hospital with a suspected broken finger. Navalny was detained on the afternoon of Aug. 25 and taken to a nearby police station due to […]

A dust devil on a beach in the Black Sea resort town of Gelendzhik forced people to flee as it tossed deckchairs and threw a boat into the air before dissipating. Elena Konovalova, who recorded the footage, can be heard gasping in shock as another woman grabs her child and runs away. In a VK social […]

Trump administration officials told lawmakers in Congress on Aug. 21, that Washington’s sanctions on Russia are having a significant impact on the Kremlin and the oligarchy that props it up and threatened that more punitive actions are in store if Moscow refuses to change course. The White House has targeted Russia for a broad range […]

LONDON—Britain pressed the European Union on Aug. 21 to increase sanctions against Russia, saying it should stand “shoulder to shoulder” with the United States, which hit Moscow with new economic restrictions this month. Britain’s foreign minister, Jeremy Hunt, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has made the world “a more dangerous place”, and that after […]

The White House is taking steps to prevent meddling in the 2018 midterm elections by China, Iran, and North Korea, according to national security adviser John Bolton. While the threat of election interference by Russia is well-known, President Donald Trump has said on multiple occasions that other foreign powers also are attempting to meddle in […]

Although Russia’s new Cabinet after the March election is not yet complete, interest in the story is already fading. Another term for Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and a few new faces give the impression that the new government won’t do things differently. The Putin regime seems headed for a period of inertia and stagnation. That […]