Russia Watch

‘I Don’t Know When This Will End’: As Ukraine Steps Up Strikes, Crimea Grapples With Fuel Shortages and Blackouts– www.themoscowtimes.com

pgnewser July 1, 2026 0

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Olesya, a resident of the Russian-annexed port city of Sevastopol, Crimea, has resorted to desperate measures to fill up her car’s gas tank. Recently, she and a group of friends spent hours trying to obtain a QR code that would allow her to buy just 20 liters (5.3 gallons) of gasoline.

“There were 10 of us sitting there, hoping one of us would get a code,” Olesya told The Moscow Times, withholding her last name for safety reasons.

Ukraine has stepped up attacks on supply routes and energy infrastructure serving Crimea in recent weeks in what it says is an effort to isolate the annexed peninsula and disrupt military supply lines for Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Manhunt under way after bomb injures Ukrainian oligarch and family in Monaco– www.bbc.co.uk

pgnewser July 1, 2026 0

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More than 100 police and emergency personnel were deployed to the scene of the blast on Monday evening.

Harri Richie, who lives around 100m away from the targeted building, told the BBC she heard an “unbelievably loud explosion” at about 21:00 local time from the underground car park she was in.

She then went up to her 11th floor apartment, where she said she saw emergency services “dragging two people out [from the building] who looked badly injured”.

Emergency services arrived around five minutes after the explosion, she said, adding that there was a helicopter overhead throughout Monday night.

“This is the first time in history, to my knowledge, that such an act has taken place in the principality,” Mirmand, the head of Monaco’s government, said.

Vladimir Putin haemorrhaging money over payouts to Ukraine war dead reach £47bn | World | News– www.express.co.uk

pgnewser July 1, 2026 0

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Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine recently reached a major milestone in that it has now been going on for longer than World War 1. The war has taken a toll on both Ukraine and Russia with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians dead and billions of pounds worth of buildings destroyed.

However, after Donald Trump took a warmer approach to relations with Russia, it looked like Ukraine might be forced towards a humiliating peace deal.

That has not happened. While there is no sign as yet of Putin looking like he will sue for peace, there is another financial factor to consider. The financial cost to Putin of the soldiers who are dying fighting for Russia, something that is costing his economy billions of pounds.

Putin rejects peace and pledges ‘Novorossiya’ imperium– www.washingtonexaminer.com

pgnewser July 1, 2026 0

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President Vladimir Putin has signaled Russia’s disinterest in new peace negotiations with Ukraine. Instead, he is recharacterizing his war on Ukraine as an imperial restoration project. While he has always viewed Ukraine as a Russian limb, Putin’s rhetoric reflects his need to consolidate Russians amid a failing war effort.

Putin’s latest comments came in an interview with Kremlin propagandist Pavel Zarubin on Sunday. While Putin admitted that escalating Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure were causing fuel shortages, he insisted that these problems were limited. More air defense systems were being rapidly produced to deal with this challenge, Putin said.

Russia targets academics in U.S. as ‘foreign agents’ in intimidation campaign– www.thecollegefix.com

pgnewser June 24, 2026 0

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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime is intimidating Russian organizations and scientists on American soil, according to a prominent professor speaking out about the situation.

The incoming president of the Russian-American Science Association, University of Southern California chemistry Professor Anna Krylov, told The College Fix she fears for her safety and the safety of academics caught in the Kremlin’s scope — but refuses to stand down.

“I definitely am not going to quit RASA, because that’s not the proper response to bullies, and so I will continue with operations as usual,” she said. “I will be organizing our next conference, and I will be participating and doing my job as president-elect and then as president of RASA.”

Zelensky Wants to Meet Putin in America – thebethlehem.com

pgnewser June 18, 2026 0

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is calling on Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to meet him America to come to a final peace agreement. Zelensky said, “Yesterday (Sunday), we discussed with President Trump that such a meeting could be organised in the US, in a format where Putin would find it much harder to refuse. We will see what comes of it. If Russia refuses this chance as well, additional pressure will be needed.”

Go Deeper

Smoke rises over Moscow after Ukrainian drones hit an oil refinery– www.washingtontimes.com

pgnewser June 18, 2026 0

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Ukraine hit a major Moscow oil refinery for a second time in a week and disrupted commercial flights at the city’s airports in one of its biggest drone attacks since Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago, Russian officials said Thursday.

The attack came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had held “an important coordination call” with the presidents of the United States and France, and had won key pledges of further support from the G7 summit this week.

Zelenskyy was expected in Brussels later Thursday for talks with NATO and European Union leaders, including discussions about the possible building of a continental system to protect against ballistic missiles. Russia has relentlessly struck Ukraine with those types of missiles, which air defenses struggle to counter.

Poland detains suspect in fatal shooting of Russian artist critical of Putin, Tusk says– www.france24.com

pgnewser June 18, 2026 0

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A ⁠suspect in ​the murder of a Russian national has been ​detained, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday, after an artist critical of President Vladimir Putin ​was ‌shot dead in eastern ⁠Poland this week.

The suspect was detained by police in ‌cooperation with Poland‘s Internal Security Agency, Tusk said ⁠on X, adding that the man was using a Georgian passport. Local police ​in Lublin said the document belonged ‌to a 36-year-old man.

Prosecutors have said the victim, identified as Robert Kuzovkov and also known as ‌Semyon Skrepetsky, was hit by five bullets, including one to ​the head. Two Belarusians have also been detained in connection with the killing in the ​city of Biala Podlaska but have not been ​charged.

‘Russia should make a deal,’ Trump says after ‘very good meeting’ with Zelenskyy at G7 – Europe live | G7– www.theguardian.com

pgnewser June 17, 2026 0

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Oh, Trump is now speaking with reporters, sitting next to the Emir of Qatar.

As we suspected (9:43), he confirms he had a “very good” meeting with Zelenskyy this morning and will meet with him again later today.

“Look, Russia should make a deal. Russia’s lost tremendous amounts of people, and so has Ukraine. Last month, they lost 35,000 soldiers between the two; it’s on a monthly basis. They averaged 25,000 people, mostly soldiers, young,beautiful people, and it’s crazy what’s going on there.

But we had a meeting, and we’ll see… I spoke with President Putin on Sunday.”

Japan bought about 364,000 barrels of Russian oil in May – Business & Economy– tass.com

pgnewser June 17, 2026 0

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TOKYO, June 17. /TASS/. Japan purchased approximately 364,000 barrels of oil from Russia in May this year, according to TASS calculations based on statistical data published by Japan’s Finance Ministry.

According to the data, Japan imported 58,000 kiloliters of Russian oil last month, equivalent to approximately 364,800 barrels. The purchases concerned oil linked to gas supply contracts under the Sakhalin-2 project, which is exempt from anti-Russian sanctions. The oil is also exempt from the price cap introduced by the G7 countries. According to TASS calculations, the price of Russian oil purchased by Japan in May amounted to approximately $103 per barrel.

Trump, Zelenskyy meeting shifts G7 focus to Ukraine war– www.washingtontimes.com

pgnewser June 17, 2026 0

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President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Tuesday on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, as the leaders of the world’s largest economies renew their focus on the war in Ukraine amid hopes the Iran conflict is nearing a conclusion.

Mr. Trump told reporters after the sit-down that the two had a “very good meeting” and that he planned to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart again later in the day.

Asked about the war, Mr. Trump responded, “Russia should make a deal.”

U.K. Intercepts Russian Shadow Fleet Vessel in English Channel– www.themoscowtimes.com

pgnewser June 15, 2026 0

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British forces on Sunday intercepted a sanctioned oil tanker belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet in the English Channel, the defense ministry said.

The six-hour operation in the early hours was supported by aircraft, including Chinook helicopters, and navy vessels such as the frigate HMS Sutherland.

“In the first U.K.-led operation of its kind, the vessel SMYRTOS was boarded by Royal Marine Commandos and specially trained law enforcement officers from the National Crime Agency, despite Russia’s best efforts to evade sanctions and continue fueling its barbaric war with Ukraine,” the ministry statement said.

The Evolution of Ukraine’s Asymmetrical Combat Tactics– warontherocks.com

pgnewser June 11, 2026 0

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In 2022, Scott Sweetow wrote, “Of Roadside Bombs and Drones: Putin’s Looming Insurgency Problem,” where he argued Ukraine’s fight against Russia would rely on a combination of conventional and asymmetrical insurgent tactics. Four years of combat later, we asked Scott to revisit his arguments.Image: National Information Warfare Center PacificIn your 2022 article, you argued that Ukraine’s tech-driven resistance could rapidly evolve into an insurgency-style force.

Top Russian Official Blown Up By Car Bomb In Moscow– trendingpoliticsnews.com

pgnewser June 11, 2026 0

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A senior Russian military colonel was killed in a car bombing outside Moscow after an explosive device planted under his BMW detonated near his home, according to local media reports.

Damir Davydov, described as the Kremlin’s top artillery chief, died after the blast erupted around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday near his home in Balashikha, a city just outside Moscow.

Surveillance footage shared by Russian media appeared to show the vehicle bursting into flames before slamming into a parked car.

Screenshot- X- Damir Davydov

Bystanders rushed to pull Davydov from the burning wreckage, but he later died from his injuries, Telegram channel Mash reported.

Russian Telegram channel 112 reported that the explosive device had been planted under the driver’s seat and detonated remotely.

The device reportedly had a yield equivalent to 300 to 400 grams of TNT.

Russia burning as Ukraine launches huge attack with new missiles | World | News– www.express.co.uk

pgnewser June 11, 2026 0

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Russia suffered a new night of hell as Ukraine signalled its new advantage in the war. Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces sent FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles on a 1,000 mile mission to massively damage a key Putin military plant in Cheboksary. Amid a night of failures by Russian air defences, another refinery – Novokuibyshevsk – was also blitzed in the Samara region.

Two more oil facilities named Lobkovo and Vtorovo, linked to pumping fuel to Moscow and northwestern Russia, were struck and damaged by Ukrainian drones in the Vladimir region, risking further petrol pump shortages. In a key strike, Ukraine blocked traffic by damaging another bridge connecting the Arabat Spit to the mainland in the Kherson region as part of a bombing campaign that is curtailing Putin’s supply access to the jewel of his Ukrainian invasion – the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which he has held since 2014.

UK’s Starmer hosts Zelenskyy, Macron and Merz to discuss support for Ukraine– abcnews.com

pgnewser June 9, 2026 0

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LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Sunday to discuss ongoing support for Ukraine.

The U.K., France and Germany, the so-called E3 group of European nations, have been prominent backers of Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The U.K. and France lead the “coalition of the willing” initiative to provide security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a peace process.

The meeting on Sunday evening comes in the wake of a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack that targeted Saint Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, underscoring Kyiv’s growing ability to hit deep inside Russia. Gov. Alexander Beglov said three people sustained minor injuries in Saturday’s attack, during which residents were advised to stay indoors.

NATO shoots down drone over Latvia as concern about Ukraine war’s spread grows– www.washingtonpost.com

pgnewser June 9, 2026 0

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A French fighter jet shot down a drone that entered NATO ally Latvia’s airspace from Russia on Monday, the latest security incident along Europe’s eastern border while Russia wages war on Ukraine.

NATO command ordered the shoot-down after it was determined that Russia had used electromagnetic warfare in the area, Latvian Defense Minister Raivis Melnis told reporters. The drone was brought down Monday morning near the village of Berzgale, roughly 20 miles from the border. No property damage or injuries were reported.

Romania condemns ‘irresponsible escalation’ after Russian drone hits apartment building– www.france24.com

pgnewser May 29, 2026 0

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A Russian drone struck an apartment building in NATO-member Romania, its defence ministry said on Friday, wounding two people in a city near the Ukrainian border.

“During the night of May 28–29, the Russian Federation resumed drone attacks on civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine, near the river border with Romania,” the Romanian defence ministry said, condemning an “irresponsible escalation”.

“One of these drones entered Romanian airspace, was tracked by radar as far as the southern part of the city of Galati, and crashed onto the roof of an apartment building, with the impact triggering a fire,” it said.