Russia

Yulia Kuznetsova, a State Duma candidate from the Greens party who disappeared a day earlier after a meeting with voters, has posted a video.

Moscow’s online voting system checks whether a voter is using a VPN, according to programmer Pyotr Zhizhin, who analyzed and documented in detail the scheme used to falsify electronic voting in the 2021 State Duma elections.

The British pop group Pet Shop Boys has released a new song, “A Top Secret Washing Machine,” on its YouTube channel. The track was timed to coincide with Russia’s State Duma elections.

Saudi Arabia’s state oil company, Saudi Aramco, has told European customers that they will receive no oil in October under their long-term contracts because of an attack on a key pipeline running to the Red Sea, sources told Bloomberg.

Russia has begun three days of voting to elect a new State Duma alongside thousands of regional and local representatives Read Full Article at RT.com

Andriy Biletsky, commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps, said this week that his units are successfully carrying out Operation “Vivaldi.” The first of its four phases, he said, is nearing completion: Russian units near the town of Lyman, which had been trying to push through to the Siverskyi Donets River opposite Sloviansk, have been driven back […]

French President Emmanuel Macron said he has ordered his government to draw up a plan to protect critical infrastructure — including defense industry sites — from drone attacks and cyberattacks as Russia’s hybrid threat grows.

Leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany party have begun preparing for talks on resuming Russian gas deliveries to Germany, Reuters reported, citing two sources.

Ireland and the European External Action Service have proposed keeping Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov on the sanctions list while unfreezing his assets and allowing him to enter the European Union, European diplomats told the Financial Times.

Actor Nikita Kukushkin, who condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and left the country, has recorded a video supporting the “Noon for a Peaceful Russia” campaign, which Ilya Yashin and several other Russian opposition figures in exile are promoting. They are urging Russians to turn out at polling stations at noon on September 20 — the third […]

Russia’s Justice Ministry has added film director Andrei Zvyagintsev to its register of “foreign agents.”

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced a new international cooperation initiative, the “Carpathian Eight”:

Officials in Russia’s Kirov region have postponed a legislative election in single-mandate district No. 25 until 2027 after two registered candidates were left off the ballot.

Vladimir Zelensky is “a suicide method chosen by the Ukrainian nation,” his former spokeswoman Yulia Mendel has said Read Full Article at RT.com

The Trump administration is weighing business deals with Russia even before the war in Ukraine ends, two sources close to the negotiations told The New York Times. One of the sources said such deals could show that the United States is serious about a “reset” in relations with Russia.

Russia has carried out two space launches this week, including an ISS resupply mission and the deployment of a classified military satellite Read Full Article at RT.com

Amid rumors of a new mobilization, senior Russian officials have spent recent months trying to open accounts at foreign banks and move their assets abroad, Bloomberg reported, citing documents it had obtained.

Lithuania’s border service detained a Russian citizen who swam across the Neman River seeking political asylum and sent him back to Russia, according to a report by the Lithuanian news outlet Lrytas.

Nestle said it has “taken note” the Russian president’s decree introducing “temporary external administration” at Nestlé Russia.

Yulia Kuznetsova, a State Duma candidate for the Russian Ecological Party “The Greens,” stopped answering calls on the evening of September 17, according to the project Slovo Zashchite (Word to the Defense).

Wine production in occupied Crimea fell sharply in 2026, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported, citing data from the Federal Service for Alcohol and Tobacco Market Regulation (Rosalkogoltabakkontrol). Wine output on the peninsula dropped 24.7% year-on-year from January through August, while sparkling wine output fell 38%.

Minikim Holland B.V., the Dutch company that owns the Love Is brand, has filed a lawsuit against Russian retail chain Magnit and Moskovsky Kartofel in an arbitration court in the Kaluga region, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported.

Kanye West — also known as Ye — has dropped performances at “Gazprom Arena” in St. Petersburg from the list of 2026 tour dates on his website.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament that Russia is planning “hybrid” strikes using missiles and drones against countries that support Ukraine.

Alexander Ovechkin, the Washington Capitals winger, addressed his appearance in a United Russia campaign video, saying he supports his country and wishes everyone peace and love. Ovechkin told reporters:

More than 50 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight over Russia’s Rostov region during an attack on September 18, Rostov Governor Yuri Slyusar said.

Russia’s Interior Ministry has put Vladislav Gorin, a Meduza journalist and the host of the podcast “Chto sluchilos” (“What Happened”), on its wanted list, Mediazona reported.

President Vladimir Putin has extended Russia’s ban on Western food imports through 2028 Read Full Article at RT.com

Russia’s three-day State Duma elections have begun. The first polling stations opened at 8:00 a.m. local time in Kamchatka and Chukotka.