Week-ending 19 December 2025
Russia’s War against Ukraine
President Putin issued a little-publicized decree last month that requires many foreign men seeking permanent residency or citizenship to sign a contract with the military. (RFE/RL, 12/12/25)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called for a “limited ceasefire” concerning attacks on ports and energy facilities in the Russia-Ukraine war. (The Moscow Times, 12/12/25)
34 European leaders signed a convention to formally create the International Claims Commission for Ukraine at a ceremony attended by President Zelenskyy. (The Guardian, 16/12/25)
2025 spending under the “national defense” heading (13 trillion rubles [$161.5 billion], exceeded that on “social policy” and “national economy” combined. (Meduza, 17/12/25)
A court in Yekaterinburg found Dmitry Rykov, an anti-war protester, guilty of using a poem by Vladimir Mayakovsky to “discredit” the Russian military. (Meduza, 17/12/25)
The EU will provide a 90 billion-euro ($106 billion) interest-free loan to Kyiv to help fund the war-torn country to support Ukraine’s economic and military needs. (RFE/RL, 19/12/25)
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged the bodies of 1,029 soldiers killed in combat, Kremlin adviser and chief peace negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said Friday. (The Moscow Times, 19/12/25)
Other news
A Moscow court sentenced Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and eight ICC judges to prison terms in absentia. (The Moscow Times, 12/12/25)
Germany accused Russia of a cyberattack targeting its air traffic control and spreading disinformation ahead of February’s general election. (The Moscow Times, 12/12/25)
Moscow’s Tverskoy District Court designated the exiled feminist protest group Pussy Riot an “extremist” organization, effectively banning its activities in Russia. (The Moscow Times, 15/12/25)
President Putin signed into law a measure allowing limited logging along the shores of Lake Baikal, which scientists and some officials warned could threaten the lake. (The Moscow Times, 16/12/25)
Russia’s Justice Ministry designated the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle as an “undesirable” organization. (The Moscow Times, 16/12/25)
A military court in Yekaterinburg sentenced five self-described Marxists from Bashkortostan to lengthy prison terms on terrorism and attempted coup charges. (The Moscow Times, 16/12/25)
Fourth-grader Kobiljon Aliev, a Tajikistani citizen, was stabbed to death at his school in the town of Gorki-2 outside Moscow. (Meduza, 17/12/25)
Roskomnadzor indicated it might restore access to the online gaming platform Roblox if the U.S.-based company takes steps to comply with Russian law. (The Moscow Times, 17/12/25)
Roskomnadzor has started seizing .ru website domains without waiting for parliamentary approval of a proposed law. (The Moscow Times, 17/12/25)
Russia’s lower-house State Duma on Thursday passed a package of bills exempting government officials from filing annual public financial declarations. (The Moscow Times, 18/12/25)
A judge in Yekaterinburg remanded human rights activist Alexei Sokolov in custody on a charge of treason. (The Moscow Times, 18/12/25)
Ads for Max are everywhere in Russia. Regulators have throttled more popular apps that are not under state control to persuade them to switch. (RFE/RL, 18/12/25)
Alexey Okopny, ‘the notorious “anti-extremism” cop who became the face of Putin’s police state’ died in early December. (Meduza, 18/12/25)
Foreign Intelligence Service chief Sergei Naryshkin and the Culture Minister unveiled a monument to the creators of the Soviet TV series “Seventeen Moments of Spring.” (The Moscow Times, 18/12/25)
Three films about anti-Kremlin journalists and activists have been shortlisted for the Oscars in what film critics said sent a clear anti-war, anti-authoritarian message. (The Moscow Times, 18/12/25)
Court rulings in favor of Putin loyalist, singer Larisa Dolina provoked public outrage and sparked panic in Moscow’s real estate market. (The Moscow Times, 18/12/25; Meduza, 19/12/25)
