Week-ending 10 July 2026
Russia’s War against Ukraine
Ukrainian drones attacked St Petersburg oil terminal and the port of Vysotsk. (The Guardian, 4/7/26)
Gazprom agreed with the military to protect its own infrastructure. (The Moscow Times, 6/7/26)
Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s Omsk oil refinery. (The Guardian, 7/7/26)
Russia’s gasoline production has fallen by about 25% year on year. (The Guardian, 7/7/26)
An escalating energy crisis is underway in Crimea. (RFE/RL, 7/7/26)
A Moscow court has arrested Kirill Suvorov, a former adviser to the head of the city’s Krasnoselsky district, on charges of spreading “fake news” about the army. (Meduza, 7/7/26)
BBC identified three men suspected of torturing Ukrainian prisoners. (Meduza, 7/7/26)
Turkey deported anti-war activist Ariadna Litvinova to Russia. (The Moscow Times, 7/7/26)
The IOC provisionally lifted its suspension of the ROC. (The Moscow Times, 7/7/26)
The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) cleared Russian athletes to compete. (Meduza, 8/7/26)
Kemerovo has banned transit trucks from entering the city. (Meduza, 8/7/26)
Russia has banned diesel exports. (The Moscow Times, 8/7/26; The Guardian, 9/7/26)
The fuel crisis in Russia is causing tensions to boil over at gas stations. (RFE/RL, 9/7/26)
Alexander Lunin a Russian serviceman who recorded a video address to Vladimir Putin threatening a military mutiny, has been freed after 11 days in jail. (Meduza, 9/7/26)
A Polish court sentenced former Open Russia coordinator Igor Rogov to seven years for espionage; his wife Irina received three years for aiding and abetting espionage. (Meduza, 9/7/26)
Oil is leaking from the Volgoneft-239 tanker, which sank in December 2024. (Meduza, 9/7/26)
Lepse electrical machinery plant in Kirov region was fined 50,000 rubles after management failed to meet its staffing quota for the “mobilization reserve.” (Meduza, 9/7/26)
Investigative journalists identified a Russian doctor who abused Ukrainian prisoners at a penal colony in Vladimir region as Vyacheslav Cherdantsev. (Meduza, 10/7/26)
An 18-year-old says he was tricked into signing a military contract while a minor. (Meduza, 10/7/26)
More than 3,500 foreign nationals fighting on Russia’s side have been killed. (Meduza, 10/7/26)
Putin’s trust and approval ratings both fell for a second consecutive week. (Meduza, 10/7/26)
Other news
A Moscow judge sentenced exiled singer Monetochka to one year in prison in absentia after finding her guilty of violating Russia’s “foreign agent” law. (The Moscow Times, 7/7/26)
Hotels in Russia will soon be required to check in guests who do not have an internal passport with them by using the state-backed messaging app Max. (The Moscow Times, 7/7/26)
Russia’s 450 lower-house lawmakers will receive early bonuses averaging about 4.5 million rubles ($59,000) each ahead of September’s parliamentary elections. (The Moscow Times, 8/7/26)
Russia’s lower-house State Duma on Wednesday passed sweeping legislation tying the legal status of migrant workers and their families to their financial earnings. (The Moscow Times, 8/7/26)
A Russian court has granted Rosnano’s 11.9-billion-ruble claim against former executives of the state nanotechnology corporation, including Anatoly Chubais. (Meduza, 8/7/26)
A bill on AI passed by the State Duma requires ‘respect for traditional Russian values.’ (Meduza, 8/7/26)
Andrey Melnichenko donated 32 billion rubles in 2023 to the Sirius educational center founded on Vladimir Putin’s initiative. (Meduza, 9/7/26)
Exiled human rights veteran Lev Ponomaryov was sentenced to five and a half years in absentia for violating laws on “foreign agents” and “undesirable” organizations. (The Moscow Times, 9/7/26)
Hackers published private messages attributed to Ksenia Sobchak, pointing to supposed ‘agreements’ between her media empire and officials. (Meduza, 10/7/26)
