Week-ending 24 July 2026
Russia’s War against Ukraine
Fined 1,000 rubles for displaying “extremist” symbols, anti-war politician Boris Nadezhdin announced he would end involvement in opposition politics (The Moscow Times, 19/7/26; 17/7/26)
Nearly two months into a sweeping Ukrainian long-range drone campaign, the growing nationwide fuel crisis is tightening its grip on big cities across the country. (RFE/RL, 20/7/26)
The State Duma, passed legislation that would cut off exiled anti-war Russians from online banking, real estate transactions and consular services. (The Moscow Times, 22/7/26)
The State Duma approved a law expanding eligibility for people with criminal records to sign military contracts with the Defense Ministry, clearing all three readings in a single sitting. (Meduza, 22/7/26)
Lipetsk Regional Court sentenced 63-year-old Alexey Zaitsev to 20 years in prison for killing a military police officer, the court’s press service reported. (Meduza, 23/7/26)
The State Duma passed a bill adding assisted reproductive technologies to the free medical care available to widows of combat participants and wives of disabled war veterans. (Meduza, 23/7/26)
The EU has unveiled its argest sanctions package in four years against Russia, targeting 218 individuals and entities. (The Guardian, 24/7/26)
Police detained a 19-year-old woman from Krasnodar who authorities say filmed a fire at a Wildberries warehouse after it was struck by Ukrainian drones on July 22. (Meduza, 24/7/26)
Russia had 995 registered companies and individual entrepreneurs whose main line of business is funeral services as of mid-2026. (Meduza, 24/7/26)
The FSB detained a Russian woman born in 1996 in Moscow, accusing her of trying to bomb a security officer’s car on assignment from Ukrainian intelligence. (Meduza, 24/7/26)
Sberbank will discontinue servicing foreign-currency and multicurrency Visa and Mastercard cards starting September 1, 2026, TASS and RBC reported. (Meduza, 24/7/26)
Other news
Russian women have called on the authorities to adopt a domestic violence law as lawmakers debate whether such legislation would discourage marriage. (The Moscow Times, 17/7/26)
Space researcher Maksim Kravchuk was remanded in custody on treason charges. (The Moscow Times, 20/7/26)
President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed an executive order extending a Russian visa waiver program for Chinese citizens until the end of next year. (The Moscow Times, 20/7/26)
Chelyabinsk activist Mikhail Popov abandoned his campaign for the city council a week after injuring his spine while jumping from window to escape police officers. (The Moscow Times, 20/7/26)
Nearly half of the candidates nominated by the liberal Yabloko party for St. Petersburg’s regional parliamentary elections in September face disqualification. (The Moscow Times, 21/7/26)
Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of parliament, passed legislation on second and third readings expanding the grounds on which foreigners can be expelled from the country. (Meduza, 21/7/26)
The Supreme Court designated the hacker groups “Cyber Partisans BY” and Silent Crow as “extremist organizations.” (Meduza, 21/7/26)
Germany approved an application by French firm Framatome to produce nuclear fuel rods under a licensing agreement with state-backed Russian firms. (The Moscow Times, 22/7/26)
The Libertarian Party of Russia (LPR) said it is freezing its activities after it was added to the registry of “foreign agents” on July 17. (Meduza, 22/7/26)
This year’s State Duma election is on track to feature a record low number of independent candidates. (The Moscow Times, 23/7/26)
A universal digital ecosystem is planned for the Gosuslugi public services portal. (Meduza, 23/7/26)
The USA imposed tariffs of 12.5% on imports from Russia. (The Moscow Times, 24/7/26)
The combined audience of foreign messaging apps that remain unblocked in Russia grew 26% in the second quarter of 2026. (Meduza, 24/6/26)
