News of the Week

Week-ending 13 September 2024

Russia’s War against Ukraine

Ukraine denounced Russia’s elections in occupied Crimea as a violation of international law. (RFE/RL, 8/9/24)

Many of the evacuated residents of Kursk region have not yet received payments promised by President Putin. (RFE/RL, 9/9/24)

Children’s rights ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova, wanted by the ICC, married US-sanctioned media tycoon Konstantin Malofeyev. (The Moscow Times, 9/9/24)

Andrei Shabanov, a saxophonist known for his anti-war stance, has been transferred from a detention center to a prison infirmary in Samara. (RFE/RL, 10/9/24)

Ukrainian Prosecutor-General accused an unnamed Russian Air Force commander of ordering a devastating July air strike on a Kyiv children’s hospital. (RFE/RL, 10/9/24)

A court in Moscow region sentenced an engineer at a military factory in the city of Dubna to three years in prison for writing pro-Ukrainian messages on key chains. (RFE/RL, 10/9/24)

Authorities in Kursk region said more than 150,000 people living near the border with Ukraine have been forced to evacuate their homes. (The Moscow Times, 11/9/24)

In Donetsk region, three Ukrainians working for the ICRC were killed and two injured when an artillery round hit their lorry. (The Guardian, 12/9/24; The Moscow Times, 12/9/24)

For many Russians who do not want to fight against Ukraine but cannot find a way out of conscription, deserting is the only option. (The Moscow Times, 12/9/24)

A military court sentenced Ilya Ponomaryov in absentia to 10 years in prison on charges of justifying terrorism and spreading ‘fake news’ about Russia’s military. (RFE/RL, 11/9/24)

A court in Volgograd sentenced Sergei Neverov a former Wagner group fighter, to eight years in prison for beating his wife to death. (RFE/RL, 11/9/24)

Ukraine accused Russia of using strategic bombers to strike a civilian grain vessel in Black Sea waters. (The Guardian, 13/9/24)

Other news

Most rights groups and independent experts agree the elections for regional governorships and other local authorities lacked any genuine competition. (RFE/RL, 9/9/24)

The Kremlin said that it would not grant an interview with President Putin to the recently released Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. (The Moscow Times, 9/9/24)

A Moscow court fined movie streaming website Kinopoisk 10 million rubles on charges related to “propaganda” of LGBTQ+ lifestyles and pedophilia. (The Moscow Times, 10/9/24)

Foreign nationals serving terms in Russian prisons have been asked to write requests to serve the remainder of their terms in their homeland. (RFE/RL, 10/9/24)

A court of appeals in St. Petersburg rejected an appeal by physicist Anatoly Maslov against a 14-year prison sentence on a high treason charge. (RFE/RL, 10/9/24)

Bashkir activist Zagir Mukhamedyarov has fled Russia and entered the United States via Mexico fearing arrest. (RFE/RL, 11/9/24)

Three lawyers – Vadim Kobzev, Alexei Liptser and Igor Sergunin – who represented Alexei Navalny have gone on trial for “extremism”. (The Guardian, 12/9/24)

Russia is expanding its facial-recognition payment system for subways. (RFE/RL, 13/9/24)

The Russian Prosecutor-General’s Office declared the Poland-based Belsat TV channel, which broadcasts in Belarusian, an “undesirable organization.” (RFE/RL, 13/9/24)