Russian universities are scrambling to erase evidence of decades-long partnerships with Yale University after Moscow designated the Ivy League institution as an “undesirable organization” in early July. T-invariant , an independent media outlet and platform founded by Russian-speaking scientists, documented how prestigious institutions, including Moscow State University, the Higher School of Economics, and St.

Update: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday that Donald Trump is “open” to meeting Vladimir Putin as well as Volodymyr Zelensky. Leavitt did not indicate if Putin had agreed to a trilateral meeting or say where such a meeting might take place, the Financial Times reported . In a call with European leaders on Wednesday, Donald Trump disclosed his plans to meet in person with Vladimir Putin as soon as next week.

Russian forces attacked a gas compressor station in Ukraine’s Odesa region that facilitates Azerbaijani gas transit to Europe. The Ukrainian Ministry of Energy reported dozens of drones targeted the site near the Romanian border. Energy officials accused Moscow of trying to undermine Kyiv’s ties with Azerbaijan, the United States, and its European allies.

At least 15 Ukrainian citizens expelled from Russia launched a hunger strike at the Georgian border on August 6, demanding a visit from their consul. Sources told Novaya Gazeta Europe that they declared the hunger strike not to antagonize Georgia’s government but to compel Ukraine to help secure their release. The Ukrainians are trapped in a windowless basement at the Dariali border checkpoint — the only crossing where Ukrainian nationals deported from Russia can exit.

US President Donald Trump called the meeting of his special envoy Steven Witkoff with Russian President Vladimir Putin “very productive”. He wrote about this on the social network Truth Social. He said "significant progress" had been made. The US President did not specify what he means. “After that, I informed some of our European allies. Everyone agrees that this war must be ended, and we will work to do so in the coming days and weeks.

A court in Chechnya has sentenced Zarema Musaeva, the mother of two prominent opposition activists, to three years and 11 months in a penal colony for allegedly disrupting prison operations. The Shalinsk city court found her guilty of attacking a prison guard and scratching his neck — though no witnesses saw this happen, according to human rights monitors at the Crew Against Torture . Zarema Musaeva has insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes and health problems that have worsened in prison.

In memory of Boris Yukhananov, an underground director who turned an ordinary budget venue into a unique “Stanislavsky Electric Theater” Mikhail Tereshchenko / TASS / Profimedia On August 5, director Boris Yukhananov died; he was 67 years old.

The founder of the company that built the device constantly violated safety requirements - and forced employees to remain silent about it. He himself died in the crash US Coast Guard / Scanpix / LETA The wreckage of the Titan submarine on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Photo from a US Coast Guard remotely operated underwater vehicle.

President Donald Trump followed through on his threats on Wednesday, August 6, signing an executive order that imposes an additional 25 percent tariff on goods from India. The new levy brings the total U.S. tariff rate to 50 percent. The move targets India’s continued purchases of Russian oil, with the new levy taking effect within 21 days. The decision marks a significant escalation in U.S. pressure on countries maintaining energy ties with Russia.

Valery Sharifulin / TASS / Profimedia An obscure group studying teleportation and time travel operated for decades out of Moscow State University (MSU) — until a media report prompted its sudden disappearance from the web. For more than 25 years, Russia’s prestigious Moscow State University has hosted a group calling itself the “Institute for the Study of the Nature of Time,” which claimed to research teleportation.

On Monday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced that the country was formally abandoning its moratorium on deploying ground-based intermediate- and shorter-range missiles. Six years ago, in August 2019, the Russian authorities unilaterally introduced the moratorium after the United States withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces ( INF ) Treaty.

How a Russian zoo owner in occupied Crimea uses the war as a pretext to take rare animals from Ukrainian territory Pavel Rebrov / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA Taigan Safari Park director Oleg Zubkov shows one-week-old White Bengal tiger cubs at the park near Belogorsk, Crimea October 23, 2018 Oleg Zubkov is a Russian ( formerly Ukrainian ) businessman who runs multiple zoos in Ukraine’s occupied Crimean peninsula.

This operation brought heavy losses to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Could she decide the outcome of the war? Or was the defeat of the Ukrainian army predetermined? Fabien Nachi / SOPA Images / LightRocket / Getty Images Ukrainian soldiers hang photographs from the front on the destroyed Lenin monument in Sudzha. August 2024 Exactly one year ago, Ukrainian troops crossed the border of the Kursk region - and began one of the fiercest battles of the war, which lasted more than seven months.

Spoiler: tries to pass himself off as a political prisoner Sergey Ilnik / Sputnik / RIA Novosti / EPA / Scanpix / LETA Pablo Gonzalez landed in Moscow after the prisoner exchange. His T-shirt features a Star Wars stormtrooper and the words “The Empire Needs You.” Vnukovo Airport, August 1, 2024 Just over a year ago, on August 1, 2024, Russia and Western countries conducted the largest prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War.

This is a way to intimidate people so that they do not oppose deportation Adam Gray / Getty Images / AFP / Scanpix / LETA Immigrants at deportation hearings in court in New York, June 2025 The American Migration Service has begun to use a new tactic for deporting immigrants: if a family refuses to leave the country to seek political asylum, families are separated from their children.