Russian authorities have arrested a senior Rosatom executive on charges of financing the Ukrainian military. On Friday, federal agents detained Mikhail Shcherbak, the director of capital construction at Atomstroyexport, which manages Rosatom’s nuclear engineering division. Shcherbak has worked in the Russian nuclear construction sector for nearly two decades, participating in projects in Belarus and Iran, according to the independent outlet Agentstvo .

US President Donald Trump said on January 16 that no one tried to convince him to abandon the attack on Iran. “Nobody convinced me. I convinced myself,” Trump said while talking to reporters. This is how he answered the question whether the authorities of the Arab states and Israel tried to convince him not to strike Iran. Trump said his decision was "greatly influenced" by Iran's cancellation of more than 800 executions by hanging that were scheduled to take place on January 15.

Update: The Ingush news outlet Fortanga reported that, according to a source, Adam Kadyrov Adam Kadyrov was airlifted to a Moscow hospital. On the evening of January 16, an An-148-100EM aircraft — a “flying hospital” operated by Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations — departed from Grozny, reports iStories.

Update. The Ingush publication Fortanga reported that, according to a source, Adam Kadyrov was “urgently transported to a Moscow hospital.” On the evening of January 16, the An-148-100EM aircraft, the “flying hospital” of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, took off from Grozny, writes “Important Stories”.

The Tatarstan authorities plan to include Colonel General Alexander Lapin in the United Russia lists for the State Duma elections in September 2026. RBC reported this on January 16, citing sources. According to them, the initiative comes from the head of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, who has a long-standing good relationship with Lapin.

Like our earlier reports on the combat situation in Ukraine, this article reviews recent battlefield developments based on open-source information. Meduza has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from the outset, and our military analyses reflect our commitment to objective reporting on a war we firmly oppose. Our map is based exclusively on open-source photos and videos, most of them posted by eyewitnesses on social media.

The Internet is turned off in the country and there is very little information from there. We tell you what is still known Getty Images Street protest in Tehran January 8, 2026 How the Iranian authorities took back the streets Protests in Iran began on December 28 with a strike by mobile phone sellers in one of the shopping centers in the Iranian capital. By the beginning of January, almost all major cities of the country were engulfed in unrest.

Anton Panov The last two weeks have brought not one but two mysteries surrounding Russian men in Cyprus. The first involved Vladislav Baumgertner , the former CEO of a major potash producer, who went missing after leaving for a rock climbing trip on January 7. Then, a day later, diplomat Anton Panov died in a reported suicide in the Russian Embassy in Nicosia. According to subsequent media reports, he was working for Russian intelligence.

US President Donald Trump said he is ready to impose trade tariffs on countries that do not support his administration's plans to seize Greenland. “I can impose tariffs on countries that do not agree with U.S. claims to Greenland because we need Greenland for national security,” Trump said at a White House event, calling himself the “Tariff King.” He did not provide any other details. Donald Trump has repeatedly stated US claims to Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, in recent weeks.

How the US President sought the Nobel Peace Prize - and how it ended Daniel Torok / The White House / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA Even during Donald Trump's first presidential term, some politicians nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize, seeking his attention and favor. It became something of a diplomatic ritual in his second term, with foreign leaders regularly declaring they would nominate Trump for a Nobel whenever they needed something from him.

Moldova’s political news cycle this week was dominated by comments from President Maia Sandu about how she would vote in a hypothetical referendum on unification with Romania. Meduza explains the context behind Sandu’s comments, how Moldovan and Romanian politicians have responded, and whether her statement is likely to have concrete political consequences.

The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation has updated the register of “foreign agents”, adding to it the publication “People of Baikal” and the media project TV2 Media. Also included in the list: political scientist and orientalist Arkady Dubnov; American historian Ivan Kurilla; opposition politician Olga Kurnosova; economist Maxim Mironov; human rights activist, head of the Conscript School Alexey Tabalov.

The founder of the Ginza Project restaurant group, Vadim Lapin, died at the age of 62. According to the company's press service, Lapin was treated for cancer for a long time. Wikimedia Commons After the death of Vadim Lapin, management of the company passes to his son Mark Lapin. Ginza Project restaurants appeared in St. Petersburg in the early 2000s. Now the network includes more than 100 establishments in St.

Video version of “What Happened” Subscribe to the Meduza YouTube channel Experts call the US military’s invasion of Venezuela and the kidnapping of the country’s President Nicolas Maduro a violation of international law. Donald Trump states that his actions are limited only by his own morals. After the operation in Venezuela, Trump also threatened Cuba with the use of force and once again announced his desire to gain control of Greenland.

We are in the red by 1444 monthly donations. And we really need them back! Instead of long explanations, we simply show a graph of what happened with donations to Meduza over the past six months. Do you want details? Click The peak was the September SOS campaign, when we said that we would not survive if the number of people supporting Meduza financially did not grow to 15 thousand people.