Journalist and TV presenter Vladimir Molchanov died at the age of 75, photographer Yuri Rost reported. “Woe! A wonderful, worthy man, Volodya Molchanov, has passed away. A talented and intelligent Russian intellectual, a moral journalist, a brilliant television presenter, an honest writer and my great friend. The loss is great and irreparable,” Rost wrote.

The Presnensky District Court of Moscow sentenced Vladimir Smerkis, the former director of the Binance crypto exchange in the CIS and the co-founder of the Blum crypto game, to five years in a general regime colony on charges of fraud (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code). Smerkis has been in custody in this case since May 2025.

Google is negotiating with SpaceX on a contract to launch rockets and launch orbital data centers into space, The Wall Street Journal writes, citing sources. This technology (not yet implemented) formed the basis of SpaceX's proposal to investors ahead of the company's planned listing on the stock exchange this summer. The head of SpaceX, Elon Musk, called it a “new frontier” for his company.

The happiness index of Russians, which is measured by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion ( VTsIOM ), amounted to 52 points in April 2026. This is the lowest figure in the last 15 years. When measuring the happiness index, Russians are regularly asked a closed question, which reads in full like this: “Anything can happen in life: both good and bad. But generally speaking, are you happy or not? Based on the answers, an index is calculated , which is expressed in points.

Donald Trump, before his flight to China, answered questions from journalists who asked him about Donbass. The US President was asked the question: “Did you and Putin have any understanding that Russia should get the entire Donbass?” He replied: “No.” Trump then added that, in his opinion, the end of the war in Ukraine is “very close,” but did not provide any details. In addition, the US President was asked whether he thought he could visit Russia this year.

Russian troops attacked the Dnepropetrovsk region, the regional military administration reported. According to the head of the administration, Alexander Ganzhi, two people died in Krivoy Rog. The head of the Krivoy Rog Defense Council, Alexander Vilkul, said that a direct hit by Shahed on a residential building was recorded in the city. According to him, the dead were a 43-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman.

He answered questions about the oligarchs’ money, the foundation’s cooperation with Zheleznyak, and a letter in defense of Friedman. Main quotes Vladimir Ashurkov, a financier and ally of Alexei Navalny, gave a three-hour interview to journalist Yuri Dudu. In the 2000s, Ashurkov worked as financial director of the port of St. Petersburg and top manager of Alfa Group. Since 2010, he has participated in investigations of Alexei Navalny.

The Thai authorities plan to reduce the period of visa-free stay for foreign tourists from 60 to 30 days, said the country's Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow. “We believe that 60 days is perhaps too long and some people who are not genuine tourists are using the visa-free regime for illegal purposes. We want to tighten control,” the minister said.

The former head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Ermak, denies the charges brought against him in a money laundering case. Ermak made this statement to reporters after a court hearing in Kyiv, at which the prosecution spoke and part of the materials of his criminal case were read out.

We explain why the Minister of Defense resigned and how this could lead to the collapse of the ruling coalition Janis Laizans / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA An oil reservoir after being hit by a drone in Rezekne. May 7, 2026 On Sunday, May 10, Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds announced his resignation, three days after Ukrainian drones flown in from Russia fell near the city of Rezekne in the east of the country. Drones damaged empty tanks at an oil depot.

It is impossible to ban or “turn off” VPN services, says Valery Fadeev, head of the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation. He told RBC about this, commenting on the possibility of additional legislative regulation of these services. “I don’t really understand how to regulate VPN, because pretty soon it became clear to everyone that this is a very complex system and that it is generally impossible to prohibit or turn off VPN.

Updated. The Shot telegram channel reported that around 11 p.m. Linda was released after interrogation. According to Shot, she was confronted with sound producer Mikhail Kuvshinov, who was eventually left in the department. He was charged, the telegram channel claims. Singer Linda (real name Svetlana Gaiman) was taken away for interrogation because of her conflict with producer Maxim Fadeev. Ksenia Sobchak reports this.

Large Russian digital platforms have begun to label well-known children's books with warnings about the dangers of drugs, Nesting noted. Corresponding warnings were posted by Liters, Ozon, AST publishing house and a number of other companies.

The Russian military has successfully tested the Sarmat missile system. The commander of the Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) Sergei Karakaev reported this to Russian President Vladimir Putin, TASS reports. Putin said that at the end of this year the Sarmat will be put on combat duty. “Sarmat” is the most powerful missile system in the world, its total power is more than four times greater than that of any Western analogue, the Russian President noted.

1539th day. The three-day ceasefire has ended. The drones are attacking again. Ukraine proposes “airport truce” Since February 24, 2022, Meduza has been broadcasting live about the Russian-Ukrainian war. We publish your letters every day because we are sure that we need to continue talking about the war. Share with us your thoughts about the war. What feelings are you experiencing? How does war affect your life and your attitude towards the world?