Vyacheslav Prokofyev / RIA Novosti / Sputnik / AFP / Scanpix / LETA Ramzan Kadyrov and Vladimir Putin at a meeting with Chechen special forces in Gudermes. August 2024 Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov regularly voices support for Russia’s war against Ukraine, but Chechnya’s authorities do not actually share the Kremlin’s interests in that war, The Economist reports .

Igor Ivanko / AFP / Scanpix / LETA Yabloko chairman Nikolai Rybakov outside the Supreme Court building after the ruling was announced. August 10, 2026 On July 29, Russia’s Central Election Commission registered the liberal party Yabloko for elections to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. On August 7, however, another party, Rodina, filed suit at Russia’s Supreme Court demanding that the decision be overturned.

Igor Ivanko / AFP / Scanpix / LETA Yabloko leader Nikolai Rybakov (foreground) at a hearing at Russia’s Supreme Court, August 10, 2026 On August 10, Russia’s Supreme Court barred Yabloko — the only party in the race campaigning for peace with Ukraine — from the State Duma elections. The formal pretext was a lawsuit from the Rodina party, which accused Yabloko of numerous violations of election law: copyright infringement, incitement to extremism, and “gray-area” campaigning.

Countries involved in wars will be banned from hosting the Eurovision Song Contest. Amendments to this effect in the rules of the competition were approved by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Traditionally, the country that wins Eurovision hosts the music competition the following year.

Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, threatened Elon Musk that Poland would stop paying for the American billionaire’s Starlink satellite service to Ukraine unless Poland is restored to the European communications region.

Imago / APAimages / Scanpix / LET Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in Belgrade. August 8, 2026 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in Belgrade on August 8. The visit, and Zelensky’s remarks about Kosovo during it, caused an uproar that is still being felt days later, Politico reported on August 12. It was Zelensky’s first trip to Belgrade since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Photos Cesar Manso / AFP / Scanpix / LETA Lodos, Spain On the evening of August 12, a total solar eclipse occurred in the northern hemisphere of the Earth. The Sun, completely covered by the Moon, could be observed in Greenland, Iceland, Portugal and Spain, and in the largest cities of Western Europe, the Moon covered the solar disk by 85-95%.

The US State Department has created a special department to combat “maternity tourism,” that is, the practice of pregnant women going to the United States to give birth in order for the child to receive American citizenship. According to the head of the State Department, Marco Rubio, the department was created to “check the activity of visa holders, destroy the illegal network of “maternity tourism” and put an end to the monstrous abuse of laws” of the United States.

Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.3% in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the same period last year, according to preliminary data published by Russia’s official statistics agency, Rosstat, on August 12. The independent Russian outlet The Bell said the figure came in above estimates from Russia’s central bank (+0.8%) and the Economic Development Ministry (+0.9%).

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski threatened American billionaire Elon Musk that the country's authorities will stop paying for his Starlink satellite communications services for Ukraine if Poland is not returned to the European communications region. “Hey Elon Musk, big shot, stop discriminating against Polish Starlink users, otherwise we may reconsider paying $50 million a year for your services,” Sikorski said on social media.

Steve Witkoff / X (Twitter) Russia has released Robert Gilman, a 32-year-old American whom a court had sentenced to 10 years in a penal colony. Gilman was detained in Voronezh in January 2022. According to the Russian authorities, he kicked a police officer in the leg after being pulled off a train for causing a drunken disturbance. The court first gave him four and a half years, then raised the term to 10 over claims that he had attacked guards and an investigator behind bars.

The writer and screenwriter Pavel Tetersky has left Russia, his lawyer, Oskar Cherdzhiev, said on Telegram on August 12. Mediazona, an independent Russian news outlet, drew attention to the post. Tetersky left after being released from administrative arrest — a short jail term Russian courts impose for minor offenses. On July 31, Moscow’s Khimki Court ordered him held for 12 days at a special detention center on an administrative charge of petty hooliganism.

Organizers have canceled “Dronnitsa,” the all-Russian gathering of combat drone operators that had been scheduled for August 29–30 in Veliky Novgorod, about 100 kilometers (75 miles) from Vladimir Putin’s residence.

Russia's GDP grew by 1.3% in the second quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year. Such preliminary data were published by Rosstat on August 12. As The Bell notes , this figure is higher than the estimates of the Central Bank (+0.8%) and the Ministry of Economic Development (+0.9%). The main driver of economic growth in the second quarter was consumer activity, writes RBC. Retail turnover increased by 7.2% in annual terms.

The Supreme Court accepted most of Rodina's claims. Besides the fact that calls for peace are extremism, and the photo of Hiroshima in 1945 is a violation of the rights of the US Army Igor Ivanko / AFP / Scanpix / LETA Yabloko head Nikolai Rybakov (foreground) at a hearing in the Supreme Court, August 10, 2026 On August 10, the Supreme Court of Russia removed Yabloko, the only party that advocated peace with Ukraine, from the State Duma elections.