Kapustin speaks to reporters near the Ukrainian-Russian border following an RVC cross-border raid into Russia’s Belgorod region, 24 May 2023. Photo: EPA / Sergey Kozlov Ukrainian military intelligence said on Thursday that Denis Kapustin, the commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), who was reportedly killed on Saturday, is in fact still alive.

The first morning of 2026 and the past year through the eyes of our staff correspondent in Kyiv Olga Musafirova People gather near the New Year tree to celebrate the New Year before a curfew is imposed on Sofiyskaya Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, December 31, 2025. Photo: Gleb Garanich / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA The fact that Russia would “congratulate” Ukraine on New Year’s Eve was clear even without Lavrov’s threats. Both last year and the year before it were all the same.

On New Year's Day, the colonies also have champagne, Olivier and Snow Maidens Collage: Rystic / “Novaya Gazeta Europe” Prisoners in places of deprivation of liberty have their rights violated, but they also want to celebrate the New Year. In colonies and isolation wards, this happened in different ways at different times. Novaya Gazeta Europe collected prison stories about the New Year, some of which have become legends.

After experiencing the hardship of exile first hand, one Belarusian in Poland has started a food bank to help other refugees Siarhei Melianets with multiple cartons of skyr donated to his food bank. Photo: Siarhei Melianets In the Warsaw suburbs, you’ll find a small railway station optimistically named Radość, Polish for joy, where Belarusian migrants are gathering in a small nearby car park one cold and wet afternoon at twilight.

Grigory Yeremeyev. Photo: OK.ru A politician in the Russian Volga region city of Samara has been charged with “abusing press freedom” for a speech he gave in the regional assembly condemning Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine, independent news channel 7x7 Horizontal Russia reported on Thursday.

The founder of the Russian Volunteer Corps, Denis Kapustin, was not killed, as previously reported. Information about this was disseminated to cover up the Ukrainian intelligence operation to save his life. Ukrainian special services reported on this. According to the Main Intelligence Directorate, the murder of Denis Kapustin was ordered by the Russian special services and half a million dollars were allocated for its implementation.

A screenshot from a video released by the Russian Defence Ministry, allegedly showing the debris of an intercepted Ukrainian drone in Russia’s northwestern Novgorod region. The CIA has concluded that Russian claims that the Ukrainian military launched a massive drone strike on one of Vladimir Putin’s official residences on Sunday were in fact false, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Wednesday.

The main memes of 2025 are in the “New Europe” collection Illustration: “New newspaper Europe” If in 2025 you sighed with relief, like Yura Borisov, followed the “agreement” and were indignant at the promotion of the Max, which “catch even in the parking lot,” or struggled with the autumn blues, like Nikol Pashinyan, you are already part of history. “New Europe” traced how the most high-profile events of 2025 turned into memes that explain what is happening better than any analysts.

Photo: Alessandro Della Valle/EPA Photo: Alessandro Della Valle/EPA On the night of January 1, an explosion occurred in a bar at a ski resort in Switzerland. “Dozens of people” were killed and about 100 more were injured. Reuters reports this. The explosion occurred at the Crans-Montana ski resort in the canton of Valais in southwestern Switzerland at about 01:30 local time (03:30 Moscow time) in the Le Constellation bar, where more than 100 people were celebrating the New Year.

Photo: Vladimir Saldo / Telegram At least 27 people, including a child, were killed and over 50 others injured in a Ukrainian drone strike on the village of Khorly in an occupied part of the country’s southern Kherson region, Russian-installed Governor Vladimir Saldo said on Thursday.

The “head” of the occupied part of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, said that on the night of January 1, three Ukrainian Armed Forces drones struck “a cafe and a hotel” in Khorly. As a result, 24 people were killed and more than 50 people were injured, he claims. According to him, among the dead there is a child.

Footage of the wreckage of a drone that allegedly tried to attack Putin’s residence in Valdai. Photo: Ministry of Defense The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) believes that Ukraine did not attempt to attack Vladimir Putin’s residence in Valdai. This was reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing sources.

Five tips from Odessa Odessa, December 30, 2022. Photo: Leszek Szymanski/EPA This text is not for those who in life’s lottery received a ticket with the inscription “front” or “front-line city / town / village / village”. It is for the majority who live the war in the rear or in forced emigration.

With answers! Illustration: “New newspaper Europe” An employee of our editorial staff who has been playing “What? Where? When?”, prepared New Year’s questions for readers of Novaya Gazeta Europe. We invite you to try yourself in the role of an expert. Don't be discouraged if you don't know the answer. Just click on the green buttons and you’ll find out everything! But first, try to answer yourself. Question one HIS name literally translates from Finnish as “Yule goat”, which is quite irreverent.