And he invited the oligarchs to voluntarily chip in for “SVO” - The Bell Photo: Sergei Ilnitsky / EPA Vladimir Putin, after the congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), held a closed meeting with major businessmen. There he discussed with the oligarchs the continuation of the war and its financing. This was reported by two sources to The Bell. “They said, we will fight,” one of the publication’s interlocutors retells the essence of Putin’s speech.

The number of criminal cases for failure to notify of second citizenship or the right to permanent residence abroad has increased since the start of the war in Ukraine, Mediazona found out . Since 2022, the number of sentences has been constantly growing: if in pre-war 2021 there were five, then in the first half of 2025 alone there are already 17. Most often, the defendants are given fines. Since 2022, they most often become Russians with a Ukrainian passport or residence permit.

Avito froze the account of a St. Petersburg woman who began using the service as a messenger due to the shutdown. “Rotunda” writes about this. A resident of St. Petersburg created an ad on Avito with the title “Strict cat for friends” in order to correspond with friends during mobile Internet blocking (the service is included in the so-called “white lists”). “My friends have a link to this ad.

The port of Ust-Luga in Russia’s northwestern Leningrad region. Photo: Ports Europe Fires have continued to rage at some of Russia’s most important Baltic Sea ports after massive Ukrainian drone strikes caused significant damage on Monday and Tuesday night, Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported on Thursday. As a result of the extensive Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure, 40% of Russia’s crude oil export capacity was out of action, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Russian Geran-2 drones on display on Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, 9 May 2025. Photo: EPA / MAXIM SHIPENKOV Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Thursday denied reports that Russia has been sending military attack drones to Iran amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, dismissing them as media fabrications and urging people not to “pay attention to them”.

How do the Sujans who lost their homes live, and why were they forbidden to remind the authorities about their troubles? Residential brick houses destroyed as a result of shelling on one of the streets of Sudzha, Kursk region, March 19, 2025.

Adam Kadyrov. Photo: @Kadyrov_95 / Telegram The Kremlin-appointed head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, posted a video on Wednesday showing a meeting of the republic’s security chiefs, among whom was Kadyrov’s 18-year-old son and rumoured successor, Adam Kadyrov. This was the first public appearance made by Adam Kadyrov since he was involved in a fatal car accident in the Chechen capital Grozny in January, after which he was flown to Moscow for medical treatment.

The Nureyev ballet, banned in Russia, has been revived and is successfully performed in Berlin. Kirill Serebrennikov told us how the play returned to the stage David Soares and ensemble. Photo: Carlos Quezada / Staatsballett Berlin In Berlin, more than eight years after its premiere, the ballet “Nureyev” by Kirill Serebrennikov was revived at the Bolshoi Theater.

Photo: State Duma press service The head of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, delivered her annual report today at a meeting of the State Duma, the broadcast was listened to by “New Europe”. During her speech, Nabiullina criticized the scale of preferential mortgages in Russia. She said that in 2019 and 2024, a similar number of mortgage loans was issued - 1 million 300 thousand. At the same time, in 2019, for every 50 market mortgage loans, there was only one preferential loan.

Vladimir Putin approved the proposal of director and propagandist Nikita Mikhalkov to impose quotas on foreign films in Russia. This follows from the transcript of the meeting of the Council for Culture. “You and I know very well how strictly quotas are placed on foreign films, say, in France. What's our problem? <…> Well, why are we opening our mouths?

Photo: Ramzan Kadyrov’s telegram channel The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, published a video from a meeting with the commanders of the republic’s security forces. In particular, his son Adam appears on the recording. This is Kadyrov Jr.'s first public appearance since the accident he had in January. In the video, Adam reads out a report that mentions activities carried out during Ramadan. The Muslim holy month ran from February 17 to March 19, so the entry is most likely recent.

Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna attends a dinner in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, on 5 September 2025. Photo: EPA / FRANCIS CHUNG A group of Russian parliamentary deputies has arrived in Washington after accepting an invitation extended to them by Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna to visit the US this week, Russian news agency Interfax reported on Wednesday.

The Dawn party opposes blockades and war, and is trying to register with the Ministry of Justice, acting strictly according to the law. Novaya Gazeta Kazakhstan spoke with its members and management Ekaterina Duntsova. Photo: Dawn Party Ekaterina Duntsova’s Rassvet party re-submitted documents to the Ministry of Justice (it was first denied registration in November 2024).

Photo: Frantisek Svatos The Central District Court of Chelyabinsk banned the distribution of the documentary film “Mr. Nobody against Putin” in Russia. Mediazona reported this. As follows from the case file on the court’s website, the lawsuit was filed by the deputy prosecutor of the Chelyabinsk region, and the defendant is the regional department of Roskomnadzor. The only party present in court was senior deputy regional prosecutor Evgeny Tumshin.

How a video game developer from Vorkuta couldn’t avoid being drafted, ended up on the front line, and then deserted and is now creating a political simulator Illustration: Lyalya Bulanova / “Novaya Gazeta Europe” In February 2025, thanks to the decision of the Altai court, it became known that conscript soldiers were being agitated to sign a contract on the direct orders of the Ministry of Defense.