Vladimir Zelensky. Photo: Jose Sarmento Matos/Pool/EPA In two regions of Belarus bordering Ukraine, repeaters have been installed, with the help of which Russia adjusts its attacks, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said . “Can he [Lukashenko] remove this? Why should he say that he does not want to participate in the war? Let them turn off this technology. I think it will take him a week to do this. If he doesn't do it, we will." - Zelensky said. Lukashenko's statement.

Police detain a civilian in central Russia’s Penza region. Photo: Varlamov News Male civilians in central Russia’s Penza region are being rounded up and forced to enlist to fight in Ukraine by members of the security forces, according to eyewitnesses who spoke to Get Lost, an underground organisation that supports Russian men attempting to avoid conscription.

The Russian labor market does not need universal higher education, and the massive demand for universities that has developed over decades does not meet the needs of the economy, said Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov. “The demand for higher education, formed over decades, attracts almost any school graduate there. <...> This is not good, this is not right. [Now] there is a reasonable balance between secondary vocational and higher education.

Ruslan Baysarov. Photo: media The Yuzhuralzoloto company, nationalized last year, was sold to the structures of businessman Ruslan Baysarov. RBC reports this. The winner of the competition was BTS Most Holding JSC. Its founders and managers are hidden in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, but until 2024, Baysarov was the founder and beneficiary of the company.

Photo: Pavel Golovkin / AFP / Scanpix / LETA The Ministry of Finance received the “extraordinary” right to borrow and spend, bypassing the State Duma. We explain why the budget is still not enough Budgetary “arbitrariness” of the Ministry of Finance, sequestration and abolition of subsidies, new taxes and a “cap in a circle.” New Europe looks at how authorities will finance military spending in a year when the economy is heading into recession and expensive oil is no longer helping.

Students at Moscow State University attend their graduation ceremony in Moscow, 26 June 2025. Photo: EPA / MAXIM SHIPENKOV Russia’s labour market no longer requires the number of university graduates currently being produced, Russia’s Education and Science Minister Valery Falkov said on Thursday, noting that the demand for university places that had built up over recent decades simply no longer reflected the country’s economic reality.

What does this say about the Russian economy? The Central Bank of the Russian Federation again lowered the key rate - from 14.5% to 14.25%. This is stated in the regulator's press release. The decline was the ninth in a row since last summer. Most analysts at Forbes , Finam and RBC predicted a more serious decline - up to 14%. As justification, they noted the slowdown in inflation, the strengthening of the ruble and the cooling of the economy.

Donald Trump signs the Memorandum of Understanding between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America at the Palace of Versailles on June 17, 2026 in Versailles, France. Photo: Daniel Torok / White House / ZUMA Press / Scanpix / LETA What does Trump's Iran deal mean for Israel? Israeli political analyst Dmitry Dubov explains On Thursday, June 18, one day before the scheduled date, Donald Trump signed a memorandum of peace with Iran at Versailles.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and British Defense Minister Dan Jarvis before a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, June 18, 2026. Photo: Olivier Hoslet/EPA The NATO Secretary General announced the largest transformation in history.

A man inspects an apartment building damaged by a drone attack near Moscow, Russia, May 17, 2026. Photo: Maxim Shipenkov / EPA Video of attacks on Moscow: Russian missiles do not hit Ukrainian drones. Experts talk about the problems of the capital's air defense Despite loud statements by the Russian authorities about the amazing capabilities of their own air defense, Ukrainian drones continue to hit targets in Moscow.

Photo: official website of the State Duma From September 20 to 22, voting for State Duma deputies will take place in the Russian Federation. Against this background, United Russia decided to temporarily refuse to abandon new prohibitive measures and switch to a positive agenda, sources told Vedomosti. Because of this, deputies from the party in power began to criticize the restrictions that they had previously initiated or voted for.

In Penza, Kamenka and Kuznetsk, security forces, military registration and enlistment office employees and the National Guard carry out raids on men, during which they are forced to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense to be sent to the war in Ukraine. “Important Stories” , “Mediazona” , “NeMoskva Speaks” , Varlamov News , DSO and “Go Through the Forest” write about this. 🔵 Details . This first became known from a video posted by Penza resident Natalya Solomina on June 17.

Distribution of uniforms at a temporary mobilization point in the Museum of Moscow, September 29, 2022. Photo: Kirill Zykov / Moscow Agency Local residents talk about the beginning of panic in the city. Officials announce verification of military records On June 17, a resident of Penza published a video of women trying to stop a bus at the military registration and enlistment office and shouting about forced signing of contracts.