The situation on the front line for Ukraine is deteriorating, and the Russian offensive is accelerating in several areas, writes The New York Times. The publication quotes military personnel from the Pokrovsk direction, who speak of the numerical superiority of the Russians: “Neither day nor night they give us no rest. If we have three people, then they have 30.

In 1995, Radio Liberty moved from Munich to the capital of the Czech Republic and found its new home in Prague. Historian of the Russian Service Ivan Tolstoy walks along the corridors of the building of the former Federal Assembly of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, which housed Svoboda, and remembers the colleagues with whom he worked a quarter of a century ago...

Show more Collapse The fourth episode of the project “For Our Freedom” talks about the ban on “Svoboda” in Russia and the work of the editorial office after the relocation from the country. In February 2022, Russia unleashes a full-scale war against Ukraine. Russian authorities pass a law prohibiting calling Russian aggression a war. The radio continues to report on the invasion of Ukraine, defying Kremlin censorship. The website and other Svoboda platforms are blocked by Roskomnadzor.

We are talking about movements towards peace in Ukraine and security guarantees for Kyiv with former Russian diplomat Boris Bondarev and political scientist Georgy Chizhov.

Prices for ship insurance in the Black Sea have almost tripled over the past month after attacks on tankers and Russian ports. The Financial Times writes about this with reference to two brokers and a maritime security expert. According to the publication's interlocutors, prices for war risk insurance have increased from approximately 0.25–0.3% of the cost of the vessel in early November to 0.5–0.75% this week.

Illustrative photo On the night of December 8, drones struck the Rostov and Volgograd regions. Several settlements were cut off and a multi-storey residential building was damaged. No casualties were reported. According to the Ministry of Defense, 11 UAVs were shot down in the Rostov region - the strike fell on the Sholokhovsky, Bokovsky, Millerovsky, Verkhnedonsky and Chertkovsky districts.

Illustrative photo The Leninsky District Court of St. Petersburg fined 52-year-old Kazakh citizen Nurlan Akinzhanov 30 thousand rubles in an administrative case about “discrediting” the Russian army (Part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by the press service of the city courts. He himself did not come to the court hearing, Current Tense clarifies .

Illustrative photo The High Qualification Board of Judges allowed the investigative committee to initiate a criminal case against another judge from Rostov. We are talking about an employee of the Soviet Court, Natalia Tsmakalova. Tsmakalova is suspected of receiving a bribe, the TASS state agency reports , citing the decision of the board. The circumstances and specific amount of the bribe are still unknown.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio attends the premiere of the film "Battle after Battle" in London, UK, September 16, 2025 The list of nominees for the 83rd Golden Globe Awards was announced in Los Angeles. The leaders in the number of nominations were the films "Battle after Battle" (nine), "Sentimental Value" (eight) and "Sinners" (seven). In category "Frankenstein," "Hamnet," "A Mere Chance," "Secret Agent," "Sentimental Value" and "Sinners" were nominated for Best Dramatic Film.

Ilya Ponomarev. Archive photo The Supreme Court of Russia recognized the "Congress of People's Deputies" of oppositionist Ilya Ponomarev as a "terrorist" organization. The decision was made on the basis of a claim by the Prosecutor General, the Russian supervisory agency reports .

Radio Liberty News: final release

We are completing a trilogy of conversations about nationalization and redistribution of property in Russia. THIS MATERIAL (INFORMATION) WAS PRODUCED, DISTRIBUTED AND/OR DIRECTED BY A FOREIGN AGENT SHAKIROV MUMIN SHAKIROVIC OR CONCERNES THE ACTIVITIES OF A FOREIGN AGENT SHAKIROV MUMIN SHAKIROVIC. 18+

Russia sent a shipment of liquefied natural gas to China from a sanctioned LNG terminal in the Baltic Sea, Bloomberg and Reuters reported, citing ship tracking data and information from the London Stock Exchange Group network. This is the first known supply to China since US restrictions were introduced against the plant. The terminal was added to the US Treasury sanctions list in January.