Bastions of Sevastopol History Konstantin Gaivoronsky February 14, 2026 As early as the 19th century, attitudes toward war became the subject of fierce debate in Russia between critics of the existing system and those who called themselves patriots. This was especially evident during the Crimean War, which showed the extreme inefficiency of government and the military machine operating at that time.

In Belgorod, houses with central heating will not have hot water until the end of the heating season. This was announced by the Governor of the Belgorod Region Vyacheslav Gladkov. According to him, this is due to the consequences of a recent missile attack on the city, which damaged energy infrastructure and more than 90 apartments in several buildings.

News The Insider 14 February 2026 On Feb. 16, 2024, the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) announced that Russian opposition activist and political prisoner Alexei Navalny died while serving a 19-year sentence in penal colony IK-3. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva / Reuters Доступно на русском Five European countries have confirmed that Navalny was poisoned with epibatidine — a high-potency neurotoxin derived from South American poison dart frogs.

On Feb. 16, 2024, the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) announced that Russian opposition activist and political prisoner Alexei Navalny died while serving a 19-year sentence in penal colony IK-3. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva / Reuters Доступно на русском Five European countries have confirmed that Navalny was poisoned with epibatidine — a high-potency neurotoxin derived from South American poison dart frogs.

The structure of epibatidine was elucidated in 1992, but this was prevented by the designation of E. anthonyi as a protected species in 1984. Additionally, these frogs do not produce the toxin when bred and raised in captivity because they do not synthesize epibatidine on their own. Like other poisonous tree frogs, they get it from their food and then accumulate it on their skin. Likely sources include beetles, ants, mites and flies. The first synthesis of epibatidine was completed in 1993.

On February 12, the United States withdrew its troops from the Al-Tanf base, handing it over to the Syrian command. This was reported by Reuters. According to sources, the military contingent from there will be redeployed to Jordan. The base was created during the Syrian civil war in 2014 and was intended to counter the terrorist group ISIS, which then controlled large areas in Syria and Iraq. “U.S.

University of Alberta (Canada) Department of Chemistry professor Derrick L. J. Clive, an expert in organic synthesis, told The Insider that "the synthesis of optically pure epibatidine is currently a routine task and would be a simple task for a first-year graduate student." However, it should be taken into account that laboratory practice of organic synthesis in Russia differs from the West.

Figure skater from Kazakhstan Mikhail Shaydorov won the Olympic gold medal in the individual competition. He became the first athlete from Kazakhstan to win such an award in figure skating. Members of the Japanese team Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato took second and third place. After the short program, Shaidorov was only in fifth place, but in the free program he beat all his rivals, scoring 291.58 points in the sum of the two programs.

GosNIIOKhT has previously figured in investigations related to the “Novichok” series of chemical nerve agents, military-grade poisons that were said to have been synthesized at the institute’s Saratov branch. Agents of the Novichok variety were used in the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in the UK in 2018 and of Navalny himself in Russia in August 2020. In 2020 and 2021, GosNIIOKhT was added to sanctions lists by the European Union , United Kingdom , and the United States .

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that Russia attacked his country's diplomatic facilities on Ukrainian territory. He announced this after a meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. According to Aliyev, the Azerbaijani embassy was attacked three times. “Our embassy in Ukraine was hit three times. After the first one we thought it might have been a fluke.

The UK has formally notified the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) about the Russian state’s use of a banned toxin against opposition leader Alexei Navalny, confirming information previously published by The Insider that a rare poison, epibatidine, was found in samples taken from the political prisoner’s body. The statement was made against the backdrop of the Munich Security Conference.

The United States offered Ukraine a format of security guarantees for a period of 15 years. However, Kyiv is counting on longer commitments - 30 or even 50 years. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky stated this during a press conference. According to the head of state, the issue of guarantees is being discussed with all international partners, including representatives of the US Congress and investors.

The UK officially notified the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) of the use of a banned toxin against Alexei Navalny and accused Russia of violating the Chemical Weapons Convention. The corresponding statement was made against the backdrop of the Munich Security Conference - on the two-year anniversary of Navalny's death in a colony in Siberia.

The Finnish Ministry of Defense is considering the possibility of retroactively intervening in real estate transactions carried out by citizens of countries outside the EU and EEA. This was announced by Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen to the STT news agency. According to the minister, such measures can apply to all types of real estate. The possibility of reviewing deals concluded over the past 20 years is also being considered.

Former director of procurement and logistics of the Kalashnikov arms concern, Ksenia Grashchenkova, was arrested in the case of theft during the execution of a state defense order. She was charged with abuse of power by an organized group (clauses “a”, “b”, part 2 of article 201.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). TASS reports this. Citing a source in law enforcement agencies, the agency claims that Grashchenkova is in one of the pre-trial detention centers in Moscow.