Available in English The Kremlin network of bots “Matryoshka” distributes videos and pictures disguised as content from Western media, in which it intimidates readers with the upcoming hantavirus pandemic, which caused an outbreak of the disease on the cruise ship MV Hondius. The Bot Blocker project ( antibot4navalny ) told The Insider about this. Epidemiologists assess the risk of an epidemic, and especially a hantavirus pandemic, as low and very low.

The head of the US Border Patrol, a federal armed police force that protects state borders and subordinate to US Customs and Border Protection, Michael Banks unexpectedly resigned on Thursday, May 14. This was reported by Reuters, citing an anonymous source. Banks himself later confirmed this in an interview with Fox News, explaining his departure by saying that “it was just time.” Banks was appointed to this position by President Donald Trump in early 2025.

Russian activist Alexander Rudnev faces possible deportation from Germany while his asylum application is still under review, according to a report by the Anti-War Committee of Russia, which cited the activist. According to the group, local authorities in the northeastern German town of Burg bei Magdeburg issued the order requiring Rudnev to leave the country. He went to the immigration office May 7 to extend his documents but was given a departure order instead of a temporary residence permit.

The British authorities did not allow the German far-right politician, member of the European Parliament from the Alternative for Germany party Petr Bystron, to enter the country. He was scheduled to speak at a right-wing demonstration in London organized by anti-Islam activist Tommy Robins, already known for organizing riots. This was reported by Die Zeit. “Starmer is finished. A country that does not allow critics in is doomed,” Bystron said.

Off the coast of the Greek island of Lefkada (also Lefkada), a sea drone loaded with explosives was discovered. Greek investigators believe that the device could have gone astray due to a technical malfunction, Reuters reports , citing sources. The drone was found by fishermen on May 7. Athens claims the drone was Ukrainian, although Kyiv officially denies this.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan filed a civil lawsuit against the leader of the Strong Armenia party, billionaire Samvel Karapetyan. This was reported by the pro-government Telegram channel “Baghramyan 26” with reference to data from the Datalex judicial information system. Pashinyan demands that Karapetyan refute his statement about “hallucinogenic mushrooms” and pay compensation in the amount of 6 million drams ($16 thousand).

The Fourth Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction in Krasnodar refused to overturn the decision to confiscate $412 thousand from the former head of the Department of Departmental Procedural Control and Inspection of the Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Elena Moskalenko. This was reported by Kommersant with reference to the court ruling published in the Justice system.

View of Oleshki from above, April 2026. Photo: 34th Marine Brigade The Ukrainian authorities have announced their intention to evacuate the population of the city of Oleshki, located on the left bank of the Dnieper occupied by the Russian army in the Kherson region. The evacuation plan is being developed by the Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets together with the ICRC.

On the morning of May 15, Russia and Ukraine exchanged prisoners according to the formula “205 to 205.” This was reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. The Russian military is now in Belarus, according to a publication by the Russian military department. They reported that the UAE acted as an intermediary in the exchange.

In Russia, inspections have begun of companies working in the field of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and receiving government grants. In recent days, security forces have come to two major industry participants at once - residents of the National Technology Initiative (NTI) and participants in the national project “Unmanned Aircraft Systems”, within the framework of which research and production centers (NPC UAS) are being opened in the regions of Russia.

On the night of May 15, Ukrainian drones attacked Ryazan, as a result of which the Ryazan oil refinery of Rosneft and two multi-storey buildings were damaged - in the Tricolor residential complex on Kasimovskoye Highway and on Novoselov Street, Astra established with the help of photographs of eyewitnesses. The governor of the Ryazan region, Pavel Malkov, said that the strike killed three people and injured 12 more.

User activity on marketplaces decreased after the Ministry of Digital Development demanded that Russian websites and applications block incoming VPN traffic. As Kommersant writes with reference to Digital Budget data, the largest drop was observed at Wildberries: mobile traffic decreased by 10%, and desktop traffic by 6%. At Ozon and Yandex Market, mobile traffic fell by 3%, and at Avito - by 1.5%.

Now it has become clear that the woman died not due to a strike by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but as a result of being hit by a Russian missile from the Pantsir-S1 air defense system. This is stated in the decision of the Karachevsky District Court of the Bryansk Region, which is at the disposal of the Ukrainian OSINT project CyberBoroshno .

The level of approval of Vladimir Putin's activities, according to VTsIOM, increased by 1.2 percentage points from 65.6 to 66.8%. The level of trust increased from 71 to 72.1%. This follows from a survey published on May 15. As Meduza noted , the increase in indicators occurred after VTsIOM changed its research methodology and began conducting not only telephone but also door-to-door surveys.

The nationalist Russian Community movement, whose members stage raids against migrants, LGBT people and nightclub-goers, receives funding through charities linked to pro-Kremlin political scientist Sergei Mikheev and billionaire Igor Khudokormov, BBC Eye has found . As financial documents show, one of the sponsors of the movement is a fund associated with the owner of the Prodimex agricultural holding, Igor Khudokormov.