Russia

Read recent news stories and current events about Russia on Newser.com

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Tigers Raised Together, Released Apart Are Now Mates

Love story is one part of a conservation success that could see tigers repopulate Russian range

(Newser) - Siberian tigers inhabit only a tiny pocket of their historical range in Russia's Far East, but a feline love story is raising hopes that the endangered species—numbering no more than 750—could repopulate much of Asia. The story begins in the early 2010s when scientists rescued six orphaned...

Zelensky's Update on Ukraine's War Death Toll Differs From Trump's

Ukraine president gives 'rare update' on death toll, says 43K soldiers have died

(Newser) - In a social media post Sunday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died since Russia invaded the country in 2022. In what the BBC calls a "rare update" on war casualties, he said another 370,000 injuries have been reported, though some of those injuries...

Russia Grants Asylum to Assad
Russia Says It's
Taken In Assad

Russia Says It's Taken In Assad

Biden tells nation US actions 'shifted the balance of power' in the Middle East

(Newser) - Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has arrived in Moscow with his family, Russian state media reported Sunday, and was granted asylum "for humanitarian reasons." The report could not immediately be confirmed by outside outlets. Russia had supported Assad's government, and a Kremlin official said Syrian rebels provided...

Assad Is Out. Now What?


Assad Is Out.
Now What?
the rundown

Assad Is Out. Now What?

Mideast balance of power shifting, with Iran seen as suffering a major blow

(Newser) - The fall of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria is expected to bring about a fundamental shift in the balance of power in the Mideast. But exactly how that will play out is still in flux. Coverage:
  • Possible vacuum: The Wall Street Journal reports that the speed with which the government
...

Romania Voids Election Results Over Russian Interference

Court orders rerun of presidential vote after allegations of Russian TikTok campaign

(Newser) - A top Romanian court on Friday annulled the first round of the country's presidential election, days after allegations that Russia ran a coordinated online campaign to promote the far-right outsider who won the first round. The Constitutional Court's unprecedented decision—which is final—came after President Klaus Iohannis...

Ukrainian Kids Sent to Russia on Putin's Orders: Report

Russian president financed and facilitated coerced adoption, which could be a war crime

(Newser) - Yale University researchers offer what they say is strong evidence of war crimes by Vladimir Putin in a new report alleging Russia's president and senior Kremlin officials authorized the coerced fostering and adoption of Ukrainian children. It finds 314 children as young as 2, mostly from Ukraine's Donetsk...

Putin Approves Record Military Budget

EU reiterates funding pledges for Ukraine's war effort

(Newser) - As senior European Union officials arrived in Kyiv to express their unflinching support for Ukraine's war effort, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a new budget with a record military spending. More than $145 billion of the 2025 budget will go to national defense, a nearly one-third share that's...

First Kim Sent Troops to Russia. Now, a Pledge

North Korea vows to 'invariably support' Putin in his war in Ukraine

(Newser) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed his country will "invariably support" Russia's war in Ukraine as he met Russia's defense chief, the North's state media reported Saturday. A Russia military delegation led by Defense Minister Andrei Belousov arrived in North Korea on Friday, amid growing international...

Investigators Think Chinese Ship Dragged Anchor for 100 Miles

The Yi Peng 3 is suspected of cutting 2 undersea cables in the Baltic

(Newser) - European investigators have a suspect—and now the world has more details. The Wall Street Journal has the latest on the Yi Peng 3 bulk carrier , a Chinese commercial ship that is suspected of severing two fiber-optic cables in the Baltic Sea. The vessel has been flanked by European warships...

Trump Picks Envoy for Russia, Ukraine

Keith Kellogg laid out an America First agenda for incoming administration

(Newser) - President-elect Trump said Wednesday that he has chosen Keith Kellogg, a highly decorated retired three-star general, to serve as his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Kellogg, who is one of the architects of a staunchly conservative policy book that lays out an "America First" national security agenda for...

Dems Suggest Tulsi Gabbard Is 'Compromised'

Republicans are pushing back hard against the claims

(Newser) - Republican senators pushed back on Sunday against criticism from Democrats that Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Trump's pick to lead US intelligence services, is "compromised" by her comments supportive of Russia as well as secret meetings she attended as a congresswoman with Syria's president, a close ally of the...

To Attract Recruits, Russia Offers Debt Forgiveness

Latest incentive is good up to nearly $100K

(Newser) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law granting debt forgiveness to new army recruits who enlist to fight in Ukraine. The measure, whose final version appeared on a government website Saturday, underscores Russia's needs for military personnel in the nearly three-year war, the AP reports. According to Russian...

Putin Signs Measures Backing the Kremlin's Family Values

One law bars adoption to nations that allow gender transitioning

(Newser) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed into law a bill banning adoption of Russian children by citizens of countries where gender transitioning is legal. The Kremlin leader also approved legislation that outlaws the spread of material that encourages people not to have children. The bills, which were approved by...

Putin Gives North Korea More Than 70 Animals

Gift to Pyongyang zoo includes lion, bears, yaks

(Newser) - North Korea has sent thousands of troops and millions of artillery shells to Russia and received a menagerie in return. Vladimir Putin has sent more than 70 animals to Pyongyang in what the Telegraph describes as a "symbol of friendship" between the Russian leader and Kim Jong Un. Officials...

Putin Makes Ominous Move on Nuclear Doctrine

He lowers threshold for use after US allows Ukraine to fire longer-range American missiles

(Newser) - Russia just loosened its rules on when it can unleash nuclear weapons, and Reuters sees the timing as a clear warning to the US. On Tuesday, Vladimir Putin formally changed Moscow's nuclear doctrine by lowering the threshold for when it can use nukes against its enemies. The move follows...

Ukraine Didn't Wait Long to Fire US-Made Missiles at Russia

Milestone attack reported days after President Biden eased restrictions on ATACMS

(Newser) - Ukraine fired six US-made missiles at Russia's Bryansk region, Russia's Defense Ministry said Tuesday, days after US President Biden eased restrictions on Ukrainian use of American-made weapons in the war that has reached its 1,000-day milestone, per the AP . Ukraine claimed it hit a military weapons depot...

Russian Ballet Star, 39, Dies in Fall From Balcony

Preliminary report says death of Vladimir Shklyarov was accidental

(Newser) - A famed Russian ballet star has died after falling off a fifth-floor balcony in St. Petersburg. TMZ reports that 39-year-old Vladimir Shklyarov, named in 2020 as an Honored Artist of Russia, took his fatal fall on Saturday, which has preliminarily been ruled an accident, per Russian state news agency Ria...

Will Attack 'Ems Missiles Make a Difference for Ukraine?
Kremlin Issues
Warning Over
US Shift on Missiles
the rundown

Kremlin Issues Warning Over US Shift on Missiles

But skeptics wonder if move to let Ukraine fire long-range missiles is too late

(Newser) - President Biden has made a major policy reversal by allowing Ukraine to fire US ballistic missiles against Russia. The Kremlin has issued a critical response, though skeptics wonder if the policy shift comes too late to have much benefit for Ukraine. Coverage:
  • The missiles: They're called Army Tactical Missile
...

'Massive' Russian Attack Kills 8 in Ukraine, Including 2 Kids

Ukraine says apartment building was hit

(Newser) - A Russian strike on a nine-story building in the city of Sumy in northern Ukraine killed eight people and wounded dozens, an official said Sunday, as Russia launched a massive drone and missile attack described by officials as the largest in recent months. Among the eight killed in Sumy, 24...

Biden Allows Ukraine to Send Missiles From US Into Russia

Policy change reflects effort to boost aid before Trump takes office

(Newser) - After months of lobbying by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Biden has authorized the use of long-range missiles provided by the US for strikes deeper into Russia. The decision reverses American policy on the Army Tactical Missile System, NBC News reports. US hesitance was partly driven by concern about a...

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