The tale of Yermak: how Zelensky’s former gray cardinal ended up under arrest on corruption charges Ukraine’s “Midas” probe swept up ministers, presidential allies, and top officials amid claims of leaks from inside the system.

“I can no longer bear to live”: Veteran Russian rights activist Nina Litvinova takes her own life, citing war and repression in suicide note Litvinova, 80, had helped political prisoners in the Soviet Union and Russia since the 1960s.

Russian Groza combat drones are made by firms linked to gardening equipment brands, Systema reports The investigation, centered on the family of Vladimir Podchufarov, reveals a network of entities linked to sellers of gardening equipment and power tools.

Russian activist ordered to leave Germany despite pending asylum application Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s crackdown on migrants has often been compared with the Trump administration’s policies in the United States.

U.S. pushes to restart Belarusian potash exports through Lithuania, foreign minister says While U.S. sanctions on the product were lifted in March 2026 after Minsk released 250 political prisoners, EU restrictions are in force until February 2027.

Death toll from Russian strike on Kyiv rises to 24, including 3 children, as rescuers complete search at apartment building Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia has launched more than 1,560 drones at Ukrainian cities since Wednesday.

Kremlin-linked Matryoshka bot network spreads disinfo about a looming hantavirus pandemic in Europe, despite scientists pointing to low risk The latest campaign includes content posing as @france24.com, Deutsche Welle and @liberation.fr, according to @antibot4navalny.bsky.social.

Kremlin-style colonialism: Russian propaganda is actively preparing Africans for military service in Ukraine Exploiting extreme poverty in parts of the continent, the Kremlin is luring Africans to Russia to use them as cannon fodder on the battlefield.

Russia’s penitentiary system admits inmate numbers are falling due to military recruitment for the invasion of Ukraine FSIN Director Arkady Gostev mentioned the “effort to recruit contract soldiers” as one reason for the decline, likely the first such acknowledgment by the penitentiary service.

Russian forces launch record 1,400 drones at Ukraine over 24 hours At least 1,428 drones attacked the country over 24 hours from May 13 and overnight into May 14, with 1,362 of them shot down or radar-lost under the influence of electronic warfare tools.

Canadian intelligence met with Quebec firearms manufacturer Cadex after The Insider and @globalnews.ca found its rifles reached Russian snipers Cadex rifles are used by at least three Russian army units and may be routed through the U.S. and Kazakhstan.

Hungarian Foreign Ministry condemns Russian attack on Ukraine’s Zakarpattia, summons Russian ambassador for the first time Péter Szijjártó, foreign minister in Viktor Orbán’s government, frequently summoned ambassadors — all apart from Moscow's envoy.

Russian oil product shipments by sea hit one-year high in April as overall crude exports rise Shipments of oil-derived products like diesel, fuel oil and naphtha hit 4.4 million barrels last month, including 2.8 million from Russia, according to a report by the analytics provider MarineTraffic.

Taxes, costly credit, and labor shortages: Why private businesses in Russia are shutting down en masse Experts expect the number of SMEs in Russia to soon fall by a third, weighed down by taxes, expensive credit, rising prices and labor shortages.

The ripple effect: How the U.S. operation against Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz strengthen China, Ukraine, and Turkey A major distortion in the declining relations between America and the Gulf states is pushing them to seek new allies.

Russia’s State Duma passes bill allowing Putin to send troops to “protect” Russians arrested abroad The amendments will apply to Russians who are prosecuted by foreign courts or international judicial bodies whose jurisdiction the Kremlin rejects.

Russia’s ruling party proposes citizenship for foreigners convicted over support for Moscow The amendments will apply to foreigners who were “illegally convicted for supporting Russia’s policy of countering neo-Nazism” and the war against Ukraine.

Where there is political will, there is a way: Ukraine can help Europe build a unified missile defense system Sam Lair (@slair.bsky.social) of the James Martin CNS explores initiatives aimed at strengthening both Ukrainian and pan-European defense.

BBC reports first known death of Russian college student recruited into drone forces Valery Averin, a 23-year-old student from Buryatia, was killed by mortar fire near Luhansk in eastern Ukraine on April 6, just days after being sent to the front.

Russia’s Ursa Major, which sank in 2024, was likely targeted by Western forces to prevent transfer of nuclear technology to North Korea The cargo may have included VM-4SG reactors, commonly used in Russian Project 667 nuclear submarines, CNN reports.

Neither Pandora’s box nor a panacea: The main danger of military AI is human incompetence The consequences of AI’s arrival on the battlefield will ultimately be determined by military officials’ choices, writes Dr. Jacquelyn Schneider @jackieschneider.bsky.social of @hooverinstitution.bsky.social.

Professor Igor Efimov, who helped develop one of TIME’s best inventions of 2025, declared “foreign agent” in Russia The Northwestern University scientist co-created the world’s smallest pacemaker for newborns with congenital heart defects.

Destructive creation: How Russia and Trump revived the European Union In 2026, the EU’s popularity reached peak levels among its inhabitants, and polls suggest that more than half of UK citizens would now support rejoining the bloc.

The oil swan: How the UAE’s exit from OPEC will hurt Russia Once the Strait of Hormuz opens, an additional 1 million barrels of Emirati oil per day will function as a direct deduction from the Russian budget, writes George Voloshin.

Strait to stagnation: Why not even soaring oil prices can offset the decline of the Russian economy Despite the closure of the Strait of Hormuz pushing oil to near $95 a barrel, Russia still faces a record budget deficit in 2026.

Drumming up support: Armenia is steadily increasing its cooperation with Europe After losing Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia moved away from Russia in favor of ties with the EU, which is steadily expanding its political, economic, and security presence in the country.

Roman stepfather: Trump's quarrel with the Vatican echoes the West's longstanding disagreements with the Church The dispute is now shaping U.S. politics, while the Holy See’s pacifism could benefit regimes such as Iran.

The Insider counts 363 lawsuits worth $265 million against Russian aircraft maker Yakovlev as production of SJ-100 and MC-21 pushed to 2027 An industry source told The Insider that Yakovlev does not have the money to pay its suppliers.

Euroclear transfers €6.6 billion to Ukraine from proceeds of frozen Russian assets As of the end of March 2026, Euroclear Bank’s balance sheet stood at €237 billion, of which €200 billion related to sanctioned Russian assets.

Putin secretly awarded North Korean generals for operation in Russia’s Kursk Region, NK News reports The awards ceremony came to light after a memorial museum opened in Pyongyang on April 27 with photographs from the event on display.

Russia’s Federal Customs Service in St. Petersburg has discovered “extremist” content in 28 books for preschoolers in a 12.7-ton shipment, including The Dinosaurs Who Met Santa Claus, See Inside a Museum, Eggs and Chicks, and other titles in English and German published by Usborne.

Artist Vladimir Yarotsky jailed for posting a caricature of Putin dies in prison Yarotsky committed suicide on May 7 at the IK-7 penal colony in Khadyzhensk, Krasnodar Krai, after having repeatedly complained of pressure from the prison administration.

Geraniums in bloom: The Insider and @nordsint.bsky.social reveal how a large Chinese firm supplies Russian drone production Chinese firm Harxon and its shell company NavX are sending Russia critical antennas for Geran UAVs under the guise of agricultural equipment to skirt Beijing's export ban.

The Trump effect: MAGA's toxic influence on global elections

Man in Kaliningrad burns himself alive at WWII memorial on anniversary of full-scale invasion of Ukraine, authorities cover up his death Local officials’ main concern was that the media learn of the “excessively symbolic” incident, per @istories.bsky.social.

Not a knockout: Orbán’s defeat leaves the EU’s deeper populist challenges unresolved The end of the Viktor Orbán era in Hungary has sparked euphoria among EU elites, but the problem of right-wing populism is far from resolved, argues Dmitri Stratievski.

The GRU’s Hogwarts: Inside Bauman University’s Department 4, an elite spy school for Russian military intelligence The Insider unveils a secret faculty at Moscow's equivalent of MIT that trains students to become GRU officers, hackers and saboteurs.

Hope at home: How migration contributes to the development of the countries of origin Mass migration is more complex than a mere “brain drain,” having helped multiple countries overcome international isolation. The Insider examines its positive impact.

Hungary returns seized Oschadbank gold and over $80 million in cash to Ukraine, Zelensky says Two armored cash-in-transit vehicles and seven bank employees were detained on March 5. The vehicles were returned, but the cash and gold remained in Hungary.

The Insider identifies Russian prison officials Azat Miftakhov accused of torture at Polar Owl colony beyond the Arctic Circle The two officers, Mikhail Sobolev and Pavel Kiselev, tortured the political prisoner after his transfer to the facility.

Ukrainian drone strikes spark fire at major Russian refinery in Leningrad Region The Kirishinefteorgsintez plant processed about 17.5 million tons of oil in 2024, amounting to 6.6% of Russia’s total refining capacity.

Two Russian physicists working in hypersonic research jailed for 12.5 years on treason charges in Novosibirsk Valery Zvegintsev and Vladislav Galkin were reportedly charged over a paper on gas dynamics they had published in a foreign journal.

General pragmatism: Why Bulgaria’s new PM is unlikely to take up Viktor Orbán’s pro-Russian efforts While Rumen Radev may be willing to benefit from Moscow’s difficulties, Bulgaria’s national interest will not allow him to become “a second Orbán,” even if he wanted to, writes Georgy Chizhov.

Russian political prisoner and mathematician Azat Miftakhov reports brutal torture at Arctic prison colony, names guards who abused him Miftakhov was tortured shortly after his transfer to a prison in the settlement of Kharp, down the road from the one where Alexei Navalny was poisoned in 2024.

Austria expels three Russian diplomats, suspects Moscow used antennas on diplomatic buildings for spying The FT previously reported that diplomatic sites in Vienna had become Russia’s largest signals intelligence platform in the West.

Russian general sanctioned over role in Bucha massacre appointed commander of Aerospace Forces As the commander of Russia's eastern group of forces, Alexander Chayko oversaw the offensive on Kyiv from Belarus in March 2022.

Russia’s Supreme Court reports 460% increase in treason convictions over two years, rights advocates say real figure is twice as high “The authorities realized these figures were compromising the state, and decided to slightly understate them. By half.”

Peru repatriates 18 citizens fraudulently recruited to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine, 9 to return in the coming days The men were lured to Russia with promises of well-paying jobs and coerced into signing military service contracts.

One in three Crimeans watches TV through unlicensed devices that receive Ukrainian channels Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development was instructed to assess the scale of use of these devices and address their prevalence.

“The judge said he sees no threats in Russia”: Anti-war Russians are being denied asylum all around the world Rights advocates say the immigration and political climate in several countries that once accepted anti-war Russians, like Germany, has changed.