https://www.rferl.org Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty is an international news organization serving Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East and Balkan countries https://www.rferl.org/Content/responsive/RFE/en-US/img/logo.png https://www.rferl.org en Copyright 2026 - RFE/RL, Inc. 60 Fri, 10 Apr 2026 23:47:48 +0200 Pangea CMS – RFE/RL A former top Russian Defense Ministry official was sentenced to 19 years in prison for his role in a snowballing, politically charged corruption investigation that has rattled the top levels of Russia’s military amid the war on Ukraine. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-defense-corruption-popov-shoigu/33729466.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-defense-corruption-popov-shoigu/33729466.html Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:39:05 +0200 NewsRussiaRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Hackers connected to Russia’s military intelligence agency snuck into thousands Internet routers used in homes and offices worldwide and secretly monitored e-mail traffic and website logons and passwords for months, authorities said. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-hacker-routers-gru-military-intelligence-forest-blizzard/33728527.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-hacker-routers-gru-military-intelligence-forest-blizzard/33728527.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:56:02 +0200 NewsRussiaThe Rundown Headline The drop does not signal a political crisis for Putin. But Kremlin officials are sensitive to shifts in public opinion, and the current trend is being scrutinizing internally by the officials charged with managing Russia’s political system. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-putin-approval-ratings-popularity-falling-war-politics/33727746.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-putin-approval-ratings-popularity-falling-war-politics/33727746.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 18:05:00 +0200 FeaturesRussiaUkraineRussia Invades Ukraine In a non-descript warehouse on the perimeters of a Munich-area airport, a joint venture is marrying Ukrainian expertise with German capital, building drones for Ukraine’s military – and eventually global markets. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-germany-drone-production/33723276.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-germany-drone-production/33723276.html Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:56:53 +0200 FeaturesRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline In Bavaria, the first joint German-Ukrainian facility to start manufacturing Ukrainian drones abroad. RFE/RL visited the workshop where Linza drones are assembled. It's the first of several new joint ventures that Ukraine is launching for military production in Europe. https://www.rferl.org/a/rfe-rl-goes-inside-the-first-german-ukrainian-production-plant/33723213.html https://www.rferl.org/a/rfe-rl-goes-inside-the-first-german-ukrainian-production-plant/33723213.html Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:56:32 +0200 UkraineRussia Invades Ukraine A major Russian oil export terminal was hit again by drones, local officials said, the latest in a series of Ukrainian attacks that have severely restricted Russia’s ability to take advantage of soaring global energy prices. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-oil-drone-attack-fire-export/33719116.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-oil-drone-attack-fire-export/33719116.html Sun, 29 Mar 2026 10:39:28 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories After a bitter winter, there’s been uptick in battlefield operations by both Ukraine and Russia in recent weeks. Ukraine says it defeated a major mechanized Russian assault last week – but it’s unclear if that attack signaled the start of a spring offensive. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-war-battlefield-spring-offensive/33717112.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-war-battlefield-spring-offensive/33717112.html Thu, 26 Mar 2026 17:43:06 +0100 UkraineFeaturesRussiaRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Authorities have spent years testing tools, building apps, trying to restrict how Russian use the Internet. Widespread Internet outages, and widespread confusion over messaging apps, is testing Russians’ patience. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-mobile-internet-outages-messenger-apps-telegram-whatsapp-max/33713633.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-mobile-internet-outages-messenger-apps-telegram-whatsapp-max/33713633.html Mon, 23 Mar 2026 17:45:47 +0100 RussiaFeaturesThe Rundown Stories His legal broadsides against anti-corruption crusader Aleksei Navalny brought Ilya Remeslo's wide notoriety. This week, Remeslo's broadside against Putin brought wide disbelief. A day later, he ended up in a psychiatric hospital. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-blogger-putin-criticism-remeslo-hospital/33710904.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-blogger-putin-criticism-remeslo-hospital/33710904.html Thu, 19 Mar 2026 17:24:40 +0100 RussiaFeaturesThe Rundown Stories The US-Israeli war on Iran has yielded some clear benefits for Russia: more oil revenues; fewer US weapons for Kyiv; a distraction from the Ukraine peace talks. But it isn’t all good for Moscow. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-iran-war-intelligence-ukraine-benefits/33709955.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-iran-war-intelligence-ukraine-benefits/33709955.html Wed, 18 Mar 2026 18:34:07 +0100 RussiaFeaturesIranRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories The mysterious Persian-language transmission began about 12 hours after the start of the US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran. It was jammed five days later. Is it a coded message for US agents in Iran? Iranian sleeper cells? Israeli operatives? That’s what experts are trying to decipher. https://www.rferl.org/a/mystery-numbers-station-persian-signal-iran-war/33700659.html https://www.rferl.org/a/mystery-numbers-station-persian-signal-iran-war/33700659.html Tue, 10 Mar 2026 18:54:09 +0100 IranFeaturesRussiaThe Rundown StoriesMiddle East Russia has reportedly given Iran sophisticated targeting information and other intelligence to help Tehran target sensitive US facilities. Has Moscow crossed a red line for Washington? Probably not. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-iran-intelligence-sharing-war-us-israel/33700653.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-iran-intelligence-sharing-war-us-israel/33700653.html Tue, 10 Mar 2026 18:30:29 +0100 FeaturesIranRussiaThe Rundown Stories The findings do not appear to signal a wholesale turning of the tides in the Ukraine war. But they do highlight a growing consensus that Russia’s war on Ukraine -- now in its fifth year -- has ground to a near stalemate. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-war-battlefield-territory-losses/33693140.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-war-battlefield-territory-losses/33693140.html Tue, 03 Mar 2026 17:29:59 +0100 UkraineFeaturesRussiaRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Engineers have repaired a badly damaged launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome, Russia's space agency said, averting a potentially longer-term problem for supplying the International Space Station. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-space-baikonur-damage-station-iss/33692967.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-space-baikonur-damage-station-iss/33692967.html Tue, 03 Mar 2026 13:02:20 +0100 NewsRussia A Russian woman who was charged with lying to the FBI about her ties to Russia's main intelligence agency -- and then drunk-texted an FBI agent while out on bail -- has pleaded guilty. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-zarubina-fbi-fsb-guilty/33683111.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-zarubina-fbi-fsb-guilty/33683111.html Fri, 20 Feb 2026 08:06:55 +0100 NewsRussiaThe Rundown Stories Four years of war against Ukraine means four years of learning for Russia’s armed forces. But how much have they actually learned, how much have they actually reformed, and how worried should people be once the Ukraine war does end? https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-military-ukraine-war-lessons-learned/33682368.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-military-ukraine-war-lessons-learned/33682368.html Fri, 20 Feb 2026 07:47:48 +0100 UkraineFeaturesRussiaRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Why did Ukraine’s president refer to the latest round of peace talks using a barnyard epithet? The presence of a firebrand, revisionist Russian historian-- whose writings have been derided as propaganda – as part of the Russian delegation is why. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-peace-talks-medinsky-historian/33682547.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-peace-talks-medinsky-historian/33682547.html Thu, 19 Feb 2026 16:49:59 +0100 RussiaFeaturesUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline WhatsApp has long been the most popular messaging app for Russians, followed closely by Telegram. This week, officials took major steps to cut them off and make them unusable—part of a long-running, two-pronged effort to control the information Russians access online. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-internet-technology-regulation-censorship-circumvention-vpn-app/33676178.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-internet-technology-regulation-censorship-circumvention-vpn-app/33676178.html Thu, 12 Feb 2026 16:00:18 +0100 FeaturesRussiaThe Rundown Stories On the verge of its fifth year of the Ukraine war, the Kremlin is fighting another stubborn enemy at home: high consumer prices and rising unhappiness among average Russians. The government wants to bring the economy back to earth; the question is whether it will be a hard or soft landing. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-war-economy-stagnating-wages-prices-unemployment/33675240.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-war-economy-stagnating-wages-prices-unemployment/33675240.html Thu, 12 Feb 2026 09:44:02 +0100 RussiaFeaturesRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Russia officials said the man they identified as the gunman who shot the No. 2 general in the Russian military intelligence agency purportedly told them he was recruited by Ukrainian intelligence. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-general-shooting-assassination-plot-ukraine/33673166.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-general-shooting-assassination-plot-ukraine/33673166.html Mon, 09 Feb 2026 10:35:27 +0100 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories