https://www.rferl.org/z/666 RFE/RL's latest news, features, commentary, and multimedia content on Russia https://www.rferl.org/Content/responsive/RFE/en-US/img/logo.png https://www.rferl.org/z/666 en Copyright 2026 - RFE/RL, Inc. 60 Mon, 06 Apr 2026 05:16:33 +0200 Pangea CMS – RFE/RL Serbian military and police officers have found a cache of highly powerful explosives not far from a pipeline that carries Russian natural gas from Turkey to Hungary, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on April 5. https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-explosives-gas-pipeline-hungary-balkan-stream/33725278.html https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-explosives-gas-pipeline-hungary-balkan-stream/33725278.html Sun, 05 Apr 2026 16:12:37 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineSerbiaHungaryThe Rundown Stories Ukraine has kept up its attacks on Russian oil export and production infrastructure, hitting facilities in two regions, while widespread Russian drone attacks on Ukraine killed at least one civilian overnight and fighting persisted at the front, officials said. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-war-oil-drone-strikes-donbas/33725223.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-war-oil-drone-strikes-donbas/33725223.html Sun, 05 Apr 2026 12:27:30 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Marking the 1,500th day of the full-scale invasion, Russia launched a massive wave of air strikes across Ukraine during the night of April 3–4. https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskyy-russia-easter-escalation/33724676.html https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskyy-russia-easter-escalation/33724676.html Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:37:21 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineThe Rundown Stories Days after the film ‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’ Won an Oscar for best documentary, a Russian court banned it, and prosecutors labeled its director a “foreign agent.” What does he think about it? “You couldn’t dream up a better advertising campaign." https://www.rferl.org/a/pavel-talankin-mr-nobody-film-putin-interview/33723253.html https://www.rferl.org/a/pavel-talankin-mr-nobody-film-putin-interview/33723253.html Sat, 04 Apr 2026 11:32:21 +0200 FeaturesRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline Pavel Talankin, the co-director of Mr Nobody Against Putin, spoke with Current Time about his film after it won the Oscar for best documentary on March 15. Days after the Oscar win, Russia banned the film and labeled Talankin a "foreign agent." Talankin called the ban a "brilliant PR" for the film. https://www.rferl.org/a/mr-nobody-against-putin-co-director-calls-russia-s-ban-on-oscar-winning-film-brilliant-pr-/33723231.html https://www.rferl.org/a/mr-nobody-against-putin-co-director-calls-russia-s-ban-on-oscar-winning-film-brilliant-pr-/33723231.html Sat, 04 Apr 2026 11:26:08 +0200 VideosRussiaVideo Archive Belarus has cancelled the passport of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Byalyatski and other recently deported political prisoners, in what rights groups say is a new form of pressure on exiled dissidents. https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-nobel-byalyatski-bialiatski-human-rights-exile-lukashenko/33724092.html https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-nobel-byalyatski-bialiatski-human-rights-exile-lukashenko/33724092.html Fri, 03 Apr 2026 14:51:51 +0200 BelarusNewsRussiaThe Rundown Stories 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 Residents of Daghestan in southern Russia were evacuating their homes as major floods swept through the region. The disaster is the result of record rainfall combined with melting snow from the mountains, but some residents also blame local officials for mismanaging the region's infrastructure. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-daghestan-floods-emergency/33723519.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-daghestan-floods-emergency/33723519.html Thu, 02 Apr 2026 21:24:48 +0200 North CaucasusRussiaVideo ArchiveVideos As Russia faces a manpower shortage in 2026, reports surface of intoxicated men increasingly being tricked into signing military contracts at local enlistment offices. https://www.rferl.org/a/drunk-sign-here-russia-recruits-intoxicated-men-as-military-manpower-crisis-peaks/33722376.html https://www.rferl.org/a/drunk-sign-here-russia-recruits-intoxicated-men-as-military-manpower-crisis-peaks/33722376.html Thu, 02 Apr 2026 13:20:18 +0200 RussiaFeaturesUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline The United States has removed sanctions on three Russian-flagged commercial vessels, sparking debate over whether the move signals a shift in US- Russia policy. https://www.rferl.org/a/us-sanctions-russia-vessels-treasury-policy-shift/33722318.html https://www.rferl.org/a/us-sanctions-russia-vessels-treasury-policy-shift/33722318.html Wed, 01 Apr 2026 12:59:33 +0200 NewsIranRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Israeli strikes on Bandar Anzali shattered the illusion of the Caspian Sea as a "closed" route. By hitting this northern hub, Israel punctured the most secure military link between Tehran and Moscow, proving the Russia-Iran drone route is no longer beyond the reach of Western-aligned power. https://www.rferl.org/a/israel-hits-the-caspian-sea-port/33718210.html https://www.rferl.org/a/israel-hits-the-caspian-sea-port/33718210.html Wed, 01 Apr 2026 10:20:46 +0200 IranRussiaThe Rundown StoriesMiddle East Rare wartime protests have hit Russia's Novosibirsk region as farmers are standing up to authorities, resisting orders to cull thousands of cattle over concerns about disease outbreaks. Farmers claim healthy cattle are being killed, putting small farms in danger of financial ruin. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-farmers-protests-livestock-health/33721770.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-farmers-protests-livestock-health/33721770.html Tue, 31 Mar 2026 23:11:18 +0200 RussiaVideo ArchiveVideos Nearly four years after Iran unveiled a drone factory in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, its operations -- and even its existence -- remain shrouded in uncertainty. Experts and officials question whether the facility ever produced drones or served more as a symbolic gesture of Iranian military influence. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-tajikistan-drone-factory-mystery-/33719984.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-tajikistan-drone-factory-mystery-/33719984.html Tue, 31 Mar 2026 08:36:44 +0200 IranFeaturesRussiaTajikistanThe Rundown Stories Ukrainian forces stationed near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region say they've seen increasing attacks by Russian forces. Ukraine’s General Oleksandr Syrskiy said Russia had some 6,000 battlefield casualties in four days, but Ukrainian troops said there's no sign of a shortage of Russian manpower. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukrainian-forces-battle-intense-russian-offensive-near-obliterated-pokrovsk/33719998.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukrainian-forces-battle-intense-russian-offensive-near-obliterated-pokrovsk/33719998.html Mon, 30 Mar 2026 17:26:55 +0200 VideosRussiaUkraineVideo ArchiveRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories President Donald Trump has renewed his warning to Tehran to reach a deal to end the war soon and also to open the Strait of Hormuz or he will order air strikes with the aim of "completely obliterating" Iran's oil export hub of Kharg Island, oil wells, and power plants. https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-warning-iran-deal-energy-attacks/33719920.html https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-warning-iran-deal-energy-attacks/33719920.html Mon, 30 Mar 2026 15:11:22 +0200 IranNewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline A Russia-flagged ⁠tanker ⁠carrying Russian ‌crude oil has entered Cuba's exclusive economic ⁠zone, ship tracking data show, avoiding a potentially tense showdown with the US Coast Guard and providing a lifeline to the struggling Caribbean island nation. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-oil-tanker-kolodkin-cuba-tanker-sanctions/33719298.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-oil-tanker-kolodkin-cuba-tanker-sanctions/33719298.html Mon, 30 Mar 2026 02:04:08 +0200 NewsIranRussiaThe Rundown Stories 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 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of lying when he suggested this week that the United States was conditioning security guarantees for Kyiv with the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the Donbas. https://www.rferl.org/a/rubio-zelenskyy-lie-donbas-war-russia-ukraine/33718272.html https://www.rferl.org/a/rubio-zelenskyy-lie-donbas-war-russia-ukraine/33718272.html Fri, 27 Mar 2026 21:07:12 +0100 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Foreign ministers from the G7 are discussing a major effort to repair damage to the protective shelter at Ukraine’s Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, with costs estimated at around $575 million, a sign that Kyiv remains at the center of high-level talks despite competing global crises. https://www.rferl.org/a/g7-chernobyl-dome-repair-france-ukraine/33717924.html https://www.rferl.org/a/g7-chernobyl-dome-repair-france-ukraine/33717924.html Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:32:35 +0100 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades Ukraine Three days of Ukrainian drone attacks on ports and refineries in Russia’s Leningrad region have led to what one analyst called “the most serious threat” to Russian oil exports since the beginning of the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-strikes-russia-oil-exports/33717215.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-strikes-russia-oil-exports/33717215.html Thu, 26 Mar 2026 18:12:51 +0100 UkraineFeaturesRussiaRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories