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 Wed, 03 Jun 2026 02:30:42 +0200 Pangea CMS – RFE/RL Russia is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to build schools and universities across Central Asia, reinforcing the use of the Russian language at a time when younger generations in the region are increasingly exposed to Western and Chinese influences. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-schools-central-asia-kyrgyzstan-tajikistan-kazakhstan-uzbekistan/33771019.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-schools-central-asia-kyrgyzstan-tajikistan-kazakhstan-uzbekistan/33771019.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:52:40 +0200 FeaturesKazakhstanKyrgyzstanRussiaTajikistanTurkmenistan Uzbekistan A large-scale overnight Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv killed at least four people and injured dozens, including children, Ukrainian officials said. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-drone-and-missile-attack-kyiv-ukraine/33770716.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-drone-and-missile-attack-kyiv-ukraine/33770716.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 07:55:33 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline A major fire broke out at the Saratov oil refinery after a Ukrainian drone strike on May 31, according to Ukrainian military officials. The refinery is located about 600 kilometers from the Ukrainian border and is operated by Rosneft. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukrainian-drones-strike-oil-refinery-deep-inside-russia/33769483.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukrainian-drones-strike-oil-refinery-deep-inside-russia/33769483.html Sun, 31 May 2026 14:12:08 +0200 Russia Invades UkraineRussiaUkraineVideo ArchiveThe Rundown Stories Ukrainian drones have targeted a Russian oil refinery hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainian border, the latest in a series of deep-strike campaigns aimed at disrupting Russia’s oil industry. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukrainian-drones-strike-saratov-refinery-deep-inside-russia/33769434.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukrainian-drones-strike-saratov-refinery-deep-inside-russia/33769434.html Sun, 31 May 2026 12:40:05 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Ukraine says that its forces carried out a large-scale overnight drone assault targeting military and infrastructure sites inside Russia and Russian-occupied territory. https://www.rferl.org/a/zelensky-warns-massive-attack-missile-drone-strike/33768994.html https://www.rferl.org/a/zelensky-warns-massive-attack-missile-drone-strike/33768994.html Sat, 30 May 2026 13:44:09 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline Leaked documents examined by Schemes link a debunked report that claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy bought a $3.2 million apartment in Dubai for his mother to a Kremlin-backed disinformation outfit hit with sanctions by the US, the EU, and the UK. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-fake-news-zelenskyy-claim-dubai-kremlin/33768433.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-fake-news-zelenskyy-claim-dubai-kremlin/33768433.html Sat, 30 May 2026 10:55:48 +0200 UkraineFeaturesRussiaRussia Invades UkraineSchemes: Investigating UkraineThe Rundown Stories Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan have issued an ultimatum to Armenia, threatening to suspend its membership in the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) amid tensions over Armenia’s push to join the European Union. https://www.rferl.org/a/armenia-faces-eaeu-suspension-over-eu-push/33768498.html https://www.rferl.org/a/armenia-faces-eaeu-suspension-over-eu-push/33768498.html Fri, 29 May 2026 18:16:19 +0200 News AnalysisArmeniaKazakhstanRussiaThe Rundown Stories Romania has accused Russia of a "serious and irresponsible escalation" after a drone hit a high-rise building inside Romanian territory near the border with Ukraine. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-drone-strikes-ukraine-border-romania/33768083.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-drone-strikes-ukraine-border-romania/33768083.html Fri, 29 May 2026 08:01:37 +0200 NewsRussiaRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline Russia and Afghanistan’s Taliban have signed a military and technical cooperation deal, Russian media reported, but neither side released details, raising questions about whether it marks a substantive shift or a symbolic move. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-taliban-afghanistan-military-agreement-shoigu-yaqub/33767652.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-taliban-afghanistan-military-agreement-shoigu-yaqub/33767652.html Thu, 28 May 2026 18:37:02 +0200 FeaturesAfghanistanRussiaThe Rundown Stories Over the past eight years, at least 20 foreigners have helped raise and educate two boys believed to be the sons of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his purported partner Alina Kabayeva, most of them from Western countries, RFE/RL’s Russian investigative unit has determined. https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-purported-sons-western-nannies-language-tutors/33767499.html https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-purported-sons-western-nannies-language-tutors/33767499.html Thu, 28 May 2026 17:42:38 +0200 RussiaFeaturesRussia Invades UkraineSystema: Investigating RussiaThe Rundown Stories Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has issued an unusually direct appeal to President Donald Trump and the US Congress, warning that Ukraine urgently needs additional Patriot missile systems as Russia intensifies ballistic missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-us-patriot-missiles-zelenskyy-appeal-trump-congress/33767500.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-us-patriot-missiles-zelenskyy-appeal-trump-congress/33767500.html Thu, 28 May 2026 16:09:07 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Nearly 500,000 Russian soldiers are estimated to have been killed in Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine since it began in 2022, a top British intelligence official has said, as the conflicts grinds to a near stalemate. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-war-casualties-british-intelligence/33766873.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-war-casualties-british-intelligence/33766873.html Wed, 27 May 2026 18:26:52 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Authorities in Russian-occupied Crimea said Ukraine attacked the port city of Sevastopol using Storm Shadow missiles, while Ukrainian officials reported Russian drone strikes on several regions. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-war-strikes-missiles/33766579.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-war-strikes-missiles/33766579.html Wed, 27 May 2026 12:33:50 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Dramatic images of glowing projectiles streaking down from space on May 24 marked the latest combat use of Russia's Oreshnik missile against Ukraine. Here is how the missile works, and why some of its payloads don't explode. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-missile-oreshnik-kinetic-strike-war-invasion/33766001.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-missile-oreshnik-kinetic-strike-war-invasion/33766001.html Tue, 26 May 2026 18:45:56 +0200 FeaturesRussiaUkrainePicksRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed support for Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian during a short stopover at Yerevan's Zvartnots airport on May 26, less than two weeks before parliamentary elections in the Caucasus nation. https://www.rferl.org/a/rubio-support-armenia-pashinian-june-elections/33766035.html https://www.rferl.org/a/rubio-support-armenia-pashinian-june-elections/33766035.html Tue, 26 May 2026 17:12:58 +0200 NewsArmeniaRussiaThe Rundown Stories The patriarch of Russian Orthodox Church is a vocal backer of Moscow’s war against Ukraine. Systema, RFE/RL’s Russian investigative unit, examined how the country’s dominant religious organization goes after dissenters, including priests who decline to intone a victory prayer in their services. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-church-persecution-ukraine-war-prayer/33764424.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-church-persecution-ukraine-war-prayer/33764424.html Tue, 26 May 2026 14:14:54 +0200 RussiaFeaturesRussia Invades UkraineSystema: Investigating RussiaThe Rundown Stories In this week's briefing, RFE/RL Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak drills down on two issues: more EU sanctions on Russia, and the US pressuring EU countries to allow Belarusian potash exports. https://www.rferl.org/a/wider-europe-russia-sanctions-belarus-potash-exports-jozwiak/33764597.html https://www.rferl.org/a/wider-europe-russia-sanctions-belarus-potash-exports-jozwiak/33764597.html Tue, 26 May 2026 12:02:43 +0200 Wider EuropeBelarusRussiaUkraineRussia Invades Ukraine Russia sharply escalated threats against Kyiv, warning of "systematic and consistent strikes" as Russia's top diplomat urged American citizens to evacuate the Ukrainian capital. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-lavrov-rubio-kyiv-attacks-threats/33765072.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-lavrov-rubio-kyiv-attacks-threats/33765072.html Tue, 26 May 2026 09:41:39 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ended a tense round of NATO talks in Sweden with a blunt message to European allies: Washington’s military footprint on the continent will shrink over time, but the US insists its commitment to NATO’s collective defense remains intact. https://www.rferl.org/a/rubio-nato-europe-rutte-troops-summit/33762824.html https://www.rferl.org/a/rubio-nato-europe-rutte-troops-summit/33762824.html Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:57 +0200 News AnalysisIranRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline US officials have proposed that Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine lift sanctions on Belarusian potash to allow the transit of the agricultural product – a major source of hard currency revenue for Minsk --- through their territories. https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-fertilizer-potash-exports-us-sanctions-eu/33762526.html https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-fertilizer-potash-exports-us-sanctions-eu/33762526.html Fri, 22 May 2026 15:03:29 +0200 NewsBelarusRussiaUkraineThe Rundown Stories