Knarik Papoyan

Russia

Russia slashes cancer care as defence spending hits post-Soviet record

The federal cancer programme budget falls from 44.9 billion to 3.87 billion roubles in 2027 — a nearly 40-fold reduction against 2025 levels — as defence spending reaches 35% of all federal expenditure, the highest share since the Soviet Union collapsed.

09/10/2026

Russia

Russia asks Vietnam for planes as seized Western fleet falls apart

Moscow proposed wet-leasing Vietnamese aircraft, crews and maintenance, but any transfer would involve Airbus or Boeing jets, exposing Vietnamese carriers to secondary sanctions. Nearly a fifth of Russia's largest airlines' planes are already grounded, double the normal downtime rate.

07/10/2026

Russia

Russia denies plague death but quarantines 200 without explanation

Rospotrebnadzor said Darya Shipilova, 28, died of "pneumonia of unknown aetiology" with no links to her work at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, but imposed quarantine on her contacts, confined 60 colleagues inside the facility and restricted access to hospitals including a maternity ward.

06/10/2026

Russia

Russia's jury reform draws fire for handing verdicts back to the state

The Supreme Court proposals would allow presiding judges to "clarify" questions during deliberations and reduce jury panels from six or eight members to four, changes lawyers say undermine the independence of a system that acquits at 60 times the national average in non-jury trials.

01/10/2026

Russia

'The days of safety are over': Russian airports face record closures

Ukraine's drone campaign forced an average of 32 airport closures a day across 32 Russian airports including Moscow and St Petersburg, with summer totals already exceeding all of 2025, as Zelenskyy warned airlines and insurers that "the days of safety in Russia's skies are over."

10/09/2026

World News

Will Russia and Belarus be allowed participate in the 2024 Olympics?

Will we see Russian and Belarusian athletes in neutral uniforms at the Paris Olympics? The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said it will not set a specific framework for deciding on this issue and, in the meantime, qualifications for many Olympic disciplines are already underway.

30/07/2023

Ukraine

Is restoring the Kakhovka Dam the best thing for the environment?

"Inefficient" and bad for the environment – some environmentalists are arguing against the reconstruction of the Kakhovka Dam, despite the widespread devastation caused by its breach.

13/07/2023