Volgograd Oil Refinery, the sixth largest in Russia, annually processes approximately 14 million tons of crude oil. While local authorities assert that the plant sustained minimal damage, footage from the scene depicts significant explosions. …
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Spies, Lies, and Algorithms
Amy B. Zegart
Ukraine
Russia
Ukrainian drone strikes cause explosions at Russian oil refineries in Volgograd and Yaroslavl
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
Putin clears Goldman Sachs' exit from Russia with sale to Armenia-based firm
Russian President Vladimir Putin approved Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s exit from Russia on Jan. 31, allowing the U.S. firm to sell its business to the Armenia-based investment firm Balchug Capital.
Goldman Sachs entered into a binding agreement to …
Ukraine
Russia
Protests
Photos
Belarus Weekly: Lukashenko gets himself reelected for 7th consecutive term
Aleksandr Lukashenko has awarded himself a seventh term as president of Belarus, with the West calling the so-called vote a sham and introducing additional sanctions.
Belarusian political observer Artsiom Shraibman told the Kyiv Independent that …
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
Norway detains Russian-crewed vessel over undersea cable damage suspicion
Norwegian authorities detained the Silver Dania vessel with a Russian crew on Jan. 30 on suspicion of it damaging an undersea fiber-optic cable linking Latvia and Sweden, the Norwegian police announced.
The vessel, which operates under the Norwegian …
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
Ukraine destroys Russian command post in Kursk Oblast, General Staff claims
Ukraine’s Missile and Artillery Forces struck the command post of Russia’s Kursk group of forces in the Russian city of Rylsk in Kursk Oblast on Jan. 31, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported.
“As a result of the …
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
Finland announces $206 million military package for Ukraine
Ukraine
Photos
Arms procurement chief Bezrukova dismissed, Defense Ministry says after disputes
Maryna Bezrukova, head of Ukraine’s Defense Procurement Agency (DPA), has been officially dismissed over “failure to meet delivery plans and other violations,” the Defense Ministry announced on Jan. 31.
Her firing follows a week of …
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
USA
'100% tariffs' — Trump vows trade war if BRICS replaces dollar as reserve currency
U.S. President Donald Trump vowed on Jan. 31 to impose 100% tariffs on BRICS countries if they attempt to use new or existing currency to replace the U.S. dollar in international trade.
“We are going to require a commitment from these seemingly …
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
Ukraine's arms procurement chief asks Zelensky to 'stop the destruction' of the agency
Maryna Bezrukova, the head of the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA), asked President Volodymyr Zelensky to prevent the “destruction” of the agency, in a Facebook post on Jan. 31.
Bezrukova and the Defense Ministry have been at loggerheads …
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
Ukraine Business Roundup — Record wartime private sector investment
The following is the Jan. 29, 2025 edition of our Ukraine Business Roundup weekly newsletter. To get the biggest news in business and tech from Ukraine directly in your inbox, subscribe here.
Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, …
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
USA
China is Russia's sole supplier of key military-use rare metals amid sanctions, RFE/RL reports
China became Russia’s sole supplier of gallium, germanium, and stibium, chemical substances needed to produce weapons, including nuclear ones, after the introduction of EU and U.S. sanctions in 2022, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s …
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
North Korean troops not seen for 3 weeks in parts of Kursk Oblast, Ukraine’s Special Forces say
Editor’s note: The story is being updated.
North Korean troops have not been seen for roughly three weeks in the areas of Kursk Oblast where Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SOF) are fighting, the unit’s spokesperson, Colonel …
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
Ukrainian drones strike 'one of 10 largest oil refineries in Russia,' military says
Editor’s note: The article was expanded with comments by Andrii Kovalenko, head of the counter-disinformation department at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.
Ukrainian drones attacked an oil refinery owned by Lukoil, one of …
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
FALSE: The U.S. gave Ukraine nuclear weapons but took them back after threats from Russia
Verification within Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program
Russian Telegram channels are spreading a clip from a supposed interview with former U.S. President Joe Biden on MSNBC. In it, he allegedly admits that during Zelenskyi’s presidency, the …
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
EU denies any links between Russian gas purchases, Ukraine peace talks
The European Union is rejecting any connection between the possibility of resuming Russian pipeline gas purchases and peace talks on ending the Russia-Ukraine war, European Commission Chief Spokesperson Paula Pinho said on Jan. 30 during a press …
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
'Dishonest' to suggest Ukraine could have fully defeated Russia, retake Crimea, Rubio says
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced Moscow’s aggression in Ukraine but said it was “dishonest” to claim Kyiv was capable of destroying Russia on the battlefield and returning to the pre-2014 state of affairs, U.S. …
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
Explosion at Rheinmetall plant in Spain leaves 6 injured
Six people were injured in an explosion at a warehouse of the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall plant in Murcia, Spain, the Spanish news agency EFE reported on Jan. 30, citing local emergency services.
The explosion occurred at 4:20 p.m. local time …
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
1 killed, 35 injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine over past day
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
Ukrainian drones set fire to Russian oil refinery in Volgograd Oblast, authorities say
Ukrainian drones attacked Russia’s Volgograd Oblast overnight on Jan. 31, targeting an oil refinery owned by Lukoil, one of the largest Russian oil producers, Governor Andrey Bocharov said.
The wreckage of a downed drone fell on the refinery, …
Russia
Photos
Suspected US-to-Russia weapons trafficker arrested in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyz law enforcement officers arrested a suspected arms trafficker linked to a criminal group smuggling weapons from the U.S. to Russia, according to a statement released by Kyrgyzstan’s security agency, the State Committee for National …
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
General Staff: Russia has lost 837,610 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022
Russia has lost 837,610 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Jan. 31.
This number includes 1,670 casualties Russian forces suffered just over …
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
Russia blocked 417000 websites in 2024, media reports
In 2024, Russian authorities blocked 417,000 websites, the Russian independent news outlet Verstka reported.
Verstka analyzed data from the internet freedom NGO Roskomsvoboda.
523,000 websites were blocked the year before in 2023, but access was later …
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
Ukraine's military intelligence disrupts Gazprom's digital services
Cyber specialists from Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Agency (HUR) launched a cyber attack against Gazprom and Gazpromneft on Jan. 29, Hromadske reported, citing undisclosed sources from HUR.
The group carried out a distributed denial-of-service …
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
IAEA chief to visit Kyiv next week
Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will visit Kyiv on Feb. 4 to hold high-level meetings on preventing nuclear accidents during wartime.
The IAEA serves as the nuclear safety watchdog for the …
Ukraine
Russia
Photos
USA
Tulsi Gabbard 'offended' by question about pro-Russian sympathies at Senate hearing
Tulsi Gabbard, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee for national intelligence director, fielded questions about her record on foreign affairs and past statements about Russia during her Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 30.
Gabbard has …