Latest news with #Belgorod
Associated Press
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Russian activist who helped Ukrainian refugees jailed for 22 years
A Russian activist who helped Ukrainians flee Moscow's invasion has been sentenced to 22 years in prison on charges of treason and financing terrorism, her lawyer and Russian media said Friday. Nadezhda Rossinskaya, who also goes by the name Nadin Geisler, ran a volunteer group called 'Army of Beauties,' which claims to have helped evacuate thousands of people from Russian-occupied territory — numbers that could not be independently verified. Some made their way to free Ukraine through Russia's southwestern Belgorod region, where the last open checkpoint between the two countries was located, the group says. Fearing for her safety, Rossinskaya left Russia for Georgia in 2023, but decided to return to Belgorod months later to coordinate a complex evacuation, independent Russian news outlets reported. She was detained in February 2024 over an Instagram post calling for donations to Ukrainian forces, and was later charged with treason and financing terrorism, according to Russian court documents and her lawyer Alexey Pryanishnikov. Rossinskaya denied any wrongdoing, and her lawyer said she did not write or publish the post, according to a trial transcript compiled by Russian independent outlet Mediazona. Prosecutors had requested an unusually harsh prison sentence of 27 years for Rossinskaya, who stood trial at a military court in Belgorod. According to Mediazona, Rossinskaya responded by asking the court to jail her for 27 years and one day if found guilty, so that her prison term could be the longest modern Russia has ever handed to a woman. Darya Trepova, jailed for delivering a bomb in 2023 that killed a pro-war blogger in St Petersburg, is currently serving a 27-year sentence. Last September, Rossinskaya was added to Russia's register of 'extremists and terrorists', alongside many individuals and groups who have publicly criticized the war, tried to raise money for Ukraine or help those affected by the fighting. Criminal cases linked to treason, espionage and cooperation with a foreign state have risen drastically since Russia's full-scale invasion, a Russian lawyers' association has reported. According to Pervy Otdel, at least 792 people went on trial on related charges between Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 and late December 2024. Over 530 were convicted.
Reuters
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Russian court sentences actor to 17 years in prison for railway sabotage
June 19 (Reuters) - A military court in Moscow sentenced a Russian man to 17 years in prison after finding him guilty of attempting to blow up a railway on behalf of a pro-Ukraine Russian paramilitary group, the TASS state news agency reported on Thursday. The defendant, Viktor Mosienko, who is a film and theatre actor, admitted guilt and repented in court, according to TASS. Russian news outlet reported that Mosienko had cited a desire to help Ukrainian children as a motive. Russian officials have linked pro-Ukraine sabotage groups with numerous attacks on aircraft and railways aimed at disrupting Moscow's war effort since the full-scale conflict began over three years ago. Prosecutions of those suspected of terrorism and sabotage in Russia have jumped, with 40% more terrorism cases sent to court in 2024 than the year before, or 429 in total, according to an Investigative Committee official cited by TASS. Investigators found that Mosienko, who is 63, had early in 2024 fallen in with the Freedom for Russia Legion, a group of Russians opposed to President Vladimir Putin who are fighting for Ukraine. Reuters was not able to contact the group, which Russia considers a terrorist organisation. Prosecutors said Mosienko had travelled from his home in southern Russia to the Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine, where authorities arrested him as he attempted to lay an improvised explosive device (IED) under a railway bridge. TASS reported, citing the indictment, that Mosienko had arrived to the site by taxi, dressed in a railway worker's vest and carrying a bunch of red balloons and a box of sweets, inside of which were six kilograms of explosives and a detonator. Reuters was not able to contact a lawyer for Mosienko.
Russia Today
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Almost 150 Ukrainian drones downed overnight over Russia
Russia's air defenses have destroyed 147 incoming Ukrainian drones overnight, including several targeting Moscow, the country's Defense Ministry has said. In a statement on Tuesday, the ministry said the intercepts occurred across several areas, including Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk, Voronezh, Tver, Lipetsk, Oryol, Tambov, Tula, and Moscow regions. In total, 198 drones were intercepted between 8:00pm on Monday and 7:00am on Tuesday, according to the ministry. Officials have not provided any data on the damage or casualties incurred due to the raids. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin confirmed that the Russian capital was targeted by two drones, both of which were downed before reaching their destinations. He added that emergency services are working at the sites where the drone debris fell. The drone raids led to temporary suspensions at several major airports, including key Moscow hubs. Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency said flights at Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Zhukovsky, Sheremetyevo, Kaluga, Nizhny Novgorod, and Tambov airports were suspended for safety reasons. Meanwhile, officials in Kursk Region, which borders Ukraine, said that a total of 21 incoming drones had been shot down. On Tuesday, Rodion Miroshnik, Russia's ambassador-at-large, reported that nearly 70 civilians, including 14 children, had been victimized by Kiev's FPV drone strikes over the past week. 'The armed formations of Ukraine deliberately and intentionally directed drones at civilians and civilian objects,' he told TASS. In recent weeks, Ukraine has significantly ramped up drone strikes targeting Russia. Moscow has accused Kiev of attempting 'terrorist' attacks on the country's railway infrastructure, which have led to civilian fatalities. According to the Kremlin, the indiscriminate raids are intended to derail direct bilateral talks. Last week, President Vladimir Putin stated that Russian forces had shot down more than 80,000 aerial targets, most of which are drones, since the escalation of the conflict in 2022.
Reuters
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Russian air defence units destroy 51 Ukrainian drones over Belgorod region
June 16 (Reuters) - Russian air defence units destroyed 51 Ukrainian drones over the border Belgorod region over a 3-1/2 hour period late on Monday, the Defence Ministry said. A ministry statement on the Telegram messaging app said the drones were destroyed between 8 p.m. and 11.30 p.m. in the region. Both Russia and Ukraine have been deploying waves of drones in cross-border attacks against a range of targets in recent weeks.
National Post
12-06-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Russia's military losses top 1 million in 3-year-old war, Ukraine's military says
Article content Ukraine responded to the Russian attacks with drone raids. Russia's Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 52 Ukrainian drones early Thursday, including 41 over the Belgorod region that borders Ukraine. Regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said three people were injured by Ukrainian attacks. Article content The recent escalation in aerial attacks has come alongside a renewed Russian battlefield push along eastern and northeastern parts of the more than 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line. Article content While Russian missile and drone barrage have struck regions all across Ukraine, regions along the front line have faced daily Russian attacks with short-range exploding drones and glide bombs. Article content Article content On Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed its troops captured two more villages in the Donetsk region, Oleksiivka and Petrivske. The Ukrainian military had no immediate comment on the Russian claim. Article content The attacks have continued despite discussions of a potential ceasefire in the war. During their June 2 talks in Istanbul, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators traded memorandums containing sharply divergent conditions that both sides see as nonstarters, making a quick deal unlikely. Article content The only tangible outcome of the talks was an agreement to exchange prisoners of war and the bodies of fallen soldiers. Article content Russia and Ukraine conducted another POW swap on Thursday that included severely wounded and gravely ill captives, although the sides did not report the numbers. Article content 'Our people are coming home,' Zelenskyy said in a statement on Telegram. 'All of them require medical treatment, and they will receive the necessary help. This is already the second stage of returning those who are severely wounded and seriously ill.' Article content According to Ukraine's Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, some of the repatriated soldiers had been listed as missing in action. The oldest among them is 59, the youngest is 22, he said. Article content At the same time, Rutte criticized Putin for appointing his aide Vladimir Medinsky as the top negotiator for the talks in Istanbul. Medinsky ascended through the Kremlin ranks after writing a series of books exposing purported Western plots against Russia and denigrating Ukraine. Article content 'I think that the Russians sending this historian now twice to these talks in Istanbul, trying to start with the history of 1,000 years ago and then explaining more or less that Ukraine is at fault here, I think that's not helpful,' Rutte said. 'But at least step by step, we try to make progress.' Article content Article content Also on Thursday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit, noting the stepped-up Russian attacks send a message from Moscow that it has 'no interest in a peaceful solution at present,' according to German news agency dpa. Article content Pistorius said his visit underlines that the new German government continues to stand by Ukraine. Article content 'Of course this will also be about how the support of Germany and other Europeans will look in future — what we can do, for example, in the area of industrial cooperation, but also other support,' he said. Article content
