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Novaya Gazeta. Europe

March 2026

Veterans of war in Ukraine flood United Russia primaries to become candidates for Duma

However, in some remote regions the proportion of veterans standing was much higher, for example in the region of Yakutia in Russia’s Far East, where the two registered candidates are both veterans of the war

Ukrainian drone strike forces one of Russia’s largest oil refineries to close

The largest oil refinery in the Leningrad region and one of the largest in Russia, Kirishi has a processing capacity of approximately 20 million tonnes of crude oil per year

Putin asks Russia’s oligarchs to bridge military funding gap as he makes final push for Donbas

Speaking to some of Russia’s wealthiest business leaders in a closed session following a speech he delivered to the annual congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs in Moscow on Thursday, Putin reiterated his determination to capture Ukraine’s entire Donbas region, according to the publication

We will go as far as the borders of Donbas,
They said, ‘We will fight,

Russia denies Western intelligence reports saying it is sending drones to Iran

In January, Vladimir Putin met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Moscow, where the two signed a bilateral deal boosting economic integration, energy cooperation, and investment in shared infrastructure interests in the Caspian Sea

Adam Kadyrov reappears in public following fatal car accident in Grozny

This was the first public appearance made by Adam Kadyrov since he was involved in a fatal car accident in the Chechen capital Grozny in January, after which he was flown to Moscow for medical treatment

State-of-the-art Russian military icebreaker damaged in Ukrainian drone strike on Vyborg

Most media outlets have identified the icebreaker as the Purga, one of four vessels being built for Arctic operations for the Federal Security Service (FSB), which oversees Russia’s coast guard, and the Russian Navy

Just desserts. Do Russian former combatants who claim asylum in Europe really pose a risk to EU security?

In the context of deserters, it is not easy to get anywhere; people maim themselves, shooting themselves in parts of their bodies, so that they can flee the front via a hospital. Armenia does not take any steps towards actual extradition, so staying there is safer, but due to the lack of a land border, fleeing to Armenia is more difficult than to Kazakhstan,
Grigory Sverdlinrussian activist
It would be right to create a separate track for Russian deserters and conscientious objectors to obtain refugee status. These people risk being imprisoned in Russia, and if they’re found to have deserted their units they face up to 15 years behind bars,
Such people often become key witnesses in investigations into war crimes,
Last summer, the Baltic and Nordic countries met to discuss such a measure. Overall, this is a step towards individual, rather than collective, responsibility and an assessment of the danger to society. I think other EU countries may soon adopt this approach,
Any entry may therefore have serious consequences for the security of a Member State or the entire Schengen area,
Individuals who have participated in the war as part of the armed forces of the aggressor state pose serious internal security risks, including through violent crime, organised criminal networks, extremist movements or hostile state activity in the broader context of Russia’s hybrid action,

Kremlin’s oil revenues rise to highest level since the start of war in Ukraine

The rise in revenues has been driven by both increased oil shipment volumes from Russian ports, as well as the massive increase in prices for Russian oil grades amid disruptions to global energy supplies as a result of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran

The rise in oil prices will be followed by a fall in the ruble’s exchange rate
Vladislav Inozemtseveconomist
If these prices are maintained at least until June, the [Russian] budget will be balanced as approved last year, perhaps even better than planned

Several dead and dozens injured in ‘perverse’ Russian drone strikes on western Ukraine

Lviv’s historic Bernardine Monastery complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was among the buildings damaged in Tuesday’s strikes, with photographs showing fires blazing from the roof of a building next door

Volodymyr Zelenskyypresident
The scale of today’s attack,... strongly indicates that Russia has no intention of really ending this war.”

Shock and awe. What’s behind the recent intensification of Ukrainian drone and missile strikes on Russian cities?

Other Russian cities have also reported an increase in strikes

The aim is to exhaust Russia’s air defences and create shortages in anti-aircraft munitions,
Given that Moscow is the most heavily defended area in Russia, and that none of the drones appears to have reached their targets, it’s difficult to say what exactly the objectives of the attack were,
Roman Svitanmilitary analyst and ukrainian reserve colonel
Large-scale attacks on Moscow are primarily intended to expose and exhaust the capital’s air defence systems,
The intensity of strikes depends entirely on available capabilities,
We’re not seeing a qualitatively new level yet,
The focus appears to have shifted,
Even a single city like Belgorod is constantly under fire,

A new low. The strained relationship between Budapest and Kyiv has further deteriorated ahead of Hungary’s April election

In early March, the Hungarian authorities arrested seven Ukrainian bank workers who were transporting millions of US dollars worth of cash and gold through Hungary to Ukraine

Russia won’t participate in planned Ukraine peace talks on Saturday, says Peskov

Donald Trumppresident
We don't need their help in drone defense. We know more about drones than anybody. We have the best drones in the world, actually.”
Donald Trumppresident
We don’t need their help in drone defense,