MOSCOW, July 31 (Reuters) – A court in the Russian capital has confiscated 123 real estate ***** ets which belonged to the Jehovah's Witnesses and transferred them to the Russian state, Moscow's court service said on Friday.
It said the property ***** ets had previously been registered as belonging to the Swedish branch of Jehovah's Witnesses and included 63 residential and commercial properties with a total area of over 11,000 square metres and 60 plots of land with a total area of 5.6 hectares situated across the country.
At least 40 dead at Morocco-Spain border
A Russian court banned Jehovah's Witnesses as an "extremist organisation" in 2017, a move that the European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2022 was itself unlawful. Many Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia have since been jailed after being convicted of "extremist activity."
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

#court #moscow #july

Sonya Marmeladova, a popular Russian ******* blogger, was sentenced to three years of suspended punishment by a Moscow court on Friday for distribution of ******* , according to the Russian media.
Her real name is Sofia Vershinina. Prosecutors claimed she offered private paid Telegram channels with intimate photos and videos to subscribers. They stated that Vershinina advertised private chats in a public channel. The defendant admitted guilt, expressed regret, and asked the Meshchansky District Court to impose suspended punishment, according to Meduza.
The prosecutors demanded three and a half years in a penal colony, according to Ostorozhno Novosti citing the courtroom.
The court imposed a fine of 4.8 million rubles (about $60,000 or €53,000) on Vershinina, as well as an iPhone 16 Pro Max, Meduza reported. The ruble amount was declared a fine. The ******* equipment found at the defendant's residence, like handcuffs and a leather choker, was returned to her, according to Vzglyad.
According to the investigators, Vershinina earned about 30 million rubles from explicit photos and videos in 2026. According to the investigators, she spent this money on the purchase of an apartment in Moscow City and designer products, according to Izvestia. According to other media sources, her total earnings from subscriptions exceeded $385,000 since January 2024, according to the Telegram channel SHOT.

#telegram #meduza

MOSCOW, July 31 (Reuters) - Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian online retailer Wildberries amount to "acts of terrorism" against civilians, ‌affecting millions of people in Russia and other countries, ‌the company's founder and CEO, Tatyana Kim, said on Friday.
Ukraine has attacked more than a dozen Wildberries sites since July 18 in a bid to disrupt the operations of the company, a linchpin of Russia's consumer economy.
Kim said businesses across 10 countries had suffered ‌significant losses as ⁠a result of the attacks and that Wildberries was working with the Russian government to mitigate ⁠the impact on vendors using its platform.
"A comprehensive scheme is currently being developed to ensure that everyone receives **** istance. The details of these measures will be announced in the coming days," Kim said.
She ‌said the company was rapidly restructuring its logistics network and redistributing goods across various logistics facilities to maintain delivery times and inventory turnover despite the disruption.

#wildberries

Former UFC champs head to the wrestling mats for an international headliner.
Real American Freestyle announced on Thursday that past UFC middleweight ***** leholder Khamzat Chimaev is set to make his second appearance with the promotion to face former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in the main event of RAF Moscow. The event takes place Sept. 5 on streams exclusively on FOX Nation in the U.S., while other global broadcast details will be announced.
Chimaev had a successful RAF debut with a first-round pinfall win against Dillon Danis in the main event of RAF 10 in June. The match was heated as Danis appeared to attempt a choke on Chimaev after a takedown, and the aftermath led to an all-out brawl between the two teams. In a recent interview with RAF co-founder Chad Bronstein, he told MMA Fighting that Chimaev is expected to compete multiple times for the promotion before the year ends.
Woodley is already slated to compete at RAF 12 in August against Joaquin Buckley. "The Chosen One" seeks his first combat sports win in nearly eight years as he dropped his final four UFC bouts before heading over to the boxing world for a trio of fights — losing twice to Jake Paul, including a brutal knockout loss in their second meeting, and a TKO loss to Anderson Silva in his most recent contest this past December on the Paul vs. Joshua card.

#chimaev #Event #past #PROMOTION

The Senate took its first major step in fulfilling one of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's biggest desires: levying bone-crushing sanctions against Russia.
A bipartisan swell carried the sanctions package through its first hurdle on an 86-12 vote, which has gone through several iterations in the time since it was first formulated by Graham and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. He explained that at its core, the package was designed to stop purchases of Russian oil and gas that was "fueling Putin's war machine."
"Ukraine's fight is our fight," Blumenthal said. "Nobody believed that more deeply and passionately than Lindsey Graham. He lived it, and this vote is a step forward."
Lindsey Graham's Final Mission Nears Finish Line As World Leaders Gather To Honor Him
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting of the Presidential Council for the Implementation of State Policy on the Promotion of the Russian Language and the Languages of the Peoples of Russia via video link at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 2, 2026.

#state

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Since Russia's full invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the war has repeatedly spilled across Romania's border as drones violate the airspace of the neighboring European Union and NATO member.
Now Romania is trying something new to stop the incursions: shooting down the drones.
Romanian pilots shot down the first of three drones in as many days from F-16 fighter jets starting Friday as Russia intensified attacks against Ukraine near the border. After determining the drones were of Russian origin, Romania summoned Moscow's ambassador in protest and expelled a Russian diplomat on Monday.
Drones have crossed into Romanian territory multiple times from Ukraine to the north and east, including in May when a drone injured a mother and child after crashing into an apartment block in the eastern town of Galati along the Danube River.
Romanian authorities largely responded by scrambling jets, collecting debris, erecting fallout shelters near the border and frequently admonishing Moscow for its war spilling into its territory.

#drones #romanian #border #territory

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's fired defense minister said Thursday he has rejected President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's efforts to persuade him to rejoin the government in a different role where he could continue fighting Russia's more than 4-year-old invasion.
Mykhailo Fedorov, who was dismissed last week after just six months in the job, is a youthful and popular public figure due to his success in modernizing the armed forces and giving Ukraine an edge in the war through innovative use of technology. He has also cracked down on corruption in military procurement.
His departure triggered street protests across Ukraine that have put pressure on Zelenskyy and cheered Moscow officials.
Fedorov said in a statement that leading the Defense Ministry was one of only three jobs that "actually shape the course of the war," along with the presidency and chief of the armed forces.
He said that he would "not accept any position other than" defense minister, in what amounted to a defiant stance against Zelenskyy.

#forces #thursday

MOSCOW, July 21 (Reuters) - Online retailer Wildberries, Russia's answer to Amazon, and the merchants who trade through it are grappling with losses in the wake of Ukrainian attacks on warehouses operated by the retailer, the Kremlin said ‌on Tuesday.
Drones targeted two large logistics hubs in the cities of Kotovsk and Elektrostal on Saturday. The strikes killed ‌eight workers, sparked fires and disrupted operations at Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, which can handle over 20 million orders per day.
While the extent of the damage remains unclear, the attacks on a company so central to the consumer economy appear to mark a widening of Kyiv's strategy of using long-range drones to disrupt Russia's war effort and pressure the Kremlin to make peace.
Asked about the attacks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists: "The situation is indeed difficult because of the losses suffered both by the company itself and by representatives of small and medium-sized businesses."
He ‌denied accusations from Ukraine that Wildberries handles military ⁠supplies.

#drones #company

Ukraine launched one of its largest drone attacks of the war against Moscow and the surrounding region overnight, striking an oil depot and logistics facilities more than 250 miles from the Ukrainian border, according to Ukrainian and Russian officials.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said more than 400 Ukrainian drones were launched toward the Moscow region between Sunday evening and early Monday, including 85 that were destroyed while approaching the Russian capital. Russia's Defense Ministry separately claimed that its forces intercepted 381 drones across Russian regions, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
The Russian claims could not be independently verified by Fox News Digital.
At least 10 people were wounded in the Moscow region, including three Chinese nationals, according to regional authorities cited by Reuters. Seven of the injuries were reported in Domodedovo, Russia, where officials said a residential building was struck and a fire broke out at an industrial park near one of Moscow's main airports.
The scale and reach of the operation suggest Ukraine is moving beyond occasional symbolic attacks on Moscow and building a sustained campaign against the infrastructure that supports Russia's war.

Ukraine fired more than 400 drones toward Moscow in its latest major attack on the Russian capital, the city's mayor said Monday.
The blitz came hours after Russia bombarded Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with ballistic missiles in a relentless cycle of ***** -for-tat strikes that make a settlement to end Moscow's more than 4-year-old all-out invasion appear a distant possibility.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said he would hold "key talks" on Monday as he tries to defuse a domestic political crisis after last week's government reshuffle exposed a deep split between the military's old guard and young innovators over how to fight the war.
Zelenskyy needs to reassure Ukrainians that sacrificing 35-year-old Mykhailo Fedorov as defense minister and keeping faith with 60-year-old Soviet-trained Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi as armed forces chief won't derail the fight against Russia.
Days of street protests in favor of Fedorov and against Syrskyi followed Zelenskyy's decision.

At least 200 Ukrainian drones were launched toward Moscow overnight into Thursday morning, the city's Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said, as Kyiv continued its nightly long-range strike campaign deep into Russia.
From Wednesday evening until 9 a.m. local time on Thursday, "More than 200 drones were flying towards the Moscow region. Most of them were neutralized by air defense systems at a distance," Sobyanin wrote in a post to Telegram. Ten drones "were destroyed as they approached Moscow," the mayor said.
Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces downed at least 375 Ukrainian drones overnight. The ministry said in a post to Telegram that drones were intercepted over 18 Russian regions -- including Moscow -- as well as Crimea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
Ukraine has been significantly expanding its drone campaign -- referred to in Kyiv as "long-range sanctions" -- in recent months, targeting major Russian cities, Russian oil infrastructure, military and logistics targets.
'Trump does like a winner': Ukraine victories could mean more US backing, Zelenskyy adviser says

July 14 (Reuters) - Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 340 Ukrainian drones had been dispatched to ‌the area surrounding the capital over a ‌24-hour period and most had been downed by anti-aircraft units far from the city.
"Most of them were neutralised by air defence forces on the outer approaches," Sobyanin wrote on Telegram. "More than 50 enemy drones were destroyed on ‌their way to Moscow."
Ukrainian ⁠drones approach the Russian capital routinely and Sobyanin provides a running account of ⁠the numbers taken out by anti-aircraft units.
Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russian infrastructure sites, mainly linked to the oil industry.
Ukraine's military said on Tuesday it had ‌carried out drone strikes on the Salavat petrochemical complex in the Urals and the Afipsky refinery in southern Russia. Attacks on oil infrastructure have contributed to gasoline shortages throughout Russia.

Vladimir Putin's troubles are adding up. His public denials notwithstanding, the war in Ukraine and economy at home are heading in the wrong direction.
His implied social contract with his subjects — you support me in this war and I will shield you from its consequences — is beginning to fray. An ****** ault on a NATO member state, followed by a nuclear ultimatum to end the war on Moscow's terms, debasing the alliance in the process, is looking like an increasingly attractive option.
Four factors are forcing Putin's hand.
After an estimated 1.2. million Russian dead and wounded, at around 35,000 average monthly casualties, the "special military operation" has turned into an endless war of attrition he cannot win and cannot afford to lose. Russia's key advantage over Ukraine — cannon fodder — has become all but irrelevant. Throwing 300,000 more men into the trenches by ordering another "partial mobilization," as even the militaristic Russian "Z" bloggers warn, will only result in the draftees' dying without altering "the nature of the war." A "technological breakthrough" is needed, the bloggers declare, to counter Ukrainian drones.
But despite Putin's promises, none appears on the horizon.

PARIS (AP) — Ukraine and nine other countries announced Monday they were forming a coalition to protect Europe from ballistic missiles, utilizing Kyiv's experience in fighting Russia's full-scale invasion for over four years.
"Our goal is to build a shared ballistic missile defense capability for Europe," the 10 nations said in a statement in Paris at talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He was asking two dozen leaders for help in developing measures against Russia's missile attacks that have pummeled his country and made the rest of Europe wary of Moscow's wider ambitions on the continent.
Zelenskyy and the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom said they recognized "the growing threat posed by ballistic missiles," which are harder to stop than cruise missiles or drones.
"We believe that protecting Europe requires a comprehensive solution, in the form of an integrated missile defense architecture, to deter and neutralize future missile threats," the statement said. "We recognize Ukraine's unique experience, gained through its defense against the war of aggression waged by Russia."

It looks like end for Joe Joyce in the boxing ring.
On Saturday in Moscow, Joyce turned away, waved his right hand in surrender and was stopped with about fifty seconds left in round eleven.
Ten summers ago, in a different fighting world, Joyce should have won the gold medal in the final at the Rio Olympics.
Joyce is now 40, he was once avoided, respected, feared and held the WBO interim heavyweight ****** le, but the unforgiving business he chose started to take a heavy toll.
The awful end to Saturday’s fight was a reminded that boxing is not an easy game to play; Joyce was helpless in the ring for about five seconds as the referee hesitated, Joyce dropped his hands in total defeat and his opponent, Artem Suslenkov, had about six free shots.

Joe Joyce's comeback fight ended in bizarre fashion as the veteran British heavyweight lost to Artem Suslenkov in Moscow.
The 40-year-old was facing undefeated Russian Suslenkov in his first fight since losing to Filip Hrgovic in April 2025.
But after looking lethargic and lacking power throughout, Joyce appeared to signal that he no longer wanted to fight in the 11th round and stepped backwards.
Joyce offered little defence as Suslenkov, 30, landed a few more blows before the referee stepped in to stop the fight.
Joyce, a silver medallist at the 2016 Olympics, now has a professional record of 16 wins and five losses, with all of those defeats coming in his last six fights.

By Yuliia Dysa
KYIV, July 10 (Reuters) - Ukraine is setting up a "long-range impact" command within its armed forces, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, as Kyiv's campaign against Russian energy and logistics has forced Moscow to ban diesel exports and restrict shipping near the ‌Sea of Azov, which abuts the Black Sea.
For months, Ukrainian attack drones have been targeting key energy infrastructure thousands of kilometres ‌across Russia in what Kyiv casts as long-range sanctions against the primary contributor to Russia's state budget, backing its war effort.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has reported strikes almost daily, with officials saying it is only fair to bring the war to Russia more than four years since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion.
"Today, I signed a decree establishing a special command within the Armed Forces – a command aimed at a long-range and, in effect, global impact on Russia in response to this war," Zelenskiy said in his evening address to the nation.

Ukraine's intensifying campaign against Putin's oil industry is having a growing impact inside Russia, forcing one of the world's largest energy producers to restrict diesel exports, pursue fuel imports and confront shortages stretching from occupied Crimea to cities deep in the country.
Inside Russia, the consequences are becoming increasingly visible. Former Russian opposition politician and commentator Maxim Katz said the shortages represent one of the first direct ways many Russians have experienced the consequences of the war — and could become particularly sensitive ahead of State Duma elections scheduled for September.
"This is the first time that Russians actually sees that the war has an effect on their day-to-day life — not only in the cost of fuel, but in its availability," Katz told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview from Israel, where he lives in exile. "You cannot buy it. And that's a big deal for Russia."
Drone Offensive Hits Russian Oil Tankers And Refineries At 'Industrial Scale' As Moscow Bans Diesel Exports
Katz said elections in Russia are neither free nor competitive, but they still serve an important function for Putin by projecting public support to regional leaders, business figures and other members of the elite.

MOSCOW, July 10 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Friday that Russia was in touch ‌with Turkey about the fate of Russian ‌S-400 missile systems which Ankara owns after a news outlet reported that Turkey was poised to transfer the air defence missiles to an unnamed Gulf country.
Turkish news outlet Hurriyet reported earlier on Friday that ‌Turkey could announce ⁠it would resell the S-400s to one of the Gulf nations as ⁠soon as today in order to persuade the United States to lift sanctions on Ankara.
In 2020, the U.S. sanctioned fellow NATO member Turkey over the ‌purchase of the S-400s and removed it from a procurement and manufacturing programme for F-35 fighter jets which Ankara wanted to be involved in.
Asked on Friday about the media report and ‌if Turkey had sought Russia's permission to go ahead with the alleged deal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said:
"I ‌can say one thing here: this is an extremely sensitive issue. However, we have been in contact with the Turkish side on this matter, ‌and we will continue to maintain contact with them on this issue."

NORTH KARELIA, Finland — Bears, wolves and moose still cross the frontier freely, but for the border guards patrolling this stretch of fields and forest, this is where NATO ends.
A line of wooden poles and painted markers cuts through the light green grass, separating Finland from Russia along the alliance's longest border with Moscow — 1,343 kilometers (835 miles) of increasingly militarized territory. The crossing has been closed since 2023, the year after the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On the other side lies land Finland lost to the Soviet Union when it was left to fight largely on its own in the early months of World War II.
Reporters from Axel Springer's Global Reporters Network traveled to three exposed stretches of Europe's eastern frontier — Finland's forested border with Russia, Poland's fortified line with Kaliningrad and Belarus and Lithuania's vulnerable edge near the Suwałki Gap — to see how ready NATO's frontline states are for the possibility that Moscow will attack the alliance.
What we observed was a continent racing to harden its eastern edge against a threat it can no longer ******* ume Washington will handle. As US President Donald Trump questions old security guarantees and looks to reduce America's military footprint in Europe, the countries closest to Russia are building fortifications, expanding reserves, buying tanks and drones and preparing for the possibility that the first days of any conflict may be theirs to fight largely alone.
Since his reelection in 2024, Trump has repeatedly called into question Washington's commitment to NATO's Article 5, the foundational clause under which an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all. The uncertainty only deepened after the war in Iran, when the president and his team threatened to reassess US membership in NATO in response to European allies' refusal to join the conflict.

From the Plaza Mariachi (still feels wrong!) in Nashville, Tennessee. No official word on who will bring The Music this time… Consider it a fun little blind date between Boxing and Music this month.
From Stuttgart, Germany. The main event is 47 year old Felix Sturm against Granit Stein. Only one other fight on the card scheduled for more than six rounds – An eight-rounder between Elvir Sendro and Luciano Falcao.
From Moscow, Russia. No streaming or broadcast option in the USA as of publication, but historically the IBA streams most of these on YouTube. Main event will have newly promoted WBA heavyweight champ Murat Gassiev taking on an opponent yet to be announced, after a back injury forced Tony Yoka to withdraw just a few days ago. Joe Joyce is the B-side of the chief support, and a credible enough name to serve as the late replacement. Jose Uzcategui also appears in support.
From Brentwood, England. Main event sees Megan "Lashes" Redstall fighting Maisey Rose Courtney for a vacant minor WBO flyweight ****** le.

July 3 (Reuters) - Russia's military told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday that its forces had taken control of Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine, a key locality whose capture Moscow has long sought in its advance through the ‌Donetsk region.
Putin, shown in videos visiting a command post and receiving a report from top commanders, praised the city's ‌capture as an important strategic achievement.
He also said Russian forces had to increase the scale of security zones in response to intensified Ukrainian long-range strikes, mainly against Russia's oil industry.
Ukraine made no comment on Russia's claim to have seized Kostiantynivka.
General Valery Gerasimov, chief of Russia's General Staff, announced the city's capture in a report on the conduct of the war, now in its fifth year.

KhabibNurmagomedov's teammate believes the former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion will nevercompete in any combat sport again.

ZubairaTukhugov (20-6) is scheduled to meet former UFC foe ElvesBrenner in a no-gi grappling match at ACBJJ 21 this weekend inMoscow. Ahead of the matchup, Tukhugov revealed that Nurmagomedovisn't very excited about the idea of his return to competition.

Nurmagomedov has been persuading Tukhugov to retire, suggestingthat he just continue training to stay in shape. The latter toldRed Corner MMA: "He laughed and was like, 'Why do you need this?'Leave the sport and just train for yourself. He's been persuadingme to retire for a long time."
Nurmagomedov (29-0) retired from mixed martial arts as theundefeated, undisputed UFC lightweight champion in 2020. Despitemultiple attempts by Dana White to bring him out of retirement,"The Eagle" has stood firm on his stance.

Tukhugov claims Nurmagomedov trains hard every day, almost like heis still an active athlete preparing to compete. He believes theUFC Hall of Famer is still in shape to grapple or fight anyone.However, Tukhugov is certain that Nurmagomedov won't end hisretirement for anything, even a grappling match.

"He actually trains every day, twice a day. No matter where he isand what is going on. He keeps training hard as if he's gettingready for something. He is ready to grapple anyone right now, oreven fight. But I'm 99% sure he won't ever compete again. Based onour conversations, if he says something, he follows through on it99% of the time."

Tukhugov further added that Nurmagomedov would make easy work ofcurrent UFC middleweight champion SeanStrickland if they were to fight right now.

Alex Ovechkin, the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer, will return for a 22nd season with the Washington Capitals, the club announced on Thursday.
The Capitals said in a statement that the Russian great has signed a one-year contract with an average annual value of $4.25 million.
"I'm back!" Ovechkin said in comments posted on the Caps website. "Thank you to everyone for giving me and my family the time to make this decision. I'm healthy. I love playing hockey and competing to win. I'm excited to come back and join my teammates so we can fight for a playoff spot and have a chance to win. See you in September, DC!"
Ovechkin, who turns 41 in September, was the first overall draft pick by the Capitals in 2004, arriving in the NHL in 2005 after launching his pro career with Dynamo Moscow at the age of 16.
He led the Capitals to the Stanley Cup in 2018, but last season Washington fell short of a playoff berth.

For the second time in little more than a year, a blast tore through the Moscow suburb of Balashikha, Russia, and left a Russian military figure dead.
On June 9, explosives planted under a BMW detonated as the driver began leaving a parking lot, according to independent Russian outlet The Insider. The outlet identified the man killed as Lt. Gen. Damir Davydov, a Russian Defense Ministry official responsible for supplying missiles and artillery ammunition to Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.
The location was striking. The explosion occurred roughly 1,150 feet from the site where Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy chief of the Main Operations Directorate of Russia's General Staff, was killed in a car bombing in April 2025, according to the French newspaper Le Monde.
'Pure ******* ' In Moscow As Ukrainian Drones Strike Major Refinery Supplying Capital's Fuel Market
Months before Moskalik's death, another senior Russian officer was ******* assinated in Moscow.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces struck Russia's major Ufa oil refinery for the second time in a week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday.
Almost daily long-range attacks on Russian oil facilities have created a fuel crisis and heaped political pressure on the Kremlin as its all-out invasion of Ukraine stretches into its fifth year.
The Ufa refinery is one of Russia's largest producers of lubricants and is located more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from Ukraine, Zelenskyy said on social media.
Ukraine also struck a plant producing missile components in Russia's Penza region southeast of Moscow, some 500 kilometers (300 miles) from Ukraine, Zelenskyy said.
Russian officials did not confirm the strikes, which could not be independently verified. The Russian Defense Ministry reported intercepting 179 Ukrainian drones over 16 Russian regions, the annexed Crimea and waters of the Azov and the Black Sea.

The lines are growing at Russian gas stations -- and so is the frustration and uncertainty as several months of Ukrainian attacks have set oil refineries ablaze and choked supplies for motorists across the vast country.
Fuel rationing has been introduced in many regions, with hourslong queues of cars snaking beside roads. Social media videos show drivers aghast at the lines or swearing at empty gas pumps and rising prices. The mayor of the Siberian city of Irkutsk even ordered portable toilets brought in to accommodate those in line.
The fuel crisis — unprecedented for a nation that is one of the world's biggest energy producers — has brought Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine home to ordinary Russians like few other events in the war, now in its fifth year.
It drew a rare admission from President Vladimir Putin, who acknowledged that "problems persist for both motorists and businesses," and "there are still queues at petrol stations, and finding the right grade of petrol isn't always easy."
Putin insisted the shortages are "not critical" and "temporary."

As the brutal war between the two nations continues to rage, Ukraine conducted a significant nighttime ******* ault against a dozen Russian regions, Russian-held Crimea as well as the surrounding seas, Russia's Ministry of Defense indicated on Friday, according to The ******* ociated Press, which reported that the effort appeared to be one Ukraine's largest drone attacks since Russia's full-scale invasion several years ago.
The ministry reported that the country's air defenses intercepted a whopping 660 Ukrainian drones, according to the outlet, which noted that the prior largest Ukrainian ******* ault during the past year included 556 drones last month on May 17.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin indicated that 47 Ukrainian drones were taken out as they headed for the capital city, according to the report.
'Pure ******* ' In Moscow As Ukrainian Drones Strike Major Refinery Supplying Capital's Fuel Market
The AP reported that Ukraine's air force indicated that the nation's defenses stopped 174 of 189 Russian drones overnight, though four out of seven Iskander-M ballistic missiles breached air defenses and hit various places.

MOSCOW (AP) — Sergei Ivanov, a former Russian defense minister once seen as a possible successor to President Vladimir Putin, has died. He was 73.
The Kremlin said Ivanov died on Friday without providing the cause of death or giving other details. Putin sent his condolences to Ivanov's family.
Putin and Ivanov knew each other since the 1970s when they both worked as young KGB officers in their hometown of Leningrad, as St. Petersburg was called during the Soviet times.
When Putin was first elected in 2000, Ivanov served as secretary of Russia's Security Council. In 2001, Putin made Ivanov his defense minister, the job he held until 2007, overseeing the second war in Chechnya that crushed the region's separatist bid.
When Putin decided to step down due to term limits and shift into the prime minister's seat in 2008, Ivanov was widely viewed as his most likely successor. However, Putin picked another longtime **** ociate, Dmitry Medvedev, to serve as his placeholder until reclaiming the presidency in 2012. Some observers argued that Putin ditched Ivanov's candidacy because he saw Ivanov as overly ambitious and feared that he could try to hold onto the presidential seat.

Latvian intelligence is warning that Russia is preparing possible provocations against the Baltic states or Poland, including drones or any other hybrid attacks, in an effort to pressure NATO countries to stop supporting Ukraine.
"We see indications that Russia is preparing military provocations against the Baltic countries or Poland — not a conventional war, because Russia is not capable of that right now, but hybrid attacks, such as missiles, drones or other actions designed to send a signal: stop supporting Ukraine, or you will have your own problems," Latvian intelligence told Fox News Digital.
The most immediate concern, according to Latvian intelligence, is not that Moscow is ready for a full-scale war with NATO, but that Russian President Vladimir Putin could miscalculate because the surrounding institutions are feeding him the version of reality he wants to hear.
The Baltic states and Poland are NATO allies, meaning a Russian provocation there could quickly test America's treaty commitments and risk a broader confrontation. It also comes as Washington and its allies weigh how far to go in supporting Ukraine and tightening sanctions on Moscow.
Russian Drones Test Nato's Article 5 Defense Guarantee Ahead Of Friday Sanctions Deadline