The Insider

Bribes don’t wash away: Inside Zelensky’s squabble with Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdogs On July 22, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada passed a law stripping Ukraine's main anti-corruption agencies of their independence, and President Volodymyr Zelensky signed it. Civil society responded immediate...

Bribes don’t wash away: Inside Zelensky’s squabble with Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdogs

President Zelensky's law stripping Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies of independence sparked the largest protests since Russia's invasion.

German investigators raid machine tool manufacturer Spinner over suspicions of equipment supplies to Russia German prosecutors and customs investigators have raided the premises of a machine tool manufacturer near Munich. The company is suspected of supplying more than 20 high-precision machines worth appro...

German investigators raid machine tool manufacturer Spinner over suspicions of equipment supplies to Russia

The company is suspected of supplying more than 20 high-precision machines worth approximately €5.5M to Russia in violation of EU sanctions.

Son of Russian Federation Council chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko lives in Italian villa and holds assets in San Marino Sergei Matviyenko, the son of Russian Federation Council Chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko, resides in a villa in the Italian seaside town of Pesaro on the Adriatic coast, an investigation by the Italia...

Son of Russian Federation Council chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko lives in Italian villa and holds assets in San Marino

Matviyenko's mother is under EU, UK, U.S., Swiss, and Ukrainian sanctions, among others. The family's Adriatic villa costs €10M.

Death toll in Kyiv rises to 31 as rescue operations continue following Russian missile strike The number of people killed in the Russian missile strike on Kyiv in the early hours of July 31 has risen to 31, according to the most recent update shared on Telegram by Tymur Tkachenko, head of the ...

Death toll in Kyiv rises to 31 as rescue operations continue following Russian missile strike

Among the dead are three children — aged 2, 6, and 17.

Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov and his associates acquire “ultraluxe” Dubai villas featuring $1M crystal bathtubs Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov and his close associates have purchased several extravagant villas in one of Dubai’s most exclusive developments, according to a new investigation by RFE/RL’s investigative ...

Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov and his associates acquire “ultraluxe” Dubai villas featuring $1M crystal bathtubs

Chemezov's $30M property is located next to the villas of Rosoboronexport CEO Aleksandr Mikheyev and Russian Helicopters CEO Nikolai Kolesov.

Russian political prisoner Alexei Gorinov still being held in solitary confinement, denied medication despite serious illness Supporters of Russian political prisoner Alexei Gorinov report that prison officials have confiscated his medications and extended his time in solitary confinement. Gorinov, who previously underwent s...

Russian political prisoner Alexei Gorinov still being held in solitary confinement, denied medication despite serious illness

In May, Gorinov’s lawyer said he showed signs of TB during his transfer — a serious risk as part of his lung had been removed.

15 killed, record number of children injured in massive Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv’s residential areas The latest reports from Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (DSNS) indicate that at least 15 people were killed and over 140 injured after a combined Russian drone and missile strike hit Kyiv on the nig...

15 killed, record number of children injured in massive Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv's residential areas

The strikes caused part of a residential building to collapse. The victims include a six-year-old child. Rescue operations are ongoing.

Three tankers carrying fuel for India’s Nayara Energy blocked from unloading due to EU sanctions tied to Russia’s Rosneft Three tankers transporting petroleum products for the Indian company Nayara Energy have been unable to unload their cargo due to the European Union’s 18th package of sanctions against Russia, Reuters ...

Three tankers carrying fuel for India’s Nayara Energy blocked from unloading due to EU sanctions tied to Russia’s Rosneft

The company was sanctioned in the EU’s latest package due to the Russian state-owned oil major's 49% ownership stake.

Russia lists Alexei Navalny’s Patriot as “extremist material”

According to the ministry’s website, the book was banned in June 2025 by a ruling of the Leningrad Regional Court.

Alexei Navalny’s posthumous autobiography was named Book of the Year at the 35th British Book Awards in May 2025.

Dying embers: Russia’s coal crisis triggers bankruptcies and mass layoffs Russia’s coal industry is in deep trouble. Weak demand, even from major buyers like China, has led to a glut at export ports, driving down prices even further. Major producers are being forced to cut ...

Dying embers: Russia’s coal crisis triggers bankruptcies and mass layoffs

More than half of Russia’s coal companies are now operating at a loss. In Kuzbass, miners have gone without pay for months and are staging hunger strikes.

Ukraine to probe suspected infiltration of its military by Latin American cartel members seeking drone training, Intelligence Online reports The SBU, Ukraine’s domestic intelligence service, is investigating whether Spanish-speaking volunteers linked to Latin American drug cartels have infiltrated the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the h...

Ukraine to probe suspected infiltration of its military by Latin American cartel members seeking drone training, Intelligence Online reports

Some Spanish-speaking volunteers may have joined Ukraine’s drone units to gain training for foreign criminal networks.

Russian journalist and activist Olga Komleva sentenced to 12 years over ties to Navalny A court in the Russian city of Ufa has sentenced local journalist Olga Komleva to 12 years in prison for spreading “false information” about the Russian military and participating in an “extremist org...

Russian journalist and activist Olga Komleva sentenced to 12 years over ties to Navalny

Komleva is the latest member of the media to be handed a lengthy prison sentence for involvement with Navalny's “extremist” Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF).

Oil tycoons, bankers, and a state propagandist from Cyprus: what happened to the Kremlin’s deep-cover spies caught in the U.S. In the summer of 2010, ten “illegal” Kremlin spies were arrested in the U.S. The biggest intelligence failure in recent Russian history led to an exchange that saw four Russian nationals who had carri...

Oil tycoons, bankers, and a state propagandist from Cyprus: what happened to the Kremlin’s deep-cover spies caught in the U.S.

Lucrative posts at state corporations, apartments in the center of Moscow, literary endeavors — and a joint dacha cooperative.

Poland detains 32 people suspected of working with Russian intelligence to commit arson and sabotage acts, PM Donald Tusk confirms Over the past several months, Polish security forces have arrested 32 individuals suspected of working with the Russian intelligence services and committing acts of sabotage, assault, and arson, Prime...

Poland detains 32 people suspected of working with Russian intelligence to commit arson and sabotage acts, PM Donald Tusk confirms

The suspects include citizens of Poland, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and a Colombian linked to two arson attacks in 2024.

The Kremlin’s laundromat: Billionaire Moldovan fraudster Vladimir Plahotniuc repeatedly flew to Moscow for secret high-level talks Billionaire Vladimir Plahotniuc, who was recently arrested in Greece in connection with the “Moldovan laundromat” case, regularly visited Moscow using a passport that bears a false name, flight record...

❗️ The Kremlin’s laundromat: Billionaire Moldovan fraudster Vladimir Plahotniuc repeatedly flew to Moscow for secret high-level talks

The oligarch, recently arrested in Greece, used a fake passport to visit Russia and meet Kremlin official Dmitry Kozak.

“More and more people don’t want to speak Russian”: How Ukrainians’ attitudes toward the Russian language changed during the war Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has led — predictably — to a resurgence in enthusiasm for Ukrainian culture and a widespread rejection of all things Russian. In September 2021, around 450,000 ...

“More and more people don’t want to speak Russian”: How Ukrainians’ attitudes toward the Russian language changed during the war

While not everyone in Ukraine has made the switch, the trend is clearly against the "language of the aggressor state."

Switzerland hosts sanctioned pro-war Russian politicians at global parliamentary speakers’ conference in Geneva A Russian delegation has arrived in Geneva for the Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament. The group includes Federation Council Chair Valentina Matviyenko, Deputy Speaker of the State Duma ...

Switzerland hosts sanctioned pro-war Russian politicians at global parliamentary speakers’ conference in Geneva

High-ranking state officials Valentina Matviyenko, Pyotr Tolstoy, and Leonid Slutsky were allowed to fly through Italian airspace to attend.

Pro-Ukraine hackers hit Aeroflot’s IT systems, forcing over 100 flight cancellations and chaos at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport Russia’s state-owned flag carrier Aeroflot reported a major failure to its information systems early on Monday morning, warning of potential disruptions to its services. Shortly after the announcement...

Pro-Ukraine hackers hit Aeroflot’s IT systems, forcing over 100 flight cancellations and chaos at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport

The groups said the attack was aided by weak security, as Aeroflot's CEO Sergei Alexandrovsky hadn’t changed his password since 2022.

Matryoshka bot network poses as The Insider’s Christo Grozev to accuse Germany of planning to start a “revanchist” war The Kremlin's Matryoshka disinformation network has launched a new campaign. Using short videos disguised as content from well-known media outlets, bots are trying to convince X and Bluesky users that...

Matryoshka bot network poses as The Insider’s Christo Grozev @christogrozev.bsky.social to accuse Germany of planning to start a “revanchist” war

All the videos are voiced in English and contain blatant factual errors, Bot Blocker @antibot4navalny.bsky.social points out.

“This is the new October 7”: How Israel’s Druze came to the aid of their brethren in Syria In mid-July, large-scale clashes erupted in southern Syria between Druze and Bedouin tribes. Units of the new Syrian army, arriving under the pretext of restoring order, reportedly carried out mass ki...

“This is the new October 7”: How Israel’s Druze came to the aid of their brethren in Syria

The Druze communities in Israeli-controlled Majdal Shams and Isfiya believe the Jewish state could have done more to protect the Druze in Syria’s As-Suwayda.

Potemkin patriots: Why pro-war art projects keep flopping inside Russia All across Russia, administrative buildings and roadside billboards are decorated with the Latin alphabet’s letter “Z” — a symbol of support for the Kremlin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine — and the cou...

Potemkin patriots: Why pro-war art projects keep flopping inside Russia

The two factors uniting all of these projects are Kremlin money and commercial failure, argues film critic and columnist Ekaterina Barabash.

“The president lives in his own reality”: Confessions of police officers and government officials in Russia’s borderlands Life in Russia’s frontline regions looks very different from day-to-day existence in the rest of the country. For those in the area of Belgorod, Kursk, and Voronezh, drone and missile strikes have bec...

“The president lives in his own reality”: Confessions of police officers and government officials in Russia’s borderlands

State employees don’t share the enthusiasm prevalent in government propaganda. Silence, it turns out, does not always mean consent.

“Everyone wants me to pick a fight with my cousin”: Nate Vance on war, family politics, and the fight for Ukraine A few thousand foreign military volunteers are still on the ground in Ukraine, fighting to defend the democratic state against Russian aggression. Before his cousin was sworn in as Vice President of t...

“Everyone wants me to pick a fight with my cousin”: Nate Vance on war, family politics, and the fight for Ukraine

The Insider sat down with Nate Vance, the cousin of the U.S. Vice President and a former Marine who spent nearly three years in Ukraine.

Over 1,000 Ukrainians added to Russia’s “list of terrorists and extremists” since 2022 As of July 10, 2025, a total of 1,143 Ukrainian citizens had been added to Russia’s “List of Terrorists and Extremists,” which is maintained by the country’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosf...

Over 1,000 Ukrainians added to Russia’s “list of terrorists and extremists” since 2022

Ukrainians now make up approximately 6.5% of all individuals on the list. 391 Ukrainians were added in the first six months of 2025 alone.

Russian bots pose as The Insider to spread disinfo about Moldova’s President Maia Sandu, alleging she uses orphans to win votes The Kremlin-linked Matryoshka bot network, named after the famous Russian nesting doll, is spreading disinformation on Twitter and Bluesky while posing as The Insider. The false narratives in the netw...

Russian bots pose as The Insider to spread disinfo about Moldova's President Maia Sandu, alleging she uses orphans to win votes

The campaign, exposed by @antibot4navalny.bsky.social, targets Sandu and her party ahead of Moldova’s Sept. 28 parliamentary elections.

The rainbow revolution: How Viktor Orbán’s fight against LGBT rights backfired — and what it could mean for his hold on power At the end of June, Budapest hosted its 30th Pride march — the oldest in the former Eastern Bloc. The march was not supposed to happen: just months earlier, Viktor Orbán’s government had passed amendm...

The rainbow revolution: How Viktor Orbán’s fight against LGBT rights backfired — and what it could mean for his hold on power

Orbán, long seen as a political mainstay, now faces a serious challenger in Péter Magyar.

China ships drone engines to Russia disguised as “industrial refrigeration units” The Russian manufacturer of Garpiya-A1 drones continues to receive Chinese-made engines, according to a Reuters report citing customs records and three European officials. The engines are reportedly s...

China ships drone engines to Russia disguised as “industrial refrigeration units”

Izhevsk-based IEMZ Kupol, which produces the Russian Garpiya series drone, is on the receiving end of these shipments. Kupol was sanctioned by the U.S. last October.

Not quite clean: Why Germany and Japan failed to fully purge their elites after World War II The special tribunal on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, currently being planned by the Council of Europe, will ultimately be judged against the standard set by Germany and Japan following WWII. H...

Not quite clean: Why Germany and Japan failed to fully purge their elites after World War II

Placing political checks on security agencies — rather than implementing a blanket purge — proved far more effective for building democratic institutions.

Russian MP from ruling party dies during workday after “voting” for 11 bills The late Russian State Duma lawmaker Mikhail Tarasenko, who passed away yesterday at the age of 77, was registered as having voted on 11 pieces of legislation during a July 22 parliamentary session. D...

Russian MP from ruling party dies during workday after “voting” for 11 bills

It is likely the late Mikhail Tarasenko of United Russia didn’t vote in person, having passed his voting card to another MP. His death was announced in the Duma yesterday.

In Satan we trust: A closer look at Russia’s modern-day Satanists Shortly before launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin claimed that “the hegemony of the West is aimed at a complete denial of faith, acquiring features of Satanism.” Krem...

Russia's Supreme Court designated the non-existent "international Satanism movement" as "extremist" earlier today.

Last year, The Insider took a closer look at how the flock of Lucifer is faring in Russia, interviewing several modern-day Satanists.