Russia News in English - Expat Guide to Russia

February 22, 2019

In tiny Moldova, voters choose between Russia and Europe

Voters in Moldova head to the polls on Sunday for a parliamentary election reflecting the tiny ex-Soviet republic’s long-standing division between pro-Russians and pro-Europeans. Wedged between Ukraine and Romania, Moldova has struggled to find its place since gaining independence with…

February 22, 2019

Maduro shuts border with Brazil as Guaido goes in search of aid

President Nicolas Maduro ordered the closure of Venezuela’s border with Brazil on Thursday in an increasingly fraught power struggle with Juan Guaido, the opposition leader spearheading efforts to bring humanitarian aid into the country despite a military blockade. Guaido set…

February 21, 2019

Russian rocket launches Egyptian telecom satellite

Russia successfully launched an Egyptian telecommunications satellite on Thursday, the Russian space agency Roskosmos announced. A Soyuz rocket took off with the Egyptsat-A satellite at 1647 GMT from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, The satellite will take high-definition images of…

February 21, 2019

US military conducts observation flight over Russia

The US military is conducting a surveillance flight over Russia as part of an international agreement, the Pentagon said Thursday. The flight falls under the Open Skies Treaty, an international accord aimed at promoting military transparency through reciprocal, unarmed observation…

February 21, 2019

Astronauts optimistic for ISS launch after botched flight

Russian cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin and US astronaut Nick Hague said Thursday they were ready to head into space again next month after their last launch ended in failure. The two men previously took off in a Soyuz rocket for the…

February 21, 2019

Russia indicts US investor for fraud: lawyer

Russian investigators formally charged US investor Michael Calvey with fraud on Thursday following his controversial arrest, his lawyer said. Investigators presented him with the indictment on the charge of large-scale fraud as part of an organised group, which can be…

February 20, 2019

Trump: Release of Russia probe report up to attorney general

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the newly confirmed US attorney general should be the person who decides whether to publicly release the much-anticipated Russia report, which could be completed as early as next week. The remarks came as CNN…

February 20, 2019

Ukraine asks UN to move ahead with peacekeeping mission

Ukraine urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday to draw up options for a peacekeeping mission to the war-torn Donbass region, despite opposition from Russia. President Petro Poroshenko told the General Assembly that deploying a UN-mandated peace force could be…

February 20, 2019

Putin threatens to target West with new missiles

Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to deploy new missiles against Western capitals as he delivered a state of the nation address Wednesday aimed at boosting falling approval ratings. But while he took a combative tone with the West, he reached…