Russian Digest
Top weekly stories I'm keeping an eye on
Russia's attack on Dnipro kills 4, injures 24
A Russian drone attack on March 28 killed four people and injured at least 24 in the city of Dnipro, sparking a large fire at a hotel and restaurant complex as well as 11 private residences.
Regional Governor Serhii Lysak said three of the wounded are in critical condition.
Over 20 drones targeted the city, though most were shot down. Several high-rises were damaged in the strike, according to local authorities. Over 150 emergency workers and 40 units were dispatched to the site of the attack.
Read More at Kyiv Independent
Deadly Russian attacks leave Ukrainians questioning point of ceasefire
“This is the result of peace negotiations with Putin,” said one Ukrainian, after a Russian attack in Dnipro killed four people and injured more than 20 on Saturday.
oon after Russia launched a massive, deadly drone attack on his city Friday night, killing four people and injuring more than 20 others, Hennady Lytvynov, 60, stood outside watching his street burn — and wondering how this war could ever end.
“This is the result of peace negotiations with Putin,” he said, gesturing to what was left of his neighbor’s house, struck by one of the drones. “He’s not going to do anything. He’s going to continue killing civilians.”
“Trump promised the war would end in one day, and everyone was waiting for it. He believed that Putin is a friend of his, but he’s an enemy,” he added. “He’s an enemy of America, of Europe and definitely of Ukraine.”
Read More at The Washington Post
New U.S. mineral deal imposes onerous conditions, Ukrainian officials say
Ukraine says the minerals deal presented by the United States differs substantially from an earlier framework that had been agreed upon.
A new U.S. proposal for a minerals deal with Ukraine dramatically changes the last terms Kyiv proposed to Washington and does not provide security guarantees, according to Ukrainian officials and a draft of the document, setting the stage for potential further tension between the countries as the White House pushes for access to Ukraine’s natural resources.
President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters that his office had received a new proposal from Washington on Friday. That proposal followed an earlier document Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko had received from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Zelensky said. Svyrydenko told him it was “entirely different” from an earlier framework agreement and “includes things that were not previously discussed and contains elements that had already been rejected by both sides,” he said.
Read More at The Washington Post
Russian negotiator suggests ceasefire may not be reached in 2025
Russian negotiator Grigory Karasin cast doubt on the Trump administration's efforts to broker a quick ceasefire in Ukraine, saying on March 28 that the talks with the U.S. may not yield decisive results this year.
Karasin led the Russian delegation that held the 12-hour-long technical consultations with the U.S. in Riyadh on March 24. These talks led to an agreement on a partial ceasefire covering strikes against energy infrastructure and Black Sea operations.
The Russian official described the meeting with the U.S. delegation as "constructive" but acknowledged limited results, suggesting that the consultations will continue. When asked about the timeline for clear results in the negotiations, he said they might not come "this year or at the end of this year."
Read More at Kyiv Independent
Putin Calls for Zelensky’s Removal, ‘Finish Off’ Ukrainian Troops
Russian President Vladimir Putin called Friday for a "transitional administration" to be installed in Ukraine, vowing that his army would "finish off" Ukrainian troops, in hardline remarks as US President Donald Trump pushes for a ceasefire.
A rapprochement between Washington and Moscow since Trump's return to office and the U.S. leader's threats to stop supporting Kyiv have bolstered Putin's confidence more than three years into the war.
The renewed call to essentially topple Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky was the latest demonstration of the Kremlin leader's long-standing desire to install a more Moscow-friendly regime in Kyiv.
Zelensky dismissed Putin's call for a UN-run administration as the Russian leader's latest ploy to delay a peace deal.
Read More at Moscow Times
U.S. Agrees to Help Russia Boost Exports in Ukraine Talks
The U.S. said it would help Russia boost agricultural exports and restore its access to payments systems, after the Kremlin demanded the easing of Western sanctions in return for a cease-fire in the Black Sea.
The announcement, which followed two days of talks involving the U.S., Russia and Ukraine, sets up a potential standoff between America and its allies in Europe, who imposed some of the sanctions at issue.
Russia said it would only comply with a Black Sea truce upon the lifting of some banking sanctions, which European nations have vowed to keep in place. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was opposed to weakening sanctions on Russia as a part of a deal.
Moscow said major Russian banks involved in the food and fertilizer trade would need to be reconnected to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, payment network, singling out Rosselkhozbank, a state-owned bank that deals with Russian agribusiness, but suggesting that other banks should also have their access restored.
Read More at The Wall Street Journal
European leaders say now not the time to lift sanctions on Russia in clear message to Trump
Ukraine’s European allies say now is not the time for lifting sanctions on Russia, in a clear message to the Trump administration as Moscow pushes Washington for concessions ahead of signing a US brokered deal on ending the fighting in the Black Sea.
The leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Germany all affirmed at a summit on Thursday that Europe will not lift sanctions on Russia – a strong and seemingly coordinated nod to the Trump administration, which has said it is still evaluating the Kremlin’s demands.
They spoke after a meeting of the so-called “coalition of the willing” in Paris which discussed how to bolster support for Kyiv and what role they might play if a peace deal is struck with Russia.
Read More at CNN
Canada’s ex-spy chief says White House response to Signal leak threatens ‘Five Eyes’ security
Canada’s former spy chief has said the Trump administration’s attempts to downplay the leak of top-secret attack plans is a “very worrying” development, with implications for broader intelligence sharing among US allies.
On Wednesday, the Atlantic magazine published new and detailed messages from a group chat, including plans for US bombings, drone launches and targeting information of the assault, including descriptions of weather conditions. Among the recipients of the messages was a prominent journalist, who was inadvertently added to the group.
“This is very worrying. Canada needs to think about what this means in practical terms: is the United States prepared to protect our secrets, as we are bound to protect theirs?” said Richard Fadden, the former head of Canada’s intelligence agency. “Every country has experienced leaks, of varying severity. The problem with this one is that it’s being generated at the highest levels of the US government – and they haven’t admitted that it’s a problem.”
Read More at The Guardian
Russia-aligned threat groups dupe Ukrainian targets via Signal
Google researchers say multiple Russian state threat groups have conducted remote phishing operations to target and compromise Signal accounts.
Russian state threat groups have compromised Signal accounts used by Ukrainian military and government personnel to eavesdrop on real-time communications, Google Threat Intelligence Group said in a report released Wednesday.
“This is a persistent, ongoing campaign being carried out by multiple different Russia-aligned threat actors,” Dan Black, principal analyst at Google Threat Intelligence Group, said in an email to CyberScoop.
Researchers observed three threat groups escalating efforts to compromise Signal accounts, likely to gain access to sensitive information of interest to Russia’s intelligence services, including intelligence on the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Some of the ongoing efforts date back to 2023.
Read More at CyberScoop
Germany warns Russia may be preparing attack on NATO
German security officials believe the Kremlin is laying the groundwork for a potential large-scale conventional war with NATO by the end of the decade, according to multiple reports cited by European Pravda and Bild.
The warning comes from an assessment jointly produced by Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and the Bundeswehr. According to the documents, Russia increasingly views the West as a “systemic enemy” and is rebuilding its military capacity with long-term confrontation in mind.
Although three-quarters of Russian land forces based near the Baltic have been committed to Ukraine, German officials say the Russian navy and air force remain at high readiness. The BND warns that once the war in Ukraine concludes, those units could be quickly redeployed to threaten NATO’s eastern flank.
Read More at UK Defence Journal
EU urges citizens to stockpile 72 hours’ worth of supplies amid war risk
European Union citizens should stockpile enough food and other essential supplies to sustain them for at least 72 hours in the event of a crisis, the EU Commission has said.
In new guidance released Wednesday, the commission stressed the need for Europe to shift its mindset, to foster a culture of “preparedness” and “resilience.”
The 18-page document warns that Europe is facing a new reality marred with risk and uncertainty, citing Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, rising geopolitical tensions, sabotage of critical infrastructure, and electronic warfare as prominent factors.
Read More at CNN
Poland gears up for war
Warsaw is already spending big on defense. Now it needs the manpower.
Since Poland unveiled its goal to train every adult male for war, being a Polish passport-holder has taken on a different character.
“There’s really nothing to be afraid of!” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk teased U.S. actor Jesse Eisenberg in a social media video. The 41-year-old Eisenberg was awarded Polish citizenship earlier this month for his role in a "A Real Pain," an Oscar-nominated drama about estranged Jewish cousins reuniting for a Holocaust tour through the country.
Read More at Politico
Trump Russia Envoy Echoes Kremlin’s Views on Ukraine Ahead of Peace Talks
On the eve of talks in Saudi Arabia, President Trump’s chief negotiator, Steve Witkoff, echoed some of the Kremlin’s main talking points on the Ukraine war, while advocating for future U.S.-Russian relations based on shared business interests.
In a lengthy interview with Tucker Carlson, Witkoff articulated a vision for the biggest reset in Washington-Moscow relations since the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He also recounted his meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, saying the Russian president had a portrait commissioned of Trump.
“The question is will they be, will the world acknowledge that those are Russian territories?” Witkoff said. “Will Zelensky survive politically if he acknowledges this? This is the central issue in the conflict. Absolutely.”
Read More at The Wall Street Journal
“Why would they want to absorb Ukraine?”: Five examples of Kremlin disinformation spread by Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff
The Insider previously reported on Elon Musk amplifying Russian disinformation. Now, a new member of Donald Trump’s team is conspicuously echoing Kremlin talking points: U.S. presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff. In an interview with former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, Witkoff made multiple statements that closely mirror Kremlin propaganda narratives. Some of his comments indicate that his understanding of eastern Ukraine appears to be based largely — if not entirely — on Russian sources.
Read More at The Insider
As Russia taunts U.K. over Heathrow fire, Kremlin-backed sabotage attacks are in the spotlight
It was a spectacular thing to wake up to: Heathrow, one of the world’s busiest airports, shut down and plunged into darkness. More than a thousand flights grounded, another hundred already in the air diverted to other cities or turned back to where they came from, in a crisis that snarled travel around the world.
The shutdown was caused by a fire at an electrical substation 3 miles away that supplied much of the airport’s critical services. British police have said there was no initial indication of foul play, and the London Fire Brigade has taken over the investigation from counterintelligence officers, “as the fire is now being treated as non-suspicious.”
But in the absence of information immediately after the fire, Britain’s raucous tabloids were ablaze with speculation about Russian sabotage: “If Russia was behind Heathrow fire, is that an act of war?” The Telegraph wondered in an op-ed headline. British radio presenter Nick Ferrari asked listeners jokingly whether anyone had seen Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Read More at NBC
Putin’s endorsement of Trump’s Greenland takeover reflects their vision of a new world order
As US pivots toward territorial ambitions in the west, the Kremlin’s support signals a deeper alignment in their challenge to global norms
As JD Vance touched down in Greenland, the Trump administration received an unlikely endorsement for the US’s first potential territorial expansion since 1947: Vladimir Putin.
Speaking at an Arctic policy forum in the northern Russian city of Murmansk on Thursday, Putin presented a more comprehensive case than any US official yet for Donald Trump’s plan to annex Greenland, crafting a historical argument that sounded suspiciously convenient in terms of Russia’s own territorial designs on Ukraine.
The US’s plans to take control of Greenland “may surprise someone only at first glance, and it is a deep mistake to believe that this is some kind of extravagant talk by the new American administration,” Putin began. “Nothing of the sort.”
Read More at The Guardian
Panama to deregister 128 vessels linked to Russia and Iran’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers
Panama will revoke the registration of 128 vessels that sail under its flag after they were targeted by sanctions from the United States, its allies, or the United Nations. The ships in question are suspected of taking part in the “shadow fleet,” which transports Russian and Iranian oil in an effort to evade international sanctions. Panama’s decision was confirmed by Ramón Franco, Director General of the Merchant Marine at Panama’s Maritime Authority, in a statement to Bloomberg.
According to Franco, at least 70 tankers have already been removed from the registry. He acknowledged that the decision will cost Panama up to $2 million in lost revenue.
“We are 100 years old and counting. We definitely are not going to be left behind in the face of current challenges of the industry and, of course, sanctions are one of them,” Franco said.
Merchant ships frequently operate under the flags of countries not directly tied to the ship’s owners. These so-called “flag states” play a critical role in maintaining industry safety standards, inspecting and certifying vessels and their crews. Panama is one of the largest flag registries in the world, with more than 8,000 ships flying under its authority.
Read More at The Insider
Trump admin temporarily restores funding to initiative tracking Russian war crimes
The Trump administration has temporarily restored funding to an initiative that tracks alleged Russian war crimes after cutting its assistance, according to a congressional source familiar with the matter.
Funding for the Ukraine Conflict Observatory has been restored for six weeks, the source told CNN. This will allow the repository of evidence on the alleged Russian war crimes, including the locations of more than 30,000 abducted Ukrainian children, to be sent to the European Union’s law enforcement agency, Europol.
CNN reported last week the funding had been terminated and that researchers had lost access to the major database of evidence. The State Department said last week it had cut funding to the program “based on the assessments that we’ve been making …what was in America’s interests.”
Read More at CNN
256 Cyber Assault Division and InformNapalm blocked a scheme for supplying sanctioned military equipment to Russia via India
This investigation was performed byInformNapalm volunteer intelligence community on the CYBINT data received from the Ukrainian hacktivist group 256 Cyber Assault Division. In this feature, we will expose the supply scheme for sanctioned critical equipment to the Russian military-industrial complex and describe how it was disrupted.
The information intercepted from Russians revealed a sanctions-dodging scheme organized by the Russian company EMT. It ordered restricted European equipment through the Indian company Park Controls & Communications (PCC) and paid for the orders in rupees through Sberbank India.
The Indian side criminally conspired with the Russians and tried to deceive the European manufacturer, assuring them that India was the end destination and that the goods were not transferred to Russia. At the same time, the Indians sent the Russians not only the sanctioned equipment and its software keys but also forwarded all the correspondence with their European manufacturers.
However, the documents obtained by the 256 Cyber Assault Division and the investigation conducted by InformNapalm resulted in a special operation to inform European manufacturers about the dishonest practices of the Indian company. Thus, we could disrupt any further use of the European equipment in question by the Russians, as well as block further deliveries worth millions of euros through a channel that was deemed “priority, convenient, and reliable.” Find more details and evidence below.
Read More at InformNapalm
Ukraine has capacity to produce 5 million FPV drones per year, advisor says
Ukrainian manufacturers have the capacity to produce over 5 million first-person-view (FPV) drones per year, presidential advisor Alexander Kamyshin said in an interview with Radio Khartia published on March 28.
Both Ukraine and Russia have increasingly relied on drone warfare, using aerial, naval, and ground-based drones for reconnaissance and combat missions.
"Now, one manufacturer can produce 4,000 such FPV drones per day," said Kamyshin, who previously served as the strategic industries minister.
"And that is just one manufacturer. There are more than 150 manufacturers in our country. Our capacity is to produce over 5 million FPV units per year."
Read More at Kyiv Independent
The Romanian mathematician trying to stop Putin and Trump from wrecking the West
Nicușor Dan takes his time when he speaks, weighing every word as if the future of civilization might depend on it. But then he may just be the West’s best hope of holding onto Romania.
The 55-year-old corruption-fighting mayor of Bucharest is standing to be president of the European Union’s sixth most populous country, a contest that has already triggered a constitutional crisis — and howls of outrage from leading figures in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Last December’s presidential election in Romania was canceled amid claims that Russian interference, dubious financing and a highly suspect TikTok campaign had unfairly catapulted a little-known, Moscow-sympathizing, far-right outsider — Călin Georgescu — into first place.
Read More at Politico
Russian hacker group targeted UN agency
Cyberattacks are a common means for Russia to obtain information. US Democrats and the Bundestag have already been targeted. According to research by CORRECTIV, a Russian hacker group may have attempted to penetrate the network of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) was apparently targeted by Russian hackers last fall. According to a security expert, a targeted phishing attempt was most likely carried out by the RomCom group, which is said to have recently spied on the Ukrainian government, among other things. The UN agency declined to comment on the specific case.
CORRECTIVE learned of the incident because its brand had been misused for the attempted attack. At the end of September last year, a UNHCR employee received a press inquiry on behalf of a CORRECTIV reporter. The inquiry claimed that the editorial team was planning a report on corruption in the Ukrainian military and the embezzlement of supplied weapons. Because the email address was not an official one, the Refugee Commission contacted CORRECTIV to inquire about the background. This enabled the inquiry to be identified as phishing.
CORRECTIV's research has now established a connection between the phishing email and the Russian hacker group RomCom: The recipient of the alleged press inquiry was asked to click on a personalized link to view alleged evidence. This link led to the domain correctiv.news, which, however, is not an official CORRECTIV website address.
According to an analyst at the Slovakian IT security firm ESET, it is actually an address that he attributes to RomCom "with a high degree of certainty" based on technical characteristics. The hacker group is also known as Storm-0978.or UAT-5647known.
Full control over a computer possible
A few weeks later – without knowing about the phishing attempt at the UNHCR – ESET had pointed out on its website that RomCom exploited two security vulnerabilities that have since been fixed. This allowed the group to lure people to certain websites and install malware on their computers.
The report already lists alleged CORRECTIV domains such as correctiv.sbs and redircorrectiv.com. It was even possible to gain full control over a computer. Such security vulnerabilities are of great value to hackers.
When contacted, the ESET analyst stated that it's conceivable that RomCom initially used the rare security vulnerabilities for selected, targeted attacks. After being exposed, the scenario suggests, the attackers attempted to cover their tracks and motives by targeting additional random victims, as well as gaining some financial gain for themselves.
RomCom is known as a criminal hacker group, but it also operates in the interests of the Russian state. Since the link was already offline at the time of research, it was initially unclear whether the malware was actually being installed via the site.
Known modus operandi of Russian hackers
Security authorities and experts have been observing a collaboration between hacktivists, criminal groups, and Russian intelligence services for some time. According to Tagesschau, the Federal Office for the Protection of the ConstitutionDozens of foundations, associations, and organizations have been warned about Russian cyberattacks. The methods used in the attempted attack on the UNHCR are also well known.
In September last year, ZDF and Spiegel reported that Russian state hackers imitated the website of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy to inject dangerous malware into visitors. In the large-scale campaign, which, according to the cited IT report, is attributed to the hacker group APT28, alias "Fancy Bear," the attackers sent emails with links leading to specially created and seemingly legitimate websites. The experts at X-Force warned of further fake addresses bearing the abbreviation of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA).
The attempted attack on the UNHCR thus likely fits into the Russian pattern of operations in terms of timing and methodology. CORRECTIV is not aware of whether there were other potential targets of RomCom in this context.
Via CORRECTIV
Western Banks Sent Billions in Cash to Russia on Eve of Ukraine Invasion, Data Shows
Some shipments of cash arrived on the day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, just weeks before a currency export ban was imposed.
As the Kremlin massed troops on Ukraine’s border in early 2022, and the threat of sanctions grew, wealthy Russians began flying crates of cash home — with help from Raiffeisen Bank International, Brink’s, and Bank of America.
Trade data reviewed by OCCRP and Paper Trail Media shows that the three global institutions moved more than $12 billion worth of foreign currency to Russia just before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Most of the cash was in U.S. dollars, euros, and Swiss francs.
Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) was by far the biggest money mover, sending 189 shipments worth a combined $10 billion.
Read More at OCCRP
Russian medical researcher at Harvard, who protested the Ukraine war, detained by ICE
Kseniia Petrova's attorney said her previous arrest in Russia and social media activity "will almost certainly ensure a nice, hefty jail sentence for her" if she is deported back.
A Russian medical researcher at Harvard University is being detained at a Louisiana immigration facility after her visa was revoked last month over undeclared frog embryo samples found in her luggage, her lawyer told NBC News.
Kseniia Petrova has been in the U.S. on a J-1 scholar visa since May 2023, working at Harvard University. Her lawyer, Gregory Romanovsky, said Petrova is fighting the possible deportation back to Russia for fear of persecution and jail time over her protests decrying the Ukraine war.
On Feb. 16, Petrova returned from France to Boston's Logan Airport from a work trip and passed through immigration without issue. But while awaiting her luggage, two Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers took her into a room to inspect her luggage and searched her phone, her lawyer said.
Read More at NBC
Thank you so much for your watchful eyes. In the battles we have had Ttump fired federal employees, and took them back on paid leave. This is gross negligence, a civil crime against all of us taxpayer. WE lost no EMPLOYEES. We gained angry warfighter soldiers steeped in knowledge of what to do, and who know the local geography and what roads to shut down. These freedom warfighters can now speak and fight openly for our cause. This is a huge and expert Army now. (Pissed bureaucrats know how to keep butter from melting, even in a hot oven.) They will hit the streets Very boldly. TODAY!
And the Administration: Pete Hegseth whisked out of town. JD Vance whisked out of town. Mike Waltz whisked out of town. The 3 top conspirators muffled so as not to leak the truth. Simpletons were left to gaslight and perjure themselves. Anyone that says the national defense information was not classified WHEN DIVULGED has committed perjury. Need I say more. Nice graphic is spinning in my mind with my loud thought. In DC, it sounded like the thunder of a covey of quail getting up and scattering for cover. Why would they want to miss the limelight and all the microphones? Just not like them, is it?
https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/conspiracy-against-us?r=3m1bs
I got to the heading, 'Germany warns Russia may be preparing attack on NATO' and had to close the app.
I need to walk that off. It's too much to take in.