Russia arrests US citizen at Moscow airport over alleged cannabis-laced sweets
A 28-year-old U.S. citizen was detained at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport after Russian authorities allegedly found food items containing cannabis derivatives in his luggage.
Prisoners
Trump praises Putin for US teacher's release, says it could help end Russia-Ukraine war
"There's good will in terms of the war," U.S. President Donald Trump said when asked if Fogel's release could lead to a peace deal.
Russia releases imprisoned American teacher in 'exchange' deal
U.S. history teacher Marc Fogel was released on Feb. 11 in an "exchange," the White House said. The details of the deal with Russia have not been disclosed.
Russia has recruited up to 180,000 convicts for war against Ukraine, Foreign Intelligence Service says
There were about 300,000-350,000 prisoners in Russian colonies and prisons in 2024, which is half as many as in 2014, Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service said.
Ukraine brings back 189 people from Russian captivity in prisoner swap
The Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs) called it one of the largest prisoner exchanges since the start of the full-scale war in 2022.
Russian court sentences US citizen to 15 years for alleged espionage
Eugene Spector, 52, was already serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence for bribery when he was charged with espionage.
5 killed, 7 injured in fire at detention facility housing war deserters in Russia's Sakha Republic
Five people have been killed and a further seven injured in a fire at a detention center in the city of Yakutsk, which houses Russian soldiers who deserted their units during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian officials reported.
301 Ukrainian women held in Russian captivity, rights group reports
As of December 2024, 301 Ukrainian civilian women are in Russian captivity, with 25 detained before Russia's full-scale invasion and 276 taken since, according to Olha Skrypnyk, head of the Crimean Human Rights Group (CHRG), speaking on Dec. 11.
Russia 'prepared to consider' prisoner exchange with US, Russian official says
Russia will "definitely be prepared to consider" a prisoner exchange, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told NBC News, adding that a potential exchange could mark "a healthy step forward, especially at the beginning of the next (U.S.) administration."
Belarus Weekly: Russians tortured Ukrainians in Belarus at start of full-scale invasion, investigation shows
Russian troops operated a torture chamber on Belarusian state-owned property in 2022, journalistic investigation reveals. Over 150 Russian drones flew into Belarusian airspace in November — three times the previous monthly record of incursions. The European Parliament urges stronger sanctions on Belarus, Iran, and North Korea for aiding Russia’s war
Meet the Ukrainian prisoner soldiers entering the fray in the Battle of Donbas
Editor’s note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. DONETSK OBLAST – Sitting around in the long, dry grass outside an abandoned village house, two dozen men in summer military fatigues listen attentively to
Released activist Butkevych says prisoner swap was complete surprise
"Yesterday morning, after the inspection, they told me that I was leaving in half an hour, but they didn't tell me where. ... We found out about the exchange by accident on the way."
Azov soldiers, human rights activist Butkevych among those returned in 190-person prisoner swap
Ukraine and Russia on Oct. 18 conducted their 58th prisoner exchange, involving 190 prisoners of war, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced.
Russia sentences French national to 3 years in prison over alleged foreign agents violation
Russian investigators claimed that beyond the violation of the foreign agents registration, Laurent Vinatier had plead guilty to illegally obtaining information about the military.
Ukrainian prisoners prepare to fight Russians for a chance at freedom
Several months ago, most of these infantrymen were serving their sentences behind bars. Now, they are part of the 1st Separate Assault Battalion, known as "Da Vinci."
Kyiv confirms death of Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna held in Russian captivity
The circumstances of Viktoria Roshchyna's death are still being confirmed, said Petro Yatsenko, a spokesperson of Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
‘A wave of lawlessness’ – returning from war in Ukraine, Russian convicts commit crimes at home
Editor’s note: This story contains graphic descriptions. Several months after Russian Sergei Kozlov, an assault fighter of the infamous Wagner Group, returned home from the war in Ukraine, he violently killed his 18-year-old partner Daria, who was pregnant with his child. She was beaten to death, suffering a traumatic
Russian POWs on their capture in Kursk Oblast: ‘Commanders just disappeared'
Halfway down a narrow corridor painted all in gray, the guard wrestles with a bulky lock to gain entry to the prison cell. Inside are around twenty young men, sitting on a criss-crossing pattern of metal bunk beds. In the corner of the room, plastic cups and books are stacked
Russian authorities launch manhunt after former inmate turned soldier accused of killing 2 women
Artyom Buchin had previously been sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2023 for the rape and murder of a nurse but was reportedly released to fight in Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces storm penal colony in Kursk Oblast where Ukrainian prisoners were held, human rights activists say
The seizure of the penal colony will be an important step in documenting war crimes committed by Russia against prisoners of war, Media Initiative for Human Rights reported on Aug. 23.
Media: Convicts take hostages in Russian prison, kill one
Andrey Bocharov, governor of Volgograd Oblast, said that four employees were hospitalized with injuries.
Russian prosecutors seek up to 24 years in prison for 23 Ukrainians who served in Azov Brigade
The Russian Prosecutor's Office claimed that all the prisoners expressed "negative attitudes toward the Russian-speaking population" and supported "pro-Ukrainian radical views."
Russia sentences US citizen to 12 years imprisonment for donating to Ukraine charity
A Russian court has sentenced dual U.S.-Russian citizen Ksenia Karelina to 12 years in prison for treason, Russian independent media outlet Mediazona reported on Aug. 15.
9 Russian mobilized convicts escape from military training, local media reports
Russian authorities have issued arrest warrants for nine prisoners under contract with Russia's Armed Forces who escaped from a military training ground in Belgorod Oblast, local media in Belgorod Oblast claimed on July 28.
Killed, injured among 3,800 convicts serving in Ukraine's military, lawmaker says
"(Around) 3,800 prisoners are already in the Armed Forces. Most of them have recently completed their training," the secretary of the parliamentary national security committee, Roman Kostenko, told Ukrainska Pravda.
95 Ukrainian POWs released from Russian captivity
Another 95 Ukrainian defenders have been brought back home, including service members of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, and the Border Guard, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on July 17.
Russia arbitrarily depriving political prisoners from contact with family, Amnesty International report finds
Russian authorities are being accused of systemically depriving Russian political prisoners and government critics of contact with families in order to ensure cooperation and "impose additional suffering on them and their families," an Amnesty International report released on June 26 charged.
Treason trial for US citizen accused of donating to Ukraine begins in Russia
The trial of Ksenia Karelina, a U.S.-Russian dual national accused of treason for allegedly raising money for the Ukrainian military, began on June 20 in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.
Over 2,750 Ukrainian convicts released to join army, WP reports
Since Ukraine's new conscription law took effect, over 2,750 prisoners have been released from detention to join the Ukrainian military, the Washington Post reported on June 16.
Inside Ukraine’s prison recruitment efforts to bolster front-line troops
ZHYTOMYR, KYIV OBLASTS — Taras Netavrovanyi, an inmate at the medium-security prison in Zhytomyr Oblast, eagerly seized the chance to break free of his two-and-a-half-year sentence. New Ukrainian legislation allowing military service for prisoners convicted of certain felonies, including manslaughter, offers a unique opportunity: parole in exchange for joining an assault
Ukraine's military intelligence disputes POW figures given by Putin
Ukraine's military intelligence spokesperson, Andrii Yusov, disputed Russian President Vladimir Putin's claims on the numbers of Ukrainian and Russian prisoners of war (POW) in a comment for the Liga outlet on June 6.
Convicts to serve in separate units of Ukrainian forces, justice minister says
Units with former prisoners will be established for assault operations and not involve other military personnel, Justice Minister Denys Maliuska said.
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