Military escalation in Ukraine war PRO Members Public
The start of October has seen a significant escalation in the war in Ukraine, with an attack on the Crimean bridge, connecting the annexed Crimea with mainland Russia, and a wave of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities not seen since the beginning of the invasion. The 19 kilometer-long Crimea Bridge
Escalation in Ukraine PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is Russia’s retaliatory missile strikes on Ukrainian cities after an attack on the Crimean Bridge. We also look at how one of the biggest Russo-Chinese joint enterprises, Aliexpress Russia, is on the verge of collapse, Russia’s second Nobel Peace Prize in two
The Blame Game PRO Members Public
Not even Russia’s state-run television channels could overlook Moscow’s second major military defeat, however, and the search for scapegoats led to unprecedented public criticism of the Russian military by the leaders of paramilitary groups fighting in Ukraine. Following the Defense Ministry’s announcement of Lyman’s fall, Chechen
Ceremonial annexation and new losses PRO Members Public
Putin formally signed Friday a document allowing the accession of four occupied Ukrainian territories to the Russian Federation. The ceremony took place in the Kremlin’s St George Hall where, eight years earlier, Putin signed the order formalizing the annexation of Crimea. As usual at such events, watching the faces
War divisions PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we focus on public disagreements between factions of Russia’s pro-war lobby following Moscow’s second successive military rout in Ukraine. The heads of two major paramilitary groups, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, both of whom have a long history of grievance
Crowds at the border PRO Members Public
The only sure way to escape a call-up to the army and a rapid deployment to the front is to flee the country. Apparently, the Kremlin has decided that the risk of protests triggered by closing the borders is greater than the danger of a shortage of recruits, and five
Unlawful conscription and protests PRO Members Public
Russians quickly concluded that even the mildest statements from Putin and the Defense Ministry were not to be trusted. Within the first days of the draft, there was evidence that some of those called up were people clearly outside fighting age — for example, a 49-year-old private or a 63-year-old colonel.
Referendums and mobilization PRO Members Public
The last week of September has been no less momentous than the final days of February. Defeat in the Kharkiv region and the strain on personnel in Russia’s standing army forced the Kremlin to abandon its idea of a “special operation” conducted by “professional soldiers.” In the past week,
Mobilization fallout PRO Members Public
Hello! In this week’s newsletter, we focus on the Kremlin’s military mobilization that has uprooted Russian society over the past week — sparking protests, sending hundreds of thousands of Russians scrambling for the borders and threatening broad economic implications. We also look at how Russian businesses are struggling to
Russians await arrival of iPhone 14 PRO Members Public
Apple’s new iPhone — the iPhone 14 — went on sale in U.S. stores Friday. Even though the company’s flagship product is not officially available in Russia, it will still reach the country via the so-called parallel imports scheme. Moreover, a strong ruble means there has reportedly been a
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The Bell was founded in 2017 by journalists Elizaveta Osetinskaya, Irina Malkova and Peter Mironenko as a news outlet independent from the Russian authorities, after its founders have been sacked as top editors at the largest Russian news website RBC because of pressure from the Kremlin.
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