Meduza in English

Russians who fled abroad are being abducted in the countries that took them in — Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan — and taken home to stand trial. Georgy Pirogov, who vanished on a work trip to Uzbekistan in 2024, has just been sentenced to 23 years for “treason.” https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/07/15/abducted-abroad-how-russia-seizes-its-citizens-in-armenia-georgia-kazakhstan-kyrgyzstan-and-uzbekistan-and-puts-them-on-trial-back-home

A Ukrainian drone attack has halted operations at Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat, one of Russia's largest oil refineries. Industry sources say repairs could take weeks to months; the local governor says a few days. https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/07/15/gazprom-neftekhim-salavat-handles-2-7-percent-of-russia-s-oil-refining-a-single-overnight-drone-attack-took-it-offline

20 years ago this week, Bush, Blair, Merkel, and Chirac flew to St. Petersburg for the only G-8 summit Russia ever hosted. Meduza revisits the three-day meeting in photos: golf carts at Peterhof, an informal dinner, Putin driving Bush around himself. https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/07/15/the-only-g-8-summit-russia-ever-hosted-was-20-years-ago-this-week-the-photos-from-st-petersburg-look-unreal-today-in-the-fifth-year-of-the-full-scale-invasion-of-ukraine

A Russian couple on vacation in Istanbul stopped at Hagia Sophia — a sixth-century former cathedral that is now a mosque. The husband took out a Bible and began reading. They were detained, accused of inciting hatred, and sent to a deportation center. https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/07/15/russian-couple-detained-in-istanbul-for-reading-the-bible-inside-hagia-sophia-now-a-mosque

US authorities fear Russia is weighing a nuclear detonation in orbit to knock out the satellites feeding Ukraine's army. It would take navigation, communications, and weather forecasting down with them. One physicist has a proposal for spotting the bomb first. https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/07/16/the-u-s-says-russia-is-building-a-nuclear-weapon-for-space-but-how-would-you-prove-there-s-a-warhead-inside-a-satellite-1-200-miles-up

Demonstrations are underway across Ukraine in support of ousted Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Crowds carried signs and chanted: “Bring back Fedorov.” His departure comes amid a wider shake-up of Zelensky's cabinet. https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/07/16/protests-spread-across-ukraine-against-the-removal-of-defense-minister-mykhailo-fedorov

Ukrainian strikes killed civilians in two Russian regions overnight, officials there say: a 15-year-old girl and her grandmother in the border town of Suzemka, hit by Grad rockets, and one resident of the Yaroslavl region, hit by drones. Four other people were hurt in Yaroslavl. https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/07/16/russian-officials-report-three-deaths-in-overnight-ukrainian-attacks

Russian missiles hit Kyiv overnight into July 16, killing two people and wounding six others, including a 16-year-old, Ukrainian officials said. Fires broke out in two districts before crews put them out. It was the second Russian strike on the capital in a week. https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/07/16/russia-strikes-kyiv-for-the-second-time-in-a-week-killing-two-and-wounding-six

The Russian streetwear brand Marcelo Miracles is near collapse, its founder says. In one month, three key staff got draft notices. Then came broken logistics, a 30% sales drop, and Russia's fuel crisis. https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/07/16/russian-streetwear-founder-says-draft-notices-cost-him-his-key-staff-as-a-sales-slump-and-a-fuel-crisis-batter-marcelo-miracles

Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries have cut the country's gasoline output to 65% of average seasonal demand. Pump prices are feeling it: gasoline rose 2.3% last week and is up 16.4% since January, according to Russia's state statistics agency. https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/07/15/ukrainian-drone-strikes-have-cut-russia-s-gasoline-output-to-65-of-seasonal-demand-and-pump-prices-jumped-another-2-3-last-week

Russia has a new paid app for messaging people in prison. It carries texts, voice and video notes, and photos, and for 99 rubles, it will subscribe an inmate to entertainment content: sports, music, humor, or news. https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/07/15/want-to-message-someone-in-a-russian-prison-there-s-now-an-app-for-that-it-costs-about-three-rubles-per-text-once-the-censor-signs-off

Russia's fuel crisis, triggered by Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries, has left drivers waiting hours for gasoline — long enough that traffic cameras fined them for stopping. The Interior Ministry now says those fines will be canceled. https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/07/15/russia-to-cancel-parking-fines-issued-to-drivers-waiting-in-line-for-gasoline

A driver in Chelyabinsk, Russia, shot another motorist with a rubber-bullet pistol after being told to wait his turn at a gas station instead of cutting in line. The wounded man was hospitalized; police detained a 26-year-old suspect. https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/07/15/driver-shoots-motorist-in-dispute-over-gas-station-line-in-chelyabinsk-amid-russia-s-fuel-crisis

Anapa’s beaches reopened this summer. Then Ukrainian drones struck the Tuapse oil refinery, sending tons of petroleum products into the Black Sea again. Reporters from Bereg found dead dolphins on the sand — and tourists swimming anyway. https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/07/16/oil-on-the-beaches-drone-attacks-gasoline-shortages-russia-s-black-sea-coast-is-now-a-perilous-place-to-vacation-so-why-do-russians-keep-coming

Ukraine’s defense minister is leaving his post after barely six months. Zelensky reportedly told his party that he removed Fedorov over a difference in vision for the war, as well as poor coordination of weapons procurement. https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/07/15/zelensky-pushes-out-ukraine-s-defense-minister-after-six-months

Russia's FSB spent over a year trying to build an AI system to scan the news for signs of domestic dissent. The contractor wasn't up to it, and the project was shut down in the fall of 2025, according to an iStories investigation. https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/07/15/the-russian-counterterrorism-unit-behind-alexei-navalny-s-poisoning-tried-to-automate-its-search-for-domestic-dissent-using-meta-s-llama-2-after-a-year-and-a-half-the-project-collapsed

Russia plans to require migrants to buy a mobile phone that the government can track, deputy interior minister Igor Zubov said. Each phone would carry an "electronic profile," and, in his words, "we will know the location of every migrant." https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/07/15/russia-plans-to-require-migrants-to-buy-trackable-mobile-phones-deputy-interior-minister-says

Ukrainian strikes on Crimea's power grid have cut electricity to pumping stations and left towns in the peninsula's north without water. Volunteers, businesses, and a Crimean Tatar group are now stepping in to help. https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/07/15/ukrainian-strikes-on-crimea-s-energy-facilities-have-left-towns-without-water-and-volunteers-are-stepping-up

The chief engineer of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Alexander Yakovlev, was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on his car, according to the head of Rosatom. Yakovlev's driver was also reportedly killed. https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/07/15/chief-engineer-of-russian-occupied-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-power-plant-killed-in-ukrainian-drone-strike-rosatom-says

A Ukrainian drone hit an upper floor of an apartment block in Engels, Russia, Telegram channels reported, citing eyewitness videos. The building is 1.2 miles from the Engels-2 air base, where a fire also broke out. https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/07/16/ukrainian-drones-strike-russia-s-saratov-region-hitting-a-residential-building-and-sparking-a-fire-at-a-military-airfield-in-engels