Ukraine’s Khartiia Brigade says underground operation pushed 15 kilometers behind Russian lines near Kupiansk Operation “Veles” allowed Ukrainian forces to break out of a stalemate on the Kupiansk axis. Russia lost 100 troops killed and 30 captured. theins.press/en/news/298615

Number of air defense positions around Russia’s Alabuga drone production hub rises to 33, Radio Free Europe reports Alabuga is now one of the most heavily protected sites in Russia. Vladimir Putin’s Valdai residence is surrounded by 31 positions. theins.press/en/news/298596

Russian scientist jailed for “treason” begins dry hunger strike over abuse, violence in pretrial detention Valery Kachin, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2025, now weighs around 60 kilograms (132 pounds) at a height of 182 centimeters (6 ft). theins.press/en/news/298592

Sweden denies refugee travel document to Russian who fought for Ukraine even though he was granted asylum in 2011 theins.press/en/news/298587

Roscosmos is ready to send equipment for future nuclear power plant to the Moon despite no visible progress in its development The Insider explains why scientists both in Russia and abroad are looking for ways to harness nuclear energy in space. theins.press/en/news/298598

Russian security forces detain German national who served in Ukrainian army It is also unknown where and under what circumstances the man was detained, or how he got into Russia. theins.press/en/news/298568

Russia frees U.S. national Stephen Hubbard, convicted of fighting for Ukraine The release became known during the Oct. 21 meeting between Vladimir Putin and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff. theins.press/en/news/298567

De-Modification: India’s “Cockroach” party is challenging the country’s slide toward autocracy The youth protest movement Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has hit a sore spot in the cult carefully constructed around the figure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. theins.press/en/politics/298…

Latvia ranks among top five importers of Russian grain this season as Moscow’s exports pivot toward Baltic ports The EU and NATO member imported more Russian grain than Nigeria from July to October, even as Baltic states push for an EU-wide transit ban. theins.press/en/news/298558

Up to 12,000 North Koreans work under conditions of forced labor at Russia’s Alabuga drone plant, @CSIS report says They are paid around $2.50 an hour, with the regime in Pyongyang confiscating between 70% and 90% of their earnings. theins.press/en/news/298555

Moscow and Washington are discussing possible prisoner releases through intelligence channels, Russia says The Kremlin previously denied these negotiations were taking place, as spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed Russia didn’t have any political prisoners. theins.press/en/news/298554

Putin’s “Doppelgängers”: The Insider gets inside the operations of the Kremlin's foreign disinformation network Internal documents demonstrate the cynisism of the Kremlin's information warriors — who describe their own work as generating "fakes." theins.press/en/inv/298359

Butter melted down into guns: Russia is once again cutting social spending to pay for its war in Ukraine Military outlays continue to drive up the debt and fuel inflation, but the Russian economy still looks set to survive in 2027. theins.press/en/economics/29…

Russia permits Olympic, Paralympic and Deaflympic titles for sports schools in occupied Ukraine under special rules The move comes as Russia is being reintegrated into the Olympic movement after the IOC lifted its suspension in July. theins.press/en/news/298532

Russian pensioner jailed for six years after Lithuania handed him back to Russia says he clearly asked border guards for asylum The 68-year-old, who swam to Lithuania across the Neman River, says he was never allowed to submit a written application. theins.press/en/news/298531

One in four FSB arrest videos is staged and confessions are recorded in multiple takes after torture, Memorial @memoprisoners finds The human rights group warns that FSB-produced video clips should be treated as part of the political repression system. theins.press/en/news/298530

Anonymous hackers leak alleged email archive with hundreds of thousands of messages from Alternative for Germany party According to the hacker behind the breach, his goal was to demonstrate the AfD’s “degeneracy and hypocrisy.” theins.press/en/news/298526

Chemical brother: Russia’s production of explosives and ammunition is heavily dependent on Chinese chemicals China supplied 87% of Russia’s chemical imports in Q1 2025, including materials used in explosives, rocket propellants and military composites. theins.press/en/inv/298502

Norway detains “Guatemalan” cargo ship with Chinese name linked to Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project The sanctioned Ya Qing Hai Yang, which carried Chinese power-generation modules for Arctic LNG 2, was stopped last week and remains off the Norwegian coast. theins.press/en/news/298490

Russian military satellite comes within 26 meters of U.S.-Finnish spacecraft providing data to Ukraine Kosmos-2612 approached ICEYE-X36, a commercial satellite, at near-zero relative speed. An approach of less than 1 kilometer is considered critical. theins.press/en/news/298487