Russia's Latest Propaganda? A.I. Generated War Songs.
By Steven Lee Myers October 2, 2026 Russians are creating and spreading music glorifying the invasion of Ukraine, using platforms built in the United States. Credit: Nanna Heitmann for The New York Times Russia has a new weapon in its propaganda war against Ukraine: songs generated by artificial intelligence. Hundreds of them — from maudlin ballads to grinding thrash metal — have sprouted on the world’s most popular music streaming platforms, created using a growing number of
New York Times
5 days ago
Attacks by CAR Militia Show Perils of Partnership
By Africa Defense Forum September 15, 2026 Trained by Russia and supported by the government, the AAKG militia has become a deadly force in the southeast A militia member poses for a photo in the Central African Republic. Recent attacks by the Azande Ani Kpi Gbe militia in the southeast of the country have shown the perils of government support for ethnic militias. REUTERS A militia that was trained and armed by Russian mercenaries in the Central African Republic is turning o
Africa Defense Forum
Oct 1
Yale Program Tracking Stolen Ukrainian Children At Risk
By Alex Raufoglu September 09, 2026 Ukrainian children returning home in February after being held in Russia. (RFE/RFL) WASHINGTON -- Researchers at Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab working to track Ukrainian children forcibly transferred to Russia and Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine could see their positions eliminated by December unless new funding is secured, the lab’s executive director told RFE/RL. The warning comes as the US State Department moves to restru
RFE/RL
Sep 20
The Illegal Abduction of Ukrainian Children
Special Report, August 2026 By Sophia Khan, Beth Paul, Alexander Smith, and Emily Mullin Ukrainian children fleeing Russian aggression (Mirek Pruchnicki from Przemyśl, Sanok, Polska, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons) The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly has publicly presented its 2026 report by the Special Envoy on Russian Abductions and Deportations of Ukrainian Children. The report stresses that the situation on the return o
Genocide Watch
Aug 17
Putin Is Building A Legal Purgatory For Exiled Russians
By Mike Ekel August 6, 2026 (Credit: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) At the time he fled Russia in September 2022, Aleksandr Menyukov was a witness in a criminal investigation targeting a close friend: a poet whose street readings of anti-war verses were considered a crime. Hundreds of thousands of Russians had fled after President Vladimir Putin that month ordered a military mobilization to shore up the sputtering invasion of Ukraine. But for Menyukov, who provided legal ad
Rise in Neo-Nazism in Contemporary Russia
By Vladimir Kovtun, Alexander Smith, Kristie Moore, and Flora Tu Ultra-nationalists carry flags and banners as they take part in the so-called 'Russian March' in Moscow / Source: Al Jazeera Neo-Nazism has been present in Russian society for decades, emerging in the wake of significant political upheaval and societal change. It has intensified with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While the Russian government has, at times, prosecuted extremist organizations, it has also toler
Genocide Watch
Aug 5
Russia batters Kyiv with massive missile attacks
By Cassandra Vinograd and Marc Santora July 19, 2026 Damage after a night of Russian missile strikes on Sunday in Kyiv. (Credit. Thomas Peter/Reuters) Russia bombarded Ukraine’s capital with one of the largest ballistic missile assaults of the war before dawn on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said, the third major attack on the capital, Kyiv, in the past 35 days. As smoke still hung over the city and rescue teams raced to strike locations, city officials said one person had been
The New York Times
Jul 22
Russia's 'torture prisons' in Ukraine exposed by BBC”
By Tania Kharchenko and Samuel Horti “"I have never heard such terrible screams before," says Liudmyla, recalling her first days in the Izolyatsia detention centre [Credit: BBC]” This article contains accounts of torture and sexual violence Early one October morning in 2019, a group of men jumped out of a car and grabbed Liudmyla Huseinova as she left her home. The 64-year-old says they seized her bag and threw her into the back seat, beginning what she describes as a "nightm
BBC News
Jul 10
Russia Bombards Ukrainian Capital With Deadly Attacks
By Cassandra Vinograd and Marc Santora July 2, 2026 The site of a Russian attack on Kyiv on Thursday. (Credit: Alina Smutko/Reuters) The Russian military blasted Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, with waves of ballistic missiles and drones that lasted into Thursday morning, a deadly show of force after weeks of Ukrainian attacks in Russia that have heaped pressure on President Vladimir V. Putin. At least 27 people were killed and 85 injured in overnight attacks, Ukrainian officials sa
The New York Times
Jul 2
Ukraine: Sovereignty, Democracy, and Zelenskyy
By: Alexander Smith President Takes Part in Events on Ukraine's Constitution Day. Image: The Presidential Office of Ukraine. Photo. On the morning of February 24th, 2022, armed Russian soldiers crossed the border into Ukraine in what Russia called a “special military operation.” Explosions rocked Donetsk and Kharkiv. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy quickly found himself bearing the brunt of overextended economic resources and fractured international support. As a resu
Genocide Watch
Jun 30
Russia Uses Education to Sustain Influence in Central Asia
By Farangis Najibullah June 2, 2026 Students attend the Russian school in the southern Tajik city of Bokhtar (Facebook). When a new Russian-language school opened its doors in Tajikistan's southern city of Bokhtar in 2022, thousands of locals flocked to enroll. Named after the 18th-century Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov, it was one of five Russia-funded schools that popped up across the impoverished Central Asia country that year. Part of a $150 million Russian state pro
Russia’s Ukraine invasion fails; Putin attacks civilians
June 4th 2026 Russia launched a major bombardment of cities across Ukraine early on June 2, leaving over one hundred civilians dead or wounded. The attack, which focused primarily on Kyiv and Dnipro, was the most recent in a series of deadly overnight bombing raids beginning in early May that have signaled a new phase in Kremlin efforts to target Ukraine’s civilian population amid mounting indications that Russia’s invasion is stalling on the battlefield. The latest Russian a
