Page 10 - Current Time News Today

A Russian motorcycle club has been labeled a terrorist cell after criticizing the war in Ukraine in a closed chat and on social media. A member of the group, a father of four, says he was tortured and forced to confess after security forces claimed to find bomb parts and other illegal weapons on his property. His family fled to neighboring Georgia while another club member escaped arrest and now lives in the United States.

Days after Aleksei Navalny’s death in prison, his widow, Yulia, pledged to continue his fight against Vladimir Putin, urging Russians to share her “anger.” But amid the most severe repressions since Stalin’s time and the ongoing war against Ukraine, can Navalnaya find a way to make a difference?

Ecuador's foreign minister on February 19 said the small Latin American country didn't plan to send Soviet-era weapons to Ukraine after the president's vow to do so sparked a spat with Moscow over banana and flower exports.

A host of European governments on February 19 summoned Russian diplomats following the prison death of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny.

The Supreme Court of Russia's Republic of Tatarstan ruled on February 20 that RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who has been held in Russian custody for more than four months on charges that she, her employer, and her supporters reject, will remain in pretrial detention. 

Russia's FSB security service on February 20 said it had arrested a woman with dual U.S.-Russian citizenship on suspicion of treason for funding the Ukrainian Army, Russian state media reported.

Ukrainian air-defense forces shot down all 23 drones launched by Russia at Ukraine's territory on February 20, the military said on Telegram.

More than 67,000 Russian citizens have sent official notes to the country's Investigative Committee demanding that Aleksei Navalny's body be returned to his family, the Meduza news outlet reported, as anger grows over the Russian authorities' refusal to release the Kremlin opponent's body.

Russia has labeled Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty as an "undesirable organization," according to a registry maintained by the country's Justice Ministry, exposing its journalists and others working with the organization, as well as its donors or those who are interviewed by it, to criminal charges.

After withdrawing from Avdiyivka, Ukrainian units are scrambling to build new defensive positions west of the city. As Current Time's Andriy Kuzakov reports, many Avdiyivka residents have also left. Kyiv accuses Russian forces of shooting eight prisoners of war, posting a video purporting to show one incident. Military analyst Yan Matveev says "very low discipline, impunity, neglect, and brutality within the Russian Army" may have been contributing factors.