Cracking down on pop-ups, an FSB POV, and North Korean debris Meduza breaks down today’s biggest Russia-related news stories, October 16, 2025

Below, you’ll find a digest of news reports from October 16, 2025, in Russian and English on energy and information war, Russian political repressions, European security, the war in Ukraine, and Russia’s strange politics under Vladimir Putin.

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• “India’s oil refiners said they expect to reduce — not stop — the purchase of Russian crude following remarks by Donald Trump that the South Asian nation would halt all buying, but are awaiting clarification on the situation from the government in New Delhi.” — Bloomberg
• “Senate Majority Leader John Thune is ready to bring to a vote legislation imposing sanctions on countries that trade with Russia, a move to put economic pressure on Vladimir Putin” — Bloomberg
• “Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea have sharply increased their use of artificial intelligence to deceive people online and mount cyberattacks against the United States, according to new research from Microsoft.” — The Associated Press

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• Imprisoned journalist Nika Novak has declared another hunger strike in protest against allegedly torturous conditions and attempts by officials to provoke her into violating rules that could result in new criminal charges. Novak was sentenced to four years in prison in November 2024 for working secretly with a foreign organization, reportedly a local project run by RFE/RL. — Sotavision
• A St. Petersburg court jailed the three musicians behind the band Stoptime, which has developed a cult following for performing songs by blacklisted “foreign agents” at pop-up street concerts. The group’s popularity also drew criticism and complaints from pro-Kremlin Z-bloggers. Lead singer Diana Loginova (stage name: Naoko) will reportedly face misdemeanor charges of “discrediting” Russia’s army after serving 13 days in jail for allegedly staging an unpermitted rally and disturbing the peace. The band has canceled all performances “for the foreseeable future.” — Meduza

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• Russia’s State Duma unanimously adopted a statement on Thursday condemning Latvia’s decision to deport several hundred Russian nationals for failing to comply with a June 2024 law that requires Russian nationals who had permanent residency in Latvia prior to obtaining Russian citizenship to file special paperwork to gain E.U. permanent resident status — including proof that they’ve demonstrated a basic grasp of the Latvian language. The current number of Russian nationals facing deportation is 483. — Meduza
• German prosecutors have asked a court in Frankfurt to order the seizure of €720 million in frozen Russian assets, following an alleged attempt by unidentified bank employees to withdraw the funds without proper authorization. The assets in question reportedly belong to a subsidiary of the Moscow Exchange and have been held at JP Morgan’s German branch. Officials say the attempted transfer was a deliberate effort to circumvent E.U. sanctions. — RBC
• FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov, speaking at a meeting of the Council of Heads of Security and Special Services of the CIS, accused the United Kingdom of orchestrating the June 1, 2025, coordinated drone attacks on Russian airfields. He also claimed that NATO intelligence services are responsible for recent drone incursions into European airspace. Bortnikov connected the incidents to efforts against Russia’s “shadow fleet,” in addition to alleged plans to sabotage Russian naval infrastructure and even mount blockades of Kaliningrad and Baltic ports. — Meduza
• “[Reform U.K. leader] Nigel Farage said in an interview with Bloomberg’s The Mishal Husain Show that he would support spending frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine and could even deploy British troops to the country as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force if he became prime minister.” — Bloomberg
• “A former security guard at the U.S. Embassy in Norway was convicted of espionage Wednesday after a court in Oslo found that he spied for Russia and Iran. […] Prosecutors said he handed over details about the embassy’s diplomats, its floor plans and security routines” — The Associated Press
• “The European Commission on Thursday proposed four flagship European defense projects, including a counter-drone system and a plan to fortify the eastern border, as part of a drive to get the continent ready to defend itself by 2030.” — Reuters
• “In response to the growing threat from Russia, Friedrich Merz’s government has been trying to create a new military service scheme for young men. The plan, drawn up over the summer by Mr. Merz’s CDU party and his SPD coalition partner, was supposed to rely on voluntary recruitment […] But the two parties are now at odds […] with the CDU demanding that some young people be drafted by lottery” — The Telegraph
• France’s General Directorate for Internal Security arrested four French and Russian nationals on suspicion of plotting to assassinate “a Putin opponent” in Biarritz. Journalists report that the target was Vladimir Osechkin, the founder of the human rights project Gulagu.net. — Novaya Gazeta Europe

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• “Evidence gathered by The Telegraph reveals Russia is using rape as a weapon of war in occupied Ukraine […] Their testimonies, including accounts of rape, torture, and forced disappearances, reveal a pattern of systematic abuse intended to terrorize the local population into submission.” — The Telegraph
• “The United States’ initial meetings will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, together with various other people, to be designated. A meeting location is to be determined. President Putin and I will then meet in an agreed upon location, Budapest, Hungary, to see if we can bring this “inglorious” War, between Russia and Ukraine, to an end.” — Donald Trump, Truth Social
• “If approved, the [Tomahawk] missiles could be delivered relatively quickly […] with U.S. contractors deployed to assist in their use […] and allow the U.S. to retain control over targeting and other issues.” — The Financial Times
• “Russian forces are using small drones armed with North Korean cluster munitions in attacks in southern Ukraine, as North Korea expands its support for Russia’s military, according to a report published on Thursday by [Conflict Armament Research,] a weapons research group.” — The New York Times
• “Russian war correspondent Ivan Zuyev was killed by a Ukrainian drone strike on Thursday while on assignment on the front line of the war in southern Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region” — Reuters
• “Russia launched a large armored assault on Thursday with more than 20 armored vehicles near the eastern Ukrainian town of Dobropillia, Ukraine’s Azov brigade said, adding that its forces had repelled the attack.” — Reuters

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• Industry and Trade First Deputy Minister Vasily Osmakov is expected to replace Colonel General Alexander Fomin as deputy defense minister. Fomin has held the job since January 2017 and has joined Russia’s negotiating team for past talks with Ukraine. The reasons for his replacement remain unclear. — RBC
• Putin signed an executive order approving the official framework for Russia’s 2026–2030 migration policy, endorsing a broadly conservative agenda that seeks to reduce Russia’s population of illegal immigrants, lower the crime rate among these people, and raise the number of foreigners who relocate to Russia in search of “shared spiritual and moral values.” The resettlement framework also expresses preference for “individuals who are capable of organically integrating into a system of positive social connections.” — Meduza
• Actors Martin and Janet Sheen, John Cusack, and philosopher Slavoj Žižek have penned an open letter to Vladimir Putin, asking the Russian president to release imprisoned activist Mikhail Kriger from isolation. “Allow him to serve his sentence among the general prison population, and grant his daughter permission to visit him,” they wrote. In May 2023, Kriger was sentenced to seven years in prison for calling for Vladimir Putin to be hanged and for threatening federal officers. In court, Kriger said he hopes to live to see the noose slip around Putin’s neck. — Mediazona

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Kirill Dmitriev, Vladimir Putin’s so-called “Trump-whisperer,” has proposed hiring Elon Musk to build a 70-mile-long tunnel under the Bering Strait to connect Russia and the United States, saying it would “symbolize unity.” Riffing on a Soviet-era concept to build a “Kennedy–Khrushchev World Peace Bridge” across the Bering Strait, Dmitriev said (or perhaps joked) that Musk’s Boring Company has the technology to create the tunnel for less than $8 billion. “Let’s build a future together,” he added.