Trump cusses out Zelensky, ‘your mom’ chose Budapest, and Moscow’s subway raids Meduza breaks down today’s biggest Russia-related news stories, October 20, 2025

Below, you’ll find a digest of news reports from October 20, 2025, in Russian and English. The sections below, titled in song lyrics, are (1) police and legal matters in Russia, (2) demographic-themed developments inside Russia, (3) news about European security threats and responses, and (4) the aftermath of Volodymyr Zelensky’s White House visit last Friday and preparations for Donald Trump’s next bilateral summit with Vladimir Putin in Budapest, Hungary (date TBD).

Do you enjoy daily news briefs? Are you starved for direct, hand-crafted, microbrewed stories and commentary about Russia? If you shouted “Yes!” to any of these questions, check this out:

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• In the case against street musician Diana “Naoko” Loginova, police have disclosed that their decision to charge her with “discrediting” Russia’s military for performing a song by Noize MC is based on a social media comment. In that comment, a man in Kyiv described listening to the song during a Russian attack, saying it made him feel supported by Noize MC. Loginova denies criticizing the Russian military or the invasion of Ukraine. — Rotonda
• If you’re planning on sabotaging something in Russia, you’ll soon want to get in those kicks before turning 14. Draft legislation in the State Duma (with more than 400 coauthors!) would lower the age threshold of criminal responsibility for acts of sabotage to 14, putting it in line with existing statutes for terrorism. The change would have “important preventative significance,” say its supporters. It would erase all statutes of limitation, too. — Meduza
• Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has proposed a bill that would grant the agency control over the import and export of hidden cameras and other “special technical means” designed for the covert acquisition of information, as well as give it the authority to establish its own procedures for registering and tracking this technology (including software). No one is entirely sure what would fall under this category, but it could be virtually any recording device that can operate covertly. — Vedomosti
• Some of the evidence in the treason case against Pavel Andreev, co-founder of the publication 7×7 and one of the creators of the “Revolt Center,” turns out to be part of a mix-up with a man who shares his exact name. Specifically, it was another Pavel Andreev (an expat in Germany) who worked with a group that collaborated with European entities to welcome Russian deserteres in Armenia. The “real” Andreev is also charged with conducting “decolonial activity” for the benefit of somebody in Denmark. — Mediazona
• For the past two weeks, police officers have been seen raiding Moscow’s subway system to arrest draftees, who are then handed over to the military. Activists say the men are being swept up on allegations of draft evasion, often while awaiting appeals decisions on their conscription orders. Police are reportedly using the subway surveillance system’s facial recognition technology to make these arrests. The State Duma is currently developing legislation to expand Russia’s conscription drive to a year-round basis, though deployment would still happen twice a year, first in the spring and then again in the fall. — Meduza

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• The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) warns that the country is experiencing a “demographic decline” and must simplify the process for citizens who fled when Putin launched a partial mobilization in October 2022 but now wish to return. “We need to strengthen their ties to the homeland, support their sense of patriotism, and build confidence in Russia’s future,” says RSPP board member Anatoly Nikitin. — Kommersant
• In a new pronatalist effort, members of several nominally opposition parties in the State Duma have drafted legislation that would grant seven days of paid leave to new fathers. Men would need to utilize the proposed benefit within a year of a child’s birth. — Kommersant
• Feminists in Yekaterinburg staged a flash mob, photographing banners at sites around the city urging the authorities to consider a petition with more than 100,000 signatures that calls for reinstating domestic violence as a criminal offense, legal protection for victims — including self-defense recognition and protective restraining orders — and faster police interventions. Despite formally meeting the criteria for review at Russia’s federal level, officials have largely ignored the petition, illustrating a pattern of bureaucratic disregard for domestic violence reform efforts. — 7×7

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• “New E.U. members could join without full voting rights: New plan is the latest attempt to breathe life into an expansion process that is currently being blocked by Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán and others.” — Politico
• “The U.S. is balking at a European Union-led plan for Group of Seven nations to expand the use of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, according to people familiar with the discussions. […] Washington’s hesitation — and its concerns about market stability — are likely to embolden doubters within the E.U.” — Bloomberg
• “Europeans rush to Volodymyr Zelensky’s defense after tense Donald Trump meeting […] E.U. officials are confident that the Thursday summit will give the green light to the European Commission to put forward a proposal on lending the money in tranches, which will be used to buy weapons.” — The Financial Times
• “Senior German General Says Europe Must Do All It Can to Help Ukraine: European democracy and rule of law are at risk, [Lt. Gen. Alexander Sollfrank] says, so Europe must give Ukraine whatever it can to pressure Moscow, even if Trump does not. […] Sollfrank said the goal was to be ‘kriegstüchtig,’ or fully ‘war capable,’ by 2029.” — The New York Times
• “A major road connecting the three Baltic states to Poland opened Monday at a time of rising tensions between Europe and Russia. […] The road known as Via Baltica will pass through a narrow strip of land between Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave, called the Suwalki Gap, which has often been described as a potential targe t if Russia were to attack NATO.” — The Washington Post
• “The U.K. is preparing to spend more than $134 million to send its forces into Ukraine if a ceasefire agreement is reached.” — Bloomberg
• “E.U. agrees to gradually end Russian gas imports by January 1, 2028 […] The law is not yet final. EU countries must negotiate the final rules with the European Parliament” — Reuters
• “Zelensky to visit London for talks before expected Trump-Putin summit: Ukrainian president will seek to win security guarantees at ‘coalition of the willing’ meeting before any U.S.-Russia talks” — The Guardian
• “The U.K.’s armed forces will get fresh powers to bring down suspicious drones over military sites, the defense secretary will announce Monday, amid a spate of aerial incursions across Europe.” — Politico

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• “‘I don’t think [Ukraine] will, but they could still win it,’ Trump told reporters in the White House on Monday. ‘I never said they would win it. I said they could win. Anything can happen.’ — Bloomberg
• “Donald Trump urged Volodymyr Zelensky to accept Russia’s terms for ending its war in a volatile White House meeting on Friday, warning that Vladimir Putin had said he would ‘destroy’ Ukraine if it did not agree. The meeting between the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents descended many times into a ‘shouting match,’ with Trump ‘cursing all the time’” — The Financial Times
• “A simple query about Trump’s choice of location for his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin set off the president’s spokespeople. […] Given all that, HuffPost asked the White House: Who picked Budapest? White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded minutes later with: ‘Your mom did.’” — The Huffington Post
• Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev has announced that the country is ready to grant Putin access to its airspace so he can travel to Budapest for an upcoming summit with Donald Trump. Bulgaria is a full State Party to the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023 on charges of ordering the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied areas to Russia. Putin would still need to fly over Serbia to reach Hungary through Bulgaria. — Vedomosti
• “Putin should be blocked from taking part in high-stakes negotiations designed to freeze the war in Ukraine, [Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys] warned after U.S. President Donald Trump touted Hungary as a host country.” — Politico
• “Russians’ surrender to Ukrainian robot marks further transformation of war: Aerial drones once changed the fighting in Ukraine. Now it’s explosive-laden, unmanned vehicles. […] The Russian troops poked the piece of cardboard out of their foxhole, the words ‘WE WANT TO SURRENDER’ scrawled on it in easy view of the Ukrainian drones flying above.” — The Washington Post
• “The US Senate will hold off on considering new sanctions legislation on Russia until after President Donald Trump’s planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the chamber’s Republican leader said.” — Bloomberg
• “Zelensky said Budapest wasn’t the best place for talks to end the war in his country but he told reporters in Kyiv today that he will attend if invited.” — Bloomberg
• “Zelensky painted his meeting last week with Donald Trump as a success that yielded progress on acquiring [25 Patriot] air defense systems, a contrast from reports that Trump had berated him with obscenities in the White House.” — Reuters
• “Russia and Ukraine Are No Closer to Cease-Fire After Trump’s Pressure on Zelensky: U.S. president wants swift end to conflict, but both sides are digging in over the region in Ukraine’s east” — The Wall Street Journal
• “Ukraine shouldn’t have to give up territory as part of a peace deal with Russia, the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump pushed Kyiv to give up land to end the war.” — Politico