Current Time is the Russian-language TV and digital network run by RFE/RL.
Ukrainian forces and residents remain resilient as Kyiv's war effort faces a growing list of difficulties heading into 2024.
Kazakh journalist Vladimir Severny, who was sentenced to seven years in prison earlier this month on extortion charges that he rejects, launched a hunger strike protesting his incarceration, his lawyer said on December 29.
Around 800 residents remain in the frontline city of Chasiv Yar in Ukraine's Donetsk region. Russian forces have attacked the area west of Bakhmut for over a year. Speaking with Current Time, one local said, "If Russian troops come, I won't be here."
Russian media quoted law enforcement officials on December 29 as saying that a new probe on a charge of distributing "fake" information about the Russian armed forces has been launched against noted Russian lawyer and outspoken Kremlin critic Ilya Novikov, who lives in Ukraine.
When Anastasia Ivleyeva, a popular online influencer, invited Russian celebrities to a party with the theme "almost naked," she did not expect a nationwide backlash. One guest was charged with hooliganism and "gay propaganda," while other attendees said advertisers had canceled their contracts.
Russian anti-war activist Igor Baryshnikov, who was sentenced in late June to 7 1/2 years in prison on a charge of spreading "fake" information about Russian armed forces involved in the ongoing war in Ukraine, must be urgently provided with medical assistance, his lawyers say.
As Russian forces try to push west of the city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian soldiers are dug into their positions in barren, mine-strewn battlefields. Fighters on the front lines near the village of Klishchiyivka describe an unrelenting Russian assault as they trudge through mud and shelter in trenches.
The organizer of a so-called "Almost Naked" party in a Moscow nightclub last week and several attending celebrities have been issuing apologies amid a wave of official criticism and the sentencing of one participant to a jail term for "hooliganism."
Russia's Supreme Court on December 27 upheld the Central Election Commission's decision to bar journalist Yekaterina Duntsova -- who has called for peace in Ukraine -- from running for president in the next election, citing alleged mistakes in her application to register as a candidate.
Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, whose whereabouts had been unknown since early December, has been moved to a prison in the brutally cold Arctic region, his spokeswoman said on December 25.
In Ukraine's Donetsk region, a volunteer has put up a Christmas tree near the frontline city of Chasiv Yar for the benefit of Ukrainian soldiers. About 900 residents remain in the city, living in basements under constant shelling.
More details are emerging of a man who went on a killing spree in the Czech capital, Prague, killing 14 people and injuring more. Police say the killer was a 24-year-old student, who traveled to Prague after killing his father in a village outside the city. (WARNING: graphic scenes)
A gunman opened fire at a university in downtown Prague on December 21, killing at least 14 people and wounding many others. The shooter was also reported dead following the attack. A professor and students described being caught in the midst of the violence.
After a disappointing summer counteroffensive, Kyiv is again on the defensive as Russian forces push forward in the Donetsk region. As Western financial support wavers, Ukrainian troops fighting near Bakhmut rely on low-cost DIY 'kamikaze' drones and a World War II gun to counter Russian advances.
Two Russian soldiers have spoken to Current Time about their experiences fighting in Ukraine -- describing their disillusion with how they are treated. Both complained that they had indefinite terms of service, bad leadership, and poor conditions.
In a partly abandoned town near Ukraine's front lines, residents live without gas or running water, but they know they can still rely on regular mail deliveries. One postal worker, Hanna Povelkova, wears body armor as she makes the rounds, bringing pension payments to her elderly neighbors.
A court in Helsinki on December 18 ordered pretrial detention for a Russian ultranationalist and former commander of the Rusich saboteur group that fights alongside Russia's armed forces against Ukraine.
The European Union Council on December 18 adopted a 12th package of sanctions against Russia, placing restrictions on trade in diamonds and the supply of parts that can be used in the production of weapons, as well as tightened requirements for compliance with the "price ceiling" for Russian oil.
Russia's financial watchdog, Rosfinmonitoring, added popular detective writer Grigory Chkhartishvili, known under the pen name Boris Akunin, to its list of terrorists and extremists without any explanation on December 18.
Ukraine's Prosecutor-General's Office said on December 17 that a court has ordered the arrest of local councillor Serhiy Batryn, who detonated three grenades during a council session in the village of Keretsky in the western region of Zakarpattya two days earlier, killing one person.
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