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Mike Eckel

Mike Eckel is a senior correspondent reporting on political and economic developments in Russia, Ukraine, and around the former Soviet Union, as well as news involving cybercrime and espionage. He's reported on the ground on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the wars in Chechnya and Georgia, and the 2004 Beslan hostage crisis, as well as the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

EckelM@rferl.org

Also by Mike Eckel

June 12, 2024
Nice Work If You Can Get It: Putin's Protectors Promoted

Getting a plum government gig in Russia is a lot easier if you’ve served in the Kremlin’s presidential bodyguard agency, the Federal Protection Service (bonus points if you’ve saved Vladimir Putin from a bear). At least seven former Putin bodyguards now hold various top jobs in government.
June 11, 2024
For Some In Russia's Far-Flung Provinces, Ukraine War Is A Ticket To Prosperity

“Hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine. But in far-flung, less-well-to-do provinces, war wages and benefits being paid to soldiers, veterans, and survivors is transforming life, providing a ladder for economic prosperity.
May 31, 2024
Ukraine Gets U.S. OK To Hit Targets Inside Russia. Now What?

Ukraine got the green light from Washington, and more than a dozen NATO allies, to start using Western weaponry on some targets inside Russia. Is it a game changer?
May 31, 2024
Blinken Confirms Biden Change On Policy Toward Ukraine Using U.S. Weapons Inside Russia

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says President Joe Biden has given Ukraine the go-ahead to use U.S. weapons to strike inside Russia for the limited purpose of defending the eastern city of Kharkiv.
May 29, 2024
Former Putin Bodyguard, Kremlin Aide Dyumin Elevated To Key Position

Aleksei Dyumin, a former bodyguard to Russian President Vladimir Putin who was recently named a top Kremlin aide, has been appointed secretary of the State Council.
May 23, 2024
With Russian Nuclear Fuel Ban, U.S. Also Tries To Fix A (Self-Inflicted) Problem

A new U.S. ban on Russian nuclear fuel imports was aimed at cutting off a crucial source of revenue for the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine. But Washington is also trying to undo some of the self-inflicted collateral damage that arose from a major Russian disarmament program 30 years ago.
May 22, 2024
Knives Out: Russia’s Military Command

The upheaval in Russia's military leadership continued as a top general was arrested shortly after the appointments of a new defense minister and a new deputy.
May 17, 2024
A New Russian Offensive Stretches Ukrainian Forces. Possibly To The Breaking Point.

Russia is advancing in multiple places across the 1,100-kilometer front line in Ukraine. Ukrainian forces are struggling to hold positions, if not outright retreating in some places. The news from the battlefield these days is grim.
May 02, 2024
U.S. Weapons Are Coming To Ukraine. But Russian Forces Have The Momentum.

Ukraine’s defenses are nearing the breaking point amid a shortage of ammunition, manpower, and fortifications. U.S. weaponry is on its way, but it may not arrive in time to blunt Russia’s momentum.
April 12, 2024
Ukraine's Three-Front War: Advancing Russians, Depleted Artillery, Exhausted Troops

The eastern Ukrainian city of Chasiv Yar is being wiped from the map as Russian jets drop heavy, guided bombs that flatten apartment blocks and elite airborne units edge into the city’s eastern outskirts. Low on ammunition and morale, Ukraine is hard-pressed to hold on across the long front line.
April 11, 2024
Exclusive: How A Balkan Crime Gang Sprang A Russian Businessman From Italian House Arrest

How a Balkan crime gang sprang a Russian businessman from Italian house arrest.
March 30, 2024
What A Missed Terror Warning Says About U.S.-Russian Ties And Putin's Thinking

After the Soviet collapse, Moscow and Washington took steps to exchange intelligence and terrorist warnings, an effort that was ramped up after the September 11, 2001, attacks. For veteran spies like Putin, however, old habits die hard. The Crocus City Hall attack is Exhibit A.
March 19, 2024
Shpilkin's Razor: How A Statistical Model Raises Questions About Putin's Election. Again.

A statistical modeling tool developed by a Russian physicist designated a "foreign agent" has shown substantial anomalies with past Russian elections. According to number crunchers using the technique, this year's election, in which Vladimir Putin has claimed a resounding victory, may have been the worst ever.
March 15, 2024
Six More Years For Putin. Five Things To Watch For.

After being declared the victor of a presidential election in March, Vladimir Putin starts a new six-year term with an inauguration ceremony on May 7. What's next? Look for: more men for the Ukraine war, new taxes to fund the war, personnel shuffling within the Kremlin, new repression of dissent.
March 13, 2024
Ukraine's New War Strategy: Dig In, Hold On, Find More Soldiers, Hope For U.S. Weaponry

Russia is advancing. Ukraine is rushing to dig defenses. New U.S weapons aren’t expected soon. Ukraine’s military needs men. The government doesn’t want new mobilization. Things are looking grim on the battlefield these days.
March 05, 2024
Ex-U.S. Army Officer Accused Of Sharing Ukraine War Intelligence On Dating Site Pleads Not Guilty

A retired U.S. Army officer has pleaded not guilty to charges that he shared classified intelligence with a woman claiming to be from Ukraine, using e-mail and an online dating platform to send information that included Russian military targets in Ukraine.
February 29, 2024
Threats For The West. Money For Mothers. Help For Veterans: What Putin Did And Didn't Say In His State-Of-The-Nation Speech.

It was his longest state-of-the-nation speech, coming just two weeks before Russians vote in an election in which he is set to win a new six-year term. Putin's address was heavy on domestic policy concerns, with ample saber-rattling and bellicose threats sprinkled in.
February 19, 2024
Ukraine Has No Navy. But It's Hammering Russia In The Black Sea.

The landing ship that purportedly sank off Crimea last week is one of nearly two dozen Russian warships that Ukraine has seriously damaged or sunk since the full-scale invasion two years ago. It’s an extraordinary set of naval losses inflicted by a country that currently doesn’t even have a navy.
February 09, 2024
Battlefield Woes Mounting, Ukraine Gets A New Top General. Who Is He?

Ukraine's new top commander is a Soviet-trained artillery officer known for his role in thwarting the Russian thrust to capture Kyiv in 2022. Oleksandr Syrskiy is also known for his command during the disastrous retreat in 2015 in Debaltseve, and what some say was the costly defense of Bakhmut.
February 07, 2024
'The Situation Is Critical': What The Looming Fall Of Avdiyivka Says About Ukraine's Battlefield Mood

Along the 1,200-kilometer-long front line, Ukraine’s wintry discontent is turning into despondency as Russia forces close in on the capture of Avdiyivka, U.S. political infighting stalls a $60 billion weapons package, and Ukrainians brace for the expected ouster of country’s top military commander.

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