Russia

Russia said on Sunday that it had thwarted a "massive" Ukrainian drone attack by downing 158 drones across 15 regions, including two over the capital Moscow.

A coal-fired power plant near the city was reported hit, as was an oil refinery within the city boundaries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed more "retribution" against Russia as he celebrated Independence Day near where his forces launched a surprise offensive into Russian territory two weeks ago.

Kiev said Friday its incursion into Russian territory had advanced, claiming it aimed to force Russia to negotiate on "fair" terms, as Moscow's troops announced new gains in eastern Ukraine.

Two and a half years into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Kiev's troops last week launched a major counter-offensive into Russia's Kursk region, sending more than 120,000 people fleeing.

At the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have unveiled plans for a new regional security organization aimed at countering NATO's influence.

Born some 20 years ago as their countries joined the European Union, a cohort of young adults has grown up with rights and freedoms as citizens of the bloc that their parents never knew.

Russia's first Moon mission in almost 50 years, the Luna-25 probe, has crashed on the Moon's surface after an unspecified incident during pre-landing maneuvers, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Aug. 20.

The crash comes almost a year and a half into Russia's Ukraine offensive that has seen Moscow isolated, with punishing sanctions that have affected its space industry.

Russia will stop the supply of spare parts for Russian and Soviet military equipment to unfriendly countries and will revoke the licenses for the right to repair such equipment. This was reported to Interfax by the head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSVTS) of Russia, Dmitry Shugaev, quoted by "News in France".

Russia's crisis involving a mercenary group's aborted revolt against the Kremlin exposed "real cracks" in President Vladimir Putin's authority, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday.

Wagner mercenaries were returning to base on Sunday as their mutinous leader agreed to go into exile after President Vladimir Putin was forced to accept an amnesty deal.

The agreement appears to end the immediate threat that Yevgeny Prigozhin's private army could storm Moscow, but analysts said Wagner's revolt had exposed a fragility in Putin's rule.

In other news, Poland denies any involvement in last years sabotage of Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines; the Ukrainian PoWs that Russia sent to Hungary are causing tensions; and a new amendment means former Czech prime minister Andrej Babis must sell off his media assets.