The Russian president has congratulated the broadcaster on its 20th anniversary during a reception at the Bolshoi Theatre
Russian President Vladimir Putin has thanked RT staff for “standing up for the truth,” which he described as the network’s “secret strategic and high-precision… weapon.”
In an address to around 1,000 of the network’s personnel at the Bolshoi Theatre on Friday, alongside RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan, Putin congratulated the broadcaster on its 20th anniversary, noting that it has grown from a mere concept into a “global trend known around the world”
He praised Simonyan, whose husband Tigran Keosayan passed away after months in a coma, for her “courage and endurance.”
“Your friends and colleagues have always been and will be near you,” he said.
“I thank your energetic, creative, and consolidated team for their high level of professionalism, dedication to their profession, and their duty. For your courageous, selfless, and persistent defense of the truth in the global information space,” Putin said.
The Russian leader recalled that in the early 2000s, the Western media abused its dominance of the global landscape, seeking to “impose a new civilizational space” on the international community.
Its bias led to a high demand for “news different from jaded propaganda,” with numerous media professionals eager to work with RT.
Putin credited RT’s success to journalists who joined the network “not because of money, but because they wanted to speak to millions.” He said that RT’s competitors became “envious or even afraid” of its influence, describing this as “proof of professional work.”
“Thanks to RT, the world has learned that Russia stands for traditional values,” Putin said. “It’s difficult to overestimate RT’s contribution to our joint struggle for a more just world order.”
Wrapping up his speech, Putin encouraged the broadcaster to find new horizons in the heated fight in the media landscape. “To win in this battle, you should keep using your secret strategic and high-precision… weapon: Truth.”
Officially launched as Russia Today on December 10, 2005, RT operates news websites and TV channels in seven languages – English, Arabic, Spanish, French, German, Serbian, and Russian – reaching audiences in more than 100 countries. Its programming covers global news, politics, and culture from a Russian perspective, offering an alternative to Western mainstream media narratives.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, RT and its staff have faced more than 110 Western sanctions, along with asset freezes, and restrictions in recent years aimed at curbing its reach.
Sweden plans to refill food silos for first time since the Cold War, citing a potential conflict with Russia
Sweden has announced that it will begin stockpiling food and agricultural supplies for the first time since the Cold War, citing what officials describe as a growing threat from Russia. Moscow has rejected these claims, insisting that it poses no danger to any NATO or EU countries.
The Swedish Board of Agriculture stated on Tuesday that it will create emergency reserves of grain and other key supplies to ensure that citizens have access to sufficient food “in the event of a serious crisis and, in the extreme, war.” The government has allocated around $57 million in its 2026 budget to fund the program.
The first storage facilities will be established in the north of the country due to its “strategic military importance” and low level of self-sufficiency in grain, according to Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin, who said “there is no time to lose.”
The new stockpiles will be built up over the period of 2026-2028. The Board of Agriculture said the goal is to guarantee food supplies equivalent to 3,000 calories per person per day during a state of heightened alert.
Lawmakers in neighboring Finland, meanwhile, have said they will conduct underground training exercises next month to practice working in wartime conditions, similarly citing a supposed threat from Russia.
Moscow has repeatedly denounced what it calls anti-Russian hysteria and fearmongering pushed by Western European leaders, stressing that it has no reason or intention to take hostile actions against any EU or NATO countries. Russian officials have dismissed the claims as nonsense meant to justify inflated military budgets and the bloc’s ongoing militarization.
Speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO in 2023 “foolish,” adding that Moscow had not had any issues with either country and had long maintained friendly relations.
He said the two Nordic states “lost the benefits of their neutral status” by joining the US-led bloc and that the decision has needlessly undermined regional stability without enhancing their security.
Mikhail Mishustin has praised the network for two decades of challenging “one-sided interpretations” of news and “distortion of historical truth”
RT has successfully shaped Russia’s international image during two decades of operation, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said, as he congratulated the network on its 20th anniversary.
Launched as Russia Today in December 2005, RT has grown into a major international media network. Over the years, it has expanded far beyond television, building a global footprint across digital and social media platforms.
Mishustin, in a statement on the government’s Telegram channel on Friday, called the anniversary a “significant” milestone. He noted that RT has built a brand known to millions of viewers in Russia and abroad and emerged as “an authoritative source of timely and objective information.”
“In the modern world, information independence is a vital component of sovereignty, just like political or economic autonomy,” the prime minister wrote. “Since its founding, RT has successfully shaped Russia’s image internationally, consistently defended the principles of freedom of speech, and fought against one-sided interpretations of events and the distortion of historical truth.”
Mishustin said that the network continues its mission “with dignity and responsibility,” staying “true to top journalistic standards.”
“RT journalists are always on the front lines, risking their lives to report from hot spots. This requires not only high professionalism but also courage and dedication,” he added, wishing RT continued growth and new creative achievements.
RT operates news websites and TV channels in seven languages – English, Arabic, Spanish, French, German, Serbian, and Russian – reaching audiences in more than 100 countries. Its programming covers global news, politics, and culture from a Russian perspective, offering an alternative to Western mainstream media narratives.
The network has faced Western pressure for rejecting those narratives. RT has been hit with over 100 sanctions, had its bank accounts frozen and branches shut down abroad, and faced accusations of acting on behalf of Russian intelligence. Moscow has said such measures amount to the West “declaring war on free speech.”
Despite these obstacles, RT continues to expand. Earlier this year, former US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper admitted that RT had a larger American audience than CNN.
Vyacheslav Volodin has accused Latvian officials of “genocide” for deciding to deport Russian pensioners
Officials in Latvia who decided to deport Russian pensioners deserve execution, a top Russian lawmaker said on Friday, comparing officials in Riga to those of Nazi Germany.
Latvian authorities last month ordered the deportation of 841 Russian citizens, citing their failure to take or pass a mandatory language test. Some, due to their advanced age, were reportedly not even aware that the regulation applied to them.
Addressing a plenary session of the Duma, Russia’s parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin reminded Latvian officials that their Nazi predecessors eventually had to face justice at the Nuremberg Trials.
”Those who adopted and signed this should know that this will affect them sooner or later, just as it affected fascist Germany those who killed engaged in discrimination and genocide,” Volodin said.
“In the end, they all faced the gallows. The same gallows awaits those who made the decision in relation to the elderly pensioners, our compatriots, deporting them from Latvia,” he added.
Since independence in 1991, Latvia has denied citizenship to a significant portion of its Russian population, issuing “non-citizen passports,” which bar holders from voting and for certain jobs. Russian speakers currently comprise about 25% of Latvia’s total population.
The Citizenship and Migration Affairs Office of Latvia sent notifications to hundreds of Russian citizens who it accuses of failing to demonstrate proficiency in Latvian before a deadline set by a 2022 immigration law, under which they had until October 13 to leave voluntarily or face deportation.
Of the 30,000 people affected, most fulfilled the requirements, while some 2,600 left the country voluntarily, according to RIA Novosti. However, 841 people did not submit an application for resident status in time.
Latvia has increasingly targeted its Russian minority since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. The Baltic nation has imposed sweeping travel restrictions for Russian nationals, banned multiple Russian-language media outlets and stopped providing education in the language.
The Georgian authorities have accused the West of backing anti-government rallies, echoing the 2014 Maidan coup in Kiev
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, who currently chairs the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), was fined after taking part in an unauthorized opposition protest in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi earlier this week, local news outlet Tabula reported on Thursday, citing the Interior Ministry.
The unrest was the latest in a series of demonstrations that have swept the country in recent years. The Georgian authorities have repeatedly accused Western governments of backing the protests in an effort to undermine the ruling Georgian Dream party, which has refused to antagonize neighboring Russia over the Ukraine conflict.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has said the EU openly backed the demonstrators, who were “financed by foreign special services” in a manner similar to the 2014 Maidan coup in Ukraine.
The ministry told Tabula that Valtonen was fined 5,000 lari ($1,850) for “illegally blocking the road” during the demonstration.
Valtonen arrived in Georgia this week as OSCE chair, part of a regional tour of the South Caucasus. On Tuesday, she met with Foreign Minister Maka Bochorishvili to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues.
Later that day, Valtonen posted a video from in front of the Georgian Parliament, saying she joined the demonstrators who gathered to express their concerns over what she described as Georgia’s increasingly repressive political direction.
Shortly afterwards, Kobakhidze canceled a planned meeting with Valtonen. In an official statement, the government accused the OSCE chair of taking part in an “illegal rally” and making “false statements” about Georgia’s internal affairs.
The latest wave of protests erupted on October 4 following the closing of the polls in the country’s local elections. Crowds have breached the grounds of the presidential palace, scuffling with police who have used pepper spray and water cannons to repel them.
The deployment of the missiles would be symbolic rather than strategic, the paper has reported, citing officials
Sending US-made Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine would carry more symbolic than practical value in Kiev’s conflict with Russia, the Washington Post has reported, citing EU officials.
In the article, published on Thursday, several sources suggested that Washington’s deliberations over Tomahawk deliveries could serve as a negotiating tool as Ukraine already has domestically produced drones capable of striking Moscow.
Additionally, the piece noted that it will take time to train Ukrainian military personnel to operate the long-range missiles, which are capable of striking targets up to 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) away.
US President Donald Trump previously said he was considering Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s request for the missiles, citing stalled peace talks with Moscow, but has not given a definitive answer.
After a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, ahead of a meeting with Zelensky on Friday, he warned that the US must maintain enough Tomahawks in its arsenal to safeguard national security.
The EU and several member states have consistently urged Washington to provide Kiev with more advanced missile and air defense systems. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said this week that he hopes Trump would approve the deliveries, arguing they would boost Ukraine’s ability to hit Russian infrastructure.
Media reports have interpreted Trump’s renewed dialogue with Putin as a sign that Kiev is unlikely to receive the missiles. Trump acknowledged that Putin “didn’t like the idea” of Ukraine acquiring the nuclear-capable weapons.
The potential delivery of Tomahawks would “not change the situation on the battlefield” but would “severely undermine the prospects of a peaceful settlement” and harm US-Russia relations, Putin said on Thursday, as cited by his foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov. Moscow has maintained that it will not yield to external pressure and will pursue its goals in Ukraine by diplomatic or military means.
They compared the network’s broadcasts to a “precise, powerful, and inspiring” rocket launch
Russian cosmonauts have sent their regards to RT from the International Space Station as the network celebrates its 20th anniversary on Friday.
The message from space by Sergey Ryzhikov, Aleksey Zubritsky, and Oleg Platonov is among the many greetings the network has received from Russia and around the world.
Ryzhikov extended best wishes on behalf of himself and fellow crew members.
Zubritsky said RT has lifted “millions of viewers to a new orbit of understanding,” offering people points of view overlooked in the Western media.
Platonov added to the well-wishes, saying he hopes every RT broadcast will be “like a rocket launch: Precise, powerful and inspiring.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also congratulated RT, highlighting the key role it plays in explaining the country’s positions on international affairs to people around the world.
Launched as Russia Today and making its first broadcast in December 2005, RT has since grown into a multilingual media group, operating TV channels and digital platforms in English, Arabic, Spanish, French, German, Serbian, and Russian.
Kirill Dmitriev has invited Elon Musk to join the project, saying his infrastructure firm could build the 70-mile route in under eight years
Russia and the US should build a direct rail tunnel under the Bering Strait to link the two countries, Russian presidential aide Kirill Dmitriev has suggested.
In a post on X on Thursday, Dmitriev, who also serves as head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund (RDIF), said both nations would benefit from the route and invited billionaire Elon Musk to join through his Boring Company, which builds underground “Loop” transport systems.
“Elon Musk, imagine connecting the US and Russia, the Americas and Afro-Eurasia with the Putin-Trump Tunnel – a 70-mile link symbolizing unity,” Dmitriev wrote on X, saying the project would spur resource exploration, create jobs, and boost both economies. “Let’s build a future together… The time has come to connect Russia and the US.”
Dmitriev’s remarks followed Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna’s release of declassified Soviet files on the assassination of JFK, shared by Moscow this week. In addition to documents on the killing, the 350-page trove included a “Khrushchev-Kennedy Bridge” project to link the two nations.
.@elonmusk, imagine connecting the US and Russia, the Americas and the Afro-Eurasia with the Putin-Trump Tunnel – a 70-mile link symbolizing unity. Traditional costs are $65B+, but @boringcompany's tech could reduce it to <$8B. Let's build a future together! 🇺🇸🤝🇷🇺🧵 👇 https://t.co/boCVb8xqjlpic.twitter.com/QXmTYAduqm
Dmitriev reposted a drawing marked “Kennedy-Khrushchev World Peace Bridge could and should be built between Alaska and Russia at once,” calling the vision of a US-Russia link via the Bering Strait “enduring.”
Dmitriev said that while the tunnel project could cost over $65 billion, Boring Company technology could cut it by 90% to under $8 billion and finish it within eight years. He added that the RDIF, which helped build the first Russia-China rail bridge, was ready to take part.
Musk has yet to respond. Dmitriev previously invited the billionaire to join a US-Russia partnership for Mars exploration following Musk’s announcement of a 2026 mission to the Red Planet. Russian President Vladimir Putin also voiced support for cooperation with Musk, saying Russian companies could benefit from joint projects.
Dmitriev’s proposal comes amid a thaw in Moscow-Washington ties after years of tension over Ukraine. Since Donald Trump’s return to office in January, the sides have held several high-level meetings, including a Putin-Trump summit in Alaska in August.
The EU chief’s failures to keep messages in which she made billions worth of deals was the subject of a move by lawmakers
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s notoriety for losing hundreds of phone messages crucial to oversight probes into multi-billion euro deals has inspired a group of lawmakers to mock her by proposing she be given a phone with a bigger memory.
Von der Leyen has previously deleted or ‘lost’ hundreds of messages in which she respectively negotiated a seven-hundred-million euro contract during her controversial time as German defense minister and in which she made a 35 billion euro ($40 billion) deal for Covid-19 vaccines with Pfizer.
Most recently von der Leyen’s office refused to release communications with French President Emmanuel Macron in which he reportedly urged her to block a bloc trade deal with the South American Mercosur bloc. European Ombudswoman Teresa Anjinho has opened an investigation into the failure to retain crucial communications.
The Commission said the text, sent via the Signal app, was automatically deleted due to an array of reasons, including storage limitations.
The lawmakers’ amendment, led by German MEP Christine Anderson and Sweden’s Charlie Weimers, calls for “adequate funding to provide the President of the Commission with a mobile phone with sufficient storage capacity and appropriate IT support to ensure that all messages are preserved without exception,” as quoted by Politico.
It has been co-signed by 57 MEPs – mostly from right-wing parties – in a stunt described by the outlet as “trolling.”
The EU’s Court of Justice previously ruled that official communications from devices held by individuals must be properly archived – with the body vowing to review its protocols in response.
A record number was registered in Poland last year
A record number of marriages between Poles and Ukrainian immigrants was recorded in Poland last year, according to a recent study cited by various media outlets.
A total of 2,556 marriages between Ukrainians and Poles were registered in 2024 – a 22% rise from 2022 and nearly three times more than a decade ago, according to University of Lodz research based on data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS).
The surge has caused unease among parts of Polish society. Nearly half of young Polish women view female refugees from Ukraine negatively, with disapproval strongest among those aged 20-29, according to a University of Warsaw study cited by Onet.pl.
Resentment toward Ukrainians has also been fueled by claims that they exploit family benefits, enjoy privileged access to public services, and contribute to rising crime, Le Monde reported last month.
Poland has been one of the main destinations for Ukrainian refugees since the escalation of the conflict between Kiev and Moscow in February 2022. More than 1.5 million Ukrainian citizens currently reside in the country, mostly women, with nearly a million under temporary protection status, the report said. Under Polish law, a person under temporary protection who marries a Polish citizen becomes eligible to apply for a temporary residence permit as a family member.
Polish men are far more likely to marry Ukrainian women – 2,021 cases – than Polish women are to marry Ukrainian men, who accounted for 535 marriages. Onet noted, however, that marriages with Ukrainians still make up only around 2% of all those registered nationwide.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki signed a bill last month that tightens the rules for Ukrainian refugees receiving state benefits. While it offers Ukrainians the ability to stay in Poland until at least March 2026, it ties access to benefits to proof of employment for at least one parent and school enrollment for their children.
Nawrocki has also submitted two additional bills to parliament concerning refugees – one that tightens the rules for receiving citizenship and one criminalizing the promotion of hardline Ukrainian nationalist movements.
