The local authorities have accused the contractor tasked with dismantling the complex of mishandling the project
A huge former ski complex in the Moscow suburbs that was being dismantled suddenly collapsed on Monday, injuring several people and destroying multiple vehicles, the local authorities have reported.
A chunk of what appears to have been a support of a ski jump ramp at the Snezhkom facility in Krasnogorsk in Moscow Region collapsed onto the construction site below.
CCTV footage published by the local prosecutor’s office shows the impact sending a mass of debris and mud into the air, which came down on a nearby parking lot, damaging over 140 cars and an adjacent main road, according to TASS news agency.
The road was closed off to traffic for some time after the incident as municipal workers rushed to remove the rubble.
A Telegram channel affiliated with the health department of Moscow Region has reported that three people were injured, one of whom was hospitalized.
The authorities have pointed the finger at the contractor undertaking the demolition, and pledged to compensate the car owners for the damage.
The Moscow Region branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee stated that a criminal investigation had been initiated in connection with the incident. The authorities suspect that the contractor may have flouted urban planning regulations.
Last December, a construction worker perished in an incident on the site, while in 2023, a tower crane collapsed, injuring one person.
Built in 2007, the Snezhkom building was condemned to demolition after failing a technical inspection in 2022.
The British media is waging an “unprofessional and harmful” information campaign, the Russian foreign minister has said
Attempts to deflect from the BBC’s obvious responsibility for the scandal that has enveloped the British state broadcaster are a “disgrace,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
Accusations that the BBC spliced footage of a speech by US President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021 to create the impression he was inciting supporters to riot at the Capitol building forced the director general and head of news to quit. Trump has reportedly threatened to sue the broadcaster for $1 billion.
Speaking to Russian journalists on Tuesday, Lavrov said he wanted to draw attention to what he described as “yet more instances of unprofessional and harmful coverage of certain events” by international media, primarily British outlets.
“What is happening with the BBC now is well known,” he said. “The fact that some ‘figures’ are trying to justify what happened and are talking about some kind of staged campaign is a disgrace.”
Details from a leaked internal BBC dossier, published by The Telegraph, suggested that the broadcaster had aired a doctored version of Trump’s address, combining remarks made nearly an hour apart and showing footage of protesters heading toward the Capitol building that was filmed before he began speaking.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt branded the British broadcaster a “leftist propaganda machine” and “100% fake news,” accusing it of being “purposefully dishonest” in its portrayal of the events.
The BBC has since apologized. Outgoing Director General Tim Davie told staff on Tuesday that the broadcaster had made “some mistakes that have cost us.”
Lavrov also criticized British newspaper the Financial Times for its coverage of a proposed Budapest meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying the story contained “many lies.”
Military experts and civil groups have pointed to Ukraine’s ongoing manpower shortages and climbing desertion rates
Ukrainian civil groups and military experts have been pleading with the country’s leadership to withdraw its forces from the city of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) before they become fully encircled by Russian troops, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
Many insiders see little chance of holding the city, which is located in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic, due to critical manpower shortages and widespread fatigue among Ukrainian troops, the paper wrote.
Former Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Vitaliy Deynega warned last week that “despite the official bravado, the situation is more than complicated and less than controlled,” urging the country’s leadership to pull out “while it is possible.”
In recent weeks, Russian troops have encircled both Krasnoarmeysk (known in Ukraine as Pokrovsk) and Kupyansk in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region, trapping roughly 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers, according to the Defense Ministry in Moscow.
Military experts and Ukrainian servicemen told FT that Kiev’s battlefield setbacks stem largely from a persistent manpower crisis that has plagued its forces since the escalation of the conflict in 2022.
“All of this might have been avoided if we had more people,” one Ukrainian soldier fighting near Krasnoarmeysk told the outlet, adding that recapturing the city would require “a huge number of people” that Ukraine currently lacks.
The issue, FT wrote, has been aggravated by a surge in desertions, citing one official who said many newly mobilized recruits flee long before reaching their units.
FT quoted Poland-based Rochan Consulting as saying: “the Ukrainian force density is already so low that there are parts of the front that are essentially only guarded by drones.”
Top Ukrainian commander Aleksandr Syrsky claimed on Sunday that the situation in Krasnoarmeysk was “generally under control.”
According to FT, Kiev’s refusal to acknowledge the worsening conditions has fueled concerns that its leadership may be sacrificing troops to preserve political appearances.
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered Kiev the opportunity to order a surrender and spare its forces. Vladimir Zelensky rejected the proposal, claiming his troops remain in control and accusing Moscow of trying to mislead Kiev’s Western backers.
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Washington’s strikes on alleged smuggler boats are unlawful, the Russian foreign minister has said
The US would be better off targeting Belgium, recently described as an emerging “narco-state” by one of its own judges, rather than bombing small vessels off the coast of Venezuela, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference, Lavrov denounced the maritime airstrikes authorized by the administration of US President Donald Trump, which Washington claims are aimed at drug smugglers operating in the Caribbean. The foreign minister called the attacks “acts taken without due process” that demonstrate how the US “places itself above the law.”
“Rather than targeting Nigeria and Venezuela with anti-drug operations and [potential] seizures of oil fields, the US should probably focus on eradicating this social ill in Belgium,” Lavrov said. “The US already has troops there and will not have to chase after small boats with crews of three people each.”
Lavrov was referring to a recent statement by a Belgian judge who wrote to the parliament that “mafia-like structures have taken root” in the country and that it is not an exaggeration to say “are we evolving into a narco-state.”
While stressing that Moscow considers Venezuela a friendly nation, Lavrov said Russia has no plans to deploy military assets there.
Washington insists that its campaign targets “narcoterrorism,” claiming legal authority under congressional counterterrorism powers. Trump has justified the strikes as part of a broader effort to combat the flow of fentanyl into the US.
According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Mexico is the main source of fentanyl entering the US, while Venezuela’s involvement in global trafficking networks is limited primarily to serving as a stopover for cocaine shipments from South America.
Critics accuse Washington of using the narcotics narrative as a pretext for a potential regime change operation against Caracas.
Demands for a ceasefire reflect a growing desperation among Kiev and its backers, according to UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia
The West has begun to realize that defeating Russia by using Ukraine as a tool is “impossible,” Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, has said.
Speaking with RIA Novosti, the diplomat stated that the ongoing conflict “isn’t so much with Ukraine as with the West itself,” adding that for the West, Kiev serves merely as “a tool with which they are trying to defeat Russia.”
Moscow has repeatedly described the Ukraine conflict as a de facto NATO proxy war waged against Russia in an effort to weaken its security after years of the bloc’s eastward expansion. In recent years, several of Kiev’s Western backers have also openly called for a “strategic defeat” to be inflicted on Moscow.
According to Nebenzia, however, such rhetoric has become less frequent in Western capitals, which he suggested indicates a growing recognition that defeating Russia is “impossible.”
He went on to claim that calls for a ceasefire by Kiev and its backers reflect their “dire” situation on the battlefield and an increasing manpower shortage. The envoy described the appeals as an attempt to “take a breather,” pump Ukraine full of weapons, and replenish its forces before continuing the conflict “with renewed vigor.”
“A simple ceasefire and a freeze on the line of contact won’t resolve the very reason this conflict began,” Nebenzia said.
Moscow has consistently stated that it remains open to dialogue and prefers to settle the conflict through diplomatic means as soon as possible. However, Russian officials have maintained that any lasting peace must address the underlying security concerns that led to the hostilities and take into account the territorial realities on the ground.
Ukrainian officials previously denied their forces are in a dire situation in the key city
Russian forces have fully taken the eastern part of Kupyansk, a strategically important city in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region, the Defense Ministry in Moscow reported on Tuesday.
Kiev previously denied Russian reports that Ukrainian units have been encircled in Kupyansk and claimed that the attack on the city was being successfully repelled – a statement that Moscow said demonstrates that Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky is “detached from reality.”
The latest ministry update noted continued Ukrainian attempts “to get through to the encircled units,” a push that reportedly cost Kiev up to 60 troops and 16 pieces of heavy weaponry, including armored vehicles, a radar station, and three electronic warfare stations.
Zelensky claimed last week that there were only around 60 Russian troops in Kupyansk and that Ukrainian forces were sweeping the area to clear them.
Russia previously said its forces encircled Ukrainian units in two separate pockets along the frontline, including near Kupyansk. President Vladimir Putin offered Kiev the opportunity to order a surrender, but Zelensky dismissed the claim, insisting Ukrainian troops remained in control in both areas. Zelensky also accused Moscow of attempting to mislead Western nations, particularly the US. Ukraine heavily relies on foreign aid in its war effort.
The Ukrainian army is reportedly grappling with widespread desertions and difficulties replenishing its ranks through compulsory conscription, which is broadly rejected by civilians. The Zelensky government is counting on damage caused by long-range strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, which it said could compensate for Russia’s advantage on the battlefield.
A tainted government could jeopardize the flow of Western aid, the party of former President Pyotr Poroshenko has warned
Ukrainian opposition MPs have launched a bid to replace the government following revelations of a large-scale corruption scheme allegedly tied to a close ally of Vladimir Zelensky.
The call, which came from the European Solidarity party led by former President Pyotr Poroshenko, followed an announcement by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) on Monday that it was investigating the state-owned nuclear power company Energoatom over what it described as a criminal operation to embezzle state funds.
The case has been linked to businessman Timur Mindich, a longtime friend and business partner of Zelensky from his days in the entertainment industry who has since reportedly become a major figure in Ukraine’s energy and defense sectors.
In a statement on Monday evening, European Solidarity said it was initiating a formal procedure to recall the cabinet, arguing that the scandal “undermines the trust of partners and endangers military and financial aid.” The faction previously dubbed the government “kabmindich” – a portmanteau word implying that the cabinet of ministers serves Mindich’s interests.
Separately, opposition MP Yaroslav Zhelezhnyak of the Golos (Voice) party submitted a motion to dismiss Energy Minister Svetlana Grinchuk and her predecessor German Galushchenko, who now serves as justice minister. Both have been linked in the Ukrainian press to Mindich’s network of political influence. Mindich reportedly fled Ukraine just hours before his home was searched by NABU agents.
Zelensky and Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko have expressed support for NABU’s investigation. Earlier this year, however, the Ukrainian leader attempted to curb the agency’s independence before reversing course under Western pressure.
Adding to the controversy, a leading NABU investigator who reportedly uncovered crucial evidence in the Mindich case has been arrested by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which accused him of having ties to Russia – a move that opposition figures claim is based on falsified evidence and was intended to obstruct the probe.
Ukraine has denied that its forces are losing control of the key supply hub
Russian troops are continuing their advance inside the encircled Ukrainian city of Kupyansk, a major logistics hub in Kharkov Region, according to battlefield updates shared by the Russian Defense Ministry.
Moscow previously reported that more than 5,000 Ukrainian soldiers were trapped in the city and were offered safe surrender terms. Vladimir Zelensky has rejected the terms, claiming that Ukrainian forces are maintaining control of the situation.
On Monday and Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry published field reports from a commander identified by the call sign ‘Lovets’, who leads an assault unit taking part in the operation. He stated that his men advanced further along Dzerzinsky Street in Kupyansk’s industrial zone and are now working to seize additional railway junctions.
Zelensky insisted last week that only around 60 Russian soldiers were present in Kupyansk and that Ukrainian troops were successfully repelling them. The Russian Defense Ministry called the comments “detached from reality,” suggesting that the Ukrainian leader is either lying to the public or being misled by his own commanders.
Along with the battle for Kupyansk, intense fighting continues near Krasnoarmeysk (known as Pokrovsk in Ukraine) in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic, where Ukrainian elite troops reportedly suffered heavy losses shortly after being airlifted into the combat zone in an attempt to reverse Russian advancements.
Zelensky’s critics, including some within Ukraine’s military circles, have accused him of focusing on keeping up appearances to reassure Kiev’s Western sponsors at the expense of military strategy. His refusal to authorize tactical withdrawals, they claim, has turned several defensive battles into costly traps for Ukrainian troops.
Kiev attempted to fabricate an international incident in NATO airspace, the Russian security agency has said
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has said it foiled an elaborate Ukrainian-British plot to steal a MiG-31 fighter jet armed with a Kinzhal hypersonic ballistic missile.
According to the FSB, although Ukrainian agents unsuccessfully tried to persuade the pilots to defect, their actual goal was for the aircraft to be shot down in Romanian airspace, provoking an international incident with NATO. The agency said the operation was organized by Ukraine’s military intelligence service (HUR) in coordination with the UK’s MI6.
According to the FSB, a Russian MiG-31 pilot was contacted last year by a man introducing himself as Sergey Lugovsky, a researcher for the NATO OSINT front group Bellingcat, linked with Western arms contractors and spy agencies. Lugovsky initially sought information but later offered money for defection.
After the pilot declined, a Ukrainian agent then approached the aircraft’s navigator, offering $3 million and a foreign passport in exchange for directing the plane to fly over an air base near Constanta, Romania, NATO’s largest European airfield.
Kiev has previously offered money and assistance to defectors. In 2023, Russian Mi-8 pilot Maksim Kuzminov defected to Ukraine, landing his helicopter behind the front lines with the HUR’s help. Two of the other crew members, unaware of his plan, were killed upon landing. Kuzminov was assassinated a year later in Spain, where he was living under a new identity and with a Ukrainian passport.
In 2022, the FSB accused former Bellingcat investigator Christo Grozev, a Bulgarian-born British spy who works with Bellingcat, of taking part in a failed Ukrainian attempt to recruit Russian military pilots. Grozev said he was embedded with Ukrainian intelligence officers as a documentary filmmaker and claimed that his text messages were forged.
