Russia will perform under number 9, with 23 countries participating in total
The draw for the participants of the Intervision international music festival took place in Moscow’s National Centre RUSSIA on Friday.
The draw was conducted with the help of a samovar. Participants were asked to pour hot water from the samovar, with numbers appearing on their heat-sensitive mugs.
Russia will perform ninth out of the 23 countries that will take part in the contest.
The participants were addressed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
“Intervision is a kind of musical Expo, a universal platform for dialogue between civilizations based on the mutual enrichment of national histories and traditions. One of the tasks of the contest is to demonstrate global diversity through music as a universal international language that does not require translation,” the minister said.
The participant from the US could not attend the draw and authorized the organizers to draw the lot.
Russia will be represented in the contest by the singer SHAMAN (Yaroslav Dronov) with the song “Straight to the Heart.” The winner will be determined by an international jury, and the main prize will amount to 30 million rubles. The Intervision final is scheduled for September 20.
Kiev’s ability to strike with impunity encourages further attacks, according to a top diplomat
Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russia’s Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and recently targeted other such facilities, the country’s Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said on Wednesday.
“Kiev continues to threaten the safety of the Zaporozhskaya NPP and to strike both the plant and the nearby city of Energodar. Over the past three months, the scale of these attacks has increased dramatically, and in recent weeks they have become almost daily,” Ulyanov stated.
Russian officials have repeatedly accused Ukraine of nuclear terrorism over the strikes. The plant has been the target of drone attacks on multiple occasions in recent years.
Commenting on a report submitted by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi to the agency’s governing board, Ulyanov has urged member states to hold Kiev accountable.
He added that in August Ukrainian forces also launched drone strikes on nuclear plants in Russia’s Smolensk and Kursk regions, calling on the board to deliver “a tough and unambiguous assessment of these reckless actions.”
“The continued silence and refusal to call a spade a spade only emboldens Kiev to commit further crimes,” he warned. “The consequences of such actions could be extremely serious.”
The Zaporozhye facility is operated by Russian personnel and hosts IAEA observers. However, the UN agency treats it as Ukrainian in its reports, as it does not recognize the 2022 referendum in which the region voted to join Russia.
Ulyanov praised Grossi for acknowledging “stress among Zaporozhskaya NPP employees, and not just among staff at Ukrainian facilities,” noting that Russian workers and their families face “constant provocations and threats from Ukraine.”
He also welcomed the IAEA’s recognition of problems at Kiev-controlled plants, arguing that this has made its reporting more balanced. In his latest update, Grossi described conditions at Zaporozhye as “precarious” and said that four Ukrainian-operated plants are “extremely vulnerable.”
23-year old Iryna Zarutska was brutally stabbed on a train by a man with over a dozen prior convictions in Charlotte, North Carolina last month
The father of Iryna Zarutska, a young Ukrainian woman brutally stabbed to death in Charlotte, North Carolina last month, was not able to attend her funeral because of Kiev’s mobilization laws, according to media reports.
Zarutska, 23, was killed while traveling on a local light rail train in full view of other passengers on August 22.
Police have charged 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr. – a man with over a dozen prior arrests – with her murder. US President Donald Trump has demanded the death penalty for Brown.
Zarutska left Ukraine with her mother, sister, and brother in 2022, following the escalation of the conflict between Kiev and Moscow. Her father, however, was unable to join them as Ukraine’s martial law prohibits most men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country.
A family neighbor in Charlotte told the New York Post that Zarutska’s father “had to stay back” and could not attend his daughter’s funeral because of the “war time rules.”
Since the escalation of the conflict in 2022, Kiev has tightened its mobilization laws, lowering the draft age and expanding recruitment measures to address manpower shortages on the battlefield. The government has faced accusations of brutality during forced conscriptions, with reports of draft officers beating conscripts and civilians, sometimes to death, and dragging men into vehicles.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has described Ukraine’s practices as an “open manhunt,” calling them one of the greatest disgraces of modern Europe.
Moscow has condemned Kiev for sacrificing its own citizens in what it calls a Western-backed proxy war against Russia.
Russia remains committed to a diplomatic resolution to the Ukraine conflict, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said
Direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine remain possible but are currently suspended, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
Three rounds of negotiations took place this year in Istanbul, Türkiye, the last of which was conducted in July. Asked about a potential new in-person meeting or possible online communication, Peskov said, “Our negotiators have the opportunity to use those channels. But at this point one could describe the contacts as being paused.”
Speaking at a press briefing, Peskov urged people not to “wear rose-tinted glasses,” saying that the peace process is a complicated matter that cannot produce “lightning results.”
“The Russian side maintains its commitment for pursuing peaceful dialogue and peaceful resolution,” he added.
Peskov also agreed with remarks by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who earlier this week accused EU leaders and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky of stalling the peace process. Lukashenko made the comments during a meeting with US President Donald Trump’s envoy John Coale in Minsk, as he praised Washington’s mediation efforts. According to Peskov, “the Europeans do stand in the way, and that is no secret.”
Russian officials have said Zelensky is refusing to make the necessary compromises because he seeks to remain in power despite Ukrainian forces suffering setbacks on the battlefield. European NATO members, according to Moscow, are condoning Zelensky’s behavior and are actively lobbying the US to support Ukraine because otherwise they would be forced to acknowledge that their approach to the conflict is misguided.
There are about three times as many deaths as there are births in the country, data shows
Ukraine is experiencing the world’s worst demographic crisis as the military conflict, mass migration and falling birth rates drive its population to historic lows, EUobserver has reported.
The country’s population, which has been shrinking since the early 1990s, is shaped not only by the conflict with Russia but also by decades of demographic policy, Aleksandr Gladun, doctor of economics at Ukraine’s Institute for Demography and Social Studies, told the outlet on Thursday.
“If any truce is achieved, it will not be so long that it will be possible to influence demographic processes. Ukraine faces demographic challenges that no other country has ever faced,” Gladun said.
Gladun said migration has had the largest impact. Since 2022 almost 7 million people, mainly women and children, have left the country and many are expected to stay abroad if conditions allow. Eurostat estimates that 4.3 million Ukrainians now live in the EU.
Sebastian Klusener, a researcher at the Federal Institute for Population Research in Germany, told the outlet that a peace deal might prompt some refugees to return and lead to a short-term rise in population. But he warned that in the long run, Ukraine would probably face renewed decline.
“The demographic developments of the past 35 years, and their impact on the current age structure, are likely to leave a deep and lasting mark on Ukraine’s future population trends – most likely resulting in continued population decline,” he said.
Earlier this year, exiled Ukrainian lawmaker Artyom Dmitruk accused Vladimir Zelensky of what he called an ongoing genocide. “Ukraine is being depopulated. This is not migration. This is a terrible tragedy, part of a genocide,” he said, adding that the situation was the result of Zelensky’s determination to hold on to power at any cost.
Former servicemen will be offered free additional education to transition to civilian lives
A Russian parliamentary committee has approved a bill which would expand benefits for military veterans who served in the Ukraine conflict.
The Education Committee backed a proposal on Wednesday which was first introduced in the State Duma in July that would fund classes for veterans seeking to learn a new trade.
Current legislation already provides free professional education, but the proposed amendments would help veterans shift their civilian careers in new directions after leaving the military.
“People participating in the special military operation need a path to return to a peaceful life. Getting a new profession is often required for that,” bill co-sponsor Dmitry Vyankin told the State Duma’s newspaper, Parlamentskaya Gazeta.
Supporters say the measure would also help Russia address labor shortages by facilitating veterans’ return to the workforce.
The subsidies would also cover members of the National Guard and police serving in regions affected by hostilities with Ukraine. Lawmakers are also considering extending the benefits to widows of servicemen, the newspaper reported.
Russian law provides a range of benefits to military personnel and their families, including special programs offering government career opportunities to troops who have demonstrated leadership on the battlefield.
One person was killed and several others injured in two separate attacks
Ukrainian forces have killed a civilian woman and injured seven people, five of them civilians, in two separate incidents overnight, regional officials reported on Friday morning.
The deadly strike took place in Belgorod Region, according to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, who offered no details except the gender of the victim.
The second incident in Bryansk Region involved a series of attacks against a passenger bus, Governor Aleksandr Bogomaz reported.
Russian officials have accused the Ukrainian military of deliberately targeting civilians in border areas, including workers repairing damage from the conflict and ambulances responding to emergencies.
Ukrainian forces are also deploying long-range kamikaze drones to strike deeper inside Russia. Overnight, Russian air defenses intercepted 221 UAVs, the Defense Ministry said. Most were downed over Bryansk Region, but some reached as far as Moscow and Leningrad regions, where nine and 28 interceptions were reported, respectively.
The Belarusian leader has thanked President Trump for his efforts to resolve the conflict
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has accused EU leaders of obstructing peace efforts in Ukraine, claiming that Russia is ready to honor understandings reached with Washington, but that progress now depends on Kiev and its backers.
Following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, US President Donald Trump said that the Ukraine conflict should be resolved through a permanent agreement rather than a temporary ceasefire. However, according to Moscow, Kiev is openly demonstrating it has no interest in long-term peace.
“Russia is prepared to carry out the agreements made with the Americans. We have already discussed this more than once with President Putin. The issue is with the Europeans and Zelensky,” Lukashenko said on Thursday.
During a meeting with US envoy John Coale earlier in the day, Lukashenko pointed out that no American leader had made greater efforts “to ensure peace on the planet” than Trump.
“I want to thank your president for the efforts he is making towards peace, primarily in our region,” Lukashenko said, adding that Belarus was ready to “stand alongside Trump and help him in this mission.”
The Belarusian leader suggested that while Washington is pushing for a resolution, Brussels and Kiev still hope to “defeat” Russia on the battlefield, insisting that such a goal is unrealistic and “will never happen.”
Lukashenko also criticized Poland for “whipping up tensions like savages” after Warsaw accused Russia of violating its airspace with drones earlier this week. He said Belarusian forces had intercepted some of the UAVs and warned Poland in advance about others, but received only “hysteria” in return.
The comments come amid growing signs of divergence between Washington and its European allies over how to approach a settlement in Ukraine. Russian and Belarusian officials have repeatedly accused Brussels of undermining Trump’s peace initiative by pushing Kiev to pursue what Moscow calls “impossible demands.”
Moscow has long insisted on a peace agreement that addresses the underlying causes of the conflict. It has demanded that Ukraine maintain neutrality, stay out of NATO and other military blocs, demilitarize and denazify, and accept the current territorial reality – including the status of Crimea and other regions that voted to join Russia in referendums in 2014 and 2022.
The assassination has united the MAGA movement while liberals can’t contain their joy, the political scientist has said
The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has exposed a dangerous fault line in American society that could lead to civil war, Russian philosopher Aleksandr Dugin argued in a post on his Telegram channel.
Dugin, known for his advocacy of traditional values, accused American leftists of fueling division and celebrating the killing of their political opponents.
“After confirmation of Charlie Kirk’s death, America exploded. Trump and MAGA feel genuine pain and wild anger… Everyone in MAGA forgot their contradictions and instantly united,” Dugin wrote.
By contrast, he claimed, liberals were unable to “contain their joy.” Dugin pointed to MSNBC contributor Matthew Dowd’s controversial on-air remarks and Democrats’ reported refusal to honor Kirk with a prayer in Congress.
He said liberal networks were filled with gloating, with senior party figures publicly calling for unity while privately urging activists not to be too open about their jubilation.
The philosopher said many in the US now fear for the lives of other conservative figures, warning that “life [is] under the crosshairs.”
“This is very much like the beginning of a civil war. The Democratic Party is America’s Ukraine. Or vice versa,” Dugin wrote, adding that Kirk was shot “from 200 meters by a sniper who disappeared,” and suggesting the true perpetrators may never be identified – drawing a parallel to the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Dugin’s own daughter, Darya Dugina, was assassinated in 2022 in a car bombing outside Moscow. Russian authorities have blamed the killing on Ukrainian agents, a claim echoed by the US government.
In his post, Dugin argued that the killing of Kirk, like the murder of his daughter, is part of a broader campaign to silence those who reject globalist liberal ideology.
“The center giving the order for our destruction, for the extermination of MAGA supporters, is one and the same,” he said.
Kirk, 31, was killed by a single rifle shot during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, in what officials have described as a targeted political assassination.
Authorities have located the alleged murder weapon and three unspent cartridges that reportedly bore “transgender and anti-fascist” messages. The gunman vanished from the scene and remains at large, with a $100,000 bounty offered for information leading to his arrest.
The humanitarian move was part of a wider deal with Washington that lifted sanctions on Belarus’ state airline
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned 52 prisoners as part of a deal with his US counterpart Donald Trump. In return, Washington has lifted sanctions on the national airline Belavia.
Lukashenko met with Trump’s envoy John Coale, who led the US delegation to Minsk on Thursday.
”If Donald insists that he is ready to take in all these released prisoners, God bless you, let’s try to work out a global deal, as Mr. Trump likes to say, a big deal,” Lukashenko said during the meeting.
As part of the agreement, according to Coale, Trump instructed him to “immediately” lift sanctions on Belavia. Coale also said that Washington wanted to reopen its embassy in Minsk, Belta news agency reported.
Minsk said the pardons were granted “based on the principles of humanism” and included 14 foreign nationals from countries including Germany, the UK, France, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Also freed was opposition activist Nikolay Statkevich, who had been serving a 14-year sentence for organizing the 2020 mass protests.
Since July 2024, Belarusian authorities have pardoned nearly 300 people, including imprisoned US citizens and another prominent opposition figure, Sergey Tikhanovsky. His release came after Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy, visited Belarus and met with Lukashenko in June. Kellogg was the highest-ranking US official in years to visit Minsk.
Tikhanovsky, an opposition blogger, was barred from running for president in 2020 and ultimately sentenced to 18 years for organizing mass rioting over what the opposition claimed was widespread election fraud. Minsk insisted that the unrest was orchestrated by the US and its European “satellites,” as well as neighboring Ukraine.
The West has since imposed several rounds of sanctions on Belarus, including after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. The Biden administration sanctioned Belavia in 2023 over alleged election fraud and what it described as Minsk’s “complicity” in the hostilities.
