Latest news with #Verstka
Novaya Gazeta Europe
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Novaya Gazeta Europe
Crimean woman fined for ‘LGBT propaganda' after posting pictures of men in wedding dresses — Novaya Gazeta Europe
A court in the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula has fined a local woman after finding her guilty of spreading 'LGBT propaganda' for two posts on popular Russian social media platform VK, investigative media outlet Verstka reported on Wednesday. According to the court decision, an employee at Russia's Centre for Combating Extremism, a unit known for persecuting opposition activists, found a post in February featuring photographs of men wearing wedding dresses on Irina Khokhlatkina's page on VK. The pictures were captioned: 'Why do I have to ask you out on a date?', 'I was waiting for you to make the first move', 'Let's go halves' and 'Show me that you need me'. The court ruled that the photos 'depicted men in a way that does not culturally correspond to the image of a man of traditional sexual orientation in Russia' and demonstrated 'traditional female features and characteristics' and fined Khokhlatkina 100,000 rubles (€1,100). Khokhlatkina appealed the ruling, saying she had merely reposted photographs from an online forum, meaning that the pictures were already available to the public at large. The second post for which Khokhlatkina was fined featured a video of two naked women kissing on a bed, though the court decision did not go into further detail, according to Verstka.
Daily Mirror
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
'Paedo' billionaire close to Putin 'trafficked schoolgirls' to rich pals
Russia has been hit with a 'paedophile scandal' dubbed it's own 'Epstein affair' after a billionaire, with links to Putin, allegedly ordered young girls to have sex with him A "paedophile scandal" dubbed Russia's " Epstein affair" allegedly involving one of Vladimir Putin's billionaire buddies in Moscow has been exposed. Underage "virgin" girls, aged 15 to 17, were reportedly recruited and lured by a network of pimps using the schoolgirls for rich clients, according to an independent Russian media outlet. These young girls were reportedly enticed by promises of money to have sex with rich clients and oligarchs. These vile groups used regional beauty contests, modelling agencies, castings for non-existent shoots, dating sites and even online messenger groups to find their young victims. A Russian billionaire was named as part of a court case into the scandal. The organisers of one group of child sex pimps, and the well-known Russian billionaire were recorded in the investigative materials, but the identity was later expunged, according to media outlets Verstka and Important Stories. The billionaire and other clients suspected of using these young girls for horror sex crimes were not prosecuted - allegedly in a likely cover-up by Putin's authorities. This billionaire was seen rubbing shoulders with Putin earlier this year at a major state occasion at the Kremlin. Another suspected client was connected to a former Putin defence minister, alleged the outlets. One client reportedly ordered a new schoolgirl almost every day on a trip. An investigator on the case reportedly said they were told not to pursue the clients. They said: "Our bosses, on orders from the prosecutors, told us not to touch it. All [of us] are grown-ups, [we] can take a hint." A victim, named Liza, told the outlet she had her first sex session with a billionaire when she was 15. She and other victims were allegedly ordered to hospital to "check for virginity" and sexually transmitted diseases. The report said: "She had no phone - it had been taken away the day before." Liza described the mansion she was allegedly taken to and said: "A big bed, expensive furniture, a large, expensive chandelier". She claimed a driver in a grey Audi had brought her and a housekeeper served her dinner and put her to bed. The report added: "Then a man entered the bedroom. He did not introduce himself but had sex with [the schoolgirl]. Twenty minutes later, the man left, Liza took a shower, and fell asleep again. The next morning….the visit was repeated." The report also said the young girl was then paid after she was taken advantage of, adding: "Before leaving, the man handed the schoolgirl a book, which contained 150,000 rubles [£1,700 / $2,300]." Liza told investigators she "got scared" before the encounter and said: "I suddenly realised that I was too far from home and not in control of the situation." She then told authorities the scouts would threaten her "with problems" if she disobeyed. Another girl, Irina, 17, from a provincial city, also testified that she was paid for sexual services with the same oligarch. One pimp Maksim 'Mad Max' Nekozyrev - jailed for six years for organising prostitution with minors - was recorded under interrogation saying: "We call them [virgins] 5.1 or 6.1. These are high value goods. A clean, unexposed girl is sought out, naturally she must be a virgin. Next, this girl gets acquainted with a VIP client. VIP clients are, by the rule, billionaires." A woman Anastasia Yakusheva was sentenced to six years in a penal colony, and another female pimp Olga Goncharova was jailed for five years and six months. Another woman, Svetlana Titova, was sought in Austria, but her extradition was refused. She was jailed for seven years in absentia. Titova denied these claims and said: "I never organised any prostitution, I helped girls from poor families. I introduced them to wealthy men, if they asked. Believe me, they all ask themselves."
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Russia ordered 307,900 death certificates for soldiers' families since 2022, media reports
Russia's Ministry of Labor and Social Protection has ordered more than 307,900 death certificates for families of soldiers killed since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, independent Russian outlet Verstka reported on May 27, citing official procurement data. While such documents were issued before the war, Verstka noted that the scale of current purchases far exceeds pre-invasion levels. Before 2022, the number of certificates for deceased soldiers' relatives had consistently declined. The records do not distinguish between service in Ukraine and other conflicts, though the spike in procurement coincides with Russia's massive losses in the war. Russia does not release official casualty numbers, but independent estimates indicate significant losses. So far this year, the ministry has ordered 357,700 certificates — 317,500 for veterans and 40,200 for the families of fallen soldiers or those who died from war-related injuries. According to the figures, the orders span the period from 2022 to 2025, with the largest volume placed in 2023, over 250,000 certificates for families of deceased servicemen and more than 800,000 for combat veterans. The procurement numbers dropped sharply in 2024 before surging again in 2025. Russian media outlet Mediazona, in partnership with the BBC's Russian service, has verified the identities of 109,625 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine, relying on open-source material such as obituaries, social media posts, and local news reports. The investigators caution that the real death toll is much higher. Ukraine's military places the number of Russian personnel killed or seriously wounded since the invasion at 982,840 as of May 27. These figures include not only fatalities but also troops permanently removed from combat due to injury. Read also: Sanctions on Russia are working, Ukraine just needs more We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UK intelligence reports Russia is militarising and brainwashing youth through education system
UK intelligence has noted that Russia's education system is becoming increasingly ideological, which suggests that aggressive expansionist sentiments will only become more entrenched in Russian society. Source: UK Defence Intelligence update on the Russia-Ukraine war of 21 April, as reported by European Pravda Details: The review states that since 2022, Russia's education system has become more politicised, ideologised and militarised, reflecting the wider goals of the Russian leadership. As an example, the report refers to an investigation by the non-state Russian media outlet Verstka, which found that educational materials increasingly include content in support of the so-called "special military operation" [the term Russians use to refer to their war of aggression in Ukraine – ed.] and anti-Western rhetoric infused with patriotic pro-Russian narratives, while references to Ukraine are being removed. Quote: "The Russian state highly likely seeks to use the education system to develop a more militarised, nationalistic society. The 2024 Youth Strategy spoke of the importance of 'increasing the prestige of military service and providing support to young military personnel and their families'. The intent is almost certainly to facilitate both deeper support for Russia's illegal war against Ukraine, and greater willingness amongst the young to join the military suffering significant casualties. These efforts are also aimed at indoctrinating Russia's young into a rejection of the legally mandated, and internationally recognised basis for Ukraine's nationhood and sovereignty." More details: The UK analysts suggest that this level of indoctrination and militarisation within Russia's education system – and more broadly in all programmes aimed at children and young people – will entrench aggressive expansionist attitudes in Russian society for the long term. Background: Earlier in April, UK Defence Intelligence estimated that Russia has suffered over 900,000 personnel losses (killed and wounded) since the beginning of the full-scale war, including an estimated 138,000 losses in 2025 alone. UK intelligence also stated that inflation will further strain Russia's ability to maintain its high level of defence spending. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia sees record number of military criminal convictions in years
Russia's garrison military courts issued 13,699 criminal convictions against service members in 2024, the highest figure since at least 2010, independent media outlet Verstka reported on April 15, citing official data from the Supreme Court's judicial department. The surge in convictions in 2024 marks a 76% year-over-year increase, reflecting growing internal discipline issues within Russia's Armed Forces during the country's ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, military courts issued 7,779 verdicts, while 2022 saw 4,191 convictions. Data provided by Verstka dated back to 2010, when the record stood at 8,632. Among those convicted in 2024, 6,838 service members received custodial sentences — more than double the number imprisoned a year earlier. The data also revealed a sharp rise in drug-related convictions, with 774 service members sentenced for drug trafficking, surpassing the previous high of 560 in 2015. Russian soldiers have previously told Verstka that 10-15% of personnel in many units regularly use drugs. Desertion remains one of the most common offenses. Independent media outlet Mediazona calculated that in 2024, Russian courts issued an average of 34 verdicts daily in cases involving troops abandoning their units without permission. In a landmark case, a Russian court sentenced Roman Ivanishin, a soldier from Sakhalin, to 15 years in a maximum-security prison for voluntarily surrendering to Ukrainian forces — the first known conviction for surrender during the war. The growing number of convictions highlights the mounting strain on Russia's military ranks more than three years into the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Read also: Russia jails 4 journalists over alleged work with Navalny's foundation We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
