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An anti-hooliganism bill designed to ensure public safety at Russian sporting events by banning violent or abusive fans for up to one year has been passed by the State Duma. The bill, which was introduced last November, passed through its first reading in the lower house of parliament with 226 votes and one abstention Tuesday. The bill now goes to vote in the Federation Council, parliament’s upper house, and, if passed, would go into force 180 days after it is signed off by President Vladimir Putin....

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced over the weekend that the U.S. would be on the list following a presidential decree on April 23. In a graphic on Russia’s Channel 1 headlined “List of countries unfriendly to Russia,” the U.S. was at the top. Also named were: Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Czech Republic, Estonia, United Kingdom and Georgia. Another screen grab from Channel 1, circulating on social media, also showed Australia in the group....

Medvedev, now serving as deputy chairman of the Russian Federation’s Security Council, told Russian news agency Interfax on Tuesday that the nuclear arsenal was the only force preventing the country from being “torn to pieces” amid the war in Ukraine. He said the weapons had the power to prevent “non-friendly” countries from adopting “anti-Russian” positions. “If it were not for the strategic nuclear arsenal, we would be torn to pieces,” Medvedev said....

The Arktika icebreaker set off on its maiden voyage to the Arctic in September and returned to the city of Murmansk on October 12. The icebreaker’s 4,900 nautical mile trip was intended to test the ship’s capabilities and to look at the region’s commercial potential. The ship has been viewed by many as a signal of Russia’s intent to increase its presence in the Arctic region. At almost 600 foot long and 170 foot high, it is thought to be the most powerful icebreakers ever constructed....

Speaking at a briefing Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova threatened that the U.S. could face consequences if it does not heed the warning, according to Russian state-owned news agency Ria Novosti. “The United States and its allies, which supply weapons to the Kyiv regime, actually become accomplices in its war crimes,” Zakharova said. “If Washington decides to supply Kyiv with longer-range missiles, it will cross the red line and become a direct party to the conflict....

With Ukraine trending on Twitter, TikTok and Reddit worldwide and new posts moving at speed, it’s easy to get caught up in false content and unwittingly share misinformation that has the potential to deceive, emotionally distress and influence public opinions and actions. But how can you help stop the spread of misinformation online amid the crisis? Mike Caulfield is a misinformation researcher at the University of Washington. He works on election misinformation and media literacy and is the creator of the SIFT methodology for citizen fact-checking....

Addressing senior officials at the Kremlin, Putin said Friday he planned “to discuss ways and prospects for the development of the Russian military in the upcoming decade, until 2030.” He said the council would “outline the tasks we will have to deal with in order to guarantee Russia’s national interests and security,” specifically highlighting the role of the various branches of the armed forces “in ensuring Russia’s sovereignty.” “As we can see, the world is facing serious threats and challenges....

Ending Ukraine’s desire to join NATO was one reason given behind Russia’s invasion of its neighbour in February in a war that has pushed European countries to rethink their security policies. “We have repeatedly said that the alliance remains a tool geared towards confrontation and its further expansion will not bring stability to the European continent,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a press briefing when asked about the possibility of the nations joining NATO....

What Russia might resort to in the conflict entering its fifth week will be discussed during a NATO session in Brussels on Thursday involving U.S. President Joe Biden, who has warned of the chemical weapons threat posed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The high-stakes meeting comes after Russia was accused of deploying white phosphorous munitions in the eastern city of Kramatorsk on Monday by the deputy head of Kyiv’s police, Oleksiy Biloshytskiy....

After a week of wrangling through public statements with U.S. officials, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a surprise statement Tuesday clarifying its position on the ongoing efforts to renew the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). The statement appeared to offer the same freeze previously dismissed as “unacceptable” by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as talks entered the 11th hour before the upcoming U.S. presidential election. “Russia has proposed extending the New START for one year and is ready to assume a political obligation together with the United States to freeze the sides’ existing arsenals of nuclear warheads during this period,” the statement said....

Ukrainian drones reportedly damaged bases in Russia’s Saratov and Ryazan regions on Monday, resulting in at least three soldier deaths and four injuries, along with harming two Russian airplanes capable of carrying nuclear bombs. The Russian Ministry of Defense said the drones were successfully shot down before directly striking the bases, blaming falling “fragments” for the casualties and destruction. An ISW report published Monday night says Russian military bloggers’ “anger” over the drone strikes—which hit the Engels-2 air base in Saratov and Dyagilevo in Ryazan—has outweighed any “praise” for the military’s barrage of about 70 missiles launched toward Ukrainian targets on the same day....

The formation, Operational Command South, said in a Facebook post that the unmanned aircraft, called a “Forpost,” was “looking for a target” in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region. The drone “was aptly ‘discharged from performing tasks for purpose’ by our anti-aircraft missile unit,” the post said, according to an English translation. Forpost drones are estimated to be worth about $7 million, according to a report from The New Voice of Ukraine....

Yevgeny Balitsky, a Ukrainian politician installed as governor of the regional occupation authority in October, said on Thursday that the U.S. will continue “raising the stakes” of Russia’s ongoing invasion as Kyiv seeks to liberate territories still held by Russian forces. “He will get them, of course,” Balitsky said of long-range American missiles, according to Russia’s state-run Tass news agency. “He will get them sooner or later as the Americans continue raising the stakes....

More than 1,000 coronavirus deaths were reported by the government task force over 24 hours, the highest since the onset of the pandemic and higher than the record set Saturday. The death toll is now 225,325, the highest in Europe, and its total of new infections reached 33,740. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova suggested a weeklong nonworking period amid the spike to start on October 30, which includes an extended public holiday....

Gordon was happy his crew chief tried an aggressive move. The four-time Cup champion also was happy that he could look in the mirror and think he did as well as he could, even if he had to settle for second behind Joey Logano. Gordon restarted with the lead and Brian Vickers beside him as the two drivers with only two fresh tires instead of four for the green-white-checkered dash to the finish....

During an oral history of the film Gladiator, which celebrated its 20th anniversary on May 5, Crowe and director Ridley Scott recalled the one time the actor narrowly escaped a tiger while shooting Gladiator. Scott told Variety about how during one of the fierce fight scenes, Maximums (Crowe) got up close and personal with an 11-foot-long tiger. Crowe narrowly escaped what could have turned into a vicious attack. “You’ve got two guys on a chain with a ring in the floor to control it,” Scott recalled....

Denver hasn’t exactly gotten off to a great start in the Russell Wilson-Nathaniel Hackett era. They fell to 2-4 with a “Monday Night Football” loss to the Chargers, and now, Wilson has another injury to worry about in addition to his performance. Coming off a reported shoulder injury that required some maintenance, Wilson is now dealing with a classic lower-body injury that’s going to be worth monitoring throughout the week, leading up to Denver’s Week 7 matchup against the Jets....

The Russian embassy in the U.S. issued a scathing statement shortly after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington had imposed sanctions on Vladimir Potanin, one of Russia’s wealthiest oligarchs and a close associate of Putin, in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “The United States continues to impose costs on Russia for its war of aggression against Ukraine,” Blinken said in a statement. “Russia’s attacks have devastated Ukraine’s critical infrastructure and caused extraordinary death and destruction....

The EU then accused the Kremlin of weaponizing energy to achieve its aims. On Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov blamed British, Canadian and EU sanctions for Russia’s failure to deliver gas through the key pipeline that delivers gas from St. Petersburg to Germany via the Baltic Sea. “The problems pumping gas came about because of the sanctions Western countries introduced against our country and several companies,” Peskov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency....

The Canadians outshot the Russians 37-12 and scored four times in a 10-minute span over the first and second periods in routing the defending champions. When the game ended, the majority of Russian players left the ice before the playing of the Canadian national anthem in honor of Canada’s victory. “Once we arrive back home after the world championships, we will look into this question and we will get in touch with those in charge at the Russian Ice Hockey Federation,” IIHF president Rene Fasel said in the statement, via Reuters....