(C) Meduza This story was originally published by Meduza and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Real Russia. Today. Tuesday, June 18, 2024 — Meduza [1] [] Date: 2024-06-18 The latest in Russia and Ukraine As Russia’s war against Ukraine drags on and the number of Russians charged with treason continues to rise, telephone scams aiming to cash in on citizens’ fear of prosecution continue to run rampant in Russia. One common scheme works like this: callers posing as law enforcement officials convince victims that their identities have been used to send money to Ukraine — and that if they want to avoid felony charges, they need to transfer their savings to “secure accounts.” A new report from BBC News Russian tells the stories of two people who were targeted by these scams. Meduza shares an English-language summary. Ukraine has said it has no plans to extend the current contract for Russian gas transit through the country, which expires at the end of this year. Nevertheless, European officials are in talks with Kyiv to find ways to continue transit in 2025, reports Bloomberg. The goal is to reduce direct interaction between Moscow and Kyiv by involving an intermediary, like Azerbaijan, or by forming a consortium of European companies to buy gas at the Russian-Ukrainian border before moving the gas through Ukraine. Meduza explains why this proposed deal has a slim chance of success and why Gazprom’s legal issues could lead the company to cut off gas supplies earlier than expected. A Russian court has sentenced a Ukrainian citizen named Kristina Lyubashenko to 12 years in prison on charges of spreading “disinformation” about the Russian army and being involved with a “terrorist organization” for playing a recording of an anti-war speech and the Ukrainian national anthem from her window and releasing balloons with the anti-war white-blue-white flag in Moscow in 2023. According to her lawyer, Lyubashenko is originally from Kyiv but moved to Switzerland and was granted asylum there after the start of the full-scale war. However, she soon began facing financial difficulties, so when a neighbor who said he was also a Ukrainian refugee offered to pay her to travel to Moscow and conduct a “peaceful anti-war protest,” she agreed. When she later objected to his request for her to play the speech and national anthem from her window, the lawyer said, the man threatened to tell the authorities that she had left her daughters behind in Switzerland, so she complied. At least 10,025 Russian soldiers have been charged with refusing to serve in the military since the start of 2022, Mediazona reported on Tuesday. Journalists also found that the Russian authorities have launched 9,059 cases against servicemen for going AWOL, 627 for insubordination, and 339 for desertion since Vladimir Putin announced mobilization in the fall of 2022. As of the end of April 2024, Russian courts were reportedly sentencing an average of about 35 people a day for refusing military service. Most defendants in these cases have been sentenced to probation, which allows them to return to the front. Soccer fans stand for Ukraine’s national anthem in a Kyiv bar before watching the Euro 2024 match between Ukraine and Romania, which took place in Munich on Monday. (Romania won 3–0.) Ukraine has been unable to host soccer matches since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion due to the threat of airstrikes. Valentyn Ogirenko / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA Ukrainian soldiers watch the match in the country’s Donetsk region. Alina Smutko / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA We got The Beet. Don’t miss Meduza’s weekly newsletter (separate from the one you’re reading here)! As the world turns The Kremlin reported on Tuesday that Vladimir Putin is headed to North Korea for a two-day visit — his first in 24 years. Hours before his arrival, the Russian president published an op-ed in the official newspaper of North Korea’s ruling party. In it, he emphasized the two nations’ long history of friendly relations and portrayed the countries as two persecuted but resilient victims of an aggressive United States. Meduza sums up Putin’s claims in English. An Estonian court has sentenced Russian citizen Viacheslav Morozov, who worked as a political science professor at the University of Tartu until his arrest in January, to six years and three months in prison for engaging in activities directed against Estonia on behalf of a foreign intelligence agency, according to Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR). The indictment says Morozov gathered information about the political situation in Estonia and its relations with the European Union. According to Estonian police, the professor shared this information with Russian intelligence services, regularly meeting with them in Russia. No country can be free without independent media. In January 2023, the Russian authorities outlawed Meduza, banning our work in the country our colleagues call home. Just supporting Meduza carries the risk of criminal prosecution for Russian nationals, which is why we’re turning to our international audience for help. Your assistance makes it possible for thousands of people in Russia to read Meduza and stay informed. Consider a small but recurring contribution to provide the most effective support. Donate here. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.meduza.io/en/brief/2024/06/18/the-real-russia-today Published and (C) by Meduza Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/meduza/