Khabarovsk’s new city charter lets local deputies choose the mayor from candidates named by the regional governor. Vedomosti had already reported that only two regional capitals had directly elected mayors after Sergei Kravchuk’s departure.
Month: October 2026
Drone strike on park in Kharkiv region kills at least five, Ukrainian officials say
Ukrainian authorities say a Russian drone hit the central park in Nova Vodolaha on 19 October, killing women and children. Death tolls shifted through the evening.
Astra links Tambov drone-strike fire to Druzhba pipeline hub
A fire broke out at an enterprise in Russia’s Tambov region on 20 October after a drone attack, the governor said. He did not name the facility; Astra’s analysis linked it to a Druzhba pipeline station.
Kremlin calls French unrest a ‘major crisis’; BBC charts heavy Russian TV coverage
Moscow officials responded to France’s weekend of rioting with talk of crisis, civil war and Western double standards. BBC Russian found that Russia’s main federal television channels gave the unrest far more airtime than a mass drone attack on St Petersburg.
Witkoff arrives in St Petersburg for expected Putin talks on Ukraine peace proposals
The US envoy was met by Kirill Dmitriev at Pulkovo, a day after talks with Zelensky and European leaders in Oslo. The Kremlin welcomed the visit, and a possible prisoner release is also reported to be on the agenda.