Steve Rosenberg: How Are Russian Newspapers Reacting to the Ukrainian Drone Strike on Moscow?

Jun 19,, 2026 | Today’s Russian papers call yesterday’s large-scale Ukrainian drone strike on Moscow “a record attack”, but claim “Russian attacks do more damage to Ukraine than they’re doing to us.” One paper wonders: “From Moscow’s perspective, what level of escalation is permissible & controllable, and what isn’t?”

Moscow Oil Refinery Struck in Ukraine’s Biggest Air Raid on City since Start of War

THE GUARDIAN: Kyiv says attack, which also forced evacuation at Russia’s biggest airport, was in response to strike on historic monastery

Ukrainian drones have hit several locations across Moscow in Kyiv’s biggest air raid on the city since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, setting a major ⁠oil refinery on fire and forcing evacuations at the country’s largest airport.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, described the attack as a response to Russia’s striking of a historic Kyiv monastery complex earlier this week.

“We do not want this war and never did,” Zelenskyy said in a voice message to journalists. “But if Ukraine is going to burn, your Moscow will burn too … It is time to end the aggression, time to end this war.” » | Peter Beaumont in Kyiv and Pjotr Sauer | Thursday, June 18, 2026

Steve Rosenberg: Russia: Drone Attacks & "Unscheduled Repairs at Oil Refineries"

June 17, 2026

Trump's Action in Iran Is Akin to Putin's Strikes on Ukraine | Peter Hitchens

Jun 16, 2026 | "It's not a false equivalence, and it actually exists."

Public opinion in democratic states has been so feeble on the US involvement in Iran that author and broadcaster Peter Hitchens can't understand it.

Steve Rosenberg: Russia's Barred from the FIFA World Cup. But What Are the Russian Papers Saying about It?

Jun 11, 2026 | In today’s Russian papers: how are the “fuel crisis, petrol sales restrictions, drone strikes, flight delays” affecting Russians’ holiday plans? What “victories” does Moscow think it has already gained?

Plus, reaction to the start of the FIFA World Cup, which Russia is banned from taking part in.)

Tommy Robinson Meets Elon Musk’s Father in Moscow

THE GUARDIAN: Activist, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, shared video of his meeting with Errol Musk

Tommy Robinson has travelled to Russia, where he has met Elon Musk’s father, Errol, in a Moscow hotel.

Robinson – who has been issuing calls for his supporters to take to the streets across the UK over a bloody knife attack in Belfast – shared video of his meeting with Musk, whose son has been a vocal supporter of Robinson, on Monday.

Musk was in St Petersburg last week at the annual Kremlin-backed economic forum, described as Russia’s answer to Davos.

Contacted by the Guardian and asked why he had travelled to Moscow, Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, said: “I’ve come to see how this country got itself so well on to the straight and narrow and see the beauty of a civilised society here.” » | Ben Quinn | Political correspondent | Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Steve Rosenberg: Russian Holidaymakers Using Fortune-telling Cards to Predict When Airports Won't Be Shut by Drones

June 8, 2026 | With Ukrainian drone attacks continuing to force temporary shutdowns of Russian airports, one Russian paper today reports that “Russians have started to use fortune telling cards to tell them what date they should fly off on holiday.”

Steve Rosenberg: "Petrol Sales Restricted in Many Russian Regions" Russian Media Reports

Jun 8, 2026 | One Russian paper today reports that “In many Russian regions there are restrictions on the sale of petrol.” Another, reveals that, in Crimea, hotel bookings are “down 31%...& hotel cancellations double due to the fuel crisis.”

‘You Can Stop Your War’: Zelenskyy’s Open Letter to Putin – in Full

THE GUARDIAN: Russians are increasingly tired of the conflict and the time to end it is now, Ukraine’s president tells his Russian counterpart in an open letter

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an open letter to the Vladimir Putin, has called for a face-to-face meeting with the Russian president to end his war against Ukraine.

The letter sets out Zelenskyy’s view of the four-year-old conflict and says that while Ukrainians’ resilience remains intact, most Russians have grown weary of its effects and are ready for peace. … Read the open letter here » | Guardian staff | Friday, June 5, 2026

Related articles in German and French here.

Putin’s Home City Under Attack - Is Russia Losing Control of Its Airspace? | DW News

Jun 3, 2026 | Ukraine has carried out one of its deepest strikes into Russian territory, targeting St. Petersburg - a city more than 1,500 kilometers from the front line. Thick smoke rose over key infrastructure, including an oil terminal, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attacks as “fair” and warned that more could follow. The strike comes just days after deadly Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities. Is this the start of a new phase of escalation in the war? DW Riga bureau chief Juri Rescheto has the latest on the strike. And Orysia Lutsevych, deputy Director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the think tank Chatham House talks to DW News

Related article here.

Ukrainian Drones Hit St Petersburg as ‘Russian Davos’ Opens in City

THE GUARDIAN: Energy and military sites targeted as guests gather for economic forum where Putin is due to speak on Friday

Ukrainian drones hit energy and military sites in St Petersburg early on Wednesday hours before international guests gathered for the city’s flagship economic forum, in a blow to Vladimir Putin.

Several long-range drones crashed into oil storage facilities after Russian air defences tried unsuccessfully to shoot them down. There were loud explosions and black smoke rose high above the city from the blazing oil terminal.

The St Petersburg’s governor, Alexander Beglov, said the Kirovsky and Krasnoselsky districts were targeted. Ukraine also struck the Kronstadt naval base and shipyard in Leningrad oblast, the port home to Russia’s Baltic fleet. Vessels were reportedly damaged.

The strikes will be deeply embarrassing for the Kremlin, taking place about 10 miles from the forum, where Putin is due to make a keynote speech on Friday. Guests arrived for Wednesday’s opening ceremony under a pall of thick smoke. Others were unable to fly in after St Petersburg’s airport was temporarily closed.

About 20,000 visitors from 130 countries are expected to attend the three-day annual summit, which has been described as Russia’s answer to Davos. They include the former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder, the far-right American influencer Candace Owens and the Tate brothers. » | Luke Harding, Pjotr Sauer and agencies | Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Steve Rosenberg: "Russian Regions & Big Business Arming Themselves to Defend against Drones" - Russian Paper

June 1, 2026 | Headline in one of today’s Russian papers: “Russian regions and big business are arming themselves to defend against attacks by Ukrainian drones.” Plus, the story of a newspaper article from last week that has disappeared.

Steve Rosenberg: “Unscheduled Repairs at Oil Refineries” Causing "Restrictions on Fuel Sales" in Some Russian Regions

May 28, 2026 | From today’s Russian papers: “The number of Russian regions with restrictions on the sale of fuel is multiplying.” The reason given? “Unscheduled repairs at oil refineries.”

Steve Rosenberg: Russians Who "Harm Russia" from Abroad May Have Their Property Seized

May 27, 2026 | In today’s Russian papers: “nuclear rhetoric” in the Duma. And a new law that allows the seizure of property from citizens who’ve left the country and who “continue to harm Russia” from abroad.

Moscow Wants to ‘Destabilise’ Europe, EU Chief Warns, as Countries Summon Russian Ambassadors over Kyiv Threats

THE GUARDIAN: Ursula von der Leyen visiting Lithuania amid drone incursions as diplomats are called over Russian requests for envoys to leave the Ukrainian capital

'When Baltic states are being tested, Europe as a whole is being tested,' von der Leyen says The European Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, begins by acknowledging that the Baltic states “have been experiencing what many believed belonged to another era.”

“Air raid alerts, families sheltering, schools closing, transport interrupted. This is the reality on Europe’s eastern border in 2026.

Today it is here. Tomorrow it will be elsewhere along the eastern border.”

She warns “this is a deliberate strategy from Russia trying to destabilise our democratic societies.”

She says the EU “must be clear about what it means,” and that “these are not isolated incidents this is a deliberate strategy from Russia trying to destabilise our democratic societies.”

“Europe stands in full solidarity and unity with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, because when Baltic states are being tested, Europe as a whole is being tested.”

She says the EU is investing more in readiness and necessary defence projects. Europe live » | Jakub Krupa | Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Steve Rosenberg: Russia: Reports of a "Split" on Whether or Not to End Russia's War on Ukraine

May 26, 2026 | Today’s Russian papers publish Moscow’s threat to launch a new wave of “systematic strikes” on Kyiv. But one paper reports on a “split [inside Russia] between those in favour of continuing the special military operation and those who believe it’s time to end it…”

Steve Rosenberg: Today’s Russian Papers: The Student Dorm Attack & One Article I Didn’t Expect

May 25, 2026 | Today’s Russian papers lead with the strike on the student dorm in Starobilsk. Also today, one newspaper suggests that through Russian history “major geopolitical losses were sometimes more useful than brilliant victories.”

Russia Hits Kyiv with a Missile Nobody Can Stop – and Ukraine Knew It Was Coming | DW News

May 25, 2026 | Ukraine knew the attack was coming. President Zelenskyy warned publicly that intelligence had detected launch preparations. The US Embassy issued a security alert. Russia fired anyway – and nothing stopped it. We're asking former US ambassador William Courtney what the Oreshnik missile actually means for this war.

Steve Rosenberg: "Russia and Belarus Flex Their Nuclear Muscles," Reports Russian Paper

May 22, 2026 | In today’s Russian papers: “nuclear muscle-flexing,” carrots and cabbages, “two scenarios” for Russia’s future and what a Russian singer said after getting an award from Vladimir Putin.

Steve Rosenberg: No Deal on Gas Pipeline at Putin-Xi Meeting

May 21, 2026 | Today one Russian paper says Russia is “on the verge of recession” & warns of “a large-scale bank liquidity crisis.” After Putin & Xi failed to reach a deal on the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, another paper points out: “Chinese media ignored the topic of the gas pipeline.”