© Jeff Chiu/Associated Press
The US is engaged in a lawless quest to protect American and Israeli officials
The Trump administration has taken another step in its crusade against the international criminal court by imposing sanctions on two more senior ICC officials. The growing number of sanctioned jurists – now 13 – does not change the lawless nature of this quest.
Donald Trump and his henchman, Marco Rubio, want to make the world safe for US and Israeli war criminals. No one should let them.
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© Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
© Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
© Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Polish officers have detained a Ukrainian accused of trying to murder a figure from Ukraine's weapons sector on Moscow's orders, Reuters reported. Investigators say his homemade explosive failed to detonate, and he fled to Poland, where officers detained him. The case is the latest in a run of Russian-directed plots targeting people tied to Ukraine across Europe.
The suspect, named only as Serhii P. under Polish privacy rules, allegedly went after a figure in Ukraine's weapons sector in Irpin, a town in Kyiv Oblast just northwest of the capital. The ABW, Poland's Internal Security Agency, said he planted an improvised explosive device under a car used by the potential victim. The device was meant to be set off remotely with a cellphone, but it "did not detonate due to a malfunction," the agency said.
The suspect, a 63-year-old Ukrainian, fled to Poland after the attempt collapsed and was arrested in Warsaw on 5 August 2026, the Ukrainian outlet NV says. Polish authorities announced the arrest on 20 August and said it kept him from using Poland as a hideout while he dodged investigators. Prosecutors charged him with trying to kill with a bomb and with holding explosives without a permit. The charges carry a floor of 15 years behind bars and a ceiling of life, they said.
The ABW framed the case as proof that Russian intelligence runs operations far beyond its own borders, using people who move between countries to do the work. For years, Kyiv and Western capitals have said Moscow enlists people — Ukrainians among them — to run sabotage and spying missions, a charge Russia keeps rejecting.
The plot fits a wider Russian campaign. Weeks earlier, Warsaw detained a Russian man whom Moscow had allegedly recruited to murder a Ukrainian-American in the same city.
Earlier this year, Ukrainian investigators recently exposed a coordinated scheme to kill a Russian dissident and Ukraine supporter in Lithuania, German prosecutors filed sabotage charges against a Ukrainian and a Latvian, and an earlier plot targeted the chief of German arms-maker Rheinmetall.
Poland and the Baltic States have been named prime targets for Russian sabotage over their backing for Kyiv.
© USA TODAY Network, via Reuters
Philippe Pierre Thomas, 52 ans, de Sayabec, a plaidé coupable mardi, au palais de justice d’Amqui, à certains chefs d’accusation pour des infractions de nature sexuelle, mais pas à l’ensemble des accusations auxquelles il fait face.
Pour les accusations pour lesquelles il a plaidé coupable avant la tenue de son procès, il a été condamné à une peine de 18 mois de prison sur chacun des chefs, mais concurrents entre eux, pour une peine globale de 18 mois de détention.
Détenu depuis sa deuxième arrestation, le 10 juillet 2024, une détention préventive de 18 mois lui a été octroyée dans ces dossiers, ce qui fait qu’il lui reste un jour à purger.
Il ne sera cependant pas libéré puisqu’il reviendra le 13 octobre devant la Cour, à Amqui, afin de fixer une date de procès dans les dossiers où il n’a pas reconnu sa culpabilité.
La peine imposée mardi comprend également une période de probation de deux ans débutant lors de sa libération ainsi qu’un prélèvement d’ADN à des fins d’analyse génétique.
Par ailleurs, un procès de trois jours se tiendra du 2 au 4 décembre au palais de justice d’Amqui pour d’autres accusations en semblable matière.
À la suite de sa deuxième arrestation, Thomas a été accusé d’entrave, voyeurisme, agression sexuelle, harcèlement, voie de fait et de bris d’ordonnance.
Le suspect avait été arrêté une première fois en décembre 2023 par les enquêteurs lors d’une perquisition réalisée à son domicile. Les policiers avaient à ce moment procédé à la saisie de plusieurs fichiers de pornographie juvénile.
Il avait alors été accusé d’avoir eu en sa possession, d’avoir accédé, d’avoir distribué, d’avoir transmis et d’avoir rendu accessible de la pornographie juvénile.
Les infractions alléguées se seraient déroulées à Saint-Moïse et ailleurs dans le district de Rimouski sur une période s’étalant de 2005 à 2023.
Selon l’acte d’accusation, Thomas aurait notamment commis des attouchements sur une personne adolescente entre novembre 2006 et décembre 2007, alors qu’il se trouvait en position d’autorité ou de confiance.
« L’enquête tend à démontrer qu’il aurait pu avoir fait d’autres victimes à travers la province. D’ailleurs, certaines de ses victimes auraient pu être en contact avec le suspect via les réseaux sociaux alors qu’il utilisait les pseudonymes « Philippe Thomas », « Pierre Thomas» et « Pierre-Philippe Thomas », mentionnait la porte-parole de la SQ, Marythé Bolduc, au moment de son arrestation.
Ukraine has brought another 103 servicemembers home from Russian captivity in the first stage of a new prisoner exchange, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported on 19 August 2026. Most of the returning defenders are wounded or seriously ill after captivity that, for some, reached back to 2022, the year of Russia's full-scale invasion. The United States and the United Arab Emirates helped organize the swap, the headquarters said.
The freed group covers nearly every branch of Ukraine's forces. It includes members of the Armed Forces, the Navy, Territorial Defense, the National Guard and the State Border Guard Service. Alongside soldiers and sergeants, several officers were released.
The SBU said the return of the 103 Ukrainian defenders was coordinated by the Joint Center for the Search and Release of Prisoners of War, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of POWs, and other authorized agencies.
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) August 19, 2026SBU pic.twitter.com/nr5VabHYtQ
The Coordination HQ detailed the composition. The Defense Ministry accounted for 92 of those freed, and the Interior Ministry for 11. Two of the returnees are officers, the rest enlisted personnel and NCOs. Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said his ministry's 11 broke down into five National Guardsmen and six border guards.
The defenders had been captured across the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Sumy directions, as well as at Mariupol. The single largest share, 72, fell on the Donetsk front. The youngest freed defender was born in 2000, and the oldest is 59.
The captures span the entire full-scale war. One of those freed had been held since 2022, 16 since 2023, and 48 since 2024. Another 31 were seized in 2025 and seven this year. By the same tally, the International Committee of the Red Cross had confirmed the captivity of 102 of the group before the handover, with a single case verified through other sources.
A previous swap in late June returned 160 defenders, all of them held since 2022.
The released defenders will undergo full medical examinations, receive physical and psychological rehabilitation, and obtain the state payments provided by law. The head of the President's Office, Kyrylo Budanov, said doctors were already doing everything necessary for the returnees, most of whom came back with wounds and serious illness.
Their condition fits a wider pattern Ukrainian officials have described, in which Russia starves most captives and executes many surrendered soldiers on the battlefield.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the freed included men who had defended Mariupol.
"We remember every man and every woman still held captive. We are doing everything possible to bring all our people home," he said.
The Security Service of Ukraine noted the swap ran through the joint center it operates to coordinate the search and release of prisoners. Oleh Ivashchenko, chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) and head of the Coordination Headquarters, met the returning defenders in person.
Alex Bradette, 29 ans, de Fermont, arrêté le 9 juin à Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage après avoir notamment traversé la rivière Mitis et quitté les lieux d’une sortie de route survenue à Saint-Octave-de-Métis, devra demeurer derrière les barreaux au moins jusqu’au 8 septembre.
Son enquête sur remise en liberté a été reportée à deux autres reprises, la semaine dernière.
Les dossiers revenaient devant la cour le 10 août à Rimouski, lors de la journée à haut volume, afin de fixer l’enquête sur remise en liberté au cours de la semaine. Celle-ci avait finalement été prévue pour le jeudi 13 août.
L’enquête n’a toutefois pas eu lieu et les dossiers ont été reportés au 8 septembre afin de déterminer une nouvelle date.
La Cour avait déjà réservé une heure pour la tenue de l’enquête sur remise en liberté, le 29 juillet.
« Je suis forcé de vous demander de reporter l’enquête puisque la caution que nous avons identifiée n’est pas en mesure de se présenter, pas même par vidéoconférence. Je vous propose donc de reporter les dossiers au 10 août afin de fixer l’enquête pendant cette semaine-là », avait alors mentionné l’avocat de l’accusé, Me Pierre Gagnon, par vidéoconférence.
La juge Andrée Saint-Pierre s’est assurée que l’accusé renonce de nouveau au délai de trois jours pour la tenue de son enquête avant d’autoriser le report.
L’accusé est détenu depuis son arrestation, le 9 juin. Rappelons que la détention préventive purgée avant l’imposition d’une peine est comptabilisée à 1,5 jour par jour.
Bradette a comparu une première fois le 9 juin au palais de justice de Rimouski pour répondre à de nombreuses accusations. Le ministère public s’est alors objecté à sa remise en liberté.
Selon la dénonciation obtenue par Le Soir.ca, Bradette est accusé d’avoir conduit un véhicule avec les capacités affaiblies, d’avoir refusé d’obtempérer à un ordre de se soumettre à l’éthylomètre, sans excuse raisonnable et de conduite dangereuse.
Il doit aussi répondre d’avoir agi de manière et avec l’intention de provoquer la peur chez une personne associée au système judiciaire, de harcèlement envers la même personne, d’avoir volontairement entravé les agents de la paix dans leurs fonctions et de méfaits sur une autopatrouille.
Alex Bradette fait aussi face à deux chefs d’accusation de bris de probation.
Les policiers de la Sûreté du Québec sont intervenus à la suite d’une embardée impliquant un véhicule survenue sur la route du Grand-Remous, à Sainte-Octave-de-Métis.
À leur arrivée sur les lieux, les policiers ont constaté qu’aucun occupant ne se trouvait à bord du véhicule. Des démarches ont rapidement été entreprises afin de localiser la ou les les personnes impliquées.
Dans le cadre de l’intervention, l’homme de 29 ans a été localisé dans le secteur du 4e Rang, à Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage, après avoir notamment traversé la rivière Métis.
Ukraine has opened its own criminal investigation into the 2022 destruction of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, months after Germany charged a Ukrainian over the blasts, Suspilne reported. Prosecutors in Kyiv registered the case on war-crimes grounds and say they will test whether Russia staged the sabotage to discredit Ukraine. Serhii Kuznietsov is due to stand trial in Germany in October.
Ukraine's Security Service, under the Prosecutor General's Office, opened proceedings on 9 July under the article on violations of the laws and customs of war. Kuznietsov's Ukrainian lawyer, Mykola Katerynchuk, told Suspilne about the case.
The Prosecutor General's Office confirmed it is supervising a probe into the "possible commission in September 2022, amid the international armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, by citizens of Ukraine, of actions connected to the undermining" of both pipelines in the Baltic Sea. It said the case was registered after the "independent discovery in the media" that Germany had charged a Ukrainian citizen.
Given Russia's use of hybrid methods, investigators will also examine whether Russians organized the explosions as a "false flag" operation, using Ukrainian citizens or imitating their participation to discredit Ukraine.
The office said it used the laws-and-customs-of-war charge because it matches the qualification chosen by Germany's Federal Prosecutor's Office.
The pipelines exploded on 26 September 2022. On 8 August 2025, Germany's Federal Court of Justice issued an arrest warrant for Kuznietsov, alleging he led a group of six who mined the pipelines and detonated them remotely.
Italian police arrested him on 21 August 2025, and Italy's Supreme Court later confirmed his extradition to Germany. A Polish court, by contrast, refused a German request for another Ukrainian suspect, Volodymyr Zhuravlov.
On 2 July 2026, Germany's Federal Prosecutor's Office published its charges — an attack on civilian objects, causing an explosion, and destroying structures. Kuznietsov denies guilt.
C’est le 10 août qu’on devait connaître la date retenue pour les plaidoiries dans le premier procès de Ronald Audet, qui est accusé de crimes de nature sexuelle sur une personne mineure, mais le dossier a été reporté à la même étape au 21 septembre.
Au terme de la 3e journée du procès, le 15 mai dernier, l’avocate de Ronald Audet, Me Caroline Bérubé, a annoncé qu’elle n’aurait pas de preuve à présenter lors du procès de l’homme de 88 ans, de Mont-Joli.
Au début du procès, le 22 janvier 2026, elle avait annoncé avoir deux témoins à faire entendre, dont l’accusé.
« J’ai parlé à mon client. Nous n’aurons pas de preuve à présenter en Défense. Nous serions donc rendus aux plaidoiries », avait mentionné Me Bérubé.
Amorcé les 22 et 23 janvier derniers, le procès a repris en mai pour la 3e journée d’audience, le 15 mai
Me Bérubé a poursuivi son contre-interrogatoire de la plaignante, dont l’identité est frappée par une ordonnance de non-publication.
Elle a soulevé des contradictions entre la déclaration de la victime faite en 2023 à l’enquêteur de la Sûreté du Québec et sa version des faits livrée dans son témoignage en janvier 2026.
La plaignante a expliqué que ses souvenirs s’étaient précisés grâce à une thérapie. « Je n’ai pas utilisé les mêmes mots, mais ce dont je suis sûre, c’est que j’ai été agressée par Ronald Audet dans le salon et dans une chambre à l’étage », a-t-elle répété à quelques reprises.
En début de procès, en janvier dernier, la plaignante a raconté qu’elle allait souvent chez l’accusé quand elle était enfant parce que sa mère était amie avec la conjointe de l’accusé. Elle mentionne que les gestes ont eu lieu sur le La-Z-Boy, dans le salon.
« C’était sous forme de jeux. Il me disait de brasser son pénis pour le faire rallonger et que de l’eau allait sortir. C’était devenu une habitude. Ça se faisait en douceur, sans violence ».
La plaignante a ajouté qu’elle se souvenait qu’il lui avait demandé de mettre son pénis dans sa bouche. « Je raconte ce qui est clair dans ma tête. J’obéissais. Je ne savais pas ce qu’était une érection. Je ne savais rien de la masturbation. Quand j’ai compris, j’ai eu peur et honte », a-t-il affirmé.
Les événements se seraient produits entre le 4 janvier 1983 et le 31 décembre 1986 à Mont-Joli.
« Je ne peux pas dire le nombre de fois, mais c’était chaque fois qu’on allait chez lui et qu’il était là », a précisé la plaignante, qui avait entre quatre et 10 ans au moment des gestes allégués.
Russia struck the center of Pechenihy, a settlement in Ukraine's Kharkiv Oblast, on the morning of 18 August, killing at least 10 people and wounding at least 18, Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported. Two missiles hit a post office and shops at a crossroads ringed by homes, setting a cafe and cars ablaze. Emergency crews recovered bodies from the rubble as rescue work continued through the day.
Russia fired two Banderol cruise missiles into the settlement at 08:40, the Prosecutor General's Office said, opening a war-crimes investigation into the deaths. The missiles hit the central part of Pechenihy just as residents were heading to work and businesses were opening, the settlement's head, Oleksandr Husarov, said. He put the preliminary midday toll as high as 20 wounded, cautioning the figures were not final.
Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, reported that the strike burned a cafe and seven cars across roughly 400 m², and damaged 10 private houses, the post office, five shops, and 15 vehicles.
The Banderol is a low-cost, jet-powered cruise missile that Russia has used against Ukrainian cities before. Built by the sanctioned firm Kronshtadt with foreign components, it reaches up to 650 km/h and carries a 114.3-kg warhead. Ukraine recently found that a new ground launcher could let Russia fire the missile in salvos and without warning.
Acting Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Putin "continues to drag out the war instead of accepting Ukraine's realistic ceasefire proposals." President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had "brutally struck a crowded crossroads" where the post office and shops stood, ringed only by homes, and vowed a response, urging partners to add pressure on Moscow.
The same day, Russia also struck the Kharkiv Oblast city of Izium, wounding five people, among them a nine-year-old child, and damaging five private houses, Syniehubov said. Emergency services worked at the site and the wounded received care.
Arrêté dans la nuit du 29 au 30 juin dernier dans le cadre d’une enquête en matière de trafic de stupéfiants amorcée en mars 2026, Stéphane Dupuis, de Saint-Anaclet-de-Lessard, était de retour à la cour le 10 août pour fixer une date de procès, mais cette procédure a été reportée au 11 septembre.
L’homme de 57 ans a renoncé à la tenue de son enquête sur remise en liberté, le 6 juillet dernier.
« Compte tenu du fardeau de la preuve, nous allons renoncer à l’enquête sur remise en liberté », a mentionné Me Maryse Beaulieu. La juge de paix magistrate Sonia Cyr a donc ordonné la détention de l’accusé pour la suite du processus judiciaire.
Cette opération, réalisée à la suite d’informations reçues du public, a mené à l’exécution de mandats de perquisition visant une résidence ainsi que deux véhicules dans le secteur de la rue Blanchette, à Saint-Anaclet-de-Lessard.
L’opération a mené à la saisie notamment de plus de 200 grammes de cocaïne, plus de 52 000$ en argent canadien, plus de 1 000 comprimés de médicaments d’ordonnance, une certaine quantité de GHB et de psilocybine, plus de 150 vapoteuses contenant du THC, du matériel associé au trafic de stupéfiants, un poing américain et un véhicule à titre de bien infractionnel (Acura MDX 2014).
Dupuis fait face à des accusations reliées à la possession de stupéfiants en vue d’en faire le trafic et à la possession d’une arme prohibée.
L’accusé possède des causes pendantes pour une arrestation le 12 septembre 2024 relativement à du trafic de stupéfiants.
Il a été cité à son procès le 8 juillet 2025 par le juge Yves Desaulniers à la suite de la tenue de son interrogatoire au préalable (nouvelle forme d’enquête préliminaire sans juge).
Stéphane Dupuis a opté pour un procès devant un juge de la Cour du Québec (sans jury). Une date de procès pour l’ensemble des dossiers devrait être fixée le 11 septembre.
Il n’y a toujours pas de dates fixées pour la tenue de l’enquête préliminaire des quatre accusés du meurtre prémédité de Michael Lévesque-Fitzpatrick, survenu le 29 novembre 2024 à Rimouski. Les dates de l’enquête, prévue pour être de longue durée, devaient être fixées le 10 août dernier, mais cette étape a été reportée au 11 septembre prochain.
« Nous avons reçu une requête en ouverture de scellés. Je suis en attente des documents demandés. Ils seront transmis aux avocats de la défense par la suite. Nous allons aussi faire une demande de facilitation pour préparer l’enquête préliminaire qui s’annonce longue en vertu du nombre d’avocats impliqués et selon le nombre de témoins qu’ils voudront faire entendre », a mentionné la procureure de la Couronne, Me Annie-Claude Breton, en juin dernier.
Le ministère public tient à tenir une seule enquête préliminaire commune même si un accusé est francophone et que les trois autres sont anglophones.
Doneil-Josiah Levy-Porter et Jahshai Cooper sont détenus en Ontario tandis qu’Ingram Joe Mohamed, de Hamilton, est incarcéré à Rimouski. Guillaume Proulx se trouve à Trois-Rivières, lui qui est Rimouskois.
Les quatre sont accusés de meurtre au premier degré, c’est-à-dire avec préméditation. Ils ne sont donc pas admissibles à une remise en liberté et demeureront donc détenus pendant le processus judiciaire.
Les policiers de la Division des crimes contre la personne de la Sûreté du Québec, assistés par de nombreux partenaires de plusieurs services de police en Ontario, ont procédé aux arrestations en lien avec le meurtre de Michael Lévesque-Fitzpatrick, 36 ans.
Dans la journée du 29 novembre 2024, vers 16 h 30, les services d’urgence avaient été appelés à se rendre dans un appartement de la rue Pierre-D’Anjou. À leur arrivée, les policiers avaient constaté le décès de la victime.
Selon nos informations disponibles, la mort de la victime serait liée au crime organisé.
Michael Lévesque-Fitzpatrick avait également été visé par le passé par des accusations de voies de fait et d’agression armée.
Une loi, qui devait entrer en vigueur en septembre, prévoyait d’interdire aux moins de 15 ans les réseaux sociaux et les fonctionnalités sociales de certains sites, messageries et jeux vidéo en ligne.
Le Conseil constitutionnel, l’autorité qui contrôle la conformité des lois à la Constitution française, a jugé que cette interdiction portait atteinte à la liberté d’expression des moins de 15 ans.
Cette loi était l’une des priorités du président français, Emmanuel Macron.
[L'article En France, l’interdiction des réseaux sociaux aux moins de 15 ans a été jugée inconstitutionnelle a d'abord été publié dans InfoBref.]
© Ian Willms for The New York Times
© Atul Loke for The New York Times
© Marylise Vigneau for The New York Times
© Ian Austen/The New York Times
© Carabinieri Art Recovery Squad, via Associated Press
Russia's glide-bomb strike on Kramatorsk killed one person and wounded 18, the head of the Donetsk Oblast Military Administration, Vadym Filashkin, reported on the morning of 14 August. The Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor's Office has opened a war-crimes investigation into the attack.
Russian forces dropped eight FAB-250 aerial bombs fitted with universal glide and correction modules (UMPK) on the city on the evening of 13 August, hitting residential areas including apartment buildings, the prosecutor's office reported. An apartment building and a car were damaged. Filashkin said the strikes also hit the nearby settlement of Bilenke.
The strike on the residential area was another instance of Russian forces using guided aerial munitions against civilian areas. Under international humanitarian law, civilian objects may not be deliberately targeted.
The toll rose overnight. Filashkin first reported at least one killed and 15 wounded on the evening of 13 August. By the next morning, the prosecutor's office had documented 17 of the wounded — seven men and 10 women aged between 47 and 85 — with blast and traumatic brain injuries, shrapnel wounds, cuts to the head, arms and legs, and abrasions and bruises. Filashkin's later update put the number of wounded at 18.
"Russia again turned an ordinary evening in the city into deadly danger. This is not an accident or a mistake — this is how the enemy wages war against our people," Filashkin said.
Deliberately directing attacks against civilian objects may constitute a war crime under international humanitarian law. The prosecutor's office has opened a pre-trial investigation under Part 2 of Article 438 of Ukraine's Criminal Code.
"In total, over the past day, Russians shelled populated areas of Donetsk Oblast 37 times. 624 people, including 90 children, have been evacuated from the front line," Filashkin reports.
Russian forces regularly use FAB-250 bombs equipped with UMPK to strike populated areas in Donetsk Oblast and other frontline regions.
On 11 August 2025, Russian aircraft dropped FAB-250 bombs equipped with UMPK on a residential quarter in Bilozerske, Donetsk Oblast. Two civilians were killed, a 43-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman, while seven others were injured, including a 16-year-old boy. Eight apartment buildings and six vehicles were damaged. A pre-trial investigation was opened under Part 2 of Article 438 of Ukraine's Criminal Code.
On 18 September 2025, Russian forces struck civilians with a FAB-250 bomb equipped with UMPK in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast. Five residents aged between 62 and 74 were killed; three men and two women were outside at the time of the strike. The facades of four apartment buildings were damaged.
On 25 June 2026, Russian forces dropped three FAB-250 bombs equipped with UMPK on Druzhkivka, Donetsk Oblast. A 56-year-old woman was killed, and four others were injured: a 68-year-old man and three women aged 51, 58, and 67, sustaining blast injuries and shrapnel wounds.
© São Paulo Police Press Office, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Russian security services are increasingly recruiting Ukrainians to carry out sabotage, terrorist attacks, and killings, with police reporting a sharp rise in attacks linked to such recruitment since 2024, according to independent Ukrainian outlet Babel.
Since the start of 2026, Ukraine’s National Police and Security Service have registered 31 terrorist attacks, 80% of which have been solved, while another 14 were prevented during preparation.
Authorities have also registered 11 cases of military personnel being poisoned that are being investigated for links to Russian recruitment.
Andrii Niebytov, deputy head of the National Police and chief of criminal police, said Russian recruitment became systematic in early 2024, Babel reported.
Russian handlers typically approach people through Telegram channels and chats where users seek work, easy money, or drugs. The first assignment may appear harmless: photographing a location, passing information, moving a package, or delivering an item.
The tasks can then escalate into property damage, arson, terrorist attacks, and killings. Police say handlers can gradually involve recruits in more serious crimes before using threats or blackmail to keep them under control.
The increase is reflected in police figures. Russian operatives used Ukrainian recruits to carry out nine terrorist attacks in 2024, according to data cited by Babel. The figure rose to 61 in 2025, including 27 attacks that police stopped during preparation. Authorities solved 52 terrorist cases that year.
One increasingly dangerous part of the recruitment campaign involves attempts to target Ukrainian service members.
Police have registered 11 poisoning cases since the beginning of 2026 in which investigators are examining or have established links to Russian recruitment, Babel reported.
In some cases, Russian handlers have used young women to establish contact with soldiers, arrange meetings, or deliver poisoned items.
In late July, police detained a 20-year-old woman in Poltava who is suspected of poisoning two soldiers with drugs allegedly provided to her by mail.
In Rivne, investigators are examining the death of a soldier allegedly poisoned by a minor girl with a drug mixed with alcohol. The Russian handler reportedly installed tracking software on the girl’s phone and remotely monitored her actions.
Russian operatives use different entry points depending on the target. Some recruits are drawn in by promises of easy money or drugs, while others are manipulated through personal relationships or threatened with supposed criminal prosecution.
One scheme involves fraudulent call centers operating in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. Callers impersonate Security Service of Ukraine officials and accuse targets of offenses such as buying Russian-made goods or financing Russia.
Police are investigating 449 fraud cases involving this scheme. But according to Babel, the same tactic is now also being used for recruitment.
After intimidating targets, callers send fake summonses, notices of suspicion, or other documents through messaging apps. They then offer to help the person avoid prosecution in exchange for carrying out criminal assignments.
Russian handlers have also targeted minors, who can be easier to manipulate and may be used as intermediaries or perpetrators.
The National Police said 260 children have independently contacted authorities after being approached by Russian recruiters, according to Babel. Their reports helped prevent terrorist attacks in which minors were allegedly intended to be used as perpetrators.
Police say Russian intelligence services are constantly changing their methods, while the basic pattern remains consistent: identify a vulnerability, offer or impose an initial task, and gradually draw the recruit into more serious criminal activity.
Ukrainian authorities are urging people approached with suspicious offers or assignments to stop contact and report the recruitment attempt immediately.
© Federico Rios for The New York Times
© Amir Hamja/The New York Times
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to spend tens of millions of dollars on buying specialized gloves that pulse with electrical energy, which make it easier for agents to subdue people, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.
A user manual for G.L.O.V.E, or Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, sold by a company called Compliant Technologies, provides more specifics on how the gloves are supposed to work and allegedly be used.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to pay LexisNexis millions more dollars for continued access to data it can feed into a Palantir platform, according to newly published procurement records. The data is to help, among other sections, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), the part of ICE focused on deportation.
The documents provide some more insight into the sort of information ICE intends to use Palantir to process. In January, 404 Media revealed the existence of ELITE, a system Palantir made for ICE that helps the agency find which neighborhoods to target by bringing together data from private suppliers and government agencies.
The news comes as ICE arrested more than 51,000 people in July, many of those at airports.
A Russian overnight strike heavily damaged a German-owned car-parts plant in Zhytomyr Oblast, forcing it to halt production, the company said. No workers were hurt, but the destruction was extensive. One of the region's major employers now has no restart date.
Russia struck Zhytomyr Oblast overnight into 9 August and hit the Kromberg & Schubert plant, which reported the attack on Facebook. Its production lines and infrastructure took heavy damage.
"The most important thing for us is that no employees were hurt in the attack," the statement said.
With the damage so severe, the plant suspended operations for an indefinite period. A restart depends on a technical assessment and the full scope of repairs, the company added.
Kromberg & Schubert is a civilian manufacturer with 100% German investment. It has run in the Zhytomyr region for 11 years and employs about 3,500 people. The plant makes the wiring harnesses that thread through cars, supplying European automakers.
Vitalii Bunechko, head of the Zhytomyr Oblast Military Administration, called it one of the region's budget-forming enterprises. He said the administration and local authorities are working to help the strategic investor and keep the plant running.
Bunechko reported that Russia had launched a massive strike on the oblast overnight. The attack also damaged civilian infrastructure, he said. State Emergency Service crews contained the fires, and investigators began work at the site.
Russia has repeatedly struck Zhytomyr Oblast during the war, stepping up its drone strikes on northwestern Ukraine, often exploiting Belarusian territory.
Flights at Germany’s Leipzig/Halle Airport were disrupted overnight as authorities investigated
© Getty
Donald Trump a annoncé le mois dernier de nouveaux droits de douane, de 10% ou de 12,5%, pour remplacer la surtaxe mondiale de 10% imposée l’an dernier et qui arrivait à échéance.
25 États américains ont déposé hier une plainte auprès du Tribunal de commerce international des États-Unis pour contester ces tarifs imposés par Washington.
Ils soutiennent que le gouvernement Trump n’a pas, comme il le prétend, décrété ces tarifs pour combattre le travail forcé, mais plutôt pour rétablir des droits de douane proches de ceux que les tribunaux avaient déjà annulés par deux fois.
[L'article Une vingtaine d’États américains contestent des droits de douane imposés par les États-Unis a d'abord été publié dans InfoBref.]
Caroline Proulx, ancienne ministre du tourisme, avait demandé en 2023 au Centre des congrès de Québec d’annuler la tenue d’un événement anti-avortement.
Harvest Ministries International, l’organisation chrétienne britanno-colombienne qui souhaitait organiser l’événement, avait poursuivi la ministre et le gouvernement.
La Cour supérieure a jugé que la ministre avait outrepassé ses pouvoirs et engagé sa responsabilité personnelle.
[L'article Une ancienne ministre devra verser 60 000 $ à un groupe anti-avortement a d'abord été publié dans InfoBref.]
Ukrainian prosecutors have charged five individuals in connection with a massive explosion at an industrial site in the Zhytomyr Oblast that killed two people and injured more than 80, including eight children, the Prosecutor General's Office said on July 7.
The blast occurred on July 2 at a warehouse facility in the village of Berezyna, near the highway outside the city of Zhytomyr. The explosion damaged over 100 homes, three gas stations, and around 20 vehicles, local officials said.
Two company directors and three employees have been formally charged with violating safety rules regarding explosives and other related crimes. The charges include illegal handling of explosives and violations leading to severe consequences under several articles of Ukraine's criminal code.
According to prosecutors, one of the company directors had established illegal production of explosive materials and involved unqualified personnel without the necessary training or certification. The business reportedly operated without permits, licenses, or regulatory oversight, and in close proximity to residential housing.
Investigators said the explosion followed a fire sparked by improper handling and storage of explosives, which led to a series of powerful detonations.
Law enforcement officials are conducting searches at the homes of company executives and founders of the businesses believed to be involved.
The prosecutor's office has filed motions requesting that all five suspects be held in pre-trial detention.
The Kyiv IndependentKollen Post
A former deputy mayor for Kharkiv is facing multiple charges related to creating and leading a scheme that allegedly embezzled 5.4 million hryvnias ($130,000) of budget funds allocated for fortifications, law enforcement agencies announced on June 28.
Ukraine's military as well as public officials has seen several corruption scandals since the start of Russia's full-scale war, related to illicit enrichment, money laundering, bribery, and misconduct of the command.
A total of four people, including two company heads and two entrepreneurs, were arrested alongside the former official, the National Police said.
The scheme allegedly involved a shell company procuring purchased materials for fortifications at prices over 30% above market value.
While authorities did not name the former official, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing law enforcement sources, that the suspect in question is Andrii Rudenko, Kharkiv's Deputy Mayor for Housing and Communal Services between 2015 and 2024.
Authorities did not publicly release the identities of the remaining suspects.
The five suspects are currently facing charges under 17 articles of Ukraine's Criminal Code, with motions filed to impose pre-trial detention without bail.
It was not immediately clear as to the maximum sentence the suspects may receive if found guilty, however, Ukraine's Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said that he will seek for "stolen budget funds must be fully returned to the state."
Law enforcement agents have previously arrested Kharkiv officials with corruption related charges.
In April, authorities charged a total of eight individuals, including local officials and entrepreneurs, accused of colluding with contractors to supply firewood to the military at prices significantly above market value. Several officials and entrepreneurs of housing and utilities departments in several regions, including Kharkiv, were allegedly implicated.
The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova
Ukrainian authorities have arrested a 66-year-old U.S. citizen who had been on the run for more than three decades, wanted for multiple child sex crimes committed in Arizona in the 1980s and early 1990s, Ukraine's Office of the Prosecutor General said on June 25.
The man — who has not been named — was detained in Kyiv Oblast in a joint operation coordinated by Ukrainian prosecutors in cooperation with Ukraine's Cyber Police Department, the FBI, and Ukraine's Ministry of Justice. He had been living in Ukraine under a false identity, using forged documents under the name of a Mexican citizen.
According to U.S. law enforcement, the suspect worked as the director of a preschool in Pima County, Arizona, and committed a series of sexual offenses against four children aged 4 to 9 between 1984 and 1991. Before sentencing by the Arizona Superior Court, he reportedly fled the U.S. and avoided prosecution for more than 30 years.
Ukrainian authorities located him using digital tools, including open-source intelligence analysis. He was found living in a house in Kyiv Oblast.
Following his identification, law enforcement carried out a search and arrested him at his residence. Prosecutors are currently preparing a request to a Ukrainian court for temporary arrest pending extradition.
According to U.S. officials, the man faces 15 counts under criminal law related to the sexual abuse of children.
Ukraine's Office of the Prosecutor General said it remains committed to international cooperation in criminal justice, particularly in extraditing individuals accused of grave crimes, including those involving the sexual exploitation of children.
The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir
Italy has pledged 1.5 million euros (approximately $1.6 million) to support humanitarian demining efforts in Ukraine, deepening its partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ukrainian government.
The agreement was formalized during a high-level ceremony in Kyiv on June 23 attended by Italian Ambassador Carlo Formosa, UN Assistant Secretary-General and new UNDP Administrator Haoliang Xu, Jaco Cilliers, Resident Representative of the UNDP in Ukraine, and Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko.
"Demining is not just a technical operation; it is a deeply humanitarian act that combines cooperation and innovation to restore hope in Ukraine," Ambassador Formosa said. "This project is not only a response to the emergency — it’s a step toward recovery. It’s about returning land to farmers, playgrounds to children, and safe roads to families."
The funding will support UNDP’s mine action program, which focuses on clearing land contaminated by mines and explosive remnants of war, ensuring the safe return of land to Ukrainian communities.
The initiative comes as Ukraine continues to grapple with one of the world’s largest demining challenges. According to the State Emergency Service, the total area of potentially mined land has been reduced by over 20% since late 2022. However, approximately 137,000 square kilometers (52,900 square miles) — much of it farmland — remain contaminated. Demining operations are carried out by the emergency service personnel, National Police, Ministry of Defense, and non-governmental organizations.
Currently, 112 certified demining operators, including eight international groups, are active in Ukraine, the State Emergency Service reported on June 24. Their combined capacity includes more than 9,000 personnel, 278 specialized vehicles, and over 13,000 metal detectors.
While significant progress has been made, Ukrainian officials stress that continued international support and funding are critical to accelerating clearance efforts.
The Kyiv IndependentAlisa Yurchenko
As of June 2025, Ukraine has documented 366 cases of sexual violence committed in connection with Russia's full-scale war, the Foreign Ministry reported on June 19, citing data from the Prosecutor General's Office.
The statement was published on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, marked every year on June 19.
The victims include 231 women, 134 men, and 19 children. The documented crimes span rape, sexual torture, forced nudity, and other violent acts, many of which occurred in occupied territories or during the early stages of Russia's invasion.
Sexual violence in conflict is prohibited under the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols, which mandate the protection of civilians, especially women and children. It is also recognized as a war crime under international law.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said Russia is "grossly violating international humanitarian law" and the legal framework established by multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.
The ministry said that Moscow has employed sexual violence "as a weapon of war" to terrorize civilians, destroy communities, and weaken resistance.
Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya, raised the issue at the Security Council in April 2024, warning that such violence is being used against both civilians and prisoners of war.
In June 2024, the Kyiv Independent identified two Russian soldiers implicated in the rape of women during Russia's occupation of parts of Kyiv and Kherson oblasts in March 2022.
One of them, Mykola Senenko, was formally charged by Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office for a rape committed in Kherson Oblast.
The Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov
Ukraine's parliament on June 17 approved President Volodymyr Zelensky's nomination of 35-year-old Ruslan Kravchenko as the country's new prosecutor general, making him the youngest person to ever hold the post.
Kravchenko, a former military prosecutor and most recently head of Ukraine's tax service, replaces Andrii Kostin, who stepped down in October 2024 following a scandal involving fraudulent disability claims by dozens of prosecutors in Khmelnytskyi Oblast.
Lawmakers supported Kravchenko's appointment with 273 votes in favor, according to Yaroslav Zheleznyak, an MP from the Holos party.
A native of Sievierodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, Kravchenko served as a military prosecutor in Crimea before leaving the peninsula after Russia's annexation in 2014. He was one of the prosecutors in the case of fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych.
Kravchenko will now lead the Prosecutor General's Office amid war, reforms, and heightened scrutiny of law enforcement bodies' work. His predecessor, Kostin, resigned after the media revealed that at least 50 prosecutors had allegedly received disability status fraudulently — a scandal that sparked widespread criticism.
The Prosecutor General's Office has played a central role in documenting Russian war crimes and enforcing anti-corruption efforts, especially since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
The Kyiv IndependentOlena Goncharova
Public trust in President Volodymyr Zelensky has dropped by 11 percentage points since May, according to a poll published by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) on June 16.
The survey found that 65% of Ukrainians currently trust the president, while 30% do not, yielding a trust balance of +35%, the lowest recorded since March.
Zelensky's still rating remains above the February 2025 low of 57%.
Sociologists can't pinpoint a specific cause for the short-term decline but highlight factors such as increasing pressure for a ceasefire and the weakening of the surge of popular support seen earlier this year during tense relations with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Zelensky's approval had spiked briefly in early May to 74% following the signing of a minerals agreement with the U.S., seen as a diplomatic and economic win. That boost proved short-lived.
The poll shows a stark regional divide. Trust is highest in western Ukraine at 73%, while in the country's south and east, areas more frequently targeted by Russian strikes, only 61% express confidence in the president.
The data also shows a sharp contrast in attitudes toward territorial concessions. Among those who trust Zelensky, 55% are strongly opposed to any such compromise. Among those who distrust him, 46% are willing to cede territory, while only 43% are firmly against concessions.
The survey was conducted between May 15 and June 3, using a random sample of 1,011 adult residents across Ukraine, excluding occupied territories. Respondents were interviewed by phone.
The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy
President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed to the Verkhovna Rada the appointment of Ruslan Kravchenko as Ukraine's next Prosecutor General, Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said on June 16.
Kravchenko, 35, currently heads the State Tax Service and is expected to be formally introduced to lawmakers during a faction meeting of Zelensky's Servant of the People party on June 17. A vote on his confirmation is expected the same day, according to lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak.
The nomination ends a six-month vacancy at the top of Ukraine's prosecution service, following the resignation of Andriy Kostin in October 2024. First Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Khomenko has served in an acting capacity since.
Kostin resigned amid a scandal involving prosecutors illegally obtaining disability status, which was discussed during a National Security and Defense Council meeting chaired by Zelensky.
Kostin later admitted to "many shameful facts of abuse" within the prosecutor's office.
Kravchenko, a native of Sievierodonetsk in Luhansk Oblast, has held several senior roles in law enforcement and regional government. He previously served as head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration and led the Bucha District Prosecutor's Office.
He is best known for serving as the lead prosecutor in the treason case against exiled pro-Kremlin former President Viktor Yanukovych, who was convicted of aiding and abetting Russia's war against Ukraine.
If confirmed, Kravchenko will take over an office tasked with overseeing wartime prosecutions, including war crimes investigations and anti-corruption efforts linked to Ukraine's ongoing reforms.
The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has arrested two individuals in Kyiv accused of attempting to extort $200,000 from a European defense company, potentially jeopardizing the delivery of electronic warfare (EW) systems to Ukraine's military, the SBU reported on June 14.
The suspects allegedly demanded the payment in exchange for facilitating the successful testing and adoption of five radio electronic warfare systems provided to Ukraine at no cost, according to statements released by the SBU and the Prosecutor General's Office.
The devices, supplied by a private foreign manufacturer, were financed by Ukraine's international partners. The producer had already delivered five systems to Ukraine, with additional contracts possible if the equipment performed well in combat conditions, the SBU said.
According to investigators, the suspects falsely claimed to have influence within Ukraine's Defense Ministry and promised to use their connections to ensure positive evaluations of the equipment.
"Under the guise of having contacts within the ministry, the men demanded $200,000 from the company in exchange for ensuring no obstacles during official trials of the equipment," the Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement.
Both men have been formally charged under Ukraine's Criminal Code for alleged obstruction of the Armed Forces and receiving unlawful benefits through influence peddling. The charges carry a possible sentence of up to eight years in prison and asset confiscation.
The arrests were made as part of a broader investigation led by the SBU and conducted under the procedural oversight of the Specialized Defense Prosecutor's Office. Authorities say the investigation is ongoing to identify all individuals involved.
Ukraine continues to rely heavily on international military assistance as it defends against Russia's full-scale invasion, now in its fourth year. Ukraine uses EW systems during Russian attacks on its cities and on the front line.
Kyiv and its Western partners launched an electronic warfare coalition in April, which consists of 11 countries and comes on top of other eight Western coalitions to support Ukraine. Other similar initiatives include an artillery coalition, a fighter jet coalition, and a demining coalition, organized within the framework of the Ramstein format.
The Kyiv IndependentFrancis Farrell
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