INSIDE RUSSIA - WHAT'S HAPPENING IN RUSSIA RIGHT NOW | October 24, 2026

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ZELENSKY SAYS UKRAINE IS READY TO FREEZE THE WAR ALONG THE FRONT LINE 

The Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky said in an interview with ABC News that Ukraine was ready to freeze the war along the current front line. 

“Yes, we are ready to stop this war as soon as possible. Freeze the conflict along the front line right now,” he said.

Zelensky added that he was not prepared to “give up 25% of Ukraine’s territory” in exchange for an agreement — according to the Ukrainian president, Russia has captured less than that.

“When someone talks about 25%, it means that we have to give up the entire Donbas. That would mean they [Russia] would control 25%. Right now, they control 19.3%... Of course, we will not accept — and I have heard such proposals — recognition of the temporarily occupied territories as Russian,” Zelensky added.

On October 21, the Ukrainian president made a similar statement in an interview with Fox News.

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PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA DOES NOT WANT TO FIGHT UKRAINE, AND THAT “RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN PEOPLE ARE ONE” 

Russian President Vladimir Putin commented for the first time on talks with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in an interview with Kremlin journalist Pavel Zarubin. According to Putin, Russia has agreed with US representatives that it is ready to resume trilateral contacts.

“The goal of these negotiations will be to discuss how to ensure the security of Ukraine and Russia once peace agreements have been reached — in their final form, rather than as a result of a suspension of hostilities,” he said.

Zarubin also asked Putin about Zelensky’s statement in a Fox News interview that he was ready to freeze the conflict along the line of contact while retaining 75% of Ukraine’s territory. Putin replied that this was “not their territory, but the territory of historical Russia.”

Putin also claimed that Ukraine, rather than Russia, is the one that wants war.

“We do not want to fight Ukraine. If the current Ukrainian leadership wants to fight, let them fight, but why do they think everyone should pay for it and supply them with weapons? We are still ready to negotiate and seek ways out of this difficult situation. These are people very close to us. Recent genetic studies show that Russians and Ukrainians are one people,” he said.

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RUSSIA MAKES PUBLIC THE LIST OF “ENEMIES OF THE REGIME” WHO HAVE LEFT THE COUNTRY 

Russian authorities have launched a public registry of citizens who are residing abroad and “evading punishment,” modeled on the list of “foreign agents.” The list of “individuals subject to temporary restrictive measures” has been published on the official website of Russia’s Justice Ministry. 

It currently contains 12 people, all of them opposition figures:

entrepreneur and public figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky (accused of spreading “fake news” about the Russian army);

activist Alexey Nesterenko (facilitating “terrorist activity,” calls for “terrorism,” and calls for “activities aimed against state security”);

journalist and politician Anastasia Shevchenko (participation in the activities of an “undesirable” organization);

political scientist Ekaterina Schulman (violating the rules governing the activities of a “foreign agent”);

politician and publicist Leonid Gozman (calls for “terrorism”);

entrepreneur and public figure Yevgeny Chichvarkin (“fake news” about the Russian army and violating the rules governing the activities of a “foreign agent”);

blogger Michael Nacke (“fake news” about the Russian army);

politician Elena Kotyonochkina (“fake news” about the Russian army);

entrepreneur and philanthropist Boris Zimin (“large-scale fraud”);

politician Vladimir Milov (“fake news” about the Russian army);

lawyer and politician Mark Feygin (“fake news” about the Russian army);

human rights activist Anastasia Burakova (“fake news” about the Russian army).

Earlier, Deputy Justice Minister Oleg Sviridenko said that Russians would be added to the list at the request of the Interior Ministry, the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Federal Bailiff Service, the Federal Tax Service, or the Prosecutor General’s Office. A number of restrictions would then be imposed on those listed.

These include freezing bank accounts in Russia; prohibiting the sale of real estate and vehicles; restricting access to the Gosuslugi government services portal and online banking; and limiting certain consular services, including the issuance of international passports. Authorities will also be able to prohibit people on the list from registering as private entrepreneurs or self-employed workers. Their income will be transferred to a special ruble-denominated account, restricting their access to the funds for as long as they remain on the list.

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PUTIN INSTRUCTS THE GOVERNMENT TO ENSURE RUSSIA’S ECONOMY HAS SKILLED WORKERS AND ENOUGH JOBS FOR WAR VETERANS 

The Russian government must address the economy’s need for qualified personnel, according to a list of instructions issued by President Vladimir Putin following the “Know Ours” exhibition and the “Strong Ideas for a New Time” forum, held in the city of Nizhny Novgorod in August. The president tasked the government with involving participants in the war in Ukraine in addressing this issue. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has been appointed responsible for carrying out the instructions.

“Create conditions to meet the economy’s demand for specialists in occupations that are in demand, including by recruiting specialists from among combat veterans who participated in the special military operation,” the document states. The list of instructions was published on the Kremlin’s website on Thursday.

The initiative also involves an “atlas of new professions,” which the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI), together with the National Technology Initiative (NTI) platform and with the participation of the Defense Ministry, has been instructed to update regularly, adding occupations in the fields of defense and security.

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RUSSIA’S ENERGY MINISTRY REPORTS ANNEXED PROVINCES LOSING POWER DUE TO “EXTERNAL IMPACT” 

Some residents of annexed Crimea, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics, and Russian-occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces of Ukraine have been left without electricity.

According to Russia’s Energy Ministry, this was caused by an “external impact” on energy infrastructure facilities in these territories.

The ministry said it was working with local authorities and energy companies to address the consequences of the attack and restore electricity supplies.

Temporary power outage schedules have been introduced in these territories. The ministry did not specify when electricity supplies are expected to be restored.

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RECORD NUMBER OF RUSSIANS IN 10 YEARS REPORT SEEING NO INCREASE IN THEIR INCOMES 

Russians are not noticing the income growth reported in official statistics. According to data from the state statistics agency Rosstat, Russians’ real disposable income (after mandatory payments and adjusted for inflation) was 1.5% higher in the first half of the year than a year earlier, while real wages rose by 6% in January–July. 

However, fewer than 10% of respondents in a poll by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) said their financial situation had improved in recent months. In early October, that share fell to 6%, the lowest level since 2016.

Four times as many respondents, 25%, said their financial situation had worsened. The majority, 68%, said it had not changed.

Russians feel that prices are rising much faster than official statistics indicate. Since the beginning of the year, gasoline prices have increased by 20.5%, utility bills by 14–18%, sugar by 22%, and chicken, eggs, and fish by 15%, according to Rosstat data. Meanwhile, citizens’ perceived annual inflation reached 14.5% in October. Among those with savings, it stood at 12.4%, but among people without savings — who make up the majority (58%) — it was 16.3%. Official annual inflation at the time of the survey stood at 7.2%. Taking into account the price increases Russians perceive, the growth in real wages and incomes turns into a decline.

Russians estimate the minimum income needed to live on at more than twice the country’s official poverty threshold, according to polls by the Levada Center. According to these surveys, fewer than half of citizens have incomes above this perceived subsistence minimum — 41% in March.

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RUSSIAN TELECOM OPERATORS COULD LOSE THEIR LICENSES OVER CRIMINAL RECORDS OF EXECUTIVES, INCLUDING FOR "DISCREDITING" THE ARMY 

A bill has been submitted to the Russian Government that would allow telecom operators’ licenses to be revoked because of criminal records held by their owners and executives, The Insider reports. No wrongdoing by the company itself would be required. The new rules could take effect on September 1, 2027.

The restrictions would apply to criminal records that have not been expunged or cleared for economic crimes and crimes against state authority. The latter category includes “discrediting” the army, treason, calls for extremism, and involvement in the activities of an “undesirable” organization. An administrative fine would not be sufficient to revoke a license; a criminal conviction would be required.

The checks would cover executives, board members, and ultimate beneficial owners — people who effectively own or control the company.

The rules would apply to mobile operators, as well as operators that hold a significant position in the public communications network and are authorized to transmit data.

If a company fails to replace an employed executive with a criminal conviction, its license would be revoked, and if the ultimate owner has a criminal record, maintaining the license could require selling their stake or transferring control to another owner.

“As a result, a criminal conviction against an owner could threaten the existence of an entire business, even if the operator itself has committed no violations. This creates a mechanism for putting pressure on entrepreneurs: the threat of losing a license could force an owner to sell the company, potentially on unfavorable terms,” the publication notes.

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RUSSIAN AIRPORTS GET SHUT DOWN NEARLY 3,000 TIMES IN 2026 DUE TO DRONE THREATS 

From January through August 2026, Russian civilian airports were shut down 2,860 times due to restrictions imposed over the threat of UAVs, Forbes calculated based on reports from Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya). 

This is 4.5 times more than a year earlier, when the “Carpet” airspace closure plan was activated 643 times, excluding restrictions due to weather conditions. 

During the first eight months of 2025, 1,174 flights were diverted to alternate airports, but Rosaviatsiya has not reported the figure for this year on its Telegram channel. According to Forbes, the number of diverted aircraft may have increased approximately fourfold.

According to Forbes estimates, airlines’ losses caused by the “Carpet” plans this year may have exceeded 200 billion rubles ($2.35 billion).

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RUSSIA’S “EUROVISION ANALOGUE” WILL NOT TAKE PLACE IN 2026 

The Intervision music competition — Russia’s Eurovision analogue — will not take place in Saudi Arabia this year. It has been proposed that the event be postponed until 2027, Russian state outlet TASS reports, citing an unnamed source. The agency’s source explained that holding the competition is currently impossible “due to a combination of circumstances.” They did not specify what those circumstances were.

In August, a TASS source in Riyadh had already said there were no guarantees that the event would go ahead. In response, the organizers reaffirmed their plans to hold Intervision in Saudi Arabia and stated that the Art Traditions Foundation was continuing preparations. However, they did not announce an exact date or venue.

Saudi Arabia was named the host of the next competition at the Intervision final in September 2025. However, the kingdom’s authorities have not publicly announced the event since then or disclosed its dates or lineup. In May, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed hope that the escalating situation in the Middle East would not prevent it from taking place.

The revived Soviet singing contest Intervision took place on September 20, 2025, at Live Arena in Moscow, with more than 20 countries participating. Russia was represented by pro-Kremlin singer Shaman, who withdrew from the voting after his performance. Vietnamese singer Duc Phuc won the competition, receiving 30 million rubles ($350,000).

ON THAT NOTE, WE END TODAY’S NEWS BROADCAST.

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