#Moscow

Russia has handed prison keys back to the FSB— the main successor agency to the Soviet Union's secret police KGB—reviving its Gulag system designed for abuse and torture. For Ukrainians held by Russia, the risks of long prison terms and fabricated court cases escalate.

Six countries on  NATO ’s eastern flank, including Ukraine, are pulling out of the Ottawa Treaty and reintroducing landmines along 2,150 miles of border—what some are calling a new “Iron Curtain” against the growing threat of Russian invasion.

The Russian economy has endured four years of sanctions since launching its full-scale war in Ukraine, but this endurance is not a sign of strength. One of its two key lifelines, the National Wealth Fund, is now showing serious signs of depletion, in part thanks to the sanctions.