Veridica Digest

AppleCensorship: Unveiling the Extent of VPN App Removals by Apple from the Russia App Store: An Analysis of Silent Removals and the Need for Transparency
Restricții pentru aplicațiile VPN în Rusia
AppleCensorship: Unveiling the Extent of VPN App Removals by Apple from the Russia App Store: An Analysis of Silent Removals and the Need for Transparency

While media reports indicated that Roskomnadzor ordered the removal of 25 VPN apps, our study found that over 50 VPN apps were removed by Apple from the Russia App Store during the summer of 2024, bringing the total number of unavailable VPN apps to 98.

IStories: A Holy War for the So-Called Traditional Values: Why Russia Is Fighting Against Childfree People
Ofensiva Kremlinului împotriva rușilor fără copii
IStories: A Holy War for the So-Called Traditional Values: Why Russia Is Fighting Against Childfree People

A Holy War for the So-Called Traditional Values: Why Russia Is Fighting Against Childfree People Russian authorities say banning childfreeness will help boost birth rates. Looking into whether this is true

Meduza: How Ukraine recruits and trains undercover agents to carry out missions in Russian-occupied territories
Ucraina: operațiuni speciale în teritoriile ocupate
Meduza: How Ukraine recruits and trains undercover agents to carry out missions in Russian-occupied territories

In a new interview with the Ukrainian outlet Hromadske, a member of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces provides rare details about how the Ukrainian military recruits and trains undercover agents to undermine the Moscow-installed authorities in occupied territories.

The Kyiv Independent : Around 60% of foreign parts in Russian weapons come via China, Ukraine says
Kiev: China înarmează Rusia
The Kyiv Independent : Around 60% of foreign parts in Russian weapons come via China, Ukraine says

Most of the foreign parts found in Russian weapons used on the battlefield against Ukraine come from China, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, an adviser to Ukraine's President's Office, said on Sept. 24.

The Washington Post: Debate over Ukraine weapons restrictions divides allies, administration
Războiul ruso-ucrainean
The Washington Post: Debate over Ukraine weapons restrictions divides allies, administration

The discussion over weapons restrictions is ongoing in Washington, splitting the Biden administration and Capitol Hill and confounding America’s partners in Europe.

The Japan Times: Japan falls behind India to No. 4 in new Asia power survey
Japonia, depășită de India
The Japan Times: Japan falls behind India to No. 4 in new Asia power survey

Japan has fallen to fourth place in a key analysis of the most powerful and influential Asian nations, overtaken by India for the first time in the annual survey’s history and reflecting Tokyo’s economic decline.

The Guardian: China conducts first public test launch of intercontinental ballistic missile
China testează racheta balistică intercontinentală
The Guardian: China conducts first public test launch of intercontinental ballistic missile

The ICBM, carrying a dummy warhead, was launched by the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force into the Pacific Ocean

The New York Times Magazine: The Deserter
Poveștile dezertorilor ruși
The New York Times Magazine: The Deserter

This is a story told in five parts. Because of the security risks faced by Russian deserters, pseudonyms are used throughout. The photographs, however, are of the real-life subjects.

Meduza: Russian Foreign Service’s house magazine contradicts Putin’s claim that swapping Navalny in August prisoner exchange was only a last-minute idea
Moartea lui Navalnîi
Meduza: Russian Foreign Service’s house magazine contradicts Putin’s claim that swapping Navalny in August prisoner exchange was only a last-minute idea

According to the article, which appeared on the Foreign Intelligence Service’s website, the negotiations that led to the August 1 prisoner swap were conducted on presidential orders and took roughly 18 months.

Nature: COVID pandemic started in Wuhan market animals after all, suggests latest study
Originea pandemiei de COVID-19
Nature: COVID pandemic started in Wuhan market animals after all, suggests latest study

The finding comes from a reanalysis of genomic data.

The Atlantic: The Anti-Semitic Revolution on the American Right
Republicanii și antisemitismul
The Atlantic: The Anti-Semitic Revolution on the American Right

How Jews became collateral damage in a Republican power struggle

The Carnegie Politika :Why Is Belarus Freeing Political Prisoners?
Prizonierii politici din Belarus
The Carnegie Politika :Why Is Belarus Freeing Political Prisoners?

The unusual move is likely a signal to the West that Minsk is uncomfortable about the prospect of permanent dependence on Moscow.

Le Nouvel Obs: Comment la Russie est devenue le « principal pourvoyeur de la désinformation » en Afrique
Spețpropaganda lui Putin în Africa
Le Nouvel Obs: Comment la Russie est devenue le « principal pourvoyeur de la désinformation » en Afrique

Reprise en main du groupe paramilitaire Wagner, « agence de presse » supervisée par Moscou, fake news et faux comptes sur les réseaux sociaux… Le continent africain est devenu un terrain de jeu et un laboratoire pour Vladimir Poutine.

The Washington Post: Day by day, how JD Vance tweeted misinformation about Springfield
JD Vance fact-checked
The Washington Post: Day by day, how JD Vance tweeted misinformation about Springfield

Despite his staff learning that the cat-eating story wasn’t true on the day of his first post, Vance doubled down and kept going.

Novaya Gazeta Europe: Russia quashes rehabilitation of over 4,000 Soviet citizens purged during World War II
Rescrierea istoriei
Novaya Gazeta Europe: Russia quashes rehabilitation of over 4,000 Soviet citizens purged during World War II

Since 2022, Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has quashed the rehabilitation of at least 4,000 people who were found guilty of treason and collaboration by the Soviet government during World War II, business daily Kommersant reported on Thursday.

OCCRP: Secretive Cyprus-Registered Funds Were Used to Hide Megayachts and Luxury Real Estate Linked to Sanctioned Russian Banker
Unde se ascund banii oligarhilor ruși
OCCRP: Secretive Cyprus-Registered Funds Were Used to Hide Megayachts and Luxury Real Estate Linked to Sanctioned Russian Banker

In Cyprus, a new type of investment fund was marketed to clients as a way to avoid disclosing their ownership of assets. In one case, these funds were used to obscure the ownership of offshore companies that allegedly held luxury assets linked to powerful Russian banker Andrei Kostin, including two megayachts worth tens of millions.

The Moscow Times: Why Is Ukraine Still Helping Fuel Russia’s War Machine?
Tranzitul gazului rusesc prin Ucraina
The Moscow Times: Why Is Ukraine Still Helping Fuel Russia’s War Machine?

Would the USSR have allowed cargo from Hirohito’s Japan or Hitler’s Germany to pass through its lands during the Great Patriotic War?

The Guardian: From Munich 72 to 7 October attack: the chequered history of the Mossad
Istoria Mossad, verificată
The Guardian: From Munich 72 to 7 October attack: the chequered history of the Mossad

Hezbollah device blasts add to reputation for audacious espionage, but Israeli spy agency has had numerous failures

Meduza: A 25-year-old conspiracy theory about the FSB lives on
FSB și „Zahărul din Riazan", după 25 de ani
Meduza: A 25-year-old conspiracy theory about the FSB lives on

The phrase “apartment bombings” in Russia evokes a series of terrorist attacks that happened in September 1999. Meduza explains why this particular issue has such staying power 25 years later.

The Guardian: Revealed: Russia anticipated Kursk incursion months in advance, seized papers show
Ofensiva din Kursk
The Guardian: Revealed: Russia anticipated Kursk incursion months in advance, seized papers show

Exclusive: Documents contain months of warnings about possible Ukrainian advance and also reveal concerns about morale

The Washington Post: Putin wants Russia’s youth to become ultranationalist patriots. Many are all in.
Moscova și tinerii ruși
The Washington Post: Putin wants Russia’s youth to become ultranationalist patriots. Many are all in.

Young Russians are embracing Kremlin propaganda, reshaping the Ukraine war narrative with ultranationalist views and seeing themselves as patriotic truth defenders.

The Atlantic: What Happened to Elon Musk
Când a devenit Musk un adept al teoriilor conspirației?
The Atlantic: What Happened to Elon Musk

A conversation with Charlie Warzel about how the tech billionaire became a mouthpiece for MAGA

KOMMERSANT: Прокуроры занялись карателями
Moscova condamnă după 70 de ani 4000 de „naziști"
KOMMERSANT: Прокуроры занялись карателями

Надзорное ведомство разъяснило “Ъ” детали пересмотра решений о реабилитации по делам, связанным с войной

The Washington Post: California passes AI laws to curb election deepfakes, protect actors
Lege pentru prevenirea falsurilor IA
The Washington Post: California passes AI laws to curb election deepfakes, protect actors

The bills signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) come amid concerns over the use of AI in the run-up to the presidential vote and its threat to actors’ livelihoods.