Drone crash into high-rise building, 23 years for treason, and a unified curriculum standard for universities: the main news of the night
Last night in Russia's regions was marked by new airstrikes and high-profile court rulings. Amid ongoing attacks on infrastructure, authorities are tightening ideological controls in education and handing out harsh sentences for treason.
Drone attacks in the Moscow region, Stavropol, and strikes in Ukraine
In the Moscow region, an unmanned aerial vehicle crashed into a residential high-rise building in the city of Solnechnogorsk. Local residents reported the incident en masse on social media, but there is currently no immediate information about possible injuries.
Meanwhile, in the Stavropol Territory, a massive fire was started by an air strike. Journalists from the Astra publication have determined that the fire is at an oil depot in the village of Vyazniki.
There is a fire in the industrial zone.
Therefore, emergency services immediately began extinguishing the fire, as officially confirmed by Vladimir Vladimirov, Governor of Stavropol. Meanwhile, fighting continues across the border. In Zaporizhzhia, six people were injured as a result of Russian strikes: apartments in a multi-story residential building burned out, the roof partially collapsed, and the facades of neighboring buildings, cars, and windows at a local hospital were damaged. Furthermore, in the Odesa region, a drone attacked the upper floors of a residential high-rise, and in the Dnipropetrovsk region, four districts were hit by a massive strike.
Kidnapped in Uzbekistan and Severe Sentence for "Treason"
A Moscow court handed down an extremely harsh sentence in a treason case. Georgy Pirogov, a resident of the Moscow region who had previously been kidnapped in Uzbekistan, was sentenced to 23 years in a maximum-security prison colony and a hefty fine of 800 rubles. After the outbreak of full-scale hostilities, Pirogov fled to Georgia, where he successfully worked as an industrial climber.
Consequently, his legal trip abroad ended tragically. In the summer of 2024, he went on a scheduled work trip to Uzbekistan, where he disappeared without a trace in the city of Kungrad. However, just a few days later, Pirogov unexpectedly turned up in Moscow's Matrosskaya Tishina pretrial detention center. The exact circumstances of his arrest in Uzbekistan, his subsequent transfer to Russia, and the specific details of the classified charges themselves remain completely unknown.
Fuel crisis: a fake for hype in Penza and queues as an excuse for employers
Meanwhile, the ongoing gasoline shortage in the regions is leading to unexpected incidents. The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has launched an official investigation into a viral video posted by a resident of the Penza region. The woman publicly announced on social media that she had "rented" someone else's disabled child in order to skip the line at a gas station and fill up her car. The State Duma and the Safe Internet League quickly responded to the video, after which police identified the creator of the video as the boy's godmother.
However, the story turned out to be a fabrication. The child's mother later explained that their car was officially listed on the Federal Register of Disabled Persons, and the trip was just a casual outing. Ultimately, the author of the scandalous video admitted that she made up the rental story purely for the sake of hype, because "people love trash."
Against this backdrop, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia made an important statement. They emphasized that long lines at gas stations can now be considered a valid excuse for being late for work, as they are considered "emergency and force majeure circumstances." However, employees are required to promptly notify management of their lateness, and supervisors have the right to request supporting documents, although the FNPR did not specify the exact list.
A sinkhole in Novosibirsk and mandatory ideology in universities
Meanwhile, major infrastructure problems have been reported in Siberia. Yesterday, part of Novosibirsk was completely without water after a massive sinkhole in the left-bank part of the city. At the very bottom of the resulting sinkhole, witnesses discovered water gushing from damaged utility lines. The situation was seriously complicated by the fact that hot water in the affected areas had been shut off prior to the incident as part of routine testing. By morning, utility workers had partially restored cold water supply through backup systems, but residents continue to complain en masse about extremely low pressure.
Furthermore, important changes have been announced in higher education. All Russian universities plan to make four specific subjects strictly mandatory: Russian language, philosophy, history, and "Fundamentals of Russian Statehood." This was officially announced by Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov.
While technical majors were previously able to avoid extensive humanities courses, the new rules will now apply to absolutely everyone. According to the minister, these disciplines will be studied "by all students without exception, regardless of their future profession, and regardless of the format and level of instruction," effectively introducing a unified state ideology standard across all universities in the country.
