An attack on the Engels airfield, total geo-tracking of migrants, and a censored messenger for pretrial detention centers: the main news of the night
The night brought new large-scale incidents across Russia's regions, involving drone strikes on strategic facilities and civilian buildings. Meanwhile, security forces are proposing revolutionary methods of total digital surveillance over foreign citizens, and penal institutions are launching paid communication services.
Attack on Engels and destruction in the residential sector
A series of powerful explosions rocked the Saratov region last night. Local residents are reporting en masse on social media that the Engels military airfield caught fire after a successful drone attack. A massive fire broke out at the site.
Therefore, the consequences of the airstrike also affected civilians in the city. Saratov Region Governor Roman Busargin officially confirmed the damage to infrastructure.
"Due to the drone attack, there is damage to civilian infrastructure in Engels. All emergency services are on scene."
In addition, regional Telegram channels began actively publishing photographs of the multi-story building damaged in the attack.
Meanwhile, fighting continues across the border. In Zaporizhzhia, three people were killed and fifteen civilians were injured to varying degrees as a result of Russian strikes. In Sumy, the casualty count has risen to 21, with four of the wounded still in critical condition. More than 10 buildings in the city were seriously damaged, including apartment buildings, offices, and medical facilities, and the blast wave blew out hundreds of windows.
Solidarity in Novosibirsk: 50 rubles for a former political prisoner
However, in Siberian regions, citizens are demonstrating examples of solidarity and mutual assistance. Residents of Novosibirsk pooled their efforts to raise nearly 50 rubles for the 70th birthday of former political prisoner Takhir Arslanov.
The initiator of this charitable donation was former city council member Svetlana Kaverzina. The funds raised are needed by the pensioner to restore his private home after a three-year absence.
As a reminder, in August 2023, Arslanov was sentenced to three years in a general regime penal colony (an appeals court later reduced this sentence by two months) for two anti-war comments on social media. In them, he openly and harshly criticized the Russian military invasion of Ukraine. We have included this context to recall the background to the pensioner's persecution.
Dacha surpluses and total geolocation tracking of migrants
However, new initiatives to regulate trade and migration are being voiced at the federal level. Sergei Mironov, leader of the A Just Russia party, has officially proposed allowing Russian summer residents to legally and freely sell their own agricultural produce in any public place. He specifically noted that current legislation does not directly prohibit the sale of surplus crops. However, in reality, ordinary pensioners are currently only allowed to sell their produce at rare weekend fairs and official markets.
At the same time, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is preparing unprecedented control measures. Migrants arriving in Russia will be required to purchase special mobile phones with a personal electronic profile, announced Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Igor Zubov. The ministry plans to use this technological method to continuously track the precise geolocation of each foreigner.
If these measures are adopted, security forces will be able to completely eliminate the uncontrolled movement of migrants between settlements across the country. Furthermore, this will make it impossible to change one's place of residence or employment without permission.
Contact Point: A Paid Messenger for Russian Prisons
Digitalization has finally reached the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN). Russia has launched a specialized paid messaging app called "Contact Point" for immediate communication with inmates in pretrial detention centers and penal colonies. The app is currently operating in pilot mode in the Pskov and Leningrad regions.
Using this program, relatives can send text, voice, and video messages, as well as easily subscribe to entertainment content. However, it's important to note that all correspondence and any media files undergo mandatory and strict censorship by agency staff before being sent to the terminal in the penal colony. According to available information, sending messages is a paid service.
