Russian authorities

• Russia frees French political scholar in a prisoner swap for a basketball player - Laurent Vinatier, a French political scholar serving a three-year sentence in Russia and facing new charges of espionage, has been freed in a prisoner swap with France, a Russian security agency said Thursday. In exchange, Russian basketba
• Russia puts death toll from Ukrainian strike on occupied village at 27. Kyiv rejects accusation - Russian authorities said Friday that the death toll from a Ukrainian drone strike they said struck a café in a Russian-occupied village in Ukraine’s Kherson region rose to 27 people. Kyiv denied attacking civilian targets. Svetlana Petren
• The Kremlin says Moscow made an offer to France regarding a French citizen imprisoned in Russia - The Kremlin on Thursday said it was in contact with the French authorities over the fate of a French political scholar serving a three-year sentence in Russia and reportedly facing new charges of espionage. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov