Isabel van Brugen
Reporter
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her current focus is on the Russia-Ukraine war, and she has covered human rights issues in previous roles. Isabel joined Newsweek in 2021 and had previously worked with news outlets including the Daily Express, The Times, Harper's BAZAAR, and Grazia. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism at City, University of London, and a BA in Russian language at QMUL. Languages: English, Russian
You can get in touch with Isabel by emailing i.vanbrugen@newsweek.com
Twitter handle: @isabelvanbrugen
Russia is about to get whole lot more Wagner-style paramilitaries
The new groups will "strengthen the protection of public order and ensure public safety during the period of mobilization, during martial law, in wartime."
Russian spooks use embassy rooftop satellites to spy on NATO ally
"Dishes, masts, transmitting, and receiving devices" have been installed atop the Russian embassy in Moldova, an investigation has found.
Russia preps elite unit for Bakhmut "slaughter" amid mutiny fears: Report
Russia's airborne forces, the VDV, in Kherson had put forth an audio message threatening desertion.
"Hot shutdown" at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant sparks radiation fears
There have been widespread concerns about a potential nuclear catastrophe at Europe's largest nuclear power plant since Russian forces captured it in 2022.
Russian elites keep getting themselves killed with alternative medicine
Russia is seeing a surge in interest in spirituality and mysticism as President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine continues.
Moscow drone attack reveals Putin can't "control the sky," Ukraine intel
Russia's defense ministry has accused Kyiv of attempting to carry out a "terrorist act" using two drones on Monday.
Russia shuts down Crimea bridge five times as another ammo depot blown up
Authorities are evacuating residents living within a five-kilometer radius of the damaged ammunition depot.
Ukraine's first recorded use of cluster munitions on Russian army revealed
The Pentagon confirmed on Thursday that Ukraine had started using cluster munitions on the battlefield.
Igor Girkin detained in Russia after Wagner "tip-off"
Days earlier, Igor Girkin said Russia would not survive another presidential term by Vladimir Putin.
Russia tests China's commitment to "friendship with no limits"
A missile and drone attack launched by Moscow damaged a building at the Chinese consulate in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa this week.
Putin is buying time before seeking revenge against Prigozhin—CIA head
Yevgeny Prigozhin's mutiny "exposed weaknesses in the system that Putin has built," William Burns said .
Prigozhin says he will make Belarus army better than Russia's
"What is happening at the front [in Ukraine] is an embarrassment in which we do not need to participate," the Wagner Group leader said in a video.
Putin pulls out of South Africa summit amid arrest threat
South Africa would be legally obliged to arrest the Russian president should he make a trip there next month for the BRICS summit.
Did Ukraine strike Crimea base with Storm Shadow missiles? What we know
Explosions were reported at Russian military training grounds in Crimea early on Wednesday morning.
Crimea explosions force Russia to evacuate thousands of people
More than 2,000 residents of four Crimean settlements will be evacuated after explosions rocked a military training ground.
Kremlin crackdown on Telegram "extortion" hints at tensions with FSB
Russian authorities detained Mikhail Polyakov, a former Federal Security Service (FSB) colonel, last week.
Full list of Russian commanders dismissed by Putin in Ukraine war
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a number of military changes over battlefield failures in Ukraine.
Anthrax-infected Russians escape Siberian hospital
In early July, four residents in the Tuva region, which borders Mongolia, were diagnosed with anthrax after eating the meat of an infected horse.
Russia tells fleeing Crimeans to exit via land corridor shelled 22 times
Thousands began to leave Crimea on Monday after an attack on the Kerch bridge.
Russians flee Crimea after Kerch bridge strike as queues stretch for miles
Tourists and residents are leaving the Black Sea peninsula—which was illegally annexed by Putin in 2014—videos show.
Communist Party leader found dead in his home
Oleg Khorzhan was found "with signs of violent death," Transnistria government officials said.
Ukraine MP calls Crimea bridge explosion "huge success"
"Everyone involved in this should be presented with the highest state awards," Oleksiy Goncharenko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, said.
Crimea bridge explosion photos and videos reveal devastating impact
Authorities said two people were killed in an "emergency" on the strategically vital Kerch Strait Bridge, which connects Russia with Crimea.
Fleeing Russian soldier hit by falling tree, video shows
Drone footage caught a lone soldier running before he tripped and was struck by a falling tree, reportedly near Bakhmut.
Novouralsk nuclear plant blast—What we know as Russians rushed to hospital
Local residents have reportedly been asked to remain at home, while an official asked residents not to panic, saying the situation "is under control."
Uranium plant explosion in Russia sparks nuclear radiation fears
More than 100 workers from the plant were reportedly taken to a nearby hospital after a cylinder containing depleted uranium hexafluoride "depressurized."
Wagner Group "ready for global events and turmoil," video warns
""Friends, it's all just beginning. PMC Wagner and its path is far from over," a man who says he is a Wagner Group field commander said in a video.
Russian public approval of Ukraine War dropping rapidly: Survey
The polling was conducted a few weeks into the start of Ukraine's counteroffensive to recapture territories seized by Russia throughout the war.
Erdogan dealt five major blows to Putin in just one week
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday agreed to send Sweden's NATO accession protocol to the Turkish parliament "as soon as possible."
Russian Lt. General Oleg Tsokov killed in Ukraine—Reports
The high-ranking commander reportedly died near the Russian-controlled port city of Berdyansk in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region.
