Since the start of 2023, regional authorities in Russia have spent at least 150 million rubles ($1.5 million USD) on monuments dedicated to soldiers killed in the ongoing war in Ukraine. Data on public procurement shows that 34 contracts have been signed for memorial construction,

Odesa region: In the early hours of Sept. 27, Russia attacked the southern port city of Izmail on the Danube River, killing two women and one man, and injuring at least 16 others. Izmail, an important transit point for Ukrainian grain exports enroute to the Black Sea, is located across the Danube from Romania, a NATO member.

War may be the only thing keeping Russia's economy afloat. According to Jay Zagorsky, an economist and markets professor at Boston University's Questrom School of Business, the Ukraine invasion is likely the only thing preventing the country from slipping into a recession.

Putin appeared with an unexplained blotch on his forehead for an address marking the anniversary of his annexation of four Ukrainian regions.