DASHA LITVINOVA

Russia and CIS correspondent

Litvinova is an Associated Press correspondent covering Russia, Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus. She is part of the team that covers the Russia-Ukraine war. She has covered Russia and the region for over a decade.

In this grab from a video provided by the Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine on Friday, Dec 12, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy records a video at the road entering of Kupiansk, Ukraine. (Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine via AP)

Russian police and National Guard will stay in Ukraine’s Donbas postwar, a Kremlin official says

A senior Kremlin official says Russian police and the National Guard will stay on in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas even if a peace settlement ends the war.

A woman looks at her smartphone on a bus in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Russia restricts FaceTime, its latest step in controlling online communications

Russian authorities say they have imposed restrictions on Apple’s video calling service FaceTime, alleging it was being used for organizing what it called “terrorist activities.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sit inside a limousine after arriving at the Palam Air Base in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Putin says there are points he can’t agree to in the US proposal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin says some proposals in a U.S. plan to end the war in Ukraine are unacceptable to the Kremlin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff shakes hands during their meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, on Aug. 6, 2025. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

Land and security are the main sticking points as Russia and Ukraine mull Trump’s peace proposal

Ukrainian officials met with U.S. President Donald Trump’s representatives Sunday, and Washington officials are expected in Moscow for more peace talks this week.

A woman looks at her smartphone in central Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Frustrations grow in Russia over cellphone internet outages that disrupt daily life

When Russians look back at 2025, they might remember it as the year when the government took even tighter control of the internet.

Protesters pour into the streets outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze, File)

A Russia-like crackdown in Georgia is targeting protesters, rights activists and the media

Georgia has been facing a wave of protests against its government’s repressive policies. The demonstrations began in November 2024 after the government halted talks about the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million joining the European Union.

Director Woody Allen poses for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film "Coup de Chance" during the 80th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Sept. 4, 2023. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP, File)

Ukraine condemns Woody Allen for speaking at a Russian film festival

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry condemned Woody Allen for speaking at a Russian film festival, calling his participation in the event “a disgrace and an insult” to the victims of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

President Donald Trump, right, walks to shake the hand of Russia's President Vladimir Putin during a joint press conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Trump frustrated after thinking he made headway on Russia-Ukraine talks only to see Putin balk

President Donald Trump started the week declaring a diplomatic breakthrough in his bid to get Russia and Ukraine closer to making peace, announcing he had begun arranging for direct talks between Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

President Donald Trump salutes as he walks Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Summit puts Putin back on the global stage and Trump echoes a Kremlin position

In a summit meeting marked by red carpets, handshakes and military flyovers, President Vladimir Putin made his first trip to the United States in a decade and was greeted warmly by President Donald Trump.

People look at their phones near the Kremlin in Moscow, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Russia restricts calls via WhatsApp and Telegram, the latest step to control the internet

Russian authorities have announced partial restrictions on calls in messaging apps Telegram and WhatsApp. This is part of a long-standing effort to control the internet.

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 Summit on July 7, 2017, in Hamburg, Germany. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

What to know about the Putin-Trump summit in Alaska

Whether the U.S.-Russia summit can lead to a deal to produce peace in Ukraine more than 3 1/2 years after Moscow’s invasion remains to be seen.

President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands at the beginning of a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

What to know about past meetings between Putin and his American counterparts

Bilateral meetings between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterparts were a regular occurrence early in his tenure.

This combination of photos shows Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, in Moscow on May 9, 2025, and President Donald Trump in Washington on Aug. 1. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool, Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Trump says he would meet with Putin even if the Russian leader won’t meet with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy

President Donald Trump says he would meet with Vladimir Putin even if the Russian leader won’t meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

An activist holds a sign reading, "For Russia without censorship. Orwell wrote a dystopia, not an instruction manual,” referring to author George Orwell during a protest in front of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, July 22, 2025, prior to lawmakers approving a measure that punishes online searches for information that is deemed “extremist.” (AP Photo)

Going online in Russia can be frustrating, complicated and even dangerous

Going online in Russia can be frustrating, complicated and even dangerous. Accessing independent news sites, Facebook, and YouTube is increasingly difficult due to extensive online censorship.

Pedestrians look at their phones while walking through St. Petersburg, Russia, on Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Disruptions of cellphone internet links in Russia are spreading

In the last two months, dozens of Russian regions have been hit by cellphone connectivity outages. Officials say such disruptions are needed to foil Ukrainian drone attacks.

Participants perform during the Estonian Song and Dance Celebration "Iseoma" at the Kalev Stadium in Tallinn, Estonia, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Thousands of voices unite in song at traditional choir festival celebrating Estonia’s culture

Tens of thousands of choir singers performed in the rain at Estonia’s Song Festival Grounds in Tallinn.

This photo undated photo released by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on Friday, June 20, 2025, shows Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Farid Mehralizada, who was sentenced to nine years in prison, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty via AP)

Azerbaijan jails 7 journalists in latest media crackdown on free speech

A court in Azerbaijan has convicted seven journalists on multiple charges and sentenced them to prison.

Grigory Melkonyants, co-chair of Russia's leading independent election monitoring group Golos who faces up to six years in prison, looks at the media standing in a cage in a courtroom prior to a hearing in Basmanny district court in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian court jails prominent election monitoring activist for 5 years

A court in Moscow has convicted one of the leaders of a prominent independent election monitoring group on charges of organizing the work of an “undesirable” organization and sentenced him to five years in prison.

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks to journalists in the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Sergei Bobylev/Photo host agency RIA Novosti via AP)

As eyes turn toward Turkey, here’s what to know about Russia-Ukraine peace talks

The talks took place in the warring capitals of Moscow and Kyiv, from Washington and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to countries across Europe.

From left, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz make a call to U.S. President Donald Trump from Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, May 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

Zelenskyy hopes for ceasefire with Russia and challenges Putin to meet him in Turkey ‘personally’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has challenged Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to meet him personally in Turkey on Thursday.

In this combination of file photos, President Donald Trump, left, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, are seen at the Elysee Palace, Dec. 7, 2024 in Paris, and President Vladimir Putin, right, addresses a Technology Forum in Moscow, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, left and center, Pavel Bednyakov, right, File)

A US-led effort to end the war in Ukraine looks favorable to Russia, but mixed signals emerge

What’s emerged from the Washington-led effort to end the war in Ukraine suggests a deal that seems likely to be favorable to Russia.

Ksenia Karelina greets her fiancé, professional boxer Chris van Heerden, as she arrives Thursday, April 10, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Ksenia Karelina, a dual US-Russian national released by Moscow in prisoner swap, arrives in US

A Russian-American woman freed by Moscow has arrived back in the United States as part of a prisoner swap completed as the two countries aim to repair ties.

Olena Tsyhipa looks at family photos in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 3, 2025. Her husband, journalist and activist Serhii Tsyhipa, was imprisoned by the Russians in the early days of the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukrainian civilians held by Russia in the war face abuse and years in prison, activists say

In its 3-year-old war, Russia has detained what human rights activists say are thousands of Ukrainian civilians and has charged them with various crimes.

What one Finnish church learned from creating a service almost entirely with AI

St. Paul’s Lutheran church in Helsinki has held the first church service in Finland created mostly by artificial intelligence.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, second left, meets with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Saudi National Security Advisor Mosaad bin Mohammad Al-Aiban, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, third left, U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, left, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, second right, at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday Feb. 18, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Russia and US agree to work toward ending Ukraine war in a remarkable diplomatic shift

Russia and the U.S. have agreed to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties.

American arrested in Moscow on drug smuggling charges is freed ahead of Russia-US talks

Russia has freed a U.S. citizen arrested this month on drug smuggling charges, according to Russian media reports and a U.S. official.

In this image made from a video provided by Moscow City Court, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny makes a heart symbol while standing in the defendants’ cage during a hearing into his 2014 criminal conviction in Moscow, Russia, on Feb. 2, 2021. (Moscow City Court via AP, File)

Russia’s opposition struggles to dent Putin’s rule a year after Navalny’s death

The stunning news came in a terse statement from the Russian penitentiary service a year ago: Opposition leader Alexei Navalny had died in the Arctic Circle penal colony where he was serving a prison sentence.

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a video conference meeting with Bryansk Region Governor Alexander Bogomaz at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow Russia, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russia rejoices at Trump-Putin call as Zelenskyy rejects talks without Ukraine present

Russian officials and state media have taken a triumphant tone after President Donald Trump jettisoned three years of U.S. policy and announced he would likely meet soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate a peace deal in the almost three-year-long war in Ukraine.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he signs executive orders in the White House on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Frozen US aid brings new challenges to groups hit by harsh crackdowns in Russia and Belarus

Rights groups, activists and independent media in Russia and Belarus endured increased government scrutiny, repressive laws and even were shut down and forced to operate from exile abroad.

Protesters hold banners calling for the release of jailed journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli as they march through the streets in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

A Russia-like crackdown has jailed dozens in Georgia, with human rights groups sounding the alarm

Over 40 Georgians have been jailed on criminal charges stemming from anti-government protests that have roiled the South Caucasus nation for weeks.