The changes come as digital transactions continue to surge nationwide, raising questions about privacy, enforcement, and political control.

The Bank of Russia filed a lawsuit in Moscow seeking 18.2 trillion rubles ($229 billion) from Euroclear, the state-run Tass news service reported Monday.

Russia’s Central Bank says it has filed a lawsuit against Belgian financial institution Euroclear. That's the Brussels-based clearing house that holds most of Moscow’s frozen assets in Europe.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by phone on Thursday and reassured him of Moscow's support for his government's course in the face of growing external pressure,

The Bank of Russia said it’s taking legal action in Moscow against the Euroclear depository over frozen state assets and threatened the European Union with a global campaign of retaliation to recover hundreds of billions of euros if the bloc makes any use of the funds.

The European Union is set to lock up Russia’s assets in Europe until Russia ends its war on Ukraine and compensates for the damage.

A tragic knife attack at a Moscow region school resulted in the death of a young student and a security guard, with authorities swiftly detaining the teenage assailant. The incident has raised serious concerns about school safety and extremist influences in Russia.

Ukraine has used long-range drones to attack Russian oil platforms as it expands its strikes on the country's energy sector.

Moscow pounded Ukrainian power infrastructure with drone and missile strikes on Saturday and Kyiv launched a deadly strike of its own on southwestern Russia, a day before talks involving senior European and U.S. officials aimed at ending the war were set to resume.

Russia said on Thursday that Ukraine had launched a major aerial attack with at least 287 drones downed over a number of regions including Moscow. Russia's defence ministry said at least 40 drones were shot down over the Moscow region,