Russia became the first country to recognize the Taliban as the ruling government of Afghanistan on July 3, Russia's Foreign Ministry announced.

"We believe that the act of official recognition of the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will give impetus to the development of productive bilateral cooperation between our countries in various fields," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Taliban, an Islamist militant group, seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces, toppling the Western-backed government.

Despite its control over the country, the Taliban-led administration has not been formally recognized by any other state due to its failure to meet international commitments on human rights, governance, and counter-terrorism.

Russian state media outlet TASS reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin made the final decision based on advice from Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

As relations with Western governments fell apart following Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Kremlin has increasingly looked to work closely with totalitarian regimes, including North Korea and Iran, to advance economic and military partnerships.

In recent years, Moscow has expanded engagement with the Taliban, deepening trade ties and investing in Afghan infrastructure. The Taliban also regularly participates in Russian economic and educational forums.

In recent months, Russia's Supreme Court ruled to suspend the ban on dealings with the Taliban, and Russia's State Duma passed legislation in December 2024 allowing the possibility of removing organizations from the list of banned terrorist groups.

Putin has previously referred to the Taliban as "allies," while Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called them "sane people."

The Taliban, however, continues to enforce strict Islamic law, banning women from education, restricting social interactions, and carrying out the public stoning of women to death.

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Ukraine's security service (SBU) is teaching teenagers how to avoid recruitment by Russian intelligence online, the New York Times (NYT) reported on June 21.

"Maybe not all of these special operations are reported in the media — but believe me, the enemy is not sleeping... They are working actively and carrying out illegal activities, as strange as it may sound, directly inside your phones," SBU spokesperson Roksolana Yavorska-Isaienko told students.

Approximately 22% of Ukrainians recruited by Russian intelligence to conduct sabotage or terrorist attacks are minors, Artem Dekhtiarenko, SBU spokesperson, said on April 2.

Russian intelligence attempts to recruit Ukrainian civilians online, offering easy money in return for sharing sensitive data or preparing sabotage or terrorist acts.

Russian intelligence finds its recruits using social platforms, including Telegram, Discord, and TikTok.

Unsuspecting teenagers are often offered hundreds or even thousands of dollars to conduct simpler tasks such as delivering packages or taking photos of energy sites, the NYT reports.

More serious tasks are commonly assigned to teenagers once they have been blackmailed for conducting less serious operations beforehand or when their phones are hacked to reveal compromising photos.

Russian intelligence is actively attempting to recruit Ukrainian nationals for illegal operations across the EU, Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) said on June 2.

"The recruitment of Ukrainians for hostile operations in Europe is yet another tool of hybrid aggression that the Russian Federation is waging against Ukraine and the entire European community," HUR said.

The SBU caught a Russian agent as he was filming a military airfield in preparation for a Russian strike, the agency reported on June 15.

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) recruited the unemployed 24-year-old via the Telegram messaging app to collect coordinates for air attacks on airfields and logistic depots, the SBU said.

The Russian FSB allegedly offered "easy money" and instructed the recruit to find military facilities and carry out reconnaissance on the ground.

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