The wives of two Ukrainian soldiers defending the Mariupol steel mill have met with Pope Francis.

Russian authorities have designated a popular independent media outlet and two rights groups “foreign agents.”.

MOSCOW When Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny collapsed in an airplane bathroom Thursday, his supporters immediately suspected poisoning. If true, he wouldnt be the first prominent, outspoken Russian to be the target of toxic attack. A British inquiry found that Russian agents had killed Litvinenko, probably with President Vladimir Putin's approval. At the time of Litvinenkos poisoning, he had been investigating the killing of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya three weeks earlier. PYOTR VERZILOVVerzilov, a member of Russian protest group Pussy Riot, ended up in an intensive care unit after a suspected poisoning in 2018 and had to be flown to Berlin for treatment.

Pyotr Verzilov, prominent member of the protest group Pussy Riot waits for his court hearing in a court in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 25, 2020. Moscow City Court on Thursday rejected the appeal Verzilov filed to contest a 15-day administrative arrest handed to him for swearing in public earlier this week. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)MOSCOW A member of the Pussy Riot protest group has been charged with failing to properly notify Russian authorities about his Canadian citizenship, officials said Tuesday. The charges filed Tuesday came a day after Russian activist Pytor Verzilov was released after serving 15 days in jail for swearing in public. Pussy Riot was founded in 2011 as a punk rock and performance art protest group.

FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 7, 2018 file photo, Pyotr Verzilov, a member of the feminist protest group Pussy Riot, speaks during an interview to the Associated Press in Moscow, Russia. Russian state news agency Tass says on Sunday, June 21, 2020 a prominent member of the protest group Pussy Riot has been detained by the police anti-extremism division. 9AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)MOSCOW Pytor Verzilov, a Russian political activist and member of the Pussy Riot protest group, has been sentenced to 15 days in jail for swearing in public. He attracted worldwide attention in 2018 when he and three other Pussy Riot activists entered the field at the World Cup final in Moscow to protest police brutality, an action for which they served 15 days in jail. Two months later, he became severely ill from what group members suspected was poisoning and was flown to Germany for treatment.

MOSCOW Russian state news agency Tass says a prominent member of the protest group Pussy Riot has been detained by the police anti-extremism division. The Mediazona website reported that Pyotr Verzilov was seized at his apartment by unidentified men who broke down the door on Sunday morning. Tass cited a police source as saying Verzilov was detained as part of an investigation but did not report further details. Verzilov publishes Mediazona. Two months later, he became severely ill from what group members suspected was poisoning and was flown to Germany for treatment.