Russian authorities have intensified their crackdown on critics of the war in Ukraine, detaining blogger Ilya Remeslo and blocking politician Boris Nadezhdin from standing for parliament. The moves highlight the Kremlin's continued efforts to silence dissent, even as reports suggest President Vladimir Putin's popularity may be slipping amid economic pressures linked to the conflict.

Remeslo, once a firm Putin supporter, was remanded in custody for two months on suspicion of spreading false information about the military after publicly denouncing the president as a "war criminal" in March. Nadezhdin, 63, a former presidential hopeful on an anti-war platform, was convicted of "displaying extremist symbols" over a reposted video briefly showing Alexei Navalny, resulting in a fine of 1,000 roubles (£9.50) and disqualification from collecting signatures for September's parliamentary elections. Both men deny wrongdoing and say the charges are designed to silence them, while recent opinion polls indicate declining support for Putin amid fuel shortages caused by Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure.