A US federal indictment unsealed Thursday accused a Russian man of leading a global cybercrime ring that fleeced victims around the world of millions of dollars.

(Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday unsealed charges against a Russian national accused of leading the development and deployment of malicious software that infected thousands of computers over more than a decade.

But text messages between the pair, written in the late summer of 2021 and recovered from Mr. Shmyrev’s phone, reveal the personal, often frustrating side of their lives. The Times reviewed transcripts of the messages, which were shared with foreign intelligence services as part of a wide-ranging investigation into Russian espionage.

Until last week, a secretive fleet of ships ferrying Russian oil around the world showed no clear links to the Kremlin. That changed when Russia used a fighter jet in an apparent effort to protect a tanker.

Aircraft lessor SMBC Aviation Capital has booked a further $654 million in proceeds from insurance settlements over the past year related to jets stranded in Russia following Western sanctions, the Irish-headquartered company said on Thursday.

Many Russian soldiers say they would see a cease-fire along the current front lines as a failure, hinting at the nationalist discontent the Kremlin could face in accepting a cease-fire.

Intercepted Russian radio chatter obtained by CNN appears to correspond with drone footage showing the suspected execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war last year. The killing of surrendering Ukrainian troops is alleged by Kyiv and international experts to be part of an orchestrated Russian policy.

Italy fully supports European Union efforts to stop Russian gas imports into the bloc by 2027, the country's energy minister told reporters on Thursday, adding any decisions by Rome to boost LNG imports from the U.