Mary Ilyushina

Washington, D.C.

Education: Lomonosov Moscow State University

Mary Ilyushina, a reporter on the Foreign Desk of The Washington Post, covers Russia and the region. She began her career in independent Russian media before joining CNN’s Moscow bureau as a field producer in 2017. She has been with The Post since 2021. She speaks Russian, English, Ukrainian and Arabic.
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Latest from Mary Ilyushina

Xi’s cocoon in Moscow: A Chinese-owned hotel over Red Square opulence

Sino-Russian relations have grown substantially closer since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the West’s imposition of punishing sanctions.

March 21, 2023

Drone strikes, sabotage, shelling: Russia’s war on Ukraine comes to Russia

The war now encroaches on the daily lives of Russian citizens with near-constant reports of fires, drone attacks and shelling.

March 20, 2023

Putin visits occupied Mariupol, staking claim to invaded Ukrainian lands

A day after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant accusing the Russian president of war crimes, German officials said Sunday they would arrest him if he visited their country.

March 19, 2023

Ukraine briefing: Austin and Milley speak with Russian counterparts as tensions rise over drone crash

The Pentagon said two Russian jets forced the drone into the Black Sea after one of them struck its propeller. The Kremlin insisted that there was no collision.

March 15, 2023

Russia oil revenues plummeted in February as war penalties hit

An embargo by European Union countries and a price cap imposed by the Group of Seven are hitting a major source of income for Moscow as the war in Ukraine grinds on.

March 15, 2023

Russia eyes pressure tactics to lure fleeing tech workers home

Thousands of high-skilled employees fled Russia because of the war in Ukraine, relying on pandemic-era remote work routines to live abroad, and, in some cases, not telling their bosses.

March 8, 2023

Alleged ‘terrorist’ attack in west Russia fuels hard-line pressure on Putin

Details of an alleged cross-border incursion were sketchy but Russian hardliners demanded revenge while Ukrainian officials blamed internal Russian problems.

March 3, 2023

Ukraine briefing: G-20 ‘marred by Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war,’ Blinken says

Secretary of State Antony Blinken met briefly with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a Group of 20 meeting of foreign ministers.

March 2, 2023

Kremlin accuses Ukraine of violent attack in western Russia

The governor of Bryansk said two people were killed in what President Vladimir Putin denounced as a “terrorist attack.” Ukraine denied responsibility.

March 2, 2023

Discreetly, and at peril, Russian volunteers help Ukrainian refugees

A secret, loosely connected network of volunteers is helping Ukrainians in Russia to flee to Europe. But the Kremlin's special services are cracking down.

February 25, 2023