Russia / Features
KSE: Ukraine is facing a $53bn budget shortfall, but economy is stable for now
Ukraine is in urgent need of additional financing from partners as the continuation of the war drives up defence spending and reconstruction needs, jeopardizes budget financing, weighs on the balance of payments, and slows economic growth.
Russia tax service targets Russian accounts in UAE
The Russian Federal Tax Service (FTS) has ramped up its scrutiny of Russian nationals holding accounts in the United Arab Emirates, following the effective implementation of automatic tax information exchange between the two countries.
Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries goes on a mysterious M&A spree
Russian e-commerce giant goes on M&A spree Almost a year after the controversial merger with a leading outdoor advertising firm, Russia’s leading e-commerce site Wildberries is indulging in a fresh bout of eyebrow raising deals.
US expands oil sanctions on Russia
US President Donald Trump imposed his first sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies on October 22, the state-owned Rosneft and the privately-owned Lukoil in the latest flip flop by the US president.
Emerging Europe’s growth holds up but risks loom, says wiiw
Fiscal fragility, weakening industrial demand from Germany, and the prolonged fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine threaten to undermine growth momentum in parts of the region.
Ukraine’s growing energy crisis promises a cold and dark winter
Since the summer, Kyiv has changed tactics. Given the almost complete failure of Western oil sanctions to curb Russian oil exports, it has been targeting Russian oil refineries. The Kremlin has struck back, targeting Ukraine's power system.
Russia, China sign off on Northern Route shipping deal to slash global freight times
Russia and China have signed a landmark agreement to develop and commercialise the Northern Sea Route (NSR), after Beijing tested the route last month, that could slash Europe-Asia cargo transit times and challenge the primacy of the Suez Canal.
The Asian nations backing the Russian war effort – from India to Taiwan, China to Indonesia
While many Asian nations have quietly distanced themselves from Moscow in a bid to fall into line with US or European allies, several continue to engage with Russia, providing varying degrees of support that help sustain its military campaign.
The EU needs to change to stay geopolitically relevant
Leading EU figures are pushing for the unanimity rule used to make important decisions to be dropped to enable faster enlargement — one of the bloc’s main tools for geopolitical influence.
LONG READ: Trade is the glue that holds Global Emerging Markets Institutions together
The world order is changing. The emerging markets are coming of age and they are setting up a raft of largely non-Western Global Emerging Markets Institutions (GEMIs) to coordinate their lives. Trade is the glue that binds them together.
LONG READ: The GEMIs, the Global Emerging Markets' interlocking institutions
The international order is breaking up as the Global Emerging Markets build a raft of new non-Western interlocking international institutions to run their vision of a new multipolar world order.
Ukraine's receipt of Israeli missiles part of Israel's greater geopolitical plot
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that his country received a Patriot air defence system from Israel
UK companies lost $70bn from sanctions on Russia
British businesses have lost nearly $70bn between 2022 and 2024 as a result of their withdrawal from the Russian market, according to a survey of public sources and annual reports, the Russian state-owned media reports.
Russia's military production goes into surplus
After more than three years of heavy investment, Russia’s military production has gone into surplus, producing more arms and ammo than it needs to perpetrate the war in Ukraine, the Kiel Institute reported.
"Managed democracy" wins the Moldovan elections
It appears that the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) has won the general election in Moldova on September 28, but President Maia Sandu has taken a page out of the Kremlin's “managed democracy" playbook.
Emerging market Tiger Cities power global growth prospects
Cities across the developing world are set to be among the fastest-growing urban economies in the next quarter century, according to Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025.
EU’s influence declines in its neighbourhood as China and Russia gain ground
Chinese presence growing in Western Balkans, while Russia makes gains in Turkey, shows new index developed by wiiw, Bertelsmann Stiftung and ECIPE.
Poland building a drone wall to protect Europe
Poland will lead an effort to build a “drone wall” to block Europe’s airspace to swarms of Russian UAVs should a pan-regional war ever break out.
EBRD says geopolitics, tariffs and China competition weigh on Emerging Europe growth
Development bank downgrades 2025 forecasts for Central and Eastern Europe citing weak external demand, rising debt and the impact of US tariffs.
Funding the war: Ukraine and Russia's budgets side-by-side
Ukraine is teetering on the edge of a funding crisis that could cause its war effort to collapse. The pain for Russia's economy is also growing fast as it slides into stagnation or even stagflation.