Russia
COMMENT: Finland’s President Stubb lists the three obstacles to a Ukraine ceasefire
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb has warned that a ceasefire in Russia’s war against Ukraine is unlikely to materialise before spring, and urged Western allies to sustain support for Kyiv despite recent corruption scandals.
Bottleneck on the border, truckers baffled by major snarl-up on Kazakhstan-Russia frontier
Tens of thousands of goods vehicles stranded. Yet nobody is quite clear on what is going on.
Serbia holds emergency talks on fate of Gazprom-owned NIS
Serbia’s government held an emergency session to decide whether to nationalise oil company NIS after the US rejected a request to extend the firm’s operating licence and demanded a full exit of its Russian owners.
North Korea halves shell supply to Russia as stockpiles run low, says Ukraine
North Korea has significantly reduced its shipments of artillery shells to Russia in 2025, as domestic stockpiles show signs of exhaustion, and the quality of munitions deteriorates.
COMMENT: Trump was “sent by heaven”, Russia is a “God-given” neighbour, says Kazakhstan’s president. What's cooking?
With White House and Kremlin visits in the space of six days, pressure was on Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to pull off a masterclass in multi-vector foreign policy.
EU LNG imports set for record high in November as US supply surges
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports into the European Union are on track to hit an all-time monthly high in November, driven by a sharp rise in shipments from the United States.
KYIV BLOG: Ukrainian war sailing towards a crisis
Russia’s oil industry, long seen as the bedrock of the country’s economic strength, is being slowly degraded—not by sanctions or falling demand, but by the persistent and methodical pressure of Ukraine’s drone attacks.
COMMENT: Ukraine slowly wearing down Russia's oil industry
Russia’s oil industry, long seen as the bedrock of the country’s economic strength, is being slowly degraded—not by sanctions or falling demand, but by the persistent and methodical pressure of Ukraine’s drone attacks.
China unveils world’s first thorium-powered container ship
China has launched the world’s first container ship powered by a thorium molten salt reactor (TMSR), marking a potential milestone in nuclear maritime propulsion and low-emission shipping technologies.
Russian Wildberries makes a move in Africa with Ethiopian partnership
Russia’s largest e-commerce major Wildberries announced a partnership with Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), one of Ethiopia’s premier investment groups, according to the company’s press-release.
LGBTQ+ Russians fleeing Georgia say country mirrors Kremlin's playbook
Russian émigrés who once saw Georgia as a safe haven now warn the country is replicating Russia's systematic persecution of LGBTQ+ people, forcing them to flee once more
Kazakhstan's Tokayev hails close ties with Putin’s Russia days after lavishing praise on Trump
As Kazakh president completes state visit in Moscow, Kremlin spokesman shrugs off remarks he made in US, saying “a great many people who end up visiting the White House start talking like that.”
Bulgarian president vetoes law on seizure of Lukoil assets
The veto comes just ten days before new US sanctions on Lukoil take effect, which could block the operation of its Bulgarian assets.
Russia signals readiness to give up control of Serbia’s NIS amid US sanctions
Russia is prepared to relinquish control of Serbia’s oil company, NIS, to a third party to resolve US sanctions that threaten the firm’s operations and Serbia’s energy security.
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Venezuela raises military alert as US aircraft carrier nears
Venezuela has elevated its military preparedness and activated what Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino López called a “higher phase” of Plan Independence 200, a nationwide defence operation ordered by President Nicolás Maduro.
Zelenskiy calls for 27 Patriot systems as Russia steps up missile and drone strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid
Ukrainian president urged Western allies to accelerate the delivery of air defence systems to shield the country from intensifying Russian strikes.
Norway reportedly considers sovereign fund collateral for EU’s €140bn Ukraine loan
Proposal offers a way to overcome Belgian objections to using frozen Russian sovereign assets to back the EU loan facility for Kyiv.
Mortgage agency DOM.RF to hold Russia's first state IPO in two decades
DOM.RF’s close ties to the state may expose it to geopolitical risk, including future sanctions.
Russian Lukoil declares force majeure on Iraqi oil
Lukoil, Russia’s second-largest oil company, has declared force majeure on its operations at the West Qurna-2 oil field in Iraq due to the impact of US sanctions
Russia unleashes massive overnight assault on Ukraine’s energy grid, crippling thermal plants and gas sites
Russia launched one of its heaviest air assaults in months overnight, striking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with missiles and drones and causing widespread blackouts across major cities, including Kyiv and Kharkiv.