Russia
Total Russian car sales up by more than half in 2024
The sale of new passenger cars in Russia was up by 56% in 2024 and grew by another 9% y/y in January.
McFAUL: Why Is Trump trying to lose our new cold war with China?
In 2017, President Trump’s first administration published a historic National Security Strategy, which said we had entered a new era of great power competition with China and Russia. He was right. But now his policies mean we could lose that fight.
Russia’s economy defies wave of bankruptcy fears with fastest private sector PMI growth in a year
Russia’s services and manufacturing sectors expanded at their fastest pace in a year in January, driven by improved demand conditions and a sharp rise in new orders, according to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data from S&P Global.
Azerbaijan claims possession of Russian missile fragment extracted from doomed AZAL Flight 8243
Cautiously worded Kazakh government report on tragedy, meanwhile, stops short of identifying “foreign metal objects”.
Zelenskiy said he is open to face-to-face negotiations with Putin
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was open to face-to-face negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, reversing his earlier stance of refusing to meet with the Russian leader.
Russia’s Mir cards remain an open question in India
Indian Ambassador to Russia Vinay Kumar has expressed optimism about Indian financial institutions adopting Moscow’s Mir payments system and Russian banks adopting New Delhi’s RuPay payments system
“Unchained” Trump is main risk to broadly positive Emerging Europe growth prospects
Steep US tariffs on the EU or a sudden cut in support for Ukraine are the major downside risks for the region, says new wiiw report.
British teen killed by Russian drone minutes into first Ukraine mission
An 18-year-old British volunteer fighting for Ukraine was killed by a Russian drone just minutes into his first frontline mission. James Wilton, from Huddersfield, had no prior military experience and travelled to Ukraine aged 17 to join the fight.
Serbia requests delay of sanctions on oil company NIS
Serbia has formally requested the US to delay sanctions on its Russian-owned oil company, Naftna Industrija Srbije, for a minimum of 90 days, citing concerns over the company’s critical role in regional energy stability.
Azerbaijan launches border security operation amid rising tensions with Russia
The timing of Azerbaijan's large-scale Border Shield operation raises geopolitical questions.
Europe's gas crisis is back with a vengeance
A year ago, many market watchers were warning that it was premature to say Europe’s gas crisis was over. Now it seems it is back with a vengeance.
Missing money, delayed arms deliveries and demands for mining deals, Ukraine's relations with Trump are off to a rocky start
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has complained that Ukraine has only received $75bn out of a pledged $177bn of aid pledged by the US to support Ukraine last year and he doesn’t know where the missing $100bn money is.
EU sanctions envoy takes on delicate “compliance” issues on visit to Kazakhstan
Given Russian-Kazakh economic integration, Europe cannot hope to stop every illicit shipment from the Central Asian country to Moscow’s war economy, but there are some notable successes.
Russian manufacturing PMI growth up a robust 53.1 points in January from 50.8 points a month earlier
Russia’s manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest pace in six months in January, driven by a surge in domestic demand and a rise in new orders, according to the latest S&P Global Russia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index data.
Bomb blast kills pro-Russian paramilitary leader in Moscow
A bomb explosion in a luxury residential complex in Moscow has killed Armen Sarkisyan, a pro-Russian paramilitary leader from eastern Ukraine, in what authorities are treating as a targeted assassination.
COMMENT: Trump should do a deal with OPEC and tighten sanctions further to collapse the Russian economy
As its parting shot, the Biden administration imposed the toughest sanctions yet on Russian oil. The incoming Trump administration is changing tack and talking about negotiations, but should tighten sanctions further and cause Russia real pain.
Russia forced to turn to foreigners and criminals as Moscow military recruitment plunges fivefold
Military recruitment in Moscow has dropped fivefold since its peak in mid-2024, forcing Russian authorities to rely increasingly on foreign mercenaries, criminals and debtors to bolster troop numbers.
Belarusian firm providing Russia with military-quality microchips
A Belarusian state-owned enterprise has been supplying Russia with microchips crucial for missile production, using Western-manufactured equipment, components and raw materials in violation of international sanctions.
Moscow Exchange, SPBX report record trading volumes in 2024 amid market volatility
Russia’s leading stock exchanges reported record increases in total trading volumes in 2024, which saw a Russian IPO boom that is expected to continue this year.
Will the Nord Steam gas pipelines be turned back on soon?
The idea of restarting Russian gas deliveries to Europe via the damaged Nord Stream 1 & 2 pipelines has been introduced as a possible bargaining chip in the mooted Russo-Ukraine ceasefire talks. If it happens it would solve many of Europe's problems.