Eastern Europe / Features
Fuel crisis hitting Russia’s real economy as agricultural peak season approaches
Russia’s deepening fuel crisis is spreading beyond filling-station queues into freight, agriculture, retail and public services, threatening to deliver a fresh inflationary shock as the country enters its peak harvest season.
Graham's "hellish" Russian sanctions bill moving forward
A US sanctions bill originally promoted by the late Senator Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal has moved close to passage after being stalled in Congress for more than a year.
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Arrests close in on the Russian stoligarch Rotenberg brothers’ business empire
A widening series of arrests surrounding the notorious businessmen Arkady and Boris Rotenberg has raised questions over whether two of President Vladimir Putin’s oldest and most influential allies are headed for a fall from grace.
Ukraine turns to police veteran as new Defence Minister to tackle mobilisation challenge
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's nomination of Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko to replace the popular and effective Mykhailo Fedorov has come as a great disappointment to Ukraine’s allies and the new minister faces formidable challenges.
China's 'impossible' gas price risks killing off Power of Siberia-2
China has effectively priced Russia's flagship Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline out of existence, demanding a price for gas that analysts say would make the project uneconomic.
Kremlin promoting the Far East as major investment frontier in Russia’s pivot to Asia
The Kremlin is pushing the Far East as a major investment opportunity thanks to a sanctions-driven surge in trade with China and a broader wave of investment from across the continent and the Global South.
Ukraine's hidden homelessness crisis deepens as war reshapes social landscape
Social challenge could have long-term consequences for the country's post-war recovery if vulnerable groups are not reintegrated into society quickly, said the Depaul Ukraine charity.
Russian refining down to record lows, LNG exports to Europe at record highs
Russia’s crude output declined to the lowest in at least two and a half years in June as Ukraine attacked the nation’s oil infrastructure on an almost daily basis. But LNG production remains untouched and exports to Europe are at record highs.
What is Russia targeting with its missiles?
Civilian deaths in Ukraine hit a record monthly high in May, driven by a shortage of Ukrainian air-defence interceptors rather than a shift in Russian targeting, officials say. What is Russia actually targeting with its missile strikes?
Trump's Patriot licence will help Ukraine in its next war with Russia, not this one
US President Donald Trump’s pledge to give Kyiv a license to make Patriot missiles could be a game changer – in Ukraine’s next war with Russia, but not in this one.
The EDB's next frontier: Uzbekistan and the future of Central Asian integration
Only a year after becoming the Eurasian Development Bank's seventh shareholder, Uzbekistan has quickly become one of the institution's strategic priorities.
India's new diplomacy of trade deals
Between 2021 and 2026 India’s geoeconomic policy has been pivoting towards free trade agreements as its central pillar, especially with partners that fall into the category of developed nations.
Monaco bombing reveals Ukraine as European scam call centre hub
Ukraine has become a European hub for multimillion dollar online scamming call centres. The attempted murder of Ukrainian businessman Vadym Iermolaiev in Monaco on June 28 is likely to be connected to his illegal call centre operations.
North Korea's unlikely economic revival reshapes life in Pyongyang as Russia and China deepen support
Pariah no longer, since the war in Ukraine started, Russian and Chinese money has poured into Pyongyang, fuelling a rapid economic development and unexpected real estate boom in a country better known for repression and poverty.
Russia's ASEAN summit in Kazan was a diplomatic coup for the Kremlin
The ASEAN summit held in Russia last week was one of the Kremlin’s biggest diplomatic successes since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
EU mulling “membership-lite” financial benefits for candidate countries to keep enlargement on track
The European Commission is preparing plans to grant European Union candidate countries some financial benefits while they wait for full membership as the process becomes bogged down in internal wrangling.
Iran war switches energy investment priorities from climate to security where electricity is king - IEA
The Iran war has switched up government’s priorities and energy investments are now driven less by climate targets than by security concerns, as governments respond to the second major energy crisis in five years.
Russia's Gulf war oil windfall fades as military spending surges
Russia's brief fiscal reprieve from the Gulf war is already coming to an end. A surge in oil prices in the last months looked like it would bail the Kremlin out which is increasingly struggling to pay for the war in Ukraine.
Russia’s oil sector bruised but not broken by Ukraine's drone strikes
Ukraine's expanding drone campaign against Russia's oil industry is testing the Kremlin. Can it keep the domestic economy functioning after more than four years of war as its cash cow industry takes a painful pounding.
Global growth to stabilise in 3Q26 as Iran ceasefire eases energy shock - Erste Bank
A framework agreement between Washington and Tehran has already pulled oil prices lower, but Erste Group's quarterly outlook warns the inflationary scar tissue from the conflict will outlast the crisis itself across the world.