Russia
KYIV BLOG: Pokrovsk becomes a modern-day Stalingrad
The battle for Pokrovsk has become a modern-day Stalingrad. Some Russian troops are reportedly refusing to enter the city as that means almost certain death. The fighting is swinging back and forth, but there are no fixed positions.
New jet engines compound Russia’s glide bomb headache for Ukraine
The Russian air force is lobbing as many as 5,000 glide bombs at Ukrainian positions every month, including some bombs weighing 3,000 kg that are powerful enough to destroy any defences.
Serbia faces uncertainty over long-term Russian gas deal
Serbia’s plans for a new long-term gas contract with Russia’s Gazprom remain uncertain, with officials now aiming for a short-term extension.
Russia’s Big Brother SORM mass surveillance system
It’s a modern-day Big Brother. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) operates the vast and largely opaque SORM surveillance infrastructure in Russia spies on the entire Russian population that grants intelligence officers unfettered access.
Russia hits Kyiv with the largest missile attack of the war
Russia hit Kyiv with the most intense drone and missile bombardment since the war began on November 14, killing six people and injuring a dozen more, as the Kremlin ramps up its campaign to force Ukrainians to suffer a dark and freezing winter.
China’s LNG tanker shadow fleet – reality or fiction?
China appears to be constructing a discreet fleet of LNG tankers capable of moving sanctioned Russian fuel in what is an emerging tactic that would allow Moscow to preserve export revenue while tightening the energy relationship between the two.
Ukraine’s Energoatom corruption stole money to protect Ukraine’s power stations, caused blackouts
A Russian missile barrage has plunged Ukraine into darkness as winter approaches but could have been avoided. Money earmarked to build effective defences against Russia’s sustained missile attacks was stolen, leaving them defenceless.
Poland’s PM Tusk warns Ukraine risks losing the war with Russia from the expanding corruption scandal
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk took to social media over the weekend and warned that the expanding Energoatom corruption scandal was undermining support for Kyiv in Europe.
Russian forces fail to consolidate their advantage as the battle of Pokrovsk becomes a modern day Stalingrad
The battle for Pokrovsk continues to rage after Russia came close to taking the Donbas’ key logistical hub last week. A determined counter offensive by Ukrainian troops has kept the Russian forces at bay in what has become a modern day Stalingrad.
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.
EXPLAINER: Lukoil scrambles to sell its international operations
Time is running short for Russia’s second-biggest oil producer to divest its vast international business, after it was hit with US sanctions that will soon render its assets outside Russia effectively inoperable.
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.