Russia
Trump threatens Russia with even more sanctions
The Trump administration is preparing to intensify economic sanctions against Russia in an effort to bring an end to the war in Ukraine, according to retired General Keith Kellogg, the US president’s special envoy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Russian FDI down to 15-year low as Russia faces "the wrong kind of growth"
Foreign direct investment in Russia has fallen to its lowest level in 15 years, with the total volume decreasing to $235bn by October 2024, according to data from the Central Bank of Russia, Ukrainska Pravda reported on February 8.
Bank deposits are back as Russians' favourite investment in 2024
Depositing money in high-yielding bank deposits is back as Russians' favourite store of wealth to protect their life savings against the ravages of high inflation rates. Total deposits were up by 70% in in 2024.
Baku moves to close Russian cultural centre as diplomatic tensions rise
Azerbaijan’s increasingly assertive stance on Russian matters marks a shift from its previous balancing act between Moscow and the West.
Germany looks to repurpose Nord Stream 2 for green gas project
German authorities are considering re-tasking the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to deliver green hydrogen or natural gas from Finland.
US, Ukraine and Russia all soften their positions ahead of mooted ceasefire talks
Leaders in the US, Russia and Ukraine have all softened their positions slightly in the last week, making the start of ceasefire talks in the coming months more likely.
Azerbaijan releases Russian 'golden judge' despite Moscow’s extradition request
Azerbaijan typically complies with such extradition requests, but relations with Russia have deteriorated recently.
Russian military in Ukraine riding on donkeys amid vehicle shortage
The Russian military in Ukraine is using donkeys and horses to transport ammunition due to a severe shortage of vehicles, war correspondents have claimed.The development follows previous confirmed reports of Russian troops resorting to civilian cars.
Kyrgyzstan resists Russian pressure to give sanctions-busting firms lenient treatment
Kyrgyz bank is latest entity to join US sanctions list.
Have Russia’s prime interests passed peak? CBR lowers rate forecast for 2025 to 20.5%
Has Russia’s prime interest rate peaked? The Central Bank of Russia says analysts have lowered their forecast for interested rates in 2025 to 20.5% in its latest monthly macroeconomic survey of professional economists.
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.