Russia/World

The United Kingdom updated the sanctions list against Russia by 90 positions, including "Rosneft" and "Lukoil"

The restrictions also affected several Russian banks, Turkish and Chinese electronics suppliers, and a gas reception terminal in China

The European Commission proposed creating a pan-European system for protection against drones and missiles

However, European countries have not yet approved the proposal to create a 'drone wall' as the discussion process has been delayed due to disagreements

WP: China helps Russia increase production of combat fiber optic drones, which are harder to intercept

According to Chinese customs data, shipments of fiber optic cables from China to Russia increased nearly tenfold from July to August

FT: Sanctions and the fall in global prices have collapsed Russia's coal industry and led to the worst crisis in the last 30 years

By September, 23 coal companies had ceased operations, and another 53 are on the verge of closure

Donald Trump stated that Washington might transfer Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv, but first he wants to talk to Putin

Trump wants to present the Kremlin with a choice: either end the war or face a 'new level of escalation' where the US will strengthen Ukraine

The Baltic States Develop an Evacuation Plan for Over a Million People in Case of a Russian Attack

In Latvia, more than 600,000 people are being prepared for evacuation, in Lithuania — 400,000, in Estonia — 140,000

In Azerbaijan, the executive director of 'Sputnik' Igor Kartavykh, detained in the summer on fraud charges, was released

This happened after the meeting between Putin and Aliyev, where the Kremlin for the first time acknowledged responsibility for the crash of the 'Azerbaijan Airlines' plane.

NATO discusses action plan in response to Kremlin provocations, including easing restrictions for pilots, allowing them to shoot down Russian planes

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker stated that it is very important to «ensure that we have enough steps on the escalation ladder»

Reuters: EU countries approved the plan to phase out Russian gas by 2028, despite criticism from Hungary and Slovakia

To approve the plan on October 20, a "qualified majority" of EU countries is required — at least 55% of the states.

FT: EU pressures Belgium over €140 billion for Ukraine from frozen Russian assets

The 'reparations loan' is planned to be agreed upon by December, but Belgium demands other countries share the risks

In Estonia, a member of the Defense League was sentenced to almost five years in prison for collaborating with the FSB

He provided information on political sentiments, the Defense League, and the movement of military personnel in Narva

As part of the 19th EU sanctions package, it is planned to restrict the movement of Russian diplomats

Thus, the EU, at the initiative of the Czech Republic, is going to fight spies operating under diplomatic cover

In Belgium and Germany, dozens of drones were detected, Denmark accused Russia of waging hybrid warfare

According to the director of Danish military intelligence, Russia's main goal is to shift the boundary of NATO's collective defense treaty application

«If someone wants to compete with us, let them try: to each their own — freedom»

Vladimir Putin at Valdai threatened Europe and Ukraine, praised Trump, said that the USSR «dissolved itself», and read Pushkin

Hungary finds an alternative to Russian gas

Budapest signed the largest contract in history for the purchase of liquefied natural gas with the French company Engie

Wyborcza: Russia prepared sabotage in Poland, Lithuania, and Germany with drones and explosives hidden in corn cans

As part of the investigation, a 27-year-old man, believed to be an agent of Russian intelligence, was detained

The European Union failed to agree on a loan to Ukraine of 140 billion euros secured by frozen Russian assets

Belgium, under whose jurisdiction most of the Russian reserves are held, blocked the discussion, demanding to "share the risk" among all EU countries

Volodymyr Zelensky stated that after Russia's strike on the Kyiv region, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was left in a blackout

Reuters: Raiffeisen Bank failed to leave Russia, Kremlin blocked potential sale deal

Russian authorities fear that the acquisition of a stake by a Russian buyer will lead to sanctions and the severance of the last economic ties with Europe

In France, a Russian 'shadow fleet' tanker under EU and UK sanctions was detained

The crew was unable to provide documents on the 'citizenship' of the vessel, previously detained by Estonian authorities for this reason

Bloomberg: Russia sells gas to China with a discount of up to 38%

Gazprom explains this by the fact that gas fields are closer to China, while Moscow falls into total dependence on Beijing

After counting more than half of the ballots in the parliamentary elections in Moldova, the ruling pro-European party PAS is winning

The leader of the pro-Russian "Patriotic Bloc" Igor Dodon announced his victory and called to "defend it" by going to a "peaceful protest"

President of Latvia Urges NATO to Strengthen Protection of Baltic States Against Possible Russian Aggression

Earlier, Lithuania requested to strengthen the NATO mission, including "ground-based air defense systems"

CNN: Putin has launched a hybrid war against Europe to reduce support for Ukraine

The main feature of Russian attacks is the uncertainty, which complicates the response to such actions

EU plans to change voting on extending sanctions against Russia from unanimous to qualified majority to bypass Hungary's veto

The European Commission also proposed using frozen Russian funds to finance a new loan for Ukraine amounting to 140 billion euros

Reuters: Hundreds of Moldovan priests received money from Russia to conduct anti-European campaigns online

In the past year, nearly 90 new Telegram channels have been created as accounts of Moldovan Orthodox parishes with stories about a «decaying» Europe

Bloomberg: European diplomats at a closed meeting warned the Kremlin that they are ready to shoot down Russian planes violating NATO countries' airspace

Russian diplomats denied "deliberate" border violations, stating that Europe has entered into confrontation with Russia

Reuters: In 2024-2025, Chinese specialists visited Russia at least six times to establish military drone production

At the plant in Izhevsk, thousands of Harpy strike drones are produced with Chinese components, with supplies going through a company under US and EU sanctions

Hungary stated that it will not stop purchasing Russian oil, despite Trump's request

The President of Lithuania believes that as long as the EU buys energy resources from Russia, «it is financially more on the side of the aggressor than Ukraine»

Bloomberg: NATO Allies Disagree on How to Respond to Threats from Russia

Germany calls for a «cautious approach», while Poland and the Baltic states, which have faced invasion, are convinced that there is «no room for discussion» on this issue.

Norway accused Russia of repeatedly violating its airspace, Sweden urged to prepare for war

The NATO Secretary General stated that the commitment to Article 5 is unwavering, «decisions will be made in real-time», based on the assessment of all threats

At an emergency UN Security Council meeting due to the violation of European countries' airspace, a "direct military conflict between Russia and NATO" was discussed

That same night, the airports of Copenhagen and Oslo suspended operations due to drones

Moldovan special services detained 74 people on suspicion of preparing mass riots ahead of parliamentary elections

They were trained in Serbia under the guidance of Russian special services, during searches weapons and ammunition were seized

Poland will shoot down any objects violating its airspace without discussions

In "other cases" the military will make "cautious" decisions

Russia will adhere to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty even after its expiration, but only if the US does the same

Vladimir Putin stated at a Security Council meeting that Russia is ready to respond to any strategic threats, considering the "destructive actions of the West"

«The Kremlin's goal is clear: to capture Moldova through ballot boxes, use us against Ukraine and turn us into a springboard for hybrid attacks on the EU»

Russia has developed a plan to interfere in the elections in Moldova, including recruiting Moldovans abroad and a disinformation campaign, Bloomberg has learned

Germany launched two fighters due to a Russian reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea

In March and August, Russian planes were already intercepted over the Baltic

Czech Republic and Lithuania call to shoot down Russian military planes that violate NATO countries' borders

They believe that only with such an «adequate» response will Moscow realize that it has crossed the line of what is permissible and made a mistake

Three Russian MiG-31 fighters violated Estonian airspace

In Europe, this was seen as a serious escalation on NATO's eastern border

The European Commission approved the 19th package of sanctions against Russia

It includes a complete ban on transactions with «Rosneft» and «Gazprom Neft», restrictive measures will also affect cryptocurrency platforms and prohibit transactions in cryptocurrencies

Explosions at logistics warehouses in Europe in 2024 were organized by Russian special services, due to executor errors in Vilnius, a residential building was almost blown up

An international team of investigators uncovered the entire chain of the criminal network led by GRU agent Yaroslav Mikhailov

Lithuanian police uncovered a group preparing terrorist attacks in European countries

In July 2024, they sent several parcels with explosives from Vilnius via DHL and DPD, the devices were controlled by electronic timers

Bloomberg: Germany has changed its position and is actively advocating for the use of frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine

This is due to concerns that if US support weakens, the entire burden will mainly fall on Europe's largest economy

Forbes: Extensive sanctions did not lead to the freezing of the Russian economy, aided by the 'shadow fleet' and digital payment systems

Additionally, Russia switched to settlements in yuan and rupees, and in 2024, the volume of bilateral trade with China reached a record $234 billion

NATO launches operation «Eastern Sentry» to strengthen the defense of Europe's eastern flank

Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany have already confirmed their participation in the mission, with other countries planning to join soon

The attack of Russian drones on Poland showed the vulnerability of NATO air defense: cheap drones were shot down by Patriot

If the attacks become more massive, the air defense system simply will not cope, experts believe

Bloomberg: NATO prepares 'defensive military measures' in response to Russian drone incursions in Poland

The NATO Joint Armed Forces Command in Europe is determining further actions 'to deal with these limited incursions'

The EU Supreme Court overturned the permit for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Hungary by Rosatom

The court's decision stated that the European Commission did not sufficiently justify its decision on Budapest's contracts with Rosatom without conducting a public tender

Latvia closes airspace on the eastern border until September 18

The country's defense minister stated that Latvia is not currently facing a direct threat, but preventive measures need to be taken

«The Kremlin mocks President Trump's peace efforts again»

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski stated that Russia deliberately attacked a NATO country, Poland requested additional air defense systems from the Alliance

«Allies are determined to defend every inch of their territory»

At Poland's request, Article 4 of the NATO Charter was activated, and the North Atlantic Council convened for consultations amid a «security threat»

NATO does not consider the drone incursion into Polish territory as an attack, but acknowledges it was a deliberate incursion

European leaders urged not to "compromise on the security of our allies"

Russian-Chinese trade, despite talks of friendship, shows 'negative growth'

In the first eight months of 2025, China's exports to Russia decreased by 8.8%, and imports by 8.2%

EU considers new sanctions package against Russia, affecting banks and oil trade

Meanwhile, the war economy continues to hit Russia itself, with oil and gas revenues down 20% since the beginning of the year, and GDP growth slowing nearly threefold

«Russian Terrorist 'Anti-Records' Demand a Decisive Response»

EU leaders reacted to one of Russia's largest attacks amid talks of a peace agreement

In Russia, a French traveler who was cycling from Lisbon to Vladivostok was arrested

He is accused of illegally crossing the border

Putin called foreign military in Ukraine "legitimate targets for defeat", again invited Zelensky to Moscow, although he does not see the point in contacts with the Ukrainian president

He also stated that the judicial system in Ukraine has been destroyed, and the chairman of the Supreme Court is in "jail"

Emmanuel Macron stated that if Russia continues to refuse peace talks, new sanctions will be imposed against it in coordination with the USA

Meanwhile, President Trump demanded that the EU stop purchasing Russian oil and increase economic pressure on China

Hungary and Slovakia ask the EU to lift sanctions on six Russian businessmen, including Usmanov and Fridman, in exchange for extending other sanctions

This kind of bargaining is not the first time European leaders close to the Kremlin have proposed it; in March, the sports minister Dyagterev and Usmanov's sister were removed from the blacklist

Putin announced readiness to meet with Zelensky in Moscow because Trump asked him

At the same time, he again expressed doubts about the legitimacy of the Ukrainian authorities and conducted an excursion on the Constitution of Ukraine, elections, and referendums

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov once again stated that achieving a sustainable peace is impossible "without eradicating the root causes of the conflict"

He demanded "to recognize and formalize in an international legal manner" five regions of Ukraine as part of Russia

The UK and Australia have updated their sanctions lists against Russia

The UK included the 'First Movement' and the Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation in the list, while Australia added Moscow Deputy Mayor Maxim Liksutov and Kristina Potupchik

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that Russia poses a threat to all European countries, reminding that a Russian missile can reach The Hague in 5-10 minutes

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called Putin «the most serious war criminal of our time»

Today, the law on FSB control over science, education, and technologies came into effect, but military projects were excluded from the control of special services

The Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and law enforcement agencies removed their projects from control, leaving the FSB with only civilian research and development