Russia & Central Asia

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Russia's alleged election meddling

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, centre left, and US envoy Steve Witkoff, centre right, at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany on Monday. Photo: EPA

US has agreed to give Ukraine security guarantees in peace talks: officials

Following discussions with Zelensky and European leaders in Berlin, the US said the offer of guarantees will not be on the table ‘forever’.

3 hours agovideocam

Russia has thrust world into new ‘age of uncertainty’, says UK’s new spy chief

5 hours agovideocam

Pussy Riot punk protest group declared ‘extremist’ by Russian court

15 Dec 2025 - 11:30PMvideocam

Zelensky suggests Ukraine could drop Nato goal for security guarantees

The shift, which includes a call for ‘Article 5-like’ guarantees, comes as Washington presses for an end to the four-year Ukraine war.

15 Dec 2025 - 9:16AM

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at a meeting with the US delegation in Berlin. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters

Europe fears hidden Russian threat in Trump-backed Ukraine peace plan

Europe worries a US plan for a demilitarised zone in the Donbas region may help Moscow to reinvade Kyiv.

14 Dec 2025 - 10:39AMvideocam

Belarus frees 123 prisoners in exchange for US sanctions relief

Peace prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova and 121 others have been released by one of Russia’s key allies.

13 Dec 2025 - 10:38PM

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Over 1 million in Ukraine lose electricity after strikes on infrastructure

Kyiv and its allies say Moscow aims to cripple Ukraine’s power grid to deny residents access to light, heat and running water.

13 Dec 2025 - 9:25PMvideocam

A Ukrainian power plant worker walks in front of a damaged production hall after a Russian missile attack this month. Photo: AP

China-EU relations

EU fears China’s role in Russia’s war on Ukraine is deepening

Multiple sources confirm increase in Beijing backing before China-Russia ties are discussed by ministers from the EU’s 27 members on Monday.

14 Dec 2025 - 4:47PMvideocam

Ukraine retakes Kharkiv areas as Russian troops ‘completely cut off’ in Kupiansk

Disputing Moscow’s claim of controlling Kupiansk, Ukraine retakes villages and isolates Russian troops amid fierce eastern battles.

12 Dec 2025 - 8:59PM

Zelensky floats referendum on territory, as US pressure mounts to end war

Ukraine’s president says Russia wants ‘the whole of Donbas’ in return for peace, but Ukrainians must have their say.

12 Dec 2025 - 3:35PM

Ukrainian servicemen prepare targets with images depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Reuters

Proposals on territorial concessions by Ukraine sent to Trump: Merz

The German chancellor emphasised Ukrainian consent in peace talks amid diplomatic tensions.

11 Dec 2025 - 7:30PM

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during a press briefing in Berlin, Germany on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Ukraine sends US a revised peace plan as Trump blasts European allies

US president says ‘pretty strong words’ were used in his discussion with leaders from the UK, France and Germany.

11 Dec 2025 - 2:10PM

Crew killed in Russian military plane crash during test flight

State media reported seven people were on board at the time of the crash.

9 Dec 2025 - 11:26PM

European allies back Ukraine’s Zelensky after Trump criticism

Ukrainian president met leaders in London and Brussels, declaring that ceding territory to Russia - a central point of the US proposal - was impossible.

9 Dec 2025 - 9:16AM

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street in London. Photo: AP

China-Russia relations

Chinese firms gear up for Russia’s reopening amid talks aimed at peace deal

Many Chinese exporters expect the first wave of post-war demand in Russia to come from infrastructure.

7 Dec 2025 - 8:57PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses reporters after attending the Russia Calling! investment forum in Moscow on December 2. Photo: EPA

Hungary’s Orban to send team to Russia, expecting end of Ukraine war

The PM is anticipating a post-war landscape in which sanctions are lifted and Russia becomes reintegrated with the Western economy.

7 Dec 2025 - 5:40AMvideocam

Ukraine’s Zelensky holds ‘very substantive’ call with Trump envoys

The president’s negotiators are in Florida for talks on a US-led plan to end the war with Russia.

7 Dec 2025 - 1:20AM

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5 killed in latest clash at Afghanistan-Pakistan border crossing

Each side has accused the other of launching ‘unprovoked’ attacks at the crossing between Chaman and Spin Boldak, in southern Afghanistan.

6 Dec 2025 - 7:52PM

A mortar lies on the ground near a damaged house in Chaman on Saturday, following overnight cross-border fire between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Photo: AFP

Why more women are embracing combat roles in Ukraine’s military

Equipment such as drones has opened up new paths for women and helped them overcome resistance in the military.

6 Dec 2025 - 5:40PM

India and Russia agree to boost trade to US$100 billion by 2030

India’s Modi greeted Putin with a bear hug before announcing free electronic visas for Russian tourists.

6 Dec 2025 - 1:15PM

UK Novichok report blames Putin for ‘reckless’ poisoning of ex-Russian spy

Inquiry concluded that the assassination attempt of Sergei Skripal must have been ‘authorised at the highest level’.

5 Dec 2025 - 3:35AM

A mock offer of “Novichok Tea” sits in front of an effigy of Russian President Vladimir Putin outside the Russian embassy in Berlin in 2020. Photo: AFP

Trump says next steps for Ukraine talks unclear after Putin meeting

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump adviser Jared Kushner had spent hours at the Kremlin with no breakthrough on ending the war.

4 Dec 2025 - 7:53AM

A Ukrainian serviceman stands in church damaged by a Russian military strike in the frontline town of Kostiantynivka on Friday. Photo: Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanised Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces via Reuters

Afghan boy, 13, executes family’s killer in echoes of worst days of Taliban rule

The public execution, the 11th carried out since the Taliban seized power in 2021, has drawn global condemnation.

3 Dec 2025 - 1:51PM

Russia says no Ukraine compromise reached after Putin meets Trump envoys

Before the talks, the Kremlin chief warned European powers that if they wanted a war, Russia would defeat them.

3 Dec 2025 - 12:31PM

Zelensky reinforces European support as he eyes Trump talks on US deal

Ukrainian president met Macron in Paris to sound out allies on the US blueprint for peace, which was drafted without input from Kyiv or Europe.

2 Dec 2025 - 3:04PM

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday. Photo: AFP

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