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Russia

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Russia. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Moscow

Head of State

President Vladimir Putin

Head of Government

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin

last updated:

6 January, 2025

Lu Shaye served as China’s ambassador to France from 2019 to 2025. Photo: Xinhua

China-EU relations

Lu Shaye, China’s controversial ex-envoy to France, handed new role on Europe

Appointment of experienced diplomat known for abrasive style and high-profile fallouts comes at delicate time for Sino-European relations.

3 hours agovideocam

Ukraine war

Zelensky says he is willing to negotiate with Putin

5 Feb 2025 - 6:33PM

Ukraine war

Russians told not to panic over ‘gas cloud’ near plant struck by Ukraine

5 Feb 2025 - 5:31PM

Diplomacy

Opinion | Why Russia’s treaties with Iran and North Korea differ in scope

Key differences in comprehensive strategic partnership treaties with Pyongyang and Tehran give insight into Moscow’s diplomatic strategy.

5 Feb 2025 - 8:10AM

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attend a ceremony to sign an agreement of comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia on January 17. Photo: Sputnik / Pool via Reuters

Japan

How China links ensure illicit Japanese pianos keep Russia’s elite entertained

Japan barred the export of luxury goods after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But high-end grand pianos are still reaching wealthy Russians.

4 Feb 2025 - 3:50PM

United States

On Balance | Is Rubio pivoting from China hawk to pragmatist?

A recent interview shows the new US secretary of state using similar language to his predecessor, albeit with more deference to Russia.

3 Feb 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

Ukraine war

Ukraine drone sparks fires at Russia’s major energy facilities

The attacks started fires at a major oil refinery and gas processing plant and disrupted flights from the Volga to the Caucasus mountains.

3 Feb 2025 - 8:06PM

Russian conscripts called up for military service in Bataysk in the Rostov region. Russia’s defence ministry said that its air defence units intercepted and destroyed 70 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight, including over the Rostov region. Photo: Reuters

War and conflict

East Ukrainian paramilitary leader killed in Moscow bomb blast

Ukraine described Sarkisyan as a crime boss in the Donetsk region and said that he was suspected of taking part in ‘illegal armed groups’.

3 Feb 2025 - 8:11PM

North Korea

North Korea ‘Kim Jong-il’ birthday tours to open: tour agency

Rason, a city on the border with China, will open to foreign tourists, five years after Pyongyang sealed its frontiers over Covid-19.

3 Feb 2025 - 4:15PMvideocam

North Korea

Brutal, ‘brave’ and unrelenting: the North Korean troops fighting Ukraine

Around 4,000 of the 11,000-men contingent North Korea sent to Russia last year are thought to have died already, with more losses expected.

3 Feb 2025 - 1:01PMvideocam

North Korean soldiers march during a military parade in Pyongyang. Photo: AP

China-Russia relations

Opinion | How China’s oil supply shift could force Russia to seek Ukraine peace deal

Continuing the war without Beijing’s support and the income from its fossil-fuel exports would be difficult for Moscow.

2 Feb 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

Traditional Russian wooden dolls called matryoshka depicting President Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are displayed for sale at a souvenir shop in St. Petersburg, Russia, on November 21, 2024. Photo: AP

Japan

Up in smoke? Ukraine’s bid to shame Japan Tobacco for Russia tax fails to ignite

Japan Tobacco’s decision to stay in Russia highlights a stark contrast in Japanese public opinion compared to other nations.

2 Feb 2025 - 1:51PMvideocam

Ukraine war

Russian attack kills 11 in Ukraine, gas infrastructure targeted

Shahed drones and missiles damaged dozens of residential buildings as well as energy infrastructure across the country.

1 Feb 2025 - 10:32PM

Ukraine war

North Korean troops ‘withdrawn’ from Kursk front line, says Ukraine

‘We believe they have been withdrawn because of the heavy losses inflicted,’ said a military spokesman.

31 Jan 2025 - 11:30PMvideocam

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited North Korea and met its leader Kim Jong-un in June. Photo: via AP

US-China relations

Will ‘unpredictable’ Trump bring chaos or calm to US-China relations?

Voices from Washington reveal deep divisions on how to deal with Beijing, with Trump 2.0 adding another layer of uncertainty, analysts warn.

31 Jan 2025 - 11:57PMvideocam

China

China urges Japan to rethink planned hi-tech export bans

Restrictions will affect 18 Chinese companies when they come into effect on February 9.

31 Jan 2025 - 9:45PM

Russian charged over family deaths after 66 days adrift in dinghy

Mikhail Pichugin, 46, was rescued more than two months after setting off on a trip with his brother and 15-year-old nephew, who both died at sea.

31 Jan 2025 - 9:02PM

Norway

Norway detains ship suspected of damaging Sweden-Latvia cable

The Russian crew and Norway-owned shipping company are cooperating with the authorities, police say, days after Sweden detained another vessel.

31 Jan 2025 - 8:44PM

An Estonian naval ship sails in the Baltic Sea earlier this month, as part of stepped-up Nato patrols in the region following the suspected sabotage of undersea cables. Photo: AP

European Union

Opinion | Can Europe use Trump’s return to reform its defence capabilities?

The EU must finally adjust to a world in which US support can no longer be taken for granted.

31 Jan 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

Ukraine war

Opinion | How China and US can work together to end Ukraine war

Beijing and Washington should take the lead on a plan to offer a collective security guarantee to Kyiv and Moscow as a foundation for a deal.

31 Jan 2025 - 9:30AMvideocam

Aviation accidents

World champion Russian skaters killed in DC jet crash had built new life in US

Married ex-Olympians Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were among the 64 on board the aircraft that collided with a US Army helicopter.

31 Jan 2025 - 5:17AMvideocam

Vadim Naumov (left) and Evgenia Shishkova, who died in an airplane collision with a helicopter on Wednesday, are seen in a recent photo. Photo: The Skating Club of Boston photograph via AP

United States

Opinion | The hidden danger of Trump’s tough trade tactics

Trump’s tariff threats to bully countries into helping achieve his political goals may create a backlash like the one that propelled him to power.

30 Jan 2025 - 11:58PMvideocam

US President Donald Trump speaks at the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, on January 23. Photo: Xinhua

Vladimir Putin

Atomic scientists adjust Doomsday Clock closer than ever to midnight

Russia’s nuclear threats, the rise of AI, global conflicts and climate change all shaped the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ decision.

29 Jan 2025 - 8:14AMvideocam

Crime

Phoebe Dong jailed for more than 3 years in US over Chinese birth tourism scheme

Dong and husband Michael Liu, who was handed same sentence last month, helped pregnant Chinese women get US citizenship for their newborns.

28 Jan 2025 - 5:18AMvideocam

Brics

Opinion | Trump’s America will be forced to grapple with a rising Brics

Brics has become an alternative power base outside the reach of the US and its allies, and a rising counterweight to US influence globally.

27 Jan 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) welcomes President Xi Jinping at the Brics Summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 23, 2024. Photo: dpa

Ukraine war

Ukraine’s Zelensky replaces troop commander after Russia captures another town

Replacing the eastern front commander, the most heated battlefield, aims to bolster Ukraine’s defences in Donetsk after the capture of another strategic town by Russia.

27 Jan 2025 - 8:22PM

Amidst fierce fighting in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has replaced the commander of the eastern front. Photo: dpa

Fame and celebrity

Yura Borisov is the first Oscar-nominated Russian actor in almost 50 years

Borisov, who is married and a father of 2, was cast in Sean Baker’s 2024 romantic comedy-drama on the strength of his performance in Russian film Compartment No. 6.

27 Jan 2025 - 6:00PM

Japan

‘At rock bottom’: 100 years of Japan-Russia ties come full circle

Moscow marked the occasion by issuing a thinly veiled critique of deteriorating ties and hints at plans to close Japanese cultural centres.

27 Jan 2025 - 4:36PM

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