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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

A firefighter looks on as flames erupt from a building in Ukraine following a Russian strike on Tuesday. Photo: Zuma Press Wire/dpa

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

28 Jan 2025 - 5:18AMvideocam

Brics

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

27 Jan 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

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

Sweden

Sweden seizes vessel suspected of ‘sabotage’ of Baltic Sea cable

Undersea cable between Sweden and Latvia damaged, as attention focuses on Malta-flagged vessel that sailed from Russia.

27 Jan 2025 - 12:01PM

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

India

Russia’s ‘Afghan Quad’ overtures to India hit a China, Pakistan stumbling block

Moscow wants India to join a coalition alongside its old adversaries, plus Iran – but New Delhi doesn’t seem all that keen.

27 Jan 2025 - 8:17AMvideocam

Belarus

‘Europe’s last dictator’ Lukashenko extends 3-decade rule in Belarus

Alexander Lukashenko wins Belarus’ election by a landslide, garnering nearly 87 per cent of the vote.

27 Jan 2025 - 1:59PM

European Union

Belarus strongman set to win 7th term in ‘farce’ election

President Lukashenko is expected to cruise to victory unchallenged for a seventh term, prolonging his three-decade authoritarian rule.

26 Jan 2025 - 5:00PM

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Photo: AP

Ukraine war

Putin says he is ready for talks with ‘smart’ Trump on Ukraine

The Russian leader also repeated Trump’s claim that the Ukraine war might not have started in 2022 if he had been US president at the time.

25 Jan 2025 - 9:37AMvideocam

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his visit to the Lomonosov Moscow State University on Friday. Photo: Sputnik via Reuters

Belarus

Belarus election poised to extend 30-year rule of ‘Europe’s last dictator’

With opponents jailed or exiled, Alexander Lukashenko has also brought polling forward, with protests considered less likely in frigid weather.

24 Jan 2025 - 10:59PMvideocam

US-China relations

Will China heed Trump’s call to join nuclear arms cuts talks with US and Russia?

Denuclearisation ‘is very possible’, Donald Trump tells World Economic Forum days after returning as US president.

24 Jan 2025 - 10:50PMvideocam

Ukraine war

Ukraine receives bodies of 757 troops killed fighting Russia

The repatriation of the remains is the largest in months and underscores the high cost of fighting ahead of the war’s three-year anniversary.

24 Jan 2025 - 9:26PMvideocam

Ukrainian soldiers carrying the coffin of a fallen comrade in Bucha, Ukraine, in 2023. Photo: AP

Nato

Growing risk of nuclear powers armed clash, Russia security official says

Sergei Shoigu spoke out on Friday, saying Nato is increasing activities on its eastern flank, but Nato says it is Russia that is raising tensions.

24 Jan 2025 - 6:55PMvideocam

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin with Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in November. Photo: Reuters

Ukraine war

Russia says it repelled massive drone attack on 13 areas, including Moscow

Targets of the drone strikes – among the most widespread in recent months – are said to have included an oil refinery and an electronics plant.

24 Jan 2025 - 9:46PM

US-China relations

Trump tells Davos he is hopeful about US-China ties as he warns on tariffs

American leader touts ‘very good’ relationship with Xi Jinping amid ‘massive’ trade deficits with Beijing.

24 Jan 2025 - 6:29PMvideocam

Ukraine war

Nato chief Rutte says Europe will pay for US arms for Ukraine

His comments came after US President Donald Trump said earlier this week that the EU should be doing more to support Ukraine.

23 Jan 2025 - 8:37PM

Nato chief Mark Rutte said Europe must invest more in defence, ramp up arms production and take a bigger share of spending on Ukraine aid. Photo: EPA-EFE

Energy

Asia’s energy markets may stay volatile over Trump’s oil ambition and sanctions

Benchmark oil prices have experienced wild swings after the US and the UK imposed sanctions targeting the supply of Russian oil.

23 Jan 2025 - 8:30PM

US-China relations

Pentagon appointments suggest Trump scepticism about Ukraine and Taiwan impact

Several new Defence Department officials have disputed contention that supporting Ukraine’s defence could deter Beijing’s plans for Taiwan.

23 Jan 2025 - 4:37AM

Technology

Opinion | In the global marathon for tech supremacy, Brics’ size matters

Collaborative, flexible Brics gives leading members China and Russia a significant advantage over the increasingly defensive and restrictive West.

22 Jan 2025 - 4:30PM

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin chat at the Brics summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 24. The two countries are leading the way in collaboration from AI to moon exploration. Photo: Reuters

Ukraine war

Trump says he’ll sanction Russia if Putin does not negotiate on Ukraine

The US president also said he had pressed Chinese President Xi Jinping to intervene to stop the war.

22 Jan 2025 - 5:55PM

US President Donald Trump meets Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, in July 2017. Photo: AP

US-China relations

Greenland in cold glare of superpowers as US, China and Russia make moves

Observers doubt the new US president will buy the world’s largest island but his interest underlines its strategic importance.

22 Jan 2025 - 9:52AMvideocam

Ukraine war

Zelensky says security guarantee would need at least 200,000 peacekeepers

At Davos, Ukraine’s president urges Europe to bolster defence against Russia.

22 Jan 2025 - 5:40PMvideocam

Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin reaffirm ties as Trump returns to White House

China and Russia vow to elevate relationship as US president issues executive orders on domestic and global issues and delays TikTok ban.

22 Jan 2025 - 5:06AM

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a videocall with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS

Ukraine war

Ukraine’s Zelensky calls for more air defence after 1,000 attacks in a week

Russia attacked Ukraine with more than 660 glide bombs, around 550 drones and almost 60 missiles over the past week, president says.

20 Jan 2025 - 2:08PM

Priests and worshippers clear debris inside St Andrew’s Cathedral damaged by Russian missile strikes, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Photo: Reuters

War and conflict

Opinion | Are the 2020s doomed to be a repeat of the 1920s?

As ethno-nationalist populism and propaganda threaten human society, we need leaders who can offer an alternative to confrontation and war.

19 Jan 2025 - 9:29PMvideocam

Ukraine war

‘Heinous’ Russian strike kills 6 across Ukraine in ‘retaliation’ attack

The attack comes as both sides seek to gain an advantage in the conflict, with Russia claiming advances in the east and Ukraine launching drone strikes on Russian targets.

19 Jan 2025 - 12:53PM

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