Vladimir Putin has said he is “ready for negotiations” with new US President Donald Trump over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The Guardian reported Russian President told a Russian state TV journalist: “We believe the current president’s statements about his readiness to work together. We are always open to this and ready for negotiations.”
Putin’s comments come as Russian air defences partially repelled a massive Ukrainian drone attack yesterday, intercepting and destroying 121 drones targeting 13 regions, including Moscow.
Ukraine’s military said its drones hit oil facilities in Russia’s Ryazan and a microelectronics production plant in Bryansk. It said the attacked facilities were involved in supplying Russia’s army.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said early on Friday that air defences had intercepted attacks by Ukrainian drones at four locations around the Russian capital. Sobyanin, writing on Telegram, said air defences southeast of the capital in Kolomna and Ramenskoye had repelled “enemy” drones, without specifying how many.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s military said North Korea is preparing to send more troops to join Russia’s fight against Ukraine, despite Pyongyang suffering a high rate of losses among its existing deployment of 11,000 and seeing some of its soldiers captured.
Key Points
- Kyiv hits major oil refinery during drone attack
- Moscow mayor says air defences repel Ukrainian drone attacks aimed at capital
- North Korea suspected of preparing to send more troops to Russia, Seoul says
- Trump says Ukraine should have surrendered to Russia and blames Zelensky for war
- Russia executes six Ukrainian prisoners of war
Russian spy ‘lied about brain tumour to lead double life’, court told
11:01
,
Tara Cobham
A woman accused of spying for Russia told a court her partner lied about having a brain tumour in order to lead a “double life”.
Katrin Ivanova, 33, allegedly carried out surveillance on individuals and places of interest to Russia between August 30 2020 and February 8 2023.
Giving evidence in the witness box on Friday, Ivanova told jurors she believes her partner Biser Dzhambazov, 43, who has pleaded guilty to espionage charges, lied about having a brain tumour in October 2021.
Ellie Crabbe reports:
Slovak protests grow in rebuke of PM Fico's Russian tilt
10:57
,
Tara Cobham
Tens of thousands of protesters thronged a central square in the Slovak capital on Friday, waving banners opposing Prime Minister Robert Fico's policy shift closer to Russia, after tensions between the government and the opposition rose.
Organisers estimated 60,000 people attended the demonstration in Bratislava's Freedom Square, about four times more than in the last demonstration two weeks ago.
The protests were nearing levels seen in 2018 when the murder of an investigative journalist caused mass demonstrations and forced Fico's resignation. Fico won reelection as prime minister in 2023.
Protesters shouted "Enough of Fico" and "We are Europe" and at one point lit up the square with their mobile phones after a brief power outage.
Rallies were also held in 20 other cities, with news website Dennik N estimating at least 100,000 protested across the central European country.
Fico, since his return as prime minister for a fourth time in 2023, has sparked worries among critics that his government is weakening democratic values and shifting foreign policy away from European Union and NATO allies and closer to Russia.
"We do not want to be with Russia... We want to be in the European Union, we want to be NATO and we want to stay that way," protester Frantisek Valach said in Bratislava.
Moldovan president Sandu arrives in Kyiv for talks with Zelensky
10:24
,
Tara Cobham
Moldovan President Maia Sandu arrived in Kyiv on Saturday for talks with her Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
"We’ll discuss security, energy, infrastructure, trade, and mutual support on the EU path," she said in a post on X.
In Kyiv today for talks with President @ZelenskyyUa. I bring a strong message of support for Ukraine and its people. Their courage secures our peace.
— Maia Sandu (@sandumaiamd) January 25, 2025
We’ll discuss security, energy, infrastructure, trade, and mutual support on the EU path. Moldova remains a reliable neighbour. pic.twitter.com/I34JPR39Tc
Ukraine's military says it shot down 46 drones in overnight Russian attack
09:40
,
Tara Cobham
Ukraine's military has said Russia launched 61 drones and two missiles at the country in an overnight attack, adding it shot down both missiles and 46 drones.
It said 15 other drones disappeared from radars without reaching their targets.
Watch | Firefighters battle aftermath of deadly Russian drone attack on Kyiv
09:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Russia says it does not threaten undersea cables after UK raises alarm
08:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
The Russian Embassy in London has said that Russia posed no threat to undersea cables in Britain and other Nato countries after defence secretary John Healey accused Moscow of “malign activity” at sea.
Mr Healey said on Wednesday it had monitored a Russian spy ship in the English Channel for two days and would strengthen its response to secret operations by Russian ships in an effort to protect undersea cables.
The same ship had been caught “loitering” over Britain’s critical undersea infrastructure weeks before, Mr Healey said.
Russia said the allegations were without foundation.
“Claims by Britain’s Ministry of Defence regarding alleged Russian threats against underwater infrastructure of the UK and its NATO allies are completely groundless,” Russian Embassy, UK, said on X on Friday.
“Russia has never posed such threats.”
Ukraine launches massive drone attack across Russia
07:30
,
Shahana Yasmin
Ukraine says it has struck a Russian oil refinery and a microchip factory in a huge drone attack that caused fires at the refinery’s production facilities and an oil pumping station.
Other drones targeted numerous regions, including 20 in the Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow, the Russian defence ministry said. Russian war blogger channels on the Telegram messaging app posted videos of what they described as large blazes in the city. They said an oil storage depot and a power station had been hit.
Nato chief says stopping Putin will cost trillions if they don’t support Ukraine now
07:15
,
Shahana Yasmin
Russia lost more than 20,000 units of military equipment since 2022, report says
06:50
,
Shahana Yasmin
The Russian military has lost at least 20,027 units of equipment since February 2022, an analysis by the Oryx project suggested. Oryx is a Dutch open-source intelligence defence analysis platform and warfare research group.
The report adds that 15,051 units were destroyed and 852 were damaged, according to the Kyiv Independent.
Russian troops abandoned 1,113 units and more than 3,000 were captured by Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine lost 7,609 units of military equipment since the beginning of the invasion, the report said.
The report noted that actual losses are likely to be “significantly higher than recorded here”, since Oryx’s reports are based only on photo and video evidence.
What is Russia’s strategic partnership with North Korea?
06:30
,
Shahana Yasmin
Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a “comprehensive strategic partnership” pact in Pyongyang on 19 June, 2024, including a mutual defence clause in case of aggression against either country.
Kim expressed “unconditional support” for “all of Russia’s policies”, including “a full support and firm alliance” for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Putin has said Russia would help North Korea build satellites.
The US and South Korea say North Korea has shipped ballistic missiles, anti-tank rockets and millions of rounds of ammunition for Russia to use in the war. Moscow and Pyongyang have denied weapons transfers.
Ukraine, South Korea and the US say Kim has sent more than 11,000 troops to fight for Russia in its western Kursk region, part of which has been held by Ukraine since August. Ukraine says many North Korean soldiers have been killed and wounded. Moscow has never confirmed or denied their presence.
Putin says he is ‘ready for negotiations’ with Trump on war in Ukraine
06:02
,
Shahana Yasmin
Vladimir Putin has said that he is ready to meet with Donald Trump and discuss the war in Ukraine.
“We believe the current president’s statements about his readiness to work together. We are always open to this and ready for negotiations,” the Russian president said in an interview with state television.
“It would be better for us to meet, based on the realities of today, to talk calmly.”
In a statement posted to his Truth Social platform on 22 January, the US president said he had no desire to hurt Russia but asked Putin to “settle now and stop this ridiculous war”.
“If we don’t make a ‘deal’, and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of taxes, tariffs, and sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the US, and various other participating countries.”
Putin says he agrees with Trump’s claim he could’ve stopped the war in 2022
05:39
,
Shahana Yasmin
Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday said he agreed with US president Donald Trump’s claim that he would have stopped the war if he was in office in 2022.
“We always had a business-like, pragmatic but also trusting relationship with the current U.S. president,” Putin said in an interview with Russian state television, reported The Associated Press.
“I couldn’t disagree with him that if he had been president, if they hadn’t stolen victory from him in 2020, the crisis that emerged in Ukraine in 2022 could have been avoided.”
Trump made the statement in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity that aired Thursday on Hannity’s program, claiming Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky shouldn’t have been “fighting a much bigger entity” because “we could have made a deal”.
“I could have made that deal so easily. And Zelensky decided: ‘I want to fight,’” he said.
The president’s contention that Zelensky decided to initiate hostilities against Russia is absolutely false.
What Trump 2.0 could mean for Ukraine
04:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Trump has been critical of US support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, and has said he could end the war in 24 hours if elected - although advisers concede it will likely take months if not longer.
He has suggested Ukraine may have to yield some of its territory if a peace deal is to be struck.
Trump and his pick for national security adviser, US Representative Michael Waltz, have criticized the Biden administration’s decision in November to allow Ukraine to use US-provided missiles to strike within Russian territory.
Trump has also said that under his presidency the US would fundamentally rethink Nato’s purpose and Nato’s mission.
While there is no fully fleshed-out Trump peace plan, most of his key aides favor taking NATO membership off the table for Ukraine as part of any peace agreement, at least for the foreseeable future. They also broadly support freezing the battle lines at their prevailing location.
Challenges for the Russian economy in 2025
03:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
The Russian economy has shown resilience during the three years of war in Ukraine and Western sanctions. However, as the war approaches its fourth year, the economy faces major challenges with key economic policymakers at odds on how to address them.
Below are the key challenges for the Russian economy in 2025:
Inflation
- Russian annual inflation reached 9.5% in 2024, driven by high military and national security spending, which is set to account for 41% of total state budget spending in 2025, state subsidies on loans, and spiralling wage growth amid labour shortages.
- Inflation tops the list of economic woes in public opinion polls, with prices for staple foods such as butter, eggs, and vegetables showing double-digit growth last year.
Economic slowdown
- The government projects that economic growth rates will slow to 2.5% in 2025 from around 4% in 2024 as a result of measures to cool down the overheated economy, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects growth at 1.4% this year.
- The pro-government economic think tank TsMAKP estimated that many industrial sectors outside defence have been stagnating since 2023, raising prospects of stagflation, a combination of high inflation and economic stagnation.
Budget deficit
- Russia’s budget deficit reached 1.7% of GDP in 2024, while the country’s National Wealth Fund, the main source of financing the deficit, has been depleted by two-thirds during three years of war.
- The government raised taxes to bring the deficit down to 0.5% of GDP in 2025, but its revenues could also fall due to the latest U.S. energy sanctions, which targeted Russia’s oil and gas sector.
Watch | The extraordinary lengths North Korean soldiers will go to avoid capture in Ukraine
02:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Full report | Ukraine reforming its recruitment efforts to attract younger soldiers and boost forces
01:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Trump says Ukraine should have surrendered to Russia and blames Zelensky for war
Friday 24 January 2025 23:59
,
Jabed Ahmed
UK to explore possibility of military bases in Ukraine
Friday 24 January 2025 23:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
The UK will explore the possibility of establishing military bases in Ukraine, according to a 100-year declaration signed between the two countries.
Signed alongside the 100-year Partnership Agreement last week, the declaration states the UK will work with Ukraine to identify common defence needs and expand the capabilities of both countries.
“The Participants will explore options for deploying and maintaining defence infrastructure in Ukraine, including military bases, logistics depots, reserve military equipment storage facilities and war reserve stockpiles,” the declaration reads.
“These facilities could be utilised to bolster their own defence capabilities in the event of a significant military threat.”
The possibility of military bases is only presented as a theoretical possibility, and no specifics of the placement of potential bases is laid out.
It is also unclear how Article 17 of the Ukrainian Constitution - which prohibits military bases on Ukrainian territory - may impact any future plans.
Russia’s battlefield losses hit record high, says Ukraine
Friday 24 January 2025 22:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Russia trying to manipulate Trump, Kyiv warns
Friday 24 January 2025 21:43
,
Alexander Butler
Russian president Vladimir Putin is trying to manipulate efforts by Donald Trump to secure a ceasefire, Volodymyr Zelensky warned.
Zelensky said the head of the foreign intelligence service reported to a meeting of Ukraine‘s military command about “Russia’s military potential and Putin’s readiness to continue the war and manipulate world leaders”.
“Specifically, he is trying to manipulate the US president’s desire to achieve peace,” he said in his nightly video address. “I am confident that no Russian manipulations will succeed any longer.”
Putin says he and Trump should meet to talk about Ukraine war, energy prices
Friday 24 January 2025 21:31
,
Jabed Ahmed
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he was open to discussions with US President Donald Trump on issues such as the Ukraine war and energy prices, and said it would be a good idea for the two of them to meet.
But Putin told a Russian TV reporter that the question of negotiating with Ukraine was complicated by the fact that its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, had signed a decree preventing him from conducting talks with Putin.
Putin described Trump, who this week threatened to hit Russia with new sanctions and tariffs if it did not negotiate an end to the war, as smart and pragmatic. He said he did not expect the US president to make decisions on sanctions that would rebound on the US economy.
"Therefore, most likely, it would be better for us to meet, based on the realities of today, to talk calmly on all those areas that are of interest to both the United States and Russia. We are ready. But, I repeat, this primarily, of course, depends on the decisions and choices of the current American administration," he said.
Watch | Trump warns Putin on day one in office
Friday 24 January 2025 21:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Full report | Russians could face jail for divulging movements of sanctioned goods into the country
Friday 24 January 2025 20:31
,
Jabed Ahmed
EU needs to end its military dependency on the US and arm itself 'to survive,' says Tusk
Friday 24 January 2025 20:01
,
Jabed Ahmed
Pictured | Putin visits Moscow University
Friday 24 January 2025 19:31
,
Jabed Ahmed
Russia executes six Ukrainian prisoners of war, think tank says
Friday 24 January 2025 19:01
,
Jabed Ahmed
Russian forces recently executed at least six unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in Donetsk, a US-based think tank said citing Ukrainian sources.
“Ukrainian sources circulated footage on 23 January of Russian soldiers shooting unarmed Ukrainian POWs in an unspecified area of Ukraine,” the Institute for the Study of War said.
Ukrainian officials are investigating social media footage of Russian forces executing six captured and unarmed Ukrainian servicemembers in an unspecified area of Donetsk oblast, the country’s human rights commissioner Dmytro Lyubinets said.
He noted that the footage shows a seventh Ukrainian POW in this group but that it is unclear what happened to the seventh POW based on the footage.
“ISW has frequently reported that Russian forces are conducting frontline executions of Ukrainian POWs and continues to assess that Russian military commanders are either complicit in or enabling their subordinates to conduct these executions,” the think tank said.
What is ATACMS? The US missiles being used inside Russia
Friday 24 January 2025 18:31
,
Jabed Ahmed
There are several variants of Army Tactical Missile Systems, a long-range missile system that often carries varying amounts of cluster bomblets.
Ukrainian forces used the US-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles for the first time in October 2023, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying the weapons had “proven themselves.”
Ukraine likely has what are known as M39A1 Block IA ATACMS that are guided in part by Global Positioning System and have a range of 40 to 190 miles. They can carry a payload of 300 bomblets. The M39 Block IA were used in Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to Army documents, and were added to the US arsenal in 1997.
Risk of clash between nuclear powers is growing, Russian security official says
Friday 24 January 2025 18:01
,
Jabed Ahmed
Russian security official Sergei Shoigu warned in an interview published on Friday that the risk of an armed clash between nuclear powers was rising.
Shoigu, the secretary of President Vladimir Putin’s Security Council, told TASS news agency: “Against the backdrop of increasing conflict and aggravation of geopolitical rivalry in the world, the risks of a violent clash between major states, including with the participation of nuclear powers, are growing.”
The former defence minister said that NATO was increasing activities on its eastern flank, close to Russia and Belarus, and rehearsing offensive as well as defensive scenarios there.
NATO says it is Russia that is raising tensions, including by announcing in 2023 that it was deploying tactical nuclear weapons in its ally Belarus, which borders three NATO countries.
Shoigu said that Russia, which sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, and Belarus were taking preventive measures against Western attempts aimed at “destabilizing the situation... from within”.
He reiterated that Belarus was now under the protection of Russia’s nuclear arsenal, as a consequence of changes that Putin announced last year to Russia’s doctrine on the use of nuclear weapons.
“The Russian ‘nuclear umbrella’ now ensures the protection of our closest ally in the same framework scenarios in which Russia allows a nuclear response for its own defence,” he said.
“Namely, when repelling an attack using weapons of mass destruction or aggression using conventional weapons that creates a critical threat to sovereignty or territorial integrity.”
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
Friday 24 January 2025 17:29
,
Jabed Ahmed
Putin wants to restart nuclear arms cuts talks, Kremlin says after Trump comment
Friday 24 January 2025 17:01
,
Jabed Ahmed
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made clear he wants to restart nuclear arms cuts talks as soon as possible, the Kremlin said in response to comments by US President Donald Trump.
Trump said on Thursday he wanted to work towards cutting nuclear arms, adding that he thought Russia and China might support reducing their own weapons capabilities.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the ball was in Washington’s court.
Explained | Why does Russia want to capture strategic Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk?
Friday 24 January 2025 16:29
,
Jabed Ahmed
Russian forces are closing in on the strategically important eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk after capturing a string of villages to its south, and Ukraine has halted production at its only coking coal mine nearby due to the advance.
Pokrovsk is a road and rail hub in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, which had a pre-war population of some 60,000 people. While most people have fled, Ukraine estimated last month that up to 11,000 still remain in the city.
It lies on a key road used by the Ukrainian military to supply other embattled eastern outposts including the towns of Chasiv Yar and Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region.
Ukraine’s only mine that produces coking coal - used in its once vast steel industry and vital for the country’s pre-war economy - is just a 20-minute drive to the west of Pokrovsk, and open source data shows Russian forces are less than 2 km (1.24 miles) from one of the mine shafts.
Moscow says it has annexed Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and sees taking control of Pokrovsk as an important stepping stone to incorporating the entire region into Russia. Kyiv and the West reject Russia’s territorial claims as illegal and accuse Moscow of prosecuting a war of colonial conquest.
Control of the city, which the Russian media call “the gateway to Donetsk”, would allow Moscow to severely disrupt Ukrainian supply lines along the eastern front and boost its campaign to capture Chasiv Yar, which sits on higher ground offering potential control of a wider area.
Squeezing the Ukrainian military’s access to the road network in the vicinity would make it harder for Kyiv’s troops to hold pockets of territory either side of Pokrovsk, which could allow Russia to advance the front line.
Russia says it sees no signs that Ukraine and the West are ready for peace talks despite all statements
Friday 24 January 2025 15:51
,
Jabed Ahmed
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that he saw no objective signs that Ukraine or the West were ready for peace talks despite all their increasingly loud statements about the need for such talks.
“Despite the increasingly loud talk about the need for peace talks, there are objectively no practical actions indicating that Kyiv and the West are really ready for them,” Lavrov said, according to a transcript of questions and answers he had received from reporters posted on his ministry’s website.
“On the contrary, Western military supplies to the Ukrainian armed forces are continuing, ultimatums to Russia are being worked out, there is a (Ukrainian) legal ban on negotiations, and the issue of the legitimacy of the Ukrainian authorities is not being resolved,” he said.
French foreign minister: believes Hungary will support renewed EU sanctions on Russia
Friday 24 January 2025 15:29
,
Jabed Ahmed
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has said he believed Hungary would eventually support a renewal of European Union sanctions against Russia.
Speaking at an event with his Spanish counterpart, Barrot added that EU sanctions against Russia were for the security of Europe.
Spain’s foreign minister said he was hopeful that the EU would find consensus and unanimity on a renewal of the EU’s sanctions package against Russia.
Russia says it does not threaten undersea cables after UK raises alarm
Friday 24 January 2025 15:09
,
Jabed Ahmed
The Russian Embassy in London has said that Russia posed no threat to undersea cables in Britain and other Nato countries after defence secretary John Healey accused Moscow of “malign activity” at sea.
Mr Healey said on Wednesday it had monitored a Russian spy ship in the English Channel for two days and would strengthen its response to secret operations by Russian ships in an effort to protect undersea cables.
The same ship had been caught “loitering” over Britain’s critical undersea infrastructure weeks before, Mr Healey said.
Russia said the allegations were without foundation.
“Claims by Britain’s Ministry of Defence regarding alleged Russian threats against underwater infrastructure of the UK and its NATO allies are completely groundless,” Russian Embassy, UK, said on X on Friday.
“Russia has never posed such threats.”
Full report | Russians could face jail for divulging movements of sanctioned goods into the country
Friday 24 January 2025 14:51
,
Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine's military says its drones hit oil, industrial sites in Russia's Ryazan, Bryansk
Friday 24 January 2025 14:38
,
Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine‘s military said on its drones hit oil facilities in Russia’s Ryazan and a microelectronics production plant in Bryansk.
It said in a statement that the attacked facilities were involved in supplying Russia’s army.
Watch | Emergency workers battle huge Russian drone attack on Kyiv as three people confirmed dead
Friday 24 January 2025 14:29
,
Jabed Ahmed
What is Russia’s strategic partnership with North Korea?
Friday 24 January 2025 14:09
,
Jabed Ahmed
Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a “comprehensive strategic partnership” pact in Pyongyang on 19 June, 2024, including a mutual defence clause in case of aggression against either country.
Kim expressed “unconditional support” for “all of Russia’s policies”, including “a full support and firm alliance” for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Putin has said Russia would help North Korea build satellites.
The US and South Korea say North Korea has shipped ballistic missiles, anti-tank rockets and millions of rounds of ammunition for Russia to use in the war. Moscow and Pyongyang have denied weapons transfers.
Ukraine, South Korea and the US say Kim has sent more than 11,000 troops to fight for Russia in its western Kursk region, part of which has been held by Ukraine since August. Ukraine says many North Korean soldiers have been killed and wounded. Moscow has never confirmed or denied their presence.
What Trump 2.0 could mean for Ukraine
Friday 24 January 2025 13:49
,
Jabed Ahmed
Trump has been critical of US support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, and has said he could end the war in 24 hours if elected - although advisers concede it will likely take months if not longer.
He has suggested Ukraine may have to yield some of its territory if a peace deal is to be struck.
Trump and his pick for national security adviser, US Representative Michael Waltz, have criticized the Biden administration’s decision in November to allow Ukraine to use US-provided missiles to strike within Russian territory.
Trump has also said that under his presidency the US would fundamentally rethink Nato’s purpose and Nato’s mission.
Challenges for the Russian economy in 2025
Friday 24 January 2025 13:29
,
Jabed Ahmed
The Russian economy has shown resilience during the three years of war in Ukraine and Western sanctions. However, as the war approaches its fourth year, the economy faces major challenges with key economic policymakers at odds on how to address them.
Below are the key challenges for the Russian economy in 2025:
Inflation
- Russian annual inflation reached 9.5% in 2024, driven by high military and national security spending, which is set to account for 41% of total state budget spending in 2025, state subsidies on loans, and spiralling wage growth amid labour shortages.
- Inflation tops the list of economic woes in public opinion polls, with prices for staple foods such as butter, eggs, and vegetables showing double-digit growth last year.
Economic slowdown
- The government projects that economic growth rates will slow to 2.5% in 2025 from around 4% in 2024 as a result of measures to cool down the overheated economy, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects growth at 1.4% this year.
- The pro-government economic think tank TsMAKP estimated that many industrial sectors outside defence have been stagnating since 2023, raising prospects of stagflation, a combination of high inflation and economic stagnation.
Budget deficit
- Russia’s budget deficit reached 1.7% of GDP in 2024, while the country’s National Wealth Fund, the main source of financing the deficit, has been depleted by two-thirds during three years of war.
- The government raised taxes to bring the deficit down to 0.5% of GDP in 2025, but its revenues could also fall due to the latest U.S. energy sanctions, which targeted Russia’s oil and gas sector.
Wife of Ukrainian-Russian businessman Khan loses UK sanctions appeal
Friday 24 January 2025 13:10
,
Jabed Ahmed
Ukrainian-Russian businessman German Khan’s wife has lost her appeal to overturn British sanctions imposed on her following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The UK maintains a 100 per cent record of defending sanctions challenges.
Britain slapped sanctions on Anzhelika Khan in April 2022 after taking similar measures a month earlier against her husband, German, who co-founded investment group LetterOne and whose net worth Forbes estimates at $8.8 billion.
She argued that the sanctions were unlawful because she had no involvement in Russian politics and held no influence over the Russian government.
Her case was dismissed last February. The Court of Appeal on Friday rejected Khan’s appeal against that ruling.
Judge Rabinder Singh said in a written ruling that he did not accept an argument from Khan’s lawyer that there was no rational connection between Khan being sanctioned and its purpose.
Russians could face jail for divulging logistics of sanctioned goods
Friday 24 January 2025 12:49
,
Jabed Ahmed
A Russian draft law proposes punishment of up to seven years in prison and heavy fines for the public disclosure of information about the supply chains of sanctioned goods imported into Russia and about payment systems.
Russia still relies on many high-tech goods produced in the West, such as microchips, which are banned for export to Russia. These goods are essential for keeping many Russian industrial enterprises operational, including in the defence sector.
To bypass Western sanctions, including those imposed over the conflict in Ukraine, Russia has established complex logistical schemes through intermediaries in third countries and an international transactions infrastructure.
Many Russian officials and businesspeople have been calling for logistics and payments information to be classified as a state secret.
The authors of the draft referred to websites disseminating leaked customs data, as well as information appearing in traditional media or on social media about logistics schemes for delivering sanctioned goods.