Tag - russia

 
 

RUSSIA

Smoke rises over Gazprom Neft’s Moscow oil refinery on the southeastern outskirts of Moscow on June 18 after a Ukrainian drone attack.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2026
Is the tide turning against Russia in Ukraine?
There is no guarantee that Putin will seek a negotiated freeze in the Ukraine conflict, not least because he might not grasp the situation Russia is in.
A man walks past the empty display windows of a closed shop in Moscow on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 30, 2026
Russia’s small businesses pay the price of spiraling Ukraine war
Amid huge outlays on Moscow’s war in Ukraine, tax rises, stubborn inflation and nervy consumers are all weighing on Russian small companies.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a session of the All-Belarusian People's Assembly in Minsk, Belarus, on Dec. 18.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 30, 2026
Putin’s closest ally tested as Minsk resists deeper war role
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has publicly warned Russian officials against efforts to pull his country into the conflict with Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s handling of U.S. military action against Iran resulted in strategic failure, increased Iranian strength and left the United States without leverage in future negotiations with Tehran.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2026
Trump’s march of folly in Iran
It did not occur to the Trump administration that Iran would have a plan: retaliate with long-range strikes and close the Strait of Hormuz.
Palestinian mourners carry the body of Al Jazeera journalist Ahmed Wishah, killed in an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, on June 21.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2026
When killing the messenger becomes a strategy of war
Record journalist deaths in Gaza raise urgent questions about war, accountability and the targeting of reporters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Sunday
WORLD / Politics
Jun 29, 2026
Russia will press on in Ukraine regardless of Kyiv’s proposals, Putin says
The Russian president maintains that Ukrainian strikes on Russian infrastructure do not affect the situation on the front lines.
A man holding a Polish national flag lights a candle at the site of a mass burial of Poles killed by Ukrainian nationalists during World War II in the former Polish village of Puznyky, Ukraine, in September.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2026
Ukraine can’t afford a breakup with Poland over history
This is reckless statecraft at the service of domestic politics on both sides — only Poland isn’t at war.
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2026
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
China’s Defense Ministry said the flight demonstrated the two countries’ “resolve and capability to jointly safeguard regional peace and stability.”
Soldiers from the Germany Army and the Navy take part in the Armed Forces Day at the Bundeswehr University in Munich on June 6.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 27, 2026
Germany could revive conscription by mid-2027, senior lawmaker says
Berlin is looking to revamp its army and has committed to increase its troop strength to at least 260,000 soldiers — up from the current 185,000 — by 2035.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via videolink in Moscow on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 27, 2026
Ukraine’s Crimea attacks expose limits of Putin’s protection
Ukrainian drone and missile strikes are disrupting Russian logistics and supply routes to Crimea, plunging the region into crisis as officials resort to emergency measures.
Smoke rises from Crimea Bridge on Monday. The Ukrainian army is pounding supply routes and striking energy facilities across Crimea.
WORLD
Jun 26, 2026
No fuel, no sleep: Ukrainian strikes seek to cut off Crimea
“It’s like some kind of psychological pressure: Every night there are drones, air alerts, it’s impossible to sleep,” a 23-year-old resident of Crimea said.
Participants in Finland’s National Defense Course gain access to military facilities, information and demonstrations that few Finns ever see.
WORLD
Jun 25, 2026
Finland’s secretive training course prepares its elite for war
Participants attend classified briefings and visit strategic facilities as well as government sites normally closed to the public over a period of three to four weeks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, during a welcoming ceremony before talks at the Kremlin in Moscow in May 2025.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2026
Scarier than fiction: ‘The Wizard of the Kremlin’ comes to life
The objective is not to promote authoritarianism directly, but to corrode the trust that sustains democratic societies and international cooperation grounded in rule of law.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong meet on the sidelines of the Russia-ASEAN Summit in Kazan, Russia, on June 18.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2026
ASEAN-Russia summit signals multipolar shift
Leaders’ engagement in Kazan underscores Southeast Asia’s pragmatic diplomacy amid global realignment.
Signs inform of nonworking fuel pump nozzles at a gas station, as, some regional filling stations face gasoline shortages due to production cuts at major refineries, amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jun 24, 2026
Russia’s gasoline crunch spreads after refinery attacks
On an almost daily basis, regional governors in Russia are being forced to limit sales of fuel at filling stations and to try to deter panic buying.
A supporter holds a flag calling for unlimited constitutional powers for Russian President Vladimir Putin, as he stands near the State Historical Museum and the Kremlin wall in central Moscow on June 23.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2026
Russia’s Wiki warfare tries to distort reality, documents show
Russia’s “Project 2026” wasn’t just to spread misinformation on social media — its main goal to create an alternative information ecosystem.
Destroyed facilities of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works during the Russia-Ukraine war in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, in May 2022.
WORLD
Jun 24, 2026
Ukraine’s Azov fighters were forced from Mariupol. Now they’re hitting back.
The 2022 defeat turned Azov into a symbol of endurance in Ukraine — and paved the way for its return.
A satellite image shows fire and smoke rising from oil tanks, after what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said was an attack on an oil depot in the city of Kerch, Crimea, on Sunday.
WORLD
Jun 22, 2026
Ukrainian strikes on Russian-annexed Crimea kill four and pause fuel sales
Ukraine said it targeted military and energy facilities in Crimea — Moscow’s key logistics base for its four-year military offensive.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk attends a summit of European Union leaders at the bloc's headquarters in Brussels, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 22, 2026
Poland’s Tusk warns of ‘strategic mistake’ in spat with Ukraine
Tensions have grown with Poland over Ukraine’s commemoration of controversial World War II fighters Warsaw has accused of genocide.
A Ground Self-Defense Force uncrewed ground vehicle takes part in a live-fire military exercise at the Higashi Fuji Training Field in Shizuoka Prefecture on May 7.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 21, 2026
Can automation offset Japan’s military workforce shortage?
Japan is building a 21st-century military, but it is running out of 21st-century citizens to staff it.

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival