Russia

January 20, 2025 7:08 PM

What Trump’s presidency could mean for Russia’s rouble

With Donald Trump's pledge to quickly end the war between Ukraine and Russia, market players are starting to look at what impact that could have on the rouble, which became an outcast following sanctions. HOW HAS THE ROUBLE FARED IN RECENT MONTHS? The rouble started the year slumping to its weakest mark since March 2022 but has strengthened by about 10% since, becoming the best performing currency across emerging markets in 2025. Despite U.S. energy sanctions imposed on Jan. 10, the currency ...

January 9, 2025 10:47 PM

Kremlin, on Trump remarks on Greenland and Canada, says Russia has Arctic interests

The Kremlin on Thursday said that Russia had strategic national interests in the Arctic when asked to comment on U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's remarks about acquiring Greenland, absorbing Canada and taking control of the Panama Canal. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has refused to rule out using military or economic action to pursue acquisition of the Panama Canal and Greenland, part of a broader expansionist agenda he has promoted since winning the Nov. 5 election. Trump has also fl...

January 7, 2025 10:54 AM

Battle rages in western Russia as Moscow reports gains in Ukraine

Russia said on Monday its forces had made important gains in eastern Ukraine while continuing to fend off a new Ukrainian offensive inside the Kursk region of western Russia, where a second day of fierce fighting was under way. The Russian defence ministry said its forces had captured the town of Kurakhove, 32 km (20 miles) south of Pokrovsk, a Ukrainian logistics hub toward which Russian forces have been advancing for months. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Moscow had suffered bi...

January 1, 2025 11:47 AM

Putin tells Russians at New Year that ‘everything will be fine’

President Vladimir Putin told Russians in a New Year address that the country would move forward with confidence in 2025, though he offered no specific promises on the economy or the war in Ukraine. At a time when many ordinary people are worried about rising prices and the central bank's 21% interest rate is squeezing businesses and homebuyers, Putin reassured Russians that their wellbeing was his top priority. He framed Russia's challenges as part of a wider historic mission, evoking past vi...

January 1, 2025 11:36 AM

Russia halts gas exports to Europe via Ukraine

Russia's energy giant Gazprom said on Wednesday that gas exports via Ukraine to Europe had been halted from 08:00 Moscow time (0500 GMT) as the transit deal has expired. The shutdown of Russia's oldest gas route to Europe ends a decade of fraught relations sparked by Russia's seizure of Crimea in 2014. Russia still exports gas via the TurkStream pipeline on the bed of the Black Sea. The European Union redoubled its efforts to reduce its dependence on Russian energy after the outbreak of the m...

January 1, 2025 9:17 AM

Zelenskiy says US will be alongside Ukraine’s efforts to stop Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late on Tuesday that no one would give peace to his country as a gift, but he believed the United States would stand alongside Kyiv as it fights to stop Russia's 34-month invasion. Zelenskiy, in a slick 21-minute New Year video greeting to his compatriots, also said only a strong Ukraine could secure peace and earn worldwide respect. "We know that peace will not be given to us as a gift, but we will do everything to stop Russia and end the war, some...

December 31, 2024 9:01 AM

Syria eyes ‘strategic’ ties with Ukraine, Kyiv vows more food aid shipments

Syria hopes for strategic partnerships with Ukraine, its new foreign minister told his Ukrainian counterpart on Monday, as Kyiv moves to build ties with the new Islamist rulers in Damascus amid waning Russian influence. Russia was a staunch ally of ousted President Bashar al-Assad and has given him political asylum. Moscow has said it is in contact with the new administration in Damascus, including over the fate of Russian military facilities in Syria. "There will be strategic partnerships bet...

December 13, 2024 6:40 PM

Assad’s final hours in Syria: Deception, despair and flight

Bashar al-Assad confided in almost no one about his plans to flee Syria as his reign collapsed. Instead, aides, officials and even relatives were deceived or kept in the dark, more than a dozen people with knowledge of the events told reporters. Hours before he escaped for Moscow, Assad assured a meeting of about 30 army and security chiefs at the defence ministry on Saturday that Russian military support was on its way and urged ground forces to hold out, according to a commander who was prese...

December 13, 2024 2:49 PM

Russia launches major missile attack on Ukrainian power facilities, Kyiv says

Russia launched a large-scale missile attack on Ukrainian energy facilities during the morning rush hour on Friday, Kyiv said, while explosions were heard in the Black Sea port of Odesa and other cities in western Ukraine. Russian forces have been targeting Ukraine's electricity system for most of the year and it renewed its strike campaign last month, causing lengthy power cuts for millions of civilians as the war with Russia nears the 34-month mark. "Russia aims to deprive us of energy. Inst...

December 9, 2024 10:59 AM

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrives in Moscow for high-level talks and INS Tushil commissioning ceremony

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Moscow on Sunday for an official visit aimed at strengthening defence cooperation between India and Russia. During his stay, Singh will participate in the commissioning ceremony of the stealth-guided missile frigate INS Tushil into the Indian Navy. He will also attend the 21st meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC). Singh was welcomed late Sunday night by Indian Ambassa...