
Pro-war parties dominate Russian elections amid Ukraine conflict
The election results reinforce Putin's control, limiting political diversity and signaling continued aggressive foreign policy amid global tensions.

The election results reinforce Putin's control, limiting political diversity and signaling continued aggressive foreign policy amid global tensions.

Russia's focus on disrupting Ukraine's railways signals a strategic shift, potentially broadening conflict impact and affecting regional stability.
Kyiv hopes the locally built vehicles can overcome the winter challenges that slow many ground robots.
Trump touts "major progress" on plans for a permanent U.S. Army base in Poland as the country's leader warns Russia's war on Ukraine could hit NATO soil.

Russians are going to the polls for the first time since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022

For the Kremlin, the giant Vostok Oil project in the frigid Far North is crucial to two goals: bolstering Russia’s presence in the Arctic and keeping production of the key export commodity going as reserves in more accessible parts of the country are depleted. It’s also a case study of how a huge, state-run corporation like Rosneft -- headed by Igor Sechin, a longtime ally of President Vladimir Putin -- goes about putting such an enterprise in place amid increasingly tight Western sanctions over Russia’s war on Ukraine, an RFE/RL…

The French leader warned there was no quick fix to high energy prices, and wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Haxie Meyers-Belkin is pleased to welcome Renaud Foucart, Senior Lecturer in Economics at Lancaster University’s Management School in the UK. According to Foucart, France’s energy and economic crises expose a deeper collision between economic constraints, political accountability and an approaching presidential election. He interprets Emmanuel Macron’s rare Élysée meeting with party leaders over soaring energy prices as both an exercise in presidential legacy-building and an attempt to force prospective successors to confront high energy costs, rising borrowing costs, limited fiscal room and the radioactive pension reform.

Kremlin calls UK's support for Ukraine an endorsement of 'terrorism' after recent escalation in weapons supply.

With tens of thousands of Ukrainians reportedly killed or wounded each month, the coming autumn and winter campaign could stretch Ukraine’s manpower, air defences, and battered cities to breaking point.

Aid to Kyiv is “not a donation but a swap,” said Ukraine’s NATO Ambassador Alyona Getmanchuk.

Russia and Ukraine traded strikes overnight as Russians prepared to vote in parliamentary elections in which the Kremlin's main party, United Russia, is poised to keep its grip on power, with the only party that criticised the war was removed from the ballot.

After the NHL star appeared in an ad campaign for United Russia, it’s fair to start pressing about the impact of his stances – even if he doesn’t want to talk about it When Russian launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, reporters asked Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin for his thoughts. It was no secret, even then, that Ovechkin was close to Vladimir Putin. Years before, Ovechkin boosted the Russian president in a social media campaign and featured Putin in his own Instagram profile photo. “He is my president,” Ovechkin said of Putin shortly after the invasion. “But [like] I said, I’m not in politics, I’m an athlete.” That’s over. He’s in politics now. “The thing about the video: I’m Russian,” Ovechkin told reporters Thursday. The video in question is one he taped for United Russia, a group supporting Putin, ahead of parliamentary elections. Ovechkin appears in the video alongside Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the state-controlled media outlet RT, and others. “I’m for peace and love, and I hope, in the world, it doesn’t matter who you are,” Ovechkin told reporters. “I hope everybody understands everybody wants peace, and everybody hope everything’s going to be OK in the world.” Continue reading...

President Emmanuel Macron on Friday said he had ordered measures to shield France's key infrastructure and defence industry sites from increasing Russian hybrid attacks. The announcement came as Macron spoke to the press after meeting in Paris with political party leaders to discuss recent developments in the international situation including the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. Watch his press conference in full above.

Canada's involvement in Ukraine's support loan may heighten geopolitical tensions, reducing prospects for a ceasefire and impacting global diplomacy.

Ukraine's president unveiled the new eight-nation bloc at a summit in Western Ukraine on Friday, pledging cooperation on security, energy, and trade. Organisers hope to attract €9.4 billion in investments.

Canada's inclusion will allow Ukraine to buy weapons from Canadian defence companies and bypass the "Made in Europe" requirements. In turn, Ottawa will have to pay a proportional share of the annual interest.