Tensions between Russia and the neighbouring Caucasus republic of Azerbaijan are escalating against the backdrop of Moscow's war in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned Baku not to jeopardize relations between the two countries because of the war.

Putin has spurned Zelensky’s previous offers of a face-to-face meeting to end Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II.

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War noted that cooperation with China has allowed Russia to bypass Western sanctions on imports of electronics for drone production. Ukraine’s military intelligence estimates that Russia receives up to 65% of components for its Geran drones from China. Beijing rejects the claims.

Ukraine's extensive use of asymmetrical tactics, and innovative equipment such as sea drones, gives the country an effective edge against its foe.

Carmaker AvtoVAZ is facing difficulties due to the high car loans and 'price dumping' of imported Chinese cars in the Russian market.

Russia now controls more than two-thirds of Ukraine’s Donetsk region — the main theater of the ground war. Russian forces have carved out a 10-mile-deep pocket around the Ukrainian troops defending the crucial city of Kostiantynivka, partly surrounding them from the east, south and west.

Europe’s top human rights court delivered damning judgments against Russia in four cases brought by Kyiv and the Netherlands accusing Moscow of atrocities in Ukraine dating back more than a decade.

In 2024, births in Russia fell to 1.22 million — the lowest level since 1999 — while deaths increased by 3.3% annually, to 1.82 million.

Between September 2022 and August 2023, Russia launched around 2,000 Iranian-designed Shahed drones into Ukraine, according to the conflict monitor Airwars. That figure has surged in 2025. In June alone, Russia launched a record 5,337 Shahed-type drones, comprising both attack and decoy variants.