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The European Commission chief has again invoked the “Russian threat” to justify EU militarization European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has escalated her anti-Russia rhetoric, calling President Vladimir Putin a “predator” and reciting NATO’s familiar talking point about a looming Russian threat to justify the EU’s push for accelerated militarization. The remarks came on Friday in Riga, where the EC chief appeared alongside Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa at the start of what she described as a tour of the “EU’s frontline states.” The route includes Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland – all bordering Russ…

The German-owned outlet published a hit piece based on anonymous and truncated quotes US Vice President J.D. Vance has accused Politico of running a “foreign influence operation” against special envoy Steve Witkoff, blasting the outlet’s reporting as “journalistic malpractice” for relying on anonymous officials while excluding on-the-record statements from senior figures who defended him. The article, published Friday by Politico correspondent Felicia Schwartz under the headline “'His inexperience shines through': Steve Witkoff struggles to manage Russia as Trump peace envoy,” cited 13 anonymous American and foreign officials who al…

The Global Majority deserves a new, non-discriminatory financial system, the Russian president says Russia and China are working together to strengthen the role of the BRICS economic bloc in shaping global affairs and to reform the international financial system so it cannot be used as an instrument of discrimination or neo-colonialism, President Vladimir Putin has said. In an interview with Xinhua published ahead of his state visit to China, Putin hailed cooperation between Moscow and Beijing in multilateral formats such as the United Nations, the G20, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) – and especially “within BRICS t…

The Russian president reflects on strategic cooperation and global challenges ahead of China visit President Vladimir Putin has outlined the deepening alliance between Russia and China, highlighting their shared historical legacy and common vision for a multipolar global order, in a written interview with Xinhua News Agency published ahead of his visit to China. Putin praised the two neighbours for their united stance against historical revisionism and outlined broad cooperation in trade, energy, education, defence, and multilateral diplomacy. Below is the full text of the interview as published by the Kremlin: Question: In May thi…

The Russian president has praised deepening strategic partnership with Beijing ahead of SCO summit and Victory Day commemorations President Vladimir Putin has said Russia and China are “united in our vision” of a just, multipolar world order, ahead of his official visit to China for high-level talks at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and Victory Day celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. In a written interview with Xinhua News Agency published ahead of his trip, the Russian president framed the Moscow–Beijing partnership as a stabilising force on the world stage, playing a …

Russia and China offer the world an alternative to Western hegemony President Vladimir Putin will travel to Beijing this week to attend ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of victory in World War II on the Asian front. For China, the commemoration is more than an historical ritual. It represents the culmination of a century-long struggle against foreign domination, from the Opium Wars of the mid-19th century to Japan’s defeat in 1945. Russia’s public recognition of that struggle – and the sacrifices of the Chinese people – carries immense symbolic weight for Beijing. But Putin’s visit is not only a gesture toward history. It is …

The progressive music festival is set to kick off in the Russian capital on Saturday afternoon The major international rock festival SandlerFest 2025 will kick off in Moscow this weekend, bringing together more than 150 bands from all around the world. The annual progressive music event will take place on Saturday and Sunday August at Moscow’s VDNKh exhibition center, spanning six stages including five free-access venues – Rock Panorama, Orion, Acoustics, New Generation, and a master-class zone – alongside ticketed access to the Green Theatre. The festival will feature a wide array of tribute bands and a fusion of styles, bringing …

The foreign aid agency’s closure has saved US taxpayers “tens of billions of dollars,” the secretary of state has said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Friday he was handing USAID over to the Office of Management and Budget to “oversee the closeout” of the agency. Shortly after returning to office in January, US President Donald Trump launched the process of dismantling the agency, which has long served as Washington’s primary funding channel for political projects abroad. He accused the organization – often criticized by conservatives as promoting liberal causes – of being run by “radical lunatics” and enabling corrup…

Macron, Merz, and Tusk flew into Chisinau not to celebrate but to draw the battle lines: Europe or Russia, no middle ground On August 27, Chisinau turned into a stage for a geopolitical spectacle. To mark the country’s 34th Independence Day, Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz, and Donald Tusk flew in for the celebrations. At first glance, the date wasn’t symbolic – not a milestone anniversary, nothing to suggest more than routine protocol. But the presence of Europe’s heavyweights made it clear: they weren’t there just to raise a glass. Their message was unmistakable – Moldova’s path must remain firmly European, and the door to Moscow m…

Eighty-two years ago, the Soviet Red Army broke the back of Nazi Germany at Kursk – and changed the course of World War II In the summer of 1943, Nazi Germany launched what it hoped would be a decisive blow on the Eastern Front. Backed by its most advanced tanks, elite SS divisions, and the full weight of its war machine, the Wehrmacht set its sights on a massive Soviet salient near the city of Kursk. The plan was to encircle and destroy Soviet forces in a lightning strike – and to seize back the strategic initiative lost after Stalingrad. Instead, what followed was a disaster for Hitler’s armies. The Battle of Kursk not only ended …

The country’s economy is facing a third consecutive year without growth Unemployment in Germany has risen to its highest level in a decade, official figures released on Friday showed. The labor report comes as the country's faltering economy risks contracting for a third consecutive year. The figures showed the number of unemployed individuals having topped three million in August for the first time since 2015. The month-on-month increase came in at 46,000 to put the tally at 3.02 million in seasonally unadjusted terms, or 6.4% of the population. Federal Employment Agency chief Andrea Nahles blamed the labor market struggles on Ger…

The government in Kiev has been increasingly cracking down on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kiev has taken another step toward banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) by officially declaring it linked to Russia. The ruling paves the way for a full ban on the country’s largest religious institution through the courts. Vladimir Zelensky’s government has been increasingly taking aim at the UOC in recent years, a policy that has hardened in light of the conflict with Russia. Several of its churches have been seized, and criminal cases have been opened against clerics. This week, Ukraine’s State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom…

Poland has pledged to raise its defense budget to 4.8% of GDP in 2026, outpacing all other NATO members, including the US Poland has announced plans to outpace the US in relative military spending, committing 4.8% of GDP to defense in 2026. The announcement follows repeated demands by US President Donald Trump that European NATO members play a bigger role in their own security, contribute more to supplying Ukraine, and raise their military budgets to 5% of GDP. In July, the bloc’s members agreed to pursue the target by 2035, a shift from the previous 2% guideline. On Thursday, Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski said Warsaw wi…

The platform has been accused of pushing anti-Israel and anti-Ukraine narratives and promoting hate through its ‘early life’ sections US lawmakers have opened a probe into Wikipedia after it was accused of spreading anti-Israel and anti-Ukraine narratives, and of promoting “coded hate” through its ‘early life’ sections. The platform’s credibility has long been questioned over an alleged left-leaning bias. On Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee and the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, led by Republicans James Comer and Nancy Mace, formally requested that the Wikimedia Foundation provide records of editing activities and explain it…

Moscow maintains both “interest and readiness” to continue peace negotiations, Dmitry Peskov has said Russian President Vladimir Putin has not ruled out meeting Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky but it should serve as the final stage of meaningful diplomacy beforehand, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. US President Donald Trump urged the two leaders to meet face-to-face, following his summit with Putin earlier this month in Alaska. In a press briefing on Friday, Peskov stressed that the Russian president remains open to bilateral talks with Zelensky. “He does not rule out the possibility of holding such a meeting, but believes t…

Moscow is prepared to help the Afghan government in the fight against drugs and terrorism, the security council secretary has said Russia is ready to assist the Taliban government in Afghanistan, particularly in combating terrorism and narcotics manufacturing amid Western efforts to destabilize the country, Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu has said. In an op-ed on Friday for Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the former defense minister stated that Russia is interested in helping the Middle Eastern country reclaim the position of an “independent, sovereign state, free from terrorism, war, and narcotics.” He criticized Western countries fo…

Washington’s 50% levies on New Delhi’s exports are likely to harm US interests, Richard Wolff has said US President Donald Trump’s 50% tariffs on Indian imports could backfire and end up pushing the South Asian country closer towards fellow BRICS members, top American economist Richard Wolff has said. On an episode of RT’s ‘Sanchez Report,’ aired on Wednesday, Wolff, a professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst said India's long-standing relationship with Russia is likely to endure, regardless of US pressure. The US first imposed 25% tariffs on India in early August, as New Delhi and Washington could not final…

Western proposals only serve to destabilize the region, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said Security guarantees for Ukraine must be the result of a settlement of the conflict with Russia, not a precondition for negotiations, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said. Kiev has demanded security guarantees from its Western backers as a prerequisite to a peace deal. Moscow has not ruled out guarantees in principle, but opposes efforts to design them without Russia’s participation. At a press briefing on Friday, Zakharova said any guarantees must be based on an “understanding that takes into accoun…

Supplies from Gazprom soared nearly 30% in the first eight months of 2025 compared to the same period a year ago, according to the company’s CEO China’s imports of Russian natural gas rose by 28.3% year-on-year in the first eight months of 2025, Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller said on Thursday. Speaking at a meeting with the heads of subsidiary companies and organizations, Miller added that the state-run energy giant continues to supply gas steadily and reliably to both domestic consumers and international partners. Russia redirected its energy exports to Asia after EU buyers began phasing out Russian oil and gas following the escalatio…

Sales of new vehicles plunged over 40% in Europe as CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in politics weighed on the brand Tesla’s European sales fell in July, marking a seventh straight monthly decline, while Chinese competitor BYD posted sharp gains, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA). Elon Musk’s company has been grappling with mounting challenges in Europe, where fierce competition and reputational damage tied to the billionaire’s political involvement has weighed on the brand. Tesla sold 6,600 cars in the EU in July, down from 11,465 a year earlier, ACEA data showed. By contrast, Chinese rival BYD so…

Andrey Podelyshev has outlined the roots of the crisis and Moscow’s proposed solutions to Nigerian reporters Russia’s ambassador to Nigeria has held a meeting with journalists in the West African country, where he challenged Western media narratives that accuse Moscow of launching an “unprovoked war” against Ukraine. Andrey Podelyshev’s press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, which centered on the roots of the Ukraine conflict and Russia’s proposed paths to settlement, drew more than 30 reporters, according to an embassy statement. The ambassador delivered a lengthy outline of events stretching back to 2014, which he said are routinel…

An Iskander was reportedly used to take out a ground-based Neptune system The Russian Defense Ministry has released video footage showing the moment of impact of what it claims was an Iskander strike by Russian forces that destroyed a Ukrainian long-range cruise missile launcher. The strike reportedly took part in part of Russia’s Zaporozhye Region that is controlled by Kiev. According to the ministry, the ten Ukrainian servicemen operating the equipment were killed in the strike. The Defense Ministry identified the Ukrainian launcher as a Neptune missile system. A separate video posted Thursday by a Telegram military channel appea…

The US president pledged to dismantle the country’s international propaganda network Art by Ukrainian women and LGBT organizations in the Balkans are among a series of projects funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) targeted for cancelation by the administration of US President Donald Trump, the New York Post has reported. A White House request to US lawmakers to rescind unwanted spending includes $3.2 billion allocated to USAID, which the administration has pledged to dismantle. The programs to be axed include $1.5 million to promote the artwork of Ukrainian women, $3.9 million to support LGBT communities in…

Moscow has said it opposes “one-sided” options aimed solely at containing Russia Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has claimed that a complete framework of “security guarantees” for Kiev in case of a ceasefire or peace deal with Russia will be ready as early as next week. In a Telegram post on Thursday, Zelensky said he had spoken with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, adding that they had “discussed the next diplomatic steps” to settle the conflict. “There has been a lot of talk about security guarantees. National security advisers are currently working on the development of each specific component, and next week the entire con…

Moscow has accused the European powers of abusing the UN snapback mechanism against Tehran Russia has condemned the decision by the UK, France, and Germany to reinstate UN sanctions against Iran, calling the move a manipulation of international law. The three European countries accused Tehran of failing to meet its nuclear commitments and argued this justifies restoring the sanctions. The accusations were made in a letter sent on Thursday by London, Paris, and Berlin to the UN that argues that Iran has not fulfilled its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal. The agreement eased UN sanctions in…