Russia
Bulgaria’s outgoing PM rejects Russian ultimatum, unveils potential successor
Bulgaria's outgoing Prime Minister Kiril Petkov rejected a Russian ultimatum to reverse a decision to expel 70 Russian diplomatic staff by noon on Friday (1 July) and named the country's finance minister as his possible successor.
Europe ready for Baltics emergency switch-off from Russian grid
European grid operators are ready to implement immediately a long-term plan to bring the Baltic states, which rely on the Russian grid, into the EU system in the event Moscow cuts them off, three sources familiar with the matter said.
Russia hauls in ambassador over ‘offensive’ UK comments on nuclear weapons
Russia said on Thursday (30 June) it had summoned the British ambassador to voice a strong protest against "offensive" British statements, including about alleged Russian threats to use nuclear weapons.
Indonesia leader targets food crisis during Russia-Ukraine peace mission
Indonesia's president ended a trip to Ukraine and Russia saying he hoped for progress reintegrating global food and fertiliser supply lines disrupted by the conflict, and offered to be a diplomatic bridge between the two nations.
Missile kills 10 in Odesa after Ukraine retakes Snake Island
A Russian missile strike in Ukraine's southern port of Odesa early on Friday (1 July) killed at least 10 people, a regional official said, a day after Ukraine drove Russian forces from the strategic Black Sea outpost of Snake Island.
Russia abandons Snake Island in victory for Ukraine
Russian forces abandoned the strategic Black Sea outpost of Snake Island on Thursday (30 June), in a major victory for Ukraine that could loosen the grip of Russia's blockade on Ukrainian ports.
What kind of state is Russia?
Russian political ideology explains the external aggression: the Empire has no fixed borders and cannot have them, given that it stands for Christianity against various traitors to the true faith, locked inside national borders, writes Evgenii Dainov.
Indonesian president offers to take message from Zelenskyy to Putin
Indonesian President Joko Widodo offered on Wednesday (29 June) to deliver a message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Russian leader Vladimir Putin to try to boost peace hopes.
EU nears compromise deal to defuse standoff with Russia over Kaliningrad
Trade through Lithuania to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad could return to normal within days, two sources familiar with the matter said, as European officials edge towards a compromise deal with the Baltic state to defuse a row with Moscow.
US intelligence chief: Putin still wants most of Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin still wants to seize most of Ukraine, but his forces are so degraded by combat that they likely can only achieve incremental gains in the near term, the top US intelligence officer said Wednesday (29 June).
Russia steps up attacks in Ukraine after landmark NATO summit
Russia pressed on with its offensive in eastern Ukraine on Thursday (29 June) after NATO branded Moscow the biggest "direct threat" to Western security and agreed plans to modernise Kyiv's beleaguered armed forces.
‘Russian Salad’ on the menu at NATO summit raises eyebrows
As they waited for the arrival of leaders in the NATO summit venue on the outskirts of Madrid on 28 June, officials and journalists were bemused to find "Russian Salad" on the top of the in-house restaurant menu.
Dozens missing after strike on Ukraine mall, Russia presses attacks on east
Dozens of people were still missing on 29 June after a Russian missile strike on a shopping mall in central Ukraine two days ago, while a regional governor said the situation was "very difficult" in Lysychansk in the east.
EU insurance ban targets Russian oil exports
An EU ban on insuring ships transporting Russian oil could potentially hurt Moscow more than its embargo on the nation's crude, analysts say.
US talking with India on Russia oil price cap
Talks on agreeing and implementing a price cap on Russian oil exports have begun with large oil consuming countries, including India, and will soon start with smaller consumers in Africa and Latin America, US officials said on Tuesday (28 June).
Russia tries to impress West by publishing satellite photos of nuclear war targets
Russia's space agency published the coordinates of Western defence headquarters including the US Pentagon and the venue of NATO's summit on Tuesday (28 June), saying Western satellite operators were working for Russia's enemy - Ukraine.
Bulgaria kicks out 70 Russian ‘diplomats’ for espionage
Bulgaria has declared ‘personae non grata’ the record number of 70 Russian diplomats for activity incompatible with their diplomatic status, outgoing Prime Minister Kiril Petkov announced late on Tuesday (28 June).
Russian embassy in Sofia launches appeal for war donations
A blogpost of the Russian embassy in Sofia, inviting citizens to make donations for “the military participating in the special operation to protect the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics” is making waves in Bulgaria. EURACTIV Bulgaria took a closer look at the appeal.
Guess what? Hungary & Co. have no need for opt-out from Russian-oil ban
As the Kremlin cuts natural-gas deliveries to European Union countries, the EU should waste no time closing a loophole in its oil embargo against Russia, write Martin Vladimirov and Kostantsa Rangelova.
The ‘Big Package’: How Russia was driven to default
Russia's first major international debt default in over a century, which Washington said became a fact on Monday (27 June), follows months of co-ordinated Western sanctions that left Moscow with cash but no access to the international financial network.
Erdogan family firm gifts Bayraktar drones to Ukraine
Turkish drone-manufacturer Baykar, which has President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's son-in-law as one of its directors, offered three of its drones to the Ukrainian army on Monday (27 June).
Russia’s Medvedev says any NATO encroachment on Crimea could lead to World War Three
Any encroachment on the Crimea peninsula by a NATO member-state could amount to a declaration of war on Russia which could lead to "World War Three," Russia's former president, Dmitry Medvedev, was quoted as saying on Monday.
Iran applies to join BRICS group of emerging countries
Iran has submitted an application to become a member in the group of emerging economies known as the BRICS, an Iranian official said on Monday (27 June).