0601GMT//Putin heads to Alaska to meet with Trump; Kazakh GDP/capita overtakes Russia; The Kremlin hosts meeting with African juntas
TRUMP-PUTIN MEETING: Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said he didn't expect any documents to be signed in Alaska when Vladimir Putin meets with Donald Trump. (COMMENT: The Kremlin has been tight-lipped all week on what exactly it expects from the meeting.)
The Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska is expected to start at 10.30am local time on Friday. This is 9.30pm in Moscow and 1830GMT. Russian media reported that Putin has started his flight east to Alaska. He is expected to stop at Magadan, Far East Russia, where he will tour a fish oil processing plant.
Alongside Putin, Russia's negotiating team for the meeting with Trump in Alaska includes Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister; Yuri Ushakov, a top presidential aide; Andrey Belousov, Russia's defence minister; Anton Siluanov, Russia's finance minister; Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian state investment fund and Putin's envoy for negotiations with the US. (COMMENT: Not many surprises here. Perhaps the presence of Siluanov suggests that the Kremlin is expecting the US to give it a sanctions sweetener in exchange for ending the war in Ukraine.)
Top Kremlin officials have already started to talk up the possibility of a second meeting between Trump and Putin in Russia. They said that as Putin is travelling to the US for this meeting, it makes sense for the next one to be hosted in Russia. (COMMENT: The last US president to visit Russia was Barack Obama in 2013 for a meeting of the G20. It would be truly remarkable to see Trump visit Russia. We are not there yet. Surely?)
SINGING FOR KIM: Russian pop singer Shaman, a pro-war nationalist and favourite of Putin, has been sent to North Korea to sing for dictator Kim Jong-un, Russian media reported. The concert by Shaman is the centrepiece of 80th anniversary celebrations by North Korea of the defeat of Japan in World War II. Russian military dancers are also performing at the concert. (COMMENT: This shows just how close Russia-North Korea relations have become. North Korea has given Russia vital military, labour and weapons support over the past few years.)
OIL DISCOUNTS FOR INDIA: The Kremlin has started to offer India increasingly large discounts on crude oil, sources told Reuters. The discounts are designed to counter the extra US tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. (COMMENT: The extra discounts have appeared just as Trump and Putin are about to meet in Alaska. This is probably not a coincidence.)
SUPPORTING AFRICANS JUNTAS: Andrey Belousov, Russia's minister of defence, held a three-way meeting with his counterparts from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in Moscow for the first time. The Kremlin supported coups in all three countries that overthrew Western-backed governments and imposed military juntas. (COMMENT: Russia sees its proxies in West Africa as useful tools for undermining Western influence on the continent. It has deployed mercenaries to back up the juntas.)
KAZAKH GDP/CAPITA OVERTAKES RUSSIA: Kazakhstan's GDP per capita has overtaken Russia for the first time, according to the IMF. It said that Russia's GDP per capita measured $14,260 in 2025 compared to Kazakhstan's $14,770. (COMMENT: This has been coming -- Russia's GDP per capita has been dropping and Kazakhstan's has been rising -- but it is still a decent indicator of where the economies of both countries are heading. Kazakhstan is the first former Soviet state from the South Caucasus or Central Asia to overtake Russia.)
DAM ATTACK: Norway has accused pro-Russia hackers of breaking into the internet systems of a dam in the west of the country and then opening its flood gates. According to a Norwegian newspaper, the attack, which occurred in April, released 500 litres of water per second for four hours. (COMMENT: Western intelligence agencies have accused the Kremlin of intensifying its "hybrid warfare" attacks across Europe.)