0615GMT//Kremlin still thinking about Putin-Zelensky talks; US to compete in Kremlin propaganda song contest
PUTIN-ZELENSKY TALKS: The Kremlin has still not confirmed whether Vladimir Putin is prepared to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky for Ukraine war peace talks. Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, said on Wednesday that "it is necessary to prepare them most thoroughly", and a source in the Kremlin told the Washington Post that the Kremlin was concerned that any Putin-Zelensky talks would backfire and be a propaganda win for Ukraine. A senior parliamentarian has also said that the Kremlin wants Trump at Putin-Zelensky talks. (COMMENT: Although speculation in the Western media has been near fever-pitch about a Putin-Zelensky meeting, the Russian media has been far more sanguine. This suggests that the Kremlin still hasn't decided on its strategy towards a meeting. It's likely that the Kremlin will delay, allowing its armies to press attacks in Ukraine and to increase pressure on Zelensky.)
DRONE CRASH: Poland accused Russia of deliberately crashing a military drone into its territory on Wednesday. Poland's defence minister said that the drone crash was a provocation to upset peace talks in Ukraine. (COMMENT: Russia has not commented. Earlier this month, Lithuania accused Russia of flying a drone across its airspace into Belarus.)
FUEL SHORTAGES: Morotists in rural parts of Russia's Far East have told Russian exiled opposition media that it is increasingly hard to buy car fuel. They said that in small towns in the Primorye region, fuel ration cards have been introduced, fuel pumps are often labelled as "out of order". Motorists also said that they are queuing for 2-1/2 hours for fuel in larger towns. (COMMENT: These are some of the first reports of fuel shortages in Russia this year. They come after Ukrainian drones knocked out a fourth major oil refinery in Russia. Most estimates say that Russia has now lost 14% of its oil refining capacity. Demand for fuel for its armies in Russia is also pressuring domestic supplies. Russian officials are, as usual, in denial. They have blamed a seasonal surge in demand for fuel linked to tourists travelling across Russia.)
OIL REFINERY ATTACK: Ukrainian drones hit another Russian oil refinery overnight, according to Russian Telegram channels. They reported that the Novoshakhtinsk Oil Refinery, which accounts for 1.7% of Russia's refinery capacity, has been hit. This has not been officially confirmed. (COMMENT: Reports said that this was the fifth Ukrainian drone attack against the Novoshakhtinsk Oil Refinery since the start of the war. They also said that this attack was the eighth strike by a Ukrainian drone against a Russian oil refinery since the start of August. This shows how Ukraine is pushing its strategy of striking Russian oil refineries.)
PRO-WAR PROPAGANDA: A statue of murdered pro-war nationalist journalist Daria Dugina was unveiled in Moscow. Dungina was killed by a car bomb that may have been intended for her father, the influential nationalist philosopher Alexander Dungin. (COMMENT: This is part of a trend in Russia to promote pro-war nationalists. In many ways, since her death at the age of 29, Dugina has become the poster-woman of this propaganda push.)
ASSET GRAB: A company linked to Arkady Rotenberg, a close friend of Vladimir Putin, has been allowed to buy more nationalised companies. Putin signed a decree allowing Rusgazdobycha to buy companies belonging to GMS Neftemash. The companies manufacture oil and gas pumping equipment. GMS and its companies were seized by the Russian state in 2024 as they were owned by Russians with links to Ukraine. (COMMENT: Putin has allowed Rotenberg and businesses to buy several companies that the Kremlin has seized. )
US TO COMPETE IN KREMLIN PROPAGANDA SONG CONTEST: The US will participate in a Kremlin-organised televised propaganda song competition alongside Cuba, former Soviet states from Central Asia and other Russian allies. The Kremlin revived the Soviet-era Intervision song competition, its version of Eurovision, at the start of the year. The Kremlin confirmed the participating countries for the Sept. 20 contest as: Belarus, Venezuela, Vietnam, Egypt, India, Kazakhstan, Qatar, China, Colombia, Cuba, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, the US, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and South Africa. (COMMENT: This clearly shows how US-Russia relations have developed this year under Donald Trump. The Intervision contest is full of Kremlin allies, and then also the US. Every EU country refused an invitation to participate.)