0625GMT//Putin-Trump meeting cancelled; former deputy mayor of Russian city killed in Ukriane; Russian credit cards in Afghanistan

PUTIN-TRUMP MEETING CANCELLED: A planned meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Budapest has been cancelled. Trump said that it would have been a "waste of time" as there was too much of a gap between the two men's positions. (COMMENT: This was always likely. The logistics for Putin to travel to Budapest across hostile airspace were also always a major barrier to this meeting actually happening.)

EX-DEPUTY MAYOR KILLED IN UKRAINE: The former deputy mayor of Chelyabinsk in central Russia has been killed fighting in Ukraine. Earlier this year, Sergei Reprintsev was arrested for taking a 10m rouble bribe ($123,000), but instead of being prosecuted, he signed up to the Russian army. Reports said that if he had been prosecuted and found guilty, he could have faced up to 15 years in prison. (COMMENT: Reprintsev's alleged corruption, his deal to fight on the frontlines in Ukraine instead of facing prosecution and then his death reads like a modern Russian parable.)

MIR IN AFGHANISTAN: The Kremlin is negotiating with the Taliban in Afghanistan for retailers there to accept credit cards using its Mir payment system. (COMMENT: Russia has been pushing its Mir payment system hard since Visa and Mastercard stopped serving Russian banks after the invasion of Ukraine. Only a handful of allies have adopted it. In truth, these negotiations are performative as Afghanistan has very few retailers with payment terminals. Cash is king in Afghanistan, but these talks are still a useful insight into Russian diplomatic manoeuvring. The Kremlin took the Taliban off its terrorist list this year and now wants to build up ties. It views Afghanistan as a "link" country for a trade route to India.)