0630GMT//Russian forces increase attacks ahead of Trump-Putin meeting; Putin bullish on economy; Lada delays production of "comeback" car
TRUMP-PUTIN MEETING: Russian forces in Ukraine have intensified their attacks along the frontline ahead of a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. (COMMENT: Various online reports said that Russian forces had "broken through" at different points along the frontline but this cannot be verified.)
PUTIN BULLISH ON ECONOMY: Russia has brought its annual inflation down to 8.8% from around 10%, Vladimir Putin said during a meeting with his top economic officials on Tuesday. He also said that he didn't "see any major risks" to the economy despite a sharp rise in the government's deficit and a rise in bad debt. (COMMENT: Russia will publish GDP data on Wednesday. A Bloomberg poll of analysts said that it was likely to show a small growth in Q2, reversing a decline in Q1. The GDP rise is driven by government war spending – covering up for the rest of the economy, which is listing.)
INDIA CUTS RUSSIAN OIL IMPORTS: Indian refineries are continuing to cut imports of Russian crude oil because of a combination of EU sanctions and US tariffs, analysts have said. (COMMENT: India was the biggest buyer of Russian crude oil until last week when state-owned refineries cut orders. This is vital to the Russian economy.)
CAR PRODUCTION PROBLEMS: The mass production of Lada's new Iskra family car, hailed as the company's "comeback car" when it was unveiled earlier this year, has been delayed until at least March 2026 because of a shortage of parts, a Russian car industry news website reported. The Iskra, manufactured by AvtoVAZ, was hailed as 100% Russian but insiders have said that many of its components are made in China and Turkey. AvtoVAZ has not commented on the reports. (COMMENT: Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, AvtoVAZ was in partnership with France's Renault. Since Renault quit Russia, AvtoVAZ has struggled to produce its cars.)
NEWS MATRIX:
Production delays to Lada's new family car are the biggest surprise. It was introduced to much fanfare earlier this year. This production delay is a humiliation for Lada.
The most important news item is not the increase in attacks by Russian forces against Ukraine ahead of the Trump-Putin meeting, this would surely have been expected and factored in, but the continued cut in Russian oil imports by Indian refineries. This is a major worry for the Kremlin.