0657GMT//Poland shoots down Russian drones; Putin the 'workaholic'

POLAND SHOOTS DOWN RUSSIAN DRONES: Poland said on Wednesday that it had shot down several Russian drones that had entered its airspace. Donald Tusk, the Polish PM, convened an emergency government meeting and said that he was in "constant contact" with Nato. (COMMENT: Russia has been "testing" Nato air defence systems regularly over the past couple of years. Its drones have been shot down roughly every month in countries that border Russia.)

PUTIN THE WORKAHOLIC: Vladimir Putin is a workaholic who only sleeps a few hours a day and doesn't take holidays, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. (COMMENT: Peskov made the comments as he answered questions about Putin's trip to Tajikistan next month. This is all part of Putin's image as the hardman, and hard-working, leader of Russia. Before the war, he made a great play of holidaying in the Siberian tundra as an outdoorsman with Sergei Shoigu, his former defence minister. State media released photos of Putin topless on horseback, hunting for deer or foraging for mushrooms. Since his invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Putin has switched his image to that of the overworking leader who never tires. The reality is probably different. Putin disappears from view every year, often for a couple of weeks at a time. State media is fed pre-recorded reports during these periods. These absences are likely to be holidays.)

COCA-COLA LAWSUIT: Russian media reported that Coca-Cola has filed a lawsuit in Moscow against a company in South Ossetia that has been selling products under its brand. US-based Coca-Cola has not commented. Coca-Cola, like most Western companies, pulled out of Russia shortly after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. (COMMENT: If confirmed, this is rare. Plenty of Western companies have seen their assets stolen in Russia and brands abused. South Ossetia is also not officially part of Russia. It is a breakaway region of Georgia – the focus of a war in 2008 between Russia and Georgia. The Kremlin bankrolls South Ossetia and has recognised it as an independent state.)

JAPAN CLOSES CULTURAL CENTRES: The Japanese government on Tuesday formally closed all six Japan Centres in Russia. These are cultural and language learning sites in Moscow, Vladivostok, Nizhny Novgorod, Saint Petersburg, Khabarovsk, and Sakhalin. (COMMENT: The Russian government ordered these six Japanese centres to suspend operations in January. Again, Russia is disenfranchising itself from the rest of the world.)