0702GMT//Putin's cousin brags that Russia is now a 'world leader' in prosthetics; Russia's road repair fund is cut to pay for war in Ukraine
PUTIN WARNS AGAINST INTEREST RATE CUT: Vladimir Putin used his keynote speech at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok to warn against a sharp drop in interest rates, claiming it will spur inflation. (COMMENT: Interest rates are a contentious issue in Russia. Business has been pushing for the Central Bank to cut them quickly to reverse an economic decline, but the Kremlin appears more worried about inflation and potentially hurting the value of the rouble.)
INTEREST RATE CUT EXPECTED: Russian economists expect another interest rate cut by the Russian Central Bank to either 17% or 16%, from 18%, said a poll conducted by the Vedomosti newspaper. The Central Bank's next interest rate meeting is scheduled for Sept. 12. (COMMENT: Russia's interest rates have been at 21% this year before they were cut twice to 20% and then 18%.)
RUSSIA TO ABOLISH VISAS FOR CHINESE: Russia will abolish visas for Chinese citizens after Beijing cancelled visa requirements for Russians, Vladimir Putin said on Thursday during meetings in Beijing. (COMMENT: This was the last day of Putin's visit to China. It's been a busy trip. This policy is a match for China lifting visa restrictions on Russians and shows just how close Russia-China relations have become.)
WAR VETERAN HEALTH CRISIS: Anna Tsivileva, Putin's cousin and Russia's deputy defence minister, said that Russia has become the "world leader" in prosthetics since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. (COMMENT: The Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine has twisted and ruptured Russian society. Not only are there tens of thousands of new amputees, but Russia also faces an epidemic of mental health problems. It's difficult to understand why Tsivileva is bragging about this, and, in any case, there is plenty of reporting and evidence to suggest that veterans are poorly served by Russia's ailing health service. Mental health problems are virtually ignored and war veteran amputees report waiting months for prosthetics. There are regular stories in Russian media of war veterans raping and killing women on their return from battlefields in Ukraine.)
BUYING WEAPONS FOR UKRAINE: Britain spent £1 billion ($1.34 billion) of frozen Russian assets to buy weapons for Ukraine, British defence minister John Healey said on Thursday. In response, Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's former president and the deputy head of its Security Council, called Britain a "thief" and promised retribution. (COMMENT: This is, perhaps, the first time that frozen Russian assets have been used to pay for weapons for Ukraine. Previously, only interest earned from the frozen Russian assets had been used to pay for weapons for Ukraine. Britain has frozen Russian assets worth around £25 billion ($33.6 billion) since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022.)
ROAD REPAIR FUNDS CUT: Annual funding for road repairs in Russia has fallen by a third since 2022 as the Kremlin and regional governments divert cash to pay for the war in Ukraine, analysis by Russian media showed. (COMMENT: This is not a surprise as all non-urgent services have seen budget cuts in Russia to pay for the war in Ukraine. Economists have estimated that half of the Kremlin's total income is now spent on funding the war, directly through the military, or through the military-industrial complex.)
GPS JAMMING RISES: Swedish air traffic controllers said on Thursday that the number of GPS jamming incidents in their airspace has increased rapidly since 2023. They said that in 2023 there were 55 incidents of planes' GPS navigation systems jamming; in 2024 there were 495 incidents; up to the end of August 2025 there have been 733 incidents. (COMMENT: The countries bordering the Baltic Sea have blamed Russia for GPS jamming incidents.)