0715GMT//Vietnam wins revamped Soviet song contest in Moscow; Russian fighter jets breach EU air space; Kremlin tightens Telegram propaganda reach

THE KREMLIN'S EUROVISION: Vietnam on Saturday won a revamped Soviet-era Intervision song contest in Moscow, the Kremlin's answer to Eurovision. Twenty-two countries sent an entry to the contest, mainly pro-Russian allies of the Kremlin from Latin America, Africa, Central Asia, China and the Middle East. The US had prepared a contestant but he was pulled out at the last moment. The evening was a riot of generic high kitsch pop. It also included a pre-recorded message from Vladimir Putin praising international friendship, traditional values and the right of every nation to "develop freely" – key Kremlin watchwords. (COMMENT: Determined to squeeze every ounce of propaganda out of the show, TASS, the Kremlin-owned propaganda channel, even claimed that 4 billion people around the world had watched it. This is, frankly, doubtful as this would equal half the world's population.)

RUSSIAN FIGHTER JETS IN THE EU: Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland for roughly 12 minutes on Friday, according to Estonian officials. Estonian foreign minister Margus Tsahkna said that this was the fourth incursion by Russian fighter jets this year, but that this breach was "particularly brazen". He called for a "swift response" to increasing "aggressiveness" by Russia. Polish border guards also reported on Friday that two Russian fighter jets had flown low over a Polish oil platform in the Baltic Sea, violating its security. Two days later, Germany said that it scrambled two fighter jets to intercept an unidentified air draft over the Baltic Sea. This was later identified as a Russian reconnaissance aircraft. (COMMENT: Tension is rising along Nato's eastern border. There is no doubt that the Kremlin is probing and testing Nato's borders with fighter jets and drone incursions. Earlier in September, both Poland and Romania reported Russian drone flights over their territories.)

EU SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA: The EU on Friday unveiled its 19th package of sanctions against Russia. This package includes designating 118 ships as part of "Russia's shadow fleet". The EU has also promised to "phase out" buying Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) by Jan. 1 2027. Sanctions have also been placed on Russia's Mir international payments system and Russian schemes that dodge sanctions using cryptocurrency. Export controls are also due to be placed on Chinese and Indian companies that deal with Russia, and there will be transaction bans on Gazpromneft and Rosneft, as well as new Russian banks. (COMMENT: Much of this feels token. Russia's shadow fleet can buy insurance from other sources; the EU has promised to cut LNG imports from Russia previously, but the Netherlands, Spain and France still buy shipments; Russia's Mir payments system has struggled to take off; it's very difficult to regulate against rogue cryptocurrency deals. Perhaps, and only time will tell, there is some merit to imposing more breaks on Chinese and Indian companies that deal with India and also on Gazpromneft and Rosneft.)

DRONE STRIKE DAMAGE: Russians are increasingly including drone strike damage in their home insurance policies, Russian insurance companies have said. They said that between one in four and one in three homeowners in Russia now ask for drone insurance. (COMMENT: This is a reflection of the increased accuracy and aggression of Ukrainian drone attacks against Russia over the past year or so.)

COMPETING IN THE WINTER OLYMPICS: Russian athletes will be allowed to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina under a neutral flag, the International Olympic Committee said on Friday. Russia's neutral athletes won't take part in the opening ceremony. (COMMENT: A similar deal was reached for Russian athletes competing in the Paris Olympics last year. The athletes will need to be checked to ensure they haven't actively supported the war in Ukraine and don't have any links to the Russian army before they are allowed to compete. Even so, this will be a relief for the Kremlin, which has had to bear the indignation of seeing some of its top athletes defect to other countries so that they can compete in the Olympics.)

KREMLIN PROPAGANDA REACH: Aram Gabrelyanov, a high-profile pro-Kremlin propagandist who has been sanctioned by various Western countries, has bought the influential Baza Telegram channel for an undisclosed amount, Russian media has reported. The editors of Baza are currently on trial for bribing Russian security agents for "confidential information". (COMMENT: Baza has emerged as one of the most influential channels on Telegram, often publishing videos leaked by the Russian security services or comments/insight on sensitive cases. Gabrelyanov already owns the Life tabloid magazine and the Shot and Mash Telegram channels. He also used to own Izvestia, one of Russia's biggest newspapers. These are all pro-Kremlin channels and media holdings. Russian-language Telegram gives the impression of being anarchic and free, but it is, in reality, tightly monitored and controlled by the Kremlin.)

DRONE STRIKES: Russia accused Ukraine of striking a resort near Yalta in occupied-Crimea on Monday morning, killing three people. Ukraine accused Russia of 46 air strikes across the country on Sunday evening, killing at least two people.