0759GMT/ May 7 2025

• Austria's Raiffeisen Bank said in quarterly results that it had increased profit on operations in Russia because of the country's high interest rates. It also said that it was "paring back" its business in Russia. (COMMENT: Raiffeisen Bank has come under major pressure to cut links with Russia. It is now the only Western bank with major operations in the country.)
• Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya, hinted that he wants to retire. Russian news agencies said that he had asked "to be relieved of his post". (NOTE: There have been rumours for the past couple of years that Kadyrov was ill and earlier this week, Novayev Gazeta reported that he had been in hospital. Kadyrov, ruthless and cruel, has been vital to the Kremlin in keeping a lid on rebellious Chechnya. He has been promoting his sons, grooming them to take over from him. But, Kadyrov shoots from his mouth and he may just be talking without thinking. It may also not be his choice on whether he is able to retire. The Kremlin may well have the final say in who runs Chechnya and whether Kadyrov can stand down.)
• Chinese Pres. Xi Jinping is due in Moscow today for the start of a state visit ahead of Putin's Victory Day parade.
• The Kremlin has said that 20 foreign leaders will attend the May 9 military parade in Moscow to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany. (NOTE: This includes China's Pres. Xi Jinping, Brazil's Pres. Lula da Silva, Serbian Pres. Aleksandar Vucic and Slovak PM Robert Fico. The other leaders are mainly pro-Russia states from Central Asia, Africa and South America.) (COMMENT: This is the most "star-studded" lineup of leaders to attend the Victory Day Parade in Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022. This points to a Kremlin propaganda push.)
• Russian media is pumping out wall-to-wall propaganda about the "Soviet victory" over Nazi Germany 80 years ago. (NOTE: There has been no coverage in Russian media of events in the West to celebrate the end of World War II.) (COMMENT: This is very much a Kremlin propaganda project. The Western effort to defeat Nazi Germany has been written out of Russian textbooks and history. For Russians and the Kremlin, this was an entirely Soviet effort.)
• Sber Bank, the Russian state-owned bank, told its customers that security measures around Putin's May 9 Victory Parade will delay services on SMS and online. (NOTE: Russian security services have slowed the internet, closed roads and blocked overhead flights above Moscow.)
• Russians have started an extended holiday to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.
• Russian sources said that Ukraine is attacking a village in Kursk again. (NOTE: This has not been confirmed by Ukraine. It's important to see how impactful this counterattack is.)