Sign in Subscribe

James Kilner

0756GMT//Putin flies to Bishkek for talks; Russian car and smarthphone sales collapse; China raises prices for Russian imports of 'dual-use' products

UKRAINE PEACE TALKS: Russian and US negotiators are due to meet in Abu Dhabi today to discuss a revised 19-point peace plan for Ukraine. US and Ukrainian negotiators thrashed out the new plan in Switzerland on Monday. In Ukraine, a large Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv killed at

0856GMT//Putin says US-Russia Ukraine deal "lays foundation" for peace; Russian regions run out of cash; street musicians released

UKRAINE PEACE PLAN: Vladimir Putin said on Friday that a plan to end the war in Ukraine drawn up by US and Russian negotiators earlier this month could "lay the foundation" for a Ukraine peace deal. He also threatened to capture more Ukrainian territory if Ukraine refused to

0759GMT//Putin gives Kazakh president the 'red carpet' treatment; Lavrov is missing once again; the Kremlin will issue bonds in yuan to reassure investors

PUTIN-TOKAYEV TALKS: Vladimir Putin and Kassym Jomart Tokayev, the Kazakh president, concluded two days of talks on Wednesday, designed to bolster Kazakhstan-Russia relations. Putin gave Tokayev top-level treatment, escorting his plane in with fighter jets, taking him to the ballet and holding a dinner in his official residence. (COMMENT>

0734GMT//Lukoil's problems mount; have Putin and Lavrov had a tiff?; the Kremlin tries to plug its labour gap

LUKOIL'S PROBLEMS: Gunvor, the Switzerland-based trading company, abandoned its $22 billion takeover of Lukoil's foreign assets after the US described it as "a Kremlin puppet". These sanctions come into force on Nov. 21. (COMMENT>> This scuppers the Kremlin's attempts to

0815GMT//Putin threatens nuclear tests; two Kremlin propagandists marry; Russia to train overseas students as prison guards

NUCLEAR TESTS: Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered his military to draw up plans to test-fire Russia's nuclear weapons for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. He said that Russia's resumption of nuclear weapons testing was a response to a proposal

0749GMT//Putin brags about his missiles (again); China cancels Russian oil imports; Russian 'monogorods' given cheap loans

MISSILE FETISH: Vladimir Putin on Tuesday held a special ceremony in the Kremlin to praise the designers of two new missiles that he unveiled last month. Putin said that the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile and the Poseidon torpedo would ensure "security and strategic parity" for Russia "for

0830GMT//Putin test-fires another missile; death toll from Russian weapons factory blast rises; protest banned in Vladivostok

ANOTHER NEW WEAPON: Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia had test-fired a nuclear-powered underwater drone that can be fitted with a nuclear warhead. This was Russia's second nuclear weapons test since Sunday, when it launched the Burevestnik cruise missile. (COMMENT: Once again, Putin said that Russia'

1315GMT//Lukoil to sell foreign assets off cheaply; visa deal with Myanmar; Russian reservists to deploy in anti-drone units

LUKOIL'S FOREIGN ASSETS TO BE SOLD CHEAPLY: Lukoil will sell off its foreign assets at a 50-70% discount because of Western sanctions, a Russian energy analyst told the Izvestia newspaper. Lukoil said at the end of last week that new US sanctions would force it to sell off

0735GMT//Putin cancels missile agreement with the US; Moscow Stock Exchange falls; Lukoil to sell overseas assets

PUTIN CANCELS MISSILE AGREEMENT: Vladimir Putin on Monday cancelled Russia's agreement with the US to dispose of Cold War-era stockpiles of nuclear missiles. The Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement was signed in 2000, although Putin suspended Russia's participation in the agreement in 2016 when relations soured

0715GMT//Russia lowers interest rates; new missile tested; top North Korean official visits

INTEREST RATE CUT: Russia's Central Bank cut its core interest rate on Friday to 16.5% from 17%. This was broadly in line with expectations. (COMMENT: This is the fourth consecutive cut since June. Russian business wants a harder cut. The Central Bank still says that there are