James Kilner

NORTH KOREA: Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia's Security Council, met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang. At their meeting, Kim pledged to "unconditionally" support Russia. (COMMENT: In many ways, Shoigu has become a personal envoy for Putin since he was shifted from his

KERCH BRIDGE ATTACK: Ukraine's SBU intelligence service on Tuesday blew up a bomb on a support structure of the Kerch Bridge connecting occupied Crimea to mainland Russia. The bomb was set off at 4.44am. Nobody was hurt in the attack. According to Russian media, traffic was closed

(NOTE: Please allow images to download so that you can see our 'News Matrix' at the bottom of this memo.) WAR NEGOTIATIONS: Round two of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul ended after an hour on Monday without any substantive progress. (COMMENT: This is not unsurprising.

(NOTE: Please allow images to download so that you can see our new 'News Matrix' at the bottom of this memo.) UKRAINIAN DRONE AMBUSH: Ukrainian drones popped out of containers on trucks across Russia on Sunday and destroyed several of the Kremlin's long-range strategic bombers. Video

"WAR HERO" ASSASSINATED: A suicide bomber killed the deputy head of Stavropol, the former commander of bomber units that pounded the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in 2022. Zaur Gurtsiev was killed outside his home on Wednesday evening by a man who approached him with a homemade bomb hidden

PEACE TALKS: The Kremlin on Wednesday said a second round of peace talks with Ukraine should take place in Istanbul on June 2. (COMMENT: A Kremlin source also repeated Putin's four key conditions for peace to Reuters – no Nato membership for Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova; no foreign military

CHINESE VISITOR: Chen Wenqing, the head of China's police and security services, met with Sergei Shoigu, the Secretary of Russia's Security Council, in Moscow on Tuesday. (COMMENT: Shoigu and Wenqing toured various Russian arms manufacturing sites in another "public show of affection" between the

DEMAND FOR TRUMP: Libraries across Russia have been ordering copies of biographies of Donald Trump to meet demand from readers, Russian media has reported. (COMMENT: This reflects back Kremlin propaganda which has been eulogising Trump as a "great peacemaker". The Kremlin has also ordered Russian school textbooks to

ROUBLE STRENGTH: The Russian rouble strengthened past 80/$1 for the first time in nearly two years on Wednesday, reflecting confidence that a peace deal will be struck in Ukraine and the US will then integrate Russia back into the international economy. (COMMENT: It's been a remarkable rebound