WW3 is coming?
Dmitry Puchkov’s Youtube channel banned, new foreign currency stores to open in Russia
China drills its army near Taiwan, the Republic of Artsakh declares limited mobilisation, and the Kosovo crisis is “postponed” until 1 September.
Russia’s MPs suggest to ban child adoption for citizens of “unfriendly countries”, TV host Ivan Urgant and the Bi-2 band are added to the list of “foreign-influenced agents,” and Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president, vows to “take revenge” on YouTube for banning the channel of Dmitry Puchkov, an eccentric vlogger.
Russia’s H&M outlets re-open in Moscow to sell the remaining stock before leaving the country completely. Meanwhile, a chain of duty free shops is scheduled to open in Saint Petersburg for foreign diplomats – and they are thought to be pretty much like Beriozka shops from the Soviet era.
Watch Kirill Martynov, Novaya. Europe’s chief-editor, comment on last week’s news in his Saturday YouTube show
Russia’s drone pipeline
How Iran helps Moscow produce an ever-evolving unmanned fleet for use against Ukrainian civilians
Alone, together
While Volodymyr Zelensky appears upbeat about US security guarantees, Davos only demonstrated Trump’s unreliability
Neighbourhood watch
With NATO and the EU unsuited to meet Europe’s evolving security needs, it’s time to formalise the coalition of the willing
Going to cede
Restitution of lost territory can take decades and is only realistic in certain geopolitical circumstances
The race for the Arctic
Trump’s outlandish threats to seize Greenland risk ushering in a new world order based on spheres of domination
A grave miscalculation
Putin’s attempt to re-enact World War II in Ukraine has gone horribly wrong
A frozen war is not peace
Why a premature peace deal in Ukraine could just be kicking the can of Russian revanchism down the road
Just 10% from peace
Novaya Gazeta Europe’s Kyiv correspondent reflects on another year of war and muses on what 2026 may bring
The year that could be
Even without cause for optimism about the state of the world, we mustn’t allow hope to die