Tag - russia

 
 

RUSSIA

Bartering has returned to Russian foreign trade as companies trying to avoid Western sanctions swap wheat for Chinese cars and flax seeds for building materials.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 15, 2025
Wheat for Chinese cars? Russia turns to barter to skirt sanctions.
The return of the old-fashioned practice shows just how far the war in Ukraine has distorted trading ties for the world's biggest producer of natural resources.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with head of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) autonomous non-profit organization at the Kremlin in Moscow on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 15, 2025
Russia targets billionaire’s empire over alleged Ukraine links
The case shows how asset seizures in Russia are surging since the invasion of Ukraine, as the Kremlin cracks down on perceived enemies of the state.
A volunteer recruit listens to an instructor as she learns how to dig trenches during military training in Braniewo, Poland, on June 24.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 14, 2025
Fearful of Russia, Poles flock to receive military training
More than 20,000 Poles signed up for voluntary military training in the first seven months of 2025.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Museum of the Bible in Washington on Sept. 8. Israeli strikes in Qatar and Russian drone incursions into Poland have challenged the U.S. leaders claims of global respect.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 14, 2025
Strikes on Qatar and Poland shake U.S. sway among friend and foe
Trump’s removed attitude contrasts sharply with his repeated claims about his unique ability to solve the world’s intractable conflicts.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Aegis destroyer Chokai at its Sasebo base in Nagasaki Prefecture
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2025
MSDF Aegis destroyer Chokai to test-fire Tomahawk missiles
If successful, the SDF would gain the ability to directly strike the territory of other countries using cruise missiles.
A protester wearing a mask representing U.S. President Donald Trump carries a sign during a demonstration organized by the families of Israelis held hostage by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, to call for their release and for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza, in Tel Aviv on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 14, 2025
Airstrikes, drones, tariffs: Being a friend of the U.S. not what it used to be
Trump and his advisers insist they are putting U.S. interests first and scaling back decades of waste — a sharp contrast with Biden's promises to emphasize alliances first.
U.S. President Donald Trump attends a news conference during a NATO summit in The Hague in June.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 14, 2025
Trump presses NATO nations to halt Russian oil purchases
In recent weeks, the U.S. has stepped up pressure on NATO countries to tighten energy sanctions on Russia in a bid to help end its war with Ukraine.
Ionut Mosteanu
WORLD
Sep 14, 2025
Drone breaches Romanian airspace during Russian attack on Ukraine
Defense Minister Ionut Mosteanu said F-16 pilots came close to taking down the drone as it was flying very low before it left national airspace toward Ukraine.
A British SkySpyke anti-drone system by Quell is seen during the international military exercise Baltic Trust 25 at the Selonia military training ground near Viesite, Latvia, on Aug. 27.
WORLD / FOCUS
Sep 13, 2025
As drones swarm battlefields, militaries seek cheaper defenses
The dilemma militaries around the world face is that drones tend to be far cheaper than the response to destroy them.
The United States Geological Survey said a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit 111 kilometers east of the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, in its Kamchatka region, on Saturday.
WORLD
Sep 13, 2025
Magnitude 7.4 quake strikes off Russian Far East; tsunami warning lifted
A 7.4-magnitude quake off the coast of Kamchatka in Russia's Far East on Saturday, came after a magnitude 8.8 temblor hit the area in July.
A combination image released on Saturday shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observing a shooting competition between sniper unit in Pyongyang.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 13, 2025
North Korea's Kim says country to boost nuclear arsenal and conventional military
Experts said the remarks reflect Kim's view that nuclear forces alone have limits as a deterrent, and that his conventional arsenal must also be modernized.
NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich speaks during a news conference on the violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on Friday.
WORLD
Sep 13, 2025
NATO to beef up defense of Europe's eastern flank after Poland drone incursions
Poland's drone shootdown was the first known action of its kind by a NATO member during Russia's war in Ukraine.
Local residents walk across a bridge as smoke rises following Russian drone and missile strikes in Kyiv on Sept. 7.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 13, 2025
U.S. urges G7 and EU to impose tariffs on China and India over Russian oil
Washington is also calling for a legal pathway to seize immobilized sovereign Russian assets and using the principle of those assets to fund Ukraine’s defense.
Oil pump jacks outside Almetyevsk, Russia, in July.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
Japan expands sanctions against Russia
Tokyo will freeze the assets of 14 individuals and 51 organizations, including Russian officials, company executives and pro-Russian figures in Ukraine.
Sheremetyevo international airport in Moscow. Japan has partially eased its travel restrictions to Russia, allowing unavoidable travel.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
Japan partially eases travel restrictions to Russia
Tokyo says unavoidable travel — such as those for humanitarian, business, study, research, education, or artistic purposes — are allowed.
"We will not give in to Russia's increasing intimidation," said French President Emmanuel  Macron, who has been leading diplomatic efforts internationally to end Russia's war on Ukraine.
WORLD
Sep 12, 2025
France to deploy three jets to 'help protect Polish airspace,' Macron says
Poland had gathered its NATO allies for urgent talks after it said Russian drones flew into Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine.
Soldiers walk next to a site where a roof of a house was destroyed after suspected Russian drones violated Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine, in Wyryki, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, on Wednesday.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Sep 11, 2025
Suspected Russian incursion in Poland raises drone defense questions for NATO
NATO’s more traditional air defense systems were designed to protect against missiles and manned aircraft.
This damaged drone was found in a field near the eastern Polish village of Czosnowka on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 11, 2025
Lessons for NATO after Putin sends drones over Poland
The U.S. and Europe have a lot to learn from Russia’s warning shot.
Chinese DF-61 intercontinental ballistic nuclear missiles are displayed during a military parade in Beijing, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II on Sept. 3. 
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2025
The global nuclear picture grows darker and darker
It’s hard, if not impossible, to escape the conclusion that the world is in a grim place when measured by nuclear metrics.
Warsaw's skyline in July
WORLD
Sep 10, 2025
Poland downs drones, becoming first NATO member to open fire during Ukraine war
Moscow denied responsibility for the incident, with a senior diplomat in Poland saying the drones had come from the direction of Ukraine.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’