Politics & Economics

Strengthening sanctions against Russia and Austria's readiness for a mediation role were the main topics of the meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky had with Austrian Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker. The head of state reported this on X, Ukrinform saw. "Strengthening sanctions against Russia and Austria’s readiness to act as a mediator were the key topics of my meeting with Federal Chancellor of Austria Christian Stocker. We are grateful to Austria for its support since the very beginning of Russian aggression, for its humanitarian assistance, and above all, for supporting our citizens. We appreciate the mediation in the return of young Ukrainians…

The German government has no plans to restart the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline for transmitting Russian gas or launch Nord Stream 2. This was stated at a press conference on Monday by the deputy spokesman for the German government, Sebastian Hille, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “You know our position on the issue: the federal government clearly assumes that Nord Stream will not be put into operation,” the spokesman said, adding that such a short answer indicates the government’s attitude to the issue. Read also: Putin's ally pushing deal to revive Nord Stream 2 with U.S. support - FT The…

Russia has been illegally transshipping oil between tankers in the open sea off the coast of Greece and Cyprus. This was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry (HUR), Ukrinform learned. Since July 2024, Russia has been using an Aframax tanker, IMO 9247443, which has no Western insurance, as a floating transshipment hub for the supply of sanctioned oil. As noted by the intelligence agency, such operations pose an environmental threat, allow the Russian Federation to conceal the origin of oil, evade international control, and ensure supply to third countries, bypassing sanctions. Read also: Ukraine's HUR launches…

In the first quarter of 2025, Russian banks allocated about $2.7 billion — equivalent to $25 million per day — to cover bad loans. This was reported on Telegram by Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) under the National Security and Defense Council, according to Ukrinform. “According to the Central Bank of Russia, in Q1 2025, the risk of loan defaults in the retail lending sector rose to 3.6%, well above the normal level of 2%. This indicates a decline in loan quality, particularly in the consumer sector, where overdue debts are rapidly increasing,” the statement said. The CCD emphasized…

The G7 countries should completely abandon the purchase of natural resources and energy from Russia, replacing them with Canadian ones. The opinion was expressed by the head of the G7 research group at the University of Toronto, John Kirton, who spoke in an interview with Ukrinform. “The G7 must still pressure India to stop buying Russian oil. But equally important, G7 members must fully ban imports of Russian energy - oil, coal, natural gas, uranium. Canada, with the world’s fifth-largest oil reserves and as a top-three uranium producer, can help fill the gap,” Kirton said. Read also: G7 summit on…

The load on Russian Railways (RZhD) has been falling for 20 consecutive months, effectively bringing the national operator to the verge of bankruptcy. This was reported by Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service (FISU), Ukrinform saw. Last year, the decline reached 4%, and in the first five months of 2025, it exceeded 7%. Some 300,000 carriages, or almost 20% of the entire fleet, stand idle. According to intelligence analysts, Russian Railways suffers chronic staff shortage as thousands of locomotive crews are understaffed due to military mobilization, emigration, and lack of migrant workers. The company falls short of 2,500 train drivers and nearly…

In Russia, the retail price for petrol has increased by 18% in annual terms, and another 8% rise is expected before the end of the year. This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, Ukrinform saw. It is expected that such a price hike will serve as a new catalyst for the overall increase in consumer prices. The key factors include the delayed inflationary effect (9.5% for 2024 and 10.2% for January-April 2025), increase in excise taxes (+4%), reduction in budget subsidies to oil companies, and increase in Transneft’s transportation tariffs (up to +10%). Read also: Ukraine’s intelligence…

Ukraine has received another EUR 1 billion from the European Union from profits generated by frozen Russian assets. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal reported this on Telegram, according to Ukrinform. According to Shmyhal, this is the fifth tranche of macro-financial assistance provided under the EU's Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) initiative. "The funds raised will be directed toward key expenditures in the state budget," he said. Read also: Frozen Russian assets must fund Ukraine’s reconstruction – Deputy Finance Minister In total, Ukraine has received EUR 7 billion through the ERA initiative, with resources secured from the proceeds of immobilized Russian assets.…

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukraine has been using its existing gas reserves without replenishing them through imports. Oleksandr Kharchenko, Director of the Energy Research Center, stated this at a briefing at the Ukraine Media Center, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. He estimated that Ukraine will need to import 4-4.5 billion cubic meters of gas for the upcoming heating season, citing historically low storage levels as the main reason for this necessity. "This crisis crystallized after several waves of attacks on our production. But these attacks are not the root cause of the problem. In fact, more than 80%…

Recent large-scale Russian attacks have not been focused on energy infrastructure, although isolated strikes on specific facilities have occurred. The situation in front-line regions remains challenging. This was stated by Oleksandr Kharchenko, Director of the Energy Research Center, during a briefing at the Ukraine Media Center, as reported by a Ukrinform correspondent. “There have been no concentrated attacks specifically targeting the energy infrastructure. There were individual strikes on particular facilities,” Kharchenko said. He noted that the energy situation remains difficult in front-line areas, such as Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Kharkiv regions. “As for the rest of Ukraine, we are entering this…