Russian airlines plan to bring mothballed aircraft over 30 years old back into service. This is a forced step due to the reduction of the aircraft fleet and the lack of updates under sanctions.
Housing prices in Russia have risen by 8-14% over the year, making it unaffordable for many citizens. In 2026, an average Russian will need 60 to 86 monthly salaries to buy an apartment.
Russia exported over 2 million tons of grain from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in 2025, passing it off as its own product. To do this, captured ports and a "ship-to-ship" scheme were used to circumvent sanctions.
Russia plans to launch a large-scale geological exploration program in Donetsk region in 2026. It is designed to run until 2031 and involves the exploration of deposits of strategic and rare metals.
The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine seized 25% of the shares of the "Kryukiv Railway Car Building Works" into state revenue. The High Anti-Corruption Court satisfied the claim against Stanislav Hamzalov, owner of Russian enterprises that supplied goods for the Russian military-industrial complex.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the First Deputy Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, Oleh Luhovskyi. They discussed the fight against Russia's "shadow" fleet and the non-public approaches of partners to communication with the Russian Federation.
The UK is investing over £210 million in cybersecurity, establishing a Government Cyber Unit to centralize risk management. This unit will coordinate responses to cyber incidents and protect government digital services.
In 2025, Russia nationalized private assets worth over 3. 1 trillion rubles, and since 2022, this amount has reached 4.3 trillion rubles. Property was seized from large businesses and strategic enterprises.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not disclosing details on whether Dmytro Kuleba could be appointed to a new position. The head of state commented on the meeting with the former Foreign Minister to journalists.
International financial institutions predict a prolonged slowdown of the Belarusian economy until 2026 due to sanctions and dependence on Russia. GDP growth of 1.4–1.8% and inflation of 7–7.5% are projected under the baseline scenario.
Western sanctions have led to the freezing of approximately $500 million worth of Telegram bonds held in Russia. This demonstrates the messenger's financial vulnerability to the Russian market, despite the founder's attempts to distance himself from Russia.
According to the results of 2025, Russia's foreign trade continued to degrade due to falling world energy prices and oil production quotas. The share of fuel and energy goods in exports decreased to 54.9%, and imports of investment goods decreased by 8.7%.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is appointing Oleh Ivashchenko to a position in Ukraine's military intelligence. This happened after Kyrylo Budanov agreed to head the Presidential Office.
The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine warns of the Kremlin's preparation of an armed provocation with significant human casualties. It may occur on the eve or during Christmas according to the Julian calendar, likely in a religious building or another symbolic object.
The share of oil and gas revenues in Russia's budget will decrease to 23% this year, compared to 50% a few years ago. The reason is the war against Ukraine and sanctions that force Russia to sell oil at significant discounts.
Russia is preparing for the militarization of children, including adding drone control to GTO standards and expanding state regulation of military-sports training. Militarization has been extended to New Year's events, where children are given rides on military equipment and allowed to shoot.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has cost Russian taxpayers approximately $550 billion, which is equivalent to 24 annual Russian higher education budgets. A significant portion of these expenditures is hidden, and the financing of the war is shifted to the population through new taxes and rising prices.
The Federation Council of the Russian Federation approved a resolution codifying the Kremlin's foreign policy course for long-term confrontation with the West. The document provides for the reorientation of foreign relations to Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine states that Russia is spreading fake news about a 91-drone attack on Putin's residence in response to successful negotiations between the presidents of Ukraine and the United States. This information operation is aimed at disrupting agreements, justifying future attacks on Ukraine, and discrediting the Ukrainian leadership.
The Russian authorities sharply increased digital control over citizens in the first half of 2025, and state requests for personal data of Yandex users increased. The company transferred data in 42.3 thousand cases, which is 44% more than last year.
The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine reports that the Russian financial system is entering a phase of controlled chaos, losing transparency and control. Starting from 2027, Russian financial companies will publish only depersonalized data on ownership structure, and regular income declarations for civil servants will be abolished.
In December, intelligence identified over 150 foreigners from 25 countries recruited into the Russian army, with about 200 more preparing to join. The main sources of recruitment are post-Soviet states and countries of the Global South.
The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine reports that Russia controls Belarus' food market. Pork production in the country has decreased by 12%, and Russia is increasing exports, turning Belarus into a dependent sales market.
President Zelenskyy received a report from the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Oleh Ivashchenko, on Russian attempts to circumvent sanctions and the deployment of "Oreshnik" complexes in Belarus. The report also covered the state of Russian military production and cooperation with Chinese companies that provide space intelligence data.
China, transitioning to electric vehicles, exports surplus gasoline cars, filling markets in Eastern Europe, Africa, and Latin America. 76% of China's car exports are gasoline models, which allowed it to become the world's largest car exporter.
Banks in a number of countries around the world have begun to massively block accounts of Russians and tighten checks on their transactions. This is happening after Russia was included in the list of high-risk countries by the European Commission.
The Pentagon has discovered over 100 DF-31 solid-fuel missiles in China's secret silos on the border with Mongolia. Beijing is modernizing its nuclear arsenal faster than any other nation in the world and will have over 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030.
The average budget for celebrating New Year 2026 in Russia is about 14,000 rubles, which is almost half of what Russians planned to spend on celebrating 2025. This is due to rising inflation and increasing food prices, which leads to savings and reduced spending on celebrations.
The Russian economy is facing growing difficulties, including inflation and declining revenues, but this will not bring Putin to the negotiating table. Experts believe that the Kremlin can sustain the current pace of hostilities for many more years, as the Russian economy is not a critical factor for ending the war.
The number of citizens' appeals regarding violations of labor rights in Russia exceeded 70,000, which is 50% more than last year. Wage arrears reached 2.2 billion rubles, which is the highest level since August 2020.
