Potash: the irreplaceable mineral behind Belarus’s prisoner deals
A mined nutrient with no substitute is giving Minsk leverage the West won’t admit.
Brussels protests target Belgium’s blocking of frozen Russian assets for Ukraine
Activists in Brussels demanded Belgium unblock €200bn in frozen Russian assets for Ukraine ahead of a crucial 18 December vote.
$62 billion in claims: sanctioned Russians hit Ukraine with a wave of lawsuits (INFOGRAPHICS)
EU protections don’t extend to Kyiv.
“Increasingly difficult”: Kallas says EU can’t yet agree how to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine (INFOGRAPHIC)
Summit decision on €210bn loan just three days away.
Ukraine’s $240,000 drones are bleeding Russia’s oil fleet dry
Five tankers hit in two weeks—and insurance costs have tripled.
Borscht gets cheaper, butter eases—Ukraine beats inflation forecast (INFOGRAPHIC)
Record vegetable harvest absorbs price shocks, but the cushion is fragile.
Slovakia threatens to veto EU’s €210bn Ukraine loan ahead of December summit
Fico calls the EU strategy “senseless killing” and invokes Trump’s peace efforts.
Six times more than in America: the heartbreaking math behind Ukraine’s wartime Christmas dinner (INFOGRAPHIC)
Fourth wartime holiday reveals crushing gap despite record harvest holding prices flat.
Kazakhstan reroutes oil to China for the first time after Ukrainian strikes cripple Black Sea terminal
Europe gets 11.5% of its oil from this terminal. Now Kazakhstan is sending crude to Beijing instead
Russian businessman runs Hong Kong pipeline feeding European electronics to Kremlin’s weapons labs
A Ukrainian investigation traces $564,000 in sanctioned equipment from a Dubai resident’s shell company to a Rostec subsidiary.
As Kyiv faces a €71.7billion gap, Japan won’t join Europe’s frozen-assets plan
EU diplomats say Tokyo’s real calculation isn’t a legal one.
Insurance costs succeed where sanctions fail: Ukraine hits Russia’s shadow fleet
Shipowners halt Russia-linked voyages as war risk premiums surge up to 250%.
Hungary’s veto sparks EU push to seize €210bn in frozen Russian assets
Budapest wanted to slow things down. It may have accelerated them.
Russia’s smartest move is not in Ukraine—it’s deep in Asia
The world watches Belarus. But 4,000 km east, another country is slipping into Moscow’s orbit.