Russia News Review

After Trump Reignites a Trade War Over Greenland, Europe Weighs Hitting Back

Jeanna Smialek — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 17:02:35 -0500

Europe’s dependence on the United States for NATO security limits its options. Its strongest response would be a trade “bazooka,” and other options are possible.

FirstFT: EU prepares €93bn tariffs in response to Trump’s Greenland threat

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 16:59:57 -0500

Also in today’s newsletter: Chinese spending on Belt and Road Initiatives surges, and drinks makers hit by historic downturn

EU readies €93bn tariffs in retaliation for Trump’s Greenland threat

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 15:09:05 -0500

Europe could also threaten to restrict US companies’ market access in run-up to crunch talks at Davos

Danes Feel Betrayed and Bewildered by Trump Amid Greenland Threats

Elisabeth Bumiller and Hilary Swift — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 14:24:32 -0500

The American president’s vow to get Greenland, the semiautonomous Danish territory, has thrown the tiny, pro-American Nordic nation into crisis.

How Greenland Is Reacting to Trump’s Threats

Katrin Bennhold, Jeffrey Gettleman, Leila Medina and James Surdam — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 13:09:03 -0500

Our reporter Jeffrey Gettleman is on the ground in Greenland, seeing how people have reacted to Trump’s desire to take it over. He and our senior writer Katrin Bennhold discuss what Greenland means to the United States, Denmark and Greenlanders.

Bessent says Europe is too weak to guarantee Greenland’s security

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 12:21:21 -0500

US refuses to back down in the face of outrage among its allies over plan to acquire Danish territory

‘It’s about trust’: Trump’s fresh tariff threats push Europe to harden its stance

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 12:12:44 -0500

Aggressive US rhetoric over Greenland demands a change in strategy by the EU and UK, officials say

UK parties unite to condemn Trump’s tariffs threat over Greenland

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 11:30:13 -0500

United political front reflects potential danger to British exports and fragile economic growth

What the private sector can teach the world about co-operation

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 11:00:07 -0500

Successful companies collaborate with partners instead of waiting for universal buy-in — economies need to do the same

France urges EU to use most potent trade weapon over Trump Greenland threat

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 10:39:01 -0500

Eight targeted European nations warn Washington that it risks a ‘dangerous downward spiral’

Moscow's Plan to Boost Number of Doctors across Russia Won't Work Quantitatively or Qualitatively, Experts Say

paul goble — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 08:48:06 -0500

Paul Goble

Staunton, Jan. 15 – Since Putin launched his expanded war in Ukraine, the Kremlin does not see improving the health care of the Russian population as a priority; and the steps it has taken in this sector only give the impression that it is does, an impression that will quickly dissipate, Russian healthcare experts say.

The new law that will require graduates of medical schools to go where they are assigned for three years will do little good and may even do harm, these experts say. On the one hand, the new doctors will be assigned to regions rather than smaller areas and so will concentrate in the capital cities there. And on the other, they won’t be supervised and trained as the law claims (regaspect.info/2026/01/15/goryachka-vmesto-strategii/).

The additional doctors may allow officials to claim that they are addressing the shortage of medical workers, but in fact, in many places throughout the country and in numerous fields, that won’t happen both because people outside of the regions won’t get any more doctors and nurses who will then leave the profession and because those in the regions won’t get well-trained medical staff.

Because of the commercialization of medical education in Russia since 1991, many graduates don’t have the skills they need and require close supervision to become good doctors and nurses. But the government is doing nothing to improve instruction at medical schools or to ensure that graduates will have much chance of getting the ongoing training they’ll need.

This will soon be apparent even to even those who are currently enthusiastic about the new law because either they won’t have the doctors they need or the doctors available won’t have the skills needed to treat them adequately, those with whom the Regional Aspects portal spoke say.

Europe must not appease Trump on Greenland

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 08:21:13 -0500

By capitulating again, the EU and UK would signal that we are now irrevocably in a might-makes-right world

Suleymenov Came to Baku during Black January and then Told Moscow that Soviet Forces in Azerbaijan had Acted Like Fascists

paul goble — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 08:14:12 -0500

Paul Goble

Staunton, Jan. 15 – As the anniversary of Black January approaches, Olzhas Suleymenov, a prominent Kazakh poet and activist, has published a brief memoir of his visit to Baku at that time in which he recalls his subsequent statement to a closed meeting of the USSR Supreme Soviet that the forces Moscow had sent to crush the Azerbaijanis had acted like fascists.

In Novaya Gazeta v Kazakhstane, Suleymenov says he was in Moscow for a meeting of the Supreme Soviet and had become very ill. Nonetheless when he received a call from an Azerbaijani friend describing what was happening in Baku and asking him to come, he could not . He camerefuse (novgaz.com/index.php/2-news/4106-январь-в-баку).

Initially, he hoped to use the good offices of the Azerbaijani SSR Permanent Representation in Moscow to somehow get a flight – all regular ones had been cancelled – but crowds there blocked him. Then he turned to the military and using his Supreme Soviet membership got on a Soviet air force plane, arriving late on the second night of the attacks.

After some difficulties in getting to his hotel, he was visited by among others, Abulfaz Aliyev, a philologist and Arabist who became better known under the pseudonym Elchibey when he became leader of the Azerbaijani Popular Front. He visited Suleymenov to tell him what was happening and to get protection against arrest given that the Soviets blamed him for the events.

Because of his status as a Supreme Soviet deputy, he was able to meet both with the representatives of Soviet power there, including Yevgeny Primakov, then head of the upper house of the Soviet parliament, and defense minister Dmitry Yazov, on the one hand, and Azerbaijani activists and especially print workers, on the other.

He expressed his horror about what was happening to the former and called on the latter to resume publishing their newspapers and journals so that Azerbaijanis and then the world would know what was happening. They did so and that helped calm the situation, Suleymenov suggests.

Later in Moscow, he recalls, “speaking at a closed session of the Supreme Soviet, I openly spoke about what I had seen and called the actions of the tank group fascist,” thus becoming one of the first in the USSR to equate what the Soviet leadership was doing in the last decade of power with what the Nazis had done in the 1930s and 1940s.

Russia unleashes ‘energy terror’ in bitter Ukrainian winter

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 08:06:26 -0500

Moscow targets energy system as Kyiv suffers minus 20C temperatures

Inside Larry Fink’s bid to revive scandal-hit Davos

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 08:00:07 -0500

BlackRock chief aims to make World Economic Forum central to global conversation

Polygamy Widespread in North Caucasus Now Mostly Involving Men with Money and Power

paul goble — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 07:00:29 -0500

Paul Goble

Staunton, Jan. 14 – In traditional pre-Islamic in the North Caucasus, polygamy was practiced primarily in order to ensure that there would be a male offspring to take over the leadership of the family. Such practices were sanctioned by the Koran’s support for polygamy as long as certain conditions were observed that Islamic law suggested were almost impossible.

Now, however, polygamy is being practiced in the North Caucasus by men who have the money or the power to engage in it, a practice that has led to the saying there that “the first wife is for household chores,” that is taking care of children, while “the second is for the man himself.”

And it continues in this modernized form which in many ways leaves many of the women involved with fewer rights and protections than their predecessors had given that the Russian state bans polygamy and that second, third and even fourth marriages are conducted by the religious authorities and have no legal standing as far as the government is concerned.

Wealthy and powerful men routinely seek to have a second wife – third and fourth wives are rare – including Chechnya’s Ramzan Kadyrov who is known to have four wives and perhaps as many as ten concubines (proekt.media/guide/vertical-ramzan-kadyrov/) and Ingushetia’s Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov who is widely reported to have a second wife.

The issue periodically attracts attention due to the efforts of human rights groups and calls by secular and religious authorities in the North Caucasus to legalize the practice. But in the last few months, there has been an explosion of discussions about it because of a clip posted online of the behavior of a first wife at the marriage of her husband to a second.

That discussion has become so heated that it has prompted two media outlets in the region to prepare a report on the tradition of polygamy in the North Caucasus and the forms it has taken now (regaspect.info/2026/01/14/pervaya-zhena-dlya-byta-vtoraya-dlya-sebya/nd fortanga.org/2026/01/pervaya-zhena-dlya-byta-vtoraya-dlya-sebya-kak-ne-menyaetsya-institut-mnogozhenstva-na-severnom-kavkaze/).

The report says that supporters of polygamy argue that “you cannot forbid what Allah has permitted” but typically ignore that “within Islamic law, permission for polygamy comes with strict restrictions: a man is obligated to provide each of his wives with equal financial support and ensure that none of them experiences injustice or deprivation.”

“If a new wife does not wish to live under the same root with the first,” Islamic law says, “the husband is required to provide her with separate housing; and the care, attention and time devoted to each wife must be distributed as equally as possible,” something few can do and that Islam specifies “monography is preferable if a man doubts his ability to treat his spouses equally.

But after the Soviets and then the Russians banned polygamy, that rarely is the case because the first wife is usually married in government offices and thus has rights under state law while the second, third, or fourth, is married only by religious officials and thus cannot defend herself if things go wrong.

Men in the North Caucasus exploit this, “especially the Vainakhs” who include the Chechens and Ingush,” and “the number of wives is directly linked to perceptions of power and status with multiple wives being a symbol of control, authority and social respect” and a sign of “an unwillingness to limit oneself and instead to have it all,” the report says.

Few women want to be a second or third wife, the report continues; but because “marriage is a key social marker of a woman’s ‘value’ and an unmarried woman is perceived to be more vulnerable than a married one … the fear of being left unmarried is stronger than ideological or personal objections” and “becoming a second wife is a survival strategy.”

SVR, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Calls Ecumenical Patriarchate ‘the Anti-Christ’

paul goble — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 06:22:16 -0500

Paul Goble

Staunton, Jan. 16 – The SVR, Russia’s foreign intelligence service, has called Bartholemew, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople “the anti-Christ,” a British agent, and someone who is working to undermine the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine, the Baltic Countries, and the Balkans.

In a press release (svr.gov.ru/smi/2026/01/konstantinopolskiy-patriarkh-varfolomey-antikhrist-v-ryase.htm), which does not appear to have been coordinated with the ROC MP (novayagazeta.ru/articles/2026/01/16/svr-nashla-antikhrista-eto-patriarkh), the SVR cites not Russian law or evidence for its conclusions but rather a verse from the Bible.

Both the Ecumenical Patriarchate and its allies have rejected the charges which embarrass the ROC MP more than anyone else (ec-patr.org/anakoinosi-schetika-me-tin-dilosi-ross/ and rfi.fr/ru/европа/20260115-антихрист-в-странах-балтии-реакции-на-заявление-российской-свр-о-константинопольском-патриархе).

On the one hand, the SVR’s suggestion that the Ecumenical Patriarchate is an agent of British intelligence calls attention to the ways in which Moscow has routinely used Orthodox priests abroad to support its intelligence operations, with Britain rather than the US being chosen so as not to attack Donald Trump.

And on the other hand, by putting out such a statement, the SVR has shown that in Moscow’s opinion, the ROC MP is to operate as a surrogate for the Russian state but that Orthodox churches elsewhere are supposed to remain loyal to the Russian church rather than to the laws and traditions of their own countries.

That may be how the ROC MP has to operate given Kremlin demands, but it is not something the Russian church benefits from by proclaiming it as openly as the Russian intelligence service now has.

At Davos, Global Leaders Gather to Ponder the Future of a Messy World

Farah Nayeri — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 05:00:44 -0500

At its 56th annual meeting in Davos, the World Economic Forum will wrestle with war, economics, artificial intelligence and other pressing issues.

Can Davos Help Protect the Planet?

Shivani Vora — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 05:00:32 -0500

The World Economic Forum, which takes place in Switzerland, aims to meet at least some of the goals its leaders set for the rest of the world.

Avalanches Across Austrian Alps Kill 8 Skiers in One Day

Yan Zhuang — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 05:00:30 -0500

Skiers have also died from avalanche-related accidents in the Swiss and French Alps over the past week.

France’s Embassy in Iraq Is a Spoil of Antisemitism, Jewish Family Charges

Ephrat Livni and Pranav Baskar — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 03:03:13 -0500

A Jewish family that fled Iraq generations ago rented its home to France for use as an embassy, but Paris long ago stopped paying it rent, after Iraq stripped Jews of property.

Syria Advance on Kurdish-Held Areas as Washington Urges Restraint

Euan Ward — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 02:53:24 -0500

Government troops drew closer to Raqqa, the largest city overseen by the Kurds, raising U.S. concerns about the renewal of a wider conflict in the region.

Trump Announces New Tariffs on Some European Countries in Greenland Standoff

Shawn McCreesh, Ana Swanson and Jeanna Smialek — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 01:01:39 -0500

The president escalated his drive to take charge of the Danish territory, targeting Denmark and seven other European countries with a 10 percent rate.

Chimney Sweeps Are Making a Comeback in the U.K. as Energy Costs Climb

Stephen Castle — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 00:01:09 -0500

The centuries-old trade is enjoying something of a revival, partly driven by rising energy costs. Today’s sweeps use new tools and technology.

Europe already ‘at war’ with Russia, says central banker

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 00:00:15 -0500

Latvijas Banka governor and ECB policymaker urges policymakers to prepare financial system for direct military attack

Denmark’s investment fund has ‘huge appetite’ to invest in Greenland, says CEO

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 00:00:06 -0500

EIFO says it wants to be ‘a long-term reliable partner’ for the Arctic island

European defence stocks surge as Greenland tensions mount

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 00:00:06 -0500

Sector has jumped nearly 15% this month as investors bet domestic military spending will have to keep rising

Embrace the Fomo, wear sensible shoes and never take a cab: FT writers share their Davos tips

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 00:00:06 -0500

Attendees say navigating the elite networking event is not without obstacles

Prince Harry prepares for High Court showdown with Daily Mail publisher

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 00:00:06 -0500

Celebrities set to give evidence over claims that unlawful activity at the media group was ‘habitual and widespread’

Ukraine war briefing: Russia readying strikes on nuclear power system, Zelenskyy warns

Warren Murray and agencies — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 21:12:57 -0500

Kyrylo Budanov arrives in US heading delegation for further talks on peace proposals. What we know on day 1,425

Russia is taking aim at Ukraine’s nuclear power system, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday, as the Kremlin continues to try to freeze Ukraine into submission by crippling its energy grid. “We do not see any willingness on the part of the aggressor to comply with any agreements or end the war,” the Ukrainian president said. “Instead, there is ample information about preparations for further Russian strikes on our energy sector and infrastructure, including facilities and networks that serve our nuclear power plants. Each such Russian strike on the energy sector amid such a harsh winter weakens and undermines the efforts of key states – in particular the United States – to end this war.”

Zelenskyy spoke after a briefing from Ukraine’s chief of defence intelligence, Oleh Ivashchenko – the recent replacement for Kyrylo Budanov, who was made head of the president’s office. Budanov on Saturday confirmed his own arrival in the US to discuss peace proposals. He and Ukrainian negotiators Rustem Umerov and Davyd Arakhamia would meet with US envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and the US army secretary, Dan Driscoll, Budanov said. Zelenskyy has tasked his delegation at the Miami talks with finalising proposals about security guarantees and economic recovery. If American officials approve the proposals, the US and Ukraine could sign a deal next week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, according to Zelenskyy. However Russia has given no indication it will accept any peace deal without Ukraine’s entire Donbas region being handed over for a start.

Russian attacks left at least two people dead and others injured in Kharkiv oblast on Saturday, regional authorities said. A strike that damaged a critical infrastructure facility in Kharkiv city’s industrial district could seriously affect power and heating, said the mayor, Ihor Terekhov, with the energy system “constantly operating at its limits”. One person was wounded in the attack. An attack on a house in Kharkiv city killed a woman aged 20 and wounded others. In the village of Borivske, a 52-year-old woman was killed when a drone hit a public transport stop, prosecutors said. In the Sumy region, emergency services said an airstrike on a residential neighbourhood wounded three women and a seven-year-old child, and left 15 residential buildings damaged.

Russia struck energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s Kyiv and Odesa regions overnight into Saturday, the ministry of energy said. More than 20 settlements in the Kyiv region were left without power. Zelenskyy said Ukraine needed to ramp up the importation of electricity and the acquisition of additional equipment from partners. Officials have instructed state energy companies Ukrzaliznytsia, Naftogaz and Ukroboronprom to urgently purchase imported electricity covering at least 50% of their own consumption, according to Denys Shmyhal, the energy minister.

Shmyhal announced that Lithuania would be providing Ukraine with more energy generating equipment for Kyiv and the most critically affected regions, after already supplying equipment for emergency repairs on coal and nuclear power plants. “In addition we have received over 2,000 solar panels, various equipment and machinery from our Lithuanian friends,” Shmyhal said. “Lithuania has contributed €5.7m euros to the energy support fund of Ukraine … There is not a single power plant left in Ukraine that has not been hit by Russian strikes. Ukrainian energy workers continue to repair around the clock and return electricity to people.”

Syria Advance on Kurdish-Held Areas as Washington Urges Restraint

Euan Ward — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 19:18:30 -0500

Government troops drew closer to Raqqa, the largest city overseen by the Kurds, raising U.S. concerns about the renewal of a wider conflict in the region.

Greenlanders Protest Trump’s Takeover Plans

Maya Tekeli and Juliette Pavy — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 17:34:22 -0500

Protests erupted in several Greenlandic cites and in Denmark as President Trump intensified his efforts to take control of the Arctic island.

Trump to hit Europe with 10% tariffs until Greenland deal is agreed

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 15:07:07 -0500

US president said levies against eight nations would rise to 25% unless they support his acquisition of the island

EU and Mercosur bloc sign trade deal after decades of talks

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 11:51:41 -0500

The agreement will create one of the largest free trade zones in the world but must be ratified by member states

Western Sanctions Force Russia’s Northern Shipping Company to Seek Bankruptcy Protection via Russian Courts

paul goble — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 11:28:27 -0500

Paul Goble

Staunton, Jan. 14 -- Russia’s venerable Northern Shipping Company has announced its intention to seek bankruptcy protections because of the difficult financial situation it finds itself in as a result of Western sanctions imposed in 2022 and the inability of the company’s ships to enter the harbors of Western nations.

The company has chosen bankruptcy so as to protect its remaining assets while it reorganizes rather than being compelled to sell off portions of the company to meet its obligations (ru.thebarentsobserver.com/severnoe-morskoe-parohodstvo-obavilo-o-nacale-procedury-bankrotstva/443455).

What Russia’s Northern Shipping Company is doing not only reflects one of the ways in which sanctions imposed because of Putin’s launching of his expanded war in Ukraine but also represents an approach that other victims of Western sanctions will probably employ, using Russian courts as a last line of defense of their assets.

In Response to Putin’s Failure to Aid Regimes in Venezuela and Iran, Officials Close to the Kremlin Complain that ‘Strong Countries Don’t Treat Allies like This’

paul goble — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 11:10:47 -0500

Paul Goble

Staunton, Jan. 14 – Three officials close to the Russian leadership have complained to the Meduza news agency about Putin’s failure to respond vigorously to US actions against Russia’s allies Venezuela and Iran, declaring that “strong countries don’t treat allies like this,” a view likely shared by other members of the Moscow elite.

They and others concede that Putin does not want to pick a fight with US President Donal Trump just now because of the direction talks about Ukraine are going (meduza.io/feature/2026/01/14/rossiya-nikak-ne-podderzhala-svoih-partnerov-venesuelu-i-iran-vo-vremya-obostreniya-konflikta-s-ssha-chto-ob-etom-dumayut-rossiyskie-chinovniki).

But the three suggest that they fear not only that Putin’s silence on Venezuela and Iran and also on the US moves against Russian ships sends a message that Russia is weak and will make it even more difficult for Moscow to retain the declining number of countries that it now counts as allies or to acquire more.

One of the three, a staffer in the presidential envoy’s office in Russia’s Central Federal District said that he didn’t expect Trump to act in the case of Venezuela but originally expected that Moscow would respond if the American’s moved given that Caracas has been a close ally of Moscow, especially given statements saying that the Russian government would do so.

That there was no Russian response, he suggested in comments to Meduza shows that “there are simply no resources for a response” by the Russian government. All of its resources at present “are tied up in the special military operation” in Ukraine.

Former Nato chief attacks Trump’s ‘gangster’ talk on Greenland

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 09:57:30 -0500

Anders Fogh Rasmussen says US president is using island as a ‘weapon of mass distraction’ from real threats such as Russia’s war in Ukraine

Russians Facing the Collapse of Communal Services for Prolonged Periods are Now Working on Their Own to Address this Problem

paul goble — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 09:04:56 -0500

Paul Goble

Staunton, Jan. 13 – Many observers in Moscow and the West have focused on whether the mounting utility problems Russians now face will prompt them to protest and otherwise challenge the government (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2026/01/utilities-problems-in-russia-wont-spark.html).

But in doing so, they have neglected another development that could prove almost as difficult for the Kremlin to cope with: the propensity of Russians in places where the outages have been long and extensive to try to work together independently of a government bureaucracy that is unwilling or unable to help.

Russians who have taken part in such cooperative activities are likely to look at the Russian bureaucracy at all levels differently than they did before and either ignore it or make more demands upon it in response, either of which will represent a different but potentially serious challenge to the bureaucracy in Putin’s Russia.

That makes a report in the Horizontal Russia news agency about how residents in Belgorod after losing light, heat, and water as a result of Ukrainian drone attacks just before the new year came together to try to solve the problem after officials failed to respond quickly enough (semnasem.org/articles/2026/01/13/belgorod-blekaut).

Russian bureaucrats are probably likely to view such help as useful in the short run because it prevents the problems with infrastructure prompting Russians from protesting. But over the longer haul, this experience of cooperation may be a bigger threat to a regime which rests in large measure on the radical atomization of the population.

That is because cooperation among citizens in one area can often be a school in which those who take part learn to engage in cooperation in other areas, a slow process perhaps but one that will help transform the population and could lead it to demand an entirely different relationship with the powers that be.

Many Demobilized Veterans of Putin’s War are Returning to Fight Again in Russian Army in Ukraine

paul goble — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 08:44:04 -0500

Paul Goble

Staunton, Jan. 15 – Despite Putin’s promises to make veterans of his war in Ukraine Russia’s new elite and to ensure that all of them find a place after demobilization, many veterans after only a few weeks or months are signing military contracts and returning to Russian units in Ukraine.

The exact numbers of men who have done so have not been published, but a human rights ombudsman in Sverdlovsk Oblast says that approximately half of Russian soldiers after demobilization are making a decision to return to military service as professional soldiers (svpressa.ru/war21/article/498733/).

Official Russian media are playing up their decisions to do so as a display of patriotism that no other country can touch. There may be some cases in which such feelings do play a role. But in fact, both difficulties in finding work and fitting back into civilian life and the appeal of large bonuses if such veterans sign up likely are more important factors.

Joblessness among veterans is high (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2025/06/more-than-40-percent-of-russian.html). Hostility to them among the civilian population because so many veterans are committing crimes (https://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2025/08/putin-recruited-criminals-to-fight-in.html).

And there certainly is no question that the Russian army is likely pleased to get those with training and experience back into service and views bonuses paid to them as opposed to bonuses paid to men without such backgrounds as particularly cost effective at a time of budgetary stringency and a shortage of manpower (svpressa.ru/war21/article/498733/).

Despite Maduro’s Capture, Venezuelan Exiles Realize They’re Not Going Home Soon

Jason Horowitz, José Bautista and Finbarr O’Reilly — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 05:01:07 -0500

Spain is home to the biggest collection of Venezuelan emigrants outside the Americas. Many cheered the capture of Nicolás Maduro, but are now adapting to the fact that his allies remain in charge.

Is the Russian Military Adapting Effectively to the Drone Age?

Neil MacFarquhar — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 05:00:16 -0500

Current and former commanders, analysts and military bloggers are having a surprisingly open debate about whether drones have made Russia’s longstanding approach to battle obsolete.

How a Play Skewering Modern Russia Evaded a Crackdown to Become a Hit

Ivan Nechepurenko — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 05:00:09 -0500

Everyone expected “The Kholops,” a drama exploring oppression, to be shut down soon after it opened in St. Petersburg. Instead, it is two years into a sold-out run.

The right will want a United States of Europe

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:10:07 -0500

Conservatives will come to see a unified continent as the only defence against America and China

Brussels in move to bar Chinese suppliers from EU’s critical infrastructure

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:00:38 -0500

Proposed Cybersecurity Act would phase out groups such as Huawei and ZTE from telecom networks and solar energy systems

Which shade of yellow should you use this year?

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:00:30 -0500

After butter, ochre is gaining ground

Parcel delivery remains UK retail’s weak link

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:00:29 -0500

Parcel volumes have soared, but service hasn’t kept up: me: more than two-thirds of consumers have had a recent problem

Colin Davidson and the art of looking harder

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:00:18 -0500

The Northern Irish artist has painted everyone from rock stars to royalty to victims of the Troubles — but each, he says, is a kind of self portrait

Four blockbuster shows worth travelling for

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:00:09 -0500

Combine your 2026 culture fix with a stylish hotel stay

Retail stampede fuels silver’s wild rally

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 23:00:06 -0500

Consumers rush to sell jewellery and dining sets after dizzying price gains

Ukraine war briefing: Czechs offer drone-hunting jets as Zelenskyy flags air defence shortages

Warren Murray with Guardian writers and agencies — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 21:33:44 -0500

The light L-159 fighter is likely the plane promised by president of Czech Republic, Petr Pavl, to Volodymyr Zelenskyy. What we know on day 1,424

The Czech Republic is set to provide Ukraine shortly with “medium combat planes which are highly effective in fighting drones”, President Petr Pavel told his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Kyiv on Friday. Pavel has previously said Czech-made subsonic L-159 fighter jets could be transferred to Ukraine. “I believe we will manage to quickly and successfully conclude this issue,” Pavel told a news conference with Zelenskyy.

The Czech army has 24 one- and two-seater L-159 jets, used for training and support for ground forces. They can be armed with missiles and machine-gun pods. Iraq used the jets in the war against Islamic State, and fleets are owned by private companies that loan them to the US and UK air forces for combat training. The Czechs’ main fighter jet is the Swedish Saab JAS-39 Gripen. Pavel said Prague might also supply early-warning systems such as radars.

Zelenskyy meanwhile conceded problems with Ukrainian air defences at a critical moment in the war. Some systems supplied to Ukraine by western allies had run out of ammunition amid a wave of Russian attacks that have devastated his country’s energy infrastructure. “Until this morning we had several systems without missiles. Today I can say this openly because today I have those missiles … We received a substantial package in the morning.” He urged both European allies and the US to increase deliveries.

Ukraine and the US will hold talks in Miami on Saturday to discuss security guarantees and Ukraine’s economic recovery, Kyiv’s ambassador to the US, Olga Stefanishyna, said on Friday. Zelenskyy said he hoped Ukraine would sign security guarantees with the US next week, possibly at the World Economic Forum in Davos. In Miami, Ukraine’s negotiators would be Kyrylo Budanov, head of the presidential office, and Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s defence council secretary, the ambassador said, without naming the US participants. They would discuss security guarantees and postwar reconstruction. “The goal of the visit is to finalise these agreements with our American partners,” said Stefanishyna.

A majority of Ukrainians would strongly oppose withdrawing troops from the remainder of the Donetsk region still controlled by Kyiv in exchange for European and US security guarantees, a poll released on Friday indicated. The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) said 54% of Ukrainians categorically rejected the idea; 39% would reluctantly accept. “Those who are ready to agree expect quite significant security guarantees,” said KIIS executive director Anton Hrushetskyi. The survey was conducted in early January among 601 respondents on Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Almost 70% did not believe current negotiations would lead to a lasting peace, with 57% believing Russia would attack again if there was a ceasefire at the current frontlines and security guarantees from allies. Even if security guarantees were given, 40% believed the US would not provide support in the event of renewed Russian invasion, against 39% who thought it would. Russia has publicly shown little interest in scaling down its demands and made few comments regarding the 20-point peace framework that Ukraine and the US have been trying to finalise.

Russia and Ukraine on Friday agreed to a localised ceasefire to allow repairs on the last remaining backup powerline at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the IAEA. Zaporizhzhia is the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe and has been illegally occupied by Russian forces since March 2022. Its six reactors have been shut down since the occupation but it still needs electricity to keep its nuclear fuel safely cooled.