Russia & Central Asia

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Russia's alleged election meddling

Ukrainian recruits rest as they complete basic military training amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo: 65th Mechanized Brigade of Ukrainian Armed Forces via AP

China-EU relations

EU fears China’s role in Russia’s war on Ukraine is deepening

Multiple sources confirm increase in Beijing backing before China-Russia ties are discussed by ministers from the EU’s 27 members on Monday.

13 Dec 2025 - 2:56AMvideocam

Ukraine retakes Kharkiv areas as Russian troops ‘completely cut off’ in Kupiansk

12 Dec 2025 - 8:59PM

Zelensky floats referendum on territory, as US pressure mounts to end war

12 Dec 2025 - 3:35PM

Proposals on territorial concessions by Ukraine sent to Trump: Merz

The German chancellor emphasised Ukrainian consent in peace talks amid diplomatic tensions.

11 Dec 2025 - 7:30PM

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during a press briefing in Berlin, Germany on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Ukraine sends US a revised peace plan as Trump blasts European allies

US president says ‘pretty strong words’ were used in his discussion with leaders from the UK, France and Germany.

11 Dec 2025 - 2:10PM

Crew killed in Russian military plane crash during test flight

State media reported seven people were on board at the time of the crash.

9 Dec 2025 - 11:26PM

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European allies back Ukraine’s Zelensky after Trump criticism

Ukrainian president met leaders in London and Brussels, declaring that ceding territory to Russia - a central point of the US proposal - was impossible.

9 Dec 2025 - 9:16AM

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street in London. Photo: AP

China-Russia relations

Chinese firms gear up for Russia’s reopening amid talks aimed at peace deal

Many Chinese exporters expect the first wave of post-war demand in Russia to come from infrastructure.

7 Dec 2025 - 8:57PM

Hungary’s Orban to send team to Russia, expecting end of Ukraine war

The PM is anticipating a post-war landscape in which sanctions are lifted and Russia becomes reintegrated with the Western economy.

7 Dec 2025 - 5:40AMvideocam

Ukraine’s Zelensky holds ‘very substantive’ call with Trump envoys

The president’s negotiators are in Florida for talks on a US-led plan to end the war with Russia.

7 Dec 2025 - 1:20AM

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is seen in Kyiv on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

5 killed in latest clash at Afghanistan-Pakistan border crossing

Each side has accused the other of launching ‘unprovoked’ attacks at the crossing between Chaman and Spin Boldak, in southern Afghanistan.

6 Dec 2025 - 7:52PM

A mortar lies on the ground near a damaged house in Chaman on Saturday, following overnight cross-border fire between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Photo: AFP

Why more women are embracing combat roles in Ukraine’s military

Equipment such as drones has opened up new paths for women and helped them overcome resistance in the military.

6 Dec 2025 - 5:40PM

India and Russia agree to boost trade to US$100 billion by 2030

India’s Modi greeted Putin with a bear hug before announcing free electronic visas for Russian tourists.

6 Dec 2025 - 1:15PM

UK Novichok report blames Putin for ‘reckless’ poisoning of ex-Russian spy

Inquiry concluded that the assassination attempt of Sergei Skripal must have been ‘authorised at the highest level’.

5 Dec 2025 - 3:35AM

A mock offer of “Novichok Tea” sits in front of an effigy of Russian President Vladimir Putin outside the Russian embassy in Berlin in 2020. Photo: AFP

Trump says next steps for Ukraine talks unclear after Putin meeting

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump adviser Jared Kushner had spent hours at the Kremlin with no breakthrough on ending the war.

4 Dec 2025 - 7:53AM

A Ukrainian serviceman stands in church damaged by a Russian military strike in the frontline town of Kostiantynivka on Friday. Photo: Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanised Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces via Reuters

Afghan boy, 13, executes family’s killer in echoes of worst days of Taliban rule

The public execution, the 11th carried out since the Taliban seized power in 2021, has drawn global condemnation.

3 Dec 2025 - 1:51PM

Russia says no Ukraine compromise reached after Putin meets Trump envoys

Before the talks, the Kremlin chief warned European powers that if they wanted a war, Russia would defeat them.

3 Dec 2025 - 12:31PM

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Zelensky reinforces European support as he eyes Trump talks on US deal

Ukrainian president met Macron in Paris to sound out allies on the US blueprint for peace, which was drafted without input from Kyiv or Europe.

2 Dec 2025 - 3:04PM

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday. Photo: AFP

The Philippines

Why Russia is targeting the Philippines with Ukraine mercenary claims

As Moscow wages an information war far from the battlefields of Ukraine, an improbable front has opened up in Southeast Asia.

1 Dec 2025 - 4:02PM

US sees progress after latest Ukraine talks as Trump envoy heads to Russia

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expresses optimism despite ‘delicate’ negotiations, with special envoy Steve Witkoff set to travel to Moscow.

1 Dec 2025 - 6:12PM

Kazakhstan tells Ukraine to stop Black Sea oil terminal attacks

Ukraine has mounted wave after wave of attacks on Russia’s oil refineries and crude oil terminals in an attempt to undermine the Russian war economy.

30 Nov 2025 - 5:33PM

This video grab taken from images released by the Security service of Ukraine (SBU) on Saturday shows smoke rising from a cargo ship in the Black Sea off the Turkish coast Ukraine says is transporting sanctioned Russian oil, on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Ukraine naval drones strike Russian oil tankers in Black Sea off Turkish coast

The Kairos and Virat are said to be part of the ‘shadow fleet’ that helps Moscow evade international sanctions.

30 Nov 2025 - 1:18AM

Footage released on Saturday shows smoke rising from a ship on fire in the Black Sea off the Turkish coast. Photo: Security Service of Ukraine via AFP

Russian strikes kill 3 in Kyiv, injure 29, as efforts to end war continue

The assault came hours before a Ukrainian team set off for the US for talks aimed at bringing peace after almost four years of war.

29 Nov 2025 - 9:49PMvideocam

Russia’s Putin sets hardline condition for peace: Ukraine must cede land

Putin says Russia is seeking international recognition of occupied territories as the US pushes to end the nearly four-year Ukraine war.

28 Nov 2025 - 1:46PM

Pope warns ‘piecemeal’ third world war ‘threatening’ humanity

In Ankara, Pope Leo urged for global peace amid rising conflicts and geopolitical tensions during his first trip outside Italy.

27 Nov 2025 - 10:25PM

Pope Leo speaks at the National Library of the Presidential Palace, during his first apostolic journey, in Ankara, Turkey on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

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