https://www.scmp.com/rss/322514/feed The latest news, politics and current affairs from Russia & Central Asia. en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Associated Press Associated Press A Croatian court has approved the extradition of a Ukrainian man who is wanted in Germany in connection with the 2022 undersea explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines, state media said on Thursday. The report from HRT Television quoted the suspect’s lawyer Ljubo Pavaskovic as saying that he will appeal the September 18 ruling. It was not immediately clear when the man could be handed over to Germany. He was arrested on a European warrant in the northern Croatian town of Pula in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3368715/croatian-court-approves-extradition-nord-stream-blast-suspect-germany?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3368715/croatian-court-approves-extradition-nord-stream-blast-suspect-germany?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Sep 2026 16:46:52 +0000 Reuters Reuters Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and its northeast killed eight people on Thursday in attacks that included a maternity hospital and a farm, officials said. Moscow has stepped up its air ‌war in recent months, deploying more of its faster and harder-to-stop drones while Ukraine is short of interceptors to down ballistic missiles. Two people died in the latest assault on Kyiv, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in New York for the UN General... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3368667/8-killed-russian-strikes-ukraine-maternity-clinic-damaged?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3368667/8-killed-russian-strikes-ukraine-maternity-clinic-damaged?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Sep 2026 10:08:42 +0000 Reuters Reuters Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Moscow at the United Nations on Wednesday that his nation would strike back and make the coming winter deeply painful for Russia, if the two sides cannot agree a truce on energy attacks before the cold sets in. Ukraine and its allies are racing to secure limited agreements on energy infrastructure and Black Sea shipping before winter, fearing renewed Russian strikes on power and heating ‌facilities, while Moscow continues to show little interest in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3368566/ukraines-zelensky-warns-painful-winter-russia-if-energy-truce-talks-fail?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3368566/ukraines-zelensky-warns-painful-winter-russia-if-energy-truce-talks-fail?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2026 21:01:32 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that he and US President Donald Trump had discussed efforts to end the four-year-old war with Russia, including a potential bilateral ceasefire on energy-related targets. Speaking to the media after a 40-minute meeting with Trump at UN headquarters in New York, Zelensky said Kyiv was ready for any ‌format of an energy ceasefire with Moscow but there had been no discussion of Ukraine unilaterally halting its attacks on Russian oil... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3368442/zelensky-meets-trump-says-ukraine-ready-energy-truce-russia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3368442/zelensky-meets-trump-says-ukraine-ready-energy-truce-russia?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 22:34:24 +0000 dpa dpa Russia fired ballistic missiles at the southern Ukrainian industrial cities of Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih and Pavlohrad overnight, killing at least four people and wounding six, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Oleksandr Hanzha, said on Telegram on Tuesday. The casualties occurred in Dnipro, he said, where people are still believed to be trapped under the rubble of a hit industrial facility. The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed attacks on Ukraine’s metals, chemicals, energy and arms... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3368406/4-dead-ukraine-after-russian-missile-and-drone-attacks-industrial-cities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3368406/4-dead-ukraine-after-russian-missile-and-drone-attacks-industrial-cities?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 10:58:49 +0000 Reuters Reuters Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ⁠met US CIA chief John Ratcliffe at Shannon Airport in Ireland, two people familiar with the matter said. The meeting took place on Monday, one of ‌the sources said. The other source said the pair spoke informally while their planes were being refuelled without specifying a date. Both sources, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, declined to disclose details of their conversation. The ⁠meeting happened as Zelensky was travelling to New York... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3368307/zelensky-and-us-spy-chief-ratcliffe-meet-ireland-sources-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3368307/zelensky-and-us-spy-chief-ratcliffe-meet-ireland-sources-say?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 20:58:39 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Under a global cloud of wars and bitter divisions, world leaders meet at the United Nations in New York this week facing new fears that runaway artificial intelligence could threaten humanity even as climate shocks and escalating prices are already making life much tougher for hundreds of millions of people. The annual high-level gathering at the UN General Assembly will also be consumed with major wars in Iran, Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Congo and Myanmar and a persisting question: can the leaders... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3368291/world-leaders-meet-un-planet-grapples-climate-change-wars-runaway-ai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3368291/world-leaders-meet-un-planet-grapples-climate-change-wars-runaway-ai?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 13:54:07 +0000 dpa dpa Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced plans to meet US President Donald Trump in New York in the coming days as efforts intensify to revive negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Zelensky said he had spoken to Trump by phone and discussed a range of issues ahead of the meeting, which is expected to take place while both leaders attend the United Nations General Assembly. A meeting in New York “could achieve a lot,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram on Sunday, pointing to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3368178/zelensky-and-trump-have-agreed-meet-new-york-ukrainian-president-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3368178/zelensky-and-trump-have-agreed-meet-new-york-ukrainian-president-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Sep 2026 19:46:11 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party won a record supermajority in the Duma, authorities announced on Monday, after a tightly controlled three-day election without parties critical of the Kremlin or the war in Ukraine. Electoral chief Ella Pamfilova said preliminary results showed United Russia – which has dominated Russian politics for 25 years – won 355 of the Duma’s 450 seats. The result handed Putin’s party an increased supermajority and beat its previous record of 343 seats. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3368177/russia-vows-revenge-ukraines-election-day-attacks-poll-shows-win-ruling-party?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3368177/russia-vows-revenge-ukraines-election-day-attacks-poll-shows-win-ruling-party?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Sep 2026 19:23:35 +0000 Gabriela Bernal Gabriela Bernal The recent opening of a new road bridge between North Korea and Russia may look like a modest infrastructure project. In reality, the 1km stretch across the Tumen River carries implications far beyond the movement of vehicles between two border towns. For China, it is a reminder that its influence over North Korea is no longer as secure as it once appeared and that Russia may be increasingly capable of challenging Beijing’s interests on its northeastern periphery. The bridge, inaugurated on... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3367489/new-north-korea-russia-bridge-delivers-powerful-message-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3367489/new-north-korea-russia-bridge-delivers-powerful-message-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Sep 2026 12:30:04 +0000 Hao Nan Hao Nan The prospect of United States, Chinese and Russian leaders meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Shenzhen this November has revived the Yalta analogy. Talk of a Trump-Xi-Putin summit – echoing the 1945 meeting that reshaped the world – surfaced during the first Trump term, and speculation returned last year with the 80th anniversary of the second world war. No such meeting occurred. However, Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted the two presidents back-to-back in... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3367866/middle-powers-dont-have-wait-trump-xi-putin-summit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3367866/middle-powers-dont-have-wait-trump-xi-putin-summit?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Sep 2026 08:30:09 +0000 Reuters Reuters Ukraine launched ⁠what Moscow’s mayor called the biggest ever drone attack on the Russian capital on Sunday, in what he said was an unsuccessful attempt to disrupt the final day of a parliamentary election that President Vladimir Putin has cast as a test of support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. The drone strikes killed two people in the Moscow region and two more in the Russian-held part of Ukraine’s Kherson region, including an election official, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3368144/ukraine-pummels-moscow-drones-last-day-russian-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3368144/ukraine-pummels-moscow-drones-last-day-russian-election?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Sep 2026 07:17:12 +0000 Reuters Reuters Some Western politicians are seeking conflict between Nato and Russia after ⁠a “failed” strategy to defeat ⁠Moscow in its war with Ukraine, ⁠Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Saturday. Long-time Slovak leader Fico, who has kept up warm relations with Russia and refuses military aid for Ukraine, said this week that Europe was closer than ever to a large-scale war ‌erupting from the Ukraine war. At the same time, some European leaders, such as those in France and Poland, have warned of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3368137/some-western-politicians-stoking-nato-russia-clash-ukraine-war-strategy-falters-fico?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3368137/some-western-politicians-stoking-nato-russia-clash-ukraine-war-strategy-falters-fico?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Sep 2026 03:04:57 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The United States has approved a potential US$2.68 billion sale of air defence equipment to Ukraine, after Kyiv made repeated pleas for support to fend off Russian attacks. The State Department said in a congressional notification on Friday that it made “a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Ukraine” for buying air defence development upgrades and related equipment and services. If the proposed purchase is concluded, Ukraine would finance it using a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3368109/ukraine-war-us-approves-potential-us27-billion-sale-air-defence-equipment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3368109/ukraine-war-us-approves-potential-us27-billion-sale-air-defence-equipment?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Sep 2026 10:22:07 +0000 Mia Nurmamat Mia Nurmamat When I began planning a work trip to Astana this month, the first challenge was simply finding a flight. With no direct service from Hong Kong to the Kazakh capital, I could transfer in Guangzhou, Beijing, Urumqi or Seoul. I chose Guangzhou, which offered a direct flight lasting about seven and a half hours, but the limited schedule meant there was no flight on Saturday, forcing me to leave earlier than planned and spend five days in Astana. The journey offered an early glimpse of both the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3368016/reporters-notebook-kazakhstan-trip-highlights-promise-and-limits-central-asia-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3368016/reporters-notebook-kazakhstan-trip-highlights-promise-and-limits-central-asia-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Sep 2026 09:00:06 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Polling stations opened Friday in Russia’s Far East, kicking off a three-day election that President Vladimir Putin’s party is all but guaranteed to win in the fifth year of war with Ukraine. It will be Russia’s first parliamentary election since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022. The conflict has since killed hundreds of thousands. Only parties that support Putin and the Kremlin’s dragging military campaign have been registered to run. Moscow has also organised voting in occupied... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3367960/russians-begin-voting-parliamentary-election-shadow-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3367960/russians-begin-voting-parliamentary-election-shadow-war?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Sep 2026 05:45:55 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Over the course of the summer, Russian attacks have been pushing ever deeper into European territory. On August 11, military divers destroyed two drones floating off the coast of Romania near a €4 billion (US$4.7 billion) energy project. Nine days later, Bucharest scrambled two F-16s to take out a maritime drone near the same Black Sea gas platform with hundreds of workers on board. Earlier that month, German police detected an armed UAV at Leipzig airport, while this week Nato jets downed... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3367868/war-without-battle-europe-struggles-tackle-mounting-russian-hybrid-attacks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3367868/war-without-battle-europe-struggles-tackle-mounting-russian-hybrid-attacks?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Sep 2026 09:51:35 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Russia is increasingly mobilising North Korean workers to build military drones for use against Ukraine in defiance of international sanctions, giving Pyongyang a key source of revenue to fund its unlawful weapons programmes, according to a report by the US and its allies. Up to 25,000 North Koreans were believed to be working in Russia’s drone industry, including at facilities in Alabuga, Tatarstan, where unmanned aerial vehicles were assembled, the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team said... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367833/russia-employs-north-koreans-build-drones-ukraine-war-report?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367833/russia-employs-north-koreans-build-drones-ukraine-war-report?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Sep 2026 06:37:36 +0000 Shaoshan Liu Shaoshan Liu I attended this year’s Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok and took part in a dialogue on technological development. There, I had a deep discussion with Maxim Oreshkin, Russia’s deputy chief of the presidential executive office, who co-chairs the country’s national AI headquarters. I left Vladivostok with a broader impression: Russia increasingly sees its Far East as a place to build a new version of its economy. For decades, Russia’s Far East has been understood through geography. It is vast,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3367500/why-russias-ai-powered-economic-future-lies-its-far-east?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3367500/why-russias-ai-powered-economic-future-lies-its-far-east?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Sep 2026 12:30:06 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo Global surveys show China is now more popular than the United States in most countries. The reality is China hasn’t become more popular, only that Uncle Sam has become odious. Two recent major summits demonstrate precisely why this erosion has occurred. At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and the Group of 20 (G20) gathering in the US, the Trump administration faced withering criticism for policies that have destabilised global commerce, violated... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3367044/world-not-so-much-embracing-china-recoiling-trumps-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3367044/world-not-so-much-embracing-china-recoiling-trumps-us?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Sep 2026 12:30:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Ukraine was ready to de-escalate the war with Russia if its rival did the same, after US President Donald Trump announced that the foes had agreed to end strikes on energy targets. With international oil prices climbing again, Trump had at the weekend berated Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries, blaming them for causing a shortage in diesel fuel. In one of his surprise social media posts, the US leader announced on Monday that “Ukraine has... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3367517/zelensky-says-ukraine-ready-de-escalatory-steps-if-russia-does-same?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3367517/zelensky-says-ukraine-ready-de-escalatory-steps-if-russia-does-same?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Sep 2026 23:14:31 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin paid for celebrations after the wedding of President Donald Trump’s eldest son and his new bride, the couple confirmed on Monday. Donald Trump Jnr and Bettina Trump said in a jointly signed post on Bettina’s Instagram account that their “dear friend” Umar Kremlev “very generously hosted two incredible nights” of festivities in the Bahamas in May. The confirmation came after the ProPublica investigative website reported that Kremlev footed the bill... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3367508/trump-jnrs-wife-says-russian-oligarch-paid-nuptial-parties-not-actual-wedding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3367508/trump-jnrs-wife-says-russian-oligarch-paid-nuptial-parties-not-actual-wedding?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Sep 2026 18:04:21 +0000 dpa dpa Germany’s military counter-intelligence agency, known as MAD, has warned of a growing threat from hybrid attacks and the use of recruited contract agents, or low-level agents, saying Germany is a “prioritised target of Russian espionage activities”. According to the agency’s annual report released on Monday, it cited Germany’s geostrategic position in Europe and Nato the expansion of the Bundeswehr and the introduction of new weapons systems as reasons for the heightened targeting. “The hybrid... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3367505/german-intelligence-report-warns-rising-chinese-russian-spy-threat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3367505/german-intelligence-report-warns-rising-chinese-russian-spy-threat?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:41:44 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Poland and Ukraine on Sunday denounced Russian strikes close to the Polish border, including on a Warsaw-bound train and near a frontier checkpoint – as an “escalation” in the war. Ukraine’s rail operator said former British prime minister Boris Johnson and ex-US CIA director David Petraeus were at a border railway station nearby around the time the train was hit. But the strikes came as US President Donald Trump called on Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to halt attacks on Russian... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3367370/senior-western-figures-ukraine-station-russia-train-strike-rail-operator-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3367370/senior-western-figures-ukraine-station-russia-train-strike-rail-operator-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Sep 2026 17:35:57 +0000 Reuters Reuters The head of Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation ⁠accused Ukraine on ⁠Sunday of attacking diesel fuel trucks, ⁠killing two Russian servicemen and deliberately jeopardising safety at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Alexei Likhachev said the attack took place on Friday and also resulted in injuries to other ‌Russian soldiers. The Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe’s largest with six reactors, was seized by Russian forces in the early weeks of the Ukraine war that broke... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3367343/russia-says-ukraine-attacked-trucks-supplying-fuel-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3367343/russia-says-ukraine-attacked-trucks-supplying-fuel-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Sep 2026 07:49:37 +0000 Reuters Reuters In a cramped workshop near the front ⁠in northeastern Ukraine, military mechanic “Chimera” is helping prepare his unit’s robot forces for battle. Lined up in a row, the four-wheeled unmanned vehicles known as “Hyenas” will crawl towards Russian lines with their payload of explosives and attack an enemy dugout or halt an advance. Similar models have captured Russian prisoners, said Chimera, 44, who asked to be identified by his call sign. “Imagine what 20kg (44 pounds) of explosives is like: it’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3367171/machines-fighting-men-ukraines-battlefront?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3367171/machines-fighting-men-ukraines-battlefront?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Sep 2026 06:46:10 +0000 Reuters Reuters Canada ⁠has agreed to a C$350 million (US$254 million) aid package for Kyiv to acquire air defence interceptors, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday, after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Kyiv is ‌running critically low on US-made Patriot interceptors capable of stopping Russia’s ballistic missiles at a time when Moscow is stepping up its attacks. “As Russia escalates its barbaric aerial warfare indiscriminately targeting civilian populations, Ukraine’s air defences are... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3367106/canada-unveils-us254-million-air-defence-package-ukraine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3367106/canada-unveils-us254-million-air-defence-package-ukraine?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Sep 2026 18:05:20 +0000 Kandy Wong Kandy Wong China and Russia’s negotiations regarding the construction of the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline have stalled, according to multiple sources who have knowledge of the issue, as both sides cannot bridge a big gap over gas price expectations. “China hopes to secure a price comparable to Russia’s subsidised residential rate, around US$50/thousand cubic metres, or at least the domestic industrial rate of about US$120-130/thousand cubic metres,” said one source, who asked for anonymity due to the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3366888/power-siberia-2-pipeline-talks-stall-over-china-russia-price-dispute-sources?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3366888/power-siberia-2-pipeline-talks-stall-over-china-russia-price-dispute-sources?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Sep 2026 11:00:06 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Russian President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump on Tuesday discussed the Ukraine conflict in an “extremely frank” and constructive hour-long phone call, the Kremlin said. It came after US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Moscow and Kyiv over the weekend in an attempt to kick-start long-stalled US efforts to end the fighting. Washington has been pushing for fresh face-to-face talks between Moscow and Kyiv. Kyiv says the talks could happen as early as this... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3366832/putin-and-trump-discuss-ukraine-extremely-frank-call?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3366832/putin-and-trump-discuss-ukraine-extremely-frank-call?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Sep 2026 19:21:39 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Vietnam’s president and Communist Party chief travels to Russia and France this week, on a trip analysts say is designed to do double duty: shore up support for Hanoi’s claims in the South China Sea and help bankroll its bid to become a high-income economy by 2045. To Lam’s itinerary encompasses talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow before flying to Paris to meet French President Emmanuel Macron and attend an International Space Summit from Wednesday. By engaging two opposing... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3366735/vietnams-lam-visits-russia-and-france-amid-south-china-sea-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3366735/vietnams-lam-visits-russia-and-france-amid-south-china-sea-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Sep 2026 06:22:48 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Russian missiles and drones pounded Kyiv overnight, killing two people and sending smoke billowing above the Ukrainian capital, ending Moscow’s temporary halt to strikes on the city. Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered the pause in attacks as US President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited the Russian and Ukrainian capitals at the weekend. Fresh explosions early Tuesday triggered fires and sent locals down into basements and metro stations for shelter. “The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3366714/russia-resumes-strikes-kyiv-after-pause-trump-envoys-visit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3366714/russia-resumes-strikes-kyiv-after-pause-trump-envoys-visit?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Sep 2026 03:59:14 +0000 Ken Chu Ken Chu When Cathay Pacific Airways announced direct flights to Almaty starting next January, the significance went beyond adding another destination. The service will be Cathay Pacific’s first to Central Asia and the only non-stop passenger connection between Hong Kong and Kazakhstan. Another announcement pointed to Hong Kong’s growing aviation reach from a different direction. Qatar Airways Cargo relocated its regional office to Hong Kong and agreed with the Airport Authority to increase frequencies... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3366027/hong-kong-aviation-success-today-means-more-just-adding-routes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3366027/hong-kong-aviation-success-today-means-more-just-adding-routes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Sep 2026 01:30:06 +0000 Reuters Reuters North Korea and Russia opened their first road bridge on Monday in a carefully choreographed display of friendship. The structure, which crosses the Tumen river, has been cast by both sides as an important milestone ‌in their deepening strategic partnership. The first flag-adorned trucks trundled across the 1km (0.6-mile) long two-lane bridge as Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and North Korea’s Premier Pak Thae Song tuned in by video link to address workers and government officials from... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3366679/north-korea-russia-open-first-road-bridge-new-symbol-friendship?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3366679/north-korea-russia-open-first-road-bridge-new-symbol-friendship?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Sep 2026 15:00:18 +0000 Reuters Reuters Commuters stranded; ⁠children rushed underground in the middle of the school day; festivals cancelled; walks punctuated by booming air defences. Near-constant drone attacks are the stark new reality in Kyiv, and daily life is likely to get harder. Kyiv has survived many traumas since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Despite the initial shock of war and the advent of attack drones and ballistic missiles, residents adapted and managed to impose a semblance of normality. But as a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3366478/ukraine-war-how-escalating-attacks-are-upending-lives-kyiv?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3366478/ukraine-war-how-escalating-attacks-are-upending-lives-kyiv?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Sep 2026 09:09:55 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US envoys proposed a “number of ideas” on how to end the Ukraine war in “frank” talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin late on Saturday, Moscow said, ahead of their first trip to Kyiv. US President Donald Trump’s business partner Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner met Putin for more than three hours, the Kremlin said, as Washington tries to revive negotiations to end Europe’s worst conflict since Word War II. Their visit to Moscow comes after the war – which has killed... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3366464/trump-sends-witkoff-kushner-moscow-and-kyiv-new-ukraine-peace-plan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3366464/trump-sends-witkoff-kushner-moscow-and-kyiv-new-ukraine-peace-plan?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Sep 2026 06:31:27 +0000 Reuters Reuters Norway had seized a Russian ship in the Arctic to enforce a US$4.22 billion compensation claim won by Ukrainian energy firm Naftogaz over Moscow’s seizure of its assets when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, officials said late on Wednesday. The vessel, the Professor Molchanov, was seized off the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, according to Covington, the US law firm representing Naftogaz. The Russian state news agency TASS quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesperson as saying the Norwegian... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3366254/norway-seizes-russian-ship-over-us42-billion-claim-ukrainian-energy-firm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3366254/norway-seizes-russian-ship-over-us42-billion-claim-ukrainian-energy-firm?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Sep 2026 10:41:54 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Tuesday that his country’s drones would make Russia’s airspace “completely unsafe” for the duration of the war, drawing accusations of “state terrorism” from Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Both sides have intensified long-range attacks in recent months and diplomatic efforts led by the United States remain stalled more than four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion. “Today, we want to warn every airline that uses Russian airspace, every insurer... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3366049/ukraines-president-warns-airlines-avoid-drone-infested-russian-airspace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3366049/ukraines-president-warns-airlines-avoid-drone-infested-russian-airspace?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Sep 2026 03:47:19 +0000 Reuters Reuters Twelve people were killed and several more injured in Russian air attacks on Kyiv and the surrounding region on Tuesday, authorities said, in the sixth consecutive day of ‌strikes on the Ukrainian capital. Attacks both in Ukraine and Russia continue as efforts are ongoing to find a solution to end the deadliest conflict on the European continent since World War II, which started with Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Eight people were killed and another five wounded in Kyiv, three... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3365931/russia-strikes-ukraine-capital-sixth-straight-day-killing-least-9?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3365931/russia-strikes-ukraine-capital-sixth-straight-day-killing-least-9?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Sep 2026 05:39:22 +0000 dpa dpa Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda said he has been briefed by the US on the content of CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s talks in Moscow, describing the visit as aimed at reducing regional tensions. “I can say at this stage that the meeting achieved its stated objectives, and it was aimed at reducing tensions in the region,” Nauseda said in Vilnius, according to Lithuanian media reports on Monday. “I very much hope that this message reached the Kremlin regime in good time.” He did not provide... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3365896/cia-chiefs-moscow-meeting-achieved-its-goals-says-lithuanias-president?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3365896/cia-chiefs-moscow-meeting-achieved-its-goals-says-lithuanias-president?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Aug 2026 19:25:29 +0000 Agencies Agencies Ukraine is preparing for a new round of talks with representatives of US President Donald Trump, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday, expressing hope that diplomacy can prevent open conflict from remaining the only path forward. “There will be more details tomorrow. We will do everything we can so that war does not remain the only option for how events unfold further,” Zelensky said in a televised address. “It is important that America shares many of our views on the situation”. US-led... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3365779/ukraine-preparing-further-talks-trump-envoys-zelensky-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3365779/ukraine-preparing-further-talks-trump-envoys-zelensky-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Aug 2026 18:19:13 +0000 Reuters Reuters Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said he did not believe ⁠Russia would risk ⁠an attack against a Nato country, ⁠telling Germany’s Bild newspaper it would “make no sense” to test the resolve of the alliance. Western officials have warned of a growing risk of Russian hybrid operations, including cyberattacks, against European countries potentially leading to a direct ‌confrontation with the Nato alliance. German officials have said they assess Russia would be in a position to attack a Nato... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3365731/finland-says-it-makes-no-sense-russia-risk-attack-nato-nation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3365731/finland-says-it-makes-no-sense-russia-risk-attack-nato-nation?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Aug 2026 04:38:12 +0000 Shouqing Zhu Shouqing Zhu Artificial intelligence (AI) poses risks that do not respect national borders, from cyberattacks and misinformation to system malfunction and potentially dangerous misuse. In a geopolitically charged world, does greater incompatibility between countries make AI safer? UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres offered a clear answer at the inaugural UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance: “When countries align on how to test systems, measure risk and assign responsibility, safety travels with the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3365101/us-china-ai-rivalry-neednt-preclude-cooperation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3365101/us-china-ai-rivalry-neednt-preclude-cooperation?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Aug 2026 21:30:07 +0000 Reuters Reuters Russian ⁠foreign ⁠ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova ⁠said on Thursday that Russia could strike British military targets inside and outside Ukraine ‌in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russia using British missiles. Zakharova called on Britain to back off what she called London’s hostile ⁠stance on Ukraine, which she said ‌risked taking the conflict to an entirely new level. She ‌had told the same Moscow ⁠news ⁠briefing earlier that Britain and France were “playing with ‌fire” by supplying... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3365470/russia-lashes-out-uk-france-over-ukraine-missile-technology-transfer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3365470/russia-lashes-out-uk-france-over-ukraine-missile-technology-transfer?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Aug 2026 10:12:26 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A taboo-breaking book about Vladimir Putin’s rise to power and private life, written by two exiled Russian journalists, won a newly established French literary prize on Tuesday. The book, titled The Tsar in Propria Persona: How Vladimir Putin Deceived Us All, draws on more than two decades of investigative reporting by journalists Roman Badanin and Mikhail Rubin. The work won a newly established literary award called the Prix Strasbourg awarded by EBRA, France’s largest regional newspaper group,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3365256/book-about-putins-private-life-which-reads-spy-novel-wins-french-literary-prize?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3365256/book-about-putins-private-life-which-reads-spy-novel-wins-french-literary-prize?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Aug 2026 21:50:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters Six Chinese nationals were killed and nine ‌more are missing after a fire broke out at a gas chemical complex in Russia’s far eastern Amur region, the plant said on Wednesday. A total of seven people died and 152 people were treated for injuries, including 36 ⁠who were rushed to hospitals, the plant said on the Telegram ‌messaging app on Wednesday. The fire, which broke out on Tuesday, was extinguished, it added. An emergency services ‌plane had arrived to transport the injured to other... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3365253/industrial-fire-kills-3-including-2-chinese-citizens-russias-far-east?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3365253/industrial-fire-kills-3-including-2-chinese-citizens-russias-far-east?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Aug 2026 19:32:45 +0000 Reuters Reuters US CIA Director ⁠John Ratcliffe spoke with Russian intelligence ⁠officials during a visit to Moscow but did not meet President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said on Wednesday of a trip that US President Donald Trump described as “semi-routine”. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Putin had been briefed on the outcome of Tuesday’s visit, ‌which came as the war in Ukraine drags on and as efforts to reach a lasting peace between the United States and Iran have stalled. Peskov declined to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3365248/us-spy-chief-john-ratcliffe-russia-visit-us-media-reports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3365248/us-spy-chief-john-ratcliffe-russia-visit-us-media-reports?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Aug 2026 17:16:33 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he and other European leaders plan to travel to the US next month to lobby President Donald Trump to let Ukraine access some of its Patriot air defence missile stocks ahead of the winter. “I’m looking forward to going to New York in September,” Burnham said in an interview with Bloomberg in Kyiv on Monday evening, referring to the coming UN General Assembly meeting in New York. It would be his first trip to the US since becoming prime minister. “I’ve not fully... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3365119/uks-burnham-plans-us-trip-september-lobby-trump-ukraine-needs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3365119/uks-burnham-plans-us-trip-september-lobby-trump-ukraine-needs?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Aug 2026 23:57:30 +0000 Reuters Reuters ⁠Ukraine wants peace but will not just give in to Russia at any price, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said in a defiant speech as foreign leaders gather in Kyiv to mark its Independence Day celebrations. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and European Council President Antonio Costa were among the foreign dignitaries present on Monday for celebrations of the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s break from the Soviet Union. Burnham, making his first visit to the Ukrainian capital as prime minister,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3365085/ukraine-wants-peace-wont-simply-surrender-zelensky-says-independence-day?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3365085/ukraine-wants-peace-wont-simply-surrender-zelensky-says-independence-day?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Aug 2026 11:50:32 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg A party led by allies of Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev won a landslide in parliamentary elections on Sunday, hours after he hinted that he may stay in power beyond his current term. The Adilet party won 71.2 per cent of votes in the election to a new single-chamber parliament, Kazakhstan’s central election commission said on Monday. The Auyl party representing agrarian interests was second with 6.3 per cent. “I have the right to be re‑elected in accordance with the law,” Tokayev... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3364999/kazakhstan-election-pro-tokayev-party-set-landslide-president-hints-staying?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3364999/kazakhstan-election-pro-tokayev-party-set-landslide-president-hints-staying?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:55:52 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse British Prime Minister Andy Burnham will visit Kyiv on Monday on his first international visit since taking office last month, his office said, as Ukraine marks its 35th independence anniversary. Burnham has vowed to give strong support to Ukraine as it battles Russia’s invasion. The Labour Party leader’s visit comes as he announced that Britain had “agreed that defence firm MBDA can release classified information on UK components for the long-range missile, SCALP, to establish local assembly... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3364998/uk-pm-andy-burnham-visit-kyiv-monday-ukraine-marks-independence-anniversary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3364998/uk-pm-andy-burnham-visit-kyiv-monday-ukraine-marks-independence-anniversary?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Aug 2026 23:25:02 +0000