Why Putin faces “more NATO” in the Arctic after Ukraine invasion
The drill, in March, was the first time forces from Finland and Sweden have formed a combined brigade in a scheduled NATO exercise in Arctic Norway known as “Cold Response.”
Oct 13: The United Nations General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to condemn Russia's attempts to annex four regions of Ukraine.
The resolution was supported by 143 countries, while 35 states - including China and India - abstained.
As well as Russia, four countries rejected the vote, namely Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Nicaragua.
Although symbolic, it was the highest number of votes against Russia since the invasion.
Last week, in a grand ceremony in the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin signed documents to make the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson part of Russia.
The agreements were signed with the Moscow-installed leaders of the four regions, and came after self-proclaimed referendums in the areas that were denounced as a "sham" by the West.
The resolution calls on the international community not to recognise any of Russia's annexation claim and demands its "immediate reversal". It welcomes and "expresses its strong support" for efforts to de-escalate the conflict through negotiation.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was grateful to the countries that supported it.
"The world had its say - [Russia's] attempts at annexation is worthless and will never be recognised by free nations," he tweeted, adding that Ukraine would "return all its lands".
US President Joe Biden said the vote sent a "clear message" to Moscow.
"The stakes of this conflict are clear to all, and the world has sent a clear message in response - Russia cannot erase a sovereign state from the map," he said.
Dame Barbara Woodward, Britain's ambassador to the UN, said Russia had failed on the battlefield and at the UN, adding that countries had united to defend the world body's charter.
"Russia has isolated itself, but Russia alone can stop the suffering. The time to end the war is now," she said.
The General Assembly vote was triggered after Russia used its veto power to prevent action at the Security Council - the body in charge of maintaining international peace and security. As permanent members, China, the United States, France and the United Kingdom also hold vetoes on the council.
There have been calls for Russia to be stripped of its veto power after the Ukraine invasion.
SEP 14: China's leader Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin will discuss the war in Ukraine and other "international and regional topics" at their meeting later this week, the Kremlin says.
The two will meet in Uzbekistan at a summit that will show an "alternative" to the Western world, the Kremlin said.
Mr Xi is making his first trip overseas since the beginning of the pandemic.
He is seeking a historic third term while Mr Putin's relations with the West are at rock bottom over Ukraine.
Mr Xi is beginning his three-day trip in Kazakhstan on Wednesday. He will then meet Mr Putin on Thursday at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Samarkand, which will run from 15-16 September.
Mr Putin will also meet other leaders including those of India, Pakistan, Turkey and Iran - but his meeting with China's leader "is of particular importance," said Kremlin foreign policy spokesman Yuri Ushakov.
He said the summit was taking place "against the background of large-scale political changes".
China and Russia have long sought to position the SCO, founded in 2001 with four ex-Soviet Central Asian nations, as an alternative to Western multilateral groups.
Mr Xi's visit comes amid a fresh set of lockdowns in China, where his zero Covid policy is still in place. While the rest of the world has opened up, learning to live with with the virus, Beijing continues to shut down entire cities and provinces every time there is a spurt in cases.
Mr Xi last left China in January 2020 to visit Myanmar - just days before the first lockdown came into effect in Wuhan. He has remained in China since then, leaving the mainland only once in July this year to visit Hong Kong.
Mr Putin is also making a rare foray abroad. His meeting with Turkish and Iranian leaders in Tehran in July was only his second foreign trip since Russian troops invaded Ukraine.
This is the two leaders' second meeting this year - they last met at Winter Olympics in Beijing in February.
Following the February meeting, the two leaders issued a joint statement saying the friendship between their countries had "no limits". Russia invaded Ukraine days later - an action China has neither condemned nor voiced support for. Beijing, in fact, has said both sides are to blame.
China is not part of the international sanctions against Russia and trade between the two countries has continued to grow. Indian and Chinese imports of Russian oil have soared since the Ukraine invasion.
China too has seen its relations with the West and especially the US sour in recent months following tensions over self-ruled Taiwan. China claims the island as part of its territory.
Last month, Beijing staged a five-day military blockade around the island in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit.
China watchers say Mr Xi's decision to leave China after more than two years, despite significant domestic challenges - crippling lockdowns and a faltering economy - show his confidence in his leadership.
Analysts expect him to be re-elected for an unprecedented third term at the upcoming Chinese Communist Party Congress in October.
With inputs from BBC.
MAY 5: These are the latest in a series of financial measures by Western countries in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
They are designed to damage Russia's economy and penalise President Putin, high-ranking officials and those who have benefited from his regime.
What are sanctions?
Sanctions are penalties imposed by one country on another, to stop it acting aggressively, or breaking international law.
They are among the toughest actions nations can take, short of going to war.
What is the EU proposing?
The planned sanctions, which have yet to be approved by EU members, include:
-Phasing out EU imports of Russian oil crude oil in six months and refined products by the end of 2022
-Disconnecting Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, and the Credit Bank of Moscow and the Russian Agricultural Bank from the international payments system Swift, used to transfer money across borders
-Cutting off three of Russia's state-owned broadcasters from the EU on cable, satellite and the internet
-Sanctioning 58 Russians, including those involved in war crimes in Bucha and the siege of Mariupol
What sanctions are already in place?
Western countries have introduced increasingly widespread sanctions - targeting individuals, banks, businesses and major state-owned enterprises, and exports, among others.
Financial measures
Russia's central bank assets have been frozen, to stop it using its $630bn (£470bn) of foreign currency reserves.
This caused the rouble to fall 22% in value, pushing up the price of imported goods and leading to a 14% rise in Russia's inflation rate. The rouble has since recovered, but mainly due to measures by Moscow to prop it up.
The United States has barred Russia from making debt payments using the $600m it holds in US banks, making it harder for Russia to repay its international loans.
Major Russian banks have been removed from the international financial messaging system Swift,. This will delay payments to Russia for energy exports.
The UK has excluded key Russian banks from the UK financial system, frozen the assets of all Russian banks, barred Russian firms from borrowing money, and placed limits on deposits Russians can make at UK banks,
Russian energy
In addition to the new EU measures, the US is banning all Russian oil and gas imports and the UK will phase out Russian oil imports by the end of 2022.
Germany has frozen plans for the opening of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia.
The EU has also said it will halt Russian coal imports by this August.
Could the world survive without Russian oil and gas?
Targeting individuals
The US, EU, UK and other countries have together already sanctioned more than 1,000 Russian individuals and businesses, including:
-Wealthy business leaders, so-called oligarchs, who are considered close to the Kremlin, including Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich.
-Russian government officials and family members - including President Vladimir Putin's adult children and relatives of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
-Assets belonging to President Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are being frozen in the US, EU, UK and Canada
-The UK has also stopped the sale of "golden visas", which allowed wealthy Russians to get British residency rights.
What are companies doing?
More than 1,000 international companies have either suspended trading in Russia, or withdrawn altogether - including McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Starbucks.
Food giant Nestle has withdrawn some of its brands including KitKat and Nesquik, but says it will still sell "essential foods".
However, some brands including Marks and Spencer, Burger King, and hotel groups Marriott and Accor say they can't pull out because their businesses in Russia operate under complex franchise deals.
Military goods and mercenaries
A ban on the export of dual-use goods - items with both a civilian and military purpose, such as vehicle parts - has been imposed by the UK, EU and US.
The UK is also imposing sanctions on Russia's Wagner Group - a private military firm thought to function as an arms-length unit of the Russian military.
Flights
All Russian flights have been banned from US, UK, EU and Canadian airspace.
The UK has also banned private jets chartered by Russians.
Luxury goods
The UK and the EU have banned the export of luxury goods to Russia - including vehicles, high-end fashion and art.
The UK has also imposed a 35% tax on some imports from Russia, including vodka.
How has Russia reacted?
Russia has banned exports of more than 200 products until the end of 2022, including telecoms, medical, vehicle, agricultural, electrical equipment and timber.
In addition it is blocking interest payments to foreign investors who hold government bonds, and banning Russian firms from paying overseas shareholders.
It has stopped foreign investors who hold billions of dollars worth of Russian stocks and bonds from selling them.
With inputs from BBC
APRIL 15: President Putin has said that Moscow will "redirect" its energy exports to "rapidly growing markets" elsewhere.
China has sought to remain neutral on the conflict, calling for a peaceful solution. But it has yet to condemn the Russian invasion and has criticised western sanctions.
China's trade with Russia has been growing
Bilateral trade with Russia surged in the first quarter of the year, rising by 28% from the previous year, according to Chinese customs data.
In March, after Russia launched its invasion, overall trade between the two countries rose over 12% from a year earlier.
China accounted for around 18% of Russia's overall trade in 2021 - almost $147bn (£110bn) last year .
During President Putin's visit to Beijing in February for the Winter Olympics, the two countries said they would boost trade to $250bn by 2024.
However, as a bloc, the EU remains by far the biggest overall trading partner with Russia. In 2021, total trade between the two was worth almost twice as much as China's trade with Russia.
That could now be changing.
"It is inevitable that EU-Russia trade diminishes in the light of sanctions," says trade economist Dr Rebecca Harding. "The current crisis has just sharpened a focus within the EU on the need to diversify supply".
Could China buy more Russian energy?
China is one of the biggest markets for Russian oil, gas and coal.
Just a week before the Ukraine invasion, the two countries agreed on a new Russian coal deal worth more than $20bn.
Mr Putin also unveiled new Russian oil and gas deals with China worth an estimated $117.5bn.
The two countries aim to build a new gas pipeline (the Power of Siberia 2). The existing one began operation in 2019, under a 30-year contract worth more than $400bn.
However, Russia's biggest energy market by far has been the EU, and it supplies 40% of the bloc's gas and about 26% of its oil.
"Russian exports of oil and gas [to China] have been increasing at a rate of over 9% annually for the last five years". says Dr Harding. "This is rapid growth but even so, China is half as big as the EU market for Russian oil."
The EU is reducing its reliance on Russian energy by cutting its gas imports by two-thirds in the wake of the Ukraine war.
Germany, Russia's main export destination for natural gas, has announced that it would suspend the new Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
Supplies via a new pipeline agreed between Russia and China would have only a fifth of the capacity of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, according to one analysis.
Also, it's not clear when the new gas pipeline from Siberia will come on stream.
Over the longer term, China may want to boost imports of Russian gas to try to reduce its dependence on coal in order to meet targets for cutting greenhouse gases.
But data shows that China's crude imports from Russia dropped 9% in the first two months of 2022. Its state-owned refiners are also reported to be cautious and not currently signing new Russian oil contracts.
Could China support Russia militarily?
Moscow has asked China for military equipment in support of its invasion of Ukraine, according to US official quoted in media reports.
China says this is untrue and has called the reports "disinformation".
In recent years, most of the movement in arms has been the other way.
China has relied heavily on Russian military hardware to modernise its armed forces, made increasingly necessary by the imposition of US and European arms embargoes in the wake of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
About 80% of China's total arms imports were from Russia between 2017 and 2021, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
These Chinese purchases make up 21% of Russia's total arms exports - its second largest global customer.
But China has been gradually expanding its own military production capabilities.
It's now the world's fourth largest arms exporter.
"China's weapons are getting more advanced now. Its drones, for example, are one area that Russia would be very interested in," says Siemon Wezeman at SIPRI.
But, he says, "so far we haven't seen any evidence" that Russia has bought Chinese drones.
Could China help Russia financially?
Some Russian banks have been banned from the Swift international payment system.
This has forced companies in China, as elsewhere, to cut back purchases from Russia as traders struggle to arrange financing.
Both China and Russia have encouraged moves towards alternative payment methods in recent years.
Russia has its System for Transfer of Financial Messages (STFM) while China has the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), both of which operate in their own currencies.
But Swift has continued to dominate the financial transactions in the global trading network.
Currently only about 17% of trade between Russia and China uses the Chinese yuan (up from 3.1% in 2014), according to media reports citing official Russian statistics.
Energy trading between the two countries is still mostly done in US dollars. But report suggests that several Chinese firms used yuan to purchase Russian coal and oil in March.
Could China expand food trade with Russia?
China is a major importers of grains such as wheat and barley and one of its most important sources is Russia - one of the world's largest producers.
Until very recently, China had placed restrictions on the importing of wheat and barley from Russia because of disease concerns. But these were all lifted on the day the Russian assault on Ukraine began.
With inputs from BBC
FEB 28: He told defence chiefs it was because of "aggressive statements" by the West, amid widespread condemnation of his invasion of Ukraine.
The announcement does not mean Russia intends to use the weapons.
The US immediately condemned his decision calling it an "unacceptable escalation".
Last week, Mr Putin had warned that "whoever tries to hinder us" in Ukraine would see consequences "you have never seen in your history".
Those words were widely interpreted as signalling a threat to use nuclear weapons if the West stood in his way.
That warning became sharper on Sunday when he ordered the Russian defence minister and the chief of the military's general staff to put the nuclear deterrent forces on a "special regime of combat duty".
After Mr Putin's announcement, the EU announced an unprecedented new raft of sanctions and actions against Russia, including:
-The financing of weapons for Ukraine
-A total ban on Russian planes using EU airspace
-Barring state media outlets Sputnik and Russia Today from EU territory.
These measures come on top of other sanctions already imposed by Western nations, which include asset freezes on major banks and wealthy individuals, including Mr Putin himself.
The US ambassador to the United Nations said Mr Putin's nuclear deterrent order showed he was escalating the Ukraine conflict in an unacceptable manner.
The White House said Russia had not been under threat from Nato at any point, while Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg described Mr Putin's comments as "dangerous rhetoric".
The very public shift to high alert status is a way for Moscow to send a warning.
Moving to alert status likely makes it easier to launch weapons more quickly. But it does not mean there is a current intent to use them.
Russia has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world but also knows that Nato also has enough to destroy Russia if they were used.
But Vladimir Putin's aim is likely to try and deter Nato support for Ukraine by creating fears over how far he is willing to go - and creating ambiguity over what kind of support for Ukraine he would consider to be too much.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian presidency says it has agreed to hold negotiations with Russia at a location on the border between Ukraine and Belarus.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that in a conversation with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, the Ukrainian side had agreed to meet the Russians without preconditions on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, near the Pripyat River.
Mr Zelensky said Mr Lukashenko had taken responsibility for ensuring that all planes, helicopters and missiles stationed on Belarusian territory remained on the ground during the Ukrainian delegation's travel, talks and return.
Neither Russia nor Belarus have issued any statements about potential talks.
Russia's defence ministry has now acknowledged that its military personnel have been killed and wounded in Ukraine, though it claims the losses are much less than those of Ukraine.
The UN said that by Saturday, at least 134 Ukrainian military had been killed. Ukraine, meanwhile, says there have been 4,300 casualties among Russian servicemen, but even Ukrainian officials say those figures are not clear.
Ukraine's human rights commissioner says 210 civilians have been killed.
Among the dead are children - one when a children's hospital was shelled in Kyiv and one in a Russian attack on a kindergarten that claimed six lives near the northern border at Okhtyrka.
Nine civilians have been killed in Kyiv, while 10 ethnic Greek Ukrainians died in air strikes on villages in the south-east, Greek officials say.
So far, the UN has recorded 64 confirmed civilian deaths and many more wounded, and it expects the true number to be much higher.
In other developments, as the Russian invasion entered its fourth day:
-Thousands of Ukrainians travelled towards neighbouring countries to escape the war, with UN estimating refugee numbers have reached 368,000 and rising
-Russian airliners turned round in mid-air as dozens of European nations banned flights from the country amid rising pressure on Moscow
-Russian police have detained more than 900 people protesting against the invasion of Ukraine in widespread protests on Sunday, according to an independent monitoring group
-The governor of Kharkiv says Ukrainian forces have reasserted full control over Ukraine's second city, as residents describe a barrage of shelling
Earlier on Friday, EU states and Britain agreed to freeze any European assets of Putin and Lavrov, as Ukraine’s leader pleaded for faster and more forceful sanctions to punish Russia’s invasion of his country.
