Belousov said that Russia's war spending is on track to reach about 5.1% of the country's GDP in 2025, out of an overall defense budget that reaches 7.3% of its annual GDP. The country's nominal GDP in 2024 was about 201.2 trillion rubles, and is expected to grow 1% this year to about 203 trillion rubles, or $2.52 trillion. Russian independent media, however, reported that the economic ministry has forecast a GDP of about $2.7 trillion for the year. A war budget of 5.1% would therefore be somewhere between $128 billion and $137.7 billion.
The German government has accused Russia of carrying out repeated hostile actions against Germany, including acts of sabotage, cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns. A spokesperson for the German Foreign Office said Friday that the Russian ambassador has been summoned to Berlin over allegations of repeated hybrid attacks on Germany. The move followed what officials described as mounting evidence of coordinated Russian activity aimed at undermining Germany's internal stability. The spokesperson said there were also indications of Russian attempts to influence elections.
According to Reuters, Russia's Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (often shortened to just Roskomnadzor) said the online multiplayer game creation platform was "rife with inappropriate content that can negatively impact the spiritual and moral development of children." The communications watchdog accused Roblox of distributing extremist materials, including "LGBT propaganda." The BBC corroborated Reuters, stating local Russian media reported that Roskomnadzor had blocked Roblox's access because terrorism-related content and LGBTQIA+ information are often found on the platform.
During a U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on 3 December, new evidence was presented suggesting that Ukrainian children abducted by Russia have been transferred to North Korea, where they are reportedly held in military-style camps. The information, brought forward by Ukrainian journalist and media adviser Ostap Yarysh, marks one of the starkest escalations yet in Russia's forced displacement campaign, a campaign already recognised internationally as a war crime and the subject of International Criminal Court indictments against Vladimir Putin and Russia's Commissioner for Children, Maria Lvova-Belova.
In late October, the US Treasury announced sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producers. The changes sent seaborne shipments from these companies down 42%, to about 1.7 million barrels a day. However, Russia's total oil exports slipped by just 100,000 barrels per day after the sanctions came into effect. This means that Russia rapidly rerouted shipments through smaller, non-sanctioned producers.
We would be wrong to show weakness in the face of this threat from Russia. If we want to protect ourselves, we French - which is my sole concern - we must demonstrate that we are not weak against the power that threatens us the most,
Kyiv authorities and European officials alike are scrambling to find responses to a 28-point peace plan put forward by the US Trump administration. While Washington has touted the plan as a "win-win" resolution of the Ukraine conflict, critics have said it is heavily skewed to meet key demands from Moscow. Both Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha say they have discussed possible next steps with their European allies.
