Russia

• Russian courts have issued over 100 convictions for “extremism” for participating in the “International LGBT Movement” or displaying its alleged symbols.
• Russian authorities weaponize and misuse the justice system as a tool in their draconian crusade to enforce “traditional values” and marginalize and censor LGBT people.
• Russia’s international interlocutors should call on the Kremlin to end its persecution of LGBT people and their supporters; governments should provide safe haven and meaningful protection to those fleeing Russia for fear of prosecution.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37721348

Archived

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On 25 June, RT’s official profile shared footage of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni chatting with journalists at the NATO summit in The Hague.

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Over her characteristic facial expressions, the broadcaster added the caption: “Is Giorgia Meloni okay? Did she party too hard with Zelensky in The Hague?.”

[...]

The implication was that the prime minister was under the influence—recalling past Russian insinuations of cocaine on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s desk or claims of supposed cocaine use by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on a train to Ukraine in May

[...]

According to [Italian media outlet] La Stampa, the clip quickly went viral.

• Moscow appears to be furious because Meloni refused to echo US President Donald Trump’s more conciliatory approach to Russia and remains unwavering in her condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

• She has also cautioned NATO allies about Russia’s strategic designs in Libya.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37719732

Archived

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Ukrainian intelligence highlights that the project would deepen cooperation between Russia and Chinese businesses within occupied Ukrainian territory, potentially reinforcing Russia’s military and economic presence in the region.

Earlier, an investigation revealed that Russia has nearly tripled production of its Iskander ballistic and cruise missiles over the past year by importing advanced manufacturing equipment from China, Taiwan, and Belarus.

Despite Western sanctions, the Votkinsk Plant—the main missile production facility—acquired over 7,000 new machines, including Chinese-made CNC systems, enabling it to manufacture more than 700 missiles since 2024.

Customs records confirmed that much of the equipment reached Russia through intermediaries, with eight out of ten known contracts traced back to China.

In addition to machinery, China has also supplied critical raw materials such as titanium for missile components. Ukraine’s military intelligence estimates Russia now holds a stockpile of about 900 Iskander missiles, enough for at least two more years of strikes.

[...]

• Russian courts have issued over 100 convictions for “extremism” for participating in the “International LGBT Movement” or displaying its alleged symbols.
• Russian authorities weaponize and misuse the justice system as a tool in their draconian crusade to enforce “traditional values” and marginalize and censor LGBT people.
• Russia’s international interlocutors should call on the Kremlin to end its persecution of LGBT people and their supporters; governments should provide safe haven and meaningful protection to those fleeing Russia for fear of prosecution.

Donate to Human Rights Watch.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37602652

If NATO means fewer Ukrainians in graves, why wouldn’t Kyiv pursue membership?

[...]

On June 22, Donald Trump concluded his announcement of the Iran bombings with a grotesque flourish: “NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE.” [...] Earlier, Vladimir Putin claimed his so-called “Special Military Operation” aimed to “liberate” Ukraine from “Nazis.” The victims, of course, see through the lie. In Bucha, a city where Russian troops committed unspeakable atrocities, one woman told me, her voice laced with bitter irony: “Yes, the Russians liberated me. From my job. My home. My car.”

[...]

It also never escapes me how little ordinary lives matter when nations decide to wage war or when warlords and autocrats struggle for power. Normal people —those who dream, work, and love just as I do—are reduced to abstract casualties, their suffering buried beneath headlines dominated by jingoistic frenzy and geopolitical posturing.

[...]

People become collateral damage, a bureaucratic euphemism for the unimaginable: families erased, homes vaporised, futures stolen—all in service of someone else’s narrow, violent ambitions.

[...]

War cannot be truly understood through a screen. When we read about bombings and occupations—whether in [the Ukrainian city of] Bucha or the [Near East's] West Bank—we do not meet people. We see letters on a page, images on a screen. These may outrage us, as they should, but they cannot prepare us for the visceral horror of standing before survivors, hearing their voices, feeling the weight of their hands in ours.

[...]

In [Ukrainian city of] Solomianskyi, where the Russians bombed a nine-story building [...] authorities admitted they didn’t know if these homes were still livable. If not, more families would join Ukraine’s 3.7 million internally displaced—a number that grows with each strike. War is not just missiles and rubble. It is a boy with a flower for a dead friend, a shopkeeper with no way to feed his children, and a country running out of places to call home.

[...]

No flag, no ideology, no “preemptive strike,” and no excuse whatsoever can justify slaughter—whether it’s Russia butchering Ukrainians to “stop NATO,” or America and Israel flattening Iranian homes to “stop nukes.” Like the British rapper who shut down Piers Morgan, my Ukrainian visit strengthened my loyalty to the people in the camps, under the rubble. To the ones whose names we’ll never know, whose funerals won’t make the news.

[...]

And so it is against this very backdrop that I challenge the Russians’ logic in attacking Ukraine, and why I believe their actions will backfire catastrophically. If Ukraine sees NATO membership as the guarantee that fewer of its people will be buried beneath Russian bombs, what possible reason would it have not to pursue that aim? If achieving this means Ukrainians can tend their gardens without sirens shredding the air; if it means more citizens can rebuild homes without fearing they’ll be obliterated by foreign missiles; if parents can cradle their newborns dreading only time’s passage, not incoming Tomahawks, then how could such military aggression possibly deter their pursuit? Would it not, instead, ignite their resolve?

[...]

For Europe, Ukraine represents the critical bulwark against Russia’s insatiable imperial ambitions, a truth painfully familiar to Central and Eastern European nations that have endured centuries of domination under the Russian Empire, Soviet rule, and now Putin’s revanchist federation.

[...]

Many of [the Ukrainian youth] strongly believe that Russia would never have invaded a nuclear-armed Ukraine.

[...]

Several Ukrainian officials revealed [...] that NATO membership currently appears distant, yet they maintain a steadfast commitment to this strategic goal. In parallel, there persists a widespread optimism among Ukrainians about accelerated EU accession, which they see as vital for elevating living standards across their war-torn nation. One Ukrainian official expressed cautious hope about the French-British European defence initiative, explaining what it meant to Ukraine’s war efforts. “If this security framework materialises,” he told me, “it could significantly bolster Ukraine’s defensive capabilities against Russian aggression – potentially serving as a crucial bridge until NATO membership becomes feasible.”

[...]

Ukrainians remind us that self-determination was never inscribed in the [United Nations] Charter as mere poetry. It is a weapon forged to protect the vulnerable from the powerful, the oppressed from their bullies.

This principle either bites or it is meaningless. And the task falls to the world’s oppressed—those bound by shared struggle across colour, creed, and race—to ignite its words with fire until they scorch through the lies of empires.

Archived

Russian companies are increasingly cutting or eliminating employee bonuses and incentive payments as they seek to reduce costs, a new report has revealed.

The report, compiled by the HeadHunter recruiting service and the pension fund NPF Evolyutsiya, was obtained by the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia, which reported the findings on Friday.

Almost one-third of workers who previously received bonuses reported either a reduction or total loss of bonuses over the last year, a symptom of the slowing Russian economy.

The survey found that 20% of respondents noted a decrease in bonus amounts, while 9% said payments had stopped entirely.

For one-quarter of those surveyed, bonuses accounted for 10 to 30% of their total take-home pay.

Fifteen percent of workers reported bonuses equal to 10% of their pay, with a similar number of workers reporting that bonuses accounted for 30 to 50% of their income.

Managers, IT specialists, realtors and employees in sales, finance and construction were most likely to experience reduced or canceled bonuses, the data showed.

The regions where employees most frequently reported a loss of bonuses were Sverdlovsk (42%), Novosibirsk (36%), Samara (32%), Rostov (31%) and the republic of Tatarstan (32%).

“Bonuses and incentive payments are typically the first expenses companies cut when seeking to save money without implementing official salary reductions or formal layoffs,” Vladimir Chernov, an analyst at the online broker Freedom Finance Global, told Izvestia.

“Companies are becoming less flexible, especially with high interest rates and reduced access to loans. Businesses have reached a stage where financial incentives can’t be the sole motivators,” said Dmitry Dudarev, HR director at communications company CROS, referring to the Central Bank’s key rate of 20%.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37547626

Archived

At least six German military trucks were destroyed in a suspected arson attack at a Bundeswehr facility in Erfurt, Germany, in what appears to be a Russian sabotage operation on NATO soil, revealed by a pro-Russian Telegram channel, Ukrainian defense outlet Militarnyi on June 26.

The footage shared by the channel shows multiple Rheinmetall MAN military trucks engulfed in flames. The authors claimed that the vehicles belonged to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and were supposedly sent to Erfurt for repairs—a claim easily disproven by the visible Bundeswehr markings and German license plates on the trucks.

[...]

The trucks should have been secured within a military zone, meaning the attack not only caused significant material damage but also likely involved an unauthorized breach of a German military installation—a serious security violation that points to foreign intelligence involvement.

[...]

The pro-Russian channel claimed the operation was carried out by “our people” and celebrated the destruction of equipment allegedly bound for Ukraine. However, the reality indicates a direct attack on German property and military readiness.

Authorities in Germany have not yet commented publicly on the incident or confirmed the extent of the damage, but investigations are expected to focus on potential Russian intelligence operatives or proxy networks operating within Germany. The attack follows a broader pattern of Russian sabotage attempts across Europe, targeting railways, military depots, and arms factories that support Ukraine’s defense.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37474535

Archived

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“[The officials] threatened to start a criminal investigation against us if we opened the coffin without permission. I asked them to show me at least a photo of the body to see what it looked like before it was placed in the coffin. They didn’t have one. They didn’t allow us to do a DNA test,” [widow Valeria] Mikhailova said [...] Without seeing and identifying the body, the Mikhailov family is not convinced that the remains in the coffin actually belonged to [Mikhailova's husband] Maxim, as authorities claimed.

[...]

According to families, eyewitnesses, and Russian media reports, since the start of the war in February 2022, it has become common practice for Russian military personnel to request that relatives of dead soldiers not open the coffins they receive from Ukraine.

Authorities do not give a reason, simply informing relatives that opening coffins is against the law.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37548187

Archived

The opposition party Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) has criticised Prime Minister Robert Fico's stance at the European Council summit in Brussels, where Slovakia, alongside Hungary, rejected the new package of sanctions against Russia and opposed military support for Ukraine, calling it a continuation of a dangerous, out-of-touch policy that isolates Slovakia from the core of the EU and NATO and plays into the hands of Vladimir Putin’s regime.

"Prime Minister Fico has once again shown himself to be a useful ally of Kremlin in Brussels. While the rest of the civilised world stands by the invaded Ukraine and holds the line of common European policy, the Slovak government stands aside, blackmails and weakens the unity of the European Union. This is unacceptable," said SaS leader Branislav Groehling.

According to SaS, Fico’s conditions for supporting sanctions against Russia, such as guarantees on gas prices or compensation for potential legal disputes with Gazprom, are merely excuses to sabotage joint decisions. The party said his behaviour undermines trust in Slovakia as a reliable partner. SaS also noted that Fico’s opposition to increasing defence spending directly contradicts NATO member countries’ commitments. The party called on the government to stop obstructing and dragging European policy into domestic “PR theatre.”

Following the one-day European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday night, Fico reiterated that Slovakia won't support the 18th package of sanctions against Russia unless it receives guarantees from the European Commission regarding the proposal to stop Russian gas imports from January 2028, while also praising the Commission’s constructive approach on the issue.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37386192

Archived

This is a Q&A session with Vera Granzeva, a Russian political scientist who has been living in exile in France since 2020 and teaches at the Sciences Po Paris Institute for Political Studies, with the French newspaper L'Express.

Q: Putin continues to claim that he is ready to "negotiate" to end the war in Ukraine. What is his goal? To buy time?

Granzeva: When analyzing Putin's strategy, two parameters must be taken into account. First, communication for him is not a means of explanation or finding a solution, but a weapon designed to deceive. He learned this in the school of the KGB. And second, words have no value in his eyes. Only actions matter - and this is what Westerners fail to understand because they live in a different world. When listening to Putin, remember that his words are worthless. Watch what he does, not what he says.

[...]

Putin understands only force, he does not respect the very idea of compromise or negotiations, he perceives them as signs of weakness. That is why all the attempts of Western leaders on the eve of the war - when Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz went to Moscow - were counterproductive. Putin interpreted them as a green light to start the war. He saw confirmation of his vision of Europe: Europe is weak and unable to resist him. How to use force against Putin? The shortest and most effective way is military. If NATO had participated in this war from the very beginning, it would have lasted three days, because we saw the weaknesses of the Russian army.

[...]

Putin is at a dead end. But there are other people in Russia who are listening. For three years, the Kremlin's strategy has been to tell the Russian elite and people: wait, don't worry, this won't last long, the Europeans are weak and unable to keep their word, wait a little longer. If Europe tightens sanctions, it will sow doubt among these political elites. Maybe not Putin's inner circle, the war criminals, who know that there is no way out for them. On the other hand, the second circle, who will certainly one day be in power - because time is against Putin, he will grow old and gradually a new generation will come to power - is watching the situation develop. They wonder how all this will end: "What kind of Russia will our children live in?"

[...]

Today's Putin is very different from the Putin of 2012. Today he is a man of war. He is transforming Russian society, creating a militant minority, strongly motivated by this war against the West and by the idea of revenge for the collapse of the USSR. He is also waging a hybrid war in Europe. He is capable of carrying out other "special military operations" against other European targets. But for this to happen, he will first have to succeed in freezing the front in Ukraine in a "Minsk 3" type agreement (The first Minsk agreements were agreements to end hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, signed in 2014 and 2015).

[...]

Putin's strategy remains total war against Europe. Although he is clearly not in a position to start a second war today, it is quite possible that he is in a preparation phase, accumulating equipment and troops near the border, while simultaneously sowing fear in Finland in response to the country's alleged betrayal over its NATO membership.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37412196

[...]

A combined drone and missile attack on the capital Kyiv overnight on 16-17 June was one of the deadliest there in a year. At least 28 civilians were killed and more than 130 injured. Many others are still reported missing under the rubble of the 35 apartments destroyed that night.

Attacks also reportedly occurred in Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv and Kyiv provinces that same night, with two civilians reportedly killed and scores injured in Odesa.

“These levels of death and destruction risk dimming hope for an immediate ceasefire and threaten to undermine prospects for a lasting peace,” UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenča said.

[...]

Meanwhile, the front-line city of Kostiantynivka in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast is facing a looming "humanitarian catastrophe" as ongoing Russian strikes destroy critical infrastructure and leave thousands without basic services, Governor Vadym Filashkin said on June 25.

[...] The city has come under intensified attack in recent months as Moscow pushes westward beyond its gains around other nearby towns.

According to Filashkin, nearly half the city is without electricity due to shelling, and 1,900 households in the Santurynivka district have no access to gas, with restoration currently impossible. Water is supplied just once a day from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., meeting only 20–25% of the city's needs.

Drone strikes have halted all city bus operations, while the suburban route to Druzhkivka, a nearby town, is operating on a limited basis, Filashkin said.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37354955

Archived

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At the NATO summit later this month, members will discuss not only increased defense budgets, but also new operational concepts to respond immediately to a Russian attack—including counterstrikes inside Russia—Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told Defense One at the GLOBSEC security conference.

“The new concept is that if Russia is coming, then we will bring the war to Russia. That's what we are talking about,” Tsahkna said. “We have no time then to discuss whether we can use one of the other weapons or whatever. We have no time. We need to act within the first minutes and hours.”

[...]

This year’s summit will go further. It is expected to outline the specific capabilities Europe must field to be ready for conflict with Russia the day of an attack. “Now we have [capability targets] for this concept,” Tsahkna said.

The upcoming summit is intended to accelerate the alliance’s readiness, said NATO official speaking on background. “We don't have 19 years to wait. No. Be ready to go now,” the official said. “And it's not because the U.S. might be withdrawing forces or not committing forces or anything like that. It’s just, we need to be ready to go.”

[...]

Archived

The International Criminal Court has been asked to review a confidential legal report arguing that the Russia-linked Wagner Group has committed war crimes by spreading images of apparent atrocities in West Africa on social media, including ones alluding to cannibalism, according to the brief seen exclusively by The Associated Press.

In the videos, men in military uniform are shown butchering corpses of what appear to be civilians with machetes, hacking out organs and posing with severed limbs. One fighter says he is about to eat someone’s liver. Another says he is trying to remove their heart.

Violence in the Sahel, an arid belt of land south of the Sahara Desert, has reached record levels as military governments battle extremist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Turning from Western allies like the United States and France, the governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have instead embraced Russia and its mercenary fighters as partners in offensives.

Observers say the new approach has led to the kind of atrocities and dehumanization not seen in the region for decades. Social media offers a window into the alleged horrors that often occur in remote areas with little or no oversight from governments or outside observers.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37341689

[...]

Finnish President Alexander Stubb has said some level of Russian buildup is a normal response to Helsinki’s accession to NATO, which more than doubled the length of Russia’s border with the alliance.

However, a Finnish government defence report late last year described “a heightened risk of an armed conflict,” citing the development of Russia’s military capabilities since the start for the war in Ukraine, and saying Moscow had ambitions to create a “buffer zone” from the Arctic to southern Europe.

Finland has since announced plans to stockpile landmines. It banned Finnish-Russian dual nationals from flying drones and Russians from buying property, and this week warned that mobile signals were disrupted in regions near Russia.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37321885

Archived

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced on June 23 that Serbia has halted all arms exports, citing national security and economic interests. He denied that the move was a response to mounting criticism over allegations that Serbian munitions have ended up in Ukraine.

Speaking after a meeting with senior military officials, Vucic said that Serbia is only sending ammunition to its own barracks and all exports are suspended, in line with Serbia's best interests.

Shortly after the announcement, Serbia's Defense Ministry issued a statement confirming the suspension of all arms and military equipment exports.

Vucic's decisions comes amid increasing criticism – particularly following claims that Serbian ammunition has been supplied to Ukraine.

In May 2025, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accused Belgrade of supplying weapons to Kyiv, despite Serbia's friendly ties with Moscow and declared neutrality in Russia's invasion.

[...]

Russia's spy agency says Serbia sold ammunition to Ukraine

Russia accused Serbia on Monday of selling artillery ammunition to Ukraine through intermediaries in Eastern Europe, making the second such allegation in a month against its traditional Balkan ally.

In a statement posted on its website, the Russian foreign intelligence agency, the SVR, said two Serbian companies sold rockets for multiple rocket launchers and mortar shells, or components for them, through two firms in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37333708

Archived

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s collective defense principle wouldn’t necessarily trigger an immediate armed response in the event of a “small attack” by Russia against a member like Estonia, Admiral Rob Bauer, former Chair of the NATO Military Committee, told the newspaper Die Welt in a June 23 interview. Bauer explained that a small Russian operation that does not threaten a member’s “overall territorial integrity” would leave “time for consultations” to weigh the question: “Do we want to start a war or not?”

Bauer also argued that “Putin doesn't see NATO as an immediate threat,” pointing to Russia’s muted response to Finland joining the alliance and the largely rhetorical nature of the Kremlin’s nuclear threats.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37385162

Archived

• Despite international sanctions, Russia's strategic missile plant was able to import complex machinery to dramatically increase missile production.
• The Kyiv Independent has identified the equipment supplied to the plant, as well as the supply chains, mostly from China.
• We located the plant's new premises, built to house the new machinery.
• We obtained a document confirming that the plant received an order to produce intercontinental missiles capable of reaching the U.S. shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

[...]

The Votkinsk Plant, also known as the Votkinskiy Plant, — a strategic, state-owned facility serving Russia’s nuclear forces — has hired thousands of new workers, added new buildings, and brought in advanced machinery to significantly increase its missile production.

Ukrainians have felt it firsthand. Iskander-M ballistic missiles, with a range of up to 500 kilometers and assembled at Votkinsk, have been increasingly hitting Kyiv and other cities.

But the plant’s core mission is even more threatening: manufacturing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of delivering nuclear warheads across continents.

[...]

Full-scale war has been a boon for Votkinsk: Since its start, the plant has expanded and increased output.

In 2024, Russia produced nearly three times more Iskander-M ballistic missiles than in 2023 — 700 compared to 250, according to RUSI, a London-based defense and security think tank.

[...]

Russian authorities planned the expansion of the Votkinsk missile hub in 2022, after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The process began the following year, from 2023 to 2024, during which the arms manufacturer built new premises, renovated existing ones, hired additional staff, and procured new equipment for missile production.

Using satellite imagery provided by Planet Labs, we identified the location of the plant’s largest new facility: a sheet metal fabrication shop.

In 2023, the site was bare ground; by 2024, a new workshop had risen to house additional machinery.

[...]

Simultaneously, the missile producer launched a recruitment drive, hiring an additional 2,500 employees during the first 2.5 years of Russia’s full-scale war, according to the plant’s director general.

The total number of employees now exceeds 12,000.

[...]

Imported equipment came primarily from mainland China. Of the 10 contracts we identified, eight involved products supplied from China. In one of them, the goods came from a Chinese factory owned by a Taiwanese manufacturer.

[...]

Taiwan-branded equipment intended for the missile plant was shipped to Russia by a Chinese company named Zhangzhou Donggang Precision Machinery Company, also known as Zhangzhou Dong Iron Precision Machinery Co.

This company operates as a subsidiary of the Taiwanese manufacturer Ecom — effectively, its Chinese production facility.

[...]

China provides more than machines

It is no secret that China is the largest supplier of equipment, electronic components, and materials that Russia seeks for weapons production.

The Kyiv Independent has reviewed the latest non-public report by the Ukrainian think tank Economic Security Council of Ukraine (ESCU) on the production of Iskander missiles, which are assembled at the Votkinsk Plant.

The report examined the supply of titanium, carbon fiber, and missile fuel components for Iskander production in 2024.

“Titanium is used to make the aerodynamic rudders that control a missile at launch, as well as for the body, nozzles, and combustion chambers of the engine,” explained Denys Hutyk, ESCU’s executive director.

The organization’s researchers found that the main flow of titanium products reached the Votkinsk Plant through a supply chain originating in China.

Russia’s largest titanium producer, VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation, operates a subsidiary in Beijing — VSMPO Tirus Beijing Metallic Materials — which imports titanium ore from major Chinese manufacturers.

In addition, the Russian producer purchased primary titanium products through China’s Tianjin Chengan International Trading Company and India’s DCW. It then supplied Russian military plants, including Votkinsk, through a subsidiary trading house in Russia.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37347322

Archived

Despite public statements about seeking dialogue with the US, the Kremlin is quietly expanding military cooperation with China. According to Kyiv Post sources in Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (HUR), Moscow is set to host around 600 Chinese military personnel in 2025 for training at Russian Armed Forces bases and military centers.

“The Kremlin has decided to allow Chinese military personnel to study and adopt the combat experience Russia has gained in its war against Ukraine,” a HUR source told Kyiv Post.

The Chinese servicemen will be trained to counter Western weaponry, with a focus on preparing tank operators, artillerymen, engineers, and air defense specialists.

The intelligence source said this underlines the fact that “such decisions by Moscow and Beijing clearly illustrate the Russian regime’s intention to align with China in a course of global confrontation with the West.”

[...]