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Only 2% of the surveyed enterprises said they were overstaffed, with RBC noting that the stark shortage-to-surplus of workers ratio represents the widest margin in the past 28 years.

According to an April survey by Russia's Central Bank, in the first quarter of 2023, worker shortages in Russia reached their highest level since records began in 1998.

China's increasing misalignment with Russia on any settlement to end the war in Ukraine was reportedly evident at the talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Aug. 5-6.

The Financial Times reported that the Chinese representatives at the meeting were "constructive" and "keen to show that China is not Russia." The Financial Times quoted one European diplomat present at the talks as saying that the "mere presence of China shows Russia is more and more isolated."

The Chinese delegation reportedly indicated its willingness to attend the next meeting of a similar format that will likely also exclude Russia.

A Russian insider source alleged that Russia has rejected China's 12-point peace plan for the war in Ukraine from February 2023 (which the Chinese delegation re-introduced during the talks in Saudi Arabia) and that some Chinese elites are secretly expressing their dissatisfaction with the actions of the Russian leadership regarding a peaceful settlement of the war in Ukraine.

These reports from the talks in Saudi Arabia and insider allegations, if true, align with ISW's previous assessments that China is not fully aligned with Russia on the issue of Ukraine and that Russia and China's relationship is not a "no limits partnership" as the Kremlin desires.

While Russian pilots were managing to support land operations in the south of Ukraine, they were doing so "without decisive operational effect," the British Ministry of Defense said in its daily intelligence update on Monday.

To compensate, Russia was sending adapted free-fall bombs into Ukrainian territory. However, these had "yet to demonstrate consistent accuracy," it added.

"Over the summer, Russian tactical combat aircraft have typically carried out over 100 sorties a day, but these are almost always restricted to operating over Russian-controlled territory due to the threat from Ukrainian air defenses," the update said.

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Neither Russia nor Ukraine has been able to gain air superiority in the war so far despite Russia's vastly larger air force. But a military expert previously told Insider that the "advantage is with defense."

The number of Russians vacationing in Crimea, the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula occupied by Moscow, has fallen by nearly half in recent weeks following attacks carried out by Kyiv.

Hotel bookings fell 45 percent in the second half of July compared with the first two weeks of the month, Russian daily Kommersant reported, citing representatives of the tourism industry. Hotel occupancy is now hovering around 50-60 percent, experts said.

Ukraine on July 16 damaged the bridge connecting Russia with Crimea for the second time in nine months. With commercial air transport to Crimea from Russia halted amid the war in Ukraine, the 19-kilometer bridge had become the main way for Russian tourists to arrive on the peninsula.

Days after the bridge was struck, reportedly by naval drones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the transport link must be "neutralized."

Ukraine has also struck Russian assets on Crimea several times in recent weeks, including destroying an ammunition depot and bombing an air base.

Crimea's economy is heavily dependent on tourism, especially during the three summer months, with thousands of jobs at stake.

Crimean hotels have slashed prices by as much as a quarter to attract more tourists. However, they may have little impact, as Kyiv perfects its drone capabilities and steps up attacks on the peninsula and Russian territory.

Ukraine has struck two Russian ships in the Black Sea over the past several days with naval drones while also hitting military targets in Crimea with unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones.

Russian troops seized Crimea in February 2014 with President Vladimir Putin annexing it the following month. Only a few countries in the world recognize the annexation.

A short documentary by Insider Business showing the manufacturing process of 155mm artillery ammo, and the constraints and challenges allies have in supplying enough of them to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy signs a message, "Slava Ukraini" on a SCALP EG warhead whose text is painted in the Blue, White, and Red of France's colors.

The ruble dropped against the United States dollar in trading Friday in Moscow to its lowest level since the first month of the war in Ukraine.

The decline to 96 rubles against the dollar continued the Russian currency’s consistent fall since the beginning of the year, when it traded at around 65 — a drop of about 30%.

Friday’s value was the lowest point since March 28, 2022, state news agency Tass reported.

After Russia sent troops into Ukraine in late February 2022, the ruble plunged to as low as about 120 against the dollar, but recovered quickly as the Russian Central Bank undertook support measures.

Russia has doubled its 2023 defence spending target to more than $100 billion - a third of all public expenditure - a government document reviewed by Reuters showed, as the costs of the war in Ukraine spiral and place growing strain on Moscow's finances.

The figures shed light on Russia's spending on the conflict at a time when sector-specific budget expenditure data is no longer published.

They show that in the first half of 2023 alone, Russia spent 12%, or 600 billion roubles, more on defence than the 4.98 trillion roubles ($54 billion) it had originally targeted for 2023.

The Ukrainian “Ghost of Kyiv” has turned real as drones pierce Moscow’s defenses. Meanwhile, the reality of Crimea’s eventual liberation is starting to set in on Putin.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces are closer to planting their country’s blue and yellow flag again in Crimea than Putin ever was of planting Russia’s white, blue and red flag in Kyiv. Zelensky and his generals are proving to be masters at turning the screw and are doing so militarily, diplomatically, and psychologically.

Much has been made of Ukraine’s ghosts: the aerial legend of the “Ghost of Kyiv” and the very real snipers known as the “Ghosts of Bakhmut.” Now, Putin’s Ukrainian ghosts are becoming all too real and their cumulative devastating effect on Russian morale is impacting all levels of his regime.

"In particular, the new measures create a closer alignment of EU sanctions targeting Russia and Belarus and will help to ensure that Russian sanctions cannot be circumvented through Belarus."

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Ukraine's military faced difficulties on front lines in the east and south of the country, but were dominant in their campaign.

Senior military officials reported Ukrainian gains in the east -- long the focal point of the 17-month-old conflict - around the shattered Russian-held city of Bakhmut.

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General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukrainian land forces, said he was meeting officers in the east to speed up Ukraine's advances -- which Zelensky and other officials ackowledge have been slower than they wished.

"In the Bakhmut sector, my work is devoted to current problems of accelerating the pace of the advance, the prospects for greater activity and resolution of issues that interfere with the implementation of tasks," Syrskyi wrote on Telegram.

Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesman for the eastern group of Ukrainian forces, said Kyiv's troops were advancing "consistently and relentlessly" on the fringes of Bakhmut, captured by Russian troops in May after months of battles.

"Every day we are talking about hundreds of meters and over the week about kilometers," Cherevatyi said in comments reported by Ukrainian media.