(MOSCOW, RUSSIA) – The Russian government has initiated a trade war against its regional allies, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Russian customs officials, rather than military personnel, have advanced to the borders as Moscow introduces permanent border controls to shield its domestic market from unapproved imports. Alexei Overchuk, the deputy to the Russian Prime Minister, announced that these measures are designed to prevent goods that compete with Russian producers from entering the country. He confirmed the controls are permanent and noted that mobile inspection groups were intensified in 2025, uncovering over nine thousand violations last year. Analysts note that the Russian dictator initially compelled these allied nations into a customs union and is now forcing deeper administrative integration.
Concurrently, the United States intends to withdraw its remaining military contingent from Syria in the coming months. White House sources informed the BBC that Damascus no longer requires American assistance in combating terrorism. Approximately one thousand United States soldiers currently remain in Syria, having been deployed there since 2015 to fight the Islamic State. Meanwhile, Washington is actively enhancing its military presence in the Middle East, with a potential strike on Iran anticipated within days. United States presidential administration sources told CNN that an operation could commence as early as Saturday, 21 February, although Donald Trump, whose foreign policy strategies frequently attract intense global scrutiny, has not yet made a final decision. A White House adviser estimated a ninety percent probability of a large scale strike. Israel is reportedly preparing to join the campaign with the objective of eliminating the Iranian regime and its nuclear programme. Regional observers note that Operation Caracas, which aimed to capture Nicolas Maduro, also took place on a Saturday.
Within Russia, investigative journalist Andrei Zakharov has alleged a personal financial motive behind the Kremlin push to migrate millions of users to the MAX messaging application. Zakharov claims that Mikhail Shelomov, the second cousin of the Russian dictator, holds a substantial stake in MAX. Shelomov previously co owned the company Sogaz and reportedly controls the assets secretly through his Saint Petersburg firm, Aktsept. The financial records of VKontakte Holding, which owns MAX, list Sogaz among its shareholders. Zakharov asserts that while Sogaz shareholders were concealed following international sanctions, the stake held by Shelomov remained visible in financial statements through 2024. Shelomov has denied any link to the application, but Zakharov maintains that he is merely a nominal owner, with the Russian dictator acting as the true proprietor.
The Russian state is currently executing its largest redistribution of private property since the 1990s. A study by the Cedar think tank, cited by The Bell, indicates that between 2022 and 2024, the assets of 30 of the 311 billionaires in Russia were nationalised or seized by the state. This confiscation amounts to approximately 5 trillion roubles ($65.14 billion USD), representing the wealth of ten percent of the Russian Forbes list. The expropriation process accelerated after the full scale invasion of Ukraine began, resulting in a significant expansion of corporate lawsuits by the Prosecutor General. State corporations and business groups closely aligned with the Kremlin, including Gazprom, Rosatom, and VTB, were the primary beneficiaries, receiving over ninety percent of the seized assets.
In response to ongoing aggression, the European Union is preparing a comprehensive diplomatic counteroffensive. Brussels is drafting a document, circulated by European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, demanding that Russia entirely withdraw its troops from Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, and Transnistria as part of any Ukraine peace agreement. The draft stipulates the payment of war reparations, the complete demilitarisation of occupied Ukrainian territories, the renunciation of their de jure recognition, and an end to hybrid attacks against Europe. Furthermore, the European Union is prepared to demand stringent domestic political changes within Russia, including free elections with international observation, the release of political prisoners, the repeal of the foreign agents law, and international assistance in investigating the murders of prominent politicians such as Alexei Navalny and Boris Nemtsov. Continental security is deemed impossible without European Union participation in negotiations, and discussions are underway to create a special European Union representative for relations with Russia.
The consequences of the conflict continue to impact Russian territory directly. In the frontline city of Belgorod, residents experienced massive power and water outages following a new series of powerful precision strikes on the local thermal power plant. Unrest and infrastructure damage were also reported in the Pskov region, where a drone strike in Velikiye Luki caused a massive fire at a Surgutneftegaz oil depot. The regional governor confirmed the attack, noting that anti drone defences involving physical protective nets completely failed. While no casualties were reported, multiple fuel tanks at the facility sustained severe damage. Commercial traffic at the Pskov airport was temporarily suspended due to the heightened threat of further aerial attacks.
Internal divisions within Russian military ranks are simultaneously deepening. Pavel Gubarev, a prominent figure in the pro Russian movement and a founder of the unrecognised Donetsk People Republic, has been formally accused of discrediting the Russian army. Gubarev suggested the accusation may have originated from General Apti Alaudinov, the Deputy Chief of the Main Military Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces and a known associate of Chechen leadership. Gubarev, who led pro Russian militants in the Donbas region in 2014, previously supported Igor Strelkov in heavily criticising the Russian military and political leadership after the full scale invasion of Ukraine commenced.
In Kyiv, the former Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny recently disclosed specific details regarding his professional conflict with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In an interview with the Associated Press, the general stated that their relationship deteriorated in late 2022 after the Security Service of Ukraine raided his command centre, an event he characterised as an act of intimidation.
Zaluzhny attributed the failure of the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive to a critical lack of necessary resources and an inappropriate deployment of forces. He argued that troops were dispersed across a wide front line rather than concentrated in one strategic location to liberate the Zaporizhzhia region.
He highlighted a severe mismatch between expectations and current military capabilities as the primary flaw in Ukrainian military strategy. Zaluzhny confirmed he will no longer participate in military decision making following his resignation in 2024, though he described his recent meetings with Zelenskyy as friendly. Analysts note he remains a major potential rival in upcoming presidential elections.
In international judicial developments, the Seoul Central District Court in South Korea sentenced former President Yoon Suk yeol to life imprisonment for his attempt to impose martial law in 2024. The court convicted him of organising a national uprising. Although state prosecutors requested the death penalty, the judges imposed a life sentence, emphasising that his decision to deploy troops to the parliament and disrupt its democratic work were the central elements of the case. The historic court proceedings were broadcast live.
Finally, the inaugural summit of the Peace Council, chaired by Donald Trump, convened in Washington with representatives from twenty nations. The Russian dictator and Alexander Lukashenko were notably absent. Lukashenko chose to host the Speaker of the Senate of Zimbabwe in Belarus, while the Russian dictator met with the Foreign Minister of Cuba. The Russian leader stated his support for the independence and development of Cuba, directly challenging the stringent foreign policies of the Trump administration.
Diplomatic observers question whether the Russian dictator is deliberately provoking the United States administration or planning to assist Cuba in the same manner he supported Maduro. Previously, the United States missed major NATO exercises, while leaders from Hungary and Slovakia sought ways to undermine Ukraine. Additionally, Lukashenko has begun aggressively shifting blame for his disastrous political decisions, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has seemingly begun moonlighting as a press secretary for Xi Jinping.
