(MUNICH, GERMANY) – NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has characterised the Russian military advance in Ukraine as moving at the speed of a “garden snail”, dismissing claims of significant Kremlin success. Speaking at the Munich Peace Conference on Friday, Rutte noted that while some observers perceive a Russian advantage, the reality is defined by “staggering” personnel losses. He cited figures of 35,000 Russian fatalities in December and 30,000 in January. The Secretary General’s remarks follow a significant agreement in Brussels where allies pledged up to $35 billion (£27.8 billion) for Ukrainian air defence, a direct counter to the Russian dictator’s attempts to weaponise the winter through energy infrastructure strikes. Finnish President Alexander Stubb echoed this sentiment, observing that Vladimir’s actions have inadvertently unified Europe and accelerated NATO expansion.
On the front line, Ukrainian forces have repelled a repeated Russian breakthrough attempt near Pokrovsk. Ukrainian intelligence reportedly intercepted a concentration of Russian equipment and personnel in the city’s south-east, where the 147th Artillery Brigade targeted and routed the group for the second time in 48 hours. Meanwhile, official data from Rosstat, reported by Izvestia, reveals that the Russian war economy is under unprecedented strain. Between January and November 2025, 18,000 Russian companies incurred losses totalling 7.5 trillion rubles ($98.3 billion; £78.1 billion), the highest deficit in the country’s history. Unprofitable enterprises now account for 29 per cent of the market, with the metallurgy and energy sectors suffering most acutely due to sanctions and domestic inflation.
In Poland, a political rift has emerged over the SAFE defence modernisation programme. Despite securing €44 billion ($52.2 billion; £41.5 billion) in EU funding, the bill passed with a narrow margin of 236 to 199. Opposition leader Mariusz Błaszczak claimed the loans could be used by Brussels as leverage regarding migration policy, a charge dismissed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Concurrently, in Kazakhstan, authorities have detained Orthodox priest Iakov Vorontsov, a vocal critic of the Russian invasion. Vorontsov, who held services in the Kazakh language, was sentenced to 10 days in prison on disputed charges, a move seen by activists as evidence of the Kremlin’s growing influence over Kazakh security services.
In the United States, Donald Trump has ordered the withdrawal of thousands of federal agents from Minnesota, effectively ending “Operation Metro Surge”. The large-scale immigration operation, which involved approximately 3,000 personnel, was halted following widespread public protests and the deaths of two unarmed American citizens. Border czar Tom Homan stated that while the “special operation” in the state would conclude, the administration remains committed to mass deportations elsewhere. Separately, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has emerged as a critical voice within the Russian opposition. Characterising the war as “criminal aggression”, the blockchain entrepreneur suggested that the Russian opposition requires a “decentralised” democratic structure to move the country away from its current “cannibalistic” political trajectory under the Russian dictator.
