Russia announced that it would conduct tactical nuclear drills on Monday in response to what it claimed were "provocative statements and threats" from Western officials concerning the Ukrainian war.
Russia's ability to mete out like-for-like retaliation if Western leaders seize its frozen assets has been eroded by dwindling foreign investment, but officials and economists say there are still ways it can strike back. The United States wants to seize immobilised Russian reserves - around $300 billion globally - and hand them to Ukraine, while EU leaders favour ringfencing profits from the assets, estimating they will total 15-20 billion euros by 2027. Russia says any attempt to take its capital or interest would be "banditry" and has warned of catastrophic consequences, although it has been vague about exactly how it might respond.
A French subsidiary of the U.S.-based Astronics group, located in Châteauroux, France, continues to supply sophisticated avionics for Russian aircraft used by the country's top military and political leaders, despite international sanctions. This was reported by Le Parisien on April 21 following an extensive investigation.
The United States' military presence in Japan has always been a stumbling block in Moscow and Tokyo reaching a peace treaty, the Kremlin said on Monday. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is due to hold a summit in Washington this week with U.S. President Joe Biden, the first state visit by a Japanese leader in nine years.
Without a doubt, the next NATO secretary general will be the prime minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, and in this process, there are both positive and slightly less positive aspects, writes Erkki Koort, security expert at Postimees and the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences.