At his annual press conference on 19 December 2025, Vladimir Putin delivered a sharp message aimed directly at Mark Rutte. Responding to claims that NATO must prepare for a war with Russia, Putin questioned the basic logic behind such rhetoric. He pointed to the newly released US National Security Strategy, emphasizing that the United States—the key power, founder, and main financier of NATO—does not list Russia as an enemy or even as a target. According to Putin, all of NATO’s core resources, f

In 2019, Putin pompously opened a gas pipeline to China. 6 years later, having lost its EU market, Gazprom finds itself drowning in a staggering $72.7b of debt. This month, Forbes Russia released its list of the 10 Russian companies with the largest amount of debt. And Gazprom was at the very top of that list. According to Forbes, as of June 30 of this year, Gazprom’s net financial debt was 5.79 trillion roubles, or $72.7 billion. The invasion of Ukraine, and the subsequent sanctions and large-s