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Euractiv: The European Commission reiterated its refusal to rule out confiscating hundreds of billions of euros worth of frozen Russian assets on Monday, despite Belgium’s warnings that such a move could be illegal and jeopardise the financial stability of the eurozone.

Reuters: A Russian court awarded more than 2 billion euros of damages against the biggest Western bank in Russia, Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International, in a landmark ruling underscoring the perils of doing business in Russia.

The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine received a new military aid package from Lithuania, including domestically-produced drones, thermal imagers, and five-ton telescopic loaders, the Defense Ministry announced on Jan. 20.

The Moscow Times: A wounded North Korean soldier captured by Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region earlier this month told interrogators that Pyongyang's troops fighting for Moscow are suffering major losses.

Reuters: Russia recorded a budget deficit of more than 3 trillion roubles for the third year running in 2024, the finance ministry said on Monday, with both spending and revenue rising sharply compared with 2023 as Moscow ploughed economic resources into the war in Ukraine.

Bloomberg: A backlog of tankers is growing near Russia’s key oil port of Kozmino, the latest sign of disruption being wrought on the nation’s exports by sweeping US sanctions (archive).

Reuters: Russia's oil shipments via the Baltic Sea fell by roughly 10% in the last four months of 2024, the Finnish Border Guard said, as the impact of EU sanctions against Russian oil and gas exports adopted in June took effect.

The Kyiv Independent: The European Commission is developing a strategy to eliminate Russian fossil fuels from the European Union's energy market. However, gas deliveries from Russia to Europe persist despite the EU's efforts, and Brussels is determined to halt this, Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, the EU’s spokesperson for energy and housing, said.

Meduza: Russian officials are weighing new restrictions on calls made through messaging platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp.

Reuters: China's crude oil imports from top supplier Russia were up 1% in 2024 to a record high versus 2023, while purchases from Saudi Arabia dropped 9%, data showed on Monday, as refiners chased discounted Russian supplies to cope with weakened margins.

Reuters: China, the world's top coal importer, bought less Russian coal in 2024 while increasing purchases from other key suppliers, led by Australia, during a record year for coal imports, customs data showed on Monday.

AFP: Three high-ranking Ukrainian military officials have been detained for alleged "inaction" that allowed Russian forces to seize parts of the eastern Kharkiv region last year, prosecutors said Monday.

Reuters: Germans who get their news through TikTok are less likely to see China as a dictatorship, be less critical of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and be more sceptical about climate change and the utility of vaccines than consumers of other media.

Reuters: A Russian disinformation campaign is seeking to boost the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), undermine mainstream German parties and sow worries about the economy ahead of the country's Feb. 23 election, a think-tank has found.

Meduza: The government of Russia’s Saratov region has sent a letter to local restaurant owners calling on them to make monthly payments to support soldiers fighting in the war in Ukraine.

Reuters: Russia has opened an investigation after video footage was published on social media showing what appear to be a military policeman savagely beating contract soldiers bound for Ukraine with a baton and using stun guns against them.

The Kyiv Independent: Highly-trained Air Force specialists are protected from being transferred to front-line infantry units, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Jan. 19. Reports last week indicated that since 2024, thousands of Air Force soldiers have been transferred to the Ground Forces.

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