Foreign relations of Russia

Greece's trade deficit shrank by 21% in July as imports fell more than exports in the month, the Hellenic Statistical Authority said in a report on the country's merchandise trade.

The value of imports totaled 6.721 billion euros in July, down 17% from July 2022 (excluding oil products, imports fell 3.9%, while excluding oil products and ships, imports fell 4%).

The Russian ruble's wobble in value has exposed a crack in President Vladimir Putin's fortress economy, a vulnerability quickly plastered over by the Kremlin's economic team in a move that allowed the currency to regain its footing, at least for now.

Black Sea tankers traveling with crude oil for "Lukoil" from Novorossiysk to the "Rosenets" terminal near the Bulgarian city of Burgas are a legitimate military target of the Ukrainian army. This became clear from the words of Volodymyr Zelensky's economic advisor Oleg Ustenko.

The Greek trade deficit shrank 11% in May during a month which showed a 15.4% drop in exports and a 13.6% decline in imports, the Hellenic Statistical Authority said on Friday.

A lack of leadership by countries such as Germany and France and narrow industrial interests keep Europe from boosting defense cooperation as warranted by Russia's war on Ukraine, a report by the Munich Security Conference stated on Wednesday.

"The crucial capability gap in European defense is still political leadership," the Munich Security Report on European Defense said.

European Union governments agreed on Wednesday to an 11th package of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, aimed at stopping other countries and companies from circumventing existing measures.

The new package, tweeted by Sweden as EU president, forbids transit via Russia of an expanded list of goods and technology which might aid Russia's military or security sector.

One year after the start of Russian aggression against Ukraine, almost a third (32%) of Bulgarians have a positive attitude towards Vladimir Putin.

Day 455 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

This was announced by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov for TASS.
When asked if Russia shares the opinion of the West that the war conflict in Ukraine should not be allowed to become frozen, he replied that Russia supports it.

Day 450 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours: