Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov has said reviving the nation's birth rate is one of Russia's "top priorities."

War experts believe Moscow is planning a summer offensive in Ukraine. Economic and military pressures closer to home could end up pushing Moscow into peace talks. A slowdown in inflation, declining industrial output and consumer spending all point to a slowdown in the Russian economy.

Senate Republicans are warning Russia that they’re prepared to pass punishing sanctions if President Vladimir Putin refuses to engage in ceasefire negotiations with Ukraine or breaches an eventual agreement.

The Vatican has a deep history of conflict mediation, with varying degrees of success. An effort by the pope to end the war in Ukraine would face long odds.

Almost one third of Russia's total expenditures is classified and the word "secret" appears 39 times in the budget when it was adopted last December, the Russian news outlet RuNews24.ru reported.

The European Union has now targeted Moscow’s fleet of covert oil tankers and plans more restrictions, as the Trump administration’s approach to the war shifts.

Ukraine and Russia accused each other of launching attack drones on one another overnight, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with his US counterpart Donald Trump - and again refused an immediate ceasefire.

Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom said on Thursday that its board had recommended not paying out a dividend on 2024 results, in line with the government's position and despite the company returning to profitability last year.

The following is the May 22, 2025, Congressional Reserach Service In Focus report, Russia’s Nuclear Weapons. From the report Russia presents an “acute threat” to the United States and its allies, according to the 2022 National Defense Strategy.