Illia Kabachynskyi

Gunvor, one of the world’s top oil traders, has pulled out of a deal to buy Russian oil company Lukoil’s foreign assets after the US imposed sanctions. The Treasury Department made clear: it will never approve the transaction unless Russian aggression in Ukraine ends. Gunvor claims it cut ties with Russia years ago, but US regulators aren’t convinced.

Pokrovsk is the Kremlin’s top military objective through the end of the year. Nearly a third of all Russian forces stationed in Ukraine have been redeployed to this front.

US President Donald Trump has sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil—Russia’s top oil giants—dealing what appears to be a major blow to their global operations. While the Kremlin downplays the move, early signs point to a very different story.

The Arctic is fast becoming a potential battleground—and Russia has spent years preparing for it. From icebreakers to underwater sensors and satellites, Moscow is building a military and surveillance network across its 24,000 kilometers (15,000 miles) of northern coastline, determined to dominate the top of the world.

The necessity of defending Ukrainian cities has become even more urgent: Russia has improved its guided aerial bombs, one of the cheapest means of air attack. They are hard to shoot down, and Russia has plenty of them.

A memorandum of cooperation between Ukraine and Sweden signals a serious intent to form a fleet of the latest versions of Swedish Saab aircraft. For both countries, this marks an important step in collaboration and the strengthening of the European partnership.