The Russian president is not well regarded among Republicans, 78 per cent of whom view him unfavourably. The survey by The Economist and YouGov America

Anton Troianovski, a correspondent for The New York Times and former head of Il Foglio’s Moscow bureau: “For Putin, one of the main strategies, right from the start of this Trump administration, has been to try to separate the Ukrainian issue from talks on bilateral relations between the United States and Russia.”

It doesn’t stir things up, it doesn’t break through, it doesn’t set the agenda; it plays it safe. The disruptive element coincided with a sudden, mind-blowing political escalation – one that has taken shape on the right – which we could summarise with an acronym: ‘Isg’, isolating the general. 

It accounts for 15 per cent and has changed over time, driven by what is known as ‘Putin’s aliyah’. Lieberman’s courtship is no longer enough; it is no longer a question of accent, but of policies and relations with Moscow.

A good month does not make up for the bad ones. The balance sheet is deep in the red. The cause lies primarily in the decline in oil production, which has been brought to a standstill by Ukrainian attacks on the Kremlin’s refineries

According to the WSJ, Putin is reported to have ordered an escalation of the hybrid war against NATO countries. Following the foiled attack at Leipzig Airport, Germany has raised its alert level regarding Russian sabotage. And investigations point to a chain of command that is increasingly closely linked to Moscow 

Moscow “is conducting covert operations on the high seas” on a scale never seen before, writes The Telegraph in an exclusive report detailing the movements of Russian fishing vessels mapping the seabed off the UK. London’s plans to defend itself against sabotage capable of paralysing the country

Six cargo ships have been attacked in ten days, resulting in 30 fatalities. Strasbourg wants to protect the waters of Romania and Bulgaria, but Radev’s Bulgarian government is accused of responding too weakly to Vladimir Putin’s Russia

Yuki Imai of the Hokkaido Shimbun faces up to 20 years in prison on espionage charges. His arrest comes as Japan deepens military and intelligence cooperation with Kyiv, while Putin draws closer to Beijing over islands disputed with Tokyo