The country’s share of the uranium enrichment market amounts to some 40%, according to the state-run corporation
Russia remains the global leader in uranium enrichment for nuclear power plants, first deputy director general of state-nuclear champion Rosatom, Kirill Komarov, said on Monday, as cited by RIA Novosti.
Global demand for nuclear fuel has been on the rise as artificial intelligence and other energy-intensive technologies gain popularity. Demand for uranium is expected to grow 28% between 2023 and 2030, according to the World Nuclear Association.
“We still hold the top position in the world for uranium enrichment,” Komarov said during an international business forum at Moscow’s MGIMO University, stressing that West has not been very successful in its effort to undermine Russia’s position.
The top executive noted that the US currently has the world’s largest installed nuclear power capacity that amounts to almost 100 gigawatts, 25% of which runs on Russian enriched uranium.
Russia is the largest builder of nuclear power plants abroad, Komarov said, adding that Russian technologies are deployed at 22 out of 25 nuclear power units that are currently under construction.
“I think there are hardly any other sectors of the economy where we hold such a global share — between 85 and 90 percent,” he added.
In May 2024, Washington ordered its utilities to shift away from Russian supplies by 2028. Later that year, Russia retaliated by temporarily limited exports of enriched uranium to the US.
Earlier this month, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright stated that Washington is “furiously at work” in its effort to remake nuclear-fuel supply chains, adding that the US is “moving to a place — and we’re not there yet — to no longer use Russian enriched uranium.”
The country’s arms industry, which has been embroiled in corruption scandals, is preparing for an export push
Ukraine produces more naval drones than it can use and plans to sell the surplus to other nations, Vladimir Zelensky said on Saturday.
Speaking to journalists, Zelensky described the plan as part of a strategy to ease the country’s budget deficit, noting that Kiev needs additional funds to produce the weapons it requires.
“We have some high-quality weapons systems, some stockpiles and production capacity. Funding the production while we have the budget deficit is stupid. But neither do we want to scale down production,” he said.
Last week, Ukraine’s new underwater drones were presented at a military expo in Lviv. Producer Toloka said its largest 12-meter-long torpedo-like drone could be used to attack the Crimean Bridge – a crucial piece of Russian civilian infrastructure.
Ukraine relies on Western donors to fund government operations. Defense Minister Denis Shmigal has said the country will need at least $120 billion for the military next year. The proposed 2026 budget projects a deficit exceeding 18% of GDP, which officials hope to cover with foreign aid.
Ukrainian military procurement has been plagued by numerous corruption scandals involving subpar, undelivered, or overpriced weapons. Kiev now promotes domestic arms production backed by Western investment as a way to meet its weapons needs.
Pro-Ukrainian media claim that local manufacturers have advanced rapidly in drone technology, with more than 200 small firms driving innovation.
Last month, the Kyiv Independent profiled Fire Point, a drone maker whose revenue soared from $4 million in 2023 to more than $100 million in 2024, and which holds government contracts worth billions. The paper noted that Fire Point – now a major player – was relatively unknown outside the defense sector until this year.
The report cited sources linking the company to Timur Mindich, a former business partner of Zelensky in entertainment, who is reportedly under investigation by the country’s national anticorruption bureau (NABU).
In July, Zelensky sought to limit NABU’s independence but backed down after pressure from Western governments. However, the senior detective who allegedly was investigating Mindich remains in custody of the Security Service of Ukraine, which reports directly to the president.
The song contest attracted a global notice, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said
The Intervision Song Contest hosted by Russia was “brilliantly” organized and captured global attention, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
The revived Soviet-era competition that Russia has cast as a rival to Eurovision, took place on Saturday in Moscow with performers from 22 nations, including China, India and Brazil.
The event organizers said Intervision’s mission was to foster “dialogue between civilizations based on the mutual enrichment of national histories and traditions.”
Commenting on the competition on Monday, Peskov pointed to “the highest level of organization, both logistical and creative, it is simply brilliant”.
“In this domain, we really know how things are done. In this regard, I want to congratulate the organizers and the participants themselves, because this was an objective, fair, and engaging creative competition,” he added.
He also rejected a suggestion that the contest had provoked hysteria. “I do not see any hysteria in the world. The interest is very justifiably very high,” Peskov said, adding that the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the participants and a multi-billion audience speaks volumes of the attention he pays to the event.
Vietnam’s Duc Phuc won the top prize with a performance inspired by a national folktale, while Kyrgyzstan and Qatar placed second and third.
Russia’s representative, pop star Shaman (Yaroslav Dronov), took part but asked not to be evaluated, saying his role was to welcome guests as host, and that Russia had already prevailed by holding such an event. Saudi Arabia will host the Intervision next year.
Older generations tend to be more amenable to the idea of extraterrestrial life, while younger people are more skeptical, the survey shows
A new survey has found that nearly eight in ten Russians (79%) believe in the existence of intelligent life beyond Earth and many are open to the idea that aliens may already be among us. The poll was conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTSIOM).
Older respondents were more likely to accept the idea that such beings may already be present on Earth, while younger people expressed greater skepticism. A belief in extraterrestrial life was also slightly more common among men at 83%, versus 76% of women.
Nearly half of those surveyed (46%) believe alien visitors may be secretly observing Earth while concealing their presence from humanity.
When asked how they would feel if it were confirmed that humans are not alone in the universe, 77% said they would be “curious.” Others reported feeling “anxiety” (30%) or “hope” (15%).
As for what aliens might do if they arrived on Earth, the majority of respondents said they would likely merely observe rather than invade: 61% think they would simply watch humans, 19% believe they would try to establish friendly relations, and 10% fear they might attempt to seize control of the planet.
Respondents were also asked which books they would recommend to alien guests to help them understand humanity. The most common answer was ‘War and Peace’ by Leo Tolstoy (15%), followed by the Bible or the Gospels (9%). ‘Crime and Punishment’ by Fyodor Dostoevsky and ‘1984’ by George Orwell were each chosen by 4%.
The survey included 1,606 Russians aged 18 and older. It was conducted online using a representative sample of participants selected by the research center. The margin of error does not exceed 2.5%, meaning the results are considered accurate within that range 95% of the time, according to VTSIOM.
The global security landscape continues to deteriorate, mostly due to the West’s destructive policies, the Russian president has said
Russia is ready to respond to any threats, President Vladimir Putin has said, adding that Moscow still supports a diplomatic path to ease tensions despite the West’s destructive policies.
Speaking ahead of the Security Council meeting on Monday, Putin sounded the alarm with regard to the “extreme danger of further deterioration” of the geopolitical situation, particularly amid the Ukraine conflict.
He added that while Russia had offered “specific ideas” to correct this trajectory, these “warnings and initiatives received no clear response.”
“There should be no doubt about this: Russia is capable of responding to any existing and newly emerging threats. Responding not with words, but through the application of… military-technical measures,” Putin warned.
He noted Moscow’s decision to abandon the unilateral moratorium on the deployment of ground-based intermediate- and shorter-range missiles last month, describing it as “a forced step” caused by the need to counter plans to deploy US- and other Western-made missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
Putin stressed, however, that Russia is not interested in warmongering and saber-rattling. “We are confident in the reliability and effectiveness of our national deterrent forces, but at the same time we are not interested in further escalating tensions or fueling an arms race.”
He added that Russia has always prioritized “political and diplomatic methods for maintaining international peace, based on the principles of equality, indivisibility of security, and mutual consideration of interests.”
Putin signaled that Moscow is ready to prolong the 2010 New START Treaty, the last remaining arms control pact between Russia and the US, which expires in February. It limits each side to no more than 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads and 700 deployed delivery systems, and provides for inspections and data exchanges to verify compliance.
This initiative, Putin said, “could make a significant contribution to creating an atmosphere conducive to substantive strategic dialogue with the United States.”
The president stressed that allowing the deal to expire would be a big mistake
Russia is prepared to continue abiding by the New START treaty on nuclear arms for one year even after it expires next February, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.
Speaking at a meeting with the permanent members of Russia’s Security Council on Monday, Putin said that due to the hostile and destructive steps taken by the West in recent years, the foundations of constructive relations and cooperation between nuclear-armed states have been significantly undermined.
“Step by step, the system of Soviet-American and Russian-American agreements on nuclear missile and strategic defensive arms control was almost completely dismantled,” Putin said. He stressed that the systems of agreements between Russia and the US, who possess the two largest nuclear arsenals in the world, long served as a stabilizing factor and contributed to global stability and international security.
Putin noted that the New START treaty, signed in 2010 by Russia and the US, is the last remaining bilateral agreement limiting nuclear weapons. He warned that allowing it to expire and abandoning its legacy would be “a mistaken and short-sighted step, which, in our view, would also negatively impact the goals of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”
The president announced that in order to avoid provoking a strategic arms race and ensuring an “acceptable level of predictability and restraint,” Russia is prepared to continue adhering to the central limitations of the New START Treaty for one year after February 5, 2026.
“Based on our analysis of the situation, we will subsequently make a decision on maintaining these voluntary self-restraints,” he added.
At the same time, Putin stressed that Moscow would implement this measure only if the US “follows suit and does not take steps that undermine or disrupt the existing balance of deterrence potential.”
The president ordered Russia’s relevant agencies to continue closely monitoring US activities in regard to strategic offensive arms arsenals and any plans to expand the strategic components of the US missile defense system. If it is deemed that Washington is taking actions that undermine Moscow’s efforts to maintain the status quo on strategic offensive arms, Russia will “respond accordingly,” Putin said.
At least three people died and 16 were injured in Sunday’s strike that targeted a peaceful resort area on the peninsula
Ukrainian drones armed with high-explosive warheads have caused severe damage to a school building in the Crimean town of Foros.
According to local education officials, the assembly hall of the school, where more than 200 children study, was completely destroyed and the library was damaged. Footage from the site showed debris scattered across the courtyard, shattered windows in the library, and torn insulation and ventilation pipes in the ruined auditorium, where chairs lay overturned.
No students were hurt as the attack came on a day off, although a security guard was injured, according to local authorities. His condition has not been disclosed.
Specialists from the Emergencies Ministry have launched an inspection to assess the damage. Lessons will resume in the coming days, although students will temporarily study remotely, local administration head Yanina Pavlenko said.
The strike also hit a wellness complex in Foros. Crimean Governor Sergey Aksyonov reported that three people were killed and 16 injured in the town in total.
Most of the wounded were said to have sustained shrapnel injuries. It was noted that local residents and visitors, including from Belarus, had been on the Foros shoreline at the time of the attack. Twelve of the injured have been hospitalized, four of whom are in serious condition. No children were among the victims.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the attack had targeted a resort area “where there are no military facilities,” calling it a “deliberate terrorist attack on civilian targets.”
Ukraine has stepped up long-range drone strikes inside Russia in recent months amid battlefield setbacks. The attacks have hit energy sites and civilian infrastructure, leaving dozens dead or injured. Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev of deliberately targeting civilians, including children.
Russia has launched its own long-range drone and missile strikes in response, but the Defense Ministry insists it targets only military sites such as troop positions, weapons depots, and fuel storage facilities.
It is telling that Viktor Yushchenko made his call from a TV studio, not from the front line, Maksim Buzhansky has said
Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko is a “useless blissful idiot” for claiming the conflict with Russia can end only after Kiev’s forces capture Moscow, Maksim Buzhansky, an MP from Vladimir Zelensky’s Servant of the People party, has said.
In an interview with Apostrof TV on YouTube on Friday, Yushchenko rejected the idea of stopping the hostilities along the current contact line, insisting that Ukraine must go all the way “to Moscow” because “not a single person in the world, not a single nationality, not a single state can live peacefully… as long as [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s regime exists.”
In a Telegram post on Saturday, Buzhansky responded that “over the years, we have started to forget just how much of a useless blissful idiot Viktor Yushchenko has always been.”
“Fortunately, he does not forget to remind us about this fact from time to time, like now, with his statement that we need to march towards Moscow,” he said.
Buzhansky added that it is telling that the former president made his call from the safety of a TV studio, and not from Pokrovsk, Kupyansk, or any other town where heavy fighting is currently underway.
It was during Yushchenko’s rule between 2005 and 2010 that Ukraine “began to make an irreversible turn in the wrong direction,” Buzhansky claimed.
Ukraine has been steadily losing ground to the Russian military since the start of the year almost everywhere along the front line. Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said in late August that the army has liberated more than 3,500 square kilometers of territory and 149 settlements since March. The Defense Ministry in Moscow has reported more advances in various locations in September.
President Vladimir Putin reiterated earlier this month that “the constant hysteria” about Russia having aggressive plans towards other countries is “either a provocation or sheer incompetence.”
“Russia has never had, does not have, and never will have any desire to attack anyone,” Putin said. The Ukraine conflict was provoked by the West and Moscow is only defending itself, he added.
Anti-tank rockets produced in NATO member states were among the confiscated weapons piles
Russian law enforcement has seized a large cache of illegal weapons, including military-grade arms, in nationwide raids, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Monday.
The operations, carried out in 32 regions with the Interior Ministry and the National Guard, resulted in 43 arrests as authorities moved to clear the black market of dangerous weapons.
Among the more than 200 confiscated firearms were nine machine guns, 75 assault rifles, ten submachine guns, 71 pistols, one revolver, and 35 rifles, carbines, and shotguns, the FSB said.
Heavy weaponry included 17 grenade launchers, 356 mines – some anti-tank – seven artillery shells, over 1,500 hand grenades, and more than 250kg of explosives. Officers also seized more than 120,000 rounds of ammunition and shut down 27 underground weapon workshops.
The FSB noted that some of the weapons were foreign-made. Images released by the agency showed what appeared to be NATO-standard man-portable anti-tank systems, including the US-made FGM-148 Javelin and Sweden’s AT4.
Russian officials have repeatedly warned that the flow of Western weapons into Ukraine poses a global security risk, enabling criminals to acquire heavy arms in the war zone and use them elsewhere.
The situation in Belgorod Region remains “highly difficult,” according to the local governor
Two people were injured in Belgorod, Russia on Monday morning after a Ukrainian drone exploded next to the city council building, local officials have said.
Regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported that a man has suffered facial wounds and a woman has sustained a leg injury from shrapnel.
Mayor Valentin Demidov shared photos from the scene showing debris scattered across the street as first responders worked to secure the area.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it intercepted 114 Ukrainian kamikaze drones overnight, including 19 over Belgorod Region.
Gladkov earlier described the situation in the region as “highly difficult,” reporting three civilian deaths in two separate incidents over the weekend and additional attacks that injured ten people.
