Poland blocks vital China-EU trade artery – Politico
RT | September 19, 2025
Poland’s decision to close its border with Belarus has caused major disruption to a key corridor for rail freight traffic between China and the EU, according to Politico.
The route affected by the closure normally accounts for approximately €25 billion per year in freight traffic between China and the EU. All cargo is currently blocked, including time-sensitive shipments such as medicine and food.
Warsaw has claimed the closure is “related to the Russian-Belarusian ‘Zapad-2025’ exercises,” held in neighboring Belarus on September 12-16. The Zapad drills were attended by international military delegations, including from the US and India, and are staged by Moscow and Minsk roughly every four years.
The closure compounds existing frictions over tariffs, subsidies, and security concerns that have long pressured EU-China trade ties.
Warsaw described the maneuvers as “very aggressive” and conducted “very close to the Polish border.” Moscow has said the exercises were designed to repel attacks, using lessons from the Ukraine conflict.
Beijing has sought to retain the “flagship project” in China’s cooperation with Poland and the EU. However, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who flew to Warsaw for talks on Monday, could not convince his Polish counterpart, Radoslaw Sikorski, to allow the goods to flow into the EU.
According to Sikorski, a noted Russia hawk, “the logic of trade” was being replaced by “the logic of security,” Politico reported, citing Polish foreign affairs spokesman Pawel Wronski. China, according to Warsaw, made no direct demands to reopen the border.
The European Commission has said it is monitoring the potential fallout from the closure, adding that “it’s too early to go into further detail.”
Piotr Krawczyk, former head of Poland’s Foreign Intelligence Agency, suggested the US could be backing Warsaw “in not rushing to reopen it,” saying he is “quite sure Washington is more than happy to see the routes closed – at least temporarily.”
He pointed to Washington’s pressure on the EU to slap extra tariffs on China over its purchases of Russian energy.
US withdraws waiver for Iran’s Chabahar port, hitting India’s investment
Press TV – September 19, 2025
The United States has revoked the sanctions waiver for Iran’s Chabahar port, threatening India’s multi-million-dollar investment in the strategic project amid straining ties between Washington and New Delhi.
The White House announced on Thursday that the exemption, in place since 2018, will end on September 29.
The waiver had allowed India to develop the Shahid Beheshti terminal at Chabahar, seen as a key gateway to Afghanistan and Central Asia. With its withdrawal, entities involved in the project may now face penalties.
US State Department spokesperson Thomas Pigott said the decision was consistent with the Trump administration’s so-called “maximum pressure” policy. He said that the revocation means any person or company engaged in the port’s operation could be exposed to sanctions.
Located in Chabahar, the port gives India access to Afghanistan and beyond, while also feeding into larger connectivity schemes such as the International North-South Transport Corridor.
India has already provided equipment worth $25 million, shipped food supplies through the port, and, in May 2024, signed a 10-year agreement to operate it. Under that deal, India pledged $120 million in investment and offered an additional $250 million credit line for infrastructure upgrades.
The waiver was originally granted in recognition of the port’s importance for stabilizing Afghanistan and facilitating humanitarian shipments.
Iran, meanwhile, has long slammed Washington’s reliance on sanctions. Officials in Tehran describe the approach as an “addiction” that has persisted since the 1979 revolution, with various Iranian entities repeatedly targeted under shifting pretexts.
Meanwhile, the sanction comes as tensions between New Delhi and Washington have already been rising under the Trump administration. Earlier this year, the White House imposed 50 percent tariffs on Indian goods, doubling an earlier rate.
Trump justified the move by accusing India of indirectly financing Russia’s war in Ukraine through oil purchases. The tariffs, which came into force in August, now cover most Indian exports to the US.
The measures hit at a time when bilateral trade stood at more than $87 billion, making India one of America’s largest partners. Experts warn the duties could shrink India’s exports to the US to nearly half within two years.
New Delhi has condemned the tariffs as “unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable,” and signaled a stronger tilt toward Moscow and Beijing.
Germany Faces Challenging Winter Of Power Outages As Energy Supply Struggles
By P Gosselin | No Tricks Zone | September 17, 2025
The head of transmission system operator Amprion, Christoph Müller, warns that Germany’s energy supply is facing a challenging winter due to a lack of power plant capacity as the nuclear and planned coal continue to get phased out. This could lead to targeted power outages and soaring electricity prices, he warns.
Müller paints a serious picture: in a scenario where energy demand outstrips supply, pre-defined groups could experience power cuts lasting around 90 minutes. This is not only a concern for the industrial sector; but it would mean hospitals relying on emergency generators, supermarkets closing their doors, and homes going without power. This is the stage that Germany’s energy supply has deteriorated to.
The crisis highlights a significant gap in Germany’s energy strategy. Müller argues that new, flexible gas-fired power plants are essential to maintain grid stability and prevent a supply shortfall. He expresses serious doubts about the feasibility of the coal phase-out by its 2028 deadline, citing the lack of viable alternatives.
While he dismisses nuclear power as a solution due to its long construction timeline, the overall message is clear: without immediate and massive investment in new power sources, Germany’s energy transition is at risk.
Grid under immense strain
Müller’s assessment is grim and unfortunately realistic. While he doesn’t anticipate a nationwide blackout, he warns that the grid is under immense pressure. The next two winters may be manageable, but the long-term outlook is one where blackouts, rising electricity prices, and a stalled energy transition could become the new reality.
Hat-tip: Blackout News here.
AfD calls for ‘Germany first’ policy
RT | September 17, 2025
Germany’s interests do not match those of its “Ukrainian partners,” and Berlin should pursue a “Germany first” policy, deputy head of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party’s parliamentary group, Markus Frohnmaier, has said.
Frohnmaier made the remarks on Wednesday in an interview with Rossiya 24, suggesting that Berlin should admit its economic woes largely stem from breaking ties with Russia and try to fix them.
“We are genuinely interested in normalizing relations with Russia,” Frohnmaier stated. “We simply have to acknowledge that energy prices for industry, as well as for private individuals in Germany, are now too high.”
Berlin, should it manage to display the “political will,” could “achieve a lot,” including the restoration of the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines, he suggested.
“The interests of our Ukrainian partners, for instance, do not match those of Germany. And I call for a final return to a policy that puts Germany’s interests first,” he stressed.
Germany should not get involved in the Ukraine conflict in any fashion, Frohnmaier said, arguing that it should not even consider deploying its military since most Germans strongly oppose such an idea. The politician also lamented that Berlin had abandoned its longstanding “tradition” of not supplying weapons to war zones.
Berlin has asserted itself as one of the key backers of Kiev in the conflict against Moscow, which has been raging since February 2022. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has repeatedly rejected the idea that Ukraine should make any concessions to Russia to settle the conflict, calling upon the West to pursue the “economic exhaustion” of Moscow instead.
However, Merz admitted last month that Germany is experiencing a “structural crisis” rather than just temporary “weakness.” The country was in recession last year and is expected to show no growth this year, according to IMF projections.
Still, the Merz government is planning to cut social spending and take on large loans to sustain military expansion and weapons deliveries to Ukraine. While Berlin argues those measures are necessary to deter Russia, Moscow maintains that it poses no threat to Germany.
EU plans to seize €170bn of Russia’s frozen funds – FT
RT | September 17, 2025
Brussels is pressing ahead with a plan to use €170 billion of Russia’s frozen sovereign assets to back “reparation loans” for Ukraine, the Financial Times has reported. The EU faces growing pressure to find additional funding for Kiev as US cuts back its support.
Moscow has condemned the asset freeze and warned that any seizure of its money would amount to “theft.”
Western nations froze an estimated $300 billion in Russian funds after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022 – some €200 billion of which is held by Brussels-based clearinghouse Euroclear. The funds have accrued billions in interest, and the West has explored ways to use this revenue to finance Ukraine. While refraining from outright seizure, the G7 last year backed a plan to provide Kiev with $50 billion in loans to be repaid using the profits generated by the funds. The EU pledged $21 billion.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has proposed going further by creating a ‘reparation loans’ mechanism, which she described as urgently needed to finance Kiev.
People familiar with discussions said the plan involves channeling cash balances from Russia’s immobilized assets into EU-issued bonds, with the proceeds transferred to Ukraine in tranches. Brussels argues the system would provide Kiev with immediate support while sidestepping a formal seizure.
A second option under consideration would involve creating a special-purpose vehicle to manage the loans, which could also allow non-EU partners to take part.
Of the funds frozen at Euroclear, about €170 billion has already matured and now sits as cash on the clearinghouse’s books, the sources said.
The plans have already drawn objections from member states. Belgium, Germany, and France have warned that dipping into the principal risks breaking the law and undermining confidence in the euro.
Brussels is under pressure to cover a significant portion of Ukraine’s needs as Washington holds back on new aid, the FT wrote. According to a US note circulated among G7 capitals and cited by the outlet, members were urged to consider seizing the sovereign assets principal “innovatively” to fund Ukraine.
Moscow warned that any attempt to use the assets “will not go unanswered.”
Russia’s Hi-Tech Starlink Analog Can Free Global South From US Tech Dominance: Here’s How
Sputnik – 17.09.2025
Roscosmos is “moving at a rapid pace” toward fielding an alternative to Elon Musk’s satellite internet empire. Veteran military expert Yuri Knutov breaks things down.
What’s Russia Building?
Bureau 1440 is working on a low-Earth orbit sat net for broadband data delivery:
- multiple test vehicles are already in orbit
- communications tested at ranges of 30-1,000 km
- first stage of series deployment slated to start in December (300 satellites); 900 in stage two
- ~500 base stations planned
- homegrown terminal coming “soon,” per Roscosmos chief Dmitry Bakanov
- trial roll-out planned for 2027
What Makes Russia’s Version Better?
Musk’s system works like this: ground-based Starlink Gateways communicate with orbiting satellites using electromagnetic radiation, with signals then communicated back down to Earth-based terminals.
Russia’s system uses laser beams, which “are more modern digital technologies providing faster & higher quality data transmission, as well as improved resistance to interference,” Knutov explains.
Longer Range
An effective range of up to 5,000 km “means far fewer satellites are needed than Elon Musk’s system (hundreds vs thousands),” Knutov explains.
That makes the Russian system not only less costly, but less harmful to the already heavily overcrowded LEO environment.
Doppler Effect: Solved
“We’ve been able to completely compensate” for the Doppler signal frequency issue, occurring from the high speeds (27,000 km/h) at which satellites orbit Earth, “allowing the signal to be maintained virtually free of interference & distortion.”
Global Implications
The system will provide secure, high-speed communications to:
- Russian resource sector companies working in remote areas
- ships situated anywhere on Earth
- the military, for command, control & real-time battlefield reports, ensuring informed decision-making
Alternative to US tech
“Nations of the Global South understand that dependence on the US makes them vulnerable. Internet access via Starlink can be restricted at any time. Availability of a Russian system providing equally good or even better services is crucial,” Knutov says, emphasizing that the new system cannot be deployed too soon.
Putin signs off on Europe’s largest ever high-speed rail project
RT | September 17, 2025
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has announced plans for a massive high-speed rail (HSR) network. It is set to be the largest in Europe, spanning more than 4,500km (2,800 miles), and will use domestically built trains capable of reaching 400kph (250mph).
At a government meeting on Tuesday, the prime minister said the new line will cut travel time between Moscow and St. Petersburg from four hours to just over two. The network will also connect Moscow with Minsk, Adler on the Black Sea, Ekaterinburg in the Urals, Ryazan, and other cities.
“Travel between cities should be not only safe and comfortable but also not too time consuming,” Mishustin stated. “In the modern world, time is becoming increasingly valuable. Because of that, we are mastering technologies for faster travel and [are working] on a development scheme for high-speed rail infrastructure.”
He noted that the project has been approved by President Vladimir Putin and will be finalized within the next six months.
Mishustin said construction of the first HSR line between Moscow and St. Petersburg is already underway. The 679km route will be the first to feature the new generation of high-speed trains. While he gave no details about the train’s specifications, media reports suggest that the name could be chosen in a public vote, with options including ‘Luch’ (Russian for ‘ray of light’). The current line between the two cities, the fastest in Russia, operates Siemens Velaro Sapsan trains with a top speed of 250kph.
Once completed, Russia’s HSR network will overtake Spain’s 3,970km system, the largest in Europe and second worldwide after China. The new Russian trains will also outpace Europe’s fastest, the French TGV, which runs at up to 320kph, covering the London-Paris route in three hours.
China remains the global HSR leader, with more than 64,000km of lines in operation. It also fields the world’s fastest trains, including the Shanghai Maglev at 460kph and the CR400 Fuxing Hao at 350kph.
Russia, Iraq Ramp Up Contacts, With Focus on Military Cooperation
Sputnik – 16.09.2025
Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu arrived in Baghdad on a working visit.
Contacts between Russia and Iraq are becoming increasingly intensive, with business, economic, transport, military and defense industry cooperation issues being discussed, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said.
“Contacts are becoming more intense and multidirectional. This concerns business, economics, and transport, military and defense industry cooperation,” Shoigu said during a brief conversation with the deputy advisor to the prime minister of Iraq for national security in Baghdad.
Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu touched down in Baghdad on a working visit, during which he will hold meetings with the highest political and military leadership of Iraq, the Russian Security Council said.
“During the upcoming meetings, it is expected to convey the Russian side’s intention to further strengthen and expand cooperation in the security sphere,” it said.
The council added that, besides the current aspects of Russian-Iraqi bilateral cooperation, regional issues will also be addressed during the talks in Baghdad.
Finnish PM admits Russia sanctions hurting economy
RT | September 15, 2025
Finland’s economic growth has suffered due to sanctions on Russia linked to the Ukraine conflict, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has admitted. He noted that Finland has lost nearly all trade with Russia and billions in investments since it closed the border with its neighbor.
Finland, which shares a 1,300km (800-mile) border with Russia, has imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow in line with EU policy since 2022. It has also tightened entry rules for Russian citizens and shut all but one border checkpoint with its neighbor. The moves saw trade between the two countries drop to $1.5 billion in 2024, compared with $11 billion in pre-conflict 2021.
In an interview with Yle Areena on Saturday, Orpo acknowledged that sanctions have hit Finland harder than most EU members due to its traditionally close trade ties with Russia.
“The fact that the border is closed means, for example, 10 million cubic meters of Russian timber for our industry is not coming in. Finnish companies have lost billions in investments in Russia. Nearly all border traffic and trade have stopped,” Orpo said. “That brings uncertainty. All this has led to the fact that the growth of the Finnish economy has not been as desired.”
Despite this, Orpo echoed other NATO members in claiming Russia remains a “permanent threat” to Finland and the EU, vowing to increase defense spending and militarization to counter it. Finland joined NATO in 2023, a step Moscow – which views the bloc’s expansion as a trigger of the Ukraine conflict – called a “historic mistake.”
Russia has repeatedly rejected claims it poses a threat, accusing the West of fueling Russophobia to justify military buildups and divert attention from domestic problems. It has condemned Western sanctions as illegal and warned they would backfire.
The Finnish economy slipped into recession in both 2023 and 2024. According to Eurostat, its growth projections for 2025 are the lowest in the EU.
West May Lose at Least $285Bln If Confiscates Russian Reserves
Sputnik – 14.09.2025
MOSCOW – Russia’s frozen reserves continue to “burn the pockets” of Western countries: states burdened with huge debts and budget deficits have begun to talk more and more about confiscating Russian assets that they froze in 2022, but such a step could cost them at least $285 billion, Sputnik calculated based on national statistics.
Currently, the G7 countries and the European Union are implementing a scheme to seize income from frozen Russian assets to finance a $50 billion loan to Ukraine. In early September, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed creating a new “reparation loan” to finance Ukraine from these incomes. However, Western politicians periodically call for the direct confiscation of frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine. The Russian authorities have repeatedly said that they would take reciprocal measures in the event of confiscation.
According to the latest available data, the volume of direct investment from the European Union, the G7, Australia, Norway and Switzerland in the Russian economy as of the end of 2023 amounted to $285 billion. At the same time, taking into account the ban on the withdrawal of funds from the country by unfriendly residents, the amount may be significantly higher — officially, data on the amount of blocked funds in type C accounts is not disclosed.
The EU accounted for $238 billion in assets, of which $145.4 billion belonged to Cyprus, $21.7 billion to France, and $19.2 billion to Germany. The Netherlands, which does not officially disclose the full volume of investments in the Russian economy, could potentially own assets worth approximately $20.8 billion. Italy ($12.6 billion) and Austria ($6.9 billion) are also among the largest European investors. The remaining EU states accounted for another $11.5 billion.
Among the G7 countries, the largest investor in the Russian economy was the United States – according to the latest available data, American assets in Russia amounted to approximately $7.7 billion. Japan had Russian assets worth $4.8 billion, Canada – $3.9 billion, and Britain – $3 billion.
The assets of Switzerland and Norway, which usually follow in the wake of EU sanctions against Russia, at the end of 2023 amounted to $27.5 billion and $43 million, respectively. Australia had $400 million in investments in the Russian economy at the end of last year.
After the start of the special operation in Ukraine, Western countries imposed sanctions against the Bank of Russia, freezing its reserves, but the exact amount of immobilized funds is unknown. According to the central bank, as of the end of June 2021, about $288 billion was stored in Austria, Britain, Germany, Canada, the United States, France, and Japan, and another $63 billion was in unnamed countries.
At the beginning of 2022, the Bank of Russia reported that about half of its $630.6 billion in assets were in key reserve currencies.
Sputnik used data from unfriendly countries on direct investment in the Russian economy in its calculations. Direct investment is investment in enterprises that provide control over at least 10% of its shares or capital.
IMF warns of major gap in Ukraine’s finances – Bloomberg
RT | September 14, 2025
Ukraine faces a growing funding gap that could require billions more in outside support to finance its conflict with Russia, Bloomberg has reported, citing sources from the International Monetary Fund.
Ukraine, which spends around 60% of its budget on the conflict, relies heavily on Western assistance to cover pensions, public wages, essential services, debt, and humanitarian needs. It obtained a $15.5 billion loan from the IMF in early 2023 to cover some of the expenses and has already received around $10.6 billion, but the financing program was based on the assumption that the conflict would end this year and expires in 2027.
Kiev requested a new funding plan earlier this week, estimating that it will need up to $37.5 billion over the next two years if the conflict continues. But according to the Bloomberg report on Thursday, the IMF believes Ukraine may need $10-20 billion more than this, raising the total to $57.5 billion.
IMF spokeswoman Julie Kozack confirmed on Thursday that the agency has begun talks with Kiev on a new support program, but did not acknowledge the reported shortfall. Sources told Bloomberg that Kiev and the IMF are expected to settle on a figure for the new loan next week. Ukraine’s cabinet and Finance Ministry declined to comment on the report.
Ukraine has struggled to secure new aid from its main backers. US contributions have dwindled since President Donald Trump’s return to office, leaving the EU as the biggest donor. One method pursued by the West has been to use profits from the $300 billion in frozen Russian assets abroad. Last year, the G7 backed a $50 billion loan plan to be repaid from these earnings.
Some Western countries have called for the full confiscation of Russian assets, while others warn of legal risks. Nevertheless, the profits have already been tapped, with the EU, which pledged $21 billion under the program, disbursing roughly half of the amount so far this year.
Russia has warned that financial and military aid to Ukraine only prolongs the conflict and has denounced the use of frozen assets as “robbery” which violates international law and erodes trust in the Western financial system.
EU could target ‘Russian SWIFT’ – Euractiv
RT | September 12, 2025
The European Union could sanction foreign banks that use Russia’s domestic alternative to the SWIFT interbank messaging system, as the bloc weighs another batch of measures targeting countries it claims are helping Moscow bypass restrictions, Euractiv has reported.
Russia has been promoting its own payment system as a reliable alternative to SWIFT since many of the country’s financial institutions were cut off from the Western network in 2022. The System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS) ensures the secure transfer of financial messages between banks both inside and outside the country.
France and Germany are spearheading the proposal to hit Russia’s trading partners as part of the bloc’s 19th sanctions package against Moscow, the outlet said on Tuesday. Paris and Berlin argue the measures should strike at what they describe as the “deeper structures” of Russia’s financial and logistics networks.
The SPFS system has become a key workaround for Russian and non-Russian banks seeking to maintain trade flows despite Western efforts to isolate Moscow.
In June 2024, Brussels banned EU banks operating outside Russia from connecting to SPFS or carrying out transactions via the system, threatening violators with exclusion from Europe’s own financial networks. As of early 2025, 177 foreign entities across 24 countries were connected to SPFS, according to the Russian central bank.
Moscow has accelerated efforts to move away from SWIFT by trading with international partners in their national currencies – a trend increasingly supported by BRICS members, which have shifted from using the dollar and euro in trade settlements.
Russia has long denounced Western sanctions as illegal, repeatedly noting that they have failed to achieve their ultimate goal of destabilizing the economy and isolating the country from the global financial system. Instead, Moscow argues, they have backfired on the states that imposed them.
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From the Archives
Clash of Civilization, Iran Part II
By Jamal Kanj – Intifada-Palestine.com – January 14, 2011
Israel’s survival kit is: perpetuate conflict, insecurity to rationalize collective hate and finally playing victim.
Devoid of conflict, Israel implodes internally; without hate, Zionism loses its justification; and playing eternal victim to continue blackmailing the West. Absence of this holy trinity, Israel ceases to exist. … continue
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