IRINI and European countries have inspected sanctioned vessels linked to Russia’s shadow fleet — ageing, opaquely owned tankers used to evade sanctions and transporting aboard individuals with links to the Russian private military groups.

The Kremlin continues its disinformation campaign, falsely claiming that Ukrainian women are being mobilised. This false narrative has been repeatedly recycled since the start of the war, with earlier versions going so far as to claim that women were being sent to the front lines on bicycles.

The goal is to undermine support for Ukraine, fuel fear of war among Europeans and falsely portray efforts to strengthen Europe’s defences as acts of aggression against Russia.

The Kremlin is flooding the information space with AI-generated posts, bot accounts and staged ‘anti-war’ rallies, all pushing the slogan ‘Russia is not my enemy’.

Strengthening defences against Russian threats is not preparation for an attack on Russia.

The Kremlin continues to portray NATO’s defensive preparations as proof of an impending attack on Russia. Moscow now threatens to use nuclear weapons in response to a hypothetical blockade of Kaliningrad, all while Russia expands GPS spoofing operations from the exclave.

The claim, like most Kremlin claims, is a lie. The West did not seek to disrupt Russia’s so-called elections. The Kremlin had already ensured there was little to disrupt, barring all genuine opposition from the ballot, silencing all dissenting voices, and leaving voters with no real choice.

Hundreds of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy and other civilian infrastructure predate Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory.

The Kremlin’s claim that Russian forces had never been the first to strike civilian infrastructure is a lie. Russia’s extensive, well-documented attacks on Ukrainian civilian and energy infrastructure began long before Ukraine developed long-range drones capable of striking targets inside Russia.

A Russian glide bomb strike on two minibuses in Kramatorsk killed 33 people and injured 22 others on the morning of 8 October. This is the everyday reality Ukrainians are forced to live through, as Russia continues to show utter disregard for international law and human life.

EU sanctions target those responsible for these decisions — through asset freezes, travel bans and financial restrictions.

Serious human rights violations and the repression of democratic opposition are rarely the work of one institution. They involve prosecutors bringing cases, judges handing down sentences, and officials keeping the machinery moving.

Yesterday, children from kindergartens across multiple regions of Russia were made to record birthday messages for Putin, while teachers received special instructions on what the greetings should look like and which Putin quotes to include. All the usual signs of a healthy democracy.

An anti-war party removed from a wartime election over disputes involving an anti-war phrase. Sometimes the details tell the story quite well.

‘As Long As There’s No War’   The phrase appeared among the campaign-material disputes cited in the case that removed Yabloko’s federal list from Russia’s parliamentary election.

EU member states are expected to spend approximately 2.4% of their combined GDP on defence in 2026.

The aggressor continues to be ‘alarmed’ by others preparing to defend themselves. In 2026, Russia devoted over 40% of its budget to war and repression, more than it spends on education, healthcare, pensions, welfare, culture, sport, and debt interest combined.

The Kremlin narrative needs Europe to be collapsing for a reason: if sanctions supposedly hurt Europe more than Russia, continuing them can be portrayed as pointless. But they are not.

Kaliningrad is more than a heavily militarised Russian exclave. GPS interference, hybrid operations and pressure on critical infrastructure are making the Baltic region an increasingly important testing ground for confrontation below the threshold of open conflict.