INSIDE RUSSIA
Russia increases the number of governmental scholarships for students from Bangladesh: 200 places for free education in 2026
Russia is consistently increasing its investment in Bangladesh’s human capital through a system of educational scholarships. Over the past five years, the number of state-funded places for Bangladeshi students in Russian universities has grown from 65 to 200. This dynamic growth reflects Moscow’s strategic course to strengthen bilateral relations by encouraging educational ties with Dhaka and training highly qualified personnel for key sectors of the Bangladeshi economy.
Investing in the future: how Russian scholarships strengthen the Bangladeshi economy
Russian educational scholarships are focused on training specialists for priority areas of the Bangladeshi economy. The Russian side has decided to allocate an additional 15 places in the 2025/26 academic year to the previously established 124 scholarships for talented postgraduate students and candidates wishing to study agronomy, one of the priority areas for the Bangladeshi economy.
“Our task is to provide talented students an opportunity to study at Russian universities so that when they return home, they can contribute to the development of the Bangladeshi economy,” emphasizes Alexander Khozin, Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh.
Russian scholarships do not just provide free education for young talents. They strengthen scientific and educational ties between countries and work for the long term, contributing to the creation of a highly qualified workforce for the Bangladeshi economy.
How the scholarship competition works and who can participate
Scholarship selection is implemented on the website www.education-in-russia.com. The platform offers more than 20,000 educational programs at 400+ Russian universities.
In the selection process for scholarship studies in the 2025/26 academic year, more than 1,300 candidates applied for 124 scholarship places, resulting in a competition rate of over 10 candidates per place. Such high demand confirms the growing interest in Russian education and the trust in its quality.
Where to get help with submitting documents
The competitive selection of candidates for the study scholarship is carried out by the Russian House in Dhaka with the participation of the Russian Embassy in Bangladesh and representatives of leading Russian universities.
The Russian Center for Science and Culture in Dhaka (Russian House) provides a full range of support to applicants:
– helps choose a specialty,
– advises students and parents on the documents required for participation in the competition,
– selects candidates through the web-site https://education-in-russia.com.
– conducts Russian language courses to prepare students for studying in Russia.
Participation in the scholarship selection process is carried out entirely online via https://education-in-russia.com, providing Bangladeshi citizens with the opportunity to apply for a scholarship from anywhere in the country.
Strategic partnership through education
The decision to increase the number of scholarships to 200 reflects recognition of the quality of training of Bangladeshi applicants and the prospects for bilateral relations. Russia sees significant potential in strengthening relations with Bangladesh through student diplomacy and personnel training.
Educational scholarships have become an instrument of strategic partnership and an investment in the long-term future of bilateral relations and the development of Bangladesh’s economy.
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Talented applicants from Bangladesh are invited to apply for free education in Russia through the web-site www.education-in-russia.com. Registration will last until January 15, 2026. For all questions regarding participation in the scholarship selection process, please contact the Russian House in Dhaka.
Putin Visits Mulino Training Ground in Nizhny Novgorod as Part of Zapad-2025 Exercises
Russian-Belarusian joint strategic exercises Zapad-2025 are taking place from September 12 to 16. Their goal is to test the capabilities of the two countries to ensure the military security of the Union State, as well as readiness to repel possible aggression.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Mulino training ground in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod Region to monitor the main phase of the Zapad-2025 military drills.
The goal of the “Zapad-2025” exercises is to practice the defense of the Union State of Russia and Belarus against any aggression, the president stated.
🇷🇺 PUTIN INSPECTS SAMPLES OF WEAPONS & EQUIPMENT AT ‘MULINO’ TRAINING GROUND https://t.co/B62nttUeR3 pic.twitter.com/M6b3KJGmir
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) September 16, 2025
Events of the drills are taking place at 41 training grounds, with 100,000 military personnel taking part in them and about 10,000 weapons and equipment systems involved, the president added.
“Moreover, this is all modern equipment used in practical combat work, and the plans for the exercise are based on the experience gained during the special military operation. Ten thousand types of equipment, including 333 aircraft: tactical aviation, strategic aviation and military transport aviation. More than 247 ships are also used: surface, submarine and support vessels,” Putin said.
📹 PUTIN TRIES ON NEW THERMAL BALLISTIC GOGGLES https://t.co/DSbBbt0wBb pic.twitter.com/kVszhoKaHV
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) September 16, 2025
Twenty-five foreign delegations arrived to participate in the drills, of which 16 states sent representatives, and six sent military contingents to participate in the events within the framework of the strategic exercise, the president also said, wishing luck to all the participants of the drills.
The president arrived at the training ground in military uniform and after the completion of the active phase of the drills thanked the representatives of the military-diplomatic corps and foreign military observers for their participation.
🚨PUTIN TALKS TO REPRESENTATIVES OF FOREIGN STATES INVITED TO THE “ZAPAD-2025” MILITARY EXERCISES https://t.co/iGYMGoteHg pic.twitter.com/q84W1S4z3B
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) September 16, 2025
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov on Tuesday reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the progress of the Russian-Belarusian joint strategic exercise Zapad-2025.
“The event will involve military command bodies, troops of the Leningrad and Moscow military circles, formations, military units of the aerospace forces, airborne troops and central subordination, forces of the Northern and Baltic fleets from the Russian side. From the Belarusian side – troops included in the regional group,” Belousov said.
According to the plan of the joint Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2025 drills the joint group of troops are reflecting military aggression in the Western theater of operations, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-BekEvkurov said on Tuesday.
“According to the plan of the drills, the joint group of troops reflects a large-scale military aggression in the western theater of military operations. Military operations are conducted in three directions and in the Arctic zone,” Evkurov said.
The main and most intensive stage of the Russian-Belarusian joint strategic Zapad-2025 drills will be held at the Mulino training ground in Rusisa’s Nizhny Novgorod Region, according to the reference materials for this stage of the exercise released on Tuesday.
“The main, most intensive stage of the practical actions of the troops (forces) will take place in the Nizhny Novgorod Region at the Mulino training ground of the 333rd Combat Training Center (ground forces, airborne troops and coastal forces of the navy) of the Main Directorate of Combat Training of the Russian armed forces of the Russian Federation,” the reference materials indicate.
The main features of the main stage of the exercise are the massive use of unmanned aircraft, ground-based robotic systems and electronic warfare; the development of assault operations on motorcycles, buggies, ATVs, fighting enemy drones by various means; the effective use of military air defense, precision-guided munitions and modern means of counter-battery warfare, taking into account the experience of a special military operation.
“More than 100 representatives of the military-diplomatic corps and observers from 55 countries will observe the main stage of the exercise at the Mulino training ground,” the reference materials read.
Actions of troops of partner states in defeating the mock aggressor in the border area will be worked out at Mulino and will involve more than 50,000 Russian military personnel and up to 7,000 military personnel from Belarus.
“In order to solve joint tasks under the joint command during the joint strategic exercise Zapad-2025, a coalition group of troops has been created… designed to prepare joint actions during an operation aimed at neutralizing the armed conflict in the border areas of the Union State and defeating the aggressor… The coalition group of forces includes operational groups and military contingents of the armed forces of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The armed forces of three countries – Burkina Faso, Congo and Mali – have also sent their operational groups to work as part of the joint headquarters of the coalition group of forces. The joint headquarters of the coalition group of forces is collecting, summarizing, analyzing and evaluating data on the situation in order to predict it and shorten the decision-making time,” the statement read.
Lavrov: Intervision 2025 Fosters Environment of Respect, Friendship, and Cultural Exchange
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a briefing ahead of the Intervision 2025 International Music Contest, scheduled to take place in Moscow.
Key statements by Sergey Lavrov on the Intervision Music Competition:
The event is aimed at preserving traditions, including spiritual and cultural ones.
The Foreign Ministry is actively assisting in attracting foreign participants; this year, 23 foreign contestants will take part.
Symbolically, the show will open with Cuba and close with India, demonstrating its global reach.
Contestants perform songs in their national languages, as was originally agreed.
We also expect honorary guests from the participating countries at the finale.
Environment of harmony, friendship and mutual respect
Cuba to open the show and India to close, which is ’emblematic’
Lavrov: If you like Eurovision – watch it. But preserving culture, traditions, and moral values is now in higher demand, which is encouraging. And if anyone wants to vote for men with beards in women’s dresses, we do not forbid it.
We are gradually moving away from the term “unfriendly countries.” It remains in use for now, but as Vladimir Putin recently said in Vladivostok: “For us, there are no unfriendly countries, only governments that are unfriendly to Russia.”
If some countries form their governments without paying attention to culture and the arts, that’s their problem. Neither the US nor the UK have titles like “Honored” or “People’s Artist,” but Russia does, because we encourage cultural development.
We do not aim to influence other governments, unlike what USAID did before its dissolution.
What has Deputy PM Dmitry Chernyshenko said about the Intervision music contest?
We are very grateful to Sergey Lavrov for personally overseeing the preparation of the Intervision contest.
More than 100 participants from the Youth Festival will attend Intervision, mainly taking part in flash mobs.
Volunteers for the competition include representatives from four friendly countries — Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Belarus.
The competition will be fair; the strongest will win. Russia will once again demonstrate its hospitality.
Sergey Kiriyenko, First Deputy Presidential Chief: We are aware that some countries tried to prevent participants from taking part or traveling to Russia
Russia to Hold International Security Forum Next Year — Security Chief
Apart from that, Moscow will host the first Russian-Arab summit on October 15, Sergey Shoigu said
BAGHDAD, September 17. /TASS/. An international forum on security will be held in Russia on May 26-29, 2006, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said during a meeting with Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid.
“The president of the Russian Federation has made a decision to organize the most large-scale and important security forum in Russia next year. It will be held on May 26-29,” Shoigu said.
Apart from that, the Security Council secretary said that Moscow will host the first Russian-Arab summit on October 15.
“I’m convinced that the upcoming top-level meeting will become an important event in global politics, which will demonstrate the level of Russian-Arab cooperation and give it a new impetus,” he said.
Shoigu also reaffirmed Russia’s determination “to strengthen and boost bilateral relations and trade ties.”.
Moscow to Respond to Potential EU Visa Restrictions — Russian MFA
Maria Zakharova stressed that regarding everything else, Russia will need to look at specific steps
MOSCOW, September 16. /TASS/. Russia will respond to any new visa restrictions imposed by the European Union (EU), in line with its national interests, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS.
“If we are talking about threats to impose measures that would essentially blockade Russian diplomats, we have repeatedly said that we will respond. Regarding everything else, we will need to look at specific steps. We always respond based on our own national interests,” the diplomat noted.
Earlier the Italian ANSA news agency, citing sources, reported that the European Commission, as part of its 19th package of sanctions against Russia, was considering additional restrictions on issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens. Additionally, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky stated that the new EU sanctions package against Russia could include a ban on the free movement of Russian diplomats within the Schengen Area.
OUTSIDE RUSSIA
Russia, Iran, China & Allies Want to Ban Attacks on Nuclear Sites
Iran, Russia, Belarus, China, Venezuela, and Nicaragua have submitted a draft resolution to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) calling for a ban on any attacks or threats against safeguarded nuclear sites.
The initiative of the six countries, titled Prohibition of all forms of attack and threats of attack against nuclear sites and facilities under IAEA safeguards, is meant to defend the integrity of the NPT, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman EsmaeilBaqaei stated on X, in a reference to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
The draft:
Stresses that all states have the right to peaceful nuclear energy and are entitled to guarantees against military threats;
*Reaffirms that no country should target another’s safeguarded nuclear facilities.
2/4 IAEA OVERSIGHT? WORTHLESS
International law bans attacks on nuclear sites — yet Iran’s were bombed.
IAEA “supervision” did nothing to stop it. pic.twitter.com/dnjOjkQzii
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) June 25, 2025
Baqaei urged the international community to act decisively, warning against the “normalization of lawlessness.”
Russia, Iraq Ramp Up Contacts, With Focus on Military Cooperation
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.
SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATION IN UKRAINE
Ukraine Loses Up to 445 Soldiers in Battles with Russian Forces – MoD
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russian Battlegroup Tsentr has eliminated up to 445 Ukrainian military personnel over the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
“The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amounted to 445 servicepeople, an armored fighting vehicle and four motor vehicles,” the ministry said in a statement.
Russian Battlegroup Yug has eliminated up to 260 Ukrainian soldiers, the ministry also said, adding that Kiev has lost over 255 soldiers in battles with Russian Battlegroup Vostok.
At the same time, Russian Battlegroup Zapad has eliminated over 230 Ukrainian soldiers in past day, the statement said.
The Russian armed forces have also struck a fuel depot and a logistics hub for distributing weapons and military equipment supplied to Ukraine by Western countries, the ministry added.
Ukrainian Armed Forces Shell Area of Fuel Depots of Zaporozhye Power Plant
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Ukrainian Armed Forces conducted artillery shelling in the area of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant fuel depots, the plant said on Tuesday.
“The Ukrainian armed forces are conducting artillery shelling in the area of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant fuel depots,” the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant said on Telegram.
As a result of the shelling, dry vegetation in the adjacent area caught fire, the statement added.
“The distance from the fire to the diesel fuel tanks is approximately 400 meters [0.2 miles]. There is currently no threat to the main infrastructure facilities. It is important to note that the radiation levels at the plant and in the surrounding area are within normal limits,” the statement read.
There were no casualties among the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant personnel after the shelling, the statement also said.
“A fire at the fuel depots, where the fuel necessary for the operation of the plant is stored, could potentially lead to catastrophic consequences. Meanwhile, we emphasize that at the moment the fire has been localized, and the situation is fully controlled by the station personnel and emergency services,” the statement read.
INSIGHTS
Fyodor Lukyanov: France Is Only the Front Line in a Crisis Gripping the G7
The G7’s political systems are entering a moment of truth
France is once again in crisis. Francois Bayrou’s government failed to win a vote of confidence in the National Assembly and has resigned. President Emmanuel Macron has promised to quickly propose another candidate. But after calling early elections last spring, he created a parliament with no stable majority. Now he must try to form a cabinet for the third time in little more than a year. If he fails, new elections will follow, and this time not even Macron’s usual tricks may save him. Both the far right and the far left have been waiting for this moment, sharpening their teeth for the embattled president for years.
The spectacle in Paris is not unique. It is part of a wider malaise across the political systems of the G7.
In Japan, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba long insisted he would not step down. Yet his party’s losses in two parliamentary elections left him no choice. In Britain, a scandal forced the resignation of the deputy prime minister and left the Labour Party floundering at approval levels no better than the discredited Conservatives. Nigel Farage’s Reform Party now leads in the polls. In Germany, Chancellor Friedrich Merz is recording record-low ratings while the anti-establishment Alternative for Germany remains stable at CDU levels.
Italy and Canada are steadier, but barely. Canada’s Liberals were rescued not by their own strength but by Donald Trump. His coarse attacks on Ottawa provided a rally-round-the-flag effect, sparing them a near-certain defeat. The result was continuity in power, though with Mark Carney replacing Justin Trudeau. As for the United States itself, the picture is clear enough: Trump’s supporters face little resistance. His opponents are simply lying low, waiting for better times.
Each of these cases has local causes, yet together they reveal something larger. For countries with deep democratic traditions, turmoil is not new. They have endured crises before. But the simultaneity of today’s upheavals makes this moment extraordinary. The world is in open unrest, and no major power is insulated. The question is not whether the turbulence will continue, but how well political systems can withstand the waves.
Here there is a crucial difference between the United States and its allies, on the one hand, and the European Union on the other.
The US, Canada, Britain, and Japan remain sovereign states. Their degree of sovereignty can be debated, but their governments retain legitimacy and can act quickly when circumstances demand it. Those decisions may be good or bad, but they are at least their own, and they can change course if the results prove ineffective.
For the EU states, the situation is different. Their sovereignty is deliberately limited by the framework of European integration. In the second half of the 20th century, this was the Union’s great strength: by pooling authority, its members gained leverage they could never have achieved alone. But the same framework now acts as a brake. In a world where speed of decision is vital, Brussels makes it harder, not easier, to act.
Economic interdependence and ideological constraints ensure that problems not only go unsolved but reinforce each other. Worse, there is no vision of how the system might be changed under current institutional rules. As a result, rather than rethink course, leaders try to bulldoze through with even more energy in the same direction. Opposition forces are excluded even when they win elections. And the Ukrainian issue has been turned into the central pillar of EU politics. Should that issue fade, a mass of uncomfortable domestic questions will come to the surface – and Western Europe’s rulers know it.
Manipulation and muddling through remain possible, of course. France and Germany may once again stagger past their current difficulties. But each time it becomes harder, and the gap between society’s demands and the establishment’s interests grows wider.
This is why the “moment of truth” for EU politics is approaching. No one can predict what follows. The bloc will not return to the pre-integration era. But the political forces cast as outsiders today may soon be the ones defining the new order.
What we are witnessing is not just a crisis in France, or a resignation in Japan, or a reshuffle in Italy. It is a collective crisis of the G7’s political systems. The American led-bloc still has reserves of strength – above all, its sovereign states can still change course when pressed. But the EU, bound by its own rigidities, finds itself caught. Its governments cannot adapt quickly, and its supranational institutions block meaningful change.
The European project was once the most successful political innovation of the Old World. But it has grown stale. The EU’s cumbersome structure is no longer a solution but part of the problem. At a time when the world is shifting fast, the Union is locked into yesterday’s procedures.
This leaves Western Europe with a stark choice. Either it finds a way to reform – to reconcile sovereignty with integration, flexibility with cooperation – or it will continue to stumble forward, ever more divorced from the societies it claims to represent. In that widening gap lies the real danger.
For now, its leaders may suppress alternatives and manage through manipulation. But the longer they do, the greater the eventual reckoning. And when it comes, EU politics won’t be the same again.
