INSIDE RUSSIA
IN BRIEF: Foreign leaders congratulate Russian President Vladimir Putin on 73rd birthday
TASS has compiled the main facts about the goings-on around the Russian president’s birthday
MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/. Vladimir Putin celebrates his 73rd birthday on October 7. However, the Russian leader chose not to take the day off and spent his special day at work as usual. Many foreign leaders called to congratulate Putin, discussing important bilateral and global issues with him as well, while others sent birthday greetings via telegrams. But it won’t be all work for the president today, said Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, as Putin will take the evening off to spend time with his family and friends.
TASS has compiled the main facts about the goings-on around the Russian president’s birthday.
First to congratulate
According to the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Jong Un was the first to congratulate the Russian leader on his birthday. “I do not doubt that the allied relations between the two countries, which have greeted the great heyday, will be invariably carried forward in the future, too, thanks to the warm friendly relations and close comradely ties between us, and will make a great contribution to thrusting the comprehensive development of bilateral relations forward and establishing a just and multipolar world order,” the news agency quoted Kim as saying. The North Korean also assured Putin that “Pyongyang and Moscow will always stand together” and that their “friendship will be immortal.”
From China, North Korea, Belarus with love
Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent Russian President Vladimir Putin “warm and original” birthday greetings, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told reporters. In addition to Xi and Kim, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko was among the first to congratulate Putin, the Kremlin aide noted. “We have received many congratulatory telegrams, rather warm and unique,” Ushakov emphasized.
CIS leaders
The leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries have personally congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his birthday, the Kremlin press service reported.
Those CIS leaders were Lukashenko, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Tajik head of state Emomali Rahmon, Turkmenistan’s leader Serdar Berdimuhamedov, as well as Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
“During the phone conversation, the leaders discussed the development of bilateral relations and their upcoming joint work at the CIS Heads of State Summit in Dushanbe,” the Kremlin said, adding that all CIS leaders sent Putin written birthday greetings too.
Work spliced in with birthday wishes
Some of the leaders who contacted Putin not only congratulated the Russian president but also seized the opportunity to discuss current issues on the international and bilateral agendas.
For instance, during a phone call with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on top of bilateral cooperation, the leaders discussed developments in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a press release following his telephone conversation with Putin that he had not only “conveyed warm birthday greetings and wished him good health and a long life,” but also thanked Putin for “his personal commitment to deepening India-Russia ties over the years.”
Republika Srpska (one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s entities) President Milorad Dodik also congratulated Putin “on behalf of Republika Srpska, the Serbian people,” wishing the Russian leader “good health, well-being, and success in carrying out the most important state tasks.” “May your wisdom, decisiveness, and selflessness serve Russia well and strengthen the friendly ties between our brotherly peoples,” Dodik emphasized in an X post.
The Bahrain News Agency reported that King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain sent Putin a telegram congratulating him on his birthday and wishing the Russian people prosperity.
Bolivian President Luis Arce wished Putin strength to continue leading Russia. “On this special day, we wish him health and strength to continue leading the country along the path of progress, dignity, and social justice,” the Bolivian president said, calling Putin his “brotherly” counterpart.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel also wished Putin “great health and personal successes” so that he could continue to successfully lead Russia.
In turn, Nicaragua’s co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo wished Russia success in concluding the special military operation. “We wish you good health, new achievements, and the joy of victory that your people and government will achieve in the name of justice, truth, and respect for all rights,” the El 19 digital news outlet quoted the co-leaders as saying in a telegram to Putin.
What about Trump?
The public also expected US President Donald Trump to call his Russian counterpart. Reporters asked Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov about it at his daily afternoon briefing.
“I will not announce anything. We will give you a statement following the results [of the contacts],” Peskov then said in response to a TASS question about whether Putin’s schedule included a conversation with Trump.
However, later, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said at a briefing that no phone conversation between Putin and Trump was planned for October 7, leaving room for speculation that the US head of state could potentially give Putin a call on October 8.
On June 14, the day of Trump’s birthday, Putin called the US leader. The sides discussed the situations in Ukraine and the Middle East, among other topics during that call.
Russian Foreign Ministry publishes a report on falsification of history and justification of fascism
The Russian Foreign Ministry has published a Report “Regarding the actions (and inaction) of the authorities of Italy, Germany and Japan, resulting in destruction and falsification of history, justification of fascism and its accomplices”
In the year marking the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory over Nazism (World War II), not only in Russia but across the world many are rightly asking: to what extent have the lessons of the struggle against Nazism, fascism and militarism truly been learned?
Public opinion – both in countries friendly and unfriendly to Russia – that remembers the horrors of that time is witnessing the dangerous attempts of certain present-day leaders and political elites to distort objective reality, destroy and rewrite the history of World War II, revise its outcomes, whitewash war criminals who devised and implemented the theory of racial superiority, and glorify collaborators who aided the Nazis.
In a number of states, the information regarding the crimes of Hitlerism is being deliberately silenced, while the glorification of Nazism and rewriting of WWII history have been elevated to the level of official policy.
Particularly alarming is the fact that these destructive processes are advancing most rapidly in Germany, Italy and Japan – the very founders of the aggressive Axis bloc, which during World War II was opposed by the Anti-Hitler Coalition. <…>
Revisionist tendencies are gaining ground in Germany. The false thesis about the “equal responsibility of two totalitarian regimes” for unleashing WWII has long become a cornerstone of Germany’s remembrance culture, while the results of the post-war settlement are now the main target of official propaganda. <…>
Germany’s process of atonement for the crimes of the Nazi regime is largely limited to the theme of the Holocaust, while the memory of Soviet victims is deliberately ignored. <…>
It is therefore not surprising that, in this atmosphere, German law-enforcement authorities saw no violation of the law in the actions of the leadership of the former Nazi concentration camp museum Dachau, which ordered staff to remove ribbons in the national colours of Russia and Belarus from wreaths laid during a commemorative ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of Victory. <…>
The revanchist core of Japan’s modern policy is clearly reflected in Tokyo’s persistent imposition of false interpretations of events of the mid-20th century that determined the fate of humanity. <…>
Since the coming to power in October 2022 of the centre-right government in Italy led by Giorgia Meloni, there has been a noticeable trend towards greater tolerance by the authorities for the increased apologetics in some parts of society for the “values” and “achievements” of the fascist regime, as well as public reproduction of symbols and rituals of the fascist Ventennio. <…> During her time in office, the Prime Minister herself has never once made a statement of firm and unequivocal condemnation of fascism. <…>
Since 2022, Germany, Italy and Japan have consistently voted against the annually tabled resolution introduced by Russia and other co-sponsors at the UN General Assembly “Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance”.
This is the first time in history that members of Hitler’s wartime Axis coalition have openly voted against a document condemning the glorification of Nazism and all forms of racial discrimination.
The fact that these states – directly responsible for the deaths of tens of millions – now vote against a resolution calling for the prevention of Nazism’s revival raises serious questions about the ideological processes under way in these countries and in the West at large. It is also evident that these states have chosen to ignore the obligations and pledges they assumed when joining the United Nations.
FULL REPORT: https://mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/doklady/2048734/?lang=en
Tourist flow to Russia increased by 5.5% year-on-year in January-August — prime minister
Mikhail Mishustin added that Russian authorities aim to increase the tourism industry’s share of the gross domestic product to 5% over the next five years
MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/. Tourist flow to Russia increased by 5.5% year-on-year in January-August of 2025, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced at a strategic session on tourism development in the country.
“We are observing steady positive trends in tourist flow, not only domestic but, crucially, inbound as well. Overall, over 90 million trips were made last year. And in the first eight months of this year, the growth was almost 5.5%,” he said.
The prime minister added that Russian authorities aim to increase the tourism industry’s share of the gross domestic product to 5% over the next five years. Last year, this share was just under 3%.
Putin clarifies potential consequences of Tomahawk supplies to Kiev — Kremlin spokesman
Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out at the plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club on October 2 that it “would mean an entirely new, qualitatively different phase of escalation, including between Russia and the United States”
MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin made it very clear how Moscow would respond to the potential supplies of US-made Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kiev at a Valdai Club session, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a briefing.
“As for Moscow’s position, President Putin spelled it out quite unequivocally at the recent meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club. Everything was explicit there,” he noted.
Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out at the plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club on October 2 that it was impossible to use Tomahawk missiles without the direct involvement of US troops, “which would mean an entirely new, qualitatively different phase of escalation, including between Russia and the United States.” Putin stressed on October 5 that Washington’s potential decision to send Tomahawk missiles to Kiev would undermine positive trends in Russia-US relations.
OUTSIDE RUSSIA
EU once again tries to seize what rightfully belongs to Russia — Russian Foreign Ministry
On September 10, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the EC does not intend to confiscate frozen Russian assets in the West, but plans to use them to issue loans to Ukraine
MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/. The European Commission’s plans to provide Ukraine with a “reparations loan” using frozen Russian funds represent yet another attempt to seize what rightfully belongs to Russia, Director of the Department of Economic Cooperation at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dmitry Birichevsky said.
“These are not some plans to transfer [assets to Ukraine], this is simply yet another repeated attempt to steal what rightfully belongs to us. As [presidential spokesman] Dmitry Peskov said, we have the means to respond, so they should think twice before taking such ill-considered actions,” he told journalists in response to a question from TASS.
On September 10, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the EC does not intend to confiscate frozen Russian assets in the West, but plans to use them to issue loans to Ukraine. The majority of Russia’s sovereign assets frozen in Europe – slightly over 200 bln euro – are blocked at the Euroclear platform in Belgium. The depository has repeatedly opposed their expropriation, warning that such actions could lead to Russia seizing European or Belgian assets elsewhere in the world through legal proceedings.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously stated that the global financial and economic order would be disrupted, and economic separatism would intensify, should the West steal Russia’s frozen reserves. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized that Moscow will certainly respond to the theft of its assets in Europe. He stressed that the Kremlin intends to initiate legal action against those involved in this scheme.
SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATION IN UKRAINE
Ukrainian forces unable to deploy soldiers due to exhaustion — Russian security officials
“Near Kupiansk, a group of enemy soldiers has been without food and water for a long time, the men are constantly and unsuccessfully requesting supplies to be delivered to them,” Russian security structures said
DONETSK, October 8. /TASS/. The Ukrainian command was unable to deploy a group of servicemen into Kupiansk due to their physical exhaustion and dehydration, Russian security structures told TASS, noting that a group of Ukrainian forces outside the city has been without food and water for an extended period.
“Near Kupiansk, a group of enemy soldiers has been without food and water for a long time, the men are constantly and unsuccessfully requesting supplies to be delivered to them. According to our sources, the soldiers are exhausted and dehydrated, yet they are being forced to enter the city for counterattacks. The operation to deploy the group is impossible due to the soldiers’ physical condition,” the agency’s interlocutor reported.
It was clarified that the Ukrainian command is refusing to either evacuate the exhausted servicemen or send them supplies. According to the security officials, the soldiers in the unit were assured they would receive provisions as soon as they entered Kupiansk.
FACTBOX: What we know about Ukrainian overnight UAV attack on Russian regions
Alert air defense forces intercepted and destroyed 184 Ukrainian UAVs over Russian regions from 11:00 p.m. on October 6 to 7:00 a.m. Moscow time on October 7
MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/. Russian air defense forces shot down 184 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over Russian regions in the past night, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.
A car and windows in a private house were damaged by falling UAV debris in the Lipetsk Region. A Ukrainian drone attack on the Voronezh Region damaged windows and utility lines of a boiler house. Also, 15 windows of an apartment building and 20 cars sustained damage after UAV debris fell in Stary Oskol in the Belgorod Region.
Scope of Ukrainian UAV attack
– Alert air defense forces intercepted and destroyed 184 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over Russian regions from 11:00 p.m. Moscow time (8:00 p.m. GMT) on October 6 to 7:00 a.m. Moscow time (4:00 a.m. GMT) on October 7.
Aftermath
– Falling UAV debris damaged a car and windows of a private house in Yelets in the Lipetsk Region, Governor Igor Artamonov said on his Telegram channel.
– The Yelets authorities will render all required assistance to the city’s residents affected by the attack, the governor said.
– Specialists are working at the scene of the fall of UAV debris.
– Windows and utility lines of a boiler house sustained damage as a result of an attack by Ukrainian drones on the Voronezh Region. According to preliminary data, no one suffered in the attack, Governor Alexander Gusev said on his Telegram channel.
– Bomb disposal experts are working on the site of the fall of UAV debris in the field in the Gorodishchensky district of the Volgograd Region, Governor Andrey Bocharov said.
– There is no damage to infrastructure or injuries among civilians, he said.
– Air defense forces shot down a Ukrainian drone heading to Moscow, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on his channel in the Max messenger.
– Emergency service specialists are working at the scene of the fall of UAV debris, he said.
– Falling UAV debris damaged 15 windows of an apartment building and 20 cars in Stary Oskol in the Belgorod Region. There are no injuries, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
– Emergency response services are working at the scene, he added.
INSIGHTS
Behind the illusion of deadlock: what’s really happening in the Ukraine conflict
This is the war the West can’t win, can’t end, and can’t afford
Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, talk of a “stalemate” in Ukraine has become a convenient Western refrain – the kind of phrase that sounds sober while disguising strategic drift. In reality, what looks static on the battlefield conceals deep political movement, both in Washington and in the war itself.
Trump’s early approach to the conflict was loud but logical: impose a ceasefire along existing lines, freeze the situation, and move on. His mix of threats and incentives – sanctions on one hand, the promise of renewed partnership on the other – echoed the same objectives the Biden administration privately pursued in 2024.
The difference was style. Biden lacked the political strength and health to launch a diplomatic campaign; Kamala Harris might have, had she succeeded him. Trump, by contrast, acted decisively. He made his will known to the generals, the allies, and the public in his usual unfiltered fashion.
When efforts to force India and China to participate in an oil embargo failed over the summer, Washington pivoted to negotiation. The White House began floating the idea of a broader “security guarantees” deal – a truce embedded within a larger settlement. The battle today is over what those guarantees would mean in practice.
A personal, centralized policy
Trump has stripped away layers of bureaucracy, bringing Russia policy directly under his control and that of a few loyal aides. There is little expert machinery around it. The military-to-military channels that should be discussing demobilization or verification measures remain idle.
Instead, the Trump administration is trying to present Moscow with a finished product – a ready-made Western consensus hammered out with Western Europe and Kiev – and demand that Russia either accept or face the consequences.
At the same time, Washington is ratcheting up pressure: verbal barbs like calling Russia a “paper tiger,” leaks about longer-range missiles, and renewed attempts to isolate Russian oil exports through India. In every respect, Ukraine is marching in lockstep with the United States, from political messaging to targeting decisions.
Trump’s central claim is that America can now afford to step back – that Western Europe, armed with pooled resources and US-made weapons, can sustain Ukraine indefinitely. In this vision, Washington sells the arms, the EU pays the bills, and Russia bleeds slowly.
It is a neat theory, but delusional in practice. The US remains deeply embedded in the war’s infrastructure. American satellites guide Ukraine’s drones and artillery; American communications systems knit together its command structure. Efforts to substitute British OneWeb for Starlink have gone nowhere.
Although Brussels (and London) covers much of the cost, the US still funds tens of thousands of troops deployed across the continent, as well as the logistics chain that keeps them active. This drains resources from the Pacific at a time when Washington is already stretched thin against China.
The promised “pivot to Asia” has again become a slogan without substance. China’s military power has grown exponentially since Obama’s era, while the US industrial base struggles even to meet Ukraine’s short-term needs.
Western Europe’s financial strain
Trump’s claim that Western Europe can fund Ukraine alone also falters under scrutiny. Of the $360 billion pledged to Kiev by early 2025, more than $134 billion came from the US. Even by official figures, Ukraine’s 2026 defense needs exceed $120 billion, half of which remains unfunded.
As Trump insists that future American supplies be paid for at market rates, EU costs could easily double. Dreams of using frozen Russian assets are unlikely to fill the gap – their confiscation would trigger legal chaos and provoke retaliation against Western European holdings in Russia. The debates over “reparation loans” may sound bold, but they only reveal the bloc’s growing desperation.
While the front lines appear static, Ukraine’s military and social fabric are fraying. Desertion and draft evasion are climbing at exponential rates: over 250,000 criminal cases for abandonment or desertion have been opened since 2022. Even the amnesty program launched last year lured back barely a tenth of those who left.
Former commander Valery Zaluzhny himself admitted that the “stalemate” is breaking – but in Russia’s favour. Moscow’s forces, aided by superior drone technology and heavier firepower, are advancing through thinly held positions. FPV drones alone now account for up to 80 percent of Ukrainian casualties.
Meanwhile, Russia’s production advantage is expanding. Its defense industries have adapted to sanctions with unexpected speed, delivering both standard weapons and new low-altitude air-defense systems designed to neutralize small drones. Air superiority, if achieved, could transform the war overnight, and it is Russia, not Ukraine, that is closest to that threshold.
A dangerous temptation
In this climate, Washington and Kiev are tempted to raise the stakes. The idea of using Western-made missiles to strike deep into Russian territory has moved from the fringe to the discussion table. The Biden team flirted with this option; Trump, less cautious and more theatrical, might yet cross that line.
Such escalation would drag the conflict beyond Ukraine’s borders and invite responses that neither Washington nor Brussels could control.
To call this situation an “impasse” is to misunderstand it. The war is not frozen but evolving – technologically, politically, and strategically – in ways that favor Moscow. Ukraine’s Western backers are trapped by their own contradictions: a war they cannot win but dare not end, a financial burden they cannot sustain but fear to drop.
The United States, for all its noise about disengagement, remains enmeshed in the conflict it pretends to mediate. Europe, meanwhile, is discovering that moral grandstanding is no substitute for industrial power.
What appears to be a stalemate, then, is really the slow unwinding of a Western strategy that mistook endurance for success. The front may look still, but history – as ever – is moving beneath it.
