INSIDE RUSSIA
“There are people in the so-called West who do not understand Russia but this does not prevent us from living and growing,” the Russian leader said
MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. Russia has friends across the globe, both in the East and the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated at a meeting of the “Movement of the First” Children’s and Youth Movement’s supervisory board.
“We have a lot of friends everywhere – in the West, in the East, in the North, and in the South. All over the world. And we have substantially more friends than those who do not really understand us very well,” the president pointed out.
“There are people in the so-called West <…> who do not understand Russia. But this does not prevent us from living and growing. This should only encourage us to expand the number of people who understand us and want to live in peace and friendship with us,” he added.
“We will succeed in this area if we actively and effectively work among other things, and perhaps most importantly, with young people – children, teenagers, who are the foundation of the country’s future and cherish this country, who recognize that family and the motherland are among life’s greatest values,” the Russian leader emphasized.
“People like you understand this, and I very much hope that you will pass this down to the next generation,” Putin told an officer who has dedicated himself to working with children.
Russia works with China and India on Arctic projects
Director of the Department for European Cooperation at the Russian Foreign Ministry VladislavMaslennikov noted that Russia was open to constructive engagement in the Arctic, including the use of the Northern Sea Route
MURMANSK, March 26. /TASS/. Russia remains open to cooperation with China and India on Arctic projects, including the development of the Northern Sea Route. Certain advancements in this direction have already been made, Director of the Department for European Cooperation at the Russian Foreign Ministry VladislavMaslennikov said during the International Arctic Forum.
“Our country is open to constructive engagement in the Arctic, including the use of the Northern Sea Route, with all interested foreign nations, including non-regional partners such as India and China,” the diplomat noted.
In this regard, he added, “there have already been some successful developments, and a sector-specific dialogue has been established.”
The sixth International Arctic Forum is being held for the first time in Russia’s Murmansk Region. The event serves as a platform for discussing pressing issues related to the socio-economic development of Arctic territories, as well as for forming multi-level, multilateral mechanisms for the effective exploration of the region’s vast resource potential.
Putin submits treaty on Russia’s strategic partnership with Iran to Duma for ratification
The comprehensive strategic partnership treaty was signed during the visit of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to Moscow in January 2025
MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted the treaty on Russia’s comprehensive strategic partnership with Iran to the government for ratification.
The document will be presented to lawmakers by Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko.
“[I hereby decree] to appoint Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko as the official representative of the Russian president when the chambers of the Russian Federal Assembly consider the issue of ratifying the treaty on comprehensive strategic partnership between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran, signed in Moscow on January 17, 2025,” the presidential decree said.
The comprehensive strategic partnership treaty was signed during the visit of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to Moscow in January 2025. The document establishes the legal framework for the further development of cooperation between Moscow and Tehran in the long term. The treaty consolidates the status of Russia and Iran as strategic partners and covers all spheres, including defense, counter-terrorism, energy, finance, transport, industry, agriculture, culture, science and technology.
OUTSIDE RUSSIA
Russian envoy’s informal credential presentation due on March 27 — US State Department
Senior Bureau Official for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Louis Bono will attend “Russian Ambassador to the United States Alexander Darchiev’s informal credential presentation in Washington, D.C.”
WASHINGTON, March 27. /TASS/. The informal credential presentation by Russia’s new Ambassador to the US Alexander Darchievis expected to take place on March 27, according to the US Department of State’s daily public schedule.
The document points out that Senior Bureau Official for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Louis Bono will attend “Russian Ambassador to the United States Alexander Darchiev’s informal credential presentation in Washington, D.C.”
No other details are available.
Russia demands UNESCO, OSCE, UN take measures to stop Ukrainian attacks on press
“We demand that they take comprehensive measures to put an end to Ukrainian neo-Nazis attacking members of the press, as mandated by their charters,” Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said
MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. UNESCO, the OSCE and the UN need to take decisive measures to stop Ukraine’s attacks on Russian media representatives, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
“We demand that they take comprehensive measures to put an end to Ukrainian neo-Nazis attacking members of the press, as mandated by their charters. Any silence on this blatant brutality or attempts to issue meaningless statements will be regarded as deliberate complicity in Kiev’s ongoing bloody campaign against journalists,” the diplomat said.
Current Kiev government fails to represent interests of Ukrainian people
The top Russian diplomat also pointed out that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen “categorically ignores” the laws on the extermination of everything Russian passed by the Nazi regime of Vladimir Zelensky
MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. Ukraine’s current leadership does not represent the interests of a large part of the country’s population, and Crimea, Donbass and Novorossiya’s affiliation is no longer up for debate taking into account the Russian Constitution, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
“It is clear that those who now lead Ukraine under the ‘puppeteering’ of Western patrons do not represent the interests of a large part of the population. Crimea and Donbass, Novorossiya – these are long-closed matters, given the way the results of the referendum on these territories are reflected in our constitution,” he said in an interview with the Vesti program.
The top Russian diplomat also pointed out that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen “categorically ignores” the laws on the extermination of everything Russian passed by the Nazi regime of Vladimir Zelensky and before him by Pyotr Poroshenko. “Such Western hypocrisy means only one thing: they have not come to terms with the fact that another time has come, that there is already multipolarity. Everyone should be equal and respect each other, compete fairly,” the foreign minister emphasized.
Referendums on becoming part of Russia were held in the Donetsk and the Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as in the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions from September 23 to 27. The overwhelming majority of the population voted in favor of joining Russia. The signing ceremony for the agreements on the regions’ accession to the Russian Federation was held on September 30 in the Grand Kremlin Palace’s St. George Hall. On October 4, Putin ratified the accession treaties of the abovementioned territories to Russia.
Financial infrastructure important for BRICS trade, economies — Russian minister
According to Anton Siluanov, Russia considers various financial innovations on the BRICS floor, including the cross-border payment system that can be based on national currencies
MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. The buildup of the financial infrastructure is important for development of trade and economies of BRICS countries, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told reporters.
“We are considering our various financial innovations on the BRICS floor, including the cross-border payment system that can be based, further to bilateral settlements, on national currencies with consideration of digital technologies and digital financial assets,” Siluanov said.
“The buildup of the financial infrastructure is very important for development of trade and economies of our countries,” the minister added.
West tries to squeeze Russia out of Arctic under guise of fighting climate change
According to Maslennikov, Western firms are pushing “to impose artificial restrictions on Arctic shipping, which could have a negative impact on the implementation of Russian Arctic projects”
MURMANSK, March 26. /TASS/. Western states are seeking to reduce Russia’s participation in the development of the Arctic under the guise of combating climate change and protecting the environment, Director of the Foreign Ministry’s Department of European Affairs VladislavMaslennikov said.
The diplomat drew attention to the fact that many Western countries, while verbally declaring their interest in the peaceful development of the Arctic, “are conducting provocative actions to promote the so-called principle of free navigation in the north, including near the waters of the Northern Sea Route.”
“Under the guise of protecting the environment and combating climate change, we are witnessing ongoing attempts at actually unfair competition,” he told the International Arctic Forum.
According to Maslennikov, Western firms are pushing “to impose artificial restrictions on Arctic shipping, which could have a negative impact on the implementation of Russian Arctic projects and the development of the Northern Sea Route.”
He noted that the new anti-Russian sanctions adopted by the European Union, which he pointed out run counter to international law, are aimed, among other things, at making it harder for Russia to implement its projects and slowing down development of the potential of the Northern Sea Route (NSR).
“At the same time, European economic operators, which are cut off from promising cooperation with Russian partners and from the unique capabilities of the NSR, suffer most from such rash actions,” he said.
“In any geopolitical situation, the Russian Foreign Ministry will continue to provide comprehensive assistance to the development of the Northern Sea Route and the protection of Russian Arctic shipping in general,” the diplomat said.
About the Forum
The sixth International Arctic Forum Arctic is being held in the Murmansk Region for the first time. The Forum serves as a platform for discussing the socio-economic development of the Arctic territories, including multilateral strategies for how to harness the region’s vast resources.
A key focus is the Northern Sea Route’s expansion, coinciding with the 500th anniversary of its exploration.
TASS is the information partner of the forum.
SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATION IN UKRAINE
Kiev seeks to derail peace agreements — Russian mission to UN
According to Dmitry Polyansky, Russia is fully ready for a military scenario of settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, but prefers to settle it by diplomatic means
UNITED NATIONS, March 26. /TASS/. The Kiev authorities are trying to derail the peace agreements with their strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure, which shows their lack of commitment, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said.
“Kiev, having agreed in words to the energy ceasefire, continues to plan and carry out strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure, trying to deceive both us and the United States in this way. It is absolutely clear that through such actions it is trying to derail any peace agreements and clearly demonstrates its lack of commitment,” he said at a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine.
According to the diplomat, Russia is fully ready for a military scenario of settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, but prefers to settle it by diplomatic means.
“Today, thanks to the efforts of the presidents of Russia and the United States, there is a real chance that this settlement will be diplomatic and that tens, if not hundreds of thousands of lives of ordinary Ukrainians will be saved. Of course, the military scenario remains on the table. And we are also ready for its implementation. But we prefer peace and diplomacy,” Polyansky emphasized.
Kiev loses over 70,000 troops since Kursk incursion
The ministry specified that over the past day the Ukrainian army lost more than 230 personnel, a tank, an armored personnel carrier and an armored combat vehicle
MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. The Ukrainian army has lost more than 70,000 troops since its incursion into Russia’s borderline Kursk Region, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.
“Over the period of fighting in the Kursk frontline area, the enemy has lost more than 70,190 troops, 402 tanks, 327 infantry fighting vehicles, 290 armored personnel carriers, 2,223 armored combat vehicles, 2,548 motor vehicles, 585 artillery guns, 53 multiple rocket launchers, including 13 HIMARS and seven MLRS of US manufacture,” the ministry’s statement reads.
The ministry specified that over the past day the Ukrainian army lost more than 230 personnel, a tank, an armored personnel carrier, an armored combat vehicle, six motor vehicles, an electronic warfare station, a UAV control post and an ammunition depot.
Ukraine still targeting Russian energy infrastructure
Kiev is doing everything to sabotage steps by Moscow and Washington to settle the Ukraine conflict, the Defense Ministry has said
Ukraine continues to target Russian energy infrastructure despite claims by Vladimir Zelensky that he accepts an agreement between Moscow and Washington to halt such attacks, the Russian Defense Ministry has said.
The Ukrainian military has made at least three attempts to strike Russian energy facilities over the past 24 hours, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
Overnight, two Ukrainian drones were shot down by air defenses off the Tarkhankut Peninsula in Russia’s Crimea, the statement read. The UAVs were targeting the Glebovskoye underground gas storage facility, it added.
Also on Wednesday, consumers in a district of Kursk Region were left without electricity after a high-voltage power line was disconnected as a result of a drone attack on an energy facility, according to the ministry.
Another UAV strike on Russian energy infrastructure in Kursk Region on Tuesday led to disruptions of electricity supply that affected around 4,000 people, it added.
The ministry stressed that the attacks are happening “despite a public statement by Zelensky about accepting the Russian-American agreements reached in Riyadh on March 24 to stop attacks on civilian energy facilities.”
“By continuing to deliver damage to Russia’s civilian energy infrastructure, the Kiev regime is, in fact, doing everything to disrupt the Russian-American agreements on implementing step-by-step measures to resolve the Ukrainian conflict,” the statement read.
The suspension of strikes on energy infrastructure by Moscow and Kiev was agreed following a phone call last week between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump.
After the talks between Russian and US experts in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Monday, Moscow published a list of energy facilities covered by the deal, which includes oil and gas processing and storage facilities, electricity producing and distribution sites, nuclear power plants, and dams of hydroelectric plants. The pause took effect on March 18 and will last for 30 days, according to the Russian side.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Zelensky expressed readiness to observe the Trump-proposed agreement to mutually halt attacks on energy facilities with Russia as well as to stop fighting in the Black Sea.
“We do not hit their energy. They do not hit our energy. I think there will be a million questions and details, but today it sounds like this: each side does not use the corresponding weaponry against the energy of both sides,” the Ukrainian leader said.
Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia intends to continue to uphold the moratorium on strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure despite repeated violations by Kiev.
Another Russian journalist killed in Ukrainian strike
Channel One news correspondent Anna Prokofieva died while on assignment in Belgorod Region
Anna Prokofieva, war correspondent for Russia’s Channel One, was killed on Wednesday while on assignment in Belgorod Region, which borders Ukraine. The broadcaster confirmed her death and said that cameraman Dmitry Volkov had also been injured during the incident.
Prokofieva was reportedly working in the village of Demidovka, an area near active fighting. According to early reports, the 35-year-old journalist was killed either by a drone strike or a fatal shrapnel wound, although accounts of the incident differ.
Earlier this week, three members of news crews were killed in Ukrainian attacks in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) and in Kursk Region.
In recent days, Prokofieva had been reporting from the recently liberated town of Sudzha, where she helped evacuate civilians from the area.
“Channel One war correspondent Anna Prokofieva was killed in the line of duty. This happened in Belgorod Region on the border with Ukraine, where the Channel One news crew hit an enemy mine,” the broadcaster said in a statement.
Her death was first reported by military blogger Vladimir Romanov, who wrote that she was killed on Wednesday while carrying out an editorial assignment. Romanov relayed via his Telegram channel that Prokofieva had been working in the village of Demidovka, in Krasnoyaruzhsky District.
Channel One cameraman Dmitry Volkov has been seriously injured and is currently on a ventilator, according to Acting Kursk Governor Alexander Khinshtein. He is being urgently transported to the Kursk Regional Hospital for treatment.
The broadcaster had reported earlier that Volkov had been working alongside Prokofieva at the time of the incident.
Prokofieva held a journalism degree from the People’s Friendship University (RUDN) and was fluent in Spanish. Prior to joining Channel One, she worked in the Spanish-language division of Rossiya Segodnya news agency. In 2023, she became a war correspondent for Channel One, covering the Ukraine conflict.
Commenting on the reporter’s death, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Kiev of deliberately targeting journalists and undermining international laws designed to protect members of the press.
Prokofieva covered the special military operation from some of its most intense fighting areas, often from Russian Armed Forces positions, according to TASS. She documented the demining of recently liberated territories, working closely with sappers and sometimes standing just meters from unexploded shells, the outlet said. While filming her reports alongside the troops, she reportedly came under fire on multiple occasions.
INSIGHTS
Dmitry Trenin: Liberalism is dead, this is what comes after
In Trump’s world, great powers don’t preach – they compete
The phrase “changing world order” has become a familiar refrain in international affairs. But what’s often missed is how rapidly that change is now unfolding – and who is accelerating it.
Regime changes in international relations are usually the result of crises: wars between great powers or upheavals within them. This was the case in 1939-1945 and again in 1989-1991. Usually, the problems accumulate over years and decades, and the resolution comes unexpectedly: the slow movement of tectonic plates suddenly accelerates dramatically, an avalanche begins that rapidly changes the landscape. We have had the opportunity to observe something similar in recent weeks. The most striking thing is that the main factor in the changes has been the leadership of the state which until now has defended the remnants of the old world order most stubbornly, even fiercely.
The fall of unipolarity, once long predicted and cautiously awaited, has arrived ahead of schedule. The United States, long the enforcer of liberal internationalism, is no longer trying to stop the shift toward a multipolar world. Under Donald Trump, it has joined it.
This pivot is not a mere campaign promise or rhetorical shift. It is a structural break. In the space of weeks, the US has gone from resisting the multipolar order to attempting to dominate it on new terms – less moralism, more realism. In doing so, Washington may inadvertently help deliver the very outcome that previous administrations worked so hard to prevent.
Trump’s turn has broad and lasting implications. The world’s most powerful actor has abandoned the guardianship of liberal globalism and embraced something far more pragmatic: great power rivalry. The language of human rights and democracy promotion has been replaced with “America First,” not just domestically, but in foreign relations as well.
The new US president has shelved the rainbow banners of BLM and the alphabet soup of Western liberalism. Instead, he waves the American flag with confidence, signaling to allies and adversaries alike: US foreign policy is now about interests, not ideologies.
This is not theoretical. It is a geopolitical earthquake.
Firstly, multipolarity is no longer hypothetical. Trump has shifted the US from an enforcer of unipolarity to a player in multipolarity. His doctrine – “great power competition” – aligns more with the realist tradition than with the post-Cold War liberalism that dominated Washington for decades.
In this view, the world is made up of sovereign poles: the US, China, Russia, India – each pursuing its own interests, sometimes in conflict, sometimes overlapping. Cooperation arises not from shared values, but from shared necessities. This is a world Russia knows well – and one in which it thrives.
Secondly, Washington’s pivot to realism means a fundamental shift in how it engages with the world. The era of liberal crusades is over. Trump has defunded USAID, slashed “democracy promotion” budgets, and shown a willingness to work with regimes of all types – so long as they serve American interests.
This is a departure from the binary moral frameworks of the past. And ironically, it aligns more closely with Moscow’s own worldview. Under Trump, the White House no longer seeks to export liberalism, but to negotiate power.
Thirdly, the West, as we knew it, is gone. The liberal “collective West” – defined by shared ideology and transatlantic solidarity – no longer exists in its previous form. The US has effectively withdrawn from it, prioritizing national interest over globalist commitments.
What remains is a fractured West, split between nationalist-led governments like Trump’s and more traditional liberal strongholds in Brussels, Paris, and Berlin. The internal clash between these two visions – nationalism versus globalism – is now the defining political struggle across the West.
This struggle is far from over. Trump’s dominance may look assured, but domestic resistance remains potent. If Republicans lose the 2026 midterms, his ability to pursue his agenda could be blunted. He is also constitutionally barred from running again in 2028, which means time is short.
As the West fractures, the “World Majority” – an informal coalition of nations outside the Western bloc – grows stronger. Originally coined to describe states that refused to sanction Russia or arm Ukraine, it now represents a broader realignment.
The World Majority isn’t a formal alliance, but a shared posture: sovereignty over submission, trade over ideology, multipolarity over hegemony. BRICS, the SCO, and other regional formats are maturing into genuine alternatives to Western-led institutions. The global South is no longer a periphery – it’s a stage.
We are witnessing the consolidation of a new “Big Three”: the US, China, and Russia. India is likely to join them. These are not ideological allies, but civilizational powers, each pursuing its own destiny.
Their relations are transactional, not sentimental. China, for example, has managed a tightrope walk during Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, maintaining a strategic partnership with Moscow while safeguarding access to Western markets.
That’s not betrayal – it’s good diplomacy. In the multipolar world, every player watches their own flank. Russia respects that. And increasingly, it acts the same way.
Moscow’s place in the new world is another issue. Russia has emerged from the past two years more self-reliant, more assertive, and more central to the international system. The war in Ukraine – and the resilience of Russia’s economy, society, and military – has shifted global perceptions.
Russia is no longer treated as a junior partner or regional power. It is now engaged on equal terms with Washington, Beijing, and New Delhi. This shift is visible not only in diplomacy, but in global logistics: new Eurasian trade corridors, expanded BRICS cooperation, and increasing use of national currencies in trade.
Having confirmed its status as one of the world’s leading powers as a result of the Ukraine conflict, Russia is in a position to take its rightful place in this world. We must not indulge in illusions and relax. America’s turn to realism is the result of the success of the Russian army, the resilience of the Russian economy and the unity of the Russian people.
What matters now is to build on this momentum. The US may have pivoted to realism, but it remains a competitor. Russia must continue strengthening its technological sovereignty, deepening ties with Asia, and pursuing a foreign policy anchored in pragmatism, not nostalgia.
Russia must continue to observe the internal battles in the West – especially the US presidential cycle and tensions inside the EU. But it should no longer hinge its policies on Western acceptance or approval. Moreover, Moscow’s relations with Western European countries are becoming increasingly strained against the backdrop of its dialogue with Washington.
Western unity is increasingly conditional, transactional, and riddled with contradictions. France, Germany, and Italy may face political turbulence. Integration may falter. Russia’s engagement should be tactical – eyes open, cards close to the chest.
There is no point waiting for the new world to be declared – it is already here. We have moved beyond theory. Now begins the contest for position. The world has become multipolar not because anyone willed it, but because power itself has shifted. Trump did not cause this alone. But he has – perhaps unwittingly – accelerated the process.
Russia’s job now is not to prove the old order wrong, but to ensure it claims its place in the new one.
This article was first published by the magazine Profile and was translated and edited by the RT team.
