Germany’s foreign intelligence service, Federal Intelligence Service (BND), has accused Moscow of understating the economic toll of its war in Ukraine, estimating that Russia’s 2025 budget deficit is significantly higher than officially reported. In a LinkedIn post, the BND said the actual federal deficit stood at 8.01 trillion roubles, compared with the official figure of
Vladimir Putin has ended his silence concerning the reported demise of Yevgeny Prigozhin, approximately 24 hours after the crash of Prigozhin’s private jet associated with the Wagner group. The Russian president commented that the leader of the mercenary organization was a “gifted individual” who had “made significant errors in his life.”

