Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Paris, November 17, 2025 (Sarah Meyssonnier/AFP)

EA-Times Radio VideoCast: Russia Wobbles Over Its Invasion of Ukraine

Monday’s Coverage: 3+ Murdered in Russian Attacks on Odesa and Kharkiv

UPDATE 1425 GMT:

The Kremlin has begun “partially restricting” Telegram in Russia, reports the Russan outlet RBC.

Officials said the communications regulator Roskomnadzor, which has claimed Telegram is aiding scammers and terrorists, will begin slowing down the messenger on Tuesday.

The service is experiencing serious outages for the second day in a row, with complaints sharply increasing.

In August 2025, Roskomnadzor effectively blocked calls via Telegram and WhatsApp, claiming that the messengers were being widely used by scammers and criminals who were luring Russians into “sabotage and terrorist activities”.

UPDATE 1249 GMT:

India’s refineries are avoiding Russian oil purchases for delivery in April and are expected to refuse the trade for a longer period, say refining and trade sources.

Under pressure from US secondary sanctions in November, linked to meassures against Russia’s two largest oil companies, six of India’s seven largest refiners cut or suspended purchases in December.

India has faced a 50% tariff from the Trump Administration, 25% of it because of the oil purchases, since last summer. In the aftermath of an Indian trade deal with the European Union, Donald Trump said last week that he would cut the overall tariff to 18%.

See also EA on India Today and Pakistan TV: “Mother of All Trade Deals” Agreed by EU and India

Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Reliance Industries are not accepting offers from traders for Russian oil loading in March and April. However, they have scheduled some deliveries for March.

Most other refiners have stopped buying Russian crude.

UPDATE 1242 GMT:

At least two civilians, a woman and a child, have been murdered and 14 injured in a Russian airstrike on Sloviansk in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

The Russians attacked with a guided bomb around 10 a.m. The wounded include a 7-year-old child.

UPDATE 1148 GMT:

Estonia’s foreign intelligence service has knocked back Trump Administration claims that a deal to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is imminent.

Kaupo Rosin, the head of the service, said:

We see that Russia is setting long-term operational objectives in the war against Ukraine. This confirms that the so-called peace talk rhetoric is merely a tactic to buy time, and Russia has no intention of ending the war until its objectives are achieved.tration officials that a deal in peace talks is close.

I do not know what the US assessment is based on. [Vladimir] Putin would only make a proper deal in our view, if the economy or financial sector takes very heavy hits with, for example, additional sanctions, which would be directed towards oil and gas industry….If additional measures and pressure are applied, then maybe Putin’s calculus changes. But currently, we do not see any change in his thinking.

Rosin said, “We see that Russia’s economy has entered a downturn. this is fuelled by defense sector expanding at the expense of the contracting civilian economy and sanctions that amplify low productivity caused by outdated technology.”

However, he assessed, “The total collapse of the Russian economy remains highly unlikely. A more plausible outcome is that financial considerations will carry much greater weight in political decision-making than before.”

UPDATE 1032 GMT:

After two sets of Ukraine-Russia-US talks, Moscow is continuing to reject an end to its invasion.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko demanded that, despite Moscow’s aggression, it should be the one receiving security guarantees.

“We recognize that a peaceful settlement in Ukraine must take into account Ukraine’s security interests, but the key importance, of course, is Russia’s security interests,” Grushko said on Tuesday.

He sniped:

If you look carefully at all the statements made by the leaders of the European Union, no one talks about guarantees for Russia’s security.

This is a key element of reaching an agreement. Without it, no peace treaty is possible.

The Minister explained that the “guarantees” include a prohibition on Ukraine joining NATO and on foreign troops on Ukrainian territory.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pushed back against Trump Administration claims of progress, declaring there was “some kind of enthusiastic perception of what is happening” that should not be embraced.

“Negotiations are continuing… there is still a long way to go,” he said.

Lavrov complained on Monday that the Trump camp is “backtracking” on supposed agreements at a Putin-Trump summit in Alaska in August, including over joint US-Russian economic projects.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine and France have agreed to start joint weapons production.

Ukraine Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov annnounced the agreement on Monday after hosting his French counterpart Catherine Vautrin in Kyiv. The two signed a letter of intent for “large-scale joint projects in the defense-industrial sector”.

“We are moving from supplies to joint production and long-term solutions that systematically strengthen our defencs,” he posted.

The agreement did not specify what arms will be produced or will manufacturing would start.

Fedorov and Vautrin also discussed new shipments of French weapons and military equipment to Ukraine, including Aster missiles, Mirage 2000 fighter jets, and SAMP-T air defense systems.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Kyiv will open 10 weapons export centers during 2026 in Europe, including in Baltic and Northern European countries. He added:

In mid-February, we will see the production of our drones in Germany. I will receive the first drone. This is a fully operational production line. In the UK, similar production lines are already running….

Today, Europe’s security is built on technology and drones. All of this will be based largely on Ukrainian technology and Ukrainian specialists.

In his nightly address to the nation on Monday, Zelensky added: