Russian intelligence services were preparing an assassination attempt against Stefan Thumann, head of German defense startup Donaustahl, Die Zeit reported. The company supplies Ukraine with reconnaissance and loitering drones. German authorities began monitoring the case in late 2025 after a suspected Russian operative photographed the entrance to Thumann's home, following an intelligence warning that he faced an elevated threat.

Russia's average monthly wage, adjusted for purchasing power parity, surpassed those in Greece, Slovakia and Hungary in 2025, Bloomberg reported. Wage growth has significantly outpaced productivity since the start of the war, driven by military spending that has drawn labor and capital into the defense sector. The trend resembles a wartime version of "Dutch disease," with rising labor costs eroding the competitiveness and profitability of civilian industries.

Russian authorities are urging shipowners to pay for arming civilian bulk carriers operating in the Sea of Azov with heavy machine guns, MANPADS, and anti-drone defenses following a series of Ukrainian strikes on commercial shipping, Bloomberg reports. Moscow is also considering naval convoys, although the costs would still fall on traders and shipowners. The measures come as disruptions to grain exports have pushed wheat prices to their highest level in two years.

Russia has expanded its shadow fleet for transporting liquefied natural gas to 25 vessels, including at least eight secondhand LNG carriers acquired over the past six months and two newly built tankers, the Financial Times reported. The expansion comes ahead of the EU's planned 2027 ban on Russian LNG imports. Four recently acquired vessels have already transported cargoes from hubs handling sanctioned Russian LNG. Russia has also received its first two domestically built Arc7 LNG carriers from the Zvezda shipyard.