Belgrade is destabilizing the Balkans through illegal structures and its failure to acknowledge crimes of the past, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti told Conflict Zone's Tim Sebastian. Kurti said Serbia's relationship with Moscow includes military and economic ties.

Russia on Monday accused Western countries of having "essentially stolen" its gold and foreign exchange reserves via sanctions.

The US Department of Defense believes Russia is installing proxy officials in order to seize Ukrainian land. A bridge in the Russian-controlled Kherson region was reportedly damaged by shelling. DW rounds up the latest.

Leaders are asking Russian speakers in Germany not to heed "the cynical and trivializing disinformation campagin led by Russian state media." The statement came a day after a pro-Russian rally in Berlin.

How far is China willing to go to support Russia amid its war in Ukraine? Washington has warned there will be consequences if Beijing offers financial assistance or military support to Moscow. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping may have pledged a no limits relationship, but there is a cost to standing up together to their joint rival: America. Regardless, the war provides China with a case study of Western resolve, and an opportunity to learn from Russia's mistakes.

The growing exodus of Western firms has upset Russian consumers, while authorities are weighing up the possibility of temporarily taking over firms with large shares of foreign ownership. We take a closer look. Also, the IMF warns that rising commodity prices due to the war in Ukraine could hurt developing nations in particular, and investors grapple with market volatility.

Exiled Russian Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky said in an interview with FRANCE 24 from London that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is political "suicide" for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who "cannot win in Ukraine, even if he manages to take Kyiv or Kharkiv". This war is the result of an "emotional decision" by Putin, the former oligarch said.

"Russia doesn't threaten anyone," the government spokesperson has said in a bid to calm concerns raised by Ukraine, the European Union and the US.

The Kremlin seemed to distance itself from a threat made by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko amid a standoff with the European Union.

The Russian president is likely to self-isolate for at least another week. He cancelled all in-person events earlier this week after announcing the outbreak.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is in self-isolation after cases of the coronavirus emerged in his inner circle. He will skip a regional summit in Tajikistan that he was scheduled to attend later in the week.

The election monitoring group Golos has been added to a list of organizations with foreign backers. The move comes a month before Russia's parliamentary vote.