EXCLUSIVE: Both Russia and Ukraine are trying to "maximise their position" prior to the return of Donald Trump to the White House, suggested Rand Europe's James Black.

With soaring inflation and the ruble dropping to one of its lowest levels against the dollar since President Vladimir Putin launched his war in Ukraine, this year Russians will have to pay more for the dish, which is traditionally served alongside caviar and tangerines, before the New Year is toasted in.

Russian losses in Ukraine are helping fuel a demographic timebomb that could see the country’s population reduced by half by the end of the century, experts have told the Kyiv Independent. “The impact on Russian society is devastating,