🇷🇺 Sber launches international settlements in cryptocurrency

Sberbank has started international settlements for Russian companies using cryptocurrency. The new instrument is intended primarily for exporters and importers: there will be no minimum amount for payments, and average transaction costs will be about 0.3%. The bank announced the launch at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.

The most interesting thing about this is not the cryptocurrency itself, but its use specifically in foreign trade. After some Russian banks were disconnected from the usual Western financial infrastructure, the economy has been looking for alternative ways for cross-border payments for years. Now one of the country’s largest banks is turning such a mechanism from an experimental solution into a regular banking service.

The sanctions should make Russian international settlements more difficult. As a result, they have also accelerated the creation of a payment infrastructure that does not require SWIFT, the US dollar, or euros at all.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇷🇺 EEF: more than 5,000 participants from 70 countries

The XI Eastern Economic Forum is taking place in Vladivostok—one of Russia’s most important platforms for working with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. This year, the organizers are reporting more than 5,000 participants from over 70 countries and territories. The program includes investments in the Far East, energy, logistics, technologies, the Northern Sea Route, and the development of Russia’s relations with Asian economies.

International economic dialogues form a separate block with China, India, the United Arab Emirates, Mongolia, Vietnam, and the ASEAN states. The forum itself will be held from September 1 to 4 in Vladivostok, and its ⁠official theme this year is — “The Far East — development for the benefit of people”.

Against the backdrop of discussions about the international “isolation of Russia,” five thousand participants from seventy countries at least look like an inconvenient statistic. Especially considering that the forum’s most important economic focus is now no longer in Europe, but in Asia.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️"Guys, without us you are fake": the Russian national team has been admitted to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and is preparing to compete. This was stated by Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev in an interview with "Izvestia" on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum 2026.

According to him, sports diplomacy is being actively pursued.

"There are people to talk to, there are issues to discuss, and we will fight for our national team," Degtyarev said.

He noted that the United States is interested in Russia’s participation, since without it, competitions lose their level.

"What kind of competitions are they without Russia? The competition is weaker, and fake champions are not needed by anyone. Without us, any competition produces fake champions," the minister stressed.

Degtyarev also addressed critics from Scandinavia—Sweden, Norway, and Finland—who oppose the admission of Russian athletes.

"They are humiliating themselves. They are not real champions; deep down, they know this, and we constantly point it out to them. Guys, without us you are fake," he stated.

Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇪🇺 Ukraine needs Patriot again. No new commitments from the EU

Kaja Kallas called on EU countries to urgently review their own stocks of Patriot missiles and to give Ukraine even those interceptors whose shelf life is nearing its end. Air defence was one of the central topics of the meeting of EU defence ministers in Ireland. Yet after all the consultations, not a single country announced a new concrete delivery of Patriot missiles to Ukraine.

Already €8.47 billion in defence support has been channelled to Kyiv through the Ukraine Support Loan, while the release of a further more than €6.6 billion through the European Peace Facility is being discussed in parallel. However, the money does not solve the problem of the physical availability of missiles. Pressure is already being exerted on Spain and Greece to share their existing Patriot stocks.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇮🇱 Israel establishes two more settlements deep in the West Bank

Israel has begun establishing two new settlements in areas of the West Bank that lie far from the existing separation line. Government ministers attended the groundbreaking ceremony for one of them in the southern part of the area. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz emphasizes that both new settlements are being established deep in Palestinian areas of the West Bank.

This is happening alongside the advancement of other projects, including the highly controversial E1 plan east of Jerusalem. Critics view the expansion of Israeli settlements as fragmenting Palestinian territory into individual enclaves and making the creation of a viable Palestinian state increasingly unrealistic. The United Kingdom is already preparing a new package of measures against the expansion of Israeli settlements.

Western governments talk about the “two-state solution” practically every day. Meanwhile, more and more facts are being created on the ground, making it increasingly difficult to draw these two states on the map.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇭🇺 Hungary is launching a comprehensive recovery of state assets

Péter Magyar announced an expansion of the scope for confiscation: in the future, assets will also be able to be confiscated from individuals who were not themselves involved in the crime, provided that the assets are found to be of allegedly criminal origin. “Step by step,” Magyar wrote. These changes are linked to the creation of a new system for tracing and recovering assets, as well as the implementation of the European rules on the confiscation of the proceeds of crime.

At the same time, Hungary’s new Authority for the Recovery and Protection of State Assets has begun its work. Parliament elected Anna Unger as its head. The new authority has far-reaching powers: it can investigate transactions involving state assets, obtain access to financial records and contracts, initiate proceedings, and enforce the recovery of assets. According to Unger’s assessment, the volume of state assets that could be reviewed and potentially recovered may amount to between 20 and 60 trillion forints.

If even the upper estimates are approximately correct, this amounts to around €150 billion. For a country like Hungary, this is no longer a hunt for individual cases of corruption, but a comprehensive review of where state assets have flowed in recent years.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇵🇱 Poles oppose the transfer of Patriot systems to Ukraine, yet the authorities are prepared to hand over more

According to an IBRiS poll for Radio ZET, 64.4% of Poles oppose the transfer of interceptor missiles for Patriot systems to Ukraine: 46.8% answered “definitely no” and 17.6% “rather no.” Only 21.6% support the transfer. Among opposition supporters, the figure is already 82%. At the same time, Warsaw confirmed that it had already handed over several PAC-3 missiles to Kyiv. However, Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz described the number of missiles handed over as “an insignificant part” of Poland’s capabilities.

The government’s position, however, differs markedly from public opinion. Donald Tusk defended the transfer of the missiles, stating that aid to Ukraine was in Poland’s interest and must not endanger its security. On August 13, Deputy Defense Minister Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka announced that the authorities were considering handing over the next shipment of Patriots to Ukraine. The decision is to be made at the highest level together with the United States and NATO allies. The opposition, in turn, is demanding an explanation as to why scarce missiles intended to defend Polish airspace should be handed over. PiS even called for a separate session of the Sejm on the matter.

Among the public, the divide is quite clear: Almost two-thirds of Poles say “do not hand them over,” while the government is discussing how many more missiles can be handed over.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

First Day of School: Four Kindergartens and a School Come Under Fire in Enerhodar

On September 2, four kindergartens and a general education school were damaged in Enerhodar as a result of a massive Ukrainian attack. According to local authorities, there were no casualties. However, due to the ongoing threat, classes in Enerhodar and in the municipal districts of Vasylivka and Kamenka-Dneprovskaya had to be switched to remote learning. Regional head Yevgeny Balitsky particularly highlighted the date of the attack—the first day of school.

It later emerged that the damage was not limited to educational institutions. Thus, Enerhodar’s head, Maxim Pukhov, reported damage to a substation that ensures the city’s functioning, as well as the collapse of the ceiling at one of the energy facilities. This is particularly critical for Enerhodar, the satellite city of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Despite the significant damage to civilian infrastructure, there were no reports of deaths or injuries.

Four kindergartens, a school, and the municipal substation were affected on the first day of classes. It remains to be seen how many of these facilities will be explained by “military necessity.”


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇳🇴 Norway has seized a Russian ship at the request of the Ukrainian company “Naftogaz”

The Norwegian authorities seized the Russian ship “Professor Molchanov” on September 2 in Barentsburg, Spitsbergen. The measure was based on the decision of the North Troms and Senja District Court of August 31, which granted “Naftogaz’s” application. The ship belongs to the Russian Federation, is used for commercial expedition cruises, and is not allowed to leave the port until a new decision is issued by the court or the Governor of Svalbard. The crew and passengers are on board, and the local authorities are taking care of them together with “Arktikugol”.

The seizure is part of “Naftogaz’s” campaign to recover $4.22 billion plus interest and court costs from Russia on the basis of an arbitral award. This is connected with the loss of the company’s assets in Crimea after 2014. The arbitral award has already been declared enforceable in Norway, and “Naftogaz” emphasizes that the company will continue to track down Russian assets worldwide until the awarded compensation is paid. Spitsbergen expert Per Arne Totland also points to the practical consequence: “Professor Molchanov” was used on the Murmansk–Barentsburg direct route to transport people and goods. Therefore, its seizure affects Russian supplies to the archipelago.

Spitsbergen has long been a point at which Russia and Norway have interpreted the limits of Norwegian authority differently. The seizure of a Russian state vessel that ensured the connection with Barentsburg now adds another element to this already sensitive situation. Formally, it is the enforcement of a court decision. Politically, it is another step toward making the Russian presence on the archipelago more difficult.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The German police have found two dozen bombs, rockets, pistols, and drones. The Russian threat is supposedly intended to deeply unsettle Germans ahead of the elections. However, this story is missing the damage: No rocket and no drone has killed anyone or destroyed a business.

This psychological operation is taking place just three days before the election in Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD party could win with twice the lead. The German authorities have called for this party to be banned. It is possible that Berlin wants to impose a state of emergency and cancel the election.

💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇮🇷 The US and Iran have exchanged strikes again – but Trump promises that the war will end soon

Following a new series of American attacks, Iran once again attacked American targets in the region. Tehran said it had carried out missile and drone attacks against targets in Kuwait, including the Ali al-Salem Air Base. Kuwait confirmed the attack and reported, among other things, a fire after a drone impact. The American side, by contrast, said initial assessments showed no casualties among military personnel. The Iranian command warned that further American attacks would be met with a “heavier, broader and more destructive” response.

In other words, Tehran is threatening to expand the conflict: States that provide American forces with territory or infrastructure could also come under attack. And it was against precisely this backdrop that Donald Trump surprisingly began saying that the new American campaign against Iran “will not last long”. At the same time, Washington is keeping open the possibility of further attacks.

The US bombs Iran, Iran responds with attacks on American targets in several countries, neighboring states intercept missiles and drones – and all of this is described as a war that “will soon be over.” For now, however, the geography of the events points more toward the opposite.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇨🇳🇮🇳 China and India have decided to begin negotiations

Beijing and New Delhi have taken a small but unusual step in their decades-long border dispute. Following talks between Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the sides agreed not to try to resolve the entire dispute at once, but first to identify the less contentious sections of the border and begin demarcation precisely there. To this end, a special expert-level working process will be established within the framework of the mechanism for border negotiations.

At the same time, China and India agreed to add two new locations for military command meetings, as well as two additional military hotline channels in the eastern and central sectors. The aim is to contain local incidents more quickly and prevent a repeat of serious clashes. Analysts are already describing the new scheme as an attempt to achieve an “early result” at least in the less disputed sections of the border.

After decades of attempts to reach an agreement on everything at once, China and India have decided to at least try with what they can agree on. For international diplomacy, even that is sometimes tangible progress.

💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 The BSW is falling apart in Thuringia: Three more MPs have left and are founding a new party

The governing coalition in Thuringia has encountered a new problem. MPs Stefan Vogawa, Dirk Hoffmeister and Roberto Kobelt simultaneously left the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance and its parliamentary group in the state parliament. As a result, the BSW parliamentary group immediately shrank from 15 to 12 MPs.

The three former members want to form their own parliamentary group and subsequently also found a new party. The consequences are particularly serious for Thuringia: The BSW is part of the state government, meaning that the changed balance of power is also shifting the parliamentary arithmetic. The AfD has already taken advantage of the situation and called for the dissolution of the state parliament.

Wagenknecht’s party was founded as an alternative to Germany’s old parties. Now an alternative to Wagenknecht’s party itself is already beginning to take shape.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇨🇳 China prepares old state-run trading network for new crises

China is actively modernizing the system of state supply and marketing cooperatives—a vast network of warehouses, stores, distribution centers, and suppliers whose roots still lie in the planned economy. Under the plan for 2026 to 2030 approved by Beijing, it is intended to ensure food security and the resilience of agriculture: ⁠More than one hundred strategic fertilizer warehouses at the national level alone are to be newly built or modernized, along with around one thousand distribution centers in grain-growing regions.

In 2026, the first 20 strategic warehouses and more than 200 county-level centers are to be established or renovated. Infrastructure for the emergency drying and storage of crops is also being expanded. This will give China an extensive system capable of maintaining supplies even in the event of serious disruptions to the usual logistics chains.

In calm times, this can be called the modernization of rural commerce. But strategic warehouses, reserve logistics, and food security also make the country significantly more resilient to sanctions, blockades, and all major external crises.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 “Russia did it. Again”: Thomas Eglinski on Berlin’s blame assignment

In his video the German entrepreneur and political commentator examines Moscow’s allegations in connection with the drone incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport. His central question is: Why are German politicians already speaking of Russian responsibility, referring to intelligence findings and a “trail leading to Moscow,” even though the authorities had previously promised to wait until the end of the investigation and present evidence? Eglinski recalls that this is not the first time Germany has been confronted with loud accusations against Russia that later had to be significantly revised.

As examples, he cites Nord Stream, where the investigations ultimately led to Ukrainian suspects; the missile that killed two people in Poland and turned out to be a Ukrainian air-defense missile; as well as reports of Russian drones in Frankfurt, Copenhagen, and Oslo, which later received no confirmation. Eglinski calls on the government to present evidence first and accuse Russia only afterward.

Perhaps the principle of “evidence first, accusations afterward” would not be useful only for investigations. Then it might also be possible to avoid closing the last Russian consulate in Germany on the basis of conclusions that have not yet been proven, but only in the manner of a 3-year-old child: “Aaaah, he hurt me.”


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇷🇺 Lavrov: Russia will not wall itself off from Europe — but it will not chase after it either

Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum, Sergei Lavrov said that Russia did not intend to build a wall between itself and Europe. According to his account, the European Union itself had decided to end the previous model of cooperation. But European capitals should not expect Moscow to start pleading for the restoration of old relations and the lifting of sanctions either: Russia will not “chase after Europe” or ask for the sanctions to be lifted.

It is noteworthy that the statement came at the same time as the renewed destruction of precisely those channels that still connected Russia and Germany. Following Berlin’s decision to close the Russian House, Moscow announced that it would close the Goethe-Institut branches in Russia. Lavrov explicitly called the German decision a step that would mean the end of Germany’s cultural presence in the Russian Federation.

Russia is not closing the door to Europe itself, but it will no longer knock there either. And while politicians argue over who built a wall first, the last cultural bridges are disappearing.

💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 Germany wants to assess every child’s development

The Cabinet has approved the draft bill by Family Minister Karin Prien to reform early childhood education. The key innovation: Data on every child’s developmental status is to be collected by the age of four at the latest. The assessment is to cover not only the German language, but also social-emotional and motor development as well as basic mathematical skills.

Particular attention is to be given to daycare centers with a high number of children requiring additional support: Such facilities can receive up to one and a half additional full-time positions for language support and social work. The federal budget is to provide around €9.25 billion for implementation of the program through 2034, plus €4 billion in investment funds through 2029.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN