Russia is making another attempt to expand its exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) after U.S. sanctions disrupted production at its flagship Arctic LNG 2 plant, Bloomberg reported on June 28.

Arctic LNG 2, owned by the Russian company Novatek, was envisaged as Russia's largest LNG plant and aimed to produce almost 20 million metric tons of LNG per year. The U.S. State Department targeted the Arctic LNG 2 project with sanctions in 2024.

An LNG vessel has reportedly docked at the Arctic LNG 2 facility for the first time since October, according to ship-tracking data and satellite images analyzed by Bloomberg. Data suggests that at least 13 vessels of Russia's "shadow fleet" have been assembled to potentially serve Arctic LNG 2.

These include four ice-class vessels, including the one currently docked at Arctic LNG 2. Three others are idling in the Barents Sea, along with three traditional LNG vessels. Two more vessels are being repaired in China and another two are idled in the Gulf of Finland. One ship is located near a floating storage facility in Russia's Far East.

While pipeline shipments of Russian gas to Europe have declined sharply since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia's shadow fleet — a group of aging oil tankers used to circumvent global sanctions — continues to grow.

Moscow now has more vessels at its disposal than it did last year, according to Malte Humpert, founder of the Arctic Institute think tank.

"If (Russia) can find buyers, this small fleet should be sufficient to lift cargoes," Humpert told Bloomberg.

Finding buyers may present a difficulty, due to wariness about sanctions violations. Former U.S. President Joe Biden sanctioned ships and companies connected with exports from Arctic LNG 2 in 2024, thought it is not yet clear if U.S. President Donald Trump will enforce sanctions as strictly.

Representatives of Arctic LNG 2 have continued to search for buyers in China and India, but have not yet made any sales, traders familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

Arctic LNG 2 cut production from its gas fields to almost zero in November 2024, after halting liquefaction the previous month due to Western sanctions. The U.S. sanctioned two vessels and two entities connected to Arctic LNG 2 in September 2024, after previously targeting the project in a sweeping round of sanctions late August.

The August sanctions likely forced Novatek to scale back its operations at the facility. Novatek itself was sanctioned after the outbreak of the full-scale war in 2022.

Despite escalating war plans, Putin claims Russia will cut military spending starting in 2026

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on June 27 that Moscow plans to cut its military expenditure beginning next year, in a rebuke of NATO members’ plans to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP.

The Kyiv IndependentDmytro Basmat

The U.S. fast-food giant McDonald's plans to open 10 new restaurants in Ukraine this year, signaling faith in Ukraine's struggling but growing wartime economy, the New York Times (NYT) reported on June 28.

McDonald's closed all its locations in Ukraine after Russia launched the full-scale invasion in February 2022, but began reopening later that year. The 10 new restaurants will bring the total number close to 120 — more operating McDonald's locations than before the war.

"Overall, this indicates that despite the military actions, Ukraine's economy is showing positive dynamics," Viktor Mykyta,  a top economic adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, told the NYT.

"If a business like McDonald's can operate here, it shows any investors that they, too, can confidently work here."

Mykyta served as Governor of Ukraine's far-western Zakarpattia Oblast until last fall. The region was the only one in Ukraine without a McDonald's outpost — until this spring, when two McDonald's restaurants opened in Zakarpattia's cities of Uzhhorod and Mukachevo.

The expansion of McDonald's offers job opportunities and lucrative tax revenues. In 2024, McDonald's paid over $60 million in taxes in Ukraine, making it the country's largest taxpayer in the industry.

Ukraine's economy is projected to grow by 3.3% this year, according to the European Bank for Development and Reconstruction (EBRD). Earlier projections showed over 4% growth, but rising inflation and an economic slowdown exacerbated by Russian attacks on energy infrastructure and nationwide labor shortages brought the forecast down.

Still, Ukraine has been able to welcome back Western businesses that suspended operations at the start of the war, including Ikea, H&M, and Zara.

Russia's war has presented challenges to McDonald's operations. In January 2025, a Russian missile strike on Kyiv damaged Ukraine's oldest McDonald's. Many restaurants also do not offer breakfast due to frequent air raids. In March, the company relaunched its breakfast menu at six McDonald's locations.

McDonald's closed its restaurants in Russia and left the Russian market entirely in 2022.

Russia revives obsolete T-62 tanks amid equipment shortages, Ukraine’s intel claims

“The key factors limiting the ability to produce modern armored vehicles in Russia are a lack of industrial capacity and a shortage of imported high-tech components,” Ukraine’s military intelligence said.

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova