Following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Western capitals expelled hundreds of Russian spies. Many of them have since resurfaced in Japan, where weak espionage laws and a thriving high-tech industry provide ideal ground for the Kremlin. According to Ukrainian government estimates, 90 per cent of Russian missiles and drones contain Japanese components.
At the heart of the operation lies a secret unit of Russian military intelligence, the 20th Directorate, whose role had never been publicly revealed. Its officers, posing as diplomats or businessmen, purchase or steal military technology before smuggling it back to Russia. In Tokyo, the operation is led by Maksim Filchenkov, a 49-year-old GRU veteran who arrived in February 2024 and is officially employed by the airline Aeroflot, whose offices are located a ten-minute walk from the headquarters of the Japanese National Police Agency.
The supply chains pass through logistics companies and third countries, sometimes using forged shipping documents. Vietnam, the leading recipient of sensitive Japanese technology, is also the leading exporter of that same technology to Russia. The consequences are clear: in May, a Kh-101 cruise missile guided by Japanese components banned from export destroyed a residential block in Kyiv, killing at least 24 people.
Ukraine has sent Japan around fifteen diplomatic letters documenting the presence of components manufactured by NEC, Panasonic or Toshiba in Russian weapons, though without proof that these companies knowingly sold their products to Moscow. Long regarded as a “spy’s paradise” and lacking a foreign intelligence service due to constraints inherited from the Second World War, Japan is now vowing to respond, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi having launched an ambitious programme to strengthen the country’s intelligence capabilities. “We feel a sense of crisis in the face of this situation,” admits MP Akihisa Shiozaki. New York Times
Middle East
🇺🇸 United States - 🇮🇷 Iran • Fighting has resumed with unprecedented intensity since the April ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, following Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. US forces have bombed “dozens of targets” in Iran, including air defence systems, radar stations and missile capabilities, killing at least 23 people since Wednesday, according to an AFP tally. In retaliation, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards have struck US facilities in Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. Donald Trump announced the re-imposition of a naval blockade on Iranian ports and a 20 per cent transit fee on cargo passing through the strait, whilst Tehran warned that it would “under no circumstances” allow US interference in the management of this strategic waterway. The son of the late Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, described “revenge” for his father’s death as “inevitable”, and the United Kingdom has designated the Revolutionary Guards as a threat to national security. Qatar, Oman and Pakistan are continuing their mediation efforts, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on both sides to exercise restraint.
🇮🇱 Israel - 🇵🇸 Palestine • At least six people, including a nine-year-old girl, were killed yesterday in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian health officials, whilst mediators continue their discussions to preserve the US-brokered ceasefire. Israeli fire targeted a tent camp near the Al-Bureij refugee camp, whilst an air strike on a foundry in Gaza City left four people dead.
🇮🇱 Israel • The Israeli parliament has set 27 October as the date for the general election, a vote seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership. Entangled in a corruption trial, the 76-year-old leader, who is seeking a new term, is seeing his popularity plummet, with a majority of Israelis wanting him to step down, according to polls. Former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot appears to be his main rival. Anger over the security failures of 7 October and the debate over military service for the ultra-Orthodox are likely to dominate the campaign.
🇮🇱 Israel - 🇪🇺 European Union • On Monday, European Union countries discussed a possible ban on imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, spurred on by the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, but remain deeply divided over what measures to adopt. Belgium and Ireland are calling for firm measures, whilst the Czech Republic and Germany oppose them. More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank alongside around three million Palestinians, in a territory occupied by Israel since 1967. A donor conference for the Palestinian Territories was also held this afternoon in Brussels.
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates • Port operator DP World plans to build a new multi-purpose port and a container terminal on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates, in the Fujairah area, reports the Financial Times. The project would enable Dubai to reduce its reliance on its Jebel Ali hub and bypass the Strait of Hormuz, as this strategic sea route remains at the heart of tensions between the United States and Iran.
Asia-Pacific
🇨🇳 China - 🇹🇼 Taiwan • Typhoon Bavi, the most powerful storm to hit mainland China since the start of the year, made landfall in Zhejiang province with winds of up to 145 km/h, following the precautionary evacuation of more than 2.8 million people, according to a Reuters tally, including 2.2 million in that province alone. No deaths or injuries have been reported in mainland China. Prior to this, Bavi had swept across northern Taiwan, injuring 134 people, causing the cancellation of hundreds of flights and leaving more than 170,000 households without electricity. Storms have also claimed at least 39 lives this week in the south and centre of the country.
🇧🇩 Bangladesh • Flash floods and landslides caused by the monsoon have left at least 50 people dead and tens of thousands displaced in Bangladesh in the space of a week, the authorities said yesterday. The previous week, landslides had already claimed at least 15 lives in the Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar.
🇹🇭 Thailand • A fire in a bar on the outskirts of Bangkok left at least 28 people dead and more than 70 injured last night, the worst disaster of its kind in Thailand for decades.
🇰🇷 South Korea • On Sunday, South Korea issued its first-ever maximum weather alert – a new level introduced this year in response to extreme weather events – due to a heatwave in the south-east of the country. The Korean Meteorological Administration recommended that all outdoor activities be suspended in Gyeongsan and Pohang, where the heat index was expected to reach 38°C, warning of an increased risk of heat-related deaths and illnesses, even for healthy people.
Europe
🇺🇦 Ukraine • A barrage of Russian missiles, drones and glide bombs left at least eight people dead on Saturday across Ukraine from north to south, and 12 people, including two children, were injured in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced. In Sumy, a glide bomb killed five people, including a young girl, whilst a missile killed two lorry drivers in Odessa and one person died in Sloviansk. Glide bombs also injured 10 people in Zaporizhzhia and a drone injured seven people in Kharkiv. In retaliation, Ukrainian forces claimed to have carried out strikes against 76 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov over the course of the week.
🇺🇦 Ukraine • President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced his intention to replace Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who has been in office since July 2025, to entrust her with “a new and important area of relations with a key partner”. The reshuffle, which is also set to affect senior law enforcement officials, is part of a “change in political strategy” encompassing air defence and preparations for winter. An opposition MP has suggested that Yulia Svyrydenko may be appointed as ambassador to the United States.
🇩🇪 Germany - 🇷🇺 Russia • On Monday, Russia summoned the German ambassador to Moscow, deeming Germany’s growing support for Ukraine “unacceptable” and citing military agreements and joint ventures aimed at building offensive capabilities. Berlin had already summoned the Russian ambassador, and France, the United Kingdom and the European Union have announced similar measures, accusing Moscow of a widespread cyber campaign in Europe.
🇪🇺 European Union • The European Union is considering introducing “progressive and graduated” access to social media for minors, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced today; she will present proposals “after the summer”. A committee of experts has recommended banning children under 13 from accessing online platforms, except for brief periods under parental supervision, and restricting access for 13–18-year-olds to only those platforms deemed sufficiently safe. Several countries, including France, Spain and Denmark, are already implementing national restrictions.
Americas
🇻🇪 Venezuela • Two weeks after the double earthquake on 24 June, which left more than 4,300 dead and 16,740 injured according to official figures, doctors from Mexico, the United States, Brazil and Spain are working to prevent a health crisis in the makeshift camps where thousands of disaster victims are living.
🇨🇺 Cuba • The restoration of Cuba’s electricity grid was progressing slowly on Saturday following another nationwide blackout – the second in less than a week and the ninth since the end of 2024 – caused in particular by a fuel shortage linked to the US oil embargo. Barely 12 per cent of households in Havana had their power restored by the end of the day. President Miguel Diaz-Canel denounced a “genocidal oil blockade” imposed by Washington since January, which had only authorised the arrival of a single Russian oil tanker in March.
🇺🇸 United States • Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator for South Carolina, a loyal ally of President Donald Trump and a leading figure among the party’s “hawks”, died on Saturday evening at the age of 71 following a “brief and sudden illness”, according to a statement from his office. According to NBC News, the emergency services were called to his home following a report of a cardiac arrest.
