Russia–Vietnam Energy Deal: Zarubezhneft and Vietnam’s Petrovietnam signed a framework agreement to jointly set up a strategic oil reserve in Vietnam, with details on size and timeline not disclosed. Arctic Trade & Logistics: A Chinese container ship completed a near-halving voyage time via Russia’s Northern Sea Route, highlighting the “Polar Silk Road” push despite seasonality and dependence on Russian support. BRICS Momentum: India’s BRICS chairship (resilience, innovation, cooperation, sustainability) heads into the Sept. 12-13 leaders’ summit, while analysts note BRICS’ edge depends on PPP vs nominal GDP. Ukraine War Spillover to Russia’s Economy: Ukraine carried out deep drone strikes on Russian gas infrastructure in Siberia and hit Novorossiysk port assets, while BBC analysis says Russia’s jet-powered drones are increasingly hard for Ukraine to intercept. Markets & FX: Russia’s central bank set the euro at 99.2525 rubles for Sept. 10; the federal budget deficit hit 68.3bn USD (2.5% of GDP) in Jan–Aug. Diplomacy Under Pressure: US envoys Witkoff and Kushner met Putin and Zelensky with no breakthrough, and Trump is reportedly considering expanding CIA chief Ratcliffe’s role in talks. Frozen Assets Politics: PACE backed a mechanism to use frozen Russian Central Bank assets to compensate Ukraine, potentially reaching tens or hundreds of billions of euros.