Russia Policy Monitor No. 2705

AN EYE ON SVALBARD
In an indicator that the Kremlin's imperial urges go well beyond Ukraine, a top Russian official has reiterated the country's claims to Norway's Svalbard peninsula. At a recent meeting of Russia's "Governmental Commission on Svalbard," which he chairs, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Trutnev asserted that maintaining Russia's claim to the Arctic archipelago was of "fundamental importance." Russia, Trutnev disclosed, has spent more than 900 million rubles ($11.5 million) to support the activities of state energy firm Arktikugol in the area – through which Russia maintains an active presence in Svalbard. (Barents Observer, November 18, 2025)

[EDITORS' NOTE: Svalbard is the subject of considerable contention in relations between Russia and Norway. In 1925, 14 countries ratified a treaty recognizing Norway's sovereignty over the area. A decade later, the Soviet Union signed on to the treaty. And in 1947, Norway's legislature recognized that the USSR had special economic interests there. But Russian claims over the area have continued – so much so that a few years ago, one Russian newspaper even predicted that Svalbard could be the site of, and reason for, a new conflict between the two countries.]

MOSCOW LEVELS A NEW TECH TAX
Russia's Finance Ministry has submitted a long-awaited tax bill that would create a technology levy on both importers and domestic producers of products such as cell phones and laptops. Finished electronic products would be taxed first, but the system would then be expanded to include components thereof. It remains unclear exactly how the rate (which is expected to vary by product) will be determined, but sources claim the fee will be capped at $62 per product. International experts say this will inevitably lead to an increase in technology prices on the Russian market, as the tax is passed on to the consumer. However, it could also hurt legitimate importers as the market for black market products inevitably expands.

The law is intended to help domestic manufacturers, whose state subsidies are being significantly cut this year. Proponents claim this policy is aimed at stabilizing a sector that has seen rapid decline and stagnation, worsened by the exit of Western firms from the Russian market after the invasion of Ukraine. As that war rages on, the technology levy is just one of many new taxes the Kremlin hopes will keep its economy afloat. (Meduza, November 13, 2025)

STILL NO DRONE DEFENSE IN EUROPE
The latest mystery drone appearance, which occurred near a Danish airport in mid-November and forced a temporary shutdown, also sparked renewed debate about the European Union’s defense capabilities. EU defense commissioner Andrius Kubilius has addressed the EU’s slow response to alleged Russian drone activity over NATO states, and argued that the bloc needs to integrate Ukraine's "battle-tested" strategies and questioned the slow drone defense progress over the last two years. There are now plans to build a continental anti-drone network, though the project remains largely notional, despite the growing Russian drone threat to European nations. (The European Conservative, November 17, 2025)

RUSSIAN SUBVERSION TARGETS UKRAINIAN TEENS
Ukrainian teenagers are the newest recruits in Moscow's sabotage operations across Europe, which emphasize "quantity over quality." The teens, France24 reports, are contacted online through chat programs such as Telegram and offered small sums of money to photograph strategic locations, torch vehicles, and even plant explosives, in a manner similar to the popular online game "Pokémon Go." Experts describe this "gamification" of sabotage as targeted specifically at impressionable Ukrainian youth, both those living within Ukraine and those who are now refugees in other European states. The young refugees serve a particularly valuable role in this regard, since their Ukrainian passports allow them to travel freely around the EU, where attacks by Ukrainians have the potential to turn Western public opinion against continued support for Kyiv. (France 24, Nov 27, 2025)