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Russian president Vladimir Putin has acknowledged crop shortages as pressure on the country’s economy continues to mount. Pressure is mounting on Russia amid labour shortages, international sanctions, record interest rates, and inflation, but Putin’s admission of shortages of key crops marks a milestone in the nation’s woes. Speaking yesterday in a televised meeting, he said: “Yesterday, I met with representatives from various business sectors, including agriculture. It turns out that we don’t have enough potatoes. “I spoke with Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko. He said, ‘We’ve already sold everything to Russia’.” Potato shortages have become a serious problem in neighbouring Belarus, with...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that there’s a “new sheriff in town” and that the Senate is prepared to act regardless of the next steps the Russian leader chooses to take. In a pair of X posts and in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Tuesday, Graham said Putin’s dramatic escalation in military strikes over the weekend and his two-hour phone call with President Trump last week reflect the “same ol’, same ol’ from Putin’s Russia.” “Escalate to de-escalate,” Graham said in a post on X, naming Putin’s first strategy, before naming Putin’s second: “Drag it...

President Trump’s “Golden Dome” plan has riled the three countries whose weapons technology poses the greatest threat to American territory, with China, Russia and North Korea claiming the missile-defense project is driving a dangerous new arms race. -snip- North Korea slammed the Golden Dome on Tuesday as the “largest arms-buildup plan in history.” China and Russia in a joint statement earlier this month called the project “deeply destabilizing.” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in a briefing to journalists Tuesday, said the plan “represented a direct disruption to the foundations of strategic stability.” All three countries have also denounced Trump’s...

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Russia and the United States "cannot agree on everything" after US President Donald Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin "absolutely crazy" and criticized strikes on Ukrainian cities. "But the political will to implement the agreements that are reached is there, and the work continues," Peskov added.

Russia criticized the U.S. for its Golden Dome anti-missile system, announced recently by President Donald Trump, saying it undermines strategic stability. Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Washington to abandon the deployment of weapons in space. Her comments came at a press briefing on Tuesday morning and were reported by TASS, a Russian state news agency. -snip- Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a press briefing: "This highly offensive system violates the principle of peaceful use of outer space. It will exacerbate the risk of turning outer space into a battlefield and...

Russia does not see the Vatican as a serious venue for peace talks with Ukraine because the Holy See is the seat of Catholicism and is surrounded by Italy, a NATO and EU member, three senior Russian sources told Reuters. They also point out that many Russian officials cannot even fly there due to Western restrictions. The Vatican has so far been silent in public on the idea raised by U.S. President Donald Trump after a call with President Vladimir Putin that Pope Leo XIV could host talks aimed at ending Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two. Italian Prime...

Kyiv endured a night of hell as Vladimir Putin unleashed new terror on the Ukrainian capital. Apocalyptic scenes unfolded during more than seven hours of bombardment which saw missiles and drones hit until 5.10am today. Explosions and fires broke out across the capital city - as a senior Moscow military figure and hardline politician insisted Putin's aim is to unite Russia, Ukraine and Belarus into a single state.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune warned President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that if he does not "make a serious proposal for an immediate ceasefire" with Ukraine, the Senate will pass new sanctions against the Russian government. -snip- "If Russia is not willing to engage in serious diplomacy, the Senate will work with the Trump administration to consider additional sanctions to force Putin to start negotiating," Thune said Thursday. This comes the same week Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned senators in a hearing that if "you start threatening sanctions, the Russians will stop talking." -snip- The bill also would set...

The price of potatoes in Russia has soared by 52% since the start of the year, according to new figures. Imports have failed to offset the poor harvest last year, which saw the total potato crop decline by 12%, according to Reuters. Heavy rain and a frosty spring this year has hit potato farmers, made worse by the fact the area of the country seeded for the crop was reduced after the bumper 2023 harvest which drove down prices. According to Kommersant daily data, potatoes have tripled in price in the supermarkets compared to 2024, reaching a record high of...

Russia has handed Ukraine a list of 1,000 prisoners of war it wants Kyiv to return in a forthcoming exchange deal, the Kremlin said on Thursday, according to Russia's Interfax news agency. Ukrainian military intelligence told Reuters on Thursday that it had submitted its corresponding list. Russian state media outlet Interfax reported. An agreement to conduct such an exchange was reached earlier this month in Istanbul during the first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in more than three years.

A monument to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin erected in Moscow's metro is stirring debate, with some Russians welcoming it as a historical tribute, but others saying it's a mistake to commemorate someone who presided over so much suffering. -snip- Nearly 700,000 people were executed in Stalin's 1937-38 Great Terror amid show trials and purges of his real and perceived enemies. Many other Soviet citizens were sent to the Gulag, a grim network of prison camps, spread across the world's largest country. The Moscow metro said in a statement that the new version of the monument, which was presented to the...

A new round of talks between Russia and Ukraine could be take place in the Vatican mid-June, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing informed sources. The newspaper said a US delegation led by Secretary of State and Acting National Security Advisor Marco Rubio and including Special Presidential Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg would also be present. Pope Leo XIV has said the Vatican is willing to host peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv to try to end the war in Ukraine (ANSA).

Drone warfare once again forced Moscow into lockdown on Wednesday as three of the capital’s four airports abruptly suspended operations. Panic rippled through Domodedovo, Zhukovsky and Sheremetyevo as incoming flights were turned away and departures stalled. Sirens blared as air defences scrambled to intercept the latest wave of Ukrainian drones breaching Russian skies. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed multiple drones were shot down on approach, with emergency crews deployed to the crash sites. Ukraine launched a large-scale drone offensive overnight, targeting multiple regions in Russia. One since-deleted clip from Oryol shared by a Kremlin-aligned Telegram channel appeared to show a flaming...

Russian and US leaders Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have discussed a direct contact between Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy among other topics, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, APA reports citing TASS. "Certainly, the parties touched upon the issue of direct contact and the topic of continuing consultations between Russia and Ukraine," he said when asked whether the leaders discussed any potential high-level talks. Peskov noted that communication between Moscow and Kyiv has been reestablished and is currently ongoing. "Russians and Ukrainians are now engaged in dialogue," he said. "These contacts have been revived, which is quite important at this...

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov revealed on Monday that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his United States colleague Donald Trump is not being "in preparation" at this time, according to RIA Novosti. Meanwhile, Trump and Putin are expected to speak on the phone at 10 am ET. The White House further explained Trump also plans to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after speaking with Putin. The US president is expected to issue a statement after his conversation with Putin.

United States Vice President JD Vance told reporters aboard Air Force Two while departing Italy after his discussion with Pope Leo on Monday, indicating negotiations regarding the Ukraine conflict have reached "a bit of an impasse." "We realize there's a bit of an impasse here," Vance added. "Putin doesn't seem to quite know how to get out of the war. If Russia is not willing to engage, eventually the US has to say that this is not our war." Vance said he anticipates US President Donald Trump will question Russian President Vladimir Putin about his "serious" interest in peace during...

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov held a high-level meeting with senior executives from U.S. defense contractor Raytheon on May 19, focusing on expanding collaboration in air and missile defense systems, particularly the Patriot platform. In a statement released after the talks, Umerov said he had a “productive meeting” with Joseph DeAntona, Raytheon’s Vice President for Land and Air Defense Systems. The conversation, he noted, centered on Ukraine’s urgent need for additional missile systems and interceptors to strengthen the country’s defenses against continued Russian air attacks. “The main topic was strengthening the protection of Ukraine’s skies,” Umerov said. “We discussed the...

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart, Donald Trump, will speak by phone on Monday evening. During a press conference in Moscow on Monday, Peskov confirmed that the call is scheduled for 5 p.m. Moscow time (GMT1400). According to him, the purpose of the call is to discuss the outcomes of the recent Russia-Ukraine talks held in Istanbul last week. Peskov described the upcoming contact as "important," noting that the leaders will also discuss future communications between the two countries.

Vladimir Putin’s chief delegate at peace talks with Ukraine is a historian who once claimed that Russians have an extra chromosome due to their superiority. -snip- Mr Medinsky also earned widespread ridicule after arguing that Russians were particularly heroic and able to survive hardship because they “have one extra chromosome”. While it is likely that he was trying to speak figuratively, the assertion, made in 2012, prompted scorn even within Russia, with critics pointing out that having an extra chromosome is associated less with genetic superiority than with conditions such as Down’s syndrome.

President Donald Trump said he may travel to Turkey for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, as he doesn’t believe President Vladimir Putin would show if he isn’t there. "I don’t know if he’s showing up," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. "I know he would like me to be there. And that's a possibility." -snip- The president noted that he has a "full day" scheduled in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Thursday, and he’d planned on sending Secretary of State and interim national security advisor Marco Rubio. But, he added, "I don't know that [Putin] would be there...