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The Kremlin is reportedly set to offer concessions on the Ukraine war to U.S. President Donald Trump to avoid imminent sanctions on the country. Bloomberg detailed on Tuesday that one such proposal could include an air truce. Quoting Russian officials, it added that U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Russia this week presents a chance to reach an agreement. The official is expected to go to the country as soon as Wednesday and could potentially meet with Putin. -snip- Bloomberg noted that despite Putin's willingness to continue fighting, two-thirds of Russians favor ending the war at the current positions. A...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that he had had a "productive" conversation with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on ending the war, sanctions on Russia and the finalisation of a U.S.-Ukraine drone deal. Trump, who has signalled frustration with Vladimir Putin in recent weeks, has given the Russian president until August 8 to make peace in Ukraine or face tougher sanctions. "President Trump is fully informed about Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities and communities," Zelenskiy wrote on X, referring to intensifying drone and missile attacks. Trump has threatened to hit Russia with new sanctions and impose...

U.S. officials warned Chinese authorities that they could face higher tariffs if they continue purchasing oil from Iran and Russia, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters after two days of meetings in Stockholm. “It’s no secret the Chinese are buying 90% of the Iranian oil,” Bessent told reporters. The U.S. officials also informed the Chinese of a bill moving through Congress that would authorize the president to impose tariffs of up to 500% on nations that import Russian oil, saying that they believed other nations would follow suit. “We explained the nature of the...

Russian occupiers attempted to eliminate the leadership of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' unmanned units simultaneously. This likely occurred during a meeting in the Donetsk region, according to Robert Brovdi, call sign Madyar, commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Unmanned Systems Forces. Madyar said that he held a working meeting with the commanders of the unmanned units Phoenix, K-2, Madyar's Birds, Rarog, and Achilles. He addressed the Russians, stating that we have assessed your attempt to stab us all at once yesterday. Madyar did not disclose any other details. Robert Brovdi, known as Madyar, became the new commander of the Ukrainian...

US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Keith Kellogg, on Wednesday scolded a top Russian official for stoking fears of World War Three after Trump warned President Vladimir Putin was “playing with fire” over Ukraine. -snip- US envoy Kellogg quoted Medvedev’s post and said it reckless. “Stoking fears of WW III is an unfortunate, reckless comment... and unfitting of a world power,” Kellogg said on X. “President Trump @POTUS is working to stop this war and end the killing. We await receipt of RU Memorandum (Term Sheet) that you promised a week ago. Cease fire now.”

Russia’s former President Dmitry Medvedev has issued a sobering warning to Donald Trump after the US leader accused Vladimir Putin of “playing with fire”. US President Mr Trump, writing on his Truth Social platform, said: “What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire!” The remark drew a sharp response from Mr Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and one of Mr Putin’s most outspoken allies. Posting on X, formerly Twitter, he said: “Regarding Trump's...

-snip- "There are things that wouldn't be pleasant in a financial sense. I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia. I don't want to do that because I want to get peace," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "In a financial sense, yes, we could do things that would be very bad for Russia, that would be devastating for Russia. But I don't want to do that because I want to see peace. And we’re getting close to maybe getting something done. We got Ukraine done. And, as you know, Ukraine might have been the...

Russian propagandists expressed their outrage about President Donald Trump's recent statement regarding Moscow-U. S. relations. -snip- "Trump has threatened us twice in 24 hours. No illusions. A capitalist who doesn't give a damn about other countries. No matter, Russia is like a KAMAZ, the more you load, the better it goes. How tightly you can blockade 1/6 of the planet Earth's land mass." Sladkov added that he was "also outraged by Trump's lie: 'Russia helped us win the war (the Great Patriotic War)'" as "in 1944, we barely persuaded these Anglo-Saxons to take part in military operations in Europe. They,...

Russian vodka enthusiasts are seething after the Finance Ministry implemented a 17 percent price hike for a half-litre bottle on New Year's Day. Russia holds the title as the world's largest vodka producer, accounting for over 30 percent of global production. Domestic consumption makes up more than 90 percent of Russia-made vodka, making it one of the country's most beloved beverages. As of January 1st, a bottle will now set consumers back 349 rubles (£2.53), up from 299 (£2.16) - a jump of 50 rubles. This follows a 6.4 percent increase in June 2024, meaning that within the last six...

In a significant escalation of the ongoing war, Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the RS-26 "Rubezh," at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. The attack, carried out from Astrakhan in southern Russia at 5 a.m. local time, marks the first known use of an ICBM in the conflict, signalling a chilling warning to NATO and Ukraine alike. The RS-26 "Rubezh" is a mobile-ground ballistic missile system derived from the RS-24 "Yars," itself a modernized version of the older Soviet Topol-M system. First tested in 2012, the RS-26 is essentially a shorter version of the RS-24 with one fewer stage....

The shooting comes in the wake of a blood feud declared by Chechnya's leader Ramzan Kadyrov against politicians from Dagestan and Ingushetia. Unidentified gunmen targeted a car carrying Russian counterterrorism officers, killing three. The incident happened on Friday in Magas, the capital city of the Republic of Ingushetia in Russia's North Caucasus. The shooting comes in the wake of a blood feud declared by Chechnya's leader Ramzan Kadyrov against politicians from Dagestan and Ingushetia and have sparked fears of growing instability and bloodshed. The gunmen were allegedly aiming to kill Adam Khamkhoyev, the deputy head of Putin's Centre 'E' counterterrorism...

A Russian private military company (PMC) told the Express that their commander stands by his calls for the overthrow of Vladimir Putin. Georgy Zakrevsky is the founder of the Paladin PMC, one of many shadowy military groups like the former Wagner Group militia, that are linked to the Kremlin. The militia commander launched a blistering attack on the Russian president during a video recording in which he blamed all the military failures in Ukraine on Putin personally. He also went on to accuse Putin of causing all of Russia's economic and social ills, as he urged the military to rise...

Associates of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy have discussed holding a phone call between the two leaders, according to two sources familiar with the matter. One source said the call could occur on Friday, but Reuters was not able to immediately determine if the conversation, which would be their first since the former U.S. president left the White House in 2021, had been confirmed. CNN reported earlier on Thursday that the two leaders had a phone call scheduled on Friday. The news organization warned that the schedule of the former president - who is in...

The charges relate to missile attacks on civilian infrastructure, in particular on the energy sector. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Russia's former Minister of Defence and its current army chief, in a body blow for Putin. Sergey Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov have been charged with war crimes committed in Ukraine between the period October 10, 2022 until at least March 9, 2023. The charges relate to missile attacks on civilian infrastructure, in particular on the energy sector. While acknowledging they may have been deemed as genuine army targets at the time, the collateral damage to civilians...

VLADIMIR Putin's new despicable pal has bizarrely dubbed the despot "God's child" who was sent to Earth to save humanity from World War Three. Professor Sergei Karaganov, Putin's new right hand, claimed the tyrant is the saviour of the world who will not only win against Ukraine but will also thwart a global war. Putin, who has killed and maimed hundreds of thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers as well as civilians in his illegal war in Ukraine, was also compared to Russia’s most famous emperor, Peter the Great. In an address scripted by the Kremlin, Karaganov chillingly told Putin:...

Ukraine destroyed seven boats in a devastating attack on Russia's Black Sea navy in the Crimea. Ukraine launched a spectacular and devastating attack on Russia's Black Sea Fleet, inflicting major damage on Putin's navy. The Black Sea Fleet is stationed in Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Throughout the current war, Ukraine has managed to sink a number of vessels from the fleet including the Moskva flagship missile cruiser. Through a combination of missiles and drones, Kyiv's army has succeeded in nullifying the threat from Putin's navy in the Black Sea, regularly inflicting huge humiliations on the...

In mid-2022, Gazprom restricted gas flows to Europe in what was seen as a move by Putin to get both leverage against Kyiv's allies ahead of the winter season and retaliate against Western sanctions and support of Ukraine. But the EU managed to find alternative long-term sources of gas imports and free itself from most Russian piped-gas imports ... Gazprom's revenue fell by 41 percent year-over-year in the first half of 2023, while sales profits dropped 71 percent and gas production by 25 percent... The report said the company's upstream gas-production base is now isolated because infrastructure connecting its main...

Tucker Carlson’s representative denied reports Tuesday that Carlson launched a show on Russian-owned state television Monday night, telling Forbes the reports were “pure nonsense,” indicating Carlson was not involved with the show that is listed on the website for a Russian state television channel. Arthur Schwartz, a representative for Carlson, told Forbes in an email “it’s pure nonsense” in response to questions about Carlson’s show being aired in Russia with Russian voice overs and whether it was licensed by Carlson. Neil Patel, CEO of the Tucker Carlson Network, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed replacing his defence minister and long-term ally, Sergei Shoigu, more than two years into the Ukraine war, the upper house of parliament said on Sunday. Putin proposed Andrei Belousov, former deputy prime minister, as the new defence minister.

Natalia Kruglova last spoke to her husband, Pvt. Ivan Petrov, on Sept. 29. The Russian army conscript told Kruglova he had been ordered back to the front lines in southeastern Ukraine. Then he disappeared. Kruglova wrote to her husband’s commanding officers, the Defense Ministry and even military prosecutors in search of news, but to no avail. Weeks later, the army declared Petrov missing but offered no explanation of what had happened to him. “It’s as if no one owes you anything, no one cares,” Kruglova, 45, said in an interview from her home in the Russian far eastern city of...