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Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been overheard discussing organ transplants as a means of prolonging life on the sidelines of a military parade in Beijing. Putin suggested even eternal life could be achievable as a result of innovations in biotechnology, according to a translation of remarks caught on a hot mic. -snip- The exchange was relayed by a Mandarin translator for Putin and a Russian translator for Xi, and has been translated into English by the BBC. "In the past, it used to be rare for someone to be older than 70 and these days...

Chinese President Xi Jinping stood shoulder to shoulder with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un for the first time ever during China’s largest-ever military parade showcasing its nuclear triad. The trio of dictators stood together smiling in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on Wednesday during China’s massive celebration marking 80 years since Japan’s defeat in World War II. It was a historic show of authoritarian strength and a clear message of deterrence against the United States and its allies in the region. The stunning power flex included China’s first-ever display of its full nuclear triad of...

China kicked off its largest-ever military parade on Wednesday, a show of its growing firepower and geopolitical clout as President Xi Jinping seeks to cast Beijing as the custodian of a post-U.S. international order. Flanked by Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un, a smiling Xi strolled up a red carpet to take his seat for the lavish event at Tiananmen Square to mark 80 years since Japan's defeat at the end of World War Two. More than 50,000 spectators packed into stands joined a vast choir singing patriotic songs as the dignitaries took their seats on the...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised the strengthening cooperation between Russia and China within the BRICS group, stating that the two countries are actively working to enhance the bloc’s influence as a core mechanism of the international architecture. In an interview with China’s Xinhua News Agency, a partner of TV BRICS, Putin said the two nations are jointly promoting initiatives aimed at expanding the economic development opportunities of member states. “We are actively cooperating with China within BRICS to enhance its influence as one of the core mechanisms of the international architecture. Together, we are promoting initiatives aimed at expanding...

Russia and China jointly oppose "discriminatory" sanctions in global trade that hinder the world's socio-economic development, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a written interview with China's official Xinhua news agency. The two countries will continue to work to reduce mutual trade barriers, Putin said in the interview published on Saturday on the eve of a visit to Russia's biggest trading partner. Putin will be in China from Sunday to Wednesday, in a four-day visit that the Kremlin has called "unprecedented."

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with President Xi Jinping in China next week, attend a security summit, and be the "main guest" of Xi's at a military parade on Beijing's Tiananmen Square, the Kremlin said on Friday. -snip- Ushakov said Putin would be attending as "the main guest" and be seated on Xi's right, while North Korea's Kim Jong-Un would sit on Xi's left.

Moscow on Friday, August 29, slammed Emmanuel Macron for what it called "vulgar insults," after the French president called Russian leader Vladimir Putin a "predator" and "ogre." Macron warned European leaders not to trust Putin in an interview with the LCI broadcaster last week. "For his own survival, [he] needs to keep eating (...) That means he is a predator, an ogre at our gates," Macron said. He made the comments after a landmark meeting with US President Donald Trump along with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and European allies in Washington. Russia's foreign ministry slammed the remarks. "They cross the...

Russia's domestic fuel market is fully supplied and the situation is under control, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. On a daily conference call with reporters, he said there were various reasons for fuel price swings. The government was taking active measures to ensure gasoline and energy prices remain stable, he said. Some Russian regions have reported gasoline shortages and long queues at fuel stations following recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries.

According to a military and security analyst, Russia's summer offensive in Ukraine has utterly collapsed. Julian Röpcke, a journalist for the German news outlet Bild, has been closely following the war since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. In a recent column, he outlined four primary reasons why he believes Putin's summer campaign in Ukraine has crumbled. One of Russia's main objectives in the east was to capture the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region - a crucial logistical hub for Ukraine's army. Despite positioning troops at the city's gates since January, Röpcke contends that all attempts to storm it...

President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is set to meet in New York on Friday with senior members of the Ukrainian government, sources told Newsmax on Thursday. “Two sources familiar with the matter tell me, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to meet Ukrainian delegation - Andriy Yermak & Sergiy Kyslytsya - in New York tomorrow," Newsmax's Nana Sajaia first reported of the planned meeting on X. Andriy Yermak is the head of the Office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Sergiy Kyslytsia is Ukraine's deputy foreign minister and former envoy to the United Nations.

Russia is on the verge of political turmoil as its economy teeters on the brink of collapse and its war in Ukraine stumbles, warns a leading nationalist figure. Russian nationalists have been among the staunchest supporters of the Kremlin's war in Ukraine. Figures like Aleksandr Dugin have even argued that Ukraine's destruction is crucial for Russia's survival. In his 1997 book "The Geopolitical Future of Russia", he expressed his views bluntly, writing: "The existence of Ukraine within its current borders, and with its current status as a 'sovereign state,' is tantamount to delivering a monstrous blow to Russia's geopolitical security."...

In the last 30 months, an estimated 17 Russian officials, politicians, businessmen and leading figures in the arts have died after falling from high windows. The window on the fifth floor of a building in the historic city of Petrozavodsk in northwestern Russia was wide open when the figure of a man appeared briefly, before plunging to the ground. This was followed by Putin enforcing a "blanket ban" on social media apps from enemy countries. The mangled body of former police colonel, Artur Pryakhin, head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service in the republic of Karelia, was hauled off to the...

Drone attacks have been carried out on the Afipsky oil refineries in Russia's Krasnodar Territory and the Kuibyshev oil refineries in the Samara region, APA reports, citing Russian media. Large fires broke out at the oil refineries after the drone attacks. According to the governor of the Samara region, Dmitry Azarov, the airport and mobile internet use in the city of Samara have been temporarily restricted due to the threat.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong-un will attend a military parade in Beijing, marking the first public appearance of the two leaders alongside President Xi Jinping in a show of collective defiance amidst Western pressure. No Western leaders will be amongst the 26 foreign heads of state and government attending the parade next week except for Robert Fico, prime minister of Slovakia, a European Union member state, according to the Chinese foreign ministry on Thursday. Against the backdrop of China's growing military might during the "Victory Day" parade on September 3, the three leaders will project a...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday he and U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg had held a good meeting and discussed exerting pressure on Russia to hold "real talks" on ending more than three years of war, APA reports citing Reuters. "A good meeting with the special U.S. presidential envoy Keith Kellogg," Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "We discussed how to exert influence on Russia, oblige them to hold real talks on ending the war ... We are ready to talk in a format with leaders. This is needed to resolve key issues." Zelenskyy said Ukraine valued the "readiness...

Russian leader Vladimir Putin cannot not sign a peace deal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky because Moscow views him as “illegitimate,” Moscow’s top diplomat said Sunday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the declaration in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” suggesting that Putin will not be able to make an agreement with him. Lavrov also threw up yet another roadblock to direct talks between Putin and Zelensky, saying that Russia has an “agenda” in mind that must to be agreed before the two sides can sit down together. “There is no meeting planned,” Lavrov told NBC’s “Meet the...

Ukrainian defenders launched a counterattack and cleared Russian invaders from three villages in Donetsk Oblast, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi reported in a Facebook post on Aug. 24. "Our forces successfully counterattacked and cleared the enemy from the villages of Mykhailivka, Zelenyi Hai, and Volodymyrivka in Donetsk Oblast," Syrskyi stated. While working on the Pokrovsk front, he met with defenders holding the line in Pokrovsk, and listened to reports from corps and brigade commanders on the operational situation. "The situation is indeed challenging; the enemy has concentrated its main efforts on this front line. But we must hold...

US President Donald Trump joined other world leaders in sending messages of support to Ukraine on Sunday as it celebrates Independence Day at a time when there is little hope for peace despite intense diplomatic efforts. Trump sent a letter to Ukraine on the country’s 34th Independence Day – which marks the anniversary of declaring itself free of Soviet rule – praising its courage and saying the United States believes in its future as an independent state. -snip- In the letter, Trump wrote: “The people of Ukraine have an unbreakable spirit, and your county’s courage inspires many. As you mark...

It is a curious thing when a superpower begins to run out of the two things it needs most in war: fuel and men. Yet that is precisely what seems to be happening to Russia in Ukraine. After more than two years of fighting, Moscow’s once-vaunted war machine is showing unmistakable signs of exhaustion. When Russia launched its invasion in February 2022, it relied heavily on professional soldiers but the disastrous battles outside Kyiv and Kharkiv shattered that backbone. Thousands of seasoned fighters were lost, and the logistical chaos that followed forced Russia into an embarrassing retreat from northern Ukraine....

Award-winning US filmmaker Woody Allen will take part in Moscow International Film Week, according to the event's website. Kicking off this Saturday, the festival is expected to feature dozens of foreign participants. The event has attracted a large number of international attendees despite a wave of 'cancel culture' targeting Russian art and Western attempts to isolate the country's creative community. The director, screenwriter, and four-time Oscar winner will participate in the film week online, hosting a special session titled Legends of World Cinema. The session will be moderated by top Russian director and producer Fyodor Bondarchuk. Joining Allen as participants...