Category Archives: Vladimir Putin

Russia-Ukraine war live: Russia claims it has rehearsed ability to deliver retaliatory nuclear strike

Posted on by

Defence minister’s comments come after earlier announcement of plans to withdraw from global treaty banning nuclear weapons tests

In its latest intelligence update, the UK’s Ministry of Defence highlighted Russia’s capability to strike targets near the Dnipro River with artillery.

“As in most sectors, a decisive factor is almost certainly the combatants’ ability to bring accurate, intense artillery fire to bear. Initial indication suggests that Russia has maintained a significant artillery capability within range of the river,” it stated.

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war: Putin’s ‘cynical’ comments on civilian casualties criticised by Germany – as it happened

Posted on by

This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage here

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his visit to Pyongyang, the Russian foreign ministry said on Thursday.

The ministry did not provide any details of the meeting, which, according to state-run Tass news agency, lasted just over an hour.

Likewise the Russian Federation extends its complete support and solidarity with the aspirations of the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea].

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war live: US supplying long-range missiles to Kyiv ‘just prolongs the agony’ for Ukraine, warns Putin – as it happened

Posted on by

Russian president says decision to supply army tactical missile systems shows US is wading deeper into the conflict

Speaking at a televised news conference in Beijing, Vladimir Putin said that US deliveries of long-range Atacms missiles to Ukraine were a “mistake” that would create additional threats to Russian forces.

The Russian president said, however, that they would not significantly change the situation on the front.

Continue reading...

Mutual praise, buzzwords plus a few walkouts: Xi and Putin meet in Beijing

Posted on by

Vladimir Putin lauded the success of ‘our Chinese friends’ at global forum, while Xi Jinping spoke out against international sanctions and ‘decoupling’

Xi Jinping met his internationally isolated Russian counterpart in Beijing on Wednesday against the backdrop of China’s biggest diplomatic event of the year, underlining the close relationship between two leaders amid the war in Ukraine.

The Chinese president, addressing delegates at the belt and road initiative (BRI) forum, spoke out against international sanctions during his opening speech.

Continue reading...

Xi Jinping welcomes ‘dear friend’ Vladimir Putin to Beijing

Posted on by

Russian president due to hold in-depth talks with Chinese leader on sidelines of trade forum

The Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, has welcomed his “dear friend” Vladimir Putin to Beijing, kicking off a multilateral summit overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas war.

Beijing this week hosts representatives of 130 countries for a forum on Xi’s vast trade and infrastructure project, the belt and road initiative (BRI).

Continue reading...

Dysfunction in Washington leaves Middle East without key US diplomats

Posted on by

Having no US ambassador to Israel in place and Republicans holding up military promotions is a threat to democracy, experts say

Political turmoil in Washington has left the US without key diplomats across the Middle East and raised concerns that years of congressional dysfunction are taking their toll on US leadership.

A devastating weekend attack on Israel by Hamas gunmen shook the region and came at a moment when there is no US ambassador in place in Israel, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon or Oman.

Continue reading...

Russia will revoke ratification of nuclear test ban treaty, envoy says

Posted on by

US condemns announcement by Mikhail Ulyanov, saying it ‘needlessly endangers the global norm’ against nuclear testing

A senior Russian diplomat has said that Moscow will revoke its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), in a move Washington denounced as jeopardising the “global norm” against nuclear test blasts.

Mikhail Ulyanov, the Russian representative to the international nuclear agencies in Vienna, was speaking after Vladimir Putin suggested Moscow might resuming testing for the first time in 33 years, signalling another downward turn in relations between the world’s two biggest nuclear powers

Continue reading...

Onboard grenade blast caused plane crash that killed Wagner boss, claims Putin

Posted on by

Russian president suggests Yevgeny Prigozhin was on drugs when he died in explosion on private jet from Moscow to St Petersburg in August

Vladimir Putin has claimed that the plane crash that killed Yevgeny Prigozhin was caused by hand grenades detonating inside the aircraft, and suggested the Wagner boss may have been on drugs.

Prigozhin died when his business jet crashed on 23 August, two months after he staged an aborted mutiny against Russian military commanders in which his Wagner mercenary troops briefly took control of the southern city of Rostov and advanced towards Moscow. Two other top Wagner commanders, Prigozhin’s four bodyguards and a crew of three were also killed.

Continue reading...

Vladimir Putin escalates nuclear rhetoric with threat to resume testing

Posted on by

Russian president uses speech to highlight new missile capabilities and says he may abandon test ban treaty

Vladimir Putin has ramped up his nuclear rhetoric, saying his country had successfully tested the nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable Burevestnik strategic cruise missile, as he suggested Russia could resume nuclear testing for the first time in more than three decades.

The Russian president said in a speech on Thursday at the annual Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi that Russia had also almost completed work on its nuclear-capable Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile system, which is capable of carrying at least 10 nuclear warheads on each missile.

“In the event of an attack on Russia, no one has any chance of survival,” he said, adding that he was “not sure if we need to carry out nuclear tests or not”.

Continue reading...

Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska asks court to render Australia’s sanctions regime invalid

Posted on by

Billionaire is challenging sanctions over his alleged links to Vladimir Putin, describing them as ‘legally unreasonable’

A Russian oligarch sanctioned over his alleged links to Vladimir Putin has asked a court to render Australia’s sanctions regime invalid, documents show.

Australia imposed sanctions on billionaire Oleg Deripaska in March last year, a move that prevented him from travelling to Australia or profiting from his company’s stake in an alumina refinery in Gladstone, Queensland.

Continue reading...

Video emerges of Vladimir Putin in shell suit on 1990s Finland trip

Posted on by

Putin seen playing table tennis and accompanying then mayor of St Petersburg on fishing trip

Video footage has emerged showing an awkward-looking Vladimir Putin wearing a shell suit and sporting a longer haircut on a visit to Finland during the early 1990s.

The Finnish broadcaster YLE obtained the previously unseen amateur film from an anonymous source. It was shot on a May Day holiday soon after Putin – then about 40 and a KGB officer – had become an adviser to Anatoly Sobchak, the mayor of St Petersburg at the time.

Continue reading...

War crimes dossier to accuse Russia of deliberately causing starvation in Ukraine

Posted on by

Human rights lawyers are working with Ukraine’s public prosecutor to prepare dossier to submit to the international criminal court

Human rights lawyers working with Ukraine’s public prosecutor are preparing a war crimes dossier to submit to the international criminal court (ICC) accusing Russia of deliberately causing starvation during the 18-month-long conflict.

The aim is to document instances where the Russian invaders used hunger as a weapon of war, providing evidence for the ICC to launch the first prosecution of its kind that could indict the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

Continue reading...

Belarus leader proposes three-way partnership with Russia and North Korea

Posted on by

Alexander Lukashenko put forward axis plan during summit with Vladimir Putin in Sochi as rumours of arms deal persist

Alexander Lukashenko has expressed interest in creating a trilateral partnership with Russia and North Korea amid rumours that Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un were negotiating an arms deal to sustain Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The Belarusian leader made the remarks during a summit with Putin in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, where the two held their seventh face-to-face meeting this year.

Continue reading...

Belarus’s Lukashenko proposes ‘three-way cooperation’ with Putin and Kim Jong-un – as it happened

Posted on by

Belarusian president’s suggestion comes during a meeting with his Russian counterpart. This live blog is closed.

In its daily public intelligence briefing on the war in Ukraine, the UK’s Ministry of Defence appears convinced of Ukrainian claims to have inflicted significant damage on the Russian Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol. Citing satellite imagery, it writes:

Despite the Russian ministry of defence downplaying the damage to the vessels, open-source evidence indicates the Minsk [landing ship] has almost certainly been functionally destroyed, while the Rostov [submarine] has likely suffered catastrophic damage.

Any effort to return the submarine to service is likely to take many years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. There is a realistic possibility that the complex task of removing the wreckage from the dry docks will place them out of use for many months. This would present the Black Sea fleet with a significant challenge in sustaining fleet maintenance.

Continue reading...

Putin and Kim Jong-un exchange rifles as North Korean leader continues Russia tour

Posted on by

Russian president also gave Kim at meeting the gift of a ‘glove from a space suit that has been to space’ amid warnings from US and South Korea about any weapons deal

Kim Jong-un has visited a factory that builds advanced fighter jets, as his tour of Russia moves into its third day and the Kremlin revealed he and Vladimir Putin had exchanged gifts of rifles during their summit this week.

Two days after meeting Putin at a space base in Russia’s far east, where they discussed satellite technology and – possibly – a deal to provide North Korean arms for the war in Ukraine, Kim’s armoured train arrived in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where he visited a factory that makes Russia’s most modern fighter jets, Russian news agencies reported.

Continue reading...

Kim Jong-un invites Putin to North Korea after summit brings ties to ‘a new level’

Posted on by

North Korean media report that Kim was briefed on space vehicles during his meetings in Russia, though no specific detail of any deal has emerged

Kim Jong-un invited President Vladimir Putin to visit North Korea during their meeting in Russia on Wednesday, Pyongyang’s state media reported, amid warnings that Kim was poised to offer the Kremlin artillery shells and other munitions for the war in Ukraine.

Kim told Putin that their closely watched meeting had brought bilateral ties to a new level, and expressed his willingness to foster stable, future-oriented relations for the next 100 years, news agency KCNA said.

Continue reading...

‘Nothing left to lose’: Putin embraces role of spoiler with Kim Jong-un summit

Posted on by

Russia’s propagandists trumpeted the president’s North Korean connection as, in isolation, he threatened to cross a serious line

The situation is dire when you’re boasting of closer ties with North Korea, but Vladimir Putin in 2023 finds himself in just that situation with nothing left to lose.

The Russian fanfare before the summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un has rivalled the anticipation for his meetings with western leaders, where he would attempt to woo or spar with opponents such as Barack Obama or Angela Merkel.

Continue reading...

Kim Jong-un offers Putin ‘full support’ in Russia’s ‘sacred fight’ with west

Posted on by

North Korean leader backs Moscow in ‘protecting its sovereignty and security against the hegemonic forces’ that oppose it

Kim Jong-un has offered Vladimir Putin his support for Russia’s “sacred fight” against the west during talks that also touched on possible Russian help with North Korea’s space programme.

The North Korean and Russian leaders met on Wednesday at a space base in the far east of Russia amid warnings that Kim was poised to offer the Kremlin artillery shells and other munitions for the war in Ukraine.

Continue reading...

Kim Jong-un arrives in Russia to meet Putin as US threatens sanctions

Posted on by

North Korean leader travels on armoured train for talks amid concerns Putin is seeking arms deal for Ukraine war

Kim Jong-un has arrived in Russia on his armoured train for a rare summit with Vladimir Putin to discuss a possible deal to supply North Korean arms for the war in Ukraine.

The train arrived at Khasan station, the main rail gateway to Russia’s far east from North Korea, where Kim was filmed alighting and meeting the Russian environment minister, before continuing to travel north.

Continue reading...