Vladimir Putin

Putin Threatens to Arm Countries Capable of Striking Western Targets

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday criticized the West's delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine, arguing Moscow could arm other countries with similar weapons to attack Western targets. The comment -- which Putin made at a rare press conference with foreign news outlets -- came after several Western countries including the United ...

Putin Signs Decree to Allow Seizure of US Assets

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a decree allowing the confiscation of assets inside Russia belonging to the United States, its citizens and companies, to compensate those hit by Western sanctions against Moscow. The West froze around $300 billion of Russian financial assets, mostly its central bank reserves, after Moscow ...

Putin Rejects Macron's Call for Ukraine Ceasefire During Olympics

Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested on Friday that Moscow would not comply with calls for a ceasefire in Ukraine during the Summer Olympics, pointing to what he said was the unfair treatment of Russian athletes. When asked during a visit to China whether he backed French President Emmanuel Macron's idea for a global "Olympic truce" during ...

Putin in China Seeking Increased Support For War Effort

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in China on Thursday to meet with counterpart Xi Jinping as he seeks greater support from Beijing for his war effort in Ukraine and his isolated economy. This is Putin's first trip abroad since his March re-election and the second in just over six months to China, an economic lifeline for Russia after the ...

Putin Advocates For Advanced Weaponry in Securing Ukraine Victory

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that more powerful and advanced weapons could hasten victory for his troops fighting in Ukraine. The Kremlin leader also hailed recent advances on the battlefield, saying Russia's army was advancing on all fronts, as he urged Moscow to intensify and modernize its arms production at home. "We have ...

Attacker in Slovak PM Assassination Attempt Detained

The gunman who shot Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico multiple times and wounded him on Wednesday has been detained by the police, the country's president said. Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico was battling life-threatening wounds Wednesday after officials said he was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt condemned by European ...

Russian President Vladimir Putin Replaced His Defense Minister

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday moved to replace defense minister Sergei Shoigu, nominating economist Andrey Belousov as his replacement, Russian state news agencies reported, citing the Kremlin. Putin also published decrees naming Shoigu as the new secretary of the Security Council, replacing Nikolai Patrushev who has been ...

Moscow Adds Zelensky to Criminal ‘Wanted’ List

Russia has added Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to its list of wanted criminals, a government database showed on Saturday. Zelensky appeared in the Russian Interior Ministry's "wanted" list, an online database of alleged criminals sought by the authorities. It stated that the Ukrainian leader was wanted "under an article of the criminal ...

France Estimates 150,000 Russian Soldiers Were Killed in Ukraine War

France estimates that 150,000 Russian soldiers have been killed during Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said in an interview published on Friday. Speaking to Russian independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta Europe, Séjourné said Paris estimated total Russian casualties, including the wounded, at 500,000 in the war, ...

Putin Aims to Demilitarize Ukraine with Energy Strikes

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that recent airstrikes on Ukraine's energy grid, which have caused huge blackouts, are part of the Kremlin's "demilitarization" of its neighbor. His comments came after Moscow launched a barrage of aerial attacks on Thursday, targeting energy facilities across Ukraine. "We assume that in this way ...

Political Vignettes and Ongoing Conflicts

Sergei Shoïgu, the Russian minister of defense, surmises French responsibility behind Moscow’s terror attack since Ukrainians are masterminded by their European mentors and France has defied the moral and political arrogance of the dictator. Relaying the lies of the Russian autocrat, S. Shoïgu perpetuates the culture of dissembling and ...

Zelensky Urges For Faster Military Aid Delivery

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday urged Ukraine's allies to speed up deliveries of warplanes and air defense systems following a deadly Russian strike on the city of Kharkiv. "Bolstering Ukraine's air defense and expediting the delivery of F-16s to Ukraine are vital tasks. There are no rational explanations for why Patriots, which are ...