VLADIMIR PUTIN

Russia's defense minister Andrei Belousov urged more soldiers to be trained on the weapons, saying they are an effective tool in the fight in Ukraine

The U.S. president later confronted his Russian counterpart about the plan, leading to a heated exchange over the potential for nuclear war.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday told Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin he was ready to "expand" cooperation, as the two leaders exchanged congratulations on the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations, state media said.

Sergey Lavrov also claimed that Russia wasn't taking sides in the November election because officials had "concluded that self-reliance was the best option."

This is the second year in a row that Putin is growing the military.

President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are meeting at the White House where easing the restrictions is expected to be discussed

Only the American people 'get to determine the next president of the United States,' snapped White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Azerbaijan's capital Baku on Sunday for a two-day state visit, Russian news agencies reported.

When Russian paramilitary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin sent his Wagner mercenaries charging towards Moscow last year in a short-lived rebellion, President Vladimir Putin looked weak and vulnerable.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday hailed North Korea for "firmly supporting" Moscow's war in Ukraine ahead of a visit to Pyongyang set to boost defence ties between the two nuclear-armed countries.

Harris made the announcement at the Ukraine peace summit in Lucerne, Switzerland, where she met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

On a trip to China, Putin said the assault was direct retaliation for Ukrainian shelling of Russia's border regions and that Moscow was trying to create a "security zone".

Leaders Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin framed their nations' ties as a stabilizing force in a chaotic world as they met Thursday in Beijing, where the Russian president is seeking greater Chinese support for his war effort in Ukraine and isolated economy.

It 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 West hit it with unprecedented sanctions over its military offensive in Ukraine.

Putin will be in Beijing from Thursday to Friday, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, in the Russian leader's second visit to China in just over six months.

Putin proposed economist Andrey Belousov as Shoigu's replacement, according to a list of the ministerial nominations published by the Federation Council, Russia's upper house of parliament.

President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered new nuclear weapons drills in the face of Western "threats," as a Ukrainian drone attack killed six people and wounded over 30 in Russia's Belgorod border region.

Russia's wanted list also encompasses numerous officials and lawmakers from Ukraine and NATO countries.

Navalny's allies have accused Putin of orchestrating his murder and have pledged to furnish evidence supporting their claim.

Russian security forces claimed that they had apprehended all four direct participants in the attack, who were caught heading for Ukraine.

Friends and allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin were quick to congratulate him on his election win but Western leaders denounced what they called an illegal election.