At least three oil tankers have been hit by explosions in what appears to be a stepped up unilateral effort by Ukraine to sink Russia's sanctions-dodging oil sales.

Putin also claimed that Zelensky’s European allies have pushed for demands that are “absolutely unacceptable."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an annual summit, focusing on diversifying economic ties.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova issued a sharp rebuke to Western governments, warning that any foreign military personnel deployed to Ukraine would be treated as legitimate targets by Russian forces.

Moscow finds itself even more dependent on China as war and sanctions curb artificial-intelligence efforts.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting India to strengthen economic and bilateral ties. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed him in New Delhi.

A fresh round of Kremlin messaging sought to project stability on Russia’s home front, with President Vladimir Putin telling senior officials that demographic recovery and economic resilience remain within reach.

Russians are starting to notice. In a recent survey, says Vladimir Zvonovsky, a sociologist in the Russian city of Samara, the number of those saying their well-being was deteriorating was triple those saying it was improving. It is now at the highest level since the start of the war.

Russia’s war machine runs on money, and Ukraine is cutting off its fuel at the source. A devastating drone strike has wiped out most of the Temryuk port’s LNG capacity, setting off a massive fire and dealing one of Russia’s biggest energy blows yet.