Russian business leaders are backing legislation that would stop Western companies one day returning to the market they left after the Ukraine invasion.

Vladimir Putin has refuted claims about his deteriorating eyesight, despite being frequently spotted reading from large-sized scripts during briefings.The 72-year-old leader is known for his reluctance to admit any health issues.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump have held a lengthy phone call to discuss the escalating situation in the Middle East and Ukraine peace talks.

Trump has generally veered away from overtly criticizing Putin while openly berating Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky, but has repeatedly condemned Russia's lethal airstrikes and floated that the Kremlin could be "tapping us along."

The statement said Putin, in his conversation with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu "stressed the importance of a return to the process of talks and resolution of all issues concerning Iran's nuclear programme strictly through political and diplomatic means". The Kremlin statement said Russia would remain in close contact with both Iran and Israel.

Smirnova, the director of the Narva museum that is housed in the fortress, has defiantly hung from the battlements a large banner of Putin’s face, with the words “war criminal” below it. In January this year a court in Moscow issued an arrest warrant for Smorzhevskikh-Smirnova on the charge of spreading false information.

Matt Ince, associate director at Dragonfly Intelligence, said Vladimir Putin's Russia was 'increasingly expanding its use of hybrid warfare activities'. He cautioned geoengineering may be seen as a desirable option due to its 'relative affordability' and ...

Leaders will hold talks on the war in Ukraine and spiralling conflict in the Middle East as they gather at a major global summit in Canada.