Russia

Hungary's Orban accuses Ukraine of election meddling, summons ambassador

Hungary's pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused Ukraine on Monday of seeking to meddle in his country's upcoming elections and ordered Kyiv's ambassador to be summoned to the foreign ministry. The step was the latest in Orban's long-running anti-Ukraine campaign as he seeks to convince voters that the neighbouring country, embroiled in a war with Russia since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, poses an existential threat to Hungary's security and sovereignty. Orban, who has maintained close ties with Russia, faces what is expected to be the biggest challenge of his 16 years in power during elections scheduled for April 12. With his right-wing nationalist Fidesz party trailing by double digits in most polls, Orban has campaigned on the unsubstantiated premise that Hungarians would be forcibly conscripted to fight and die on the front lines in Ukraine if his party loses the election. In a video posted to social media on Monday, Orban said Ukraine's political ..

Behind the barrels: Private refiners trim Russian crude oil imports

Those exceeded non-sanctioned volumes on offer, according to an analysis of the data available from international forecasters and ship-tracking agencies, and interviews with industry officials

Europe funding war via Russian oil routed through India: US Treasury chief

The US imposed 25 per cent tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, but the Europeans signed a trade deal with New Delhi, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said as he emphasised that Europe is financing the "war" against itself by purchasing refined Russian oil products from India. President Donald Trump has worked to negotiate a settlement on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Bessent said, adding that the US has made much bigger sacrifices than the Europeans. "We have put 25 per cent tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. Guess what happened last week? The Europeans signed a trade deal with India," Bessent told ABC News Sunday. "And just to be clear again, the Russian oil goes into India, the refined products come out, and the Europeans buy the refined products. They are financing the war against themselves," he said, adding that under Trump's leadership, "we will eventually end" the Russia-Ukraine war. The Trump administration has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India, including 25 pe

'Govt pivots crude sourcing for certainty, keeps select Russian barrels'

India's crude oil sourcing strategy has shown a clear shift toward lower-risk and more execution-reliable supply, with the Middle Eastern barrels gaining share as Russian crude flows remain present but increasingly selective and compliance-driven. Import of Russian crude oil dropped to around 1.1 million barrels per day in the first three weeks of January, from an average of 1.21 million bpd in the previous month and over 2 million bpd imports in mid-2025, according to data from real-time analytics company Kpler. India, which is almost 90 per cent dependent on imports to meet its needs for crude oil - the raw material which is turned into fuels such as petrol and diesel in refineries, is again leaning on its traditional suppliers in the Middle-East. Iraq is now supplying almost the same volumes as Russia, up from an average of 9,04,000 bpd in December 2025, according to Kpler data. Volumes from Saudi Arabia too have risen to 9,24,000 bpd this month, from 7,10,000 bpd in December and

Trilateral talks talks were constructive, may continue next week: Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that two days of trilateral talks with Russia and the United States in Abu Dhabi concluded with "constructive" discussions on "possible parameters for ending the war." The talks are the first known instance that officials from the Trump administration have sat down with both countries as part of Washington's push for progress to end Moscow's nearly 4-year-old invasion. "All parties agreed to report to their capitals on each aspect of the negotiations and to coordinate further steps with their leaders," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. He said that military representatives identified issues for a possible next meeting, which could take place as soon as next week. The Ukrainian leader said there was "an understanding of the need for American monitoring and control of the process of ending the war and ensuring real security." US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner participated alongside Ukrainian officials, including chief negotiato

Zelenskyy says Moscow must end war as Ukraine-US-Russia meet in UAE

The trilateral talks in the United Arab Emirates marked the first such engagement involving all three sides since the war began nearly four years ago

Russia sees no breakthrough after Putin holds Ukraine talks with US

Still, Kyiv and Moscow remain at an impasse on key points including Putin's demands for parts of Ukraine that remain under Kyiv's control in its eastern Donbas territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions

First US-Russia-Ukraine trilateral talks to be held in UAE from today

The US, Ukraine and Russia will hold their first trilateral meeting in the UAE, as efforts to end the Ukraine war intensify following talks between President Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Flagship Russian crude sinks in China after Indian buyers pull back

In a sign of the overall trend, Russia's oil exports recently fell to the lowest since August, as Moscow faced mounting difficulties in delivering barrels to key buyer India

Decision on joining Board of Peace after consultation with partners: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said any decision on joining the Board of Peace led by the US to oversee the Gaza ceasefire plan will be taken after consultations with Moscow's strategic partners. "Regarding our participation in the 'Peace Board', the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been instructed to study the documents received by us, consult with our strategic partners on this matter, and only then will we be able to respond to the invitation extended to us," Putin said in his televised opening remarks at the national Security Council meeting late Wednesday night. "We have always supported and continue to support any efforts aimed at strengthening international stability. We also acknowledge the current US administration's contribution to the search for a solution to the Ukrainian crisis," Putin said, thanking US President Trump for the invitation. The Board of Peace led by Trump was originally envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the Gaza ceasefire ...

India 'stopped' buying oil from Russia, claims US Treasury Secretary

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has claimed that India has "stopped" buying oil from Russia after US President Donald Trump imposed a 25 per cent tariff on countries purchasing oil from Moscow. Trump has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India, including 25 per cent for its purchases of Russian oil. Speaking with Fox Business, Bessent said, "India started buying Russian oil after the (Ukraine) conflict began, but President Trump put a 25 per cent tariff on them, and India has geared down and has stopped buying Russian oil." India had described the US action as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable" while maintaining that its energy policy is guided by its own national interest. A bill introduced by Senator Lindsey Graham has proposed a 500 per cent tariff on secondary purchase and reselling of Russian oil. The proposal has near-unanimous backing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. While speaking on the bill, Bessent said that it is a proposal that Senator Graham has in fro

Kremlin claims Putin received Trump's invite to join Gaza 'Board of Peace'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif have also received invitations to join the Peace Board

'Unacceptable': Russia strongly criticises US threats to strike Iran

Russia's Foreign Ministry has said the US threats to strike Iran are categorically unacceptable. The ministry on Tuesday warned in a statement that any such strikes would have disastrous consequences for the situation in the Middle East and global security. It also criticised what it called brazen attempts to blackmail Iran's foreign partners by raising trade tariffs. The statement noted that the protests in Iran had been triggered by social and economic problems resulting from Western sanctions. It also denounced hostile external forces for trying to exploit the resulting growing social tension to destabilise and destroy the Iranian state and charged that specially trained and armed provocateurs acting on instructions from abroad sought to provoke violence. The ministry voiced hope that the situation in Iran will gradually stabilize and advised Russian citizens in the Islamic Republic not to visit crowded places.

Iran allows limited overseas calls as protest death toll nears 2,000

Iran eased some restrictions on its people and, for the first time in days, allowed them to make phone calls abroad via their mobile phones on Tuesday. It did not ease restrictions on the internet or permit texting services to be restored as the death toll from days of bloody protests against the state rose to at least 2,000 people, according to activists. Although Iranians were able to call abroad, people outside the country could not call them, several people in the capital told The Associated Press. The witnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said SMS text messaging still was down and internet users inside Iran could not access anything abroad, although there were local connections to government-approved websites. It was unclear if restrictions would ease further after authorities cut off all communications inside the country and to the outside world late Thursday. Here is the latest: Iranian official calls Trump and Netanyahu 'real killers of peopl

US accuses Russia of war escalation in Ukraine as Trump pushes for peace

The United States has accused Russia of a dangerous and inexplicable escalation of its nearly four-year war in Ukraine at a time when the Trump administration is trying to advance negotiations toward peace. US deputy ambassador to the United Nations Tammy Bruce on Monday singled out Russia's launch of a nuclear-capable Oreshnik ballistic missile last week close to Ukraine's border with Poland, a NATO ally. She told an emergency meeting of the Security Council that the United States deplores the staggering number of casualties in the conflict and condemns Russia's intensifying attacks on energy and other infrastructure. Ukraine called for the meeting after last Thursday's overnight Russian bombardment with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles, including the powerful, new hypersonic Oreshnik missile, which Moscow used for only the second time in what was a clear warning to Kyiv's NATO allies. The large-scale attack came days after Ukraine and its allies reported major progress .

Britain in talks with Nato allies to counter Russia, China in Arctic

Britain is discussing with NATO allies how it can help beef up security in the Arctic to counter threats from Russia and China, a government minister said Sunday. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the talks are business as usual rather than a response to recent threats by US President Donald Trump to take over Greenland. Trump said Friday that he would like to make a deal to acquire Greenland, a semiautonomous region of NATO ally Denmark, to prevent Russia or China from taking it over. We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not, Trump said Friday. Greenland, with a population of around 57,000, is defended by Denmark, whose military is dwarfed by that of the US, which has a military base on the island. Denmark's prime minister has warned that a takeover would threaten NATO. Tensions have grown between the US and Denmark since the Trump administration renewed its warnings against Greenland. Jesper Moller Sorensen, Denmark's ambassador to the US, fir

Best of BS Opinion: Fresh US tariffs could wipe out India's goods exports

Today's Best of BS Opinion covers US tariff threats linked to Russian oil, the Grok AI content debate, small finance banks' record, cracks in India's growth story, and a Cold War spy tale

Vasili Mitrokhin, the lowly clerk who tried to bring down the mighty KGB

Vasili Mitrokhin's lonely defiance inside the KGB reveals how a rotting security state hastened the Soviet collapse - and how its ghosts still haunt Russia today

Ukrainian drone attack in Russia kills 1 after Moscow's intense bombardment

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday. Meanwhile, thousands of residents were still without power in Kyiv, following an intense Russian bombardment. A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram. Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defences shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. The attack came after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials. For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new

Why Nato was formed and how Trump's Greenland push tests the alliance

As Donald Trump revives calls for US control of Greenland, Nato faces rare internal strain. Here's how the alliance was born, how its role evolved, and why allies are alarmed