Page 6 - Russia

Russian govt imposes ban on aviation fuel exports until November 30

The decision has been take to to ensure stability in the domestic fuel market, said Russia government

'Russian spies aggressively seeking Western technology as sanctions bite'

Russia's intelligence agencies have grown more aggressive in their efforts to steal Western technology and defense secrets as sanctions squeeze the country's wartime economy, three senior European intelligence officials told The Associated Press. Moscow's agents are building fake companies, recruiting middlemen and deploying cyber spies and hackers who are gathering information that could also be used to attack key infrastructure, they said. Four years of international sanctions have hampered Moscow's ability to procure machinery, technology and research from Europe, while the grinding war in Ukraine has taxed key industries and pushed the country toward a potential financial crisis. "They really know what they need," and are putting "serious effort" into acquiring advanced machine tools, factory equipment, research and dual-use technology, said Christoffer Wedelin, deputy head of operations at the Swedish Security Service. Russia seeks high-end research, defense technology and ...

Ajit Doval, Russia's Nikolai Patrushev review maritime, defence cooperation

The two officials also exchanged views on regional and global developments

Russian drone targeting Ukraine crashes into apartment block in Romania

A Russian drone that was part of an overnight attack on Ukraine and then went astray slammed into an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people in the NATO member country, Romanian authorities said, adding to concerns that the war could spread across the alliance's borders. The Russian drone was tracked by radar in Romanian airspace and crashed onto the roof of the building in the city of Galati, Romania's Defence Ministry said in a statement. The impact was followed by a fire. The two people suffered minor injuries, and several others were evacuated. The Romanian military scrambled two F-16 fighter jets and a helicopter that were authorised to engage targets, and alert messages were sent to residents of the affected areas. But the aircraft didn't engage or shoot at the drone to bring it down. Romania asked NATO for a faster transfer of anti-drone capabilities to its military, the Foreign Ministry said, calling the drone's flight a serious violation of international

UN adds Israeli, Russian forces to blacklist for sexual violence cases

An annual United Nations report documenting sexual violence in conflicts worldwide has included Israeli forces for the first time since the review began more than 15 years ago for their treatment of Palestinian detainees. Israel denies the accusations. The 35-page report -- shared by the Israeli mission to the UN late on Thursday ahead of its expected release on Friday -- blacklists 77 government and non-government parties in a dozen countries suspected of committing or being responsible for sexual violence in conflicts around the world. It says the number of cases rose sharply in 2025 from 2024. Russian armed and security forces were also blacklisted for the first time this year for sexual violence against prisoners of war and civilians detained during the war in Ukraine. The list for 2025 includes Israel's armed and security forces as well as Hamas militants, who were previously blacklisted after their attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza. Both Israe

Russia strikes Kyiv with massive missile and drone attack, killing one

Explosions reverberated through the city shortly after 1 a.m. (2200 GMT Saturday), shortly after Ukraine's air force had warned on its Telegram channel that Russia might launch an intermediate missile

Xi, Putin oppose US-Israel war on Iran, call it a threat to global trade

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin expressed their opposition to the US-Israeli war on Iran on Wednesday, while warning that restrictions on shipping imposed by "individual states" threatened global trade, in a veiled reference to Tehran, which has blocked shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The US and Israeli strikes against Iran are illegal and seriously undermine stability in the Middle East, said a joint statement issued at the end of their day-long talks here. It also criticised US President Donald Trump's Golden Dome shield defence plan. The implementation of the Golden Dome project a multilayer missile defence system initiated by Trump - would have "serious negative consequences for international security", according to the joint statement released by the Kremlin. Putin's visit to Beijing followed days after Trump's tour here during which the Iran war, opening of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran dominated their talks. Both China and Russia ar

Xi Jinping, Putin praise ties but see no energy headway at Beijing talks

President Xi Jinping welcomed President Vladimir Putin with an honour guard and a gun salute at the Great Hall of the People, as children waved Chinese and Russian flags

Xi calls for immediate end to West Asia hostilities during talks with Putin

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for an immediate end to hostilities in West Asia, saying the situation had reached a "critical juncture", as he held talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin here amid escalating regional tensions. Welcoming Putin at the Great Hall of the People, Xi said renewed fighting in the Gulf and the wider West Asia must be avoided and stressed that negotiations should continue. An early end to the conflict will help ease disruptions to energy supplies, industrial and supply chains, and the international trade order, the Chinese president said. The talks between Xi and Putin came days after US President Donald Trump visited China from May 14-15 and held extensive discussions with the Chinese leader on the Iran-Israel conflict, the Strait of Hormuz and bilateral trade frictions. The meeting is being closely watched as both China and Russia are key strategic partners of Iran with close economic and military ties to Tehran and could ...

Xi Jinping, Putin hold bilateral talks in Beijing days after Trump's visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held wide-ranging talks here on Wednesday on bilateral ties and key global issues, including Iran, the Ukraine war, and trade. Their talks assumed significance as the two leaders met days after US President Donald Trump visited Beijing from May 14-15 and held extensive discussions with Xi on issues ranging from Iran and the Ukraine war to bilateral trade frictions and regional developments. Ahead of the talks at the Great Hall of the People, Putin was accorded a ceremonial welcome by Xi. The ceremonial welcome was followed by bilateral talks. Putin, who arrived here on Tuesday night, was received by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. In a video address on Tuesday delivered before his visit, Putin said Russia-China relations had reached "a truly unprecedented level". He said regular top-level exchanges between the two countries formed an integral part of efforts to deepen bilateral ties and unlock their "limitl

Putin heads to China days after Trump's visit as Beijing balances ties

Russian President Vladimir Putin is travelling to China to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping less than a week after US President Donald Trump wrapped up his own trip to Beijing. Putin is scheduled to be in China on Tuesday and Wednesday in a visit likely to be closely watched as Beijing seeks to maintain stable relations with the United States while also preserving strong ties with Russia. The Kremlin has said Putin and Xi plan to discuss economic cooperation between the two countries, but also "key international and regional issues". The visit coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship signed in 2001. "The Trump visit was about stabilising the world's most important bilateral relationship; the Putin visit is about reassuring a long-standing strategic partner," said Wang Zichen, deputy secretary-general for the Beijing-based think tank Centre for China & Globalisation. "For China, these two tracks are not mutually exclusive." Putin last visited .

India buying Russian oil regardless of US sanctions waivers: Govt official

Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Petroleum Ministry, said India has been buying Russian oil irrespective of US sanctions waivers

Putin to visit China next week for talks with Xi days after Trump's trip

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on a two-day trip to Beijing next week, the Kremlin said Saturday. The announcement comes less than 24 hours after US President Donald Trump finished his own state visit to China, where he also met Xi to discuss trade and the US-Israel war in Iran. In a statement, the Kremlin said that Putin's trip, planned for May 19-20, had been scheduled to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship. It said that the two leaders would discuss bilateral relations as well as "key international and regional issues" and economic cooperation. Relations between China and Russia have deepened in recent years, particularly since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, which left Moscow shunned on the global stage and heavily reliant on Beijing for trade due to Western sanctions. When Putin visited China in September 2025, Xi welcomed his counterpart as an "old frie

India's Russian oil supply likely to be hit if US waiver not extended

Under the latest US waiver, countries have been allowed to purchase Russian crude oil and petroleum products until May 16 that were loaded onto vessels on or before April 17

Ukraine links Kyiv attack to Xi-Trump summit, seeks pressure on Russia

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha tied an overnight attack on Kyiv to the Xi-Trump summit, saying the assault proved Russia was a threat to international security. "At the very time when leaders of the most powerful countries are meeting in Beijing, and the world hopes for peace, predictability and cooperation, Putin launched hundreds of drones, ballistic and cruise missiles at the capital of Ukraine," Sybiha said on Telegram. He said there should be "no illusions" about ending the Russian war on Ukraine. "Only pressure on Moscow can make him stop," Sybiha said of Putin, adding that US and Chinese leaders had sufficient leverage to compel Russia to end the conflict.

Russia fires 800 drones at Ukraine despite recent talk of possible peace

Russia fired at least 800 drones in a massive daytime barrage on about 20 regions of Ukraine on Wednesday, killing at least six people and wounding dozens, including children, in one of the longest attacks by Moscow in the 4-year-old war, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The attack began in midmorning and lasted for hours in the capital of Kyiv, the western city of Lviv near Poland, and the port of Odesa on the Black Sea, among other population centers, Zelanskyy said on the Telegram messaging app. "Our soldiers are defending Ukraine, but Russia's obvious goal is to overload air defences," Zelenskyy said, as the bombardment stretched into the late afternoon. He cautioned that a cruise and ballistic missile attack could follow the drone barrage. It was "one of the longest, massive Russian attacks against Ukraine," he said on social media. It also rattled neighbours. Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said his new government has summoned the Russian ambassador over a drone atta

Jaishankar holds talks with Russia's Lavrov; trade, geopolitics top agenda

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held "productive" talks on Wednesday to advance bilateral cooperation in energy and trade amid shifting geopolitical tensions. Jaishankar met Lavrov, shortly after the Russian foreign minister landed in New Delhi to attend a two-day conclave of the BRICS member states beginning Thursday. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and South Africa's Minister for International Relations Ozzy Lamola are among those who already arrived in the national capital for the BRICS foreign ministerial meeting. Jaishankar and Lavrov are learnt to have deliberated on the West Asia crisis as well as the Ukraine conflict. In a social media post, the external affairs minister described his talks with his Russian counterpart as "productive exchange of views". "Our conversation touched upon several aspects of the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership, including tr

'Going to do whatever is necessary': Trump on Russian oil waiver amid war

The United States had eased sanctions on Russian oil in mid-March to counteract global oil shortages resulting from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz