Page 36 - Vladimir Putin

Putin meets Azerbaijani Prez to strengthen ties amid ongoing tensions

Russian leader Vladimir Putin held talks on Monday with his Azerbaijani counterpart as part of a two-day trip to secure Moscow's under-pressure trade routes and shore up ties in the South Caucasus. Business links were high on the agenda as Putin and President Ilham Aliyev met in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, with Aliyev announcing that USD 120 million had been earmarked to boost cargo transport between the two countries. We're talking about the possibility of transporting 15 million tons of cargo per year or more, he said, adding that the two countries crossed the USD 4 billion mark for Russia-Azerbaijan turnover last year and "neither of us think that is where things will stop, Such ties are a priority for Putin, who increasingly depends on countries such as Azerbaijan to access global markets because of sanctions imposed on Moscow over Russia's war on Ukraine, said independent political scientist Zardusht Alizade. Azerbaijan is an important transit country for Russia at a time

Military incursion in Russia's Kursk aims to create buffer zone: Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday the daring military incursion into Russia's Kursk region aims to create a buffer zone. It was the first time the president had clearly stated the aim of the operation, which was launched on August 6. Previously, he had said the operation aimed to protect communities in the bordering Sumy region from constant shelling. Zelenskyy said it is now our primary task in defensive operations overall: to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible and conduct maximum counteroffensive actions. This includes creating a buffer zone on the aggressor's territory our operation in the Kursk region.

Kremlin aide says Nato and West helped Ukraine attack Russian territory

The United States and Western powers, eager to avoid direct confrontation with Russia, said Ukraine had not given advance notice and that Washington was not involved, though weaponry provided by Brit

Ukraine gambles on deep move into Russian territory, changed battle attempt

Ukraine's stunning incursion into Russia's Kursk border region was a bold gamble for the country's military commanders, who committed their limited resources to a risky assault on a nuclear-armed enemy with no assurance of success. After the first signs of progress, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy broke his silence and spelled out Kyiv's daily advances to his war-weary public. By Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said they controlled 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) of enemy territory, including at least 74 settlements and hundreds of Russian prisoners of war. But a week after it began, the overall aim of the daring operation is still unclear: Will Ukraine dig in and keep the conquered territory, advance further into Russian territory or pull back? What is clear is that the incursion has changed the battlefield. The shock of Ukraine's thunder run revealed chinks in the armor of its powerful adversary. The attack also risked aggravating Ukraine's own weaknesses by ...

Ukraine advancing deeper into Russia, says Zelenskyy as battle intensifies

Ukraine has carved out a slice of the Russian border region of Kursk and though Putin said the Russian army would push out the Ukrainian troops

Russia beats Ukraine charge to expand attack, Kyiv says won't occupy land

Russia has said that its forces checked an effort by Ukrainian troops to expand a stunning week-long incursion into the Kursk region, as a Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Kyiv has no intention of occupying Russian territory. Russian army units, including fresh reserves, aircraft, drone teams and artillery forces, stopped Ukrainian armoured mobile groups from moving deeper into Russia near the Kursk settlements of Obshchy Kolodez, Snagost, Kauchuk and Alexeyevsky, a Russian Defense Ministry statement said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said the cross-border operation was aimed at protecting Ukrainian land from long-range strikes launched from Kursk. Ukraine is not interested in taking the territory of the Kursk region, but we want to protect the lives of our people, Tykhyi was quoted as saying by local media. He said Russia had launched more than 2,000 strikes from the Kursk region in recent months using anti-aircraft missiles, .

Kursk attack: Top general reveals how much Russian land Ukraine captured

Russia has suffered several incursions into its territory during the nearly two and a half years of war, but Ukraine's advance into Kursk is the largest attack on its soil since World War II

Trump praises Xi, Putin, Kim Jong Un in Elon Musk interview: Key remarks

Donald Trump returned to X for a high-stakes interview with Elon Musk; former US president critiqued Joe Biden, while praising Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jong Un

Ukraine's incursion into Russia embarrasses Putin; how will it affect war?

The swift Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk region that began last week has been the largest cross-border raid by Kyiv's forces in the nearly 2 -year war, and has exposed Russia's vulnerabilities and dealt a painful blow to the Kremlin. The Russian military has thus far struggled to deal with the surprise attack, which has led tens of thousands of civilians to flee the region. For Ukraine, the raid has provided a much-needed boost to morale at a time when its undermanned and under-gunned forces are facing relentless Russian attacks along the more than 1,000 kilometre (620-mile) front line. Here's a look at the Ukrainian raid and its implications: How has the attack unfolded? Kyiv's troops poured into the Kursk region from several directions last Tuesday, quickly overwhelming a few checkpoints and field fortifications manned by lightly armed border guards and infantry units along the region's 245-kilometre (152-mile) frontier with Ukraine. Unlike previous raids conducted by

Ukraine seizes 28 villages in Russia's Kursk ahead of possible peace talks

Putin said Zelenskyy is trying to improve negotiating position; questions "what talks there can be with Ukraine"

Ukraine enters 30 km into Russia: Deepest incursion so far | Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant fire

In a first, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged the cross-border operation between Ukraine and Russia.

For Russian activist Ilya Yashin, resuming work against Putin a priority

All Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin had with him when he was released from his penal colony in a swap was his toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, his expired passport and the prison garb he was wearing. But he has hit the ground running. Within days of arriving in Germany, Yashin not only bought new clothes, set up a smartphone and reunited with his parents, but also held a news conference, fielded questions from his supporters live on YouTube and held a rally in a Berlin park even if it meant he didn't have time to catch up on sleep. The 41-year-old dissident, released last week in the historic East-West prisoner exchange, admits he doesn't quite know how to be a politician in exile, a role that was forced upon him against his wishes. But in an interview Friday in Berlin with The Associated Press, he said he wanted to continue campaigning against Russia's war in Ukraine, trying to free more political prisoners and advance projects to unite the country's fragmented ...

Russia sliding back toward Stalinist times, says human rights advocate

A human rights activist since the 1980s, Oleg Orlov thought Russia had turned a corner when the Soviet Union collapsed and a democratically elected president became leader. But then Vladimir Putin rose to power, crushing dissent and launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Finally, the 71-year-old Orlov was himself thrown in prison for opposing the war. Freed last week in the largest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War, he was forced into exile -- just like the Soviet dissidents of his youth. In an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday in Berlin, Orlov decried t he scale and severity of repressions under Putin, with people imprisoned for merely criticizing the authorities, something unseen since the days of dictator Josef Stalin. And he's vowing to continue his work to free the many political prisoners in Russia and keep their names in the spotlight. We're sliding somewhere into Stalin times, said Orlov, who at times showed signs of fatigue from a hectic schedul

Putin accuses Ukraine of a provocation with its raid in southwestern Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday described a Ukrainian incursion into the country's southwestern Kursk region as a large-scale provocation as his officials asserted that they were fighting off cross-border raids for a second day. Ukrainian officials remained silent about the scope of the operation. Putin met with his top defense and security officials to discuss what he called the indiscriminate shelling of civilian buildings, residential houses, ambulances with different types of weapons. He instructed the Cabinet to coordinate assistance to the Kursk region. The fighting is about 500 kilometers (320 miles) from Moscow. Army chief of staff Valery Gerasimov told Putin at the meeting via video link that about 100 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the battle and more than 200 wounded, Russian news agencies reported. The Ukrainian shelling, meanwhile, killed at least two people a paramedic and an ambulance driver and injured 24, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson

Putin, US on same page: Iran's Israel attack may not be as severe as feared

Blaming Israel for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran, Iran had vowed it would respond 'severely', raising fears of a broader regional conflict

Mexico invites Putin to Oct 1 presidential inauguration of Sheinbaum

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Putin in 2023, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine

Putin ally holds talks in Iran as West Asia teeters on brink of wider war

Russia has condemned the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Iran last week

Russia offers disaster aid to N Korea for flood damage, hails strong bond

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered humanitarian assistance to help North Korea cope with damages from recent floods, both countries said, in another sign of expanding relations between the two nations. In a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday, Putin extended deep sympathy and support and conveyed his willingness to provide immediate disaster aid to help North Korea recover from the floods, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported Sunday. Russia's state news agency Tass carried a similar report, saying that Putin told Kim in the message: You can always count on our assistance and support. Ties between North Korea and Russia have been improving significantly amid widespread outside beliefs that North Korea has supplied conventional weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine in return for military and economic assistance. During a meeting in Pyongyang in June, Kim and Putin signed a pact stipulating mutual military assistance if either country is

Russia releases US journalist, other Americans in massive prisoner swap

The trade followed years of secretive back-channel negotiations despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since Cold War after Russian President's invasion of Ukraine

Russia's 'nuclear doctrine' governing use of atomic weapons. What is it?

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, President Vladimir Putin and other Kremlin voices have frequently threatened the West with its nuclear arsenal. On Day 1 of the war, Putin said whoever tries to impede us, let alone create threats for our country and its people, must know that the Russian response will be immediate and lead to consequences you have never seen in history. Over nearly 2 1/2 years of fighting, the West has given Ukraine billions of dollars of advanced weapons, some of which have struck Russian soil. And while there have been more Kremlin threats and even the deployment of battlefield nuclear weapons in Belarus, just over the border from Ukraine so far it has remained only a blunt message. What could finally trigger a nuclear response? Asked that in June by international news agencies, Putin pointed to Russia's so-called nuclear doctrine. Look what is written there, he said at the St. Petersburg session. If somebody's actions threaten our sovereignty and territo