Page 63 - Vladimir Putin

The Belarus bombshell

Putin's nuclear threat must be taken seriously

Ukraine demands emergency UNSC meeting over Putin's Belarus nuclear plan

Ukraine's government on Sunday called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to counter the Kremlin's nuclear blackmail after Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed plans to station tactical atomic weapons in Belarus. One Ukrainian official said that Russia "took Belarus as a nuclear hostage. But Moscow said it was making the move in response to the West's increasing military support for Ukraine. Putin announced the plan in a television interview that aired on Saturday, saying it was triggered by a UK decision this past week to provide Ukraine with armour-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium. Putin argued that by deploying its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russia was following the lead of the United States. He noted that Washington has nuclear weapons based in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey. We are doing what they have been doing for decades, stationing them in certain allied countries, preparing the launch platforms and training

Putin taking Belarus as nuclear hostage, says Ukraine security official

Ukraine's top security official on Sunday denounced the Kremlin's plans to station tactical atomic weapons in Belarus, saying that Russia was taking its ally as a nuclear hostage. But Moscow said it was making the move in response to the West's increasing military support for Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the plan in a television interview that aired on Saturday, saying it was triggered by a UK decision this past week to provide Ukraine with armour-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium. Putin argued that by deploying its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russia was following the lead of the United States. He noted that Washington has nuclear weapons based in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey. We are doing what they have been doing for decades, stationing them in certain allied countries, preparing the launch platforms and training their crews, he said. Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Counci

Russia to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, says Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans on Saturday to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus. Putin said the plan was in response to Britain's decision this past week to provide Ukraine with armour-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium. Russia falsely claimed these rounds have nuclear components. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has long asked for the weapons, Putin said, speaking in an interview on Russian state television. He said construction of storage facilities for the weapons in Belarus would be completed by July 1. Russia used the territory of Belarus as a staging ground to send troops into Ukraine, and Moscow and Minsk have maintained close military ties.

Ukranian President posts video claiming Russian missile hit apartment

Ukraine's president posted a video on Wednesday showing what he said was a Russian missile slamming into an apartment building in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia. The video appears to be CCTV footage that captures the moment the missile hits the nine-story residential block by a busy road. Ukrainian media carried pictures of the affected apartment buildings, showing charred apartments on several stories and flames billowing from one of them. The number of causalities was unknown. However, Vladimir Rogov, an official with the Moscow-appointed regional administration for the Russia-occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region, claimed the building was hit by a Ukrainian air defence missile that was launched to intercept a Russian missile.

We are driving the change that has taken a century to come: Xi to Putin

China's President Xi Jinping told a grinning Vladimir Putin 'change is coming' in an ominous parting message as he departed Moscow following talks with his Russian counterpart, the media reported

Russia ready to switch to yuan in foreign trade, says Vladimir Putin

Russia is ready to increase settlements in yuan in its foreign trade, President Vladimir Putin said during talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping

China's Xi Jinping, Japan's Fumio Kishida end visits to Russia and Ukraine

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has left Moscow, wrapping up a three-day visit, shortly after Japanese PM Fumio Kishida left Kyiv. Kishida made a surprise visit Tuesday to Kyiv, stealing some of the attention from Xi's trip to Moscow where he promoted Beijing's peace proposal for Ukraine, which Western nations have already dismissed. Xi's visit gave a strong political boost to Russian President Vladimir Putin just days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader on charges of alleged involvement in abductions of thousands of children from Ukraine. After the talks, Putin and Xi issued joint declarations pledging to further bolster their strategic cooperation, develop cooperation in energy, high-tech industries and other spheres and expand the use of their currencies in mutual trade to reduce dependence on the West. They said they would develop military cooperation and conduct more joint sea and air patrols, but there was no mention of Chinese wea

China's Xi aligns with Putin against US, but hesitates on big gas deal

Xi saw an opportunity to push back at the US and buttress his image as a global statesman after helping to broker a Saudi-Iran deal, while Putin can show he has the support

In Putin and Russia, Xi sees a counterweight to American influence: WH

In President Vladimir Putin and Russia, the Chinese President Xi Jinping sees a counterweight to the American and NATO influence in the world, the White House said Tuesday. The statement by John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House, came as Putin hosted the Chinese leader. "I think you've seen over the years that these two countries are growing close together. I wouldn't go so far to call it an alliance. (it's) a marriage of convenience, because that's what I think it is. In President Putin and Russia, President Xi sees a counterweight to American influence and NATO influence, certainly on the continent and elsewhere around the world," Kirby told reporters at a daily news conference here. "In President Xi, President Putin sees a potential backer here. This is a man who doesn't have a whole lot of friends on the international stage. They can count them on one hand mostly. He really needs and wants President Xi's support for wha

China, Russia should push for more 'practical' cooperation: Xi to Putin

Russia wants Chinese businesses to replace Western firms; Japan PM Kishida visits Ukraine in a show of solidarity

Putin tells Xi Jinping: Will discuss China's peace proposals for Ukraine

The trip to Moscow marks Xi's most ambitious attempt yet to play the role of peacemaker as he seeks to broker an end to Russia's war in Ukraine

Jinping to meet Putin in boost for isolated Russian leader amid allegations

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow in a political boost for the isolated Russian president after the International Criminal Court charged him with war crimes in Ukraine. Xi's government gave no details of what the Chinese leader hoped to accomplish. Xi and Putin declared they had a no limits friendship before last February's attack on Ukraine, but China has tried to portray itself as neutral. Beijing called last month for a cease-fire, but Washington said that would ratify the Kremlin's battlefield gains. The Chinese government said Xi would visit Moscow from Monday to Wednesday but gave no indication when he departed. The Russian government said Xi was due to arrive at midday and meet later with Putin. China looks to Russia as a source of oil and gas for its energy-hungry economy and a partner in opposing what both see as American domination of global affairs. The meeting gives Putin and Xi a chance to show they have powerful partners at a time of .

Ahead of Xi's visit to Russia, Putin accuses West of fueling Ukraine crisis

Putin also said that the international security and cooperation architecture is being dismantled. Russia has been labeled an 'immediate threat' and China a 'strategic competitor'

Ukraine crisis: President Putin visits Russia-occupied port city Mariupol

During the visit, the Russian President is also reported to have met top military commanders in Rostov-on-Don city

Japan will carefully monitor investigation against Putin: PM Kishida

Japan will carefully monitor the developments of an investigation against Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday, reported Kyodo News

Vladimir Putin visits Crimea on anniversary of its annexation from Ukraine

According to Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, earlier Putin was expected to join the cultural and historical event virtually but he himself arrived at the site and gave a surprise to everyone

International Criminal Court justified in issuing warrant for Putin: Biden

US President Joe Biden said that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is justified in issuing an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over allegations of war crimes

ICC issues arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin over Ukraine war crimes

The International Criminal Court says it has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Putin for war crimes because of his alleged involvement in abductions of children from Ukraine. The court said in a statement that Putin is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. It also issued a warrant on Friday for the arrest for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the Commissioner for Children's Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation on similar allegations.

Chinese President Xi to visit Russia from March 20 for talks with Putin

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Russia to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin from March 20 to 22, the foreign ministry here announced on Friday. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying in a brief announcement said "at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Russia from March 20 to 22. This will be Xi's first visit after getting endorsed for an unprecedented third five-year term as the President and head of the military early this month by the National People's Congress, (NPC). Speculation is rife that Xi, 69, a close ally of Putin for the past 10 years in power, is likely to make an attempt to initiate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine to end the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. He is also expected to talk to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the phone.