Page 66 - Vladimir Putin

Russia Prez Putin orders 36-hour holiday weekend cease-fire in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered his armed forces to observe a 36-hour cease-fire in Ukraine this weekend for the Russian Orthodox Christmas holiday, the first such sweeping truce move in the nearly 11-month-old war. Putin did not appear to make his cease-fire order conditional on a Ukrainian agreement to follow suit, and it wasn't clear whether hostilities would actually halt on the 1,100-kilometer (684-mile) front line or elsewhere. Ukrainian officials have previously dismissed Russian peace moves as playing for time to regroup their forces and prepare for additional attacks. At various points during the war that started on February 24, Putin has ordered limited and local truces to allow evacuations of civilians or other humanitarian purposes. Thursday's order was the first time Putin directed his troops to observe a cease-fire throughout Ukraine. Based on the fact that a large number of citizens professing Orthodoxy live in the combat areas, we call on the ..

Russian President Putin orders 36-hour weekend cease-fire in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered Moscow's armed forces to hold a 36-hour cease-fire in Ukraine this weekend for the Russian Orthodox Christmas holiday, the Kremlin said. The order follows a proposal by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, earlier in the day day. Based on the fact that a large number of citizens professing Orthodoxy live in the combat areas, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a cease-fire and give them the opportunity to attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on the Day of the Nativity of Christ, according to Putin's order, addressed to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and published on the Kremlin's website. The head of the Russian Orthodox Church called on Thursday for a 36-hour Christmas cease-fire in Ukraine at the end of this week, but his appeal looked unlikely to bring any breakthrough in halting the war that began nearly 11 months ago with Moscow's invasion. Patriarch Kirill suggested a truce from noon Frida

Zelenskyy, Putin promise victory in contradictory New Year speeches

Zelenskyy, recalling some of the most dramatic moments and victories of the war, filled his emotional 17-minute video message with footage of Russia's attacks on the country

Russia-Ukraine conflict casts shadow on Putin's govt as it enters 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin's New Year's address to the nation usually is rather anodyne and backed with a soothing view of a snowy Kremlin. This year, with soldiers in the background, he lashed out at the West and Ukraine. The conflict in Ukraine cast a long shadow as Russia entered 2023. Cities curtailed festivities and fireworks. Moscow announced special performances for soldiers' children featuring the Russian equivalent of Santa Claus. An exiled Russian news outlet unearthed a video of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, now the Ukrainian president despised by the Kremlin, telling jokes on a Russian state television station's New Year's show just a decade ago. Putin, in a nine-minute video shown on TV as each Russian time zone region counted down the final minutes of 2022 on Saturday, denounced the West for aggression and accused the countries of trying to use the conflict in Ukraine to undermine Russia. It was a year of difficult, necessary decisions, the most important steps toward ...

On New Year's, Vladimir Putin slams West for hypocrisy, aggression

President Vladimir Putin used his New Year's address to the nation to accuse Western countries of aggression and trying to use the conflict in Ukraine to undermine Moscow. Putin made the video address, shown on state television on Saturday in each of Russia's 11 time zones, from a military headquarters with soldiers in the background, a sharp departure from his previous practice of recording the message against the backdrop of the snowy Kremlin. "It was a year of difficult, necessary decisions, the most important steps toward gaining full sovereignty of Russia and powerful consolidation of our society, he said, echoing his repeated contention that Moscow had no choice but to send troops into Ukraine because it threatened Russia's security. The West lied about peace, but was preparing for aggression, and today it admits it openly, no longer embarrassed. And they cynically use Ukraine and its people to weaken and split Russia, Putin said. "We have never allowed anyone and will not al

LIVE: Oppn should work in a coordinated manner for 2024, says Rahul Gandhi

Live news updates: "My main focus right now is for a united India, we should fight against hatred. My focus is only to unite India," he said.

India's presidencies in SCO, G20 to strengthen world stability: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday voiced confidence that India's presidencies of the SCO and G20 will build multi-dimensional cooperation between the two countries and will strengthen the stability and security in Asia and the entire world. While India formally assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1, it took over the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on September 16. In his New Year messages to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Putin noted that Russia and India marked the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2022 and, relying on positive traditions of friendship and mutual respect, the countries continue to develop their specially privileged strategic partnership, the Kremlin said in a statement. Putin said the two countries carried out large-scale trade and economic projects in addition to energy, military technology and other areas of cooperation, and coordinated efforts in addressing important matte

Vladimir Putin, Xi hold talks as Russia fires another Ukraine barrage

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping vowed on Friday to deepen their bilateral cooperation against the backdrop of Moscow's 10-month war in Ukraine, which weathered another night of drone and rocket attacks following a massive missile bombardment. Putin and Xi made no direct mention of Ukraine as they held bilateral talks via video conference. But they hailed strengthening ties between Moscow and Beijing amid what they called geopolitical tensions and a difficult international situation. In the face of increasing geopolitical tensions, the significance of the Russian-Chinese strategic partnership is growing as a stabilising factor, Putin said. He invited Xi to visit Moscow in the spring. In Ukraine, authorities reviewed the toll from a widespread Russian missile attack on power stations and other vital infrastructure on Thursday that was the biggest such bombardment in weeks. Four civilians were killed during the barrage, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko,

Russian MP Pavel Antov dies after falling from hotel window in Odisha

Antov was on vacation in the Rayagada region of Odisha where he was celebrating his 65th birthday

Down to the wire

Prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict will pressure India

A war-torn world: How Russia-Ukraine conflict dictated geopolitics globally

With the invasion turning into a misadventure for Putin in the face of a spirited Nato-backed Ukrainian defence, the world can only hope the 2 nations reach at least a brokered ceasefire deal in 2023

Vladimir Putin claims Moscow ready for Ukraine talks as attacks go on

President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia is ready for talks to end the war in Ukraine even as the country faced more attacks from Moscow a clear sign that peace wasn't imminent. Putin said in a state television interview, excerpts of which were released on Sunday afternoon that Russia is prepared to negotiate some acceptable outcomes with all the participants of this process. He said that it's not us who refuse talks, it's them" something the Kremlin has repeatedly stated in recent months as its 10-month old invasion kept losing momentum. Putin also repeated that Moscow has no other choice and said he believed the Kremlin was acting in the right direction. We're defending our national interests, the interests of our citizens, our people, he said. Putin's remarks come as attacks on Ukraine continue. A country-wide air raid alert was announced twice on Sunday alone, and three missiles in the afternoon hit the city of Kramatorsk in the partially occupied Donetsk region, local .

Over 74% of Russians approve of Putin's work as President: Poll

The survey conducted by the government-owned research centre VTSIOM found that 78.1 per cent of the respondents trusted Putin

Want to end war, 'the sooner, the better', says Russian President Putin

It came as President Vladimir Putin insisted Russia was aiming for a speedy end to the fighting.

Latest news LIVE updates: 16 Army jawans killed in an accident in Sikkim

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Ukrainians hail Prez Zelenskyy after trip to US dismissed by Putin

Ukrainians hailed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's wartime visit to the United States as a success, while Russian officials said Thursday that it only fueled the conflict. The U.S. has announced a new $1.8 billion military aid package, including supplies of the Patriot air defense systems, the most powerful such weapons to be delivered to Ukraine yet. Ukraine also stands to receive an additional $44.9 billion in U.S. aid as part of a massive government spending bill the Senate approved Thursday. We are returning from Washington with good results, with things that will really help, Zelenskyy said on a video message shared Thursday night on his Telegram account. He thanked President Joe Biden and the U.S. Congress for supporting Ukraine's fight against Russia. Neither Zelenskyy nor any other Ukrainian authorities have confirmed if he's already back in Kyiv. In Russia, President Vladimir Putin had a different assessment of Zelenskyy's trip, which included an Oval Office meeting with ..

'Sooner, the better': Russian Prez Putin says wants to end war in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was aiming for a speedy end to the conflict in Ukraine and that fighting should end as soon as possible, a news report said

Russian military announces plan to expand to 1.5 mn, create new units

Russia on Wednesday announced an ambitious plan to beef up its military from 1 million to 1.5 million and create multiple new units, an attempt to bolster the forces that have lost momentum and many soldiers in the war in Ukraine. Russia's military chief cited NATO's plans to incorporate Finland and Sweden as a factor in the buildup. Here is a glance at Moscow's military plans. A PUSH FOR A BIGGER FORCE Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu declared Wednesday that the country needs a force of 1.5 million to guarantee the fulfillment of tasks to ensure Russia's security. The Russian military currently has about 1 million soldiers, compared with China's force of 2 million and the U.S. force of 1.4 million. The Kremlin previously considered the size of its military as sufficient, but the calculus changed after hopes for a quick victory over its neighbor were shattered by fierce Ukrainian resistance. Amid the war, Russia and Ukraine both have kept a tight lid of secrecy on their mil

Vladimir Putin talks brotherhood as Volodymyr Zelenskyy goes to US

Siberian gas pipeline to China launched; Xi, Medvedev discuss Ukraine

Zelenskyy visits front-line city of Bakhmut; Putin meets troops in Kremlin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Tuesday with troops in the eastern city of Bakhmut, the scene of some of the most intense combat since Russia invaded the country, praising their courage, resilience and strength" as artillery boomed in the background. For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the courage and self-denial of his forces in Ukraine but he did so at a ceremony in an opulent and glittering hall at the Kremlin in Moscow, not on the battlefield. Both leaders sought to build morale as the stalemated conflict grinds through its 10th month and winter sets in. Zelenskky met with military personnel in a dimly lit building possibly a disused factory in Bakhmut, which he has called the hottest spot on the entire front line, his office said. The city, about 600 kilometers (380 miles) east of Kyiv, has remained in Ukrainian hands, thwarting Moscow's goal of capturing the rest of Donetsk province and the entire Donbas industrial region. The Ukrainian leader