Syria’s President Ahmed Al-Sharaa will meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for the first time, as both countries seek to rebuild relations following the toppling of Syrian autocrat Bashar al-Assad,

Major Chinese airlines on Tuesday urged the Trump administration to abandon a plan to bar them from flying over Russia on U.S. flights, saying it would increase flight times, raise air fares and could disrupt some routes.

Belarus remains one of Russia's closest allies in the war against Ukraine. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russian authorities have reportedly been recruiting Belarusians through draft commissions operating inside Belarus.

First lady Melania Trump said she has been communicating with Vladimir Putin's government about reuniting Ukrainian children with their families.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Tuesday it had opened a criminal case against exiled Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, accusing him of creating a "terrorist organisation" and of plotting to violently seize power.

Russia has accused the U.K. of plotting a sabotage operation in a move that shows Moscow is setting the conditions for a conflict with NATO, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

When Russia destroyed Ukraine’s Kakhovka Hydroelectric Dam in June 2023, unleashing catastrophic floods across the country’s south, it seemed like such a blatant act of environmental and humanitarian devastation might finally jolt the international community into taking more action to support Ukraine.

Scores of sanctions from the US, EU, UK and others have weakened Russia’s economy, but not its resolve to carry on fighting. What’s now needed is not just more but smarter penalties, experts say.