14 h. ago Putin claims he's reached 'understandings' with Trump over Ukraine war

Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken of his 'understandings' with Donald Trump over the war in Ukraine as the world awaited his decision on talks with Volodymyr Zelensky

Politics

14 h. ago Jude Law as Vladimir Putin and 7 more actors who transformed into politicians

Jude Law looks totally unrecognisable as Russian president Vladimir Putin in the new movie, The Wizard of Kremlin, which recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival

Politics

14 h. ago Jude Law plays Vladimir Putin in new biopic but viewers make unexpected comparison

Jude Law has undergone a dramatic transformation to play Russian President Vladimir Putin in the upcoming biopic The Wizard of the Kremlin - but fans think he looks like someone else

Politics

35 h. ago Putin persists, Trump dithers – and a just peace for Ukraine still seems a long way off | Olga Chyzh

The US president could embrace the role of peacemaker, or become the patsy who restored Russia’s imperial standingThe past few weeks have seen a flurry of activity billed as progress in the Russia-Ukraine peace process. Yet for Ukrainians, the reality remains unchanged: airstrikes still thunder across their cities, homes still burn, lives are still lost. Against this grim backdrop, the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, has seemed more than content to bask in the literal red-carpet treatment afforded by the president of the United States.Donald Trump, who has anointed himself mediator of this war, has nearly exhausted the lexicon of contradiction. Some days he proclaims that he alone can end this war. Then he insists that peace talks should be left to the two parties. At times he boasts that Putin “respects” him; at others, he castigates Putin for “going absolutely crazy”. This month, Trump vacillated between putting US troops on the table and ruling it out. Now he is reportedly consid...

Politics

36 h. ago The Wizard of the Kremlin review – Jude Law is Putin in adaptation of Kremlin spin doctor bestseller

Venice film festival The rise of Vladimir Putin, chillingly played by Law, is portrayed through the eyes of a wily insider, but Paul Dano’s protagonist cuts a one-note figureGiuliano da Empoli’s smash-hit satirical novel The Wizard of the Kremlin, about a Putin spin doctor called Vadim Baranov and based on shadowy Russian politician Vladislav Surkov, has now been converted into an exasperatingly laborious and literal-minded movie, burdened with endless dull voiceover. It has been written for the screen by its estimable director Olivier Assayas, working with the formidable author and reportage journalist Emmanuel Carrère; Carrère in fact has a cameo here, playing a supercilious French figure at a raucous Moscow student party in the early 90s, patronisingly informing the young people present that it was the communism they’ve just rejected that really believed in the arts.The action takes us through the 1990s decline of ailing president Boris Yeltsin and the promotion of FSB chief Vlad...

Politics

44 h. ago Vladimir Putin arrives in China for security summit – Ukraine war live

Russian president and Indian prime minister among more than 20 world leaders attending Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in TianjinThe Guardian’s Russian affairs reporter, Pjotr Sauer, has written a piece about Putin’s trip and what it may mean for the war in Ukraine. Here is an extract of his story:Key on the agenda, analysts say, will be for Putin and Xi to align their positions on the war in Ukraine amid US efforts to end the fighting. “It is an important time for them to talk about where the war is headed and how likely it is to be stopped in the near future,” said Alexander Gabuev, the director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Centre.Gabuev said Moscow wanted to know whether it could expect any further assistance from China and how Beijing would respond if the US were to ask it to put pressure on Russia to end the fighting Continue reading...

Politics

47 h. ago Trump suggests Putin and Zelensky 'may have to fight longer' before talks can happen as he casts doubt on peace progress

Trump conducted high stakes meetings with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as he seeks to restore peace to the region.

Politics

63 h. ago Russian media vows to ‘protect’ suspect as Brit boy, 3, ‘abducted’ from Marbella

Putin's state-control media has vowed to 'protect' the Russian mother who is suspected of abducting her British son from Marbella and taking him to her home country

Politics

3 d. ago EU accuses Putin of undermining peace talks after deadly strikes on Kyiv

All member states except Hungary back statement saying Russian ‘war crimes’ only increase EU support for UkraineEurope live – latest updatesEuropean leaders have accused Vladimir Putin of undermining peace talks, after Russian missile strikes on Kyiv this week killed at least 23 people and damaged diplomatic buildings, including EU and British Council offices.A day of mourning was observed in Kyiv on Friday, after the Russian air attack the day before that killed 23 people, including at least four children. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said eight people were still missing and 53 had been injured. “When instead of diplomacy, Russia chooses ballistics the world must respond accordingly,” he said, urging western allies to impose further sanctions. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Putin has two secret sons with gymnast who live life of luxury isolated from world

The two boys, nine and five, are said to annoy their father with Disney cartoon impressions

Politics

4 d. ago UK summons Russian ambassador over ‘senseless’ attack on Kyiv

The Prime Minister condemned the attack as senseless.

Politics

4 d. ago UK and EU summon top Russian diplomats after strikes hit British Council and EU offices in deadly attack on Kyiv

Overnight raid kills more than a dozen people as European leaders condemn ‘deliberate’ targeting of civilians and institutionsUkrainian prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko has now responded to the overnight Russian attacks on Kyiv, criticising Moscow for “horrific and deliberate killing of civilians.”“The Russians are not choosing to end the war, only constant expansion of atrocities,” she said.“Overnight in Kyiv, dozens of buildings were hit: residential houses, office centers, civilian enterprises. Among them also the building where the European Union Delegation to Ukraine is located. Russians now believe that they have paralyzed Ukraine’s allies with feigned plans for ‘negotiations’ and endless delays that only serve as methods to buy time with the true goal only of preventing sanctions.“My thoughts are with all those affected by the senseless Russian strikes on Kyiv which have damaged the British Council building. Putin is killing children and civilians, and sabotaging hopes of peac...

Events

4 d. ago Dramatic moment Russian fighter jet intercepts US plane flying over Black Sea

The US Navy P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft was intercepted over the Black Sea by a Russian Su-35S multirole fighter as Vladimir Putin's bombs rain down on Ukraine

Events

4 d. ago Russia strikes British Council building in Kyiv as Putin blitzes city with hypersonic missiles and drones leaving at least 14 dead

Russia launched the strikes on the Ukrainian capital even as it talks about ending the war and despite US President Donald Trump's push for a ceasefire.

Events

4 d. ago Putin blitzes Kyiv with hypersonic missiles while Ukraine hits Russian oil refineries as war shows no signs of ending

Russia launched the strikes on the Ukrainian capital even as it talks about ending the war and despite US President Donald Trump's push for a ceasefire.

Events

5 d. ago Russia launches drone attacks on Ukrainians as troops push into villages

Kremlin troops advance into Ukraine's embattled industrial heartland as close to 100 Russian drones target critical infrastructure and Putin continues to drag his feet over peace talks

Events

5 d. ago Russia warning as Vladimir Putin close to first nuclear bomb tests for 35 years

The world waits as Russian President Vladimir Putin considers giving the green light to nuclear bomb testing at the former Soviet Arctic site in the Novaya Zemlya archipelago

Events

5 d. ago Nigel Farage rages at suggestion he is 'Putin fanboy' on Scotland visit

The Reform UK leader said in 2014 Russian President Vladimir Putin was the world leader he most admired.

Politics

7 d. ago I’ve seen the UN at its best. As it turns 80, with a world in crisis, it must recover its courage | Martin Griffiths

The UN has a power and a legitimacy that could be used to save lives in Palestine, Ukraine and Sudan. But a culture of caution must be addressed• Martin Griffiths is the former UN under-secretary general for humanitarian affairsBirthday parties should be a time for celebration, but when my former United Nations colleagues meet to mark the organisation’s 80th anniversary next month, good cheer is likely to be in short supply.The UN is in crisis. With the geopolitical picture at its most fractured in decades, this great institution is desperately short of funding and, more importantly, relevance. Across the critical conflicts of the modern world – Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan and others – the UN still plays a vital humanitarian role, but is relegating itself to an increasingly marginal place in primary peacemaking. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Why another 2 MILLION Russians will have to die for Putin to save face in Ukraine: The horrifying numbers of a never

The claim comes as US President Donald Trump pushes Ukraine to accept a peace deal on Moscow's terms, warning that otherwise Kyiv risks losing the war.

Politics