Vladimir Putin

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Putin Makes Ominous Move on Nuclear Doctrine

He lowers threshold for use after US allows Ukraine to fire longer-range American missiles

(Newser) - Russia just loosened its rules on when it can unleash nuclear weapons, and Reuters sees the timing as a clear warning to the US. On Tuesday, Vladimir Putin formally changed Moscow's nuclear doctrine by lowering the threshold for when it can use nukes against its enemies. The move follows...

Biden Allows Ukraine to Send Missiles From US Into Russia

Policy change reflects effort to boost aid before Trump takes office

(Newser) - After months of lobbying by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Biden has authorized the use of long-range missiles provided by the US for strikes deeper into Russia. The decision reverses American policy on the Army Tactical Missile System, NBC News reports. US hesitance was partly driven by concern about a...

Zelensky Objects to Germany's Call to Putin

German chancellor pushes Russia toward peace talks in hourlong conversation

(Newser) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin leader's first publicly announced conversation with the sitting head of a major Western power in nearly two years. Scholz urged Putin to be open to negotiations with Ukraine to end their war, his office said. The...

Russia Outlawing 'Child-Free Propaganda'

Putin wants women to have more children

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin wants the women of Russia to have more children, and the government took a big step toward making that wish formal on Tuesday. The nation's lower house of parliament approved a law that would ban "child-free propaganda," meaning anything that might promote the idea that...

Trump Has Phone Call With Putin
Kremlin Says Trump
Call to Putin 'Pure Fiction'
UPDATED

Kremlin Says Trump Call to Putin 'Pure Fiction'

'There was no conversation,' and there are 'no concrete plans' for one, Kremlin spokesman claims

(Newser) - The Kremlin has firmly denied reports that President-elect Donald Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin last week and urged the Russian leader not to escalate the war in Ukraine. "This is completely untrue, it is pure fiction," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, per the BBC . "This is...

Putin Congratulates 'Courageous' Trump
Putin Congratulates,
Praises Trump

Putin Congratulates, Praises Trump

Russian president says he 'has no clue' what might happen in second term

(Newser) - He wasn't among the initial wave of world leaders congratulating Donald Trump on his election win, but Vladimir Putin got there eventually. At a conference with foreign policy experts in Sochi on Thursday, the Russian ruler offered his congratulations to Trump and praised him for his bravery during the...

In Russia, Old Guard of Scientists Fear Prison

It's 'spy mania' as the Kremlin seeks to rigorously protect hypersonic technology

(Newser) - It's a dangerous time to be a scientist in Russia, the Wall Street Journal reports. By its count, at least a dozen leading researchers have been arrested in the last six years, including six since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. One common denominator: Many of the detained scientists have...

Elon Musk Has Secretly Been in Contact With Putin: Report

Conversations are a 'closely held secret' in the administration, WSJ reports

(Newser) - Elon Musk has a warmer relationship with Vladimir Putin than the public, and even some White House officials, are aware of, according to the Wall Street Journal , which cites "several current and former US, European, and Russian officials." The Journal's sources say Musk and the Russian leader...

Navalny's Widow Aims to Take Putin's Job

Yulia Navalnaya says she wants to see Putin become 'an ordinary prisoner in Russia'

(Newser) - Alexei Navalny's widow says she will do everything she can to make Vladimir Putin's regime fall "as soon as possible"—and when he is out of power, she plans to run for president. Yulia Navalnaya tells the BBC that when free and fair elections can be...

Trump: Xi Knows I'm 'Crazy'
Trump: Xi Knows I'm 'Crazy'

Trump: Xi Knows I'm 'Crazy'

Candidate says he told Putin that if he invaded Ukraine, 'I'm going to hit you right in the middle of fricking Moscow'

(Newser) - Donald Trump made some startling claims about foreign policy in an interview with the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal . He said he had a "great" relationship with Vladimir Putin and a "very strong" relationship with Xi Jinping, though he said he once threatened to "hit"...

North Korea May Be Providing Russia With Soldiers
North Korea May Be
Providing Russia With Soldiers
the rundown

North Korea May Be Providing Russia With Soldiers

Ukrainian intelligence suggests country has gone beyond supplying Moscow with arms

(Newser) - North Korea is now providing Russia with a new resource in its war in Ukraine: bodies, or so believes Ukrainian intelligence. NBC News reports it's believed Kim Jong Un is now providing troops to fight on Russia's behalf, with a source saying "the first units are already...

Trump Refuses to Comment on Alleged Putin Calls

'But I will tell you that if I did, it's a smart thing'

(Newser) - Donald Trump on Tuesday refused to say whether he's spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin since leaving office, as reported in journalist Bob Woodward's latest book. But if the two did speak, Trump said, it would be "a smart thing" for the United States.
  • Trump was pressed
...

Russia Says There's Truth to Woodward's COVID Test Claim

But it denies that Trump, Putin have spoken since Trump left office

(Newser) - One of the splashier claims in Bob Woodward's new book is accurate, per the Kremlin, though it shot down a second one. The book, War, asserts that former President Trump and Vladimir Putin have spoken by phone as many as seven times since Trump left office and that Trump...

Trump, Kremlin Dispute Woodward's Reporting

Book alleges that they have remained in contact, and that Trump secretly sent him COVID tests

(Newser) - The campaign of Donald Trump wasted little time disputing allegations made in Bob Woodward's new book about his relationship with Vladimir Putin. The book, War, asserts that Trump and Putin have spoken by phone as many as seven times since Trump left office. It also alleges that Trump secretly...

Woodward: Trump Secretly Sent Putin COVID Tests

'I don't want you to tell anybody,' the Russian leader reportedly told him

(Newser) - Bob Woodward has a new book coming out, one that covers national and international affairs, and outlets have begun offering highlights. The Washington Post , for example, zeroes in on Woodward's assertion in War that then-President Trump secretly sent COVID tests to Vladimir Putin in 2020 for his personal use....

Russia Is Throwing Serious Cash at Its Defense Budget

Vladimir Putin vows all goals in Ukraine 'will be achieved'

(Newser) - Russia will boost defense spending by 25% to record levels in 2025 with President Vladimir Putin vowing "all goals set" in the country's war with Ukraine "will be achieved." A draft budget posted on the parliament's website notes defense and security spending will account for...

Putin Says Russia Might Loosen Its Nuclear Doctrine

Announcement is seen as a threat against the West

(Newser) - In what multiple news outlets are painting as an apparent threat to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday announced proposed changes to Russia's nuclear doctrine. He highlighted one in particular, NBC News reports: "It is proposed that aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear...

Putin's New Order Will Make His Army 2nd-Largest on Earth

With 180K new service members, for a total of 1.5M, Russia's army will be 2nd to China's in size

(Newser) - China boasts the largest army on Earth, with the United States and India claiming the next-biggest forces. Vladimir Putin now wants in on that elite pecking order, ordering Russia's army on Monday to boosts its ranks by 180,000 active service members, bringing the total number to 1.5...

Ukraine Pushes for Strikes Deeper Into Russian Territory

Allies including US have limited use of long-range weapons

(Newser) - Ukraine made a new call Saturday on the West to allow it to strike deeper into Russia after a meeting between US and British leaders a day earlier produced no visible shift in policy on the use of long-range weapons. "Russian terror begins at weapons depots, airfields, and military...

Putin: Missile Deal Would Put West, Russia at War

Russian president warns Western bloc ahead of US-UK summit

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin on Thursday night threatened war between Russia and NATO if the West ends up providing missiles to Ukraine that are used to strike targets inside Russia. "This will mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries are fighting Russia," the Russian president said in...

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