Russian President Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin 'very ill with blood cancer', claims oligarch in secret recording - In the midst of the Ukraine war, reports suggest that ...

Some photos from the Victory Day celebrations also indicate that Putin is ill, as he was seen sitting with a blanket and was seen “limping” by some. In the recording obtained by News Line Magazine, the Russian oligarch can be heard saying, “We all hope that Putin dies. Over the last few weeks, many claims about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s health have surfaced through news reports and social media, most claiming that he is going through very serious illnesses.

The prolonged war in Ukraine appears to be taking a toll on Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to media reports, an oligarch in Putin's inner ...

“The problem is with his head. Dismissing these claims, the Kremlin has asserted that Putin is fit as a fiddle. He also claimed that the president has gone “crazy”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has always been eager to share an instructive story from his childhood, about how, when he was growing up in poverty in ...

France and Germany, the “old Europeans,” are well aware of the danger and are treading carefully as a result. The more that Russia’s conventional arsenal is destroyed, the higher the chance it will use weapons of mass destruction, so prolonging the war increases the risk of its escalating out of control. The countries of “old” Europe tend to favor a quicker end to the military operations in Ukraine (peace, but not at any cost), even though they continue to arm the Ukrainians and escalate sanctions. But for this to happen, both the war and the supply of the heavy and state-of-the-art weaponry requested by Ukraine – whose Zelenskyy administration is determined to continue to resist – must continue. Peace cannot be dishonorable and unjust; it must not vindicate the aggressor. The desire to see Putin strategically defeated is shared by the majority of European countries, especially if it leads to an exhausted Russia coming to the negotiating table with reduced claims on Ukraine. But behind this shared aspiration, the EU is divided on the desired duration of the war.

By Jonathan Landay and Tom Balmforth RUSKA LOZOVA, Ukraine/KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian troops counter-attacking against Russian forces in the country's ...

Reuters was unable to verify the reports. Kharkiv, lying about 30 miles (50 km) from the border with Russia, had endured weeks of heavy Russian bombardments. The governor of the Luhansk region in Donbas, Serhiy Gaidai, said the situation "remains difficult", with Russian forces trying to capture the town of Sieverodonetsk. In the south, fighting was raging around the city of Kherson and Russian missiles struck residential areas of Mykolayiv, the presidential office in Kyiv said. "It can no longer be stopped... The Russian retreat from the city follows their failure to capture the capital Kyiv in the early stages of the war.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Russia's war in Ukraine is not going as Moscow had planned.

Russia is pummelling positions in the east of Ukraine, its defence ministry has said, as it seeks to encircle Ukrainian forces in the battle for Donbas and fend off a counteroffensive around the strategic Russian-controlled city of Izium. - Russia pummels positions in the east of Ukraine as it seeks to encircle Ukrainian forces in the battle for Donbas. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Russia’s war in Ukraine is not going as Moscow had planned as Russia pummels positions in the east of Ukraine.

With Finland and Sweden both announcing their bids to join the Western military alliance NATO on Sunday, all eyes are on how Russia will react.

It will depend on what, in practical terms, will be the result of the expected accession of Finland and Sweden to the alliance. Russia has justified its invasion of Ukraine in large part on the false premise that NATO is fighting a proxy war against it, in Ukraine. Russia still holds a powerful card in this area because it has traditionally accounted for around 40% of the EU's gas imports. "Of course there will continue to be airspace violations, just like there are over other NATO countries, but we're a defensive alliance and we're going to react coolly and professionally. With Sweden and Finland's latest move to join NATO, experts believe the alliance should prepare itself for more provocations from Russia. Russian provocations of NATO are nothing new.

Finland and Sweden's decisions to join the military alliance may increase the chance of confrontation, Russia says.

It is a shame that common sense is being sacrificed to some phantom provision about what should be done in this unfolding situation,” Ryabkov said. Russia has given few clues about what it will do in response to the Nordic enlargement of NATO, saying merely there would be a “military-technical response”. Decisions by Finland and Sweden to join the Western military alliance threaten to increase the chance of armed confrontation, Russian official says.

Russian president Vladimir Putin warned the West on Monday that Russia would respond if Nato began to bolster the military infrastructure of Sweden and ...

The United States and Nato dispute that such assurances were given explicitly. Finland gained independence from Russia in 1917 and fought two wars against it during World War Two during which it lost territory. We shall react accordingly."

Sweden will apply for membership in NATO as a deterrent against Russian aggression, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has said, in a historic ...

It is a shame that common sense is being sacrificed to some phantom provision about what should be done in this unfolding situation," he added. "The fact that the security of Sweden and Finland will not be strengthened as a result of this decision is very clear to us. "The government has decided to inform NATO that Sweden wants to become a member of the alliance.

The Kremlin has maintained that the Russian president is fit and well. In the recording, the oligarch can be heard saying Mr Putin had surgery on his back ...

So, I think there is an element of his illness involved in this [the decision to invade Ukraine] and his legacy.” But certainly, I think it’s part of the equation,” he added. Start your Independent Premium subscription today.