Contents tagged with Putin

  • Russia moves 10,000 troops away from Ukrainian borders ahead of talks with NATO

    Russia is withdrawing some of the forces stationed near the border with Ukraine, amid Western demands for de-escalation, to begin negotiations on security guarantees with NATO and the United States.

    More than 10,000 troops of the Southern Military District have been moved to places of their permanent deployment from training grounds, including in the annexed Crimea, Rostov and Volgograd regions, the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Saturday, December 25.

    “Battalion …

  • Putin: Ukraine is preparing a military operation in Donbas

    Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that Ukraine might be preparing a military operation in the Donbas.

    "The Ukrainian authorities tried twice to resolve the situation in the Donbas by force. Twice! Although I personally asked Poroshenko: just not a military operation. "Yes, yes," and he began. Result? Encirclement, losses and the Minsk agreements. Are they good or not? I believe that they [the Minsk Agreements] are the only possible ones," Putin said at a press conference.

    "[Now] They …

  • Putin threatens NATO with military response if Ukraine is accepted into Alliance

    Russia will give a military-technical response to the West if it continues its policy of aggressive behavior, said Russian President Vladimir Putin at a board meeting of the Defense Ministry.

    According to him, Moscow "has every right" to ensure its security and sovereignty amid the threat of NATO’s expanding military infrastructure, which, if deployed to Ukraine, will reduce the time the enemy missiles can reach Moscow to 7-10 minutes.

    "What is happening now, the tension that is developing in …

  • Lukashenko asks Putin for another $35 billion

    Belarus is working on obtaining new loans from Russia amid sanctions that have cut off its economy from key foreign currency sources.

    Minsk is negotiating a new government loan, as well as additional funds from the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development, which is 90% funded by Russia, said First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Nikolai Snopkov.

    "The total amount of the requested funds is $3.5 billion," he said at a meeting with the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. New …

  • Putin urges China to abandon SWIFT

    It is necessary to create an independent financial infrastructure to ensure trade operations between Russia and China, said Russian President Vladimir Putin during an online meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

    This should be a payment system that could not be influenced by other countries, said Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, adding that this issue is "really being discussed."

    According to Ushakov, Putin and Xi Jinping also discussed the increase in the share of national …

  • Macron calls Putin ahead of his visit to Ukraine

    French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation. One of the topics of the conversation was the situation around Ukraine.

    According to the Kremlin’s press service, the conversation took place at the initiative of the French side.

    The Kremlin's press service reports that Putin complained to the French president about the alleged violation of the Minsk agreements by Ukraine. The Russian president claims that Kyiv is exacerbating the situation …

  • Putin: Russia is world leader in advanced weapons production

    Russia and the United States have reached parity in nuclear weapons, but Moscow is ahead in advanced weapons development, said Russian President Vladimir Putin on the TV channel "Russia 1".

    "And in this sense, we can say with confidence that according to this indicator we are number one in the world today," Putin said, noting that new weapons are already supplied to the Russian army.

    In early December, the head of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, said that …

  • Kremlin confirms Biden threatened Russia with financial isolation in the event of an attack on Ukraine

    US President Joe Biden, in a conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, threatened Russia with financial isolation in the event of an attack on Ukraine, said Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov on the TV program "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" on the TV channel Russia-1.

    "Yes, indeed, Biden said that if there is this ephemeral invasion of Ukraine - apparently, the Americans have made themselves believed that this is not fake information, but the real truth - then Russia will be financially …

  • Putin convinces Biden not to impose sanctions against Russian oligarchs and Nord Stream 2

    The United States withdrew all amendments on sanctions against Russia from the draft defense bill for 2022 after negotiations between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin.

    The two-hour online summit, which the presidents held face to face, even sending interpreters to the other rooms, was the third conversation between Putin and Biden and took place after Russia moved almost all Russian troops stationed west of the Urals to the border with Ukraine.

    Biden "expressed concern" on behalf of the United …

  • Kremlin: Zelensky's statements about Crimea are a direct threat to Russia

    The latest statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about Ukraine taking the annexed Crimea back represent a direct threat to Russia, said the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov.

    According to him, Zelensky's statement that the regaining control over Crimea should become Ukraine’s main goal and philosophy means that Kyiv "intends to use all available means, including force, in order to encroach on the Russian territory."

    Putin's spokesman added that while Kyiv’s …