Vladimir Putin

Russian delegation attended the Abu Dhabi talks; Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said it was too early to talk about progress

Russian, Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators began their first trilateral talks in nine months in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10 and returned for a second day on Nov. 11. The first day covered humanitarian steps, prisoner exchanges and security guarantees, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it "very productive."

Updated 7 hours ago

Reportedly proposed a three-way summit with Trump and Xi Jinping on Ukraine, without Zelenskyy

The first Russian diesel cargo sent to the United States under President Donald Trump's deal with Vladimir Putin has stalled off the East Coast, and no tanker has unloaded at an American port. The Malta-flagged Agioi Fanendes, carrying 40,000 metric tons, stopped off the coast on Nov. 10 after New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill and lawmakers warned that accepting the fuel could bring legal penalties.

Updated 7 hours ago

Took a phone call on Oct 27 from the Finnish and Norwegian leaders, which the Kremlin said stressed its legitimate interests; Russia's forces struck Kyiv overnight on Oct 27.

Russia escalated missile and drone strikes in the week before the first trilateral talks since February, damaging energy facilities in 12 regions on Nov 9. At least four people were killed in attacks on Odesa and the Kyiv region, a 2-year-old was injured in Kharkiv, and Dnipro and Kamianske lost power.

Updated 2 days ago

Russia struck Ukraine's power grid on Oct. 13-14 and Oct. 16-17 as the US-brokered energy ceasefire failed to acquire terms; the Kremlin asked publicly what the ceasefire's outline was.

Ukrainian drones set fire to the Kirishi refinery in Leningrad Oblast, Russia's second-largest, overnight into Nov. 9, and struck the Morozov plant near St Petersburg, which makes solid fuel for Iskander ballistic missiles. A woman was killed by falling debris in Kirishi, and a Russian strike on Odesa killed three people.

Updated 2 days ago

Continues the long-range campaign against Ukraine's grid, including renewed mass strikes in February and November 2026.

Since October 2022, Russia has attacked Ukraine’s power plants, substations, rail hubs and ports in repeated missile and drone waves. The campaign forced a formal energy emergency in January 2026, when the grid met only 60% of demand and available capacity had fallen to about 14 gigawatts from 33.7 before the invasion.

Updated 3 days ago

Has demanded limits on NATO's eastern presence

European leaders rejected a US-Russia framework for the continent's security and warned it could weaken NATO. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Moscow has no veto over European security, and Poland's foreign minister called a deal reached above Europe's head impossible.

Updated 3 days ago

Signed an August decree letting the state take temporary control of critical private facilities, including refineries, that fail to defend themselves

Ukraine resumed long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries after the U.S.-brokered energy ceasefire collapsed in mid-October. In the following weeks it hit the Bashneft complex in Ufa, an oil facility in Samara Oblast, the Kstovo refinery and a refinery in Yaroslavl, according to Ukrainian and Russian reports. Rosneft told Bloomberg on October 22 that losses from the strikes were becoming unsustainable, and the first tanker of Russian diesel under a Trump-brokered import deal sailed to the U.S. the next day despite Ukrainian objections.

Updated 4 days ago

Expanding arms exports to Iran as Moscow deepens ties during the U.S.-Iran war

Iran is rebuilding its air defenses with Russian help while fighting a new war with the United States and Israel. The June 2025 war destroyed about a third of Iran's air-defense network, and leaked documents show Tehran agreed to buy 500 Verba shoulder-fired launchers and 2,500 missiles for about €500 million. Separate deals cover S-400 batteries and up to 48 Su-35 fighter jets, and in November 2026 Russia reportedly agreed to add 90 helicopter missile launchers.

Updated 5 days ago

In power since 1999, leading invasion of Ukraine

On June 1, 2025, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) flew 117 drones smuggled into Russia in truck cabins and struck four air bases, gutting Russia's strategic bomber force. About 17 months on, the toll is still disputed: the SBU claims 41 aircraft hit, while U.S. officials say up to 20, about 10 destroyed.

Updated 5 days ago

In office

Russia's national hockey teams have been barred from international tournaments since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. On October 30, 2026, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ordered the International Ice Hockey Federation to admit them to five championships in the 2026-27 season, including the World Juniors in Alberta.

Updated 7 days ago

Kremlin confirmed the truce, which ended November 1; strikes continue elsewhere

A six-day ceasefire that Melania Trump brokered in Ukraine's southern Kherson region ended on November 1. Russia and Ukraine reported no violations in the Oleshky area during the pause, though both continued strikes elsewhere and BBC News reported fighting returned to the Kherson region after the truce.

Updated Nov 3

Ordering strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure ahead of winter

The State Department approved a possible $2.1 billion sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 MSE interceptors to Ukraine on October 30. Canada, Germany and Norway are paying through a US fast-track program, with a European Union loan covering the rest, and no US government money is involved.

Updated Oct 31

Said after meeting US envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg that Moscow is ready to resume US-mediated talks with Kyiv in November

Ukraine's drone campaign reached deeper into Russia. Russia's Defence Ministry said it shot down 1,214 Ukrainian drones overnight into October 29, and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 231 were destroyed on the approach to the capital. Earlier, Ukrainian strikes hit a chemical plant in Voronezh on October 26 and an ammunition depot in occupied Luhansk.

Updated Oct 29

Subject to ICC arrest warrant; directing invasion

A Russian jet-powered drone hit the main railway station in Dnipro on October 29, killing at least 13 people and wounding at least 14, including an 11-year-old boy. The drone struck a platform where a train was preparing to leave for Zaporizhzhia; the state rail company, Ukrzaliznytsia, said passengers were on the platform despite a heightened danger warning. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack.

Updated Oct 29

In power; endorsed drone education in schools

Russian schools teach children to assemble and fly drones as part of the national curriculum, and the training carries into college. A Militarnyi investigation identified at least 40 universities, colleges and technical schools where students build drones or munitions, some of them handed to the army.

Updated Oct 28

Shipping diesel under the deal; Moscow says three tankers are bound for North America

The first Russian diesel cargo under Trump's deal is at sea. The tanker Agioi Fanendes left Primorsk on October 22 with about 40,000 metric tons, roughly 298,000 barrels, and lists New York as its destination, with arrival expected in early November.

Updated Oct 27

Agreed to Trump's request for temporary pause in energy infrastructure strikes until February 1; continues ordering expansion of Ukraine operations

The energy war continued through 2026. In February, Russia launched repeated strikes on Ukraine's grid ahead of peace talks, cutting power to millions. In October, a U.S.-brokered energy ceasefire collapsed after Moscow struck Ukrainian energy sites, ignoring the pause Trump announced. Ukraine responded by hitting the Ryazan oil refinery, its first strike on Russian energy infrastructure since the truce.

Updated Oct 26

Agreed with Trump on October 9 to supply diesel to U.S. and global markets under a six-month sanctions waiver

Truckers and farmers can burn tax-exempt "red dye" diesel on public highways through the end of the year under an executive order Trump signed October 5 in Grand Island, Nebraska. The order defers the 24.3-cent-per-gallon federal excise tax on that fuel through December 31, with no interest or penalties.

Updated Oct 18

Signed order authorizing UniCredit restructuring and sale

On October 5, Vladimir Putin signed an order letting UniCredit restructure its Russian subsidiary and sell most of it to a UAE-based private investor. The Italian bank keeps a slimmed-down payments operation; the buyer takes the rest.

Updated Oct 17

Accused of violating the energy ceasefire; Russia resumed record drone attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure

Ukraine and Russia resumed attacks on each other's energy infrastructure this week, and the US-brokered ceasefire has collapsed. Russia sent a record swarm of drones across nine regions, cutting power to hundreds of thousands, while Ukraine struck an oil refinery in the Ryazan region.

Updated Oct 16

Overseeing sustained strikes on Ukrainian ports

Russia and Ukraine kept striking each other's grain ports through the fall. After the August attacks on Izmail and Novorossiysk, the Black Sea grain trade nearly stopped. Ukraine's grain exports fell 76% in the first two weeks of August from a year earlier, and wheat prices hit $8 a bushel, the highest in three and a half years.

Updated Oct 16

As of October 2026: Publicly congratulated Kambolov on September 19

Marat Kambolov was sworn in as South Ossetia's president on September 30, completing a fast-tracked power transition Moscow engineered over four months. He won the September 18 snap election with 84.95% of the vote.

Updated Oct 6

As of October 2026: Using certified election result as mandate to continue the war; ordered intensified strikes on Kyiv

Russia's Central Election Commission certified the final results on September 25, the first State Duma election since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. United Russia won a record 349 of 450 seats, taking 58% of the party-list vote and 209 of 225 single-member districts.

Updated Oct 5

As of October 2026: Signed decree expanding the armed forces on Sept. 28

Russia plans to spend 17.1 trillion roubles ($202.6 billion) on defense in 2027, a 27% jump over its original plan and the highest figure since the invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. The government sent the 2027-29 draft budget to the State Duma on Sept. 30, with the first of three readings set for Oct. 29.

Updated Oct 1

As of September 2026: Signed the September 17 decree placing foreign assets under temporary management

Putin's September 17 decree put the Russian units of Nestlé, Auchan, and three other Western groups under L.E.V. Management, a Moscow firm run by a former police major general. On September 28, the Kremlin added German retailer Metro.

Updated Sep 29

As of September 2026: Preparing for September meeting with Kim on expanded military cooperation

North Korea has not sent combat troops abroad since the Korean War ended in 1953. In October 2024, about 12,000 to 15,000 soldiers deployed to Russia's Kursk region. In August 2026, Ukraine reported a new wave of 8,500 troops, including drone operators, and a North Korean missile unit moved to western Russia.

Updated Sep 8

As of September 2026: Met with US envoys; gave no sign of compromise

President Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Kyiv on Sunday for their first official visit to Ukraine. The trip came a day after a three-hour meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow, part of a renewed push to end a war now in its fifth year.

Updated Sep 7

As of September 2026: Authorized first Vostok Oil loading via videoconference

Russia commissioned the Vostok Oil project on September 5, when President Vladimir Putin authorized the first loading of Arctic crude onto the ice-class tanker Valentin Pikul at Bukhta Sever (Sever Bay) on the Taimyr Peninsula. Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin called the port the world's northernmost; a second tanker, Akademik Gubkin, was at anchorage to load the next cargo.

Updated Sep 6

As of September 2026: Signed Federal Law No. 282-FZ on August 4, 2026

Russian investors can now buy Bitcoin, Ether, and Tether's USDT through state-licensed platforms. Federal Law No. 282-FZ, which took effect September 1, puts crypto trading, custody, and cross-border settlements under Bank of Russia supervision for the first time.

Updated Sep 2

As of August 2026: Threatened retaliation against Ukraine's economic sectors

Two Russian drones hit the largest shopping mall in Kryvyi Rih on a Friday afternoon, killing at least 16 people and wounding more than 130. The second drone arrived about 30 minutes after the first, when rescue crews were already pulling people from the rubble — a tactic known as a double-tap strike.

Updated Aug 23

As of August 2026: Seeking to preserve Russia's foothold on the Syrian coast

Russia has kept warships at Syria's port of Tartus since 1971. On Sunday, Damascus said Moscow will hand back the port's commercial berth and a coastal airport, and turn both its Syrian bases into shared 'training and capacity-building centres.'

Updated Aug 10

As of July 2026: Denies a sabotage campaign against Europe

For most of two years, drones kept appearing over European airports and military bases. Flights stopped. Fighter jets scrambled. Nobody could prove who sent them. On July 2, 2026, a London defense think tank said it now can: Russia, launching many of the drones from tankers in its covert 'shadow fleet.'

Updated Jul 2

As of June 2026: Promoting Rosatom exports under sanctions

Uzbekistan has never run a nuclear reactor. On June 4, 2026, by video link from an economic forum in St. Petersburg, the presidents of Russia and Uzbekistan started construction of the country's first one.

Updated Jun 4

As of May 2026: Truce expired with 216-drone barrage; prisoner exchange not completed; Kremlin rejected any extension before deadline

The Trump-brokered three-day ceasefire expired at midnight on May 12, and Russia launched 216 attack drones at Ukraine within hours. Ukrainian air defenses neutralized 192 of them. At least one person was killed in Dnipropetrovsk, and debris set fire to a 16-storey residential building in Kyiv's Obolon district.

Updated May 31

As of May 2026: North Korea's primary military partner and alternative patron to China

North Korea sealed its borders on January 23, 2020, before most countries had heard of COVID-19. For six years it operated in near-total isolation: China trade fell 96%, food reached levels not seen since the 1990s famine that killed hundreds of thousands, and no tourists entered.

Updated May 30

As of May 2026: Named as responsible for Navalny's death by five European governments

Alexei Navalny survived one poisoning attempt with a military-grade nerve agent in August 2020. He did not survive the second. On the two-year anniversary of his death in an Arctic prison, five European nations announced laboratory confirmation that Russian authorities killed him with epibatidine, a toxin from South American poison dart frogs.

Updated May 29

As of May 2026: No new response post-expiration; prior extension offer unreciprocated

For fifty-three years, binding agreements constrained the world's two largest nuclear arsenals. That era ended on February 5, 2026, when the New START treaty expired at midnight without a successor. The United States and Russia now face no legal limits on their roughly 10,700 nuclear warheads, after President Trump rejected a Russian extension offer and directed work on a new pact including China.

Updated May 27

As of May 2026: Returned from Beijing after two-day summit; secured 40+ cooperation agreements but no Power of Siberia 2 deal

Trump arrived in Beijing on May 13 and left May 15 with a trade truce and Boeing jet orders. Putin followed four days later; on May 20, he and Xi signed more than 40 agreements and issued a 9,935-word declaration against US missile defenses. The gas pipeline Moscow had flagged as a 'substantial step' did not materialize.

Updated May 21

As of May 2026: Held a scaled-back Victory Day parade May 9; accused Kyiv of stalling earlier exchange talks

Russia and Ukraine each handed back 205 prisoners on May 15, the first tranche of a 1,000-for-1,000 swap Donald Trump brokered in early May. Zelenskyy said on May 16 that work on the next round's prisoner lists is ongoing. The swap is still the only deliverable from months of US-led talks.

Updated May 20

As of May 2026: Primary target of the new tribunal; subject to existing ICC arrest warrant

For the first time since Nuremberg, a tribunal exists to prosecute heads of state for the crime of aggression. Thirty-six countries and the European Union signed the founding agreement on May 15 in Chisinau, Moldova.

Updated May 20

As of May 2026: Providing North Korea with advanced weapons technology in exchange for munitions and troops

North Korea has conducted over 272 missile launches since 2012, with the pace accelerating dramatically. In late December 2025, Kim Jong Un watched cruise missiles fly for nearly three hours before hitting their targets, declaring the need for 'unlimited and sustained' nuclear expansion.

Updated May 16

As of May 2026: Admitted Russian air defenses were active but has not prosecuted anyone

On December 25, 2024, Russian anti-aircraft fire shredded an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet carrying 67 people. The pilots—hydraulics destroyed, controls failing—flew the crippled Embraer 190 across the Caspian Sea for an emergency landing.

Updated May 16

As of May 2026: Directing military operations in Ukraine, wanted by ICC for war crimes

On December 28, President Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced 90% agreement on a revised 20-point peace framework at Mar-a-Lago. The next day Russia claimed Ukraine attacked Putin's residence with drones—a charge Kyiv denies, calling it fabricated to sabotage talks. The alleged attack exposes how fragile negotiations are: while diplomats inch toward compromise, the shadow war continues and Moscow weaponizes accusations to 'toughen' its bargaining position. The real question after nearly four years of invasion is whether either side will stop fighting long enough to sign a deal.

Updated May 16

As of May 2026: War in Ukraine drives the sanctions regime these carve-outs navigate

Sanctions are supposed to close doors. On December 17, the U.S. quietly propped two doors back open again, even as it slammed others shut. One narrow lane keeps Sakhalin-2 crude flowing to Japan; the other preserves financial channels for civil nuclear projects, even when payments touch sanctioned Russian banks—both running through June 18, 2026.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Demanding Ukrainian neutrality and territorial terms while pressing militarily

Zelensky just did something he once treated as untouchable: he offered to drop Ukraine's NATO bid. Not as surrender, but as a trade—Kyiv gives up the alliance path, and the West gives Ukraine legally binding protection strong enough to scare Moscow off for good.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Continuing long-range strike campaign while backing maximal territorial demands

Ukrainian officials say more than 450 drones and about 30 missiles hit energy and port infrastructure overnight. Odesa and surrounding areas went dark.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Demanding Ukrainian territorial concessions and limits on NATO in exchange for ending the war

In early 2025, Trump launched an aggressive push to "end the war" in Ukraine. He tied resumed military aid and intelligence sharing to Kyiv's acceptance of a U.S.-drafted peace framework that includes territorial concessions to Russia and long-term limits on Ukraine's sovereignty.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Russian president maintaining categorical rejection of NATO-country peacekeepers; received U.S.-Ukraine peace plan via envoy Dmitriev on Jan. 7, response pending

By late December 2025, the controversial 28-point plan was replaced by a revised 20-point framework. Zelenskyy said it was '90 percent agreed' with Washington, with '100 percent' consensus on U.S.–Ukraine security guarantees.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Primary counterpart in U.S.–Russia negotiations over Ukraine and strategic stability

In early December 2025, the Trump administration published a National Security Strategy abandoning Russia as a primary threat, emphasizing 'flexible realism,' reviving the Monroe Doctrine in the Western Hemisphere, and seeking a negotiated Ukraine peace while re-establishing stability with Moscow. Within days, the Kremlin praised the strategy, saying it 'corresponds in many ways' with Russia's worldview and welcoming the shift from treating Russia as a direct adversary.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Insisting on legal control of all annexed territories and full Donbas as the price of peace

In late 2025, U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg said a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine was "really, really close." Two disputes remain: the fate of Donbas, especially Ukrainian-held areas in Donetsk, and the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant (Russia-occupied and the largest in Europe).

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Seeking reliable Asian partners and sanctions‑resilient trade with India

On December 5, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in New Delhi for the 23rd India–Russia Annual Summit. They unveiled a 'Programme for Economic Cooperation' through 2030 targeting $100 billion in annual trade and diversification beyond oil and arms, including joint weapons production, a urea plant, agriculture, health, shipping, and labor mobility. The agreement includes a free trade pact with the Eurasian Economic Union despite looming US sanctions.

Updated May 9