Over six years, the Russian leader stockpiled American detainees, enhancing his bargaining position and thwarting backchannel efforts by Trump and Biden to bring citizens home.
White House Says Release of Evan Gershkovich From Russian Prison Is Priority for Biden
The Wall Street Journal vehemently denies charges against journalist, and the U.S. calls for his immediate release.
Russiaโs Economy Is Starting to Come Undone
Investment is down, labor is scarce, budget is squeezed. Oligarch: โThere will be no money next yearโ
Putinโs War Rhetoric Rallies Russian Border Towns, but Nerves Fray
Growing casualties havenโt so far shaken Pskov, an impoverished region that is home to the elite Russian paratrooper division that occupied Bucha in Ukraine.
The arrests have drawn calls for the return of the death penalty, while Putin tried to direct blame toward Ukraine after the attack that killed 139.
Backers of Moscowโs authoritarian system pledged it would provide security. Now the Kremlin confronts Islamist terrorism at home and a costly war abroad.
Russiaโs largest terrorist attack in years adds to security challenges confronting Moscow and follows a U.S. warning that such an assault could be imminent.
Explosions rocked a concert hall just outside Moscow and gunmen opened fire on theatergoers, Russian authorities said. Officials said they were investigating the incident as a terrorist attack.
The Russian leaderโs predictable election landslide allows him to prosecute his war in Ukraine how he wants and for as long as he wants.
The Russian leader said he gave his assent to an exchange with prisoners held in the West before Alexei Navalnyโs death in an Arctic prison camp.
Vladimir Putinโs fifth term in office will likely be dominated by the war in Ukraineโand ensuring that Russians continue to support it.
Raising the specter of nuclear confrontation allows the Russian leader to keep his population on edge and convinced of the need for militarism, analysts say.
The French presidentโs change of course comes as Western allies are locked in a debate over how to help Ukraine further.
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