• Serbia’s Leader Rejects ‘Little Putin’ Label Amid Fears of Russian Meddling

    BELGRADE, Serbia — Serbia’s strongman leader, Aleksandar Vucic, is fed up with being reviled as a “little Putin” intent on aggression against his country’s fragile neighbors in the Balkans. For starters, Mr. Vucic noted wryly in an interview in the library of the presidential palace this month, “I am almost two meters tall.” That makes…

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  • Putin and Erdogan to Talk in Sochi, Russia.

    President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, were meeting on Friday in the southern Russian Black Sea resort town of Sochi, for a second face-to-face conversation in less than three weeks against a complex backdrop of dovetailing and competing interests. Aides to the leaders portrayed the talks in Sochi…

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  • Looming Question for Putin Opponents: Can You Change Russia From Jail?

    Shortly after Russia shocked the world by attacking Ukraine on Feb. 24, Ilya V. Yashin, a local Moscow councilman and prominent opposition figure, decided it was time to see a dentist. The Kremlin was in the process of criminalizing criticism of the war, and Mr. Yashin, a very vocal critic, had decided to stay in…

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  • Putin Is ‘Entirely Too Healthy,’ C.I.A. Director Says

    Western intelligence officials, as well as the Kremlin, this week dismissed longstanding rumors that Vladimir V. Putin, the 69-year-old Russian president, is unwell. Mr. Putin coughed during a speech in Moscow on Wednesday, leading observers to raise concerns about his health. His planned meeting that day with officials from South Ossetia was canceled, fueling speculation…

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  • E.U. Natural Gas, Putin News and the Latest: Ukraine War Live Updates

    Kherson, in southern Ukraine, has been under Russian control since the early days of the war.Credit…Andrey Borodulin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images A critical bridge shelled. A fighter jet shot out of the sky. Ammunition depots destroyed. A cluster of soldiers attacked. Ukraine’s intensifying attacks on Russian forces in just the last 48 hours in Kherson…

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  • Russia-Ukraine War News: Live Updates as Putin Visits Iran

    A HIMARS vehicle in eastern Ukraine in early July.Credit…Anastasia Vlasov/ The Washington Post, via Getty Images The commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces said on Tuesday that new long range artillery systems supplied by the United States are helping in “stabilizing” the country’s defense. Russia’s defense minister, by contrast, on Monday ordered his forces…

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