SERGEI SHOIGU

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is on his way home from Russia at the end of a six-day trip that triggered global concerns about weapons transfer deals between the two countries locked in separate standoffs with the West.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has inspected Russia’s nuclear-capable bombers, hypersonic missiles and an advanced warship on a trip to Russia’s Far East that has sparked concerns about an arms alliance that could fuel President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.

Russia needs to replenish its supplies of ammunition for what could be a long war of attrition after a year and a half of fighting in Ukraine.

Russia's defense minister says southeast Ukraine has become the most recent hot spot for battles in the 18-month war as Kyiv’s forces press ahead with their counteroffensive.

A U.S. official says North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may travel to Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin.

The United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea and Japan are urging North Korea to halt arms negotiations with Russia following revelations Russian and North Korean talks on a weapons sale are advancing.

Yevgeny Prigozhin made his name as the profane and brutal mercenary boss who mounted an armed rebellion that was the most severe and shocking challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule.

The White House says U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has made a pitch to North Korean officials to increase the sale of munitions to Moscow.

North Korean state media say leader Kim Jong Un has met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu for discussions on military issues and the regional security environment.

The truce that stopped the bloodshed in the Korean War turns 70 on Thursday and the two Koreas are marking the anniversary in starkly different ways, underscoring their deepening nuclear tensions.

Russia’s rebellious mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin walked free from prosecution for his June 24 armed mutiny, and it’s still unclear if anyone will face any charges in the brief uprising against the military or for the deaths of the soldiers killed in it.

Key players in events stemming from last weekend's armed rebellion in Russia include mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Gen. Sergei Surovikin.

A week after the mutiny raised the most daunting challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s rule in over two decades, key details about the uprising remain shrouded in mystery.

Gen. Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of the Russian group of forces fighting in Ukraine, has been detained days after mercenaries staged a revolt inside Russia.

The dramatic rebellion by a mercenary warlord in Russia that challenged President Vladimir Putin was punctuated by dramatic language of the key protagonists – and some long silences.

Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin has released the first audio statement since an aborted armed rebellion he staged.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday blasted organizers of a weekend revolt as traitors who played into the hands of Ukraine’s government and its allies.

The rebellious mercenary soldiers who briefly took over a Russian military headquarters on an ominous march toward Moscow are gone.

The rebellious Russian mercenary commander who ordered his troops to march on Moscow says he was responding to an attack on his camps in Ukraine on Friday by rival forces from the Russian military.

The head of the private military contractor Wagner is calling for an armed rebellion to oust Russia’s defense minister.

The Russian owner of the private military contractor Wagner has made his most direct challenge to the Kremlin yet, calling for an armed rebellion aimed at ousting Russia’s defense minister.

For months, the head of the Wagner private military contractor bombarded Russia’s top military leaders with expletive-ridden insults in a rift that has weakened the country’s forces amid the war in Ukraine.

Russia-appointed officials in Moscow-annexed Crimea say that a bridge between the Black Sea peninsula and Russia-occupied areas in southern Ukraine has been hit by Ukrainian missiles.

Russia and Belarus signed a deal formalizing the deployment of Moscow’s tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of its ally, although control of the weapons remains in the Kremlin.

Russia’s defense chief is urging a state company to double its missile output as a possible Ukrainian counteroffensive looms.

Russian authorities have cracked down on more human rights groups, ordering one to shut down and raiding the homes of advocates from another.

China’s defense minister has toured the top Russian military academy on a visit to the Russian capital that underscores the increasingly close ties between Moscow and Beijing amid the fighting in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has hailed the military’s performance during massive naval drills that involve the entire Russian Pacific Fleet in a show of force amid the tensions with the West over the fighting in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with China’s defense minister in Moscow.

The entire Russian Pacific Fleet has been put on high alert for snap drills that will involve practice missile launches.

China's defense minister will visit Moscow for meetings with his Russian counterpart and other military officials.

Russia's Defense Ministry says fighter pilots involved in an incident with a U.S. drone that resulted in its crash will be given state awards.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley have spoken to their Russian counterparts about the destruction of a U.S. drone over the Black Sea after an encounter with Russian fighter jets.

The owner of the Russian private military company, Wagner, has accused Russia’s defense minister and chief of general staff of starving his fighters in Ukraine of ammunition.

The small coal-mining town of Vuhledar on Ukraine's eastern front line has emerged as a critical hot spot in the fight for Donetsk province.

Russia’s top military officer has been put in charge of troops fighting in Ukraine on Wednesday.

Ukrainians welcomed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy back from a wartime visit to the United States, hailing his trip as successful while Russian officials said Thursday that the visit fueled the conflict.

The Kremlin is warning that increasing the supply of U.S. arms to Ukraine would aggravate the devastating 10-month war ignited by Russia’s invasion.

President Vladimir Putin wasn’t present when his top military officials announced on television that Russia was withdrawing from the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine.

Diplomatic efforts have saved a wartime agreement that allowed Ukrainian grain and other commodities to reach world markets.

Ukrainian authorities have warned of longer blackouts around the country’s largest cities amid repeated Russian missile strikes on energy infrastructure.

The U_N_ nuclear chief says he is sending inspectors to two locations in Ukraine where Russia alleged that activities related to the possible production of “dirty bombs” was taking place and expects them to reach a conclusion “in days -- very fast.”.

NATO and Russia’s military alike are staging planned annual nuclear exercises.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has monitored drills of the country’s strategic nuclear forces involving multiple practice launches of ballistic and cruise missiles.

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial troop mobilization for the war in Ukraine, independent media outlets, human rights activists and draftees themselves have painted a bleak picture.

Ukraine’s nuclear energy operator says Russian forces have performed secret work at Europe's largest nuclear power plant.

Facing production delays and mounting losses, Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged his government to cut through bureaucracy to crank out enough weapons and military supplies to feed the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian authorities are claiming increasing success in shooting down Iranian-built drones launched by Russia to terrorize the public.

Ukraine’s president says that Kyiv has been able to defend the independence of the country in the eight months of the war waged by Russia.

Russia’s defense chief has alleged that Ukraine was preparing a “provocation” involving a radioactive device, a stark claim that was strongly rejected by Ukrainian and British officials amid soaring tensions as Moscow struggles to stem Ukrainian advances.

Trying to figure out what Russian President Vladimir Putin is thinking is tough for Kremlin watchers who want to know whether he is bluffing with his nuclear threats.

Ukraine's president says Russia’s rush to mobilize hundreds of thousands of recruits to staunch stinging losses is a tacit acknowledgement that its “army is not able to fight."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued another grave warning to the West after his country’s military suffered a series of embarrassing setbacks in Ukraine.

Large numbers of Russians have rushed to book one-way tickets out of the country after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of military reservists for the war in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be trying to replenish his military by ordering a 13% increase in the country’s troop strength.

The U.N. nuclear agency is renewing its request to assess the safety and security at Europe’s largest nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine which Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of shelling.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the U.S. of trying to encourage extended hostilities in Ukraine as part of what he described as part of Washington’s alleged efforts to maintain its global hegemony.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to expand military cooperation with the country’s allies, noting that Moscow is ready to offer them its most advanced weapons.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has fired the head of the country’s security service and its prosecutor general.

Russian forces have fired missiles and shells at cities and towns across Ukraine, attacks that Ukrainian officials say killed at least 17 more civilians.

The governor of the last remaining eastern province partly under Ukraine's control urged his more than 350,000 residents to flee as Russian troops escalated their offensive.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared victory in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, one day after Ukrainian forces withdrew from their last remaining bulwark of resistance in the province.

Ukrainian authorities say that workers have pulled scores of bodies from smashed buildings in the devastated city of Mariupol in an “endless caravan of death."

Russia claims to have taken control of 97% of one of the two provinces that make up Ukraine’s Donbas, bringing the Kremlin closer to its goal of fully capturing the eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories.

As the West rallies behind Ukraine in its war with Russia, Polish President Andrzej Duda has arrived in Ukraine on an unannounced visit.

After rebuffing U.S. requests for months, Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu spoke with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday.

Ukrainian fighters at Mariupol’s pulverized steel plant are holding out against Russian troops in an increasingly desperate effort to keep Moscow from taking the strategic port city.

Russia’s military has launched a string of attacks on Ukraine’s railway network, which has been vital for moving Western arms to Ukrainian forces, evacuating refugees and exporting food.

Ukrainian authorities say Russia has shifted a dozen crack units from the shattered port of Mariupol to eastern Ukraine and is pounding away at cities across the region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is claiming control over Ukraine’s seaside city of Mariupol even as its defenders are holding out inside a massive steel mill near the water.

New restrictions placed on journalists in Russia have impeded but not muzzled reporting about the country and its war in Ukraine.

As the Russian army bogs down in Ukraine, many youths back home feel increasingly jittery about the prospect of being drafted and sent into combat.

Senior U.S. commanders tell Congress that the complete U.S. military withdrawals from Afghanistan and Somalia last year have made it more difficult for the U.S. to counter terror groups that aspire to attack America and its allies.

The U.S. says Russia has asked China to provide military equipment to assist with its war in Ukraine and that China has responded affirmatively.

Far from the icy battlefields of Ukraine, Russia President Vladimir Putin is busily advancing Russia's footholds and influence in Africa and the Middle East.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved bringing in volunteer fighters from the Middle East, particularly Syria, to fight in Ukraine.

Associated Press journalists are documenting military activity across Ukraine, where disinformation is spiking during a Russian ground and air offensive.

The dust, debris and the dead lying in Kharkiv’s central Freedom Square are showing Ukrainians what might become of other cities if Russia’s invasion isn’t countered in time.

The Kremlin is signaling it is ready to keep talking with the West about security grievances that led to the current Ukraine crisis, offering hope that Russia might not invade its beleaguered neighbor within days as the U.S. and Europe increasingly fear.

Even if a Russian invasion of Ukraine doesn’t happen in the next few days, the crisis is reaching a critical inflection point.

Belarus’ authoritarian president says he has no intention of sending troops to Syria to serve alongside Russian forces in the country but is holding the door open for a potential deployment of military medics there.

Belarus is planning to deploy up to 200 troops to Syria to serve alongside Russian forces in the country.

Russia's Foreign Ministry has rejected a British claim that Russia is seeking to replace Ukraine’s government with a pro-Moscow administration and that former Ukrainian lawmaker Yevheniy Murayev is being considered as a potential candidate.

Russia’s defense chief has signed a roadmap for closer military ties with China, pointing to increasingly frequent U.S. strategic bomber flights near both countries’ borders.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has observed military exercises in coordination with Belarus that have raised concerns in bordering countries.

The leader of Myanmar’s military junta has attended an international conference in Moscow, an appearance that reflects Russia’s eagerness to develop ties with the junta despite international criticism.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says his foreign minister and his defense minister will head the candidates' list for the dominant United Russia party in September's parliamentary election.

Russia’s defense minister says the military will form 20 new units in the country’s west this year to counter what he described as a growing threat from NATO.

The Russian military says that its troops have returned to their permanent bases after concluding massive drills, the maneuvers near Ukraine that have drawn Western concerns.

Russian troops have begun pulling back to their permanent bases after a massive buildup that caused Ukrainian and Western concerns.

Russia’s defense minister has ordered troops back to their permanent bases after a massive exercise in Crimea but said that they should leave their heavy weapons behind for another exercise in western Russia.

Growing cease-fire violations and a massive Russian military buildup are causing tensions to rise in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

President Joe Biden is calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to “de-escalate tensions” following a Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s border.

Russia’s defense minister says the country’s massive military buildup in the west is part of readiness drills amid what he described as threats from NATO.

In this photo made available on Sunday, March 21, 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin looks at a photographer in a taiga forest in Russia's Siberian region. Putin and Russia Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu are spending the weekend in Siberia, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. In taking a tough stance on Russia, Biden has said the days of the U.S. “rolling over” to Putin are done. Last week, the U.S. national intelligence director’s office released a report finding that Putin authorized influence operations to help Trump’s reelection bid. The Biden administration warned that Russia would face sanctions soon over its attempt to influence the election and the massive SolarWinds hacks.

Putin said he will get vaccinated against the coronavirus on Tuesday, months after widespread vaccination has started in Russia. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)MOSCOW – President Vladimir Putin said he will get a coronavirus vaccine shot on Tuesday, several months after widespread vaccination started in Russia. Putin, 68, told a meeting with government officials and vaccine developers on Monday that he will get his shot “tomorrow,” without specifying which coronavirus vaccine out of the three authorized for use in Russia he will take. Dozens of countries have approved the use of Sputnik V and signed deals with Russia to get shipments of the shot. Even despite deliberate discrediting of our vaccine, various hoaxes and sometimes outright nonsense, more states all around the world express interest in our vaccine," Putin said.

Ethnic Armenians return to a normal life after a Russia-brokered cease-fire was signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)MOSCOW – The president of Azerbaijan said Saturday he hopes the ceasefire that ended a six-week war with Armenia this month will lead to improving relations between the countries. The delegation, which included Russia's foreign and defense ministers, also visited the Armenian capital, Yerevan. Russia and Azerbaijan also agree on the need to create conditions for ethnic conciliation in the region, Lavrov said. Azerbaijan has been angered to discover the wholescale ruination of towns that came under Armenian control in the 1990s war.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks during a meeting with the country's political activists in Minsk, Belarus, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. Sergei Naryshkin, director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, claimed in a statement carried by Russian news agencies Wednesday that the U.S. has funded the Belarusian opposition and encouraged the protests. The Belarusian opposition has condemned Moscow for offering the Belarusian strongman a financial lifeline, warning that it would tarnish future ties between the countries. “Lukashenko is the legitimate president of Belarus,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived in Belarus Wednesday for talks on deepening military cooperation.

I would like to assure the public that WHO will not endorse a vaccine thats not effective and safe, Tedros said. Russia became the first country in the world to approve a COVID-19 vaccine in August after licensing a shot that had only been tested in several dozen people. On Friday, Russian scientists published data from early studies suggesting their vaccine was safe and prompted an antibody response, but the results were limited and experts said the shot had not yet proven to work. The Russian vaccine, known as Sputnik V, is now being tested in about 40,000 people and is being offered in parallel to key workers like doctors and teachers. China has reportedly begun inoculating some high-risk groups with one of its experimental coronavirus vaccine while the large studies to prove its efficacy and safety are ongoing.

Scientists said the frozen vaccine would be suitable for current global vaccine supply chains while the freeze-dried version could be used in hard-to-reach areas. In the context of regulatory approval, the design and size of (an early) study is not anywhere near sufficient for widely recognized standards of approval. It remains unclear whether they were among the volunteers in clinical trials or accessed the vaccine in some other way. Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at Britains University of Southampton, agreed the Russian vaccine appeared to be promising, but that further studies were needed. Head was not linked to the Russian research.