Russia has denounced France's seizure of an oil tanker in the Atlantic, calling the operation "illegal" and likening it to "piracy" after Paris said the ship was breaching sanctions. "We view these actions as illegal; they verge on international piracy," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that "Russia is taking measures to ensure the safety of its cargo." French prosecutors said the tanker's Russian captain refused to obey orders from the French navy, leaving authorities with no choice but to board and take control…

A Russian missile strike on a Kyiv apartment building has killed at least 24 people, including three children, after Ukrainian authorities raised the death toll from yesterday’s attack. The updated figure makes the assault one of the deadliest single Russian strikes on a Ukrainian city in recent months. Across the capital, more than 20 sites were hit by Russian drones and missiles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The barrage came only days after Russian President Vladimir Putin told a news conference in Moscow…

The Kremlin has poured cold water on any expectation of a breakthrough in Ukraine, saying there is still no detailed roadmap to end the war just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II might be nearing its conclusion. Overnight, Moscow and Kyiv traded fresh strikes after a three-day ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump expired, with both sides blaming the other for breaching the pause. Speaking at the weekend after criticizing NATO and voicing hope…

The Kremlin has rejected claims that President Vladimir Putin asked prominent business figures to contribute funds to help shore up Russia’s finances as the war in Ukraine continues. According to reports from unnamed sources, the independent Russian outlet The Bell and the Financial Times said the allegations stemmed from a closed-door meeting Mr Putin held with business leaders yesterday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, “It’s not true that Putin made such a request.” He added that one attendee at the…

The Kremlin has dismissed as “baseless” a joint assessment by five European countries that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with the potent toxin epibatidine, a claim that resurfaced as supporters marked two years since his death in an Arctic prison colony. Britain, Sweden, France, Germany and the Netherlands said in a joint statement Saturday they believe Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest domestic opponent, was killed with epibatidine, a rare alkaloid found in poison dart frogs. The…

Putin briefed on Trump envoys’ Ukraine peace proposals as Zelensky outlines concessions Russia is evaluating a U.S.-led draft framework to end the war in Ukraine after President Vladimir Putin was briefed on contacts between Kremlin representatives and envoys for U.S. President Donald Trump, the Kremlin said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Kirill Dmitriev, a Kremlin envoy, updated Putin following a trip to Miami for talks with Trump’s team. Peskov declined to detail the proposals or Russia’s response,…