MISSILE FETISH: Vladimir Putin on Tuesday held a special ceremony in the Kremlin to praise the designers of two new missiles that he unveiled last month. Putin said that the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile and the Poseidon torpedo would ensure "security and strategic parity" for Russia "for

ANOTHER NEW WEAPON: Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia had test-fired a nuclear-powered underwater drone that can be fitted with a nuclear warhead. This was Russia's second nuclear weapons test since Sunday, when it launched the Burevestnik cruise missile. (COMMENT: Once again, Putin said that Russia'

LUKOIL'S FOREIGN ASSETS TO BE SOLD CHEAPLY: Lukoil will sell off its foreign assets at a 50-70% discount because of Western sanctions, a Russian energy analyst told the Izvestia newspaper. Lukoil said at the end of last week that new US sanctions would force it to sell off

PUTIN CANCELS MISSILE AGREEMENT: Vladimir Putin on Monday cancelled Russia's agreement with the US to dispose of Cold War-era stockpiles of nuclear missiles. The Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement was signed in 2000, although Putin suspended Russia's participation in the agreement in 2016 when relations soured

PUTIN-TRUMP MEETING CANCELLED: A planned meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Budapest has been cancelled. Trump said that it would have been a "waste of time" as there was too much of a gap between the two men's positions. (COMMENT: This was always likely.

US-RUSSIA TUNNEL: Russia has suggested building a 'Putin-Trump' tunnel under the Bering Strait from Alaska to Chukotka. Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's envoy for talks with the US, said that research on the project has been ongoing for six months. On Friday, media reported that Donald Trump had