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James Kilner

0725GMT//Widow of assassinated Japanese PM visits Putin

"WAR HERO" ASSASSINATED: A suicide bomber killed the deputy head of Stavropol, the former commander of bomber units that pounded the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in 2022. Zaur Gurtsiev was killed outside his home on Wednesday evening by a man who approached him with a homemade bomb hidden

0725GMT//Peace talk chatter; Is a Russian interest rate cut likely?

PEACE TALKS: The Kremlin on Wednesday said a second round of peace talks with Ukraine should take place in Istanbul on June 2. (COMMENT: A Kremlin source also repeated Putin's four key conditions for peace to Reuters – no Nato membership for Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova; no foreign military

0715GMT//Siberian army recruiting bonus record; Putin's romantic side

CHINESE VISITOR: Chen Wenqing, the head of China's police and security services, met with Sergei Shoigu, the Secretary of Russia's Security Council, in Moscow on Tuesday. (COMMENT: Shoigu and Wenqing toured various Russian arms manufacturing sites in another "public show of affection" between the

0702GMT// Trump criticises Putin; Russian stocks drop

TRUMP CRITICISES PUTIN: Donald Trump on Monday backtracked on his praise of Putin by calling him "completely crazy" for launching a mass drone strike against Ukraine the night before that killed 13 people. He even said that Putin's aggression will " lead to the fall of

Russian libraries order Trump biographies; Sanctions hit largest Russian fleet

DEMAND FOR TRUMP: Libraries across Russia have been ordering copies of biographies of Donald Trump to meet demand from readers, Russian media has reported. (COMMENT: This reflects back Kremlin propaganda which has been eulogising Trump as a "great peacemaker". The Kremlin has also ordered Russian school textbooks to

0645GMT/Rouble hits 2-year high; Thailand extradition deal

ROUBLE STRENGTH: The Russian rouble strengthened past 80/$1 for the first time in nearly two years on Wednesday, reflecting confidence that a peace deal will be struck in Ukraine and the US will then integrate Russia back into the international economy. (COMMENT: It's been a remarkable rebound

0640GMT/Putin travels to Kursk; Hungary to leave ICC

PUTIN VISITS KURSK: Vladimir Putin on Tuesday evening made a surprise visit to the Kursk region, which was partially captured by Ukrainian soldiers, the Kremlin said on Wednesday. This was Putin's first visit to the region since March when he was filmed wearing military fatigues and giving orders

0652GMT/News from Russia

TRUMP-PUTIN PHONE CALL: Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on Monday afernoon held their third phone call this year focused on finding a route to ending the war in Ukraine. (NOTE: The previous phone conversations between Putin and Trump were on Feb. 12 and March 18. Joe Biden didn't

0625GMT/News from Russia

TRUMP-PUTIN PHONECALL: Donald Trump said on Saturday that he will call Vladimir Putin on Monday morning to discuss finding a way to end the war in Ukraine. (COMMENT: This will suit Putin, if it happens, who wants to deal with Trump and not Zelensky.) PEACE TALKS: Mid-level government delegations from

0612GMT//Russia news

PEACE TALKS: So-called peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul failed on Thursday but are now slated to take place on Friday. Vladimir Putin sent a "peace negotiating" team to Istanbul on Thursday headed by Vladimir Medinsky. The team also contained the head of Russia's