Vladimir Putin

FILE - Alexei Navalny is seen behind the bars in the police van after he was detained during protests in Moscow, on May 8, 2012 a day after Putin's inauguration. Russia’s prison agency says that imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday Feb. 16, 2024 and lost consciousness. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev, File)

Biden blames ‘Putin and his thugs’ for Navalny’s death

Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday, Russian authorities said.

FILE - An oil tanker is moored at the Sheskharis complex, part of Chernomortransneft JSC, a subsidiary of Transneft PJSC, in Novorossiysk, Russia, on Oct. 11, 2022, one of the largest facilities for oil and petroleum products in southern Russia. For months after Ukraine's Western allies limited sales of Russian oil to $60 per barrel, the price cap was still largely symbolic. Most of Moscow's crude — its main moneymaker — cost less than that.(AP Photo, File)

A price cap on Russian oil aims to starve Putin of cash. But it’s largely been untested. Until now

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks after a plenary session of the Russia - Country of Sports International Sports Forum in Perm, Russia, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

IOC hits back at Putin claim of “ethnic discrimination” against Russia’s potential Olympic athletes

Ukrainian students, who lost relatives due to the Russia-Ukrainian war set flags in their memory on the memorial of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, while attending the reconstruction of a student-led protest campaign "Revolution on Granite" on Independence square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Babenko)

Russian President Putin insists Ukraine’s new US-supplied weapon won’t change the war’s outcome

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin pose for a photo prior to their talks on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. (Sergei Guneyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Putin and Chinese leader Xi meet in Beijing and call for close policy coordination

AP explains what Vladimir Putin’s election win means as he secures his 5th term as president

Vladimir Putin has won a new six-year term in the Kremlin in a presidential election in which he faced little competition. Official results say he received 87% of the vote, which is the highest margin of any presidential election in Russia. What he will do with that enormous influence is the subject of much speculation now.

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Vladimir Putin attends concert in Moscow on Crimea’s annexation anniversary

Putin says he supported idea to release opposition leader Navalny from prison as part of exchange

Russians form long queues to protest Putin at presidential election

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban pose for a photo prior to their talks on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Putin meets with Hungary’s prime minister in rare in-person talks with an EU leader

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has held talks with Vladimir Putin in a rare in-person meeting for the Russian president with a leader of a European Union country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping talk during their meeting on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Sergey Savostyanov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Putin begins visit in China underscoring ties amid Ukraine war and Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Beijing on a visit that underscores China’s support for Moscow during its war in Ukraine as well as Russian backing for China’s bid to expand its economic and diplomatic influence abroad through its decade-old “Belt and Road” initiative.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport to attend the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Parker Song/Pool Photo via AP)

Putin’s visit to Beijing underscores China’s economic and diplomatic support for Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet with Chinese leaders in Beijing on a visit that underscores China’s support for Moscow during its war in Ukraine.

A truck carries a part of a private jet crashed near the village of Kuzhenkino, Tver region, Russia, Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment has found that the plane crash presumed to have killed Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was intentionally caused by an explosion. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Kremlin denies role in plane crash believed to have killed Russian mercenary leader Prigozhin

President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, has rejected allegations that the Kremlin was behind a plane crash that is presumed to have killed mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

FILE - In this Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017 file photo, People gather in memory of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, portrait in center, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Once deputy prime minister under Boris Yeltsin, Nemtsov was a popular politician and harsh critic of Putin. On a cold February night in 2015, he was gunned down by assailants on a bridge adjacent to the Kremlin as he walked with his girlfriend in a death that sent shockwaves across the country. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, file)

Nerve agents, poison and window falls. Over the years, Kremlin foes have been attacked or killed

Over the years, Kremlin political critics, turncoat spies and journalists have been killed in a variety of ways.

Website of the Russian newspaper Kommersant and TV channel Rossiya 1 showing news that Wagner Group mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had reportedly been killed in a plane crash are displayed on phone and computer screens in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. World media speculates on Prigozhin's presumed death, as Russian state media shies away. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

While world media speculates on Wagner chief’s presumed death, Russian state media shies away

News that Russia’s Wagner mercenary chief was believed dead in a plane crash has dominated world reports, along with speculation that it might be linked to his June mutiny.

FILE - Yevgeny Prigozhin, top, serves food to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at Prigozhin's restaurant outside Moscow, Russia, on Nov. 11, 2011. When Prigozhin launched his armed rebellion that challenged the Kremlin, Western officials predicted Putin would seek vengeance against the mercenary leader. Although authorities have not yet confirmed the death of Prigozhin and his top lieutenants in Wednesday's plane crash northwest of Moscow, it sent an immediate chill through Russian official circles. The message was clear: Anyone who dares to cross the Kremlin will perish. (AP Photo/File)

Wagner plane crash seems intended to send a clear message to potential Kremlin foes

When Yevgeny Prigozhin launched his armed rebellion that challenged the Kremlin, Western officials predicted Russian President Vladimir Putin would seek vengeance against the mercenary leader.

A portrait of the owner of private military company Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin lays at an informal memorial next to the former 'PMC Wagner Centre' in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. Russia's civil aviation agency says mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was aboard a plane that crashed north of Moscow. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

US intelligence says an intentional explosion brought down Wagner chief Prigozhin’s plane

A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that an intentional explosion caused the plane crash presumed to have killed a Russian mercenary leader.

FILE - In this image taken from video released by Razgruzka_Vagnera telegram channel on Aug. 21, 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military company speaks to a camera at an unknown location. 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. (Razgruzka_Vagnera telegram channel via AP, File)

Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin challenged the Kremlin in a brief mutiny

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.

From left, Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, China President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pose for a BRICS family photo during the 2023 BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023. (Gianluigi Guercia/Pool via AP)

Xi, Putin and other leaders locked in discussions over an expansion of the BRICS economic bloc

The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have held closed-door discussions on the possible expansion of their BRICS economic bloc.

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses leaders from the BRICS group of emerging economies at the start of a three-day summit in Johannesburg, South Africa , Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. Putin appeared on a video link after his travel to South Africa was complicated by an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against him over the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Putin denounces sanctions on Russia during his speech for a South Africa economic summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken multiple shots at the West on the opening day of an economic summit in South Africa.

FILE - President of the Republic of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands before an official ceremony to welcome the leaders of delegations to the Russia Africa Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, July 27, 2023. Russia and China will look to gain more political and economic ground in the developing world at a summit of the BRICS bloc in South Africa this week. Putin will take part in the main summit on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023 via video link after an International Criminal Court arrest warrant complicated his travel to South Africa. (Sergei Bobylev/TASS Host Photo Agency Pool Photo via AP, File)

Putin was meant to be at a summit in South Africa this week. Why was he asked to stay away?

Vladimir Putin will be the odd one out when leaders from the BRICS economic bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa meet in Johannesburg this week.

FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, left, at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing. China Sept. 3, 2018. Russia and China will look to gain more political and economic ground in the developing world at a summit of the BRICS bloc in South Africa this week. (How Hwee Young/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Russia, China look to advance agendas at BRICS summit of developing countries in South Africa

Russia and China will look to gain more political and economic ground in the developing world at a summit in South Africa this week.

An injured man walks in Krasna square with the Taras Shevchenko Chernihiv Regional Academic Music and Drama Theatre in the background, after a Russian attack, in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Russian missile attack kills 7 in northern Ukrainian city as Zelenskyy visits NATO candidate Sweden

A Russian missile strike killed seven people and wounded 129 others on Saturday in the city center of Chernihiv, the regional capital of the northern province of the same name, the acting mayor said.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, left, and his associate Daniel Kholodny are seen at a TV screen as they appear in a video link provided by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service, during a hearing in the colony, in Melekhovo, Vladimir region, about 260 kilometers (163 miles) northeast of Moscow, Russia, on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. Navalny on Friday was convicted on extremism charges and sentenced to 19 years in prisons, in the harshest ruling against the imprisoned Kremlin critic to date. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

US sanctions Russian operatives accused in the poisoning of Putin critic Alexei Navalny

The U.S. has imposed sanctions and visa restrictions on four Russian intelligence operatives accused of direct involvement in the 2020 poisoning of Alexei Navalny, a Russian politician and corruption investigator who is one of President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics.

Ukrainian soldiers ride all-terrain vehicles at the front line near Bakhmut, one of the longest battles with Russian troops, Ukraine, Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Libkos)

Russia unleashes a country-wide missile barrage on Ukraine as Putin addresses security conference

Russian forces have unleashed a barrage of missiles on regions across Ukraine, killing civilians and damaging infrastructure.

FILE - Equipment frames the cooling towers of the Temelin nuclear power plant near the town of Tyn nad Vltavou, Czech Republic, on Thursday, June 25, 2015. The U.S. and its European allies are importing vast amounts of nuclear fuel and compounds from Russia, providing Moscow with hundreds of millions of dollars in badly needed revenue as it wages war on Ukraine. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)

Putin profits off US and European reliance on Russian nuclear fuel

The U.S. and its European allies are importing vast amounts of nuclear compounds and products from Russia, giving Moscow hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue as it wages war on Ukraine.

Russian writer Dmitry Glukhovsky is handed an 8-year prison term for discrediting Russia’s army

A Russian court has handed a writer an eight year prison sentence, finding him guilty of deliberately spreading false information about Russia’s armed forces.

In this undated photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un tries a weapon during his three-day inspection from Aug. 3 until Aug. 5, 2023 at major munitions factories in North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korean leader Kim tours weapons factories and vows to advance his arms and his war readiness

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has toured the country’s key weapons factories producing artillery systems, engines for cruise missiles and drones, and launch vehicles for nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, and pledged to speed up efforts to advance his military’s arms and war readiness.

FILE - Russian soprano Anna Netrebko bows to the audience at the end of La Scala opera house's gala season opener, Giacomo Puccini's opera "Tosca" at the Milan La Scala theater, Italy, on Dec. 7, 2019. Soprano Netrebko, once among the Metropolitan Opera’s biggest box office draws, sued the company and general manager Peter Gelb on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, alleging defamation, breach of contract and other violations related to the institution's decision to drop her following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

Star soprano Anna Netrebko sues Met Opera over its decision to cut ties over Russia-Ukraine war

Soprano Anna Netrebko, once among the Metropolitan Opera’s biggest box office draws, has sued the company and general manager Peter Gelb, alleging defamation, breach of contract and other violations.

FILE - In this photo provided by the Moscow City Court, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny makes a heart gesture standing in a cage during a hearing in Moscow, Russia on Feb. 3, 2021. Navalny is due to hear the verdict Friday Aug. 4, 2023 in his latest trial on extremism charges. The prosecution has demanded a 20-year prison sentence, and the politician himself said he expects a lengthy prison term. (Moscow City Court via AP, File)

Protests, poisoning and prison: The life of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny

In a span of a decade, Alexei Navalny has gone from the Kremlin’s biggest foe to Russia’s most prominent political prisoner.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, 2nd left, is seen on a TV screen standing among his lawyers, as he appears in a video link provided by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service, during a hearing in the colony, in Melekhovo, Vladimir region, about 260 kilometers (163 miles) northeast of Moscow, Russia, on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. Navalny on Friday was convicted on extremism charges and sentenced to 19 years in prisons, in the harshest ruling against the imprisoned Kremlin critic to date. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Kremlin critic Navalny convicted of extremism and sentenced to 19 years in prison

A Russian court has convicted imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny of extremism charges and sentenced him to 19 years in prison.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Wednesday, July 26, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

White House says top Russian official pitched North Korea on increasing sale of munitions to Moscow

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.

Svitlana Sushko, 62, sobs while visiting the grave of her youngest son, a Ukrainian soldier who was killed last year in the war against Russia, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Russian shelling hits a landmark church in the Ukrainian city of Kherson

Russian shelling has damaged a landmark church in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson that held the remains of Prince Grigory Potemkin until last year.

A maintenance worker stands outside a damaged government building in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, following Russian drone attacks. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Russian drone strikes hit a Ukrainian port on Romania’s border that is key to grain exports

Russian drones have hit a Ukrainian port city along the border with Romania, causing significant damage and a huge fire at facilities that are key to Ukrainian grain exports.

A Pakistani worker carries sacks of wheat in a warehouse in Karachi, Pakistan, on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

Mideast countries that are already struggling fear price hikes after Russia exits grain deal

Egypt and other lower-income Middle Eastern countries like Lebanon and Pakistan are worried about what comes next after Russia pulled out of a crucial wartime grain deal.

With the headquarters of the ruling party burning in the back, supporters of mutinous soldiers demonstrate in Niamey, Niger, Thursday, July 27 2023. Not everyone is hostile to last week's coup in Niger. Neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali have taken the unusual step of declaring that foreign military intervention in Niger would be a declaration of war against them, too. Both have had coups in recent years. (AP Photo/Fatahoulaye Hassane Midou)

Some of Niger’s neighbors defend the coup there, even hinting at war. It’s a warning for Africa

Not everyone is hostile to last week’s coup in Niger. Neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali have taken the unusual step of declaring that foreign military intervention in Niger would be a declaration of war against them, too.

FILE - People gather at the beach area of the Black Sea, in Balaklava's bay, a part of Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2015. The Crimean Peninsula's balmy beaches have been vacation spots for Russian czars and has hosted history-shaking meetings of world leaders. And it has been the site of ethnic persecutions, forced deportations and political repression. Now, as Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its 18th month, the Black Sea peninsula is again both a playground and a battleground. (AP Photo, File)

The Crimean Peninsula is both a playground and a battleground, coveted by Ukraine and Russia

The Crimean Peninsula’s balmy beaches have been vacation spots for Russian czars and Soviet general secretaries.

FILE - Activists from the group Just Stop Oil block a road in London, on Oct. 27, 2022 demanding to stop future gas and oil projects from going ahead. Britain said on Monday July 31, 2023 it will grant hundreds of new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea in a bid for energy independence, ignoring calls from the environmental campaigners and the United Nations to stop the development of new fossil fuel projects. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

UK to grant hundreds of new oil and gas licenses, ignoring calls from environmentalists

Britain says it will grant hundreds of new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea in a bid for energy independence.

Peter Nikitin, a Russian pro-democracy activist residing in Serbia, speaks during a gathering in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, July 30, 2023. Russian antiwar supporters in Serbia held a protest on Sunday after two prominent activists and critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin had problems with entry and residence permits in the Balkan country. Activists held banners reading “We came to leave in peace” and ”I love Serbia and I want a safe and happy life here,” as they gathered at a central square in the Serbian capital. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Russian anti-war activists hold protest after activists face entry, residence problems in Serbia

Dozens of Russian antiwar supporters in Serbia have held a protest after two prominent activists and critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin had problems with entry and residence permits in the Balkan country.