Kremlin

The greatest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power fizzled out after the rebellious mercenary commander who ordered his troops to march on Moscow abruptly reached a deal with the Kremlin to go into exile and sounded the retreat.

The head of the Wagner mercenary group said on June 24 he had crossed into Russia with his forces to topple Moscow's military leadership, saying he and his 25,000 fighters were "ready to die".

Yevgeny Prigozhin, 62, said his forces, who have spearheaded much of Russia's offensive in Ukraine, had entered the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and controlled its military sites.

Day 480 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

South Africa's president, in Russia as part of a delegation pushing for peace between Kiev and Moscow, told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday that the fighting had to stop.

His delegation put forward a set of principles that the Kremlin deemed "very difficult to implement", a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ruled out talks with Moscow.

Day 455 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

This was announced by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov for TASS.
When asked if Russia shares the opinion of the West that the war conflict in Ukraine should not be allowed to become frozen, he replied that Russia supports it.

Russia's military said Tuesday it quashed what appeared to be one of the most serious cross-border attacks from Ukraine since the war began, claiming to have killed more than 70 attackers in a battle that lasted around 24 hours.

Azerbaijani President İlham Aliyev has called President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to congratulate him for the May 14 elections that pledged a majority to Erdoğan-led People's Alliance at the parliament while bringing the presidential race to the second round.

A statement from the president's office informed that Aliyev and Erdoğan spoke over the phone in the early hours of May 15.

The President of Russia, Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin will traditionally host the parade.

Moscow on Thursday accused the US of masterminding a drone attack on the Kremlin, a charge denied by Washington, and said Ukrainian sabotage on Russian territory had reached "unprecedented momentum".

Moscow said President Vladimir Putin was working from the Kremlin the day after the attack, which it said was a Ukrainian attempt to kill him.