Presidents of Russia

Pope Francis suggested that the Third World War was already underway, as evidenced by the "intertwined elements" at work in the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and other conflicts around the world.

The US fast-food giant sold its 840 stores to a Siberian oil mogul after pulling out from Russia this spring to protest Putin’s invasion of Ukraine

Pope Francis has criticized Russia for its actions in Ukraine, saying its troops are brutal and ferocious, praising brave Ukrainians fighting for survival.

But in a text interview with Jesuit media editors last month, he said the situation was not black and white and that the war "may have been provoked in some way".

Ukraine's defense minister reiterates that he is losing hundreds of soldiers every day. He estimates that Western weapons that have already arrived in Ukraine would be enough to defeat any army in Europe, but not the Russian one.

"You are our enemy, we are fighting against our own people, you have taken our peaceful life, you have destroyed our state," are some of the words that soldiers and officers are addressing the President of Ukraine, Sputnik reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's new warning to the West against sending longer-range rocket systems to Ukraine came as his forces claimed to have destroyed Western military supplies in their first such airstrikes on Ukraine's capital in more than a month.

Putin said that Russia will point at new targets if long-range missiles are delivered to Ukraine.
"In the case of delivering long-range missiles to Ukraine, the Russian Federation will draw conclusions and target objects that have not been targeted yet," Putin said.

"We have managed to defend our utility cost reduction program. We managed to repel the European Commission's proposal that would have banned the use of oil from Russia in Hungary. Families can sleep peacefully tonight, the most daunting idea has been fought off." Orban wrote triumphantly in a Facebook post.

At his garage in the south of Moscow, 35-year-old mechanic Ivan is starting to worry.    

With billions of dollars in financial reserves and money still coming in from oil and gas exports, Russia has yet to feel the full impact of the barrage of Western sanctions imposed over its offensive in Ukraine.    

But Ivan sees storm clouds on the horizon.    

He shares the view that Putin has initiated an illegal and heinous war against Ukraine. Yet he's quick to add that it is the West that has sinned with years of ignoring and not listening to Russia. Instead of arming the Ukrainians or imposing sanctions, which have negative effects on ordinary Russians, the West should even now continue to pursue diplomacy, he argues.