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Russian Orthodox Church hold main midnight Christmas service

The majority of Orthodox believers celebrate Christmas on January 7, with midnight services especially popular.

Europe News

Brussels must be involved in Ukraine talks, says EU foreign minister

US and Russian officials are due to hold security talks in Geneva on Monday amid mounting tensions over Ukraine.

Culture news

Member of Pussy Riot named on list of 'foreign agents' by Kremlin

Putin claims the 'foreign agents' list is used to stop interference from abroad in domestic issues but critics say it is used to silence dissent.

Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin says Nord Stream 2 'ready to go'

Putin said the pipeline could help quickly stabilise markets as energy prices surge in Europe, but it still needs the approval of the EU and Germany.

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Russia's Putin and Belarus' Lukashenko play hockey after talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko play ice hockey after holding diplomatic talks.

Ukraine

Biden repeats call for diplomatic solution ahead of call with Putin

Biden will reiterate to Putin that for there to be “real progress” in talks they must be conducted in “a context of de-escalation rather than escalation.”

USA

Biden and Putin to talk on Europe's security before possible meeting

The White House says the two leaders will speak by phone on Thursday, ahead of January talks that Moscow says should be "serious" and not "blah blah "blah".

Russia

Russian court orders shutdown of country's oldest human rights NGO

A movement rather than a singular organisation, Memorial has been active since 1987 in its work to draw attention to the political repression of dissidents in the Soviet Union.

Russia

Putin to ponder options if West refuses guarantees on Ukraine

In comments aired on Russian state TV Sunday, president Vladimir Putin said that Moscow will undertake "adequate military-technical measures" if NATO and other Western allies do not pull back from Ukraine and Eastern Europe in general.

Russia

Putin set to talk with US amid desire to stop NATO expansion in Europe

Talks to de-escalate tensions are set to take place in Geneva next year.

Russia

NATO blast and four other takeaways from Putin's annual speech

Putin stressed that Moscow "made it clear that any further NATO movement to the east is unacceptable".

Russia

Putin blames West for tensions, demands security guarantees

Vladimir Putin reiterated his demand for guarantees from the US and its allies that NATO will not expand eastwards, blaming the West for tensions.

Netherlands

Prosecutors begin explaining evidence at MH17 plane crash trial

On Wednesday, prosecutors will tell judges what punishments they want for the four suspects, with the maximum sentence being life imprisonment.

Russia

Russia sets out tough demands for security pact with NATO

Russia published draft security demands that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and that the alliance roll back military deployments.

My Europe Series

Europe's week: Omicron reveals the EU's coordination cracks

EU leaders closed an intense agenda this week with talks about the new COVID-19 variant omicron.

Russia

Hail Vladimir? Putin says he drove a taxi after Soviet Union's fall

Putin once called the collapse of the Soviet Union "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century".

Ukraine

Russia warns Ukraine over troops build-up before Biden-Zelenskyy call

US President Joe Biden has threatened Russia with unprecedented sanctions if it invades Ukraine.

Ukraine

Biden warns Putin of 'strong' sanctions in case of Ukraine offensive

Biden and Putin held a two-hour video summit on Tuesday in which the US president warned of painful sanctions and increased military support for Eastern Europe if Russia invades Ukraine.

Russia

Nobel Prize winner Dmitry Muratov calls situation in Russia 'toxic'

Muratov spoke of the increasing difficulty of being a journalist under Vladimir Putin's presidency.

Russia

Vladimir Putin confident that WHO will recognise Sputnik V vaccine

Russia's president has repeatedly rested the vaccine on himself, and last month he received a booster shot of Sputnik Light, the one-dose version. He also took an experimental nasal version of Sputnik V days after receiving his booster shot.

Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president since 2000 (with a break as prime minister from 2008 to 2012), has shaped the country’s politics and global influence. From the war in Ukraine to political repression, stay informed on his policies and their impact.