Russia and China have conducted 10 joint air patrols with bombers to date, demonstrating their military capabilities.

The move comes days after a deal with Washington that lifted U.S. sanctions against the Belarusian potash industries, a key source of export earnings.

The Associated Press has documented 145 incidents in what Western officials say is a campaign of disruption across Europe masterminded by Russia since President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in

Putin said at an annual meeting with top military officers that Moscow will move to expand a “buffer security zone” along the border.

Russia disclosed several new figures on Wednesday, including how much it's specifically spent on the war and how many soldiers it hired in 2025.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told ABC News during an exclusive interview in Moscow on Monday that he believes the warring parties are close to a deal.

The United States is preparing a further round of sanctions targeting Russia's energy sector to increase pressure on Moscow should it reject a peace deal with Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday,

The Russian economy has been dealing with growing headwinds this year: unruly inflation, a ballooning budget deficit and shrinking energy revenues. But analysts say the Kremlin could weather the storm for many more years.