Russian President Vladimir Putin had warm words for "old friend" Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, describing their relationship in personal terms and dismissing the notion that the war in Ukraine had driven a Russian "pivot" toward the East Asian power.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the four-year-long war in an open letter posted as the Russian leader was preparing to address the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

President Vladimir Putin says Russia will strengthen its air defenses to counter recent Ukrainian drone attacks, which have reached deep inside his country and cast a cloud over his showcase economic forum in his hometown of St.

At the St. Petersburg economic forum, business and political elites said Russia faced a choice of halting the conflict or sacrificing more. Vladimir Putin seemed to signal more war.

What did Putin say about the proposal to meet in order to end the war? Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s open letter, according to Putin’s statement at the St.

Russia is intensifying attacks in Ukraine but more than four years of war are causing concern even among Putin loyalists.

After 26 years in power, age is beginning to take its toll,” President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine wrote of his Russian counterpart, bragging of a recent strike on St. Petersburg.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, June 4 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday sidestepped a question on whether or not he would stay in power until 2036, saying that it was too early to talk about the issue and that in any case only God knew if he would be healthy enough.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping hailed ties with Russia as a force for “calm amid chaos” during a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday, days after Xi hosted President Donald Trump for a landmark US-China summit.