An ally and former adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin and former President Boris Yeltsin said the country could use nuclear weapons against Europe should Russia ever be on the verge of defeat in its ongoing war with Ukraine.

Putin and Netanyahu discussed developments in the Middle East and Iran in a phone call on Friday, Russia said.

Spiridon Ivanovich Putin, born in 1879, was a notable Russian chef whose life spanned the tumultuous periods of the pre-revolutionary era and Soviet power.

President Vladimir Putin is mediating in the Iran situation to try to quickly de-escalate tensions, the Kremlin said on Friday, after the Russian leader spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The US raid on Venezuela has exposed the limits of ties between Moscow and Caracas – while pointing the way for potential strategic opportunities for Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Washington’s new era of gunboat diplomacy.

One of the more extraordinary aspects of this turbulent start to 2026 has been the near silence over American adventurism from Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is a man never previously shy to accuse the US of being imperialist,

Russian President Vladimir Putin is among the world leaders who have been invited to join President Trump’s “Board of Peace” formed to implement the U.S.-brokered peace plan between Israel and