Russia

European motorists could find Russian diesel in their tanks even after bans take effect because regulators lack tools to trace the origin of fuel when it has passed through other countries.

European Union and Western Balkans leaders met in the Albanian capital Tirana on Tuesday for a summit meant to reassure the region of a future in the wealthy bloc amid fears of rising Russian and Chinese influence.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, Vadym Khlupianets, a 26-year-old ballet dancer at Kyiv's National Operetta Theatre, joined the army.

The market for old oil tankers is booming, and it's all down to efforts by Western nations to curb trade in Russian crude.

The price cap on Russian oil agreed by the EU, G7 and Australia came into force on Monday. It aims to restrict Russia's revenue as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine, while making sure Moscow keeps supplying the global market.

Around 2,500 endangered seals were found dead in the southern Russian province of Dagestan over the weekend.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday floated the idea of a "specialised court" to put Russia's top officials on trial over the war in Ukraine.

The OPEC+ decision to hold its Dec. 4 meeting virtually signals little likelihood of a policy change, sources told Reuters on Wednesday, as the group assesses the impact of the looming Russian oil-price cap on the market.

European Union countries are inching towards a deal this week on a price cap on Russian oil, a way to adjust the cap in future, and on linking it to a package of new sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, diplomats said on Tuesday.

Chinese entrepreneur Wang Min is delighted about Russia's embrace of the yuan.

The government is already partially subsidising rocketing electricity and gas bills after prices soared following the invasion of Ukraine by key fossil fuel producer Russia.

Ukraine said on Monday that Russia was preparing for a fresh wave of missile attacks on its energy grid that have plunged swathes of the country into the cold and dark.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Russia would surely launch new missile attacks on his country, and warned defence forces and citizens to be prepared to withstand a new week of strain on the power grid.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plans to promise on Monday to maintain or increase military aid to Ukraine next year, and to confront international competitors "not with grand rhetoric but with robust pragmatism".

Russian lawmakers unanimously approved a bill banning all forms of LGBTQ "propaganda" in a final reading on Thursday, as Moscow presses ahead with its conservative drive at home while its troops fight in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the United Nations Security Council to act against Russia over air strikes on civilian infrastructure that have again plunged Ukrainian cities into darkness and cold as winter sets in.

Ukraine's security service said Wednesday it had seized "pro-Russian literature", cash and interrogated dozens during raids of several Orthodox monasteries that spurred a backlash from the Kremlin.

Dutch judges convicted two Russian men and a Ukrainian man in absentia of murder for their role in the shooting down of Flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014 with the loss of 298 passengers and crew, and handed them life sentences.

The APEC summit caps an intense fortnight of diplomacy in Asia, following the G20 and a gathering of Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders in Phnom Penh last week.

The expulsion of more than 400 suspected Russian spies from across Europe this year has struck the "most significant strategic blow" against Moscow in recent history and taken Vladimir Putin by surprise, Britain's domestic spy chief said.

The world's largest satellite ground station, on the Svalbard archipelago off Norway, is used by Western space agencies to gather vital signals from polar-orbiting satellites.

Russia and Ukraine both tortured their prisoners of war during the ongoing conflict between the two.

NATO and global leaders will meet on Wednesday after a Russian-made rocket fell on NATO member Poland and killed two people, raising concerns that the Ukraine conflict could spill over its borders.

The UK has also confirmed the deaths of medic Craig Mackintosh and ex-paratrooper Simon Lingard, who was killed near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine this month.

Leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) economies will hold a second day of talks on Wednesday, although the schedule at the summit was disrupted by an emergency meeting to discuss reports of a missile landing in Polish territory near Ukraine.

The G20 gathering will inevitably be overshadowed by Moscow's offensive in Ukraine, which has shocked global energy markets and aggravated food shortages.

The British government said on Thursday it had frozen assets worth more than 18 billion pounds ($20.5 billion) held by Russian oligarchs, other individuals and businesses sanctioned over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The European Commission proposed on Thursday two action plans to address the deteriorating security situation following Russia's invasion of Ukraine to bolster cyber defence and to allow armed forces to move faster and better across borders.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday night said his forces would not yield "a single centimetre" in battles for control of eastern Donetsk region while Russian-installed officials described Ukrainian forces moving into one southern town with tanks.

Russia said on Wednesday it would resume its participation in a deal freeing up grain exports from Ukraine, reversing a move that world leaders warned would increase hunger globally.