Vladimir Putin

The war in Ukraine dragged into its second year on Friday, with no end in sight to a conflict launched by Russia that has killed tens of thousands of people, flattened cities and towns, forced millions to flee and brought a Cold War chill to global ties.

Marking one year of war, Ukraine and Russia lobbied countries at the United Nations on Wednesday for backing ahead of a vote by the 193-member General Assembly that the United States declared will "go down in history."

US President Joe Biden on Monday made a trip to Kyiv organised in strict secrecy, promising $500 million in fresh arms deliveries and "unwavering" American support ahead of the first anniversary of Russia's invasion.

Putin was observed fidgeting with his legs restlessly during a meeting which led to a rise in further speculations about his health.

The eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut was facing heavy artillery fire as the NATO chief backed reports from local officials that a major new Russian offensive had begun, days before the first anniversary of Moscow's invasion.

Ukraine has sent letters to companies that back the International Olympic Committee urging them to keep Russian athletes out of the Paris Olympic Games, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday.

Earlier Thursday, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace cautioned that supplying Ukraine with fighter jets would not be a "magic wand" in the war.

The apparent threat came in a phone call just ahead of the invasion on February 24, according to a new BBC documentary to be broadcast on Monday.

Srdjan Djokovic has issued a statement after he was caught up in a controversy involving pro-Putin supporters at the 2023 Australian Open. He was posing with Russian fans after Novak's win over Rublev.

Ukraine -- which had pleaded for heavy Western tanks for months -- welcomed the twin announcements, with President Volodymyr Zelensky urging they be delivered quickly.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday there was "no alternative" but for the West to give Ukraine heavy tanks.

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday urged allies to double down on sending military equipment to support Ukraine and speed up an end to the war with Russia.

Ukraine needs a "significant increase" in weapons at a pivotal moment in Russia's invasion and such support is the only way to a negotiated peaceful solution, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev slammed Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for the latter's "subservience" to the United States.

Ukraine's European allies have sent Kyiv more than 300 modernised Soviet tanks since Russia invaded in February 2022.

Another Russian citizen was found dead in the Indian state of Odisha on Tuesday, just weeks after the deaths of two other tourists from the country.

Russia continued intense attacks on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine early on New Year's Day, following a barrage of missiles fired on Saturday, with air raid sirens wailing for hours overnight.

Residents of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv were urged to head to air raid shelters early on Friday as sirens wailed across the city, a day after Russia carried out the biggest aerial assault since it started the war in February.

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday delivered Russia's long-awaited response to a Western price cap, signing a decree that bans the supply of crude oil and oil products from Feb.

General Alexei Maslov, a former Russian army chief with ties to Ukraine, died "suddenly" at the age of 69.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov gave Ukraine an ultimatum on Monday to fulfil Moscow's proposals, including surrendering territory Russia controls, or its army would decide the issue, a day after President Vladimir Putin said he was open to talks.

Moscow said on Monday its forces had shot down a Ukrainian drone close to a long-range bomber base deep inside Russia, while Ukraine said the Russians had unleashed heavy artillery barrages on its cities in the past 24 hours.

The Ukrainian army counted 71 strikes on the partly recaptured Kherson region on Saturday, including 41 on the city.

A day after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy's visit to the US, Russian President Vladimir Putin has started speaking of wanting to end the war.

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that the Russian army must learn from and fix the problems it had suffered in Ukraine, promising to give the military whatever it needed to prosecute a war nearing the end of its 10th month.

A group of English villagers has declared the Russian president Vladimir Putin "Bellend of the Year."

All non-critical infrastructure in the Ukrainian port of Odesa was without power after Russia used Iranian-made drones to hit two energy facilities, leaving 1.5 million people without power, officials said on Saturday.

A long-time ally of President Vladimir Putin, Alexei Kudrin, said Monday he will be joining Yandex as the Kremlin seeks to tighten its grip on Russia's top technology giant.

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

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.