Putin concludes a trip to China by emphasizing its strategic and personal ties to Russia

BEIJING (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded a two-day visit to China on Friday, emphasizing the countries’ burgeoning strategic ties as well as his own personal relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as they sought to present an alternative to U.S. global influence. ...

Putin says Russia wants a buffer zone in Ukraine's Kharkiv but has no plans to capture the city

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday during a visit to China that Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region aims to create a buffer zone but that there are no plans to capture the city. The remarks were Putin’s first on the...

Japan, US move ahead in co-developing hypersonic weapons interceptor as regional threats grow

TOKYO (AP) — Japan and the United States on Wednesday signed an arrangement to jointly develop a new type of missile defense system as the allies seek to defend against the growing threat of hypersonic weapons, which are possessed by China and Russia and being tested by North Korea. ...

Kim's sister denies North Korea has supplied weapons to Russia

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again denied Friday that her country has exported any weapons to Russia, as she labeled outside speculation on North Korea-Russian arms dealings as “the most absurd paradox.” The U.S., South...

Ukraine says it has checked Russia's offensive in a key town, but Moscow says it will keep pushing

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian units locked in street battles with the Kremlin’s forces in a key northeastern Ukraine town have halted the Russian advance, military officials in Kyiv claimed Thursday, though a senior Moscow official said the frontline push had enough resources to keep going. ...

Russia expels British defense attaché in a tit-for-tat move

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia on Thursday declared Britain's defense attaché persona non grata and gave the diplomat a week to leave the country in response to London's decision to expel the Russian defense attaché earlier this month over spying allegations. Russia's Foreign Ministry...

China and Russia reaffirm their close ties as Moscow presses its offensive in Ukraine

BEIJING (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday reaffirmed their “no-limits” partnership that has deepened as both countries face rising tensions with the West, and they criticized U.S. military alliances in Asia and the Pacific region. ...

Finnish carrier will resume Estonia flights in June after GPS interference prevented landings

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Finland’s national carrier Finnair said Thursday that it will resume flights to Estonia’s second largest city in June after two of its planes were prevented from landing in Tartu last month because of GPS disruptions. The cause of the GPS interference...

Russia's Putin has expressed gratitude to Chinese leader Xi for China's initiatives to resolve Ukraine conflict

At summit with Putin, Xi says China and Russia will continue to uphold positions of non-alliance and non-confrontation