Aging, allegedly ailing Vladimir Putin has been mocked over his puffy, strangely altered face after the fearful, paranoid Russian dictator made a rare public appearance in Moscow over the weekend. The swollen-cheeked 73-year-old despot was spotted at an unusually quiet Victory Day parade to mark the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

The Russian leader is walking a tightrope: acknowledging public discontent while offering no indication that he might give up on his demands.

The Russian leader addressed the potential for talks with the European Union after rounds of U.S.-led peace talks that have so far failed to end the conflict.

Set in Russia in the years following the fall of communism, The Wizard of the Kremlin doesn't always work dramatically. But you leave with a better understanding of how Vladimir Putin came to power.

The Russian president is facing pressure not only from a stalemate on the battlefield but also from a battered economy that is fueling discontent.

The situation has worsened considerably for the Russians over the last few months due in part to Ukraine’s tactical ingenuity and Kyiv’s growing ability to do to Russia what Russia has long done to Ukraine.

Four years ago, President Vladimir Putin offered Moscow and its business elite a de facto deal: Support my war in Ukraine, and in exchange you won’t have to think about it. In the past week, that deal was broken.

"The ⁠end of ⁠the war ​in Ukraine I really ​think ⁠it's getting very close," Trump ⁠told reporters as he left the ⁠White House for a trip to China. Trump's comments