The Kremlin is moving its pieces in the Sahel. A month ago, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov chaired a conference in Moscow with the foreign ministers of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, nations ruled by military juntas and which joined the Alliance of Sahel States in 2023 after withdrawing from ECOWAS, a Western-sponsored bloc.

The Kremlin has increasingly embraced the Soviet dictator and his legacy, using them to exalt Russian history in a time of war, but he remains a deeply divisive figure in Russia.

Germany and other Ukrainian allies have lifted restrictions on Kyiv firing long-range missiles into Russia for the first time, the German chancellor said Monday, after days of Russia bombarding the capital and other regions with massive aerial attacks.

Kremlin spokesman says talks in Russian capital to 'naturally' discuss Ukraine as 'main topic' - Anadolu Ajansı

Serious work on Russia's proposal for a possible peace deal for the Ukraine war is ongoing and a draft has not yet been submitted, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

Russia and Ukraine have no direct peace talks scheduled, the Kremlin said Thursday, nearly a week after their first face-to-face session since shortly after Moscow’s invasion in 2022 and days after U.S. President Donald Trump said they would start ceasefire negotiations “immediately.”

MOSCOW - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's recent comments on the decision to remove range restrictions on weapons for Ukraine are obstructing ongoing peace efforts, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that in the next round of negotiations with Ukraine, the date of which will be announced shortly, Russia will insist on the repeal of discriminatory laws restricting the Russian language and on Ukraine's non-aligned and non-nuclear status.