By Mark Trevelyan LONDON (Reuters) -When members of Europe's leading human rights forum voted this month to create a "platform for dialogue" with exiled opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin,

President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, a key ally of the Kremlin, said the U.S. giving Ukraine long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to use against Russia would lead to "nuclear war." Russia has deployed tactical nuclear weapons to its neighbor, Belarus, and they held a joint military exercise in September to practice launching them.

A large crowd gathered in St Petersburg was filmed singing an outlawed song calling for Vladimir Putin to resign. Hundreds of brave young people joined street musicians in one of the squares in the city to shout anti-war lyrics branded "extremist" under the country's censorship laws.

The US President said Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries are hitting the Russian economy where it hurts, with fuel shortages causing prices at the pump to soar

Donald Trump has joined Nato in discussing rules that could make it easier to shoot down Russian fighter jets. Talks have focused on devising a single set of guidelines for engaging with enemy aircrafts.

RUSSIA is preparing to deploy two million reserve soldiers to fight in the meatgrinder war in Ukraine. The Kremlin is planning to change a Russian law that would allow Vladimir Putin to send

President Vladimir Putin said Russia’s air defense were to blame for downing an Azerbaijani jetliner in December that killed 38 people.

First lady Melania Trump said she has established an “open channel of communication” with Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent months, hoping to reunite children separated from their families during the war in Ukraine.