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Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, on April 21, 2026.
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Russia's foreign minister Lavrov cut out of Ukraine peace talks, officials say

by Tim Zadorozhnyy

Russia's top diplomat Sergey Lavrov has been almost completely sidelined from Moscow's most important foreign policy track — negotiations on ending Russia's war against Ukraine, two Ukrainian officials and one U.S. official told the Kyiv Independent. For decades, Lavrov served as the public face of Russian diplomacy and one of the Kremlin's most recognizable hardliners. Since the start of Russia's all-out war, he has remained one of the loudest voices defending Moscow's maximalist demands, reg

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Putin's Beijing visit reveals Moscow’s weak hand with China

On May 19-20, Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Beijing to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping, just days after Donald Trump did the same. Although Putin's visit had been scheduled well in advance, the timing alongside U.S.-China talks has heightened the significance of the trip. Russia analysts expect progress toward expanding the Power of Siberia pipeline, a deal the Kremlin has long pushed for. Despite that, not much had come out of the talks. Putin and Xi signed a joint declaration,

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) in Beijing, China, on May 20, 2026.

'I'm not counting on the US' — In Estonia, faith in Trump's defense of Baltics fades

TALLINN, Estonia — Among Estonians, there is little confidence that U.S. President Donald Trump would rush to defend their country in the event of a Russian invasion. As a 1.3-million-strong NATO member sharing a border with Russia, Estonia would likely be at the forefront of a potential conflict between the alliance and Moscow — a prospect seen as increasingly realistic since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Publicly, Estonian officials have cast a confident note. While Russia rem

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The Kyiv Independent’s coverage of news on Russia. Spanning eleven time zones across Eastern Europe and Asia, Russia has an estimated population of 146 million people. Russia’s capital city is Moscow, which is home to almost one in 10 Russians. Russia’s official currency is the Russian Ruble.

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First known Russian recruited from university dies in Ukraine, exposing Russia’s student recruitment campaign

Russian servicemen in Moscow, Russia, on May 7, 2025.

When 23-year-old Russian student Valery Averin signed a military contract in January after being recruited into Russia’s drone forces campaign targeting students, he was told he would train as a drone operator. Three months later, he was dead near Luhansk after reportedly being sent into an assault unit despite having no military experience. His case, reported by the BBC Russian Service, appears to be the first known death linked to Russia’s growing campaign to recruit university and college st

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