Aglaya Snetkov News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

for charly, this is from preethi, who asks... do you think russias war with ukraine, whenever that will end, will lead to a more united europe despite the tragic loss of lives? yes, i do. yes, ido. both yes, i do. both europe as an idea as well as the european union. i think it will be psychological, but also practical in terms of how we cooperate. whether it is on energy, defence, security, i think it is a great tonic also to the kind of post kabul withdraw anxiety we have had in europe and transatlantic relations with the us leadership. from a finnish perspective it is easy to see ...

"They don't know what to do," said Abbas Gallyamov. "Putin needs to achieve something that will convince Russians that he won."

The comments by Russia's foreign minister -- that the Kremlin's territorial ambitions in Ukraine now go beyond the Donbas -- set off alarm bells in Western capitals. In fact, it may be just a rhetorical ploy, and simply more improvisation in a war that hasn't gone according to plan.

Russia claimed the move was a "goodwill gesture" to allow the export of Ukrainian agricultural products. Meanwhile, fighting intensified in Lysychansk, in the Donbas region. DW has the latest.

Vladimir Putin has been steadily winding back the clock on Russia's democracy. Independent media outlets have been shuttered, Western businesses have left and free speech has effectively been stamped out.