Long-time Russian ruler Vladimir Putin, who faces a another presidential election in March, said that he considers himself fit for office despite his advancing age. "I feel within myself the strength, the energy to work to fulfil the tasks facing the country,” Putin, 71, said on Wednesday during a visit to the remote Chukotka region in far eastern Russia, according to the state agency news agency TASS. Putin stressed that he is a "grown man," noting that he feels like a father who is happy about
Long-time Russian ally China has called the United States the "main instigator" of the Ukraine crisis. As per a Reuters report, China's ambassador to Moscow, Zhang Hanhui, accused Washington of driving Russia into a corner with repeated NATO defence alliance expansions and support for forces working to align Ukraine with the European Union rather than Moscow.