Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin have graced billboards across India in recent weeks. One caption reads: “The dialogue began decades ago. We’re just turning up the volume.” Another hails the “old friendship” between the two nations.

Ukraine and its European allies have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of feigning interest in peace efforts after five hours of talks with U.S. envoys at the Kremlin produced no breakthrough.

Dressed head to toe in army fatigues, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday received the news he had been awaiting for more than a year: Russia had taken over the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk.

Putin's visit to Delhi is coming at a crucial time for Modi and India's global ambitions. India-Russia ties go back to the Soviet era and have endured irrespective of the changing geopolitical landscape. Putin has arguably put more time and energy into this relationship than other Russian leaders before him.

President Putin warned European powers on Tuesday that if they started a war with Russia then Moscow was ready to fight and that the defeat of European powers would be so absolute that there would be no one left to even negotiate a peace deal.

Also in today’s newsletter: bond investors warned US Treasury over picking Kevin Hassett as Fed chair and South Korea raises foreign bond cap

Vladimir Putin does not want a deal, and the sweetness of being begged to entertain one is something the Russian president relishes. Five hours of US President Donald Trump’s envoy and son-in-law meeting with the Kremlin head seemed to yield little publicly.

Responding to Vladimir Putin's claims that Russia is "ready" for war with Europe, Keir Starmer's spokesman says Putin "isn't serious about peace".