Russian President Vladimir Putin has directed drills of the country’s strategic nuclear forces that featured practice missile launches

Vladimir Solovyov, a broadcaster with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has condemned U.S. President Donald Trump over tough sanctions announced against Russian oil giants that could deal a blow to Moscow’s war machine.

Days after canceling a planned summit with Putin, citing a lack of progress toward ending the war in Ukraine, Trump took a major step by effectively blacklisting Rosneft and Lukoil.

Russia’s population has fallen from 147.6 million in 1990 — the year before the USSR collapsed — to 146.1 million this year, according to Russia’s Federal Statistics Service. Since the 2014 illegal annexation of Crimea, it has included the peninsula's population of about 2 million, as well as births and deaths there, in its data.

Russian jets violated NATO airspace over Lithuania for 18 seconds during suspected refueling exercise. Nation's president calls it a breach of international law amid tensions.

President Trump abruptly canceled a second meeting with Russian President Putin in Budapest and instead approved new strong sanctions on Russian oil. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, who is a Democratic candidate for Congress in Michigan’s 7th district,