The two civilians carried with them a white flag indicating that they were not combatants – meaning that killing them could be considered a war crime.

Russia said on Tuesday that its forces were tightening their encirclement of Ukrainian troops in the city of Pokrovsk, a transport and logistics hub they have been trying to capture for over a year. With fighting raging in the streets of the ruined city,

Britain's Defence Ministry says about 1.14 million Russian military personnel have likely been killed or wounded since Moscow started its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Nearly two dozen earthquakes have struck off the coast of Russia, near the Kamchatka Peninsula, in the last 24 hours, according to the U.S. Geological Survey ( USGS ). The temblors were measured from 4.3 to 6.1 magnitude, the latter considered a strong earthquake that could inflict damage on populated areas.

China and Russia pledged a joint response to unilateral sanctions during a visit by Russia's Prime Minister, as Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed Beijing's commitment to advancing ties with Moscow despite "turbulent" external conditions.

As many as 1,500 “ideological immigrants,” including 127 Americans, have applied for temporary residence in Russia in the last year.

Chinese leader meets Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin in Beijing just days after his summit with US President Donald Trump.

Russia remains in constant contact with Venezuela over tensions in the Caribbean, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

Putin said the small-scale nuclear technologies used in both the Burevestnik and the Poseidon were particularly useful for work in the Arctic and for space travel and, eventually, for building a station on the moon.