Renowned Russian conductor Valery Gergiev's concert in an Italian palace has been canceled without explanation amid an uproar over his support for Vladimir Putin.

Russia's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday accused Italy of discrimination and said it had caved into anti-Russian lobbying after a planned classical music concert by high-profile Russian conductor Valery Gergiev was cancelled.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has renewed his call for direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end their ongoing war.

Vladimir Putin has issued a stark warning following the U.S. deployment of B61-12 nuclear bombs to the UK—just 2,800 kilometers from Moscow. The Kremlin accused Washington of provoking nuclear tensions and deliberately escalating global instability.

President Vladimir Putin has tightened rules for ships entering Russian sea ports from abroad, giving the nation’s main security service a bigger role following a series of mysterious blasts on oil tankers.

How Russia has amped up its aerial strikes on Ukraine - The Russian army launched a fresh drone assault on Kyiv overnight, following a pattern of attacks in the past two months

In July alone, Andrei Badalov, the vice-president of state-owned pipeline company Transneft, fell to his death from a balcony at his home. A former deputy defence minister was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment on charges of corruption, only for a fellow military official to go down for 17.

The judge studied with Vladimir Putin at university and was the first woman to be appointed as Chief Justice of Russia's Supreme Court.

As scattered details of the apparent suicide of Russia’s former transport minister Roman Starovoit trickled in via state media on Monday, one stood out. Near his body, the Kommersant newspaper reported,

Putin has spurned Zelensky’s previous offers of a face-to-face meeting to end Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II.

Russia is planning to phase out WhatsApp for government use by introducing its messaging app called MAX. Developed by state-owned VK, MAX is expected to become mandatory for officials from September 1.