The White House has said president Donald Trump “believes” Vladimir Putin is winning the war with Ukraine.The statement follows a Wall Street Journal that Mr Trump told European leaders after a phone call with Mr Putin that the Russian president is not ready to end the war.

The 1998 crisis worsened the situation, as a global recession and falling commodity prices led to fiscal imbalances and doubts about Russia’s ability to service its debt and uphold the fixed exchange rate. The central bank raised interest rates to 150% to try and stabilise the rouble, but this failed.

Statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin about creating a buffer zone are evidence of the Russian Federation's aggression, said Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Despite Ukrainian drone attacks hitting the Russian capital, Moscow, President Vladimir Putin will reportedly 'reject' any peace deal in the Ukrainian war because he is convinced that he will win

Moscow's airports temporarily halted flights today following what was described as a "massive" Ukrainian kamikaze drone strike on the Russian capital, with reports surfacing that President Vladimir Putin is dismissing any peace offers due to his belief in an impending victory.

The European Union and Britain on Tuesday rolled out a sweeping set of sanctions targeting what they call Russia's "shadow fleet", a covert network of tankers used to secretly move Russian oil across the globe.

Photos of first prisoner swap released as Zelensky declares ‘we’re bringing our people home’ - The Ukrainian president said 390 prisoners were returned on Friday, with more to follow over the weekend

The Russian dictator is reportedly in a state of panic and is scrambling for defence after Ukraine carried out major strikes on a key military base 220 miles from the Kremlin