Russia said Ukraine tried to attack the Kremlin with drones in an alleged attempt to kill President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine denies it, accusing Moscow of using this to justify a war escalation.

Casualties come amid intense fighting in eastern Ukraine over the past five months, according to US estimates.

Russia's foreign ministry on Friday criticised a nuclear agreement between the United States and South Korea, saying it would destabilise the region and the wider world, and warned of a potential arms race as a result.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine has signed two laws that strictly reinforce his country’s national identity, banning Russian placenames and making knowledge of Ukrainian language and history a requirement for citizenship.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday that if the G7 moved to ban exports to Russia, Moscow would respond by terminating the Black Sea grain deal that enables vital exports of grain from Ukraine. Russia has strongly signalled that it will not allow the deal to continue beyond May 18.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Saturday that Russia will continue to accept more payments for energy exports in the country's rouble currency and China's yuan as Moscow works to ditch U.S. dollars and euros.

The first feature film shot in space has premiered in Russian cinemas, with Moscow celebrating beating a rival Hollywood project amid a confrontation with the west. The Challenge is about a surgeon dispatched to the International Space Station to save an injured cosmonaut. Russia sent an actor and a film director for a 12-day stint on the ISS in October 2021 to film scenes onboard the orbiting laboratory.

Egypt made detailed plans to export rockets at Moscow’s request, but after a diplomatic offensive from Washington, later approved artillery production for Kyiv.

The 46-year-old Navalny fell ill last Friday when he was moved to a conventional cell and had lost about 18 pounds in 15 days. A spokeswoman says it's believed he's being given low doses of poison.

The newly discovered bison from an unknown extinct species is thought to have been around 1.5-2 years old when it died between 8,000 and 9,000 years ago, according to scientists at the Mammoth Museum of North-Eastern Federal University in Russia.

Ukrainian athletes will not be allowed to take part in qualifying events for the 2024 Paris Olympics if they have to compete against Russians, according to a government minister.

Russia’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot rollout, initially scheduled for April 1, has been delayed as the country’s central bank awaits approval for a specific law. The legislation on CBDC could be approved by the Russian State Duma next month and come into effect in May, state-owned news agency TASS reported.

Russia and Belarus teams were excluded by the International Ice Hockey Federation on Wednesday from all its world championships next season, including the women's event in the United States. The IIHF cited security concerns for players, competition staff and fans -- because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- to extend the exclusion that will stretch beyond two years when the 2023-24 season is over.

The Kremlin told officials involved in preparations for Russia's 2024 presidential election to stop using Apple (AAPL.O) iPhones because of concerns that the devices are vulnerable to Western intelligence agencies, the Kommersant newspaper reported.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The court alleges he is responsible for war crimes, and has focused its claims on the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. It says the crimes were committed in Ukraine from 24 February 2022 - when Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

Russia offered Wednesday to host a new multi-sports event for countries such as China and India which are members of a regional grouping known as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously suggested creating the event at an SCO summit in September. His suggestion came at a time when Russia is excluded from many events in Olympic sports following its invasion of Ukraine last year.

New video game Atomic Heart, set in an alternative history in which the Soviet Union experiences a tech boom following World War II, is facing allegations that it peddles dangerous pro-Russian propaganda and criticism for its developer’s perceived connections with Russia amid the country’s invasion of Ukraine. On Friday, Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted official letters he sent to the heads of Sony, Microsoft and Valve, urging them to block Atomic Heart from their gaming platforms.

Russian volunteers are searching through graveyards, archives and the internet to determine how many of the country’s soldiers have actually died in Ukraine. A database they helped build provides some astonishing insights.

Maria Ponomarenko faces six years for detailing Russia's deadly attack on a theatre in Ukraine.

The Russian spacecraft that brought the three crew members to the ISS in the fall later experienced a leak in its radiator cooling loop. A replacement ship is set to be launched on Friday.