Putin says Kremlin critic Senator McCain ‘lives in old world’

The talks about a new ceasefire in Ukraine are already "at the finish line," said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A meeting with Vladimir Putin was also on the cards.

The two leaders, at odds with the West over recent political maneuvers, have enjoyed a boat trip near Sochi. Last week, a plane was forced to land in Minsk to arrest a blogger critical of the Lukashenko regime.

Russian President Vladimir Putin questions the point of meeting with Ukraine's leader, claiming Volodymyr Zelensky's country is effectively run by leaders in Washington and European capitals.

Russia continues to court far-right parties in Europe as a means to destabilise more liberal Western democracies: That is the premise of a new book, “Russia and the Western Far Right - Tango Noir,” written by Anton Shekhovtsov. He joined us to discuss the book and his decision to put a photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin with France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen on the cover.

Putin expressed the devastating effect the demise of the USSR had on him and millions of others, admitting he took up driving a cab during hard times, even though he said "it's unpleasant to talk about."

Monday's meeting between the Russian and French presidents in Moscow gave rise to a lot of photoshopped content on social media - mostly sufficiently far-fetched so as not to be believable. We take a closer look. We also take a look at some convincing fake news stories that have been doing the rounds about Russia's current tensions with Ukraine and NATO.

Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw military exercises involving Russian "strategic forces." The drills included ballistic and cruise missile launches.

Today we take a look at day two of Russia's attack against Ukraine, with shelling and combat claimed on several fronts. Ukrainian forces fought off Russian troops in the capital Kyiv on Friday, as Russian President Vladimir Putin called on the Ukrainian army to remove the country's leadership.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was the latest international leader in Moscow to sound out Russia's Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine. Some see Bennett as a potential mediator between Moscow and Kyiv.

Who are the people keeping Vladimir Putin in power? Much is made of the oligarchs and their billions of dollars. Their support has been vital to keeping Putin financed. But how is his influence protected? This is now down to his Saint Petersburg friends: a collection of "hard men" who are in positions of power that they own to Putin. If the Russian leader were to be deposed – or even more unlikely – democratically voted out of power, these strongmen would do everything possible to stop that. Our guests discuss how democracy, freedom and the truth are quashed in Russia today.

Did the Russian president harshly criticise Emmanuel Macron? In a video shared widely on social media since March 1, Vladimir Putin is subtitled in French saying not-so-flattering things about Macron, which is quite credible in the context of current geopolitical tensions. The video however dates back to 2019, at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum. A full transcript of the forum confirms that the subtitles are completely bogus. Elsewhere, we take a look at a Russian fact-checking website that is far from fully neutral on events in Ukraine.