The war has become a ruinous contest of drone and missile attacks that, while devastating to Ukraine, are inflicting visible damage on Russia too. But Mr Putin shows no sign of backing off. The worry is that he may try to escape from what Russians call a tupik (dead-end) as he has in the past: by finding some new way to escalate the conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian airspace will be "effectively closing" amid escalating drone strikes.

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on ⁠Thursday ⁠there was a chance of reaching an ⁠agreement to end the war in Ukraine, while Kyiv said it expected a "new dynamic" in ​peace efforts.

Vladimir Putin declared full solidarity with Iran as an expert said both nations "need each other desperately" during the escalating U.S.-Iran conflict.

MOSCOW, Sept 1 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russian troops had captured 270 square km of Ukraine’s Donetsk region in August and a large group of Ukrainian troops were surrounded.

Since Mr. Trump launched his war against Iran with Israel in late February, Russia has backed the Iranians with intelligence, including on U.S. assets in the Persian Gulf, and shipped drone components to Tehran via the Caspian Sea. The United States and Iran resumed trading strikes this week after what had been a weekslong hiatus in fighting.

Putin’s other nuclear arsenal is spreading quietly across the world. It gives Moscow something warheads never could.

Putin said peace with Ukraine remains possible while calling Kyiv’s warning on Russian airspace “state terrorism,” as NATO flags fresh risks.