Russian officers in shock at Putin's desperate orders that leave 400 troops dead a day

Vladimir Putin. Rumours of an affair between her and the Russian president began circulating in 2008 after she was dubbed “Russia’s most eligible woman”.Russian newspaper Moskovsky Korrespondent ran a story claiming Putin had divorced his wife, Lyudmila Putina, and was going to marry Kabaeva.However, the Kremlin soon denied this and the newspaper was completely shutdown soon after.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentVersatile British actor Ben Whishaw, best known globally for playing Q in five James Bond films, has been cast in what’s bound to be the one of the most complex roles of his career.The actor will play the titular character in “Limonov, The Ballad of Eddie,” a new English-language film by revered Russian auteur Kirill Serebrennikov (“Petrov’s Flu,” “Leto”), about radical Russian poet and political dissident Eduard Limonov.The film, which will be presented as a promo reel to buyers in Cannes on May 17, is inspired by the best-selling novel “Limonov” by French writer and director Emmanuelle Carrère, which was translated in 35 countries.“Limonov” delves into the story of Eduard Limonov, who lived many lives. He was an underground writer in the Soviet Union who escaped to the U.S.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentIconoclastic Russian auteur Kirill Serebrennikov (“Leto,” “Petrov’s Flu”) will be unveiling footage in Cannes from his new work-in-progress film “Limonov, the Ballad of Eddie,” starring Ben Whishaw as radical Russian poet and dissident Eduard Limonov and Viktoria Miroshnichenko (“Beanpole”) as his wife Elena.Serebrennikov, who will coming to Cannes with his latest completed work “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” premiering in competition, was shooting “Limonov” in Russia when the war broke out. The director has since been able to leave the country and will complete the rest of the shoot in Europe.A “Limonov” promo reel will be unspooled for buyers in Cannes on May 17.

Pussy Riot’s Masha Alyokhina has escaped from Russia as president Vladimir Putin continues to crack down on dissidents in the country.Alyokhina, along with her bandmates, has been arrested and imprisoned multiple times over the past decade and more for publicly protesting Putin’s rule, most recently last year when she was detained for 48 hours after attending protests encouraging others to protest on social media.Amid the continued Russian invasion of Ukraine, a new story in The New York Times reveals that Alyokhina was under house arrest and, when authorities decided to turn that into a 21-day jail sentence last month, she decided to flee Russia.The story outlines Alyokhina’s escape, which included posing as a food courier and being placed on Russia’s wanted list after being refused entry into Belarus on account of her Russian passport having been confiscated by authorities.The report then reveals that Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson was able to assist Alyokhina in getting her a travel document from a European country that allowed her to travel freely from Russia to the EU. It adds that she has now travelled to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.“I still don’t understand completely what I’ve done,” she said in the piece.

Vladimir Putin is "more dangerous" than both Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, the Polish Prime Minister has claimed. Mateusz Morawiecki said that the Russian President is more of a threat as he has advanced weapons at his disposal, such as a nuclear arsenal.He also noted that, compared to the 20th century dictators, Putin can channel "the new media at his fingertips to spread his propaganda" more effectively.

Vladimir Putin's health may be failing during his Victory Day speech on Monday (May 9), a body language expert has claimed. The Russian President was spotted with a blanket over his legs, something that none of the other Kremlin dignitaries deemed necessary for themselves in the 9C Moscow weather.

Ukrainian military has said that Russian forces fired seven missiles at Odesa, hitting a shopping centre and a warehouse in an attack that killed one person and injured five. The city’s Mayor Gennady Trukhanov said that the warehouse "had nothing in common with military infrastructure or military objects".The strikes come a day after a Victory Day parade in Moscow, where Vladimir Putin was surprisingly calm in his speech - which many expected to be thunderous.

James Bond villain but she was actually a real life spy dispatched by Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin to infiltrate America - before becoming a sultry Maxim magazine covergirl.The super-glamourous, flame-haired femme fatale from Russia posed as an American in the US to feed information back to her homeland.And she showed just how she was able to charm her way to hearts of her targets when dressed in Agent Provocateur lingerie on the front cover of a leading men's magazine and named one of Russia's 100 most sexiest women.These days, Anna is a TV host and celebrity with an army of followers on social media, but she first came to attention when her cover was blown as a Kremlin spy in America.It certainly sounds like the stuff of TV fiction, but Chapman, from Volgograd, was part of a secretive program tasked with conducting operations inside the United States.She was born Anna Kushchenko and gained an economics degree from Moscow University before she met her future husband Alex Chapman in London in 2001.After the couple married Chapman gained a British passport and worked at a bank before moving to New York, but the marriage was not to last and in 2006 the pair divorced.In 2018 it was reported that Alex had died two years previously with his family not wishing to share the details of his death but insisting it was nothing suspicious.Chapman’s secretive work in the US was dubbed The Illegals Program by the Department of Justice and its discovery was one of the biggest spy rings found on American soil.It was alleged that while she was active she attempted to seduce a cabinet member of the Obama administration and came very close to fulfilling her task.Had it been successful, Chapman could have gained access to highly sensitive

Russian President Vladimir Putin would need to send 600,000 more troops to Ukraine to secure victory, NATO's former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander in Europe has claimed. Sir James Everard also warned that the tyrant may turn to nuclear weapons to level the playing field.

Mia Khalifa has shared a clip of Russia's ambassador to Poland get a serious soaking of red paint from a furious member of public. The former adult actress who has built a massive social media and OnlyFans following, re-posted to her 28 million Instagram followers a humiliating video of Sergey Andreyev.

Vladimir Putin's long-awaited Victory Day saw the brutal tyrant deliver a laughably feeble speech as the live stream was embarrassingly hacked.Hackers managed to plaster a message on the stream saying that the Russians had Ukrainian blood on their hands as it was being streamed to TV screens around the country.The parade is usually a huge affair which allows Putin to show off the nation's nuclear missiles, tanks and other weapons of mass destruction.Military equipment is usually accompanied by thousands of Russian troops marching in unison to show off the country's military might. But the parade was embarrassingly scaled down by 35% this year as much of the country's military equipment has been lost in the ongoing invasion attempt of Ukraine.It's estimated that around 10,000 troops took part in the parade, down from the 12,000 usually on show, following a reported 26,000 Russian deaths in Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin launching a nuclear war is "very real" and his “psychiatric health is bad indeed”, an oligarch close to the Russian tyrant has warned. A prominent billionaire has alerted associates about his health and said "stories about him going bonkers are not a joke”.

Russia’s “strongman” leader Vladimir Putin looked like a “little old man feeling the cold” as he huddled under a blanket during Moscow’s Victory Day parade, a leading body language expert has said. Today’s Victory Day event has been the most closely-watched in many years due to the situation in Ukraine, and many observers raised concerns over the Russian leader’s appearance.

As Russian president Vladimir Putin was preparing to address the nation Monday morning during the annual Victory Day parade commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, local television menus were reportedly hacked with program descriptions on smart TVs replaced by a message reading, “The blood of thousands of Ukrainians and hundreds of murdered children is on your hands. TV and the authorities are lying. No to war.”

Vladimir Putin was spotted keeping warm with a heavy blanket as he oversaw the massive parade of his country’s military might to mark Victory Day – the day when Russia marks the end of World War Two. While it was a slightly chilly 9ºC in Moscow this morning, none of the other senior Kremlin dignitaries watching the march-past felt the need for a blanket, adding to concerns that the Russian leader’s health could be failing.One user on Twitter commented on the blanket by tweeting: "President Vladimir Putin throws aside his Russian Wool blanket to stride manfully to the unknown."While another joked that "Putin stole a blanket from a veteran" after noticing few others had one.There have been reports that Putin was undergoing treatment for both cancer and Parkinson’s Disease, even before he launched his attack on Ukraine.The poor progress of his invasion seems to have taken an additional toll on his health.

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of preparing to invade Russia and told soldiers they are fighting for the future of their 'motherland' in a Victory Day speech in the country's capital on Monday (9 May).

Vladimir Putin is "mirroring" the Nazis, according to the UK's Defence Secretary. Ben Wallace is set to make a major speech at the National Army Museum in London, slamming the tyrant and his cronies amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin is reportedly fuming after hearing that his gymnast lover is pregnant again.The 69-year-old tyrant is already thought to have at least two sons with Alina Kabaeva, a former Olympic rhythmic gymnast.Russian news channel General SVR Telegram reported the news yesterday, saying: “Putin found out his mistress is yet again pregnant and by the looks of it this wasn’t planned.”“Who’s the daddy?” joked one commenter on the news outlet's website. According to The Sun, sources said Putin was raging when the news broke as he was busy preparing for the Red Square’s Victory Day parade on Sunday (May 8).

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it is clear now that Russian President Vladimir Putin is responsible for “heinous war crimes” following a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

Ukraine has killed two people and another 60 are feared dead beneath the rubble.Russian forces shelled the village of Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region on Saturday afternoon which set a school on fire as about 90 people used it for shelter.Luhansk governor Serhiy Gaidai said 30 people were rescued from the flames but confirmed two lifeless bodies were found and 60 more people were yet to make it out of the burning debris alive.Belarus-based media outlet, Nexta, reported that those killed were children however officials in Ukraine have not backed the claims.Gaidai wrote in a Telegram post: "The fire was extinguished after nearly four hours, then the rubble was cleared, and, unfortunately, the bodies of two people were found. Sixty people were likely to have died under the rubble of buildings."The number of casualties is due to Vladimir Putin's army dropping a bomb on the exact building where "almost the whole village was hiding".In the nearby village of Shypilovo, 11 people are thought to have been trapped in the rubble of a destroyed house by more Russian shelling, Mr Gaidai said.The Russian military has been accused of committing war crimes for its persistent targeting of areas packed with civilian such as hospitals and schools, but Moscow has rejected the allegations.Since sending tanks into Ukraine on February 24, thousands of Ukrainians have been killed and 5 million have fled abroad as thriving cities are razed to the ground.

Russia.Although Britain had been previously reducing its nuclear weapons, the Government decided to increase its stockpile by 40 per cent last year, in light of growing technological threats, reports Reuters.The UK uses four Vanguard-class submarines as part of its nuclear deterrent arsenal; two are always on patrol, one is at the ready, and the other receives maintenance. The Express reports that while each sub can carry up to 40 nukes, they have been carrying considerably less than this.Most of the warheads contain 80-100 kilotons, making them around six times more powerful than the “Little Boy” atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.The news comes ahead of Russia's Victory Day celebrations which marks the Soviet's victory over the Germans in WWII and the end of the war.It's been widely speculated the Russian despot might use the patriotic anniversary to send a doomsday message to the West as his threats of war and use of nuclear weapons increased.Since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Putin has threatened NATO and its allies with war if they send troops into Ukraine and the despot has increasingly threatened NATO with war as the West rallies around Ukraine.Already, Russian officials have confirmed Putin will showcase his 'doomsday' plane as part of the Victory Day military parade.The aircraft, which will allow the tyrant to continue to operate in the event of nuclear war, will be part of an air display along with eight Mig-29 fighter jets which will form the letter Z - the symbol of support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine - over the Red Square.Metro reports Putin might use the Russian national holiday as a propaganda opportunity to tell Russians how and why the war in Ukraine has been a successful.