The Russian president is facing pressure not only from a stalemate on the battlefield but also from a battered economy that is fueling discontent.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that what he called the world’s most powerful missile system — dubbed “Satan II” by NATO — will be ready for “combat duty” by the end of the year after a successful test on Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday voiced confidence of victory in Ukraine as he oversaw a military parade on Red Square commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II — a show that didn't include heavy weapons for the first time in nearly two decades.

The Russian leader is walking a tightrope: acknowledging public discontent while offering no indication that he might give up on his demands.

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Some well-known analysts and journalists have detected a subtle change in the mood toward Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine, now well into its fifth year. There is a sense in Russian society, they write,

Vladimir Putin said that the nuclear-armed Sarmat missile would enter combat service at the end of the year. It was built to replace the aging Soviet-built Voyevoda.

Set in Russia in the years following the fall of communism, The Wizard of the Kremlin doesn't always work dramatically. But you leave with a better understanding of how Vladimir Putin came to power.

Aging, allegedly ailing Vladimir Putin has been mocked over his puffy, strangely altered face after the fearful, paranoid Russian dictator made a rare public appearance in Moscow over the weekend. The swollen-cheeked 73-year-old despot was spotted at an unusually quiet Victory Day parade to mark the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.