International
Putin attends funeral service for nationalist Zhirinovsky
AFP
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday paid his respects at the memorial service of ultra-nationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, whose death at age 75 was announced this week.
Hundreds of ordinary Russians — including many young people — came to pay their last respects to the politician who had urged authorities to bomb Ukraine.
An eccentric political showman, Zhirinovsky co-founded and led the Liberal-Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), one of the main forces in the country’s parliament, since 1990.
After mass in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, an open casket ceremony was held with Putin laying a bouquet of red roses near the coffin and bowing his head for a moment of silence.
The ceremony took place in the Moscow Hall of Columns, where Joseph Stalin lay in state in 1953.
Late last year Zhirinovsky appeared to predict Russia’s military action in Ukraine and urged Russian forces to strike the pro-Western country.
“I very much respected this man,” said Svetlana Gorodnyatskaya, a 55-year-old member of the LDPR party, crying. “This is simply an irreparable loss both for politics and for our entire country.”
Kseniya Vygovskaya, a 22-year-old graduate student, praised Zhirinovsky for standing up for Russia’s interests.
“Vladimir Volfovich is one of those people who sincerely loved his homeland, who sincerely wished it prosperity,” she said, referring to him by his name and patronymic.
Zhirinovsky was later buried at Moscow’s prestigious Novodevichy Cemetery.
His critics despised him for being the Kremlin’s token opponent who helped channel discontent. Since Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its subsequent stand-off with the West, Zhirinovsky had shifted into making anti-Kyiv public speeches.
Anti-Kremlin political observer Sergei Medvedev said the politician was not worth a “single kind word.”
“His talented, carefully calculated and generously paid buffoonery gave rise to modern Russian fascism,” Medvedev said this week.
Known for his brash, confrontational style and eyebrow-raising antics, Zhirinovsky had been a permanent fixture on the Russian political scene for the past three decades and thrived on controversy.
Zhirinovsky took part in all of post-Soviet Russia’s presidential elections and had been a member of parliament since 1993, when his party scored a major success with nearly 23 percent of the vote.
Often described as a clown in Russian political circles, he was known for his fiery anti-American, anti-liberal and anti-communist speeches.
International
Trump floats Vance-Rubio potential Republican ticket for 2028 election
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubiocould potentially form a Republican presidential ticket for the 2028 elections.
Speaking during a dinner with law enforcement officials as part of National Police Week, Trump publicly praised both officials and said they could make “an ideal team” for the next presidential race.
“Who likes JD Vance? Who likes Marco Rubio?” Trump asked attendees before adding that the pair “sound like a good combination.”
The president highlighted his vice president’s performance in office, stating that their current partnership has been highly effective. “JD is perfect, that has been a perfect formula,” Trump told reporters later.
He further suggested that a Vance-Rubio pairing could represent a strong presidential and vice-presidential ticket, although he stopped short of offering any formal endorsement.
“I think it sounds like a presidential candidate and a vice-presidential candidate,” he said, while clarifying that his remarks should not be interpreted as an official backing of any future campaign.
So far, neither Vance nor Rubio has publicly confirmed any intention to run in the 2028 presidential election.
Rubio previously sought the Republican nomination in 2016 but withdrew after losing the primary race to Trump. Later, in a December 2025 interview with Vanity Fair, he said he would be among the first to support Vance if he decided to run for the White House.
Vance, meanwhile, has recently dismissed speculation of any political rivalry with Rubio amid growing discussion about potential future GOP leadership.
International
Russia Accuses Ukraine of Violating Victory Day Truce
Russia accused Ukraine on Saturday of violating a Victory Day truce that was reportedly agreed with mediation from the United States, claiming that Ukrainian forces carried out attacks on Russian territory as well as on the annexed Crimean peninsula.
Despite the declared ceasefire, the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement that Ukrainian forces attacked Russian military positions using attack drones and artillery.
According to the ministry, Ukrainian forces made twelve attempts to advance toward Russian-held positions across several sectors of the front line.
It also alleged that Ukrainian strikes targeted civilian infrastructure in Crimea, several border regions, the Caucasus, and other areas including Moscow and Perm in the Ural region.
The Defense Ministry estimated around 8,900 violations of the ceasefire in total, including more than 7,000 drone attacks and over 1,000 strikes involving tanks, artillery, multiple rocket launch systems, and mortars since the truce came into effect at midnight.
Russia said its forces responded “symmetrically” to what it described as violations by Ukrainian troops.
Earlier, the Kremlin denied claims that Ukraine attempted to sabotage a military parade in Red Square marking the 81st anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
“No attempts were made. Everything went well,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told local media.
International
Trump Says U.S.-Iran Talks Progressing, Signals Possible Deal on Strait of Hormuz
U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Washington is holding “very good” talks with Iran and stated that there is a strong possibility of reaching an agreement to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“We’ve had very good conversations over the last 44 hours, and it’s very possible that we’ll reach an agreement,” Trump said during an event held in the Oval Office at the White House.
The president’s remarks came just hours after he announced a temporary suspension of the military operation aimed at escorting vessels stranded in the Persian Gulf due to Iran’s blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Trump explained that the pause in operations is intended to facilitate diplomatic negotiations between both sides and prevent further military escalation in the region.
“We’re in good shape, and right now things are going well. Now we have to achieve what we need to achieve. If we don’t, we’ll have to go much further,” the Republican president warned.
In a post published on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump reiterated that if Iran accepts Washington’s proposed conditions, military operations and the naval blockade affecting the Islamic republic would come to an end.
However, he also issued a new warning to the Iranian government, stating that the United States would respond with attacks “of greater intensity” if Tehran rejects the agreement promoted by the White House.
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Russia Accuses Ukraine of Violating Victory Day Truce
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