Russia

  With less than 24 hours to go before the first game, and five days before England’s match with Tunisia, the Home Office has said it has blocked more than 1,200 people with a history of football violence from going to Russia. But what sort of welcome can the fans who are going to support…

As we heard earlier, much of the world is still trying to work out exactly what happened yesterday with the death and resurrection of  Arkady Babchenko. Meanwhile Moscow says the whole escapade is proof of fake news against them. It’s John Le Carre meets Carry ON. Who better to decipher fiction from fact than Andrei…

When someone comes to you and says here’s an order for your killing, do you say: “I’m thinking about the media’s reputation! Let me be killed”? That was the question posed by unrepentant Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko, who has faced widespread criticism for working with the Ukrainian authorities to fake his own death. The plan…

  The Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko – reportedly murdered in Kiev – turned up alive and well at a news conference in Ukraine. The Ukranian security services said the murder had been staged to expose Russian agents in their country. Mr Babchenko’s wife was not ‘in’ on the subterfuge – she’d said her husband was shot in…

The Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who owns Chelsea FC, has been granted Israeli citizenship and has bought a home in Tel Aviv, after delays in getting his British visa renewed. Downing Street said he would be free to visit the UK, but would not be allowed to work here if he travels on his Israeli…

Two and a half months after being poisoned, the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal was discharged from hospital today. He’s been taken to an undisclosed location for the next stage of his recovery It’s not been announced whether he’ll be joining his daughter, Yulia, who was also exposed to the deadly nerve agent attack in…

  While Britain places the blame for the Skripal poisonings firmly on Russia, we went to meet the exiled oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky to ask about the Kremlin’s continuing strained relationship with the West. He was once Russia’s richest man, as head of the oil giant Yukos, before spending 10 years in prison for tax evasion.…

International Editor Lindsey Hilsum on what the airstrikes mean for international relations with Russia.

Earlier I spoke to Former Russian General, Evgeny Buzhinskiy. He was closely involved in Russian – NATO relations and is now Chairman of the international non-proliferation organisation, the PIR Centre.I began by asking him if he thought we’ll see some military action by Russia in retaliation to airstrikes in Syria.

Diplomatically, one of the impacts of the air strikes will be on the further deterioration of the relationship between Moscow and the West. The arguments over what happened in Douma a week ago and the threats of retaliation by Russia mean that maybe President Trump wasn’t exaggerating when he tweeted that the US relationship with…

The Russian embassy has accused British officials of “isolating” Yulia Skripal, the daughter of the former spy who was targeted in the Salisbury poison gas attack, and “concealing important evidence”. The 33-year-old Russian national was discharged from hospital last night and taken to what’s described as a “secure location”. Medical staff said she had asked…

The Russian embassy in London has called for a meeting with the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson over the Salisbury poison attack – claiming its dealings with the UK had been “utterly unsatisfactory”. The Foreign Office hit back, saying it was Russia’s response that had been unsatisfactory – accusing them of failing to answer numerous questions…