Russian President Vladimir Putin has directed drills of the country’s strategic nuclear forces that featured practice missile launches

At least six people were killed overnight shortly after President Donald Trump said he didn't "want to have a waste of time" holding a summit with the Russian leader.

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are no longer meeting in Budapest as was announced just last week.

A preparatory meeting between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was also canceled.

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday oversaw a test of Russia's nuclear forces on land, sea and air to rehearse their readiness and command structure.

It was, perhaps, the costliest phone call in history. When Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, told his American counterpart on Monday that the Kremlin had not budged from its demand for an even bigger slice of Ukraine than its forces currently hold,

For Putin, the Zaporizhzhia plant serves as a valuable asset, one that can be traded to extract concessions from the West