Ukraine war live: Terror threat emerges in Moscow as Putin warns of full-scale war in Europe

Uk and US residents have been told not to travel to Russia amid a warning that a terror attack was planned for the country’s capital.

The US embassy in Russia warned that “extremists” had imminent plans for an attack in Moscow, hours after Russian security services said they had foiled a planned shooting at a synagogue by a cell from the Afghan arm of Islamic State.

The embassy, which has repeatedly urged all US citizens to leave Russia immediately, gave no further details about the nature of the threat, but said people should avoid concerts and crowds and be aware of their surroundings.

Russian air defences have downed a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet over Ukraine‘s Donetsk region, the RIA news agency cited Russia‘s defence ministry as saying on Saturday.

Ukrainian authorities have not reported any fighter jet losses in recent days.

A lonely man jailed for criticizing the government on his ham radio. A poet assaulted by police after he recited a poem objecting to Russia’s war in Ukraine. A low-profile woman committed to a psychiatric facility for condemning the invasion on social media.

President Vladimir Putin’s 24 years in power are almost certain to be extended six more by this month’s presidential election. That leadership has transformed Russia. A country that tolerated some dissent is now one that ruthlessly suppresses it.

Along with opposition politicians, independent journalists and human rights activists, ordinary Russians have been increasingly swept up in a crackdown reminiscent of the Soviet era. Some human rights advocates compare the scale of the clampdown to the repression from the 1960s to the 1980s, when dissidents were prosecuted for “anti-Soviet propaganda.”

Britain said Thursday that it would provide 10,000 drones to arm Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

The announcement by Defense Secretary Grant Shapps during a visit in Kyiv with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky includes an investment of 125 million pounds ($160 million) on top of 200 million pounds ($256 million) previously committed for drones.

The weaponry will include 1,000 one-way attack — or kamikaze — drones and models that target ships.

Armenia is considering applying for European Union membership, foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan said on Friday, as it seeks to forge closer ties with the West in the face of tensions with traditional ally Russia.

“Many new opportunities are largely being discussed in Armenia nowadays and that will not be a secret if I say that includes membership in the European Union,” Mirzoyan said in an interview with Turkey’s TRT World television station.

He was speaking on the sidelines of a diplomatic forum in the Turkish city of Antalya on the Mediterranean coast.

Since coming to power in a 2018 revolution, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has deepened Armenia’s ties with Europe and the United States, repeatedly drawing the ire of traditional ally Russia.

Yerevan has repeatedly said that its alliance with Moscow does not stretch to the war in Ukraine, while Pashinyan has accused Russia of seeking to undermine his government.

Armenia also accuses Russia of failing to defend it against long-standing rival Azerbaijan, which has drawn closer to Moscow in recent years.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to secure his fifth term in power this month on the heels of opposition leader Alexei Navalny‘s death in prison, which devastated Kremlin critics and spurred concerns about the safety of other imprisoned dissidents.

Putin has gone from tolerating dissent to suppressing anyone who dared challenge him during his 24-year rule. Over the past decade, his government has restricted freedom of speech and assembly, targeted people considered threats to the Kremlin, and restricted access to many independent news outlets.

Most opposition politicians are in prison or exile, and the 71-year-old Russian leader faces only token contenders.

Hungary’s right-wing nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban lent his support to his long-time ally Donald Trump’s bid to return to White House after meeting the former U.S. president in Florida late on Friday.

The two discussed “a wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States, including the paramount importance of strong and secure borders to protect the sovereignty of each nation,” according to a statement from Trump’s campaign.

Orban has long been at odds with his fellow European Union members over a range of issues, including refusing to send weapons to Ukraine and keeping up economic ties with Moscow since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Orban has said only the return of Republican candidate Trump to the White House could bring peace in Ukraine.

“We need leaders in the world who are respected and can bring peace. He is one of them! Come back and bring us peace, Mr. President!,” Orban said in a post on X after the meeting.

Orban said in a video on his Facebook page that under Trump’s 2017-2021 presidency there was peace in the Middle East and also Ukraine.

He said there would not be a war in Ukraine right now if Trump had been re-elected in 2020.

Turkish and U.S. officials held comprehensive talks about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and various bilateral issues during meetings in Washington, Turkey’s foreign minister said late on Friday.

The NATO allies started the meetings, dubbed the Strategic Mechanism, on Thursday to discuss efforts to move beyond deep policy disagreements and improve cooperation in other areas.

Ties between the allies have been strained in recent years amid growing disagreements over a range of issues, although relations have since gained momentum following Ankara’s approval of Sweden’s bid to join NATO.

Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said officials from the countries held several rounds of discussions on topics including Syria, the Ukraine, Gaza, defence industry cooperation, energy, and counterterrorism.

“At the moment, especially given the point we have reached, with a renewed psychology, a more positive agenda, we have the opportunity to continue on our path by turning a new page,” he told Turkish media in Washington.

“While managing the problems we face now, it is important to also realise the joint potential the two nations can create and the opportunities they can bring,” he said.

Car traffic was temporarily suspended over the Crimea bridge on Saturday, Russian authorities said on the Telegram messaging app, a move often made because of expected or actual attacks.

The bridge connects mainland Russia to Crimea which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014 but which Kyiv still considers its territory.