Vladimir Putin visits Iran today for his first trip outside the former Soviet Union since the invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian president will meet Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as he seeks to bolster the few foreign alliances his regime still enjoys.
Mr Putin has described Western sanctions against Moscow as a declaration of economic war, and is focusing his attempts at international diplomacy on China, India, and Tehran.
His visit to the Iranian capital is his first trip beyond the old USSR since he travelled to China in February.
“The contact with Khamenei is very important,” said Yuri Ushakov, Mr Putin’s foreign policy adviser. “A trusting dialogue has developed between them on the most important issues on the bilateral and international agenda.
It comes after US accusations about Iranian drones being sent to Russia for use in the Ukraine war.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian rejected such accusations in a call with his Ukrainian counterpart on
Friday, but Iran’s army ground forces commander Kiumars Heydari told a student-led news agency Young Journalists Club (YJC) on Tuesday: “Currently, we are ready to export military equipment and weapons.”
Meanwhile, on the ground in Ukraine:
• Russian cruise missiles struck villages around Odesa early on Tuesday, wounding six people, Ukraine said
• At least two civilians were killed and 15 more wounded by Russian shelling in the last day, Ukraine’s presidential office said
• Donetsk’s governor said four Russian strikes hit the city of Kramatorsk, killing at least one person.
• The UK’s MoD said it believes Russia is facing “increasingly acute” problems in keeping up its troop strength
• Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev said Russia will prevail in Ukraine and will set terms for a future peace deal
‘The new reality has started’ – listen to Ukraine War Diaries
Also travelling on Tuesday is Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska, who is in Washington DC. She has rarely been seen since the war began, and has already met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Mr Blinken reiterated America’s commitment to supporting Ukraine, and commended her for her work with civilians dealing with trauma. Ms Zelenska is due to meet her US counterpart Jill Biden later today.
Her trip comes at a busy time for her husband, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is seeking new officials after sacking the head of Ukraine’s security service and prosecutor general over claims of treason.
Monday saw another 28 people dismissed from the security service in what Mr Zelenskyy described in his nightly address as a “personnel audit”.
Ukraine’s parliament approved Mr Zelenskyy’s decision to dismiss Ivan Bakanov as head of the security service.
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Russia’s rate of advance ‘likely to be very slow’
Meanwhile, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence update that Russia has struggled to sustain effective combat power since the start of its invasion of Ukraine.
The update adds that Moscow’s problem is “likely becoming increasingly acute”.
The Ministry of Defence also wrote: “As well as dealing with severe under-manning, Russian planners face a dilemma between deploying reserves to the Donbas or defending against Ukrainian counterattacks in the southwestern Kherson sector.”
The update also adds that while Russia may still make further territorial gains, their “operational tempo and rate of advance is likely to be very slow”.
Putin to hold talks over Ukraine grain blockade
The blockade of grain exports from Ukraine has been one of the most devastating knock-on impacts of the war, and today will also see talks aimed at getting them moving again.
While visiting Tehran, Mr Putin will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been seen as a potential mediator on some global issues caused by the invasion.
“Discussions with Putin will focus on grains, Syria and Ukraine,” a senior Turkish official told Associated Press.
“The talks will try to solve the issues on grain exports.”
Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and the UN are expected to sign a deal later this week aimed at resuming the shipping of grain from Ukraine across the Black Sea.
Russian independent TV channel back on the air
Elsewhere, an independent Russian TV channel is back on the air four months after being forced to close over its content relating to the war in Ukraine.
TV Rain is now broadcasting from the Latvian capital Riga via YouTube, likely to be the only way most people in Russia will be able to see it.
As they do so, the European Commission is preparing for all outcomes regarding gas flows to Europe through Russia’s Nord Stream 1 pipeline, including the possibility that deliveries do not restart on Thursday when work on the pipeline is due to be completed, a spokesperson said.
According to The Wall Street Journal, European Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn said: “We’re working on the assumption that it doesn’t return to operation,” referring to Nord Stream 1.
Meanwhile, the Commission has proposed earmarking €500m to buy defence equipment in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the military aid EU nations have offered to Kyiv.