Vladimir Putin has not been invited to President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in January, according to the Kremlin. Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, said on Thursday that an invitation to the ceremony in Washington D.

Vladimir Putin has not been invited to attend Donald Trump's inauguration next month, Moscow has said. The Kremlin said it had not received an invitation for the Russian president to attend the US president-elect's swearing-in ceremony on 20 January.

The Kremlin has officially denied reports of recent communications between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov labeled such claims as "completely untrue" and "pure fiction,

Military and political analysts said winning the war in Ukraine has become an all-encompassing goal for Mr. Putin. That outcome, they said, would justify to the Russian leader the conflict’s tremendous human and economic losses, safeguard Russia’s statehood and global stature and compensate for strategic failures elsewhere, such as in Syria.

Assad fled to Moscow as opposition forces advance towards Damascus. Sources say Russian intelligence agents organized the escape, flying Assad out of a base in Syria before the aircraft's transponder was turned off to avoid being tracked.