Corey Flintoff

French President Francois Hollande and Russian President Vladimir Putin met Thursday to coordinate their country's military strategies in Syria. NPR's Corey Flintoff recaps the talks.

French President Francois Hollande meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday. The visit is part of Hollande's efforts to create a more effective global coalition to fight ISIS.

President Vladimir Putin has responded angrily to the downing of a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian-Turkish border Tuesday. Turkey said its aircraft shot down the Russian fighter after it violated Turkish airspace — a claim Moscow denies.

Russia has been provisionally suspended by international track and field's governing body. The decision could keep Russian athletes out of next year's Olympic Games in Brazil.

Russia is facing a demographic crisis. Some women are having more babies, but there are fewer mothers overall. The country may face worse economic problems and challenges staffing its armed forces.

Images show Pyotr Pavlensky standing before the doors to the Lubyanka, the Soviet-era prison and former KGB headquarters that now houses the main office of the FSB security service.

Russia promises a "credible" investigation into Saturday's plane crash over the Sinai peninsula that killed all 224 people on board. Investigators are looking into what could cause the Airbus A321 to disintegrate in flight.

Russians are observing a day of mourning for the more than 200 people who died in a plane crash in Egypt. Officials have begun an investigation into the crash and the airline that owned the plane.

Russia says its commitment there is limited, but some analysts are skeptical and warn Russia may find it increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain its Syrian operation.

Ever since Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine in July 2014, Russia has offered a number of explanations — all of which attempt to shift blame away from Russia and its Ukrainian separatist allies.