Russia

On his arrival, Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram: "Japan. G7. Important meetings with partners and friends of Ukraine. Security and increased cooperation for our victory. Today, peace will be closer."

The family of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich received a handwritten letter from him on Friday — the first direct contact with them since his arrest in the end of March.

The trip was Putin's first-ever visit to the Donbas region, which Russia illegally annexed last year. It followed the International Criminal Court's decision to issue a warrant for him on war crimes.

The ICC has issued warrants for the Russian president and his children's rights commissioner for alleged war crimes involving accusations that Russia has forcibly taken Ukrainian children.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia was not the aggressor in the Ukraine war, but that his country was simply trying to defend itself, to which the crowd laughed and groaned.

The embassy in Moscow warned of the "unpredictable consequences" of the war in Ukraine, and said dual U.S.-Russian citizens in particular risked being forcibly conscripted into Russia's armed forces.

Griner was traded for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. The swap did not include former Marine Paul Whelan who remains imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges the U.S. says are false.

The winners of this year's Nobel Peace Prize are recognized, the Nobel Committee said, for years of protecting the fundamental rights of citizens in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to formally annex four territories from Ukraine on Friday, following staged referendums that were condemned by the West.

At least one local grocery says it's running low on certain staples and treats from Ukraine.