German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his conversation with Vladimir Putin on Friday had given no indication of a shift in the Russian President's thinking on the war in Ukraine but defended his much-criticised decision to phone the Kremlin.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave support to the decision by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to speak directly with Vladimir Putin on Friday, saying that ending the war will require some engagement with Russia’s president.

Vladimir Shklyarov, who danced with Russia's prestigious Mariinsky Ballet Theatre, died Friday after reportedly falling from a fifth-floor balcony. He was 39.

Russian ballet star Vladimir Shklyarov died on Saturday after falling from the fifth floor of a building. The preliminary cause of death was labeled as an accident, with Russian authorities launching an investigation into the sudden death,