Russia's sweeping bans on imports of European, US and Australian food may prove a diplomatically embarrassing bonanza for New Zealand's cheese exporters.

Nato officials say Russia has massed 20,000 troops in battle-readiness near the border, backed by Spetsnaz commandos, tanks and aircraft.

Vladimir Putin has ordered bans on food imports from countries that have issued sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine.

The internet credentials of some New Zealanders will almost certainly have fallen into the hands of a Russian cyber gang, an online security expert fears.

On the morning of July 15, Moscow was as hot as an oven.

Reports that land mines have been laid near the MH17 crash site in Ukraine are "utterly despicable", Australia's Foreign Minister says.

Russia's economy faces a financial stranglehold and President Vladimir Putin's inner circle will be hit with asset freezes and travel bans.

The former The X-Files star features in a new promo for Siberian Crown, in which the New York native muses about how different his life would be if he had been born in Russia.

A Russian multi-millionaire was granted a private audience with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during the royal tour after pledging $1 million to the national velodrome.

An orbital sex mission by five Russian geckos has gone from lust in space to lost in space.

While the 1962 Cuban missile crisis is widely regarded as the nearest the world has come to nuclear war, historians and military analysts believe we were even closer to the brink in late 1983.

The United States says it has evidence that Russia is planning to deliver "heavier and more powerful" rocket launchers to pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Disbelief at the killing of 298 civilians as they travelled peacefully through the skies above Ukraine is prompting many people to react with anger.

Four days after Malaysia Airlines' Flight 17 was shot down, the families of the 298 people on board can only wonder what is happening to the remains of their loved ones.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has started the sensitive task of contacting the families of the 37 Australian citizens and residents killed in the MH17 disaster.

John Key says he is "deeply concerned" by the lack of access to the MH17 crash site and has called on Vladimir Putin to show leadership on the issue.

In the case of MH17, the political instability between Ukraine and Russia could hamper operations.

The downing of the Malaysia Airlines passenger plane has exposed the chaos in Ukraine as a real war.

Evidence is mounting that pro-Russian separatists were responsible for shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.

Russia may be forced to take direct or indirect responsibility for loss of all aboard the Malaysian flight

Tensions are ramping up between two global super powers after a Malaysia Airlines passenger flight was shot down over Ukraine.

Gold futures posted the biggest gain in four weeks after Ukraine said rebels shot down a Malaysian jet carrying 295 people near its border with Russia. Palladium extended a rally to a 13-year high.

The Kremlin said Mr Putin had informed President Obama of the disaster after learning of it just before a scheduled phone call between the two.

World Cup tourists have given a big thumbs up to the just-ended event in Brazil, according to a new study.

To Russia, with love. But the renewal of the people's vows with the World Cup will be severely tested by its money-driven forays into the uncharted territories of Russia (2018) and Qatar (2022). Was Brazil the last great folk festival?

Iraq has bought used fighter jets from Russia and Belarus to battle Islamist militants after delays by the US to deliver planes.

The last home to Russia's doomed royal family, and the haunt of 'mad mystic' Rasputin, the Alexander Palace has been trashed over the past century. Now an Aucklander is part of an international group helping to restore it as a world-heritage museum.