As a former Soviet republic Ukraine has deep social and cultural ties with Russia, and Russian is widely spoken there, but ever since Russia invaded in 2014 those relations have frayed.
"The Western sanctions on Russia are hard, but our country has the necessary potential to compensate the damage," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists Monday.
Russia and Iran are the main international backers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while Washington supports some of the rebel groups fighting to topple him.
Russia has responded to the attack on the Crimean bridge over the weekend, sending multiple missiles to five Ukranian cities including the capital Kyiv on Monday morning, October 10.
Russia is in the midst of equipping its new nuclear submarines with hypersonic Zircon missiles, according to the chief of Russia's largest shipbuilder.
Russia downgraded its diplomatic relations with Estonia in January 2023 and ordered the country's ambassador to leave Russia, accusing the Baltic country of "total Russophobia."
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russia had ignored formal requests to explain the build-up of troops on its borders with Russia, annexed Crimea and neighboring Belarus.
The war between Russia and Ukraine has had a significant impact on Nigerian crude oil inflows in the international oil market, leading to a dip in demand from the once-dependable Asian market at the onset of hostilities in the Eastern bloc,