Ukraine’s backers are keeping the former comedian in place to act as a future scapegoat, the Russian leader has said Ukraine’s Western backers will remove Vladimir Zelensky from power when he has pushed through all necessary “unpopular decisions” and outlived his usefulness, which could be next year, Russian President Vladimir Putin has predicted.

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Japan has imposed sanctions on companies based in China and several other countries over their alleged support for Russia in the Ukraine conflict. The measures come as part of a broader package of restrictions aimed at entities and individuals in Russia and Belarus that are deemed to be “directly involved” in the situation surrounding Ukraine.