Corey Flintoff

NATO has a missile-defense base in Romania and broke ground for a second in Poland. Russia says it's another example of NATO moving threatening weapons near its border area of Kaliningrad.

Olympic officials are investigating allegations that Russia ran a state-sponsored doping operation at the 2014 Sochi games and are threatening to ban Russia from the Olympics in Rio.

U.S. prosecutors have opened an investigation into allegations that the Russian government ran a doping program that produced winners in several recent Olympic Games, The New York Times reports.

Under Russia's anti-extremism law, Jehovah's Witnesses, who number fewer than 200,000, could be barred from practicing their religion in Russia. Their website and some publications are already banned.

The former head of Russia's anti-doping laboratory told The New York Times he helped to conceal doping by top Russian competitors in the 2014 Olympics. Russian officials are denying the report.

New U.S. bases are located on Cold War relics — areas that once belonged to Warsaw Pact forces. The U.S. is trying to reassure the Russians that the defense systems are not a threat.

The holiday marking victory over Nazi Germany is a lavish affair, with parades, speeches and the latest military hardware on display. Russia's enthusiasm for its military has revived in recent years.

As investigations continue into the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine two years ago, the Kremlin has dismissed a new report that directly implicates the Russian military.

The U.N. mediator in the Syrian peace efforts is in Russia to discuss how to revive and strengthen the cessation of hostilities. The talks come amid an upsurge of violence in Syria.

Media companies in Russia aren't sure how far they can go without risking government reprisals. But even in such an uncertain climate, many independent news outlets have resisted censoring themselves.