Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi before their meeting in New Delhi Jan. 21. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday met with his new Indian counterpart, Manohar Parrikar, in New Delhi, marking an end to a year of silence on the two countries' myriad cooperative military ventures. Shoigu's visit marks an expansion of Russia's position as India's largest arms supplier at a time when the U.S.

Boards showing currency exchange rates are seen in Moscow. The Russian ruble fell on Wednesday, ignoring a firmer oil price, as markets reacted to a surge in fighting in eastern Ukraine and speculation that Russia may soon cut interest rates. At 11:15 a.m. in Moscow the ruble was down 1 percent against the dollar to trade at 65.86 and 1.1 percent weaker versus the euro at 76.17.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (C) looks at a human-like combat robot during a visit to the Central Research Institute for Precision Machine ("Tochmash") in Klimovsk, outside Moscow, Jan. 20, 2015. With Russia's military modernization plans set to boost defense spending to a record 3.3 trillion rubles ($50 billion) this year, President Vladimir Putin got the chance to meet the army's newest recruit — a humanoid battle robot.

Road signs are pictured in front of an arch with a portrait of Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the entrance to the town of Argun, outside Grozny. Russia's parliament has given preliminary approval to a bill that would prohibit the activities of "undesirable" foreign companies and organizations in Russia, should they be deemed to present a threat to the state.

Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has launched a wave of checks on food prices at major supermarkets across the country, as racing inflation stokes fears that the government will impose price controls. A four-day sweep that began on Tuesday has already discovered price rises of 10 to 150 percent on basic foodstuffs, including meat, fish, milk and potatoes, the agency's spokeswoman Marina Gridneva told journalists on Wednesday, news agency TASS reported.

Kiev's forces confronted Russian regular troops at an army checkpoint just west of Luhansk. KIEV — Russia is boosting its troop presence in eastern Ukraine and attacks from separatist rebels have intensified as they seek to gain more territory from government forces, the Ukrainian military said Wednesday.

The two Russian Duma deputies made headlines last week after they reportedly went missing in the Antarctic. Two State Duma deputies who missed the parliament's opening session Tuesday have planted a Russian flag at the top of Mount Vinson, the highest peak in the Antarctic, one of them said Wednesday. Oleg Savchenko and Alexander Sidyakin's trip to the Antarctic made the headlines last week when they were feared missing after connection with them was lost.

Russian ministers presented President Vladimir Putin with a 1.375 trillion ruble ($21 billion) anti-crisis plan on Wednesday, including 250 billion rubles ($3.8 billion) from the National Wealth Fund to help recapitalize state banks. Russia's economy is sliding towards recession, hurt by a collapse in global oil prices, Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis and a failure to address the country's long-term dependence on commodities exports.

The two-month-old application, which goes under the name “AntiCollector,” also lets users identify collection agencies' phone numbers on their own. As a falling economy and rising inflation crank up the pressure on Russia's debtors, a new mobile phone application that lets users block collection agents' calls has enjoyed a burst of popularity.

A sheet of United States one dollar bills is seen on a light table during production at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington. Lending to Russia by overseas banks slumped by $11 billion between July and September last year and lending to Ukraine fell by $2.3 billion as political and economic tension in the region increased, lending data showed.

Valeryi Grishko played an Orthodox priest in "Leviathan" The spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church harshly criticized director Andrei Zvyagintsev's award-winning film "Leviathan" on Wednesday, suggesting it was meant "to please the West," though inadvertently admitting to having downloaded it illegally.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko speaks at the meeting of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos on Jan. 21. DAVOS, Switzerland — Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Wednesday that Russia had 9,000 troops on Ukrainian soil supporting separatist forces there and he called on Moscow to withdraw them.

U.S. President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 20, 2015. Russia hit back on Wednesday at U.S. President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech, saying it showed the United States believes it is "number one" and seeks world domination.

President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan attend a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Ankara. Although officials in Moscow have trumpeted the cancellation of the South Stream natural gas pipeline as a major blow to Europe, energy analysts say that Russia's alternatives are tenuous at best.

A Russian one ruble coin swimming in a jar of oil. DAVOS, Switzerland — Russia may see a natural decline in oil output by around 1 million barrels per day (bpd) at most but has no plans to cut production in coordination with OPEC, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said on Wednesday.