Russia has confirmed that Donald Trump sent the Kremlin sample Covid-19 tests in the early days of the pandemic, after revelations in veteran journalist Bob Woodward’s new book raised further questions about the former US president’s relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump had sent COVID tests to Russia but it denied reports that Trump had spoken at all to President Vladimir Putin since leaving office.

The Kremlin confirmed on Wednesday reporting that former President Donald Trump sent Covid-19 testing kits to his then Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the height of the pandemic. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the kits were indeed sent,

Russian President Vladimir Putin was set to meet his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian for the first time on Friday, as relations between the two sanctioned nations warm and the Middle East braces for Israel’s response to Tehran’s largest-ever missile attack last week.

Russia's Vladimir Putin held talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday in Turkmenistan, where the two leaders hailed their countries growing economic ties and similar views on world affairs,

Russia will host two dozen world leaders later this month at the BRICS summit as Putin seeks to break through diplomatic isolation.

Russia is unlikely to run out of steam soon, but it'll have to recalibrate tactics and lower the intensity of attacks, said analyst Michael Kofman.