Russian President Vladimir Putin has no doubt he will secure another term in Russia's election. The vote that leaves him in suspense, and could do more to change his policies, will occur eight months later in the United States.
Putin has publicly said he prefers U.S. President Joe Biden to his predecessor and aspiring successor Donald Trump, a remark widely interpreted to mean exactly the opposite, as the former KGB man hopes his notoriety will boost the Republican mogul.
Trump has voiced admiration for Putin, raged against NATO, the alliance founded to defend against Moscow, and boasted that he, within one day, would end the war in Ukraine.