Meanwhile, in Russia, Vladimir Putin's popularity is soaring

International condemnation over Russia's annexation of Crimea, the country's alleged role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the downing of flight MH17, and now a "full embargo" on western food imports.

But Vladimir Putin could almost not be more popular.

A new poll puts his approval rating at 87 per cent, just one point below a historic high he enjoyed in August 2008 during the brief conflict with Georgia.

Russia's Levada interviewed 1,600 adults across 134 cities, with 66 per cent saying the country was going in the right direction; just 19 per cent said it was on the wrong path.

Putin's current approval rating is higher than any comparative score with his US counterparts bar two - George W Bush after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and his father George HW Bush during the Gulf War.

In comparison, Barack Obama's approval rating peaked at 69 per cent in the weeks after his first inauguration, while it currently stands at 42 per cent.

More: No, Vladimir Putin was not the victim of a one-bird dirty protest

(Pictures: Getty)