Russia reports record COVID-19 deaths for second consecutive day

Russia on Wednesday reported 669 coronavirus deaths over the past 24 hours, a record number of fatalities for the second day in a row, according to a government tally.

The country is grappling with a spike of infections spurred by the highly infectious Delta variant, and President Vladimir Putin was expected to address the surge in cases during a televised phone-in session with Russians set to begin later Wednesday.