Tag Archives: Russia

Sixteen people were killed in an explosion and fire at a gunpowder and chemicals plant in Russia’s western Ryazan province on Friday, Russian state TV said, and one man was taken to hospital with serious burns. The disaster wiped out practically the entire shift of 17 workers who were on-site …

Russia scrambled two Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets to escort a pair of US B-1B strategic bombers over the Black Sea, Russia’s defense ministry said on Wednesday, an incident that coincided with a visit to the region by the US secretary of defense. The supersonic US Cold war-era planes were originally …

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that the alliance would still need to talk to Russia after Moscow suspended its diplomatic mission to the alliance over an espionage dispute. That means relying on a hotline between Russia’s chief of general staff, Valery Gerasimov, and Tod Wolters, NATO’s Supreme Allied …

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the G20 summit in Rome in person this month due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, but will take part in it via video link, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. The Kremlin said Putin informed Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi about his plans …

A group of 10 military vessels from China and Russia sailed through a narrow strait separating Japan’s main island and its northern island of Hokkaido on Monday, the Japanese defense ministry said on Tuesday. It was the first time Japan, which closely monitors military exercises in its region, has confirmed …

Russia said on Monday it would halt the activities of its diplomatic mission to NATO after the Western military alliance expelled eight Russians saying they were spies. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said staff at NATO’s military mission in Moscow would be stripped of their accreditation from Nov. 1, and …

A Russia-led post-Soviet security bloc started its largest military drills near the Tajik-Afghan border in years on Monday amid cross-border tensions ahead of talks between Afghanistan’s new Taliban leaders and major regional powers. Unlike Afghanistan’s other northern neighbors who have de facto acknowledged the Taliban leadership and started building working …

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said Turkey was in talks with the United States to buy F-16 fighters after it was kicked off the F-35 program for purchasing a Russian missile defense system. Washington excluded Ankara from NATO’s F-35 stealth fighter jet program in 2019 after Turkey purchased Russian …

China has tested a new space capability with a hypersonic missile, the Financial Times reported on Saturday. The report, citing multiple sources familiar with the test, said Beijing in August launched a nuclear-capable missile that circled the Earth at low orbit before descending toward its target, which three sources said …

The US Treasury Department has reported more than half a billion dollars was paid by victims of ransomware cyber-attacks in the first six months of 2021. The ransomware attackers use malicious software that encrypts a victim’s files and holds the data hostage until a ransom is paid. The Treasury’s Financial …

Police say four Russian tourists were found dead at a beach resort in western Albania. Albanian police issued a statement Saturday saying the four were found asphyxiated in a hotel sauna in the village of Qerret late Friday. Police did not give more details about the circumstances of the deaths, …

Russia’s daily death toll from COVID-19 has exceeded 1,000 for the first time as the country faces a sustained wave of rising infections. The national coronavirus task force on Saturday reported 1,002 deaths in the previous day, up from 999 on Friday, along with 33,208 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, more …

Russia says its naval forces have chased away a US Navy destroyer that attempted to cross the Russian sea border in the Sea of Japan. The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the US destroyer USS Chafee sailed close to the Russian waters in the Peter the Great Gulf on …

Russian President Vladimir Putin says hundreds of Daesh terrorists are amassing in northern Afghanistan and plan to infiltrate into ex-Soviet Central Asian countries. “According to our intelligence, the number of (Daesh) members alone in northern Afghanistan is about 2,000 people,” Putin said during a video conference meeting with leaders of …

Russia’s Defense Ministry said a Russian warship on Friday prevented a US Navy destroyer from what it described as an attempt to intrude into Russia’s territorial waters in the Sea of Japan. The incident came as Russia and China conducted joint naval drills in the area, and follows other dangerously …

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said hundreds of fighters loyal to ISIS were massing in northern Afghanistan with plans to move between ex-Soviet Central Asian countries disguised as refugees. “According to our intelligence, the number of (ISIS) members alone in northern Afghanistan is about 2,000 people,” the Russian leader …

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says all of Russia’s Central Asian allies and neighbors are opposed to the deployment of US or NATO troops on their soil against the backdrop of the Taliban takeover of neighboring Afghanistan. Lavrov at a press briefing in Moscow on Thursday said that former Soviet states, including Uzbekistan, stand …

Russia and China have commenced four-day joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan with the participation of several warships and at least a dozen military aircraft, the Russian military says. In a statement on Thursday, Russia’s Pacific Fleet said that “The Joint Sea 2021 Russian-Chinese naval drills are running …

Russian President Vladimir Putin says the United States triggered an arms race after its unilateral withdrawal from the landmark Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty almost two decades ago. Speaking at a forum in Russia’s capital, Moscow, the president said the weapon race between the Cold War foes “is on the move.” …

Russian President Vladimir Putin asserts that the United States’ invasion of Afghanistan led to tragedy as it took place in defiance of the Afghan people’s culture and history. “Freedom and democracy, they cannot be disconnected from the culture and traditions of a certain people,” the Russian head of state told …