Russian parliament passes bill tightening up punishment for calls for separatism

At the same time, the top Russian diplomat pointed out that "there is information that not only French mercenaries, but also instructors, maybe even together, but along with some other representatives of military and special services of European countries are working there [in Ukraine]"

Igor Kimakovsky said that Ukrainian forces suffered heavy casualties among personnel and military hardware, including Western equipment

The two other State Duma members mentioned in the verdict alongside Karpov are Viktor Kazakov and Georgy Karlov

Kazem Jalali noted that Iran had demonstrated its ability to ensure security and nudge the region toward a de-escalation

Wang Wen stated that it’s still very hard to achieve a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Evacuation campaigns are regularly organized by the Kiev government, under the pretext of security issues

The Lebanese Shiite organization "would not accept that the Israelis transgress the rules of engagement that are currently set in the south" of Lebanon

Fox News said the Jewish state delivered a limited strike on Iran

Russian forces improved their frontline positions and repelled a Ukrainian army counterattack in the Donetsk area where the enemy lost roughly 590 troops over the past day, the ministry reported

The sources said that Iranian forces managed to destroy several small drones near the city of Tabriz, about 800 kilometers from Isfahan

Viktor Orban noted that there should be a buffer zone between NATO and Russia and Ukraine could serve as one

Robert Fico believes Moscow will win in its confrontation with Kiev

The Russian foreign minister emphasized that the situation on the ground had changed significantly

Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, April 18th

Vladimir Zelensky asked his country’s supporters to provide "everything that helps to hold the frontline," including shells, military vehicles and drones

It is reported that the US has benefited from more favorable conditions in terms of energy prices, something that has been quite a serious factor for Europe, not a positive factor for Europe

Nikol Pashinyan pointed out that the demarcation process also involves risks, but they are manageable, after which "Armenia will become ten times stronger"

Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister said Kiev required US-made Patriot systems and Italian-French Samp-T theatre antimissile systems

The top Russian diplomat stressed that the Georgian bill on foreign agents suggested only the need to declare funds, if the organization in question received more than 20% of its funding from abroad

Arnulf Damerau said that he provided details of the meeting, along with evidence and a list of names of those involved, to US and European intelligence agencies

The Russian leader stressed that "it’s crucial to continue paying great attention to the prevention and treatment of diseases, particularly through the most advanced and cutting-edge methods"

Ahmad Haqtalab argued that Israel had been conducting "subversive and terrorist activities" against the Islamic republic's nuclear infrastructure for year

According to Andrey Pyatakov, the Argentinian authorities' decision is both a declarative step and evidence of the wish to close economic gaps by expanding military-technical cooperation

Sergey Shoigu handed down an instruction for the defense enterprise to ramp up the production of T-80BVM tanks, the Defense Ministry said

Vladimir Saldo called on other Ukrainian servicemen to switch to the Russian side and request the corresponding assistance

Tasnim refuted foreign media reports about an incident at a nuclear site in Isfahan

Vasily Nebenzya described the US veto as a "fruitless attempt to stop the inexorable course of history"

According to the media outlet, "the US administration will support the plan for a military operation in Rafah put forward earlier," which provides for dividing the city into numbered sectors that will be mopped up one by one

Russia’s top diplomat noted that Josep Borrell may made the statement in a moment of weakness

A total of 12 countries, including Russia and China, voted in favor of the document

Another source said MiG-31I differs from previous MiG-K option by "different engines, avionics and missiles"

"A failed attack with a few quadcopters that were shot down cannot be considered a real attack anywhere in the world," a spokesman for Iran’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace said

"I think that the decision has been taken by the member-states - all 27 have agreed that we use the windfall profits following our proposal," Ursula von der Leyen said

According to the newspaper’s assessments, Russia "has never been closer to its goals" in the special military operation zone

Earlier, it was reported that Ukraine had developed a UAV with a range of up to 3,000 kilometers

According to the minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in the event that Israel uses force against Tehran's interests, "the Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to use its right to give an immediate and decisive response that will make them regret"

The exact location of the damaged pipeline or the causes of the incident is not reported

The Security Service of Ukraine announced earlier that in a joint operation with law enforcement agencies in Ukraine and Poland it thwarted an attempt to assassinate Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky

israeli Permanent Representative Gilad Erdan was to address the council after Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour

According to the Al Hadath television, a military bus was ambushed by members of the Islamic State terrorist group

The agency said it and the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine informed their Polish counterparts about the alleged assassination attempt

According to Sergey Ryabkov, Russia and Argentina maintain a good dialogue at various levels

"One should clearly support the need to seek solutions that take into account the balance of security interests and ensure the indivisibility of security," the top Russian diplomat underlined

"Without noticing it themselves, they spoke the language of an ultimatum," Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova underlined

The Foreign Minister pointed to the fact that Switzerland is on board with all Western sanctions

According to Faustin-Archange Touadera, since becoming the president, his actions have been guided by the need "to modernize the army and take into account new challenges"

Infrastructure is required to implement the investment project, both power transmission lines and the railroad, Andrey Chibis noted

According to the official, the investigation established that Mikhail Maurov planned to travel to Ukraine to join the ranks of a right-wing Ukrainian organization called the Freedom of Russia Legion

Yury Popov said that aircraft of the so-called international anti-terrorism coalition, led by the United States, continue to set dangerous precedents in skies above Syria

Earlier, the media reported that one of the strikes hit Tha'lah Military Airbase, with several explosions going off there

On April 10, the vehicle was also spotted when the North Korean leader visited Kim Jong Il Military and Political Academy

Earlier it was reported that the German automobile concern Mercedes-Benz plans to sell its enterprise located in the Solnechnogorsk district of the Moscow region

Emmanuel Macron added that Europe’s resources are limited, and the European Union will continue helping Kiev keeping in mind its own reserves

According to Bloomberg, Israel informed the United States about its plans to strike Iran within the next 24-48 hours

More than 100 employees of the Russian Ministry of Emergencies are fencing the shores and filling the least reliable dam segments

According to Iranian media reports, three drones were downed by air defenses in the skies over the city of Isfahan

The plane crashed in a field in the Krasnogvardeysky district of southern Russia’s Stavropol Region

There is still no full clarity regarding the future of Ukraine's western regions, the Russian foreign minister went on to say

"We have not received any external attack, and the discussion leans more towards infiltration than attack," a senior Iranian official reported

"The West is not only taking state assets and private property, but also threatening to destroy the major civilian infrastructure facilities, which were built with investments and then miraculously blown up, and they have now threatened insurance," Maria Zakharova said

The first Konteiner radar went on combat duty in the Volga area region of Mordovia on December 1, 2019

The conference will take place from April 23 to 25 in St. Petersburg

The first negotiations between Russia and Ukraine after the start of the special military operation took place in early March 2022 in Belarus, but they did not bring tangible results

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian added that prior to the attack, Tehran said that it would not target US military infrastructure in the Middle East "except in a situation where the United States wants to take military measures in support of Israel"

"The UN history has precedents when states were not admitted on their first try. The number of attempts is not limited," Nadezhda Sokolova said

The top Russian diplomat also spoke about the detention in Germany of two people suspected of spying for Russia

Viktor Orban believes the first phase of the conflict, which included proposals on sending troops to Ukraine, is over

William Burns said "there is a very real risk that the Ukrainians could at least put Putin in a position where he could essentially dictate the terms of a political settlement"

Military commanders of Ukrainian army brigades "lack both personnel and the required amount of equipment" while Russian troops enjoy a considerable superiority, especially in artillery, Sergey Krivonos noted

Imam Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad International Airport suspended their operations until 10:30 a.m. local time

According to local sources, a radar station located at a military site along a highway connecting the towns of Qarfa and Izraa was disabled in the attack

Earlier, the media reported, citing a US official, that Israel had launched a missile strike on a site in Iranian territory

Dmitry Polyansky said "this shameful neocolonial tactics are fully exposed now in the context of Gaza War"

The final rehearsal of the military parade will take place on May 5

The minister also inspected the training process in Omsk Armor Engineering Institute

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, an Aerospace Forces’ Tu-22M3 bomber crashed after completing a combat mission while returning to the airfield

"The National Film Archive of Romania, for political reasons, broke the lease agreements for cinema halls with Russian embassy in Bucharest, which provided for the private screening of the Russian films "The Time of the First" and "The Challenge," Maria Zakharova said

According to the top Russian diplomat, the leaders who rule countries where they claim to be from while holding foreign passports "will not enjoy support and authority for long"

The law enforcement employees exert efforts to identify the instigators of this crime, Igor Krasnov said

Israeli sources also said that they did not understand why the Pentagon had leaked information about Israel's involvement in the attack to the media

The Russian Foreign Minister noted that "Ukrainian negotiators came and said that, for example, on the issue of maneuvers with the participation of third countries, let's replace the wording 'if all guarantor countries agree' with 'unless the majority agrees'"

"They would have been scared had anyone come down on them with similar ferocity," the Russian foreign minister added

Funding will be provided from the federal, regional and local budgets, as well as taxes from gambling transferred to the organizer

The group contains US finance and justice ministers, representatives of Australia, the UK, Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Japan, as well as the European Commission

Dmitry Peskov underscored that Moscow has already made its position clear on this matter

Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva welcomed Gustavo Petro’s initiative, "being committed to promotion of Colombia’s candidacy"

The changes were attributed to reconstruction works on the Russian side of the checkpoint Ivangorod

Donald Tusk said that German Chancellor’s call to send more air defense systems to Kiev had no relation to Poland, provided the country's geographical position near the frontline

Maria Zakharova also pointed to the fact that Ukraine's special services do not give up attempts to "massacre their former compatriots"

According to the top Russian diplomat, the unresolved Palestinian problem fuels the issues that the Middle East is facing

"In any case, whatever the modality of providing this aid, de facto it is about provoking Ukraine into further hostilities down to the last Ukrainian, putting guarantted money in the pockets of the US," Dmitry Peskov said

The first Russian-Ukrainian negotiations after the launch of Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine took place in Belarus in early March 2022 but the talks yielded no tangible results

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed the mobilization law passed by the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) in the second and final reading on April 11

The Russian embassy has called attempts to probe into the alleged involvement of Russian special services in the development of rumored plans for attacks on military facilities in Germany "absurd and ridiculous"

Maria Zakharova described France’s decision to place its aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, directly under NATO control as a symbolic move marking the end of "the era of an independent Paris in the international arena"

Sergey Ryabkov said that "very soon, Russia and Iran will have new additional opportunities to discuss the situation in the Middle East in general, as well as details of what is going on there at this point"

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, April 19th

According to the news agency, all reports about fires or explosions have nothing to do with reality

The top Russian diplomat pointed out that the anti-Russian rhetoric of Western politicians in power intensifies as the elections approach

A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces declined to comment on the reports of the strike