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Russia says contract with US on astronauts’ delivery to space station to expire in 2019

Three more launches are planned to be carried out before the end of this year

© Yuri Smityuk/TASS

KOROLYOV /Moscow Region/, August 31. /TASS/. Russia’s contractual obligations for delivering US astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) will expire in April 2019, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov told reporters on Friday.

"The landing of a Soyuz MS spacecraft in April will complete the fulfillment of our obligations under a contract with NASA related to the delivery of US astronauts to the ISS and their return from the station," the vice-premier said at a meeting held at the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation on the problems of piloted cosmonautics in the process of fulfilling long-term space exploration programs.

Three more launches are planned to be carried out before the end of this year, Borisov said.

"In 2022, in accordance with the [Russian] president’s instructions, the flights tests of a manned new-generation space ship aboard a Soyuz-5 medium carrier rocket are planned to be held in an automatic mode from the Baikonur cosmodrome and in 2024 these tests are expected to be conducted in a piloted mode," the deputy prime minister said.

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Swedish minister in charge of gender equality suffers from bananaphobia

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Israel targeted component of Tehran's nuclear program when striking Iran — PM

However, Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged that the strike did not halt Iran's nuclear program entirely

Georgian president calls for new parliamentary elections

Salome Zourabichvili has also called on citizens to continue protesting the results of the October 26 parliamentary elections

Moscow’s response to strikes with Western arms on Russian soil to be felt — diplomat

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Houthis say they attacked Tel Aviv, Ashkelon

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Decision to allow use of long-range weapons against Russia is ‘insane’ — Maduro

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Israel holds Iraq responsible for actions of pro-Iranian militias — Foreign Minister

Gideon Sa’ar said that he has sent a letter to the President of the UN Security Council

US is now at war with Russia, Ritter says

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Trump team fears negative impact of allegations against Hegseth — media

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Musk doubles down on his opinion about 'endless war' in Ukraine

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Russia to be excluded from international forum on nuclear reactors — UK Energy Ministry

The report highlights that UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and US Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk signed an agreement on cooperation in nuclear research and development on the sidelines of the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Baku

Trump may review Biden’s decision on strikes inside Russia with US missiles

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Russian stock indices in the red on Monday — market data

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China’s new microwave weapon can scorch low-orbit satellites — expert

Engineers from China have surmounted obstacles and built a system consisting of seven emitting devices and their experimental firings have confirmed that it can effectively suppress signals of the US GPS and other satellites," Alexander Stepanov said

Kremlin says decision to launch ATACMS missiles deep into Russia 'escalation of tensions'

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Moscow court fines Google $76,002 for refusal to delete banned information

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Trump to rely on forces that brought him to power — Russian presidential aide

Nikolay Patrushev agreed that Trump, when he was still a candidate, "made many statements critical of the destructive foreign and domestic policies pursued by the current administration"

Biden authorizes strikes against Russia to hinder peace in Ukraine, expert says

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Case against Georgian mercenary, prisoners, Ukrainian losses: situation in Kursk Region

Twenty-four Ukrainian servicemen surrendered as prisoners of war over the past day

Secret prisons in Ukraine overseen by Western intelligence — former SBU officer

Alexander Mazur stressed that all the information is reported to the top officials

Death toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon exceeds 3,500 — health ministry

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Scholz defends his phone talks with Putin as right move

At the same time, Olaf Scholz stated that "nothing has changed" in the Russian leader's position, which he said was "unacceptable"

Russia inflicts damage on gas production facilities used for Ukraine’s defense industry

Energy facilities backing Ukrainian defense industry extensively attacked

Trump likely to revoke Biden's authorization to attack deep into Russia — magazine

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Abkhazia’s authorities, opposition take break in settlement talks

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Chinese diplomat urges to cool situation in Ukrainian conflict

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lin Jian pointed out that Beijing has always encouraged and supported all efforts aimed at the peaceful settlement of the crisis

US-led coalition aircraft violate Syrian airspace 14 times in past day

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German Defense Minister confirms plans to deliver 4,000 attack drones to Kiev — DPA

The deliveries are financed by the German government

West’s decision on missile strikes gives Russia free hand to attack NATO bases — expert

According to Dmitry Suslov, retaliatory measures may include the handover of more advanced weapons to the forces "that are directly fighting against the US, particularly, in the Middle East"

US decision to allow strikes inside Russia could trigger global war — Serbian deputy PM

Aleksandar Vulin stressed that such an action leads to "devastating consequences for the global community"

Fico’s adviser says special military operation underway between US, Russia

Military and financial support provided to Ukraine is not a way of solving the crisis, Mazgut said

Biden sets stage for WW3 by letting use US weapons to attack deep into Russia — senator

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Trump may pressure Ukraine to end war with Russia, Turkish expert suggests

According to Ilter Turan, Ukraine lacks the capacity to sustain its confrontation with Russia for an extended period without support from the US and Europe

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Russia’s Battlegroup Dnepr inflicted roughly 70 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed a US-made counterbattery radar station in its area of responsibility over the past day

Pentagon chief believes Ukraine conflict will be resolved through talks

Pentagon chief said that following a meeting with his Australian and Japanese counterparts

Japan may toughen sanctions against Russia, North Korea over their cooperation — NHK

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UN’s Guterres calls to avoid escalation amid reports of US greenlighting strikes at Russia

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Biden authorizes use of US long-range weapons to strike inside Russia — media

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US military industrial complex seeks to unleash World War III — Donald Trump Jr.

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Rising stakes and escalation: Reaction to US decision on strikes inside Russia

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Long-range US missiles in Ukraine to be legitimate target for Russian troops — senator

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Bank of Russia lowers dollar rate to 99.94 rubles for November 19

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Russian, Egyptian diplomats discuss continuing confrontation in Palestine, Lebanon

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German envoy doubts time is ripe for talks on Ukraine ceasefire

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Putin congratulates Gazprom on completion of work on Nord Stream 2

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Putin made Russia’s position on long-range missile strikes perfectly clear — Kremlin

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Ukrainian army attempts to redeploy reserves to DPR — republic’s head

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Strikes on Ukrainian military sites to prevent launch of missiles — Russian lawmaker

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Biden administration tries to prevent Trump from ending war in Ukraine — expert

Wang Wen called the next few months a "high-risk period" in the conflict