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Kiev denies another Donbas proposal on prisoner exchanges — LPR envoy

The LPR and DPR made their proposals on prisoner swaps clearly in accordance with the OSCE requirements but Ukraine turned them down, Vladislav Deinego says

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DPR will demand from Kiev to include militiamen into prisoner exchange plan — envoy

MINSK, January 20 /TASS/. The Ukrainian side has turned down yet another prisoner exchange proposal of the self-proclaimed Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics in eastern Ukraine, Vladislav Deinego, LPR’s representative in the Contact Group, told LuganskInformCentre after Wednesday’s meeting of the Contact Group for the Ukraine settlement.

"The LPR and DPR made their proposals on prisoner swaps clearly in accordance with the OSCE requirements but Ukraine turned them down," Deinego said.

"A group for humanitarian issues held a heated debate on how the sides should exchange the illegally held persons. The Contact Group for the Ukraine settlement also had a serious discussion," Deinego said.

He added that the OSCE had suggested its own approach to prisoner exchanges. "It does not suit us in everything but we consider it to be acceptable in principle," Deinego said.

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Ukraine crisis Eastern Ukraine

US asking UNSC members to reject resolution on Palestine, hoping to avoid veto — media

UNSC approval would mean neither "statehood nor self-determination" for the Palestinian people, the State Department argued

G7 seeks to accelerate supplying air defenses to Ukraine — sources

The Kiev regime has long insisted on Western partners supplying it with more effective air defenses

Israel planned to strike back at Iran on April 15, but decided to postpone, Axios reports

Israel told the US administration about the decision to wait, according to a US official

Protesters give Georgian government one hour to revoke foreign agents bill

Earlier on Wednesday, Georgia’s parliament passed the foreign agents bill in the first reading

Georgian protests against foreign agent bill reek of US influence — Medvedev

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Nikol Pashinyan said about it, replying to a question from a resident of the borderline village of Berkaber about the necessity to hold snap elections before delimiting the border with Azerbaijan

Iran tells US about April 13 attack on Israel, it does not want escalation — top diplomat

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"

Number of people convicted of high treason in Russia last year revealed

In 2022, 16 individuals were convicted of high treason and one was convicted of spying

US deliberately fuels tensions in Asia — Russian envoy to Washington

According to Anatoly Antonov, the United States are creating new closed groups and military-political alliances in the Asia-Pacific region and this way "are trying to return the world to the worst times of the Cold War and brinkmanship on the brink of a nuclear conflict"

Lavrov states West’s growing concern about BRICS plans to develop own financial tools

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Sergey Ryabkov stressed that the attacks on the nuclear facility "must be stopped"

Putin points to high risk of new epidemic outbreaks

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Ovechkin may beat legendary Gretzky’s goal record starting next NHL season

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Nearly 18,000 houses flooded in Russia, operational services say

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Ukrainian drone attack damages four houses in Russia’s Voronezh

According to Governor Alexander Gusev, last night the air defenses on duty in the Voronezh Region detected and destroyed several air targets, including three weather probes

Israeli Air Force strikes Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon

The IDF also said that its soldiers were forced to open fire in the area in order to "remove an imminent threat"

Majority of France opposes confrontation with Russia — expert

Laurent Briard believes that French President Emmanuel Macron crossed a line when he announced he was considering sending French troops to Ukraine

Russian investigators start inquiry into financing of terrorism by US, NATO officials

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Russian Aerospace Forces destroy three militant hideouts in Syria’s Homs

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Both main US parties threatened Telegram, co-founder says

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Hezbollah fires rockets at Israeli barracks in Shebaa Heights

Anti-tank guided missiles hit an artillery battery in Al-Samak in the Kfarchouba hills

Russian PM signs off on plan for regions to accommodate evacuees from Palestine

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US not going to be in armed conflict with Russia — official

The President of the United States has made that very clear

Gasoline output in Russia up 12.1% week-on-week on April 1-7 to 845,900 tons — statistics

The statistics service does not provide the year-on-year dynamics of gasoline production

Roscosmos chief notes high quality of Vostochny space center’s construction

Yury Borisov said that the space facility’s launch pad bore practically no visible signs of the recent Angara-A5 carrier rocket’s launch

Press TV reports all of Iran's hypersonic missiles hit intended targets in Israel

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Shoigu tests commando vehicle, calls for additional machineguns

The Russian defense minister "personally tested the special transportation vehicle and its running qualities"

Crimea, Donbass to forever remain within Russia, Slovak PM tells national parliament

Robert Fico believes Moscow will win in its confrontation with Kiev

Iran withdraws officers out of Syria due to Israel’s potential strike — newspaper

The report said that the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement is also reducing the number of its officers in Syria

Russian software sales soaring over last four years — Minister

The number of employees in IT companies increased by 1.5 times over four years, Maksut Shadaev said

EU vows new sanctions against Iran, calls on Mideast conflict parties to show restraint

The European Union is also poised to impose new sanctions on Iran, related to drones and missiles

'Iron Dome' can't fully protect from UAV swarms — Chinese expert

According to Wei Dongxu, Tehran's firepower can cover most of the Middle East region, representing a fierce and precise long-range retaliatory means

DPR leader reports heaviest fighting near Avdeyevka, Chasov Yar

According to Denis Pushilin, it is too early to say when the city could be liberated

Russian artillery thwarts Ukrainian army’s rotation near Kupyansk — underground resistance

The Ukrainian army used the outbuilding as an ammunition depot, which accommodated about 15 fighters at the time of the air strike, spokesman Sergey Lebedev specified

Swiss parliament votes against joining task force on frozen Russian assets

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

Iran says it won’t prevent return of Russian sailor from seized ship — MFA

The Russian Embassy in Tehran keeps the issue under special control, Maria Zakharova said

Situation with air service between Russia and Dubai stabilizing — air transport agency

Domestic airlines completed about 30 flights between airports in Russia and Dubai

Over 40 nations want to join BRICS — Russian lawmaker

According to Grigory Karasin, many BRICS members share the opinion that the association should be in no hurry to adopt a strict charter, "seeing how counterproductively and even provocatively the European Union is acting"

Russia bans 235 Australian local government officials from entering country — MFA

"Taking into account the fact that Canberra does not intend to give up its anti-Russian course and continues to introduce new sanctions, work on updating the Russian stop list will continue," the ministry said

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Romania now hosts as many as 11 F-16 jets for training of Ukrainian pilots

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Israel plans to send 'painful message' to Iran in response to attack — newspaper

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Russian government approves list of unfriendly countries

There are two countries on the list

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Anatoly Antonov emphasized that such steps were another powerful blow to strategic stability

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In chemicals production, prices edged up by 26.8% for ethers, organic peroxides, epoxides, acetals and semiacetals and their derivatives

Ukrainian president admits Russian troops’ advancement

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Russia assumes that Security Council will soon return to Gaza ceasefire issue — diplomat

"Ramadan has passed, and the question of a long-term ceasefire is once again very acute," Vasily Nebenzya said

Russia restores gasoline production after decline — Energy Ministry

The increase in motor gasoline production in mid-April is associated with production recovery after a local drop due to unscheduled repairs at refineries

Iranian president warns of 'terrible response' to any action against country

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Top British diplomat refused to recognize Voronezh and Rostov as part of Russia — source

After Truss’ statements urging Moscow to move its forces, located on Russia’s soil, away from the border with Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov asked his British counterpart if she recognized Russia’s sovereignty over the Voronezh and Rostov Regions

Press review: Iran fires back at Israel and Russia, West spar over AI rulebook

Top stories from the Russian press on Monday, April 15th

India's new ambassador to Russia discusses high-level bilateral visits with Lavrov

"Ambassador Vinay Kumar paid a courtesy call on [Russian] Foreign Minister H.E. Mr. Sergey Lavrov," the embassy said on its X page

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Water level in Kurgan to hit historical maximum in few days

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Israel says its jets attacked Hezbollah air defense site in eastern Lebanon

I"DF soldiers recently carried out strikes to eliminate "an immediate threat" in the Qawqaba area in southern Lebanon," Israel Defense Forces said

Slovakia to oppose Ukraine’s NATO membership bid — PM

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US deploying missiles in Philippines to endanger global security — Russian envoy

Anatoly Antonov has urged the US "not to open Pandora's Box" and follow Russia’s suit "by taking all necessary steps to ensure global stability and predictability"

UN concerned about 'increasingly dangerous rhetoric' in Middle East, official says

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Humanitarian efforts in Gaza doomed without durable ceasefire — Russia’s UN envoy

Vasily Nebenzya is convinced that the work of the UNRWA is indispensable under these circumstances

Ukrainian president signs law tightening mobilization rules

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Former Ukrainian MP sees Zelensky turning into 'usurper' after his term expires

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Yerevan's refusal to delimit borders with Baku to escalate regional tensions — PM

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Funding needs to be restored to UNRWA before end of investigation — Russia’s UN envoy

"Investigation should be objective and based not only on data provided by Israel but also on Palestinian information", Vasily Nebenzya said

Ukraine turns from sovereign country into Western protectorate, Hungarian PM says

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

Industrial building damaged, civilian injured after drone crash in Russia’s Rostov Region

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Hamas grateful to Erdogan for his support — TV

The Turkish leader also announced talks with Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Turkey on April 20

Russia says its forces repel four Ukrainian counterattacks in Kupyansk area

The Ukrainian army losses were up to 70 servicemen, three motor vehicles, a D-30 howitzer, 2 Plastun-3000 electronic reconnaissance stations and a Nota electronic warfare station

Russian, Turkish senior diplomats discuss situation in Gaza

"The meeting focused on the situation in the region," said in the statement

Georgia’s parliament approves first reading of foreign agent bill

Protests against the bill have been held outside the parliament building since Monday

Nuclear field turns into dangerous tool of psychological war, Russian diplomat warns

"Basically, attempts to question the maximum security of nuclear facilities must be completely ruled out everywhere in the world," Sergey Ryabkov stressed

EU summit urges to provide air defense systems and all necessary military aid to Kiev

The document also says that the EU and its member states will step up humanitarian support and civil protection assistance to Ukraine

US assured Israel that Iranian drones will be intercepted — US journalist Hersh

He also said that the US military contacted Russia and the United Kingdom while evaluating the potential of the Iranian attack

Russia maintains constructive dialogue with both Iran, Israel — Kremlin

Dmitry Peskov mentioned a recent phone call between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian

Press review: US throws Russia New START curveball and Washington's aid balancing act

Top stories from the Russian press on Wednesday, April 17th

China to act over possible US measures for alleged support of Russian defense sector

"China always opposes the illegal unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States and will continue to take necessary measures to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises," Liu Pengyu said

Ukraine to lose at least 10 mln citizens over mobilization law — political scientist

According to Andrey Zolotarev, domestically, the population’s confidence level in President Vladimir Zelensky and state authorities will plummet

Russia, CIS partners to hold air defense exercise in 2024

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Erdogan accuses Israel of seeking to spread conflict throughout entire region

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G7 countries to prevent Iran from producing, purchasing weapons

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Russia to scrap moratorium on intermediate missiles if US deploys them anywhere — MFA

Sergey Ryabkov said the US seeks to maintain military superiority in a great variety of areas

Ukrainian military under constant gunfire by Russian troops near Urozhainoye, says POW

Yevgeny Pogrebnyak said that he was treated well by Russian troops in his captivity

Russia’s advanced radar in Kaliningrad to monitor entire territory of Europe — source

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

Peacekeepers fully accomplish mission in Karabakh, Russian senator says

According to a statement signed by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia on November 9, 2020, a Russian peacekeeping contingent was deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh