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Conflict in Syria

Russian sappers to test new demining equipment in Syria’s Palmyra

More than 150 Russian sappers have arrived in Syria to take part in a mine clearance effort in Palmyra

© Russian Defense Ministry/TASS

MOSCOW, March 16. /TASS/. Russian sappers will carry out demining activities in Syria’s Palmyra using cutting-edge equipment and protective gear, Ruslan Alakhverdiyev, Deputy Chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ Engineering Troops, told the Rossiya 24 TV channel.

Read also

First group of Russian sappers arrive in recaptured Palmyra

"As part of this work, we plan to use both in-service equipment and the equipment under development, which will help us facilitate the execution of the task and ensure safety of manpower. These are new protective suits, new search tools, robotic devices and exosuits," he said.

More than 150 Russian sappers have arrived in Syria to take part in a mine clearance effort in Palmyra, the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday. Some 17 pieces of special equipment have been sent to Palmyra, the ministry said. In addition to the sappers, the group also includes canine teams.

The city was liberated from the Islamic State terrorist group (outlawed in Russia) on March 2, and on March 10 Russia’s General Staff reported that the first detachment of nearly 200 Russian sappers arrived in Palmyra.

Read also

Ancient Palmyra after liberation from terrorists

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Syrian conflict

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Russian air defense deflects attacks with Western missiles — Putin

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The Russian Armed Forces have completed the destruction of a Ukrainian battlegroup blocked in the area of the Olgovskaya wood

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Vladimir Zelensky also talked about the Crimean Peninsula, stating that Kiev is ready to "bring Crimea back diplomatically"

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The Belarusian leader noted that they want to go to Warsaw

Russian State Duma passes law on federal budget for 2025-2027

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Department of Defense Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh also claimed that Washington, while helping Ukraine, is not attempting to turn the conflict into a large-scale regional confrontation that spills beyond the country’s borders

ATACMS missiles unlikely to keep Kiev from losing conflict — American expert

Daniel Davis also noted that "continuing to ignore reality" would only increase "the ultimate cost of losing" the conflict for Ukraine

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Press review: Russian air defenses can down Western missiles as EU conducts live exercise

Top stories from the Russian press on Tuesday, November 19th

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Bank of Russia’s officials hit by US sanctions

The head of the financial monitoring and currency control service of the Russian Central Bank was also added to black lists

Press review: Uranium costs soar as Moscow updates nuclear doctrine and US OKs attacks

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Ukrainian conflict acquires global elements after strikes with Western missiles — Putin

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Boris Ruge argued that NATO now has hundreds of thousands of troops that could be deployed to the alliance's eastern flank or elsewhere within ten days

US decision on missile strikes aimed at provoking Russia, expert says

According to Andrey Sushentsov, Biden is under pressure from Washington’s allies and "the hawks" in his government who believe that the US is not providing enough support to Kiev

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Russian envoy to international organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov pointed out that from September 23 to November 12, the Russian servicemen suppressed 556 drones near the plant and Energodar

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Captives, Ukrainian losses: situation in Kursk Region

Over the day, the enemy lost more than 150 people, while five Ukrainian servicemen surrendered

Canada neglects its sovereignty by approving transfer of land mines to Kiev — diplomat

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Biden's decision on missile strikes on Russia is his 'last gasp' — Japanese lawmaker

Earlier, Muneo Suzuki emphasized on his blog that the decision that this decision by Biden on the tail-end of his presidency looked like "a last gasp"

US is now at war with Russia, Ritter says

According to former US intelligence officer Scott Ritter, the United States "is a direct party to the invasion and occupation of Russian soil," because it helped Kiev plan its incursion into the Kursk Region

Soyuz rocket carrying Progress MS-29 cargo spaceship blasts off from Baikonur spaceport

Progress MS-29 will deliver 2,487 metric tons of cargo to the orbital outpost, including fuel, drinking water, compressed nitrogen, various equipment, food and clothing

US makes mistake by destroying INF Treaty — Putin

The Russian leader stressed that the United States made a mistake by unilaterally destroying the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019 under a far-fetched pretext

Weapons supplied to Ukraine cannot reach Russian territory, Spanish defense minister says

The New York Times reported on November 17 that US President Joe Biden had authorized the use of US-supplied ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles for strikes inside Russia

US provides temporary carveout for Sakhalin-2 related transactions with Gazprombank

The United States introduced sanctions against Gazprombank earlier today

Press review: US lets Kiev use anti-personnel mines and Iran may halt uranium enrichment

Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, November 21st

Enemy has no countermeasures for Russia’s Oreshnik missile — Putin

Speaking in a televised address, the head of state assured that Russia will issue notifications before using this type of missile

Trump to continue using Ukraine to contain Russia — Valdai program director

"The US continues to benefit from the Ukrainian crisis, regardless of which administration is in power," Andrey Sushentsov said

Russia to address NATO’s engagement in strikes deep inside country — SVR

Sergey Naryshkin observed that the military and political elites in the West are increasingly recognizing the gravity of Russia's intentions and the need for greater caution in their actions

Russian ambassador says UK prime minister doesn’t understand situation in Ukraine

Turning to the Labour Party’s domestic policies, Andrey Kelin said Starmer’s plans to spur the economy were "not met with applause by the population

No Western sanctions to limit Russia’s foreign trade — minister

All restrictions that Western countries impose affect themselves in the first place, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov added

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

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Zelensky to have no input if Russia, US negotiate, ex-Prime Minister says

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Trump may soon start talks with Russia following Biden’s decision on ATACMS — news agency

According to Andreas Kluth, the decision on ATACMS may have been another attempt by the current Washington administration to provide Ukraine with support until the president-elect comes to power

Preliminary data shows anti-ship missile downed over Sevastopol waters — official

Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said that all emergencies services currently work in the high alert mode

Media from unfriendly states will be admitted to Putin's annual press conference — Kremlin

The last Direct Line Q&A session and year-end press conference was held on December 14, 2023

Russia to use revenues from frozen assets of Western investors — Finance Minister

Tit-for-tat measures will be implemented after receiving information about unfriendly actions of Western countries, Anton Siluanov noted

Russia’s reaction to Austrian OMV’s failure to pay for gas justified — MFA

The company stated it would seek damages amounting to 230 million euro for failing to receive the contracted volume of gas from the Russian company for delivery to Germany

Ukraine was warned about possible missile strike — Pentagon

Department of Defense Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh gave no answer to the question of how could Ukraine prepare for this kind of attack

FACTBOX: What is known about UAV attacks on Russian regions

During the night, air defenses intercepted and destroyed two Ukrainian UAVs in the skies over the Rostov and Volgograd regions

Kremlin condemns report on Storm Shadow missile use against Russian targets as escalation

Dmitry Peskov chose not to respond to a question about whether Russia has proof that UK-made Storm Shadow missiles had been used against it

Final test launch of Russia's new RS-26 Rubezh ballistic missile successful — designer

The RS-26 Rubezh missile based on the previous RS24 Yars is expected to be put on combat dutiy in 2015.

Romanian presidential candidate vows to end military aid to Ukraine

It is pointed out that Simion’s popularity has propelled him to number two in the polls after Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu

US missile defense base in Poland long among Russian army’s targets — Foreign Ministry

Maria Zakharova stated that the US-NATO construction project, ongoing for nearly a decade with complete disregard to Russian security concerns, has consistently been a focus of Russia's attention

IN BRIEF: What Putin said about Russia’s new missile, and Moscow’s response to the West

Moscow used its new Oreshnik medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile in response to the West’s decision to authorize strategic-depth strikes on Russia