{{dayPoint.date | date : 'd MMMM yyyy'}}

{{newsPoint.title}}

{{newsPoint.title+ ' '}}

{{newsPoint.subtitle}}

Updated at:

Serbia confident in Putin’s support on gas discount issue — Vulin

Moscow and Belgrade already have a short-term contract on the best terms, the chairman of the Supervisory Board of state gas company Srbijagas said

MOSCOW, June 1. /TASS/. Serbia is counting on the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding a discount on Russian gas, Serbia’s former deputy prime minister and now chairman of the Supervisory Board of state gas company Srbijagas Aleksandar Vulin said in an interview with TASS ahead of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"I am confident that it (the contract for Russian gas supplies to Serbia -- TASS) will be extended," Vulin noted. "And even if we have not concluded a new long-term contract, we do have a short-term one, but a contract on the best possible terms, with the best price and the best volume of gas. Therefore, President [Vladimir] Putin will not allow us to experience difficulties this winter. I am absolutely certain, absolutely sure, that we will continue to enjoy President Putin’s support in the future," he added.

He also stressed that the Russian leader has always firmly supported Belgrade.

Commenting on reports about an attempted act of sabotage on the Serbian section of the TurkStream gas pipeline, Vulin said that he was not involved in the investigation. "Everything I know about it, I know from the media, so I cannot comment on it," he added.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on April 5 that an act of sabotage on the Serbian section of TurkStream, which is of key importance for the country’s and the region’s energy supply, had been prevented. The aim of the attempted sabotage on the pipeline connecting Serbia and Hungary was to halt gas supplies to Bratislava and Budapest ahead of the Hungarian parliamentary elections on April 12.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum will take place on June 3-6. The forum’s main theme is "Pragmatic Dialogue: The Path to a Stable Future." The program is focused on shaping a new model of global development amid the transformation of the world economy.

The agenda includes the SME Forum, the Creative Industries Forum, the International Youth Forum "Day of the Future," and the Pharmaceutical Security Forum. The cultural program will feature the Petersburg Seasons festival, as well as the traditional SPIEF Sports Games.

The forum is organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is the forum’s general information partner.

Power consumption of datacenters to grow twofold over six years, Novak says

The stable operation of AI systems and the datacenters that support them requires significant high-performance computing power, meaning enormous energy costs, the Russian deputy prime minister said

Ukrainian army lost 70 heavy hexacopters — Battlegroup West Spokesman

Russian fighters also destroyed 55 drone control stations and 3 Starlink terminals

Putin orders uninterrupted access to key services even during internet restrictions

Such services include healthcare systems, the federal state information system "Unified Portal of State and Municipal Services", and payment systems

NATO seeks to change government in Serbia — former deputy PM

According to Aleksandar Vulin, NATO countries "would be very pleased and glad to see Serbia in ruins as a result of instability and shocks"

Conference in Moscow to discuss development of Russia-China relations across all fields

The forum is organized by the Russian International Affairs Council and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Ukrainian losses exceed 1,320 troops over past day

According to the Russian Defense Ministry data, the enemy lost more than 340 in the Center battlegroup’s area

IN BRIEF: What is known about France’s seizure of Tagor tanker in Atlantic Ocean

According to preliminary information, the captain of the Tagor tanker seized by the French Navy is a Russian citizen, the embassy in Paris said

Right-wing politician, president's supporter lead in Colombia's election — vote count

According to results based on 6.19% of the votes, far-right politician Abelardo de la Espriella received 43.29% of the vote

Kiev loses over 8,100 troops, mercenaries in special military op zone over week — expert

Andrey Marochko said that Russia’s Battlegroup Center inflicted the greatest damage on the Ukrainian armed forces

US fighter jet downed over Iran likely conducted strikes on ground targets — media

According to CBS News national security analyst Aaron MacLean, the pilots of the downed fighter had sidearms

US proposes new ceasefire initiative to Israel, Lebanon — Axios reporter

Barak Ravid says, citing a source, that the US proposed that as a first step Hezbollah stop all attacks on Israel

US-Israeli strike on humanitarian aid aircraft in western Iran reported

The Civil Aviation Organization of the Islamic Republic called on all international bodies to take appropriate measures in response to this incident

Russian army liberates 63 settlements during spring campaign of 2026

Russian forces liberated 21 settlements in the Kharkov Region in the period

Expert points to commencing second wave of transfers to Ukraine of arms bought from Russia

Alexander Stepanov believes that all countries to which Russia has supplied weapons are potentially in a position "where they will simply be pressured and forced to supply"

Putin: Russia stands for demilitarization of Ukraine

Russian President said he wished the Donbass problem could be settled through talks and the implementation of the Minsk agreements, but "regrettably, this is no longer relevant"

Power of fireball explosion over the US reaches 300 tons of TNT — NASA

An official at the authority says that the fireball broke up at a speed above 120,000 km per hour

EU aid to Ukraine frozen — Borrell

The ex-chief of EU diplomacy said the situation is similar with the approval of new sanctions against Russia

Ukraine’s military shells borderline Kursk Region over 110 times in last 24 hours

A non-operational post office building went on fire as a result of a Ukrainian drone attack on the village of Giryi in the Belovsky district,Alexander Khinshtein said

IN BRIEF: What to know of attacks on Novorossiya highway, Donbass Dome, protection

Head of the Zaporozhye Region Yevgeny Balitsky said that the authorities had set up detours to bypass the Novorossiya highway

IRGC strikes back at US military base

The military base carried out a nighttime strike on the Iranian island of Sirik, the IRGC said

Europe needs Russia to survive — RDIF CEO

The energy crisis is forcing the EU to be more realistic and start correcting past mistakes, Kirill Dmitriev said

Ukrainian drone breaks through wall tens of centimeters thick at Zaporozhye nuke

The attack site is located a few meters from the reactor

Right-wing politician, pro-president candidate advance to Colombia's runoff election

According to the results published by the National Civil Registry after 92.85% of the votes had been counted, businessman Abelardo de la Espriella received 43.63% of the vote, ruling party candidate Ivan Cepeda secured 41.17%

Russia requests lifetime ban for Ukrainian chess chief over calls to 'kill Russians'

According to the CFR’s statement, Alexander Kamyshin has in numerous interviews, public statements and messages posted on his social media accounts, called for continued military strikes on Russian cities

Putin, Pashinyan discuss Astana EAEU summit

The Russian president also conveyed birthday greetings to the Armenian prime minister

French seizure of Russian tanker vessel illegal move that borders on piracy — Kremlin

Dmitry Peskov called Paris's actions illegal

Ramstein Flag 2026 drill puts Finland at forefront of alliance forces in Arctic — expert

Alexander Stepanov emphasized that Finland is the most convenient northern foothold for NATO due to its long border

Wise policies open new stage in China-Russia relations — top Chinese diplomat

According to Wang Yi, as leading world powers and permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and Russia have always firmly adhered to the international system based on the United Nations

Iran to hit more targets if US attacks Kharg Island — ambassador

Tehran’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe Amir Hossein Hosseini also expressed hope that the conflict would be resolved diplomatically

Draft agreement with US provides for formalizing deal through UNSC — Iranian MFA

Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the sides are still at the stage of discussing basic principles

Lukashenko warns Armenians against repeating events in Ukraine

According to the Belarusian leader, as quoted by the BelTA news agency, many statements are currently being made in Armenia in connection with the parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7

Zelensky torpedoes Trump’s peace efforts while asking for more money — ex-spokesperson

According to Yulia Mendel, it’s typical of Zelensky to insult his "biggest donor," while asking for more financial assistance

Another batch of Russian oil arrives in Japan amid disrupted supplies from Middle East

The tanker Voyager, which delivered a batch of oil from Sakhalin to Japanese companies Taiyo Oil and Idemitsu Kosan in early May, has arrived at the Japanese company ENEOS’ terminal in the port of Kiire

US strikes Iranian radar, command posts — CENTCOM

According to CENTCOM, the strikes came in response to Iran’s downing of a US MQ-1 drone

Doctors Without Borders reports unprecedented rate of Ebola spread in DRC

Tthe organization called for an immediate expansion of testing capacity, an increase in international medical and humanitarian support, and unimpeded access to affected areas

France detains tanker sailing from Russia — Macron

The French president said the operation was carried out on the high seas in the Atlantic Ocean with the support of several partners, including the UK

Kremlin says receives no reaction from Romania to Putin's comment about downed drone

Earlier, the Russian leader stated that Moscow would conduct an objective investigation if it got access to the wreckage in the incident

Kiev ready to resort to any provocations from desperation — Russian envoy

Rodion Miroshnik also said Kiev ignores the consequences of the provocations for millions of people

Colombia's presidential election ran smoothly, authorities say

According to an earlier estimate by Hernan Penagos, head of the National Civil Registry, preliminary results showing a clear voting trend would likely be available by 11:30 p.m. GMT on May 31

US, Israel want to draw Arab countries into military conflict with Iran — senior diplomat

Georgy Borisenko said that Washington was well aware that aggression against Iran would push it to strike at the countries of the Persian Gulf

Trump toughens terms of potential deal with Iran — media

One of the cited officials said that the changes to the proposed deal are "potentially designed to speed up the process by putting pressure on Iran to accept the current framework, The New York Times reported

Pezeshkian asks global community to judge which side, Iran or US, actually favors dialogue

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian invited the world to judge which side engages in terrorism

Iran damages 20 US military sites since start of war — media

According to the media outlet, Iran has targeted key facilities across eight countries in the Middle East

IN BRIEF: Ukrainian attack on Kherson Region kills child, leaves 11 civilians injured

According to the authorities, four residential buildings were damaged in the attack

Russia ready to send tourists into space

Russia's Glavkosmos provides orbital flights on board the Soyuz spacecraft, with docking at the International Space Station

Iranian foreign minister urges public to ignore rumors about talks with US

Abbas Araghchi said that it is premature to draw any conclusions

Iran calls on Saudi Arabia to ‘eject’ US troops from region

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stressed that Iran respects the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and considers it a brotherly nation

Another strike hits area near Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran

One of the facility’s security guards was killed, Iran’s AEOI said

US military aircraft struck by Iran makes it to Kuwait — TV

Iran also fired at two US UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters conducting a search and rescue operation

EU exploring possibility of temporarily lifting price cap on Russian oil — Bloomberg

Last year the EU introduced a mechanism ensuring that every six months the price cap for Russian Urals crude oil is automatically set at 15% below the average market price

Two Russian military-transport aviation regiments re-equipped with Il-76-MD-90A aircraft

Military-Transport Aviation Commander Lieutenant General Vladimir Benediktov added that previously commissioned equipment is also being modernized

PM expects Armenia to build new relations with Russia

Nikol Pashinyan said he views the phase of transformation positively

Georgia plans meeting with Russia’s representative this week

The meeting will take place in a European country

Rublev fails to reach French Open quarterfinals

The Russian player lost to Jakub Mensik from the Czech Republic

Colombian president refuses to recognize preliminary results of presidential election

Gustavo Petro noted that the vote count cannot be considered legally binding

Russia’s Zaporozhye Region reveals number of kids killed in Ukrainian attacks since 2022

The regional health ministry reported that 16 children died, while 118 minors were injured

Qatar ready to negotiate temporary toll for passage through Strait of Hormuz — minister

Qatar and also the partners in the Gulf stated very clearly that charging fees will always impact the consumer, Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said

Kremlin comments on whitelists, tanker detention by France, visa issue with Serbia

Russia considers the detention of its tanker vessel by France as an illegal move akin to piracy, Dmitry Peskov stated

Top Moldovan diplomat says supports his country’s unification with Romania

Mihai Popsoi says he will vote for it if such a referendum is organized

Trump accuses Democrats of obstructing Iran deal

According to the US president, all Americans should "just sit back and relax" and trust his policies

Tanker with Iranian oil change course, heading to China — PTI

The change in the destination of Pin Shun appears to be payment-related, Sumit Ritolia, Lead Research Analyst at Kpler, noted

Iran divides countries into three categories based on use of Strait of Hormuz — TV

According to the TV channel, all states are divided into three categories — "hostile," "neutral," and "friendly"

Russian troops liberate Tikhonovka community in Donetsk region over past day — top brass

The Ukrainian army lost roughly 1,335 troops in battles with Russian forces in all the frontline areas over the past 24 hours

US company tested android robots in combat area in Ukraine — TV

CEO of Foundation Future Industries Sankaet Pathak told CNBC that the core function of the robots was to deliver ammunition to the frontline

Kiev trying to create chaos attacking Zaporozhye NPP, forcing staff to quit — director

Over the past month, Ukrainian forces have significantly intensified shelling of the Zaporozhye NPP area and its satellite city of Energodar

Most of Africa Corps’ strongholds in Mali are under Russian control — MFA

According to Anatoly Bashkin, Russian units "are actively trying to involve the Malian Armed Forces not only in the territorial control efforts, but for logistics operations for supplying the armed forces and delivering fuel and food to Bamako and other populated areas"

Ukrainian army’s drones almost constantly spotted in Zaporozhye NPP area — director

High drone activity is also recorded in the skies above Energodar

Zelensky looking at replacing Syrsky by Budanov as army commander-in-chief

According to the source, these decisions were discussed during the visit to Kiev by Democratic US Senator Richard Blumenthal, who is considered one of the lobbyists for the US defense sector

Israel, US attack amusement park in central Iran

No information on casualties or damage has been reported yet

Ukrainian army struck area near maternity hospital in Energodar overnight — governor

In Energodar, the Ukrainian army also struck a multi-story building, damaging an apartment as a result of the fire

Russian deputy PM warns Armenia of potential problems with gas supplies

According to the Russian deputy prime minister Alexey Overchuk, Europe continues buying Russian gas

Syrian, US presidents discuss lifting of remaining anti-Syrian sanctions

Ahmed al-Sharaa called for encouraging investments and creating favorable conditions for the resumption of economic and infrastructure projects in key sectors of the Syrian economy

Industrial infrastructure sustains damage in Ukraine’s Odessa Region

The authorities did not disclose the exact location of the facility

West provoking civil strife between Russia, Islamic world — expert

According to Vitaly Naumkin, Russophobia and Islamophobia are moving in parallel

US escorts about 70 ships through Strait of Hormuz in May — media

According to sources cited by The New York Times, US Central Command forces provided assistance to the vessels

US bases in Arab countries bring calamity to region — Russian deputy foreign minister

American military personnel have not been able to protect them from strikes, but have only brought disaster to these countries, Georgy Borisenko said

Ukrainian army struck school in Zaporozhye Region’s Vasilyevka, no casualties — governor

A school bus and the school’s windows were damaged

Ukraine’s attack on Zaporozhye NPP is step toward nuclear terrorism — diplomat

Rodion Miroshnik noted that further escalation of attacks was fraught with catastrophic consequences

Ukrainian attacks pose radiation contamination risks — Zaporozhye NPP director

Yury Chernichuk emphasized that despite all attempts by the Kiev regime to sow panic among the nuclear power plant’s staff, the personnel continue to work normally and maintain full control of the situation

China Coast Guard conducts patrols east of Taiwan

Spokesperson Jiang Lue says the measure was taken in response to negotiations between Japan and the Philippines on maritime delimitation in the area

INTERVIEW: Central Bank to cut key rate to 13.5% at next board meeting — lawmaker

Anatoly Aksakov also noted that the price decline provides grounds for a more decisive rate cut than last time

Finland wins fifth world hockey title

Finland defeated Switzerland in overtime in the final

Upper house speaker slams US-Israeli operation against Iran as geopolitical mistake

Valentina Matviyenko emphasized that this intervention has destabilized the Middle East, triggering an energy crisis, yet it ultimately changes nothing

US dragging out talks by changing its demands or making new ones — Iranian diplomat

According to the diplomat, the contradictory statements may be part of Washington's negotiating tactics

Trump refutes media reports that Iran deal does not address nuclear program

The US president emphasized that "most of the agreement is about" the nuclear issue

Euroclear appeals immediate enforcement of $256 bln Central Bank ruling

According to the source, the complaint was filed this week

Putin’s call with Pashinyan, Lithuania’s statements on UAVs, SPIEF guest: Kremlin

Dmitry Peskov stressed that Moscow had never revealed the guest of honor and who will host the plenary session at SPIEF beforehand

Over 160 Kursk residents back home, meeting Ukrainian ombudsman: statements by Lantratova

The Office of the Human Rights Commissioner in Russia is clarifying the number of residents of the Kursk region who are being held on the territory of Ukraine

Group of mercenaries from Germany, UK destroyed in Zaporozhye Region — security forces

Among the dead are Jason Largan Jaycee, born in 2003, and Laterman Philippe Maximilian, born in 2000

Death toll from US strikes on alleged drug traffickers' boats exceeds 200 — NYT

According to data obtained by the newspaper, the US military has carried out more than 60 strikes on vessels believed to be used by drug traffickers

Press review: Iran, US struggle on deal as Russia warns of potential strike on Ukraine

Top stories from the Russian press on Monday, June 1st

Putin talks results of EAEU’s Astana summit, further dialogue over phone with Armenian PM

Vladimir Putin and Nikol Pashinyan exchanged views on pressing issues of the bilateral and multilateral agenda

More than 110 private plots in Yakutia flooded as a result of river overflow

The runway at Zyryanka Airport is completely under water

IAEA has not blamed Ukraine for attack on Zaporozhye NPP turbine hall

The agency issues official notes, or the so-called statements, on the situation at the ZNPP, ZNPP’s director Yury Chernichuk said

Serbia could turn against Russia after elections — Vulin

Aleksandar Vulin expressed confidence that a government, formed by pro-Western forces, would do everything possible to destroy relations with Russia and become its enemy

Iran to amend potential deal with US if Trump changes its terms — agency

A source told Tasnim that Iran was fully prepared for the possibility that the agreement would not be signed

Gymnast Ilteriakova wins European Championship in hoop exercises

She scored 29.900 points

Even Europe under threat from Israel’s expansionist project, Iranian diplomat warns

Esmaeil Baghaei called on all countries to remain vigilant without turning a blind eye to Israel’s "aggressive and expansionist actions"

Ukraine launches four attacks on DPR territory over past day

No civilian casualties have been reported

Lavrov commends Russia-China relations as stabilizing force in global affairs

The Russian foreign minister added that Moscow and Beijing efficiently cooperate at various multilateral venues