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NAVALNY'S ALLEGED POISONING

Diplomat castigates German, French top diplomats’ call for sanctions against Russia

The diplomat spotlighted the fact that all of the inquiries by the Russian Prosecutor General's Office within the framework of the European Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters have been brushed aside

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova

© Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS

MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova sharply criticized a joint statement Wednesday made by the German and French foreign ministry chiefs calling for sanctions against the Russian Federation over the Alexey Navalny case.

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"The statement of the two ministers, unacceptable by its content and its tone, indicates the absolute unwillingness of Paris and Berlin to face the facts that were repeatedly presented by Russian representatives," the diplomat stressed. "Instead of proper cooperation with the Russian Federation in the interests of clearing up the circumstances of what happened to the blogger, the governments of Germany and France have now switched to threats and attempts to blackmail us. They are urging the European Union to approve new sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities," she specified.

The diplomat spotlighted the fact that all of the inquiries by the Russian Prosecutor General's Office within the framework of the European Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters have been brushed aside. "We’ve repeatedly stressed to our colleagues the unacceptability of ignoring our numerous inquiries along various lines. There was no reaction," she emphasized. "Apparently, they got completely caught up in the behind-the-scenes intrigues. Russian appeals both through bilateral channels and to the OPCW Technical Secretariat to receive proper explanations have been openly sabotaged," the diplomat added.

She didn’t exclude the possibility that Berlin and Paris will lead a potential "anti-Russian coalition" being formed in the European Union, despite its repeated assurances of a commitment to a partnership with Russia. "For our part, we assure that if our colleagues are ready to reconsider this confrontational course, abandoning attempts to dictate, the possibilities to normalize dialogue are open," the diplomat pledged. "If not, we will draw our conclusions. In any case, "business as usual" with Berlin and Paris is not a possibility as we see it," she concluded.

WIPO members adopt Riyadh Design Law Treaty

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Washington has no plans of updating nuclear posture after Russia’s test of new missile

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Eliminating best enemy units: Defense Minister visits special op area

Andrey Belousov stressed that Russian troops have accelerated their advance in the special military operation zone and have effectively disrupted Kiev's 2025 military campaign

Russia’s re-election to UNCITRAL confirms its global reputation — Foreign Ministry

Russia got the support of 129 countries in a November 20 vote in New York at the 40th plenary session of the UN General Assembly

US not seeking confrontation with Russia, but will continue assistance to Kiev — Pentagon

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

Bundeswehr prepares plan for Operation Germany in case of war with Russia — newspaper

According to it, the 1,000-page "Operation Germany" plan lists all infrastructure facilities that deserve special protection, and also contains a procedure for defense or "measures to deter Russia on NATO’s eastern flank"

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

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Putin's speech shows West that Russia won’t waver, is ready for any scenario — expert

Dmitry Suslov pointed to a crucial message in the President's speech: "Russia firmly believes that the West has moved from a proxy war to a direct war" and that the sides are already "in a state of global conflict"

Russian forces successfully advancing in all areas in special military op zone — Putin

The Russian president said that "all the goals we set for ourselves are being achieved"

China urges restraint after Russia, Ukraine's exchange of attacks — foreign ministry

Lin Jian also reaffirmed Beijing's position on the Ukrainian issue

Press review: Russia fires missile at Ukraine plant and Biden forgives Kiev $4.65 bln debt

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US, European officials suggest returning nukes to Ukraine — NYT

US officials believe that ramping up weapons supplies to Ukraine is unlikely to change the situation in the combat zone short term, but it may help Kiev strengthen its stance in case a truce is reached

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

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

Enemy losses, mercenary intrigue, humanitarian aid: situation in Kursk Region

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US administration chooses to escalate Ukraine conflict — Kremlin

Earlier, Putin stressed that the Ukrainian army is unable to fire the latest Western-made long-range missiles on its own without support from NATO satellite feeds and the involvement of the bloc’s military

Russian forces cut off key Ukrainian supply route in Velikaya Novoselka, DPR

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According to Daniel Davis authorizing US long-range weapons to be used against Russia is "foolhardy to the highest order," "especially because there is no military upside for doing so"

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

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Olaf Scholz stated that only the Social Democratic Party of Germany could maintain a balance between caution and clear support for Ukraine

Oreshnik test aims to persuade West to avoid escalation in Ukraine — media

According to the report, the use of Oreshnik has become "part of a new era of missile warfare"

Ukrainian frontline may 'collapse' under onslaught of Russian forces — BBC

According to the experts, Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s borderline Kursk Region turned out to be a "strategic catastrophe" amid "manpower shortages"

Diplomat mocks US Senator for talking about invading Netherlands

Maria Zakharova quoted the US Senator, who called the ICC a "Kangaroo court" and ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan a "deranged fanatic"

Western nations should take Putin's statement seriously, warns Hungarian PM

Viktor Orban recalled that Russia has "one of the most powerful armies in the world, which boasts the most advanced, most powerful weapons"

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

Japanese lawmaker praises Putin's restraint amid decision to strike deep into Russia

Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell confirmed that the US administration had lifted restrictions for US-supplied missiles to be used for strikes up to 300 kilometers inside Russia

Oreshnik can reach targets across entire Europe — missile troops commander

"Based on the tasks and the range of this weapon, it can hit targets across entire Europe, which sets it apart from other high-precision long-range weapons," Sergey Karakayev said

Russia uses aerial bombs to destroy Ukrainian positions near DPR’s Konstantinovka — source

According to the report, at least 15 Ukrainian servicemen were killed as a result of the attack

West irrational, fails to understand it cannot intercept Russia's new missiles — Kneissl

The former Austrian foreign minister stressed that she "counted on rational Western decision-makers, but irrationality is unfortunately on the rise among them"

Russia’s Oreshnik has no analogues worldwide — Putin

"We know what kind of developments are being carried out there, but this will happen tomorrow or in a year or two, but we have such a system already today," the president said

Putin warns West that Russia can respond to any turn of events

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Russia hit Ukrainian military-industrial facility in response to use of Western missiles

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Russia hammers Ukrainian military-industrial facilities, energy sites over week

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Ukraine should consider territorial concessions to Russia in return for peace — magazine

Foreign Policy pointed out that Western officials should stop insisting in public speeches on the need to achieve a strategic defeat for Russia

Russia interested in security of Baltic undersea infrastructure — embassy in Denmark

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China against double standards in international law — Foreign Ministry

Spokesman Lin Jian highlighted Washington's use of double standards in handling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within the United Nations

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Andrey Kartapolov added that the special military operation in Ukraine "will continue its course until all tasks are completed"

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Western air defense systems unlikely to intercept Russian missiles — France’s Le Monde

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US, West have no capabilities to intercept new Russian hypersonic missile — expert

"There is more in the Russian arsenal than many believe," said Karin Kneissl, the former Foreign Minister of Austria

North Korean leader warns of growing risk of nuclear war — KCNA

Kim Jong Un added that negotiations with the US only confirmed the North Korean view that Washington’s hostile policy remains unchanged

US forces strike Houthi sites with seaborne missiles — TV

According to Al Arabiya, US warships fired at least four missiles at Houthi-operated facilities in the Al-Matina area around 90 km south of the province’s administrative center

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The Belarusian leader noted that they want to go to Warsaw

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

Belarusian president believes humanity is on the brink of World War III

Alexander Lukashenko also emphasized that a real information war has been underway for a long time

NATO deployment to Ukraine would mark its entry into the war, Russian diplomat warns

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Trump seeks to restore peace in entire world — transition team on Putin’s address

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NATO enters conflict, Russia has every right to attack its targets now — expert

Col. (Ret.) Lawrence Wilkerson confirmed to TASS that the launch of ATACMS missiles would be impossible without "US/NATO satellite feeds and/or personnel"

Russian army pushes Ukraine out of Kurakhovo water reservoir’s north shore

According to Igor Kimakovsky, the only road the Ukrainian armed forces could use to leave the city is under Russia’s control

Internet shutdown possible in Belarus if events of August 2020 recur, Lukashenko says

Belarus faced widespread disruptions to mobile Internet access in 2020 due to the protests that erupted across the country

Putin’s recent statements reflect long-standing policy, expert says

Putin’s position can be traced back to his 2007 address at the Munich Security Conference, Tiberio Graziani says

Zelensky fine with conflict continuing due to Western help — Slovak PM

Robert Fico pointed out that "more and more evidence show that the West seeks to prolong the war in Ukraine for various reasons"

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

Russian air defense deflects attacks with Western missiles — Putin

"As a result, the goals that the enemy apparently set have not been achieved," the Russian leader said

German politician slams Ukraine’s ‘irresponsible’ strike on Russia with UK-made missiles

"A diplomatic search for balance and mutual understanding should be the goal, instead of further escalation," Alice Weidel said

Bulgarian politician sees Oreshnik missile strike as wake-up call for peace

"European politicians need to think twice about what they do next, especially since Donald Trump, who will take office in two months, replacing the current White House occupant, has already expressed his commitment to the policy of peace," Krasimir Karakachanov said

Signal to West and 'red card': experts weigh in on Putin’s missile launch statements

The important message in Vladimir Putin’s speech was that "Russia does believe that the West has shifted from a proxy-war to direct war" and that the parties find themselves in "a global conflict" now, Dmitry Suslov said

Putin stays open to contacts to reach 'peaceful track' — Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a televised address to the nation on November 21, announcing that in response to the West’s decision to authorize strategic-depth strikes on Russia, Moscow used its new Oreshnik medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile for the first time

Oreshnik missile to go into serial production, Putin says

The president stressed that given the weapon’s special power, it "will be provided precisely to the Strategic Missile Forces"

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

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

Ukraine conflict entering decisive phase, Polish PM says

According to Donald Tusk, "no one knows how the conflict will end"

Russia not obliged to notify anyone about launch of intermediate-range missile — Kremlin

"No, there have been no notifications, for Russia has no such obligation with regard to intermediate-range missiles," Dmitry Peskov emphasized

Zelensky shook up by Russia’s response to permission to attack it — Lavrov

According to the Russian foreign minister, the West is directly involved in the use of long-range weapons against Russia, as not a single missile could be launched without its involvement

Any escalation scenario possible in Ukraine conflict — Medvedev

According to the politician, Western nations need to understand that they are fighting on Ukraine’s side

China holds US responsible for disrupted defense ministers' meeting in Laos

Wu Qian stated that the United States must immediately correct its mistakes, "honestly respect China’s main interests, and seek to create favorable conditions for high-level contacts between the military of the two countries"

Moscow hopes West will thoroughly analyze Russia's nuclear doctrine — ambassador

Andrey Kelin also recalled that the policy of the Russian leadership enjoys the full support and confidence of the country's population

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

Russia encircles largest Ukrainian fortification in southern DPR — security services

"The enemy positioned in the fortified area in Velikaya Novoselka in the south of the DPR is already trapped in a kill zone," the source said

US admiral says Washington should be ready for talks with Russia, China

The Department of State and other US agencies "should continue to engage our competitors in real and substantive dialogue," Rear Admiral Thomas Buchanan said

Decision on strikes inside Russia seals US puppet Zelensky’s fate — commentator

The New York Times reported earlier, citing sources, that US President Joe Biden had authorized the use of US-made ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles for strikes inside Russia

Ex-German chancellor never expected Russia to tolerate Ukraine’s NATO membership — memoir

Angela Merkel added that another fallacy was the belief that the status "would act as a deterrent," and that Moscow "would accept these developments without taking action"

Tehran to launch new centrifuges in response to IAEA anti-Iran resolution — statement

The measure is taken in response to the anti-Iran resolution adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors on Thursday

Biden slams ‘outrageous’ International Criminal Court warrants for Israeli leaders

"There is no equivalence - none - between Israel and Hamas," US president said