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Russian President Vladimir Putin's address to the Federal Assembly

Volume of harmful atmospheric pollutants in Russia should be reduced by half — Putin

A comprehensive system of environmental quality monitoring will be established to evaluate the results

MOSCOW, February 29. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has set a target for reducing the volume of harmful atmospheric pollutants in the country by half.

"As you know, under the Clean Air Project, 12 industrial centers in Russia have managed to reduce harmful emissions into the atmosphere. Since last year, another 29 cities have joined the project. In the country as a whole, the volume of harmful emissions into the atmosphere should be halved," he said in his State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly, or Russian parliament.

According to the president, it is necessary to take step-by-step actions to achieve this goal. A comprehensive system of environmental quality monitoring will be established to evaluate the results. Over the past five years, thousands of kilometers of rivers and riverbanks have been cleaned, and polluted runoff into the Volga River has been reduced by almost half, Putin added.

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Russia's domestic policy

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Dmitry Peskov noted that it is too early to speak of any changes in the policy of European countries following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit

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The aircraft scoop water from the Moskva River

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Russia knows how to achieve large-scale goals, Putin says

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Russia's top brass stresses special nature of Russian-Belarusian armed forces relations

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Robert Fico was shot after a cabinet meeting in the city of Handlova in western Slovakia

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Slovak PM Robert Fico wounded in shooting — portal

The suspected shooter has been apprehended

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Putin arrives in Great Hall of the People in Beijing for talks with Chinese leadership

The talks were preceded by an official welcoming ceremony

Blinken’s visit to Kiev shows US concerned over Ukrainian failures on frontline — diplomat

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Russia to invite numerous global South leaders to BRICS summit — Lavrov

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Czech president speaks out in favor of halting hostilities in Ukraine

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Priority attention will be focused on trade and economic cooperation

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Putin appoints Russian new government

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Putin thanks outbound Russian defense minister for his work

The Russian leader added that Sergey Shoigu would now serve as Russian Security Council secretary

Ukrainian commanders flee Kupyansk, leaving covering force — Russian lawmaker

The Kharkov direction is the most important and challenging frontline area for Russian troops, Viktor Vodolatsky pointed out

US discusses deployment of Patriot systems in Kharkov with Ukraine — Blinken

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Ukraine’s military has about 2,000-strong garrison in Kherson — resistance fighters

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Putin asks Belousov to "open" Defense Ministry as much as possible

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